Tagged & Ashed (The Sterling Shore Series #2) (5 page)

Tag ducks behind the door just as it swings open, and Wren looks me over as he fills the doorway.  Right now, I’m praying my hair isn’t an absolute mess to display... whatever that was.

“Hey, Wren,” I murmur awkwardly.

“Hey, have you seen Tag?  Mom wants us to pose for some pictures before the sun completely sets.”

“Um, I haven’t seen him since he bandaged me up, but I’ll tell him if I do.”

Tag grins lightly while relaxing out of Wren’s view.

“Do… have you… um, my brother is outside with Rene.  Do you want me to send him up after the pictures?”

I stifle my grin, while Tag suppresses a laugh.

“No.  I’m about to come down.  I just need to change, since this dress is a little messed up from the gravel.  I was just about to do that when you walked in.”

His body stiffens as anxiety crosses over his face.  I can see the worry in his eyes for what he thinks he almost saw, but he has no clue what he almost saw.  I was damn close to caving and throwing myself at Tag.

“Yeah, I’ll… see ya.”

He rushes away, and the door clicks behind him as Tag walks back toward me with his predatory stalk.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever heard Wren so rattled.  Apparently I’m not the only one getting
Ashed
around here.”

Ashed? 
I don't think so.

“Oh hell no.  Don’t turn my name into a verb like yours,” I huff while crossing my arms over my chest.

He smirks as he continues to strut toward me, and then he grips my waist in his hands as he pulls me against his lingering, damn near irresistible erection.

“Too late.  You’re
Tagged
and I’m
Ashed.
  Now, how do I make you comfortable enough to give up this game of cat and mouse?”

Keep looking at me like that, and it won’t take long to find out
.

“Not happening
.
  Believe it or not, I have a firm policy about knowing someone before I screw them.  I don’t even know your last name.”

“That’s because you never asked.  I’m a little pissed Bity has refused to mention even that much.”

It’s Masters.  I know it, but I don’t want him to know I know.

“Masters.  Now, what else do you need to know before I can make you give in?”

I fight back a giggle, and then I twirl free from his clutches as I head over to the closet where my stuff has already been neatly unpacked for me.

“You forget; I just helped you carry your
dates
out.  You’re hot, but not hot enough to overcome that.” Surprisingly, I manage to sound convincing.  Very slowly, I start unzipping my dress.  “You can go now.”

I look over my shoulder to see him licking his lips with anticipation, making my budding excitement unfurl deep within my core.  But I'll never tell him that.  That's like striking a match in the middle of a room full of leaking propane.

“Not undressing until you’re gone, if that’s what you’re waiting for,” I poke, my eyes seducing him while fucking with his and
my
head.

He swallows hard as his jaw tenses, but then he grumbles something about this being ridiculous, and never having been so hard - I don't know.

“I’ll see you out there.  We’ll start working on getting to know each other," he says in a clearer voice.

***

Tag

A bit of a smile and a spark of excitement flares in her eyes, but she turns away to dismiss me and hide the truth she can't wipe from her face.

This girl is getting under my skin, and I
really
don’t like it.  I’ve never been turned down during
that
sort of situation.  I know she wants me, but apparently I’m going to have to work even harder.

I smirk, feigning confidence, as I head out the door.  Once it shuts, I lean against it and try to catch my breath.  This is insane, and I’m feeling like a fool chasing her instead of being chased.

I’m not used to someone fucking with
my
head.  It’s always the other way around.  What’s this girl trying to do to me?

Chapter Two

Playing With Fire

Tag

It’s been forever since I was between her legs - almost
there
.  Now I’m standing out here under the moonlight, while they take their night-shots.

“Any chance we’ll be done taking pictures before the wedding is over?” I gripe while loosening my tie, frustrated for
so
many reasons.

Wren laughs as the photographer lowers the camera without directing us to our next pose.

“That’s it,” she bitterly snarks before putting her camera away.

“Finally,” I say, exasperated, while leaning against the pole of the canopy set up behind me.

Wren turns to me as his fiancée, Erica, walks off to start talking privately with the annoying photographer.  His eyes glance over to Bity, who is grinning ear-to-ear as he joins Rene.

“So why is my brother rushing over to Rene Ballinger when he’s supposed to be here with Ashiara?  And how the hell did he ever land a chick like her to begin with?”

I knew he was Ashed.

“Remember - you’re getting married,” I playfully quip.

“Ha,” he dully releases while bringing a drink to his lips.  “I was just trying to figure out when my brother got game like that.”

Both of our eyes fall on the girl we’re whispering about when she walks out arm-in-arm with Melanie.  I haven’t seen her since earlier, and I’ll be damned if she doesn’t look even better.

Her small, tight, white skirt rises high, but not too high.  The flowing fabric of her cleavage-showing red shirt whips in the oceanfront wind as she tosses her long, bronze hair away from her face.

Her sleek legs are still driving me crazy, leading up to that perfect ass which is displayed even better in that skirt.  I grin when I see her shoes - dressy, half-boot style heels that cover up her new bandaging.

“You’re drooling,” Wren snickers, and my jaw claps shut as I roll my eyes.

“She’s just… I don’t know.  Has Bity ever told you about her before?”

He shrugs as his eyes return to the beauty now laughing, her head tossing back as someone in Melanie's crowd of old crows makes a joke.

“Yeah, but I sure as hell didn’t expect her to look like
that
.  With the way he was still fawning over Rene, I thought this girl must be hideous.  Damn, was I ever wrong.”

“I’ll say,” I grumble under my breath when I’m unable to break my eyes away from her.  “I need a stronger drink,” I add with a disgruntled tone, placing the empty beer bottle on the table next to me and heading toward the bar.

This place looks like something from Gatsby’s era.  Everything is dressed in cascading folds of white and gold, and there are enough tables and chairs to accommodate hundreds, when we’ve only got a gathering of fifty or more.

My eyes are poised on the beautiful girl standing high on the patio stairs as she engages in idle conversation, never looking toward me.  She can’t be
that
immune to me.

I don’t know how I missed it coming on, but I’m suddenly tipping forward as my shin slams into something hard.  I flail my arms like an absolute idiot as I crash and splash into the concrete fountain, which is spewing a shower of sheer humiliation.

Fucking shit.

The cold water bites at me as the faces on the coins at the bottom of the fountain ridicule me with their smiles.  I jerk my face free from the knee-high water that has managed to thoroughly drench me in front of the whole damn party.

As the laughter roars free, I play it off by taking a bow, and join in by laughing as well - though I’d rather find a place to hide for the rest of the weekend.

My eyes fall on the dark-haired, spellbinding beauty that sent me to my moment of defeat, and she lets her giggles free while shaking her head.

Great.

There goes everything else I had going for me.  She’s fucking impossible, and I just need to move on before I lose every bit of my confidence - a feat I never thought possible before this night.

“Tag, what’s wrong with you tonight, bro?” Wren chuckles as I try wringing my shirt out.

My eyes glance back up at the girl who gives me a playful wink before returning to her previous conversation that was only briefly interrupted by my embarrassing flop.

“I wish I fucking knew,” I gripe under my breath while slipping off the drenched jacket.  “Obviously, I need to go change now.  See you when the fireworks start up.”

Wren continues his taunting laughter as I head up the steps where my pretty little distraction is still engaged in meaningless conversation.  Rene runs up to me before I top the steps, a small giggle exuding from her throat.

“Tag, what happened?”

I couldn't walk and gawk at the same time.

“A fountain jumped out in front of me.  I gotta get changed.”

***

Ashiara

It’s obvious Rene has a bigger crush on Tag than she does on Billy.  For some odd reason, I feel a little pang of jealously as she flirts with him.  He doesn’t seem to reciprocate, thankfully.

“Well, come find us for the fireworks,” Rene says as Billy walks up behind her, his eyes narrowing at Tag.

“Sure,” Tag says as his eyes find mine.

I smile as I see the water still dripping heavily from him.

“Tag Masters, you better not leak puddles all over my floors,” Melanie playfully chimes in.

“I’ll strip down in the foyer, if you like,” he jokes, offering her a wink.

Melanie laughs, shaking her head as she does so.  I don’t mean to, but I blush.  I’m hoping the night sky is enough to shadow my red tale.

He walks away, water trailing him to show all of his leaking humiliation, but I commend him for handling it with such grace.  If I had crashed into a fountain in front of everyone, I would have gone home.

“So, dear,” Melanie murmurs softly while tugging me away from her group of friends.  “What do you think about Tag?”

The daring devil in her eyes isn’t lost on me.  I don’t know how, but she has seen the lust teeming inside me.

“I think he’s hot, but not really my type.  Besides, I’m with Billy.”

She gives me a condescending glare accompanied by a knowing grin, before shaking her head.

“Puh-lease.  You had me fooled for maybe ten minutes.  Tops.  It’s rather obvious now what my son was up to.  That girl is never going to love him,” she sighs while glancing over at the duo.  “She wants Tag, but he’s not into her.  She’ll never give up though.”

Can’t say I blame her.

It’s taking all my strength not to chase after him.  I’m just smart enough to see a disastrous end without dealing with the heartbreak firsthand
.

“Ah,” I murmur softly, trying not to squirm.

“If you ask me, I’d say Tag is rather taken with you.  I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him act like such a fool because of a girl.  I’ve certainly never seen him clumsy enough to fall into the fountain that's ten-feet wide with an eight-foot mermaid in the middle.  It’s like he didn’t even see it.”

My laughter falls through my lips before I cover my mouth with my hand to muffle the roar.  She joins me with a more ladylike giggle, and then we both look toward the house where Tag has already disappeared inside.

I shiver a little as the nighttime ocean breeze reminds me I’m underdressed, and she rubs my arm with her hand.

“Go grab a blanket before the fireworks.  It’ll only get chillier,” she prompts before turning back to her group of old croons.

I head toward the house, and smile when I see the several drips of water the maids are grumbling about as they dry the marble floor.  Walking around them, I head up the stairs, trying to suppress my laughter as I stumble, feeling slightly tipsy.

The champagne here is so good - and strong.  I should have slowed down sooner.  Now these heels are wobbling beneath me.

A cracked door lets soft music cloak the hallway, and I follow the wonderful melody to find out whose room it belongs to.  The violins in the background are almost sad, as the rest of the orchestra blares a dramatic burn that finds its way to my soul.

Wow
.

I peek through to see the room belongs to Tag, and my breath catches in my throat.  Through the crack, I can see his perfectly chiseled upper body - each line of definition exquisitely mouthwatering.

Oh my damn.

His body glistens from the shower he has apparently taken to rid him of the fountain water.  I want to go run my hands over his glorious ripples, feel his firmness against me, and press my lips to his perfectly modeled ones.

I watch as he pulls the dresser drawer open and pulls out a shirt.  It slides over his dampened head and then covers his body - that I can’t seem to stop staring at - before resting just past the waistband of his dark jeans.

He walks out of sight, and I rock back and forth to see more through the crack in hopes of finding him again, when the door suddenly swings open and he almost runs over me.

“Oh,” he chuckles in surprise as my face beams red.  “Hey.”

Way to get busted, stalker bitch.

“Um, hey.  Sorry, I heard the music, and I was... curious?”

One eyebrow arches as he looks down to meet my eyes, his towering body no longer such a mystery.  Now that I’ve seen his upper half, I want to see the rest.

“Come in,” he murmurs while grabbing my hand and tugging me.

Without any real thought process, I follow too willingly into the room where his bed stares me in the face.

“Um, I should… um… this is probably… I shouldn’t-”

His laughter interrupts my unintelligible ramble, and he shakes his head just as the first big boom rattles the sky.  I look out to his balcony to see the first of the fireworks extraordinaire, and smile as the crackling embers sizzle and fade into the night sky.

“I didn’t want to watch them alone.  My balcony has a great view, and since you’re already here, you can keep me company.  I can avoid the giggling eyes of everyone who watched me splash in the Little Mermaid fountain this way.”

I let a laugh escape, and he grabs the bottle of chilled champagne from his bedside table before ushering me out onto the balcony.  His room is
way
better than mine.

“And I thought the princess room was nice,” I murmur, feigning envy.

He snickers as the second
boom
erupts, and a vibrant green lights the sky before turning to white in a starburst pattern.

“This was my room growing up,” he says as we sit at the bistro table.

He scoots his chair over to where his body is dangerously close to mine, and then a loud
pop
rings out as he frees the champagne bottle of its cork.

“Sorry,” he says as the bubbles crackle over the rim.  “I don’t have any glasses.  I’ll run and grab some.”

“I’m not exactly high-class, so I can manage,” I say while taking it from him and bringing the bottle to my lips.

I smile as the fizzing bubbles gather inside my mouth before sliding down the back of my throat.

Mmm.

He smiles as if he likes my low-maintenance maneuver, and then he takes the bottle and shows his more relaxed and less formal self by mimicking me and turning the bottle up as well.

“So, you have your own room here?” I muse as our eyes turn to catch the next big, thunderous beauty enriching the starry sky over the ocean.

“Yeah.  I practically lived with Melanie from the time I was eight until I graduated, so I have a room in all her homes.  Melanie is the closest thing to a mother I've ever known.”

My heart breaks a little.  Billy never mentioned that.

“Oh.  What… um… never mind,” I ramble, realizing I shouldn’t ask such a personal question about his real mother.

“She left when I was a kid - my real mom - if that’s what you were going to ask.  My dad did one thing my entire life that I really appreciated, and that was dating Melanie.  I remember praying they would get married and she really would be my mother.  Although their relationship was brief, Melanie made sure my dad let me come over.  I ended up spending more time here than at home.”

Shallow Tag is very hard to resist.  Real Tag... this is going to end badly for, but I'm going to enjoy the ride.

***

Tag

I can’t believe I just told her that.  What the hell am I thinking?  I never talk about this shit.  I swear I’ve lost the filter on my mouth around her.

“I’m surprised Billy never mentioned that to me,” she murmurs softly while staring directly into my eyes.

I could get lost in her stormy blues.  I barely know her, but she's getting inside my damn head.  How the hell do I get her out?

“Bity never appreciated his mother’s affections toward me.  He was a jealous kid with a chip on his shoulder.  I’m sure there’s a lot he hasn’t told you about his family.”