Page 23 of Pillowtalk

Her flattered grin could not be helped, and it took her way too long to realize she hadn’t even paid attention to the instructions Austin was giving to her.

“You ready?”

“No.”

He laughed and nodded over her head to Aaron. Kennedy blinked in fascination as Aaron’s hands grabbed the opposite grip, the muscles in his arms leaner than his brother’s, yet absolutelybreathtaking.In fact, she was sure her breath was lost forever until Austin lunged her forward.

“Oh!” she squeaked, and Aaron broke his careful expression with a bolting laugh. She gave him a playful, stern look. “I was not prepared!”

“You ready for this one?” Aaron asked this time. Austin’s grip tightened around her fingers, and she braced herself for the force of being pushed back into him.

She nodded once, and Aaron pushed while she and Austin pulled. A giggle slipped out when there was no time to rest, and Austin had her moving forward again. The tree was rough and relentless, but so were the brothers, and she was a Ping-Pong ball in the middle of their game. Her arms grew tired, and she felt an ache begin to rise in her triceps, but the smile remained on her face.

In the corner of her eye, beyond the mass of Austin’s thick arms, Kennedy noticed they had drawn a crowd. There were cheers and hollers, everyone clapping and encouraging them to cut straight down to the bottom. Kennedy wasn’t sure she’d last that long—they still had so much to go—but she sure enjoyed the faith the townspeople had in them. Aaron’s lip stayed curled and she returned the smile, appreciating the sweat soaking his white shirt, the strained muscles in his arms, and the strong, sturdy force behind his forward and backward movements. She ached to stop the sawing for only a moment so she could switch sides and lean into him while he worked. Sure, she wouldn’t have such a beautiful view, but she would feel his hot, labored breathing against her neck, bump into his hard and toned body, and soak in that fresh scent that she’d been craving since that very morning.

“You got it?” Austin asked, and her eyes widened.

“Gotwhat?”

A wicked grin formed on his lips before he completely let go. Kennedy pushed with all her might, but the saw stopped dead center of the tree trunk. Aaron let out a laugh as they both slumped over, admitting defeat. The crowd both cheered and laughed before dispersing to go back to their assignments. Kennedy rested her head on her palm, her elbow digging into the rough bark of the tree. Aaron echoed her stance, staring back at her with a grin. His breathing was rough, labored, hard…matching hers inhale for exhale. Through her exhaustion, Kennedy felt a surge of energy through her chest at the look he gave her.

“Your brother…needs to work on his…warning signals.”

Aaron laughed. “That he does.”

They rested against the log, Kennedy feeling completely worn, but so completely content. With everyone there, with Austin and Sawyer and Aaron…the entire town, really, she felt something she hadn’t felt in over a year. She felt athome.She grinned, closing her eyes and relaxing in a welcome breeze that swept over her. It was undeniable that Jared was there, in some way, too.

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