Making the Grade by Marie Harte

knowing grins and nods from Freddy going from him to Faith, he skirted his sister and joined Faith when she left for the kitchen.
    “Okay, I give up. What’s with all the weird looks?” he asked once he had her to himself.
    She jumped at his first word, then turned from the sink clutching her chest. “Don’t do that.”
    “Talk?”
    “Sneak up on me,” she snapped.
    So fiery, his Faith. “Well?”
    She glanced around and, seeing them alone, pulled him closer.
    “This is nice,” he began with a broad grin. But she stopped him with a hand to his chest.
    “Your sister runs a sex club?” she whispered.
    He groaned. “This isn’t going to be a problem for you, is it?” Despite her open attitude and down-to-earth nature, for all he knew, Faith might be a prude when it came to alternative lifestyles.
    “No. But I’m fascinated. Why didn’t you say anything about it before?”
    The sparkle in her eyes attracted him. Hot damn. She was curious, not dismayed.
    “What should I have said? ‘Thanks for taking a chance on me, Faith. And oh, by the way, my sister runs a sex club. Want to go at it while other people watch? Have an orgy? Play with whips and chains?’”
    She flushed.
    “Do you?” he asked, stunned.
    “No.” But she answered too hastily. “The sex talk is way too fast for us anyway. We’re taking this slowly, remember?”
    Bummer. “Yeah.”
    She paused. “Have you ever been there?”
    “Only to oversee finances or consult. I’m a silent partner. The running and success of the place is all Freddy.” He chuckled. “My sister, the mistress of kink.”
    She shook her head. “She looks so innocent.”
    “I know. Suckers them in every time.” He lingered over Faith’s features, taken by the slight sprinkle of freckles over the bridge of her nose that he hadn’t noticed before. So faint, but this close, he could see them. “You don’t mind, do you?”
    She swallowed audibly. “Mind?”
    Brian moved closer. Caging her between him and the sink. “About the club. I could get you a tour sometime if you like.” Anything to get closer to her. Man, he had it bad.
    She looked at his mouth. “I-I’ll think about it.” Then she ducked under him and joined the others back in the living room.
    Brian took a moment to will his body to relax before rejoining the group and found Faith bragging about how she’d beaten him at bowling.
    Freddy smirked. “Brian always was a sore loser. How did he take it?”
    “I am not,” he disagreed. “If I remember correctly, you’re the one who used to cry a river when you lost at anything. She cheats to win, you know,” he said to her partners.
    Dylan smirked. “We know.”
    “I do not.” Freddy frowned, but she smiled at Harper when he whispered something in her ear.
    Derrick snickered. “Well, Dylan’s just as bad. He can’t stand always losing to me.”
    Sydney nodded, sitting in his lap. “It’s true. Derrick’s the Warren twin that never loses.”
    Brian noted Faith’s smugness directed his way. “Well, I’m ready to go double or nothing. Freddy, get the game.”
    His sister groaned.
    “What?” Faith asked.
    “He’s a pain in the ass about Cranium. It’s a thinking game, and it’s kind of fun. But it’s only for four. We’ll have to team up.”
    Faith rubbed her hands together. “Fine. I’ve played this once or twice before. Bet you, Brian, that I beat you.”
    Hailey looked back and forth between them, then at her fiancé. “Stakes?”
    Sitting next to her, Gage kissed her on the cheek. “We’ll call ’em at home.” He wiggled his brows, and the others laughed.
    Brian shrugged, feigning indifference. “I’m game.”
    Faith frowned, then nodded. “Fine. Me too. Winner calls the bet. After the game.”
    He smiled. Time to get his groove on.  
     
     
    Faith didn’t understand how, but he’d beaten her. Badly. She was a smart woman, could draw, sculpt and usually spell pretty well. But she’d been so distracted by the thought