Read Tender is the Nerd for Free Online

times back when – his thoughts came to a screeching halt.
    “Rylan? What’s wrong?”
    “I remembered your red bikini.”
    “Is that a problem?”
    “No. You were beautiful in it.“ He walked over to the bed and sat next to her.
    She frowned. “Something about it is bothering you, though. You seemed really happy and now . . . you seem upset.”
    “It’s not about the bikini. I loved the way you looked in it. I had to keep jumping back into the surf to disguise my reaction.”
    Her gaze lowered. “That reaction?”
    “Yep. I couldn’t let you or my brother notice.”
    “Oh.” Her frown disappeared. “I think I understand the problem.” She scooted over and patted the spot next to her. “Come cuddle with me.”
    “I want to do more than cuddle.” But he climbed in and gathered her close. “As you can tell.”
    “I can.” She pressed closer so his cock was captured between them. “We’ll take care of that in a minute. But first we need to talk.”
    He gazed into eyes the color of emeralds and far more precious. “I have a whole bunch of memories from those days. I don’t want to wipe them out because they’re good memories, but in all of them you were his girl. That’s the part I want to delete.”
    She rubbed his back. “Sorry. Can’t be done. He’s a permanent part of the program. Always will be. He’s your brother.”
    “I don’t want three people in this bed.”
    “We’ll have to work on that and I have a plan – lots of sex.”
    He laughed, which was probably what she’d been going for. “It’s a good plan.”
    “Glad you like it.” She smiled up at him.
    He should drop the subject, except he couldn’t seem to. Maybe he’d wanted to make love in the dark the first time so certain questions wouldn’t arise. In the light he felt compelled to ask them. “Do you think of him when you look at me?”
    “No.”
    “You can’t imagine how desperately I want to believe that.”
    “Believe it.” She continued to stroke his back. “It helps that you have dark hair and brown eyes and he’s blond.”
    “We have the same nose, though. Everybody says we do.”
    She leaned over and kissed his nose. “I have never looked at your nose and thought of your brother.”
    “But now you might. I shouldn’t have said anything. Digging my own grave, here.”
    “Rylan, trust me, very little about you reminds me of Frazer. Your voices are similar but your phrasing is completely different because your personality is so much more . . .”
    “Out there?”
    “Exactly! Can you picture him having this sort of conversation?”
    “Hell, no. He’d stoically soldier on and hope the topic never came up.”
    “See what I mean? You and I relate on a deeper level. We always have, even when we’re joking around. We get each other.”
    He thought about how quickly she’d figured out he was letting the past mess with his head. She’d also unearthed the reason why he’d been creatively blocked on the app. “I’ll admit that you get me, but I’m not sure I return the favor.”
    “Yes, you do. You knew I’d get a kick out of you sticking the cilantro behind your ears. You were always the one lightening the mood because you understand how much I like to laugh.”
    “Yeah, I guess.”
    “And when we had our discussion in the dining room tonight, you didn’t hesitate once we’d talked it out. Game over. I needed that kind of passionate certainty to break down the barriers between us.”
    “So did I.” Desire surged through him as he remembered the joy of burying his cock deep.
    “I also needed darkness. That was the right call.”
    “And now we have light.” He rolled her to her back and pressed his lips to her forehead. “So I can study every beautiful inch of you from top to bottom.”
    “Sounds like fun.”
    “I’m sure it’ll be fun for me. Because I’m nearsighted, it helps when I’m really close.” He looked into her eyes and she gazed right back. Then he lowered his mouth to