Teasing Trent (The Alexanders)

TEASING TRENT

One girl. One guy. One
unforgettable
night.

Trent's supposed to keep his best friend's sister company on her birthday. He just has to remember the promise he made to himself in college to keep his hands off her. He's not worried until he finds out she wants to stay in. Just the two of them.

Ever since Mara walked into her brother's dorm room freshman year and came face to face with a shirtless Trent, she's known he was
The One
. She finally has a plan to get him exactly where she wants him.
In her bed.

If Mara has her way, she'll get a lot more for her birthday than a Hallmark card…
 

Prequel to the National Bestseller
 

One More Day
(The Alexanders, Book 1)

**WARNING**

This book contains yoga as an erotic torture device and the unexpected appearance of a vibrator. I'm just saying... (50 pages/Novella)
 

“Just keep your hands to yourself and you’ll be fine.”

Trent Townsend climbed the steps to the second floor landing of an older townhouse and knocked a fine layer of snow off his boots. Virginia winters were usually mild, but this year Mother Nature apparently had PMS. It had been snowing for the past three days and more was on the way. He was inordinately happy to be out of his house even if he knew the evening would be one step short of erotic torture.
 

“Anything is better than being stuck in the house watching reality TV.” Cabin fever was like a disease. He couldn’t eat any more cereal or watch one more rerun of Jerry Springer without losing his mind. He patted his pocket, feeling the rustle of the tiny wrapped package. This was also his first chance to give Mara her 25th birthday present since he’d been too busy last weekend.
 

Too busy coming up with reasons he should stay away from her.
 

Seeing Mara always made him hard enough to poke a hole through his pants, and he’d promised his best friend Matt that he’d take care of his sister, not drool all over her.
 

They’d become entirely too close over the past year. Something that had to stop when Matt’s tour of duty ended next month.
 

“You just have to get through dinner. Keep your hands to yourself and it’ll be fine.”

The door in front of Trent flung open. Mara Simmons stood on the other side regarding him warily. Warm, amber eyes with long, inky lashes narrowed as she leaned against the doorframe. Her thick dark hair was twisted back from her face and left to fall loose and curly on the sides. She looked like a warrior princess ready to do battle. He groaned as his body immediately responded with a salute of its own.

“Are you still wearing your pajamas?” He cursed under his breath as he took in the sight of Mara in a curve-hugging tank top and the tiniest pair of cotton shorts he'd ever seen.

“These are my exercise clothes. I'm doing yoga.” She put one hand on her hip. The top stretched across her chest in just the right way, emphasizing her petite figure. “I saw you as I was passing the window. I wasn't expecting you to come so early.”

He grimaced at her choice of words. He was about to come where he stood. Her shorts were practically indecent. There were miles, just
miles
of smooth, creamy skin on display. His nails dug into his palm.
 

She even
smelled
good.

She’s Matt’s little sister. Keep your hands to yourself.

Trent sucked in another deep breath. He needed more than a weak mantra reminding him who would kick his ass if he screwed this up. What he needed was a bucket of ice down his pants and a blindfold.

“Why are you just standing out here talking to yourself anyway?” Mara shook her head and grabbed him by the arm. She pulled him across the threshold and closed the door behind him.
 

“Just thinking out loud. I do that sometimes.” Trent felt oddly defensive. Having a raging boner could do that to a guy.
 

“What, think?” She chuckled as he glowered at her.

“Ha ha, smart ass. I’ll remember that the next time you need my help with something.”
 

He turned to watch her flip the deadbolt, his eyes taking in her long legs and bare feet. She wore bright purple polish and had a little silver ring on the second to last toe of her right foot. A wave of heat almost forced him to his knees. The girl even had sexy feet. Good thing she wasn’t in the habit of going barefoot.
 

He turned away and busied himself with removing his jacket. He needed to focus on something else or he’d never get through the night.
 

Damn Matt for putting him in this position. It was just like him to join the military and play the hero overseas. His college buddy was that type of guy and someone Trent felt proud to know. Matt had come through for him more times than he could count, and the only thing he’d ever asked in return was for Trent to keep an eye on his twin sister Mara during his deployment. He wished he’d known in the beginning how hard it would be to keep that promise.

And how hard it would be to keep my frickin’ hands to myself.

“So, how fast can you get ready to go?” Trent folded his coat over the arm of the couch. He looked around her place curiously. She changed things often, bringing home stray furniture found at a thrift store or adding weird knickknacks picked up on eBay.

Her place reflected her eclectic spirit. Bright, wildly patterned furniture clashed with the mint green wall behind the couch. He’d helped her paint the crazy color just a few months ago. She’d said she was going for “energetic.” He thought it looked like the inside of a funhouse.

“Well, I was thinking maybe we could just stay in.” Mara flopped down on the couch and curled up with her legs tucked under her. In that position, her top stretched tight across her breasts. He could see tiny indentations where her nipples pressed against the fabric.
 

Damn.

“I know you had a big happy hour night-on-the-town thing planned but … I don’t know. I just don’t feel like going out. Do you mind?”

Trent blinked a few times and then dragged his gaze away. He glanced around desperately. There was a yoga video playing on her TV and the lamp on the side table next to the couch cast a soft amber glow across the room. A warm smell emanated from the kitchen, making his mouth water.
 

“You cooked?”
 

She sat up and threw one of the fluffy green pillows on the couch at him. “Yes, I cooked. You don’t have to sound so surprised. I made some lasagna and rented a few dvd's. I figured we could do dinner and a movie here.”

She was watching him expectantly, so Trent nodded. A smile spread across her face and his heart turned over a little. He looked away and tucked his hands in his pockets. If something as simple as staying in put that look on her face, he’d gladly do it.
 

Trent sat on the edge of a dainty wing chair. Somewhere in the kitchen there was a soft ding and Mara hopped up.
 

“It's time for me to put the lasagna in the oven. It doesn't take that long to bake. Do you want a beer while we wait?”
 

His gaze followed the sway of her hips as she rushed to the kitchen.
 

“Trent? Hello, earth to Trent.” Mara stood in the doorway to the kitchen, waving her hands back and forth like an air traffic controller.

He looked up, heat flooding his cheeks as he met her gaze. “Huh?”

“A beer. You want one?” She said the words slowly. Great, now she thought he was an idiot.

He gulped and nodded furiously. “Sure. A beer. Right.”

She narrowed her eyes at him before turning into the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight, Trent’s strained smile fell.

It was Matt’s first year in the service and he worried about Mara being alone so much, especially on their birthday. Their parents weren’t keen on traveling from Florida again so soon after the holidays and Mara couldn’t get the vacation time to fly down to them. Trent no longer had a girlfriend so it hadn’t been any imposition to spend a little time with Mara. He’d arranged a perfectly safe birthday dinner in a public restaurant. They’d eat, dance a little and head home, end of story.
 

The plan did
not
include a cozy dinner for two, followed by a movie on the couch with only a remote control as chaperone.

And it definitely didn't include licking her from the top of her head to her pretty little purple-painted toes.

Shit.

“So I hope you don't mind if I finish my exercise routine. The food will be ready in about an hour.” Mara returned from the kitchen and set the beer down on the side table next to Trent. He was perched on the edge of a wing chair looking uncomfortable as hell. His dark blond hair was spiked up at the top like he'd been running his hands through it.
 

“Uh, sure. No problem.” He took a sip of his beer and rubbed his hands together. He was looking everywhere but at her.
 

She picked up the remote control and navigated the DVD to the place she wanted to start. Not that she really
needed
the video. She'd practiced how to tease him all week and fantasized about it for years.
 

Tonight she would finally seduce Trent.

They’d gotten closer than ever since Matt’s deployment. She knew her brother was behind Trent’s sudden interest in keeping her company but she didn’t mind at all. She was a big girl, despite what her brother seemed to think. It was ironic; her overprotective twin was actually
pushing
the object of her interest right in her path. If she had her way, she’d get a lot more for her birthday than a Hallmark card.
 

“Namaste. Let's breathe deeply and reach for the sky.”

Following the instructions of the melodic voice on the DVD, Mara stretched her hands over her head, knowing her tank top would rise and reveal several inches of belly.
 

“Now swan dive; touch the ground.”

Mara bent slowly and touched her fingertips to the polished hardwood. She peeked at Trent from the corner of her eye. He held his beer with a death grip. His sky blue eyes stood out in stark relief against the blush on his cheeks.

“Reach for the sky again. Sun Salutations.”

Mara turned so her profile faced Trent. This way he got the full effect when she bent over. She was a little curvier than what was in fashion, but more than one of her ex-boyfriends had commented that her back view could bring a man to his knees.
 

She bent slowly, keeping her legs straight, her bottom pert as she touched the floor. A strangled sound came from behind her. “You okay Trent?”

He cleared his throat a few times. “Wow. You're, uh … really flexible.”
 

She arched her back a little as she reached toward the ceiling again. “Yeah, well, I do yoga regularly and I also jog a few times a week.”

He made a soft sound that could have been anything from “Working out is great” to “Come take my clothes off.”
 

“Downward Facing Dog. Spread those fingers. Sink your heels to the floor.”

Mara smiled a little as she transitioned into Downward Facing Dog pose. It was one of her favorite positions anyway but it had the added bonus of letting her wiggle her bottom in Trent's face.

“Would you mind spotting me?” She smiled up at him brightly. Hopefully he wouldn’t know enough about yoga to realize that people didn't use spotters.
 

“Sure, what do you need me to do?” He hopped up and stood next to her. She looked up in time to catch him looking at her bottom again.

“I’ve been having some back pain so I think I just need you to steady me as I come back up.”
 

He moved a little closer and tentatively touched her waist. “Here?”
 

She stood up straight and then pulled him behind her. “Right behind me actually. We're about to do more Sun Salutations and I need a little help when I bend.”

Sure enough, the instructor's soothing voice told them to reach for the sky again. Mara stretched her hands up, feeling Trent's fingers clench uncertainly against her skin as she moved. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. “Are you ready?”

He shook his head slowly, as if in a daze. “Not really but go ahead. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself.”

“Now swan dive; touch the ground.”