Exposed by Kaylea Cross

Sawyer’s balls off with a rusty knife while he slept.
    Ethan was his best friend and had been for the past two years, but Sawyer adored both Carmela and their mother too. They’d accepted him as part of their family and that meant the world to him. He wouldn’t let anything jeopardize that, not even his new and not-so-brotherly feelings for Carmela.
    No matter how much he’d fantasized about stripping the woman on his lap and pinning her to the nearest flat surface while he made her writhe and sob in pleasure until she came, calling his name.
    He relaxed his grip on her, made himself let go. Shit, he had to stop this dangerous train of thought, but he didn’t know how. He’d been so careful to hide his growing feelings for her over the past few months. Ever since she’d started giving subtle signals that she was attracted to him when she’d come up to Quantico to visit Ethan in February.
    She’d always teased him a little, a light and borderline flirtation he hadn’t thought much of before, but lately when they talked occasionally on the phone or via e-mail, she’d been less subtle. Her flirting had become more obvious, her tone more suggestive. Again, he hadn’t worried because of the thousand miles between them. He’d always thought she was sexy but he’d ruthlessly squelched those thoughts around her.
    Tonight there was zero distance, and no question that she’d just upped the ante. It was dangerous. It felt like he and Carmela were on a collision course to disaster and he was helpless to stop it from happening.
    Sawyer cleared his throat, glanced away as he forced his body to relax. Nobody else was paying any attention to them except for Schroder, who was grinning at him from over in the corner of the yard while stuffing his face with yet another brownie where he stood with Blackwell and Evers.
    He struggled to think of something safe to say to Carmela. He sensed that if he showed her even a hint of interest, it would be game over. She wouldn’t do anything too overt here in front of her mother and the guys, but he had to be very careful to avoid being alone with her.
    Because God help him, he didn’t think he had the strength to stop her, let alone turn her down if she made a move, consequences or not. He could easily shut her down now and be nice about it, sure, but he just couldn’t do it. Didn’t want to.
    “So Ethan seems to be pretty into Marisol, huh?” he said to change the subject. Throwing his buddy under the bus while he wasn’t here to defend himself might be kinda low, but at least it took the heat off Sawyer’s predicament for the moment.
    Carmela was still way too close. Smelled way too good. “I saw that. I already warned him to keep his hands off. Soli doesn’t play around like that.”
    Sawyer shifted his gaze back to her. “I don’t think he’s aiming to play with her.” He’d seen the way Ethan had looked at Marisol tonight and he’d looked like a man with anything but playing on his mind, which was why he’d handed over the keys to the vehicle. His buddy seemed to have some things to straighten out with her.
    She grinned. “I love it when your accent comes through like that.”
    “I don’t have an accent.” Not anymore.
    “Sure you do. It’s subtle, but it comes out every now and again. Like now, when you said ‘aiming to play with her’. It sounded very Oklahoma.”
    “Well, I guess you can take the boy out of Oklahoma, but you can’t take Oklahoma out of the boy.”
    “Trust me, there’s nothing boyish about you. Except maybe your grin, and when I make you blush,” she added in a near whisper, leaning a little closer.
    It felt like she was challenging him. He should have leaned away but his stubborn streak wouldn’t let him. He didn’t back down. Wouldn’t, even if he knew what would happen if he let things go too far.
    He could feel the heat creeping up the back of his neck as she stared at him. “So, how did your brother take that news about