It smelled like Reese. For a moment, she wanted to fling it off her body, but she glanced around the room instead. It was dark, and the only light coming in was from the full moon outside. No one would know she was up here. So she cautiously pulled the jacket closer and gave it another sniff.
If she had to admit it to herself, the scent was . . . wonderful. Reese smelled like soap and warmth and the outdoors and that spicy, musky scent she was starting to identify as pure Reese. Inhaling his scent made her think back to the kiss on the dock, and her gaze automatically went to the window, looking outside for a familiar form.
He was still there where she’d left him minutes ago. Slouched against the wooden railing of the dock, his stance casual and easy. His hand was lifted to his mouth and, as she watched, she could have sworn he was rubbing his lips.
It made a quiver erupt deep in her belly. Had he been affected by their kiss, too?
He glanced up at the lodge and, as soon as he did, she yelped and bolted away from the window, hiding behind the wall. She immediately chided herself for the foolish move. He wouldn’t have been able to see her watching him, sniffing his jacket and basking in his scent.
Still.
Audrey put her back to the wall and slid down to the floor, pulling her knees close and wrapping the jacket around her body.
Cade was here tonight.
Cade was here, and she’d gone outside and kissed another man. What was wrong with her?
She’d been dreaming of spending a quiet weekend alone with Cade for years. Fantasized about the two of them spending time together, rekindling the old, comfortable friendship they’d had, and—in her eyes—maybe turning it into something more.
She hadn’t factored in a sick junkie sister who would eat up Cade’s free time. She certainly hadn’t factored in Cade’s buddy who would drive her insane in the space of mere seconds.
She could handle Daphne, though. Cade adored Daphne also, and her sister was such a mess that she wasn’t really competition for Cade. Not on a romantic level, anyhow.
But she’d never factored in Reese. Reese, who’d been making out with a gorgeous, naked blonde when they’d arrived. Reese, who crawled under her skin and infuriated her with every word and smug smile on his handsome brute face. Reese, who’d blackmailed her into kissing him. She should have told him no. She should have told him to go ahead and tell Cade. What was the worst that would happen?
But instead, she’d gone outside to kiss Reese, even though she couldn’t stand him and his arrogant ways. And she’d negotiated with him about where and how long the kiss should be. And even though she’d despised him for holding her to the bet, she’d had a wild, sick little butterfly of excitement in her stomach.
It had been so incredibly naughty. It was something that the good twin would never do . . . unless forced. And somehow because the control had been out of her hands, she’d wanted to do it. Not only that, but she’d wanted to prove to Reese that he wasn’t the only one who could take someone by surprise. So she’d taken the plunge and kissed him.
She knew she was a good kisser. She’d had plenty of boyfriends despite her torch for Cade, but she’d only slept with a few of them. She didn’t give it up easily, preferring the long weeks—and sometimes months—of endless petting and kissing to the actual consummation. And she’d had lots of experience with kissing, and she knew what would make a man sit up and notice. And she’d used every dirty trick in the book to rock his world and wipe that smug smile off his too-handsome face. She’d wanted to shake him up a little.
She hadn’t counted on enjoying the kiss that much herself. But she had. Oh, she had. That butterfly of excitement returned, low in her belly, and she pressed her thighs together tightly. His lips had been soft and full, and he’d tasted so good. And he knew how to kiss, too. When his tongue had begun to stroke back against her own, she’d forgotten all about teaching him a lesson and had simply enjoyed the kiss for the kiss’s sake.
It was because it was forbidden, she told herself. Nothing more. She wasn’t supposed to be out on a dock in the middle of the night, kissing a cocky stranger. She should have been in the house, at her twin’s side, showing Cade how good and devoted of a sister she was.
Showing him that she was the good, sweet twin and was so right for a man as kind and devoted and handsome as himself.
And instead she’d been tonguing Reese Durham.
And she’d liked it.
Mortified, Audrey buried her head in her hands. Unfortunately, that only made the scent of Reese waft more closely around her, thanks to the jacket.
He’d liked the kiss, too. She could tell that her aggressiveness had startled him in the beginning, and then he’d appreciated it. It had stroked her ego, to have this big, confident man taken down a peg by her kiss. But then she’d gotten lost in it. And then he’d offered to continue the kiss.
And she’d told him no. Put on the stiff poker face of the Audrey Who Meant Business.
But she’d really, really wanted to say yes. Oh, she’d wanted to say yes. For a brief moment in time, she’d wanted to be the bad twin, the wild twin, the twin who would sink down to the floor of the dock and make love to a man she barely knew just because he excited the part of her that she tried so hard to wrestle into control.
But Audrey was determined to be the good twin at all costs. Cade was a good, kind man with a virtuous heart. He wouldn’t fall for someone who had a wild and impetuous side. He needed someone trustworthy and honorable, like himself.
And since all she’d ever wanted for herself was Cade’s love, she’d pulled away.
So why was she regretting it, all alone up here in the dark?
It didn’t make sense. And she kind of hated herself for it, even as she rubbed her own lips in memory.
***
Audrey woke up the next morning, curled on her side of the king bed. She’d slept on top of the covers and left the window open. The room was frigid and smelled of pine trees and ice, and the jacket she was cuddled in no longer smelled of the man she’d kissed last night. Just as well.
She’d slept on top of the covers, fully dressed, and vaguely remembered dozing off while waiting for her twin to return. The other side of the bed hadn’t been touched, though, and Audrey rubbed her face, then changed into a new set of clothes for the day—a plain gray long-sleeved shirt and her favorite jeans. She splashed a bit of water on her face, then used her wet hands to smooth her wild hair into her typical no-nonsense bun. Then, she headed downstairs.