All In (The Kings of Kroydon Hills, #1)

by Bella Matthews

I look up, meeting his whiskey eyes. They look gold in the warm light of the porch. Would “Oh God. Yes, please,” be a good answer? I somehow doubt it.

There is no mistaking the strained look on Brady’s face. “Oh, Nat. There are so many things I want to show you.” What the actual fuck? Did he just say that?

We’re about to finish our latest turn at beer pong. Nat is standing in front of me, ball in hand. My hands rest on her hips as I help her get in position. There’s no fucking way she doesn’t know what she’s doing when that delicious ass grazes my cock for the millionth time tonight. She turns her head slightly, baby blue eyes looking up at me from underneath those long lashes, and smiles. There’s no way she isn’t doing that shit on purpose.

Bash is right, I need to talk to Cooper. I give up. I give in. Fuck, I want this girl, and not just for a quick lay. I want her to be mine, and I can’t go behind my friend and teammate’s back and not expect it to fuck things up. That’s not how I want this to start.

I put my hand on her calves and start to rub. Her skin is soft and smooth. The sweetest little moan leaves her lips as I dig into her calf muscles.

I love the air after a storm. It’s as if the slate has been wiped clean, and everything looks and smells fresh.

I don’t like being told what to do or what I want.

Same

Bash and I hop over the porch railing and take two steps forward when I see Natalie running up to us through the sand. She launches herself into my arms and starts sobbing uncontrollably. Running my hands over her hair, I lift her face to see her eyes. “Natalie. You’re safe. I’ve got you. Are you okay? What happened?” She buries her face in my shirt, and I lift my head, looking at Bash. His eyes are confused and murderous, mirroring my own emotions. What the hell happened?

Bash walks to where I’m shielding Nat, asking the questions I didn’t get answers to yet. “Nattie. What happened?” “Are you okay?” “You can talk to us.” He has his hands on her back, rubbing softly as she continues to grip my shirt and sob.

“NO! No. Please just have someone take him home. Get him out of here. Please, Brady. Please.” Pulling back slightly so I can see her entire face, I force her to loosen the grip she has on my shirt and take her delicate hands in mine. “Okay, sweetheart. Whatever you need. But then you’ve got to tell us what’s going on.”

Running my fingers over her hair, I try to soothe her. “I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere, and no one will hurt you. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I’ve got you.”

Tiffany is trying to calm him down. I’m surprised when I hear her. “Cooper, stay out here with Murphy and Bash. Try to get it together before you step inside that house and bring your anger anywhere near your sister. Chloe, snap the heck out of it and come inside with me. Let’s see if she needs girls to talk to right now. We have no idea what happened or how traumatized Natalie is.” I may have underestimated this girl.

I feel Brady’s arms tighten slightly around me. It feels like safety.

Tiffany jumps all over that statement. “You should be able to walk on a beach with a guy without having to worry about whether he’s going to hurt you. You didn’t do anything wrong, and screw anybody that tells you differently.”

I shift to stand up, and Brady tightens his hold on me just enough for me to feel it. I lean into him. “Thank you . . . for everything.” He touches his forehead to mine. “Do you want me to come with you?” “No. I’ll be okay.” I gingerly get up and start toward the stairs. I hear Chloe stopping behind me to talk to Brady. “She’ll be right back. Take a deep breath and then calm Cooper down before we get back. I’ve got Nat.”

Brady lowers his voice. “Try to get her to talk to you. We have no idea what happened. I’m worried.” “We’re all worried,” she answers.

Chloe leans in, whispering, “I swear, she’s usually awful. I think an alien has invaded her brain or something.” She winks at me, attempting to lighten the weight of the dark cloud hanging over us right now, but it doesn’t work. I shrug. “She’s been nice tonight.” Then we both gasp as we hear Tiffany. “She can hear you. Let me in.” Luckily, she’s laughing.

I watch Nat walk up the stairs with Chloe behind her. It’s physically hurting me not to follow her and make sure she’s safe.

“You know, something isn’t right when that girl is the voice of reason.” Bash and I just stare at him. Then we hear Tiffany’s voice floating almost musically back down the stairs. “I heard that, Murphy.” No one laughs, but it lightens the air a bit.

She leans into my side like she needs my support. I wonder if she senses how much her touch calms me. Feeling her here, next to me. Reminding me that she’s okay.

I can’t help but feel I let this happen. It was under my roof, and I don’t know how to reconcile that. I’ve always been that guy. The one who takes care of everything. Who takes charge, fixes the problems, and organizes the solutions. Keeps everyone safe.

“Bash, you creepy motherfucker. How do you know what I’m thinking all the damn time, man? And seriously, you’re six-foot fucking six. You’ve got to weigh two hundred and fifty pounds.” Bash laughs. He knows what I’m about to say because we all say it all the time. “How the fuck do you manage to sneak up on all of us? Seriously, man. You need to walk louder or wear a goddamn bell around your neck or something.”

“Little Sinclair,” Bash says, “you don’t have to worry about the cops. Nobody here is getting in trouble. My family is taking care of it.” He crosses the room, pulling me to my feet, and gives me a big bear-hug. Pulling back, he looks in my eyes. “You being alright is the only thing any of us care about right now.”

I actually manage a small laugh. “You’re insane, Murph. You know that, right?” He squeezes my shoulders tighter. “Just remind me not to piss you off. That’s a hell of a right hook you’ve got there, killer.” Eyes roll, and laughs are heard. It’s what the room needed.

I hate what-ifs because they’re questions that have no real answers.

Brady’s body is carved perfection from all the hours spent working out on the field and in the weight room. I mentally tell myself not to drool as I wonder whether “beautiful” is an appropriate term for a man. But beautiful is the only word I can think of right now.

He leans back on the counter and might as well shine a spotlight on the perfectly sculptured V his shorts hang off of. I internally groan while I imagine licking every ridge of his chest. If I lick it, is it mine?

“Hey, Murphy, I didn’t know you liked to cook.” Murphy is busy assembling a giant burrito on his plate. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Little Sinclair.” He winks. “It’s my fallback plan if the pros don’t come knocking. Or maybe after I retire. I want to be the next Gordon Ramsey and get to yell at everyone in my kitchen all the time.”

“You’re blocking the sun, quarterback.” “Your back is getting red, sweetheart. You might wanna flip over.” He runs his cold, wet fingers down my spine, sending a tingle through me.

He leans back on his elbows and tips half his mouth up in a devious smile. Good lord, am I drooling again?

“I may have seen something I liked. But, if I recall correctly, you think you need permission from my brother before you’re willing to do anything about that. Just in case you weren’t aware, Brady, I’m not an object someone needs to ask permission to use. I decide if, and how, I get played with.”

“Shut the fuck up, bro. If you promise never to tell me you’re going to worship my sister again, I won’t beat the piss out of you for even thinking about all the ways you want to worship her. And try not to touch her in front of me.” I sit there waiting for more, but that’s it. He seems to be done.

“What you didn’t see when that happened was the look on your face. You also didn’t see it last night when you took care of her before you even considered yourself. You could have ended your season with that hit last night, QB. You know that, right? Of course, you fucking know that. The consequences could have been fucking catastrophic if you broke your hand while breaking his face, but you didn’t hesitate to protect my sister. There aren’t a whole lot of people I trust.

“People usually try to use me to get to my dad. You, Bash, and Murph aren’t like that. Don’t fucking hurt her. Don’t fuck her over. And don’t ever fucking talk about her in the locker room, and we’re good man.”

She’s wrong. The view I have of her right here and now puts every other view to shame.

GAG

When they call us up to the front, Mrs. Meader is standing behind the register. “Brady Ryan! It’s so good to see you, honey. And who is this beautiful creature you have with you? Did you finally find yourself a girl?” She winks at Nat, who smiles back at her like they’re sharing some great inside joke.

Nat turns to me, still laughing. “You think she could have laid it on any thicker?” “Nope. And I didn’t even pay her. The moral of the story is: Stick with me, and I promise not to lick anyone else.” “You’re terrible.” “Yeah, that was pretty bad.”

I’m staring at the bay and the stars, anything to keep me from watching Nat lick her ice cream cone. It’s torturing me because I might be a good guy, but I’m a filthy man, and I can’t help but think about everything else she can do with that delicious tongue.

She stretches up and lightly kisses my cheek. It takes the will power of a saint for me not to kiss her. Attempting to be the good guy, I stand up and extend my hand. She slides her palm into mine, and I pull her to her feet and walk her down to her bedroom door. “Good night, Natalie.”

Cooper and I lay on the couches all afternoon, watching an Avengers marathon and ordering food through Uber Eats.

Sounds like a good day

“Are you two ready for tomorrow? Need money? Anything?” “Nope. We’re good. Chloe said you use your ID Card to buy lunch, and I checked, you already preloaded our accounts.” Cooper looks at me, confused. “Really? Mine too?” “Yes, Coop. I checked yours too. We’re both good. I printed out your schedule for you too. You’re welcome,” I say exaggeratedly.

The rain stopped late last night, bringing the temp down to a comfortable eighty degrees, but the air still feels heavy and damp.

80 degrees is not comfortable

Nat and Chloe are walking past me when I grab Nattie’s hand. “Did you print out your schedule, pretty girl?” She spins around, her skirt swishing around her shapely thighs, and starts walking backward so she faces me. “I sure did, QB. Why? Are you gonna walk me to my classes? Ask me to go steady?”

She bounces on her toes and claps her hands. “Do I get to wear your letterman jacket?” She’s laughing at me because she has no idea how right those words are. “Oh, so I’m getting Sassy Nattie this morning, huh? And what if I do want to walk you to your class and have you be my girl? Would that be so bad?” “Nope. I don’t think it would be so bad.”

She’s beaming at me in a way that makes me want to be the man responsible for making he...

“Oh, my God! Sebastian!” His head whips up. “I can’t believe you don’t already have someone sitting here. You know Professor Carpenter always makes your lab partner the person sitting next to you on the first day of class! Guess it’s fate!” Sebastian looks like a deer in headlights. He raises his eyebrows so high they’re touching his hairline. Bash has never been much of a talker in school or anywhere else, for that matter. This chick just hit his threshold of interaction for the day in the first thirty seconds.

I guess Tiff doesn’t know Bash is a secret science nerd himself.

Bash sits there, staring at Tiffany as Natalie giggles. “Tiff, seriously, you made her cry.” “Yeah well, it’s better to be the one in control than the one everyone is trying to torture. You’ve known me for years, guys. I’m a control freak. I own that shit. I say what everyone thinks but is too afraid to say, and I’m proud of that. But I’m not a mean girl. I just make sure they fear me. Fear is a form of control, and if they fear me, they won’t hurt the people close to me.

“Besides, you guys might have put the word out to the guys in school that the events of the party last Friday night is a no-go topic, but the girls don’t care what you say and won’t back off just because you said so. Let them see Natalie sitting with me, and no girl will even whisper her name, trust m...

When she turns around, looking slightly frustrated, I pull her in and kiss her forehead. “Don’t let him bother you. If he says anything, you tell me right away. Okay?” She leans her head against my chest. I hold my hands on her hips and inhale her scent, staying like that until the warning bell rings.