Falling For The Wrong Twin

Celibate

Gia

I walked barefoot in the sand, hand in my pocket, and for a minute, I paused to watch Mitch and Vivienne.

She was stretched out on a towel, lying on her stomach. Mitch’s head rested comfortably on her ass as he flipped through the pages of a book, wearing those glasses that he always looked extra hot in.

My breathing stalled as I forced my eyes away from them. Out of sight. Out of mind.

“Gia?”

“Yes,” I pressed the phone back to my ear, clearing my throat. “I was distracted for a minute,”

“Minute? More like hours,”

I smiled. “How are you, Dad? Have you been taking your medicine?”

He cut in. “Now, don’t change the topic. We were talking about your boyfriend. Maverick. Does he treat you well?”

“I think”

“You think?”

“Dad, I can’t tell you much right now. Things are complicated but when everything gets sorted out, I promise that I will tell you everything,”

He sighed. “Okay. Since Mitch’s a good man and Maverick is his twin, then I’m sure that you are in good hands”

Maverick and ‘Good’ in the same sentence? Laughable.

Now where the hell was he? The last time we spoke, he’d wanted me to change into one of those bikinis he saw at the airport and had told me he wouldn’t get into the water if I didn’t.

I turned, ready to search for him when my blood froze.

Slowly, all the jealousy that came from seeing Mitch and Vivienne together slowly evaporated and now my sole focus was on Maverick standing next to the barbecue stand and worse, the woman leaning close to him, beaming with a smile that he didn’t return.

Maverick looked uninterested in whatever she was saying, eyes cold and jaw snapped in place but that didn’t stop the woman with the pixie haircut from looking at him with those seductive eyes.

It was in the way she tilted her chin, biting the corner of her lips as if he were a three-course meal that she couldn’t wait to devour.

Now that I thought about it, hadn’t Barbara introduced her as one of the bridesmaids? And the last I checked, she’d introduced Maverick and me to them as a couple.

My head spun, the lingering taste of the margarita in my mouth soured as my eyes narrowed towards her.

She didn’t stop there. She brought a cigarette to her lips, took a long drag before extending it to him.

I could have sworn that he was about to decline—he almost did—until his eyes found mine and a strange light passed through them.

A slow, dark smile stretched the corner of his mouth as he took the cigarette from the almost–disappointed woman, finally deigning to smile at her before shifting his gaze back to me. Holding my eyes, he brought the cigarette to his lips, drawing in a slow, deliberate drag meant to fray on my nerves before he raised the rest to me in a mock toast.

My cheeks burned as I spun back quickly.

What was my problem?

Who the hell cared about Mitch and if he was surrounded by a thousand women on a mission to get in his pants? It was not as if I liked him to care this much about what he did.

But if he had declared that I was exclusive to him, shouldn’t the same rule apply to him? If I had already accepted that I would remain celibate until the vacation was over, or until whatever this thing between us finally ended, shouldn’t he be doing the same?

“Dad. Can I speak to you later at night? I have something important that I need to take care of now,”

“Alright, Princess.”

I slipped my phone into my pocket, whipping my head back to Maverick. This time, she touched his arm, his eyes remaining on mine, teasing and waiting for me to explode.

I had no intention of wearing those micro-bikinis Oona had picked out for me. They were too small, way outside my comfort zone—the kind of bikinis you definitely didn’t wear on a family beach trip with kids running around.

His eyes followed me as I walked past them, and slipped into the house.

I stood in front of the mirror, staring at the black scandalous fabric clinging to my curves like a second skin.

I took one final look in the mirror, loved what stared back at me, and smiled.

Perfect.

Chatters died the moment I stepped out, even the wind paused to take a look. Someone let out a loud gasp and Mitch’s head snapped up, jaw almost dropping to the sand.

Maverick’s eyes raked down my body, undressing me in a way that sent a shiver down my spine.

“Excuse me, señorita, I’m going to need you to handle this,” he handed her the tong, her face twisting with rage.

A smirk played at my lips when I tossed a glance at him over my shoulder and found him trailing behind me.

“Gia, did you wear that to tempt me?”

“Maverick, you really think the world revolves around you. I changed because I was hot, and what I had on before wasn’t exactly beach-appropriate. So get off your high horse and go back to your señorita”

One more step forward as all it took was because before I knew it, his hand had curved bruisingly around the back of my thigh, my feet leaving the sand as he hurled me over his shoulders.

A gasp escaped me, head dangling from his back as he rushed us straight into the water.

“Put me down!”

“Now?”

I glanced around me and noticed that the water had reached his thigh.

“No…No…”

I caught that unmistakable sound of his mischievous smirk—that calm before the fall. One second, I was airborne, the next he sent me crashing into the water. I came up sputtering, wet hair now clinging to my face.

“Maverick, have you lost your—” my words trailed when my gaze slammed into his.

A crazed look passed through his eyes, and there was something about the way he stared at me. Intoxicating and consuming. I had forgotten how to breathe.

I blinked.

Then he was gone.

I glanced around me, wondering where he had disappeared to when his head broke through the surface—startling me.

Before I could find the words, he pressed soft—intimate—kisses low on my stomach, arousal lurching inside me.

“You are beautiful, Gia,” he drawled.

I swallowed, dragging in a long breath.

“I know,”

His mouth tipped into a smile as he slowly tilted his head. “So beautiful that I want to run my tongue from your face, down your throat, and kiss that sweet spot,”

The water does nothing to stop the liquid heat pooling between my thighs as the effect of his words slammed straight into me and knocked the breath out of my lungs.

“Shut up.” I scooped up a handful of water and splashed it in his face before swimming away—from his eyes and the emotions tumbling through me like a wave.

Maverick was right at my tail—a fast swimmer but within seconds, he had already surged up ahead in front of me, blocking my path.

“How many relationships have you been in?”

I gave him a skeptical look. “Why are you interested in my dating life?”

“I need a number. A number of the exact men that I would have to f**k out of your brain—ruin for you—

until your body learns to submit to only me”

Heat had already flooded my cheeks by the time he had finished, lips parted in shock.

I was stunned into silence.

I gathered what was left of my fractured composure. “Unfortunately, you are my first boyfriend. Isn’t it sad?”

“Also, you and I are never having s*x. I’ve decided to become celibate so there’s no me and you,”

He barked out a laugh.

“Celibate around me?” Pride swirled in his eyes.

All of a sudden, his hand closed around my throat, as he yanked me forward. “Even when I kiss you?” His voice had darkened with a soft caress against my cheeks.

He leaned in closer, my heart beating frantically in my chest as his nose tipped against mine.

“Like this?”

“Gia,” Mitch’s voice reached me. “Can we talk now?”

An irate growl rumbled deep in Maverick’s chest, yanking me forward one more time until my breast crushed against the hard planes of his chest.

He slammed his lips on mine, his tongue parting my lips and ravaging the inside of my mouth in a deep possessive kiss that left me breathless.

I ripped my mouth away from his, my chest heaving.

On one hand, Maverick brought his tongue down his bottom lip, slowly swiping it as if he could still taste me

there. On the other hand, Mitch stared at me in a way that made my heart twist.

I paced back and forth in the bathroom, heart pounding in my chest, my lips still burning from that kiss.

The worst part? I liked it. I loved every bit of it.

My mind spiraled. For someone with the plans of going celibate, I shouldn’t enjoy—

My phone pinged on the sink with a text, my gaze snapping to it.

‘Where are the Bikini Pictures? I can’t wait to see them on you, Gia!’

A smile slipped through my face before I sucked in a deep breath, enough to steady my nerves.

Enough about Maverick!

I positioned my phone, set the timer, and adjusted the angles until it was perfect. Amidst posing for the camera, a knock sounded on the door.

“Gia, pizza’s here!” Barbara said.

“Oh—” I grabbed the phone, selected a few pictures, and added a text. ‘Is it just me, or did my ass get fatter?’

“Should I keep yours?”

“Yes,” I lifted my gaze to the door. “I’ll be downstairs soon,”

Then, I hit send.