Текст книги "Needing Her"

Автор книги: Molly McAdams

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 11 страниц)

Chapter Eight

Maci

“TELL ME MORE,” Amber prompted, and I smiled against the lid of my cup of coffee.

“There’s not a lot more to tell.”

“Come on! I just got done with the worst shift other than the time I had some drunk bitch vomit all over her birthday shoes, and that’s all you’re going to tell me?”

Raising an eyebrow, I pointed a finger at her and whispered so the people near us couldn’t hear. “That’s not fair. You can’t keep holding that night over my head!”

“Just saying! I want to hear more about your crazy hot sex with cop man.”

The old man at the table next to us turned and eyed us for a second before going back to his paper.

“Detective. And you do realize not everyone is as lucky as you and Aaron are. His schedule is all over the place, there are some times he goes in and is home not long after I am, there are some nights where he doesn’t come home from work at all. So, excuse me for not having enough stories for you because I don’t practically live—and work—with my boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend? You just said ‘boyfriend’! That was a detail I missed!”

I sighed and slumped down in my seat. It had been a week since Amber had shown up at my apartment and interrupted Connor and me, and she was enjoying dragging out every piece of information from this past week about as much as I had, experiencing it with him. “No. No you didn’t. Connor and I aren’t . . . anything really. I was talking about you and Aaron.”

She gave me a lazy eye roll, and pushed her empty cup at me. “You aren’t going to do the same thing with Connor that you did with Bryce. You and your whole can-only-stay-friends thing is bullshit.” Amber looked over at the old man looking at us again and held up a hand. “Sorry, excuse my language.”

“I’m not. I’m not making us stay anything. We just aren’t anything. There’s a big difference here.”

“Yeah, I could tell last week. The way he kept looking at you and always touching you like he was making sure you were still there. I was getting turned on and nothing was even happening.”

I checked my phone for the time, and grabbed my purse as I stood up. “That’s one of the more awkward things you’ve said this morning.”

“It’s the truth!”

“Ha. Go home and get some sleep, I need to get to work before my brothers start hunting down random guys.”

“I’ll see you tonight for a repeat of last week!”

I turned and hushed her as I looked around the coffee shop. “Please don’t interrupt us again tonight, I haven’t seen him since Wednesday.”

“I kid. I kid,” she said with a wry smile. “But I want details of your monkey sex tomorrow!”

My face had to be as red as my hair by now. I widened my eyes at her and laughed lamely when she blew me a kiss. “Sometimes I just want to punch you.”

“You love me!”

“I do. Seriously, go get some sleep. You look like the crypt keeper.”

Amber threw her head back when she laughed. “Ah, bitch. I love you too.”

I laughed and ran out the door and to my car. My phone went off right after I’d pulled into my parking spot at work, and I frowned when I saw Connor’s text. He hadn’t been able to come home last night, and didn’t think he would beat me back today.

Which also meant I couldn’t make my day go by faster by talking to him since he would be busy with work.

Seven hours, thirty-six games of Minesweeper, and twenty games of solitaire later . . . and I was now all cozy in my desk chair as I read from my Kindle. But I was distracted. Other than one more text from Connor saying he was hoping to be able to leave soon, I hadn’t talked to him today, and I had a feeling that once he got home he was going to crash. I hated and loved that I was this anxious and worried about not seeing him, when I’d seen him two nights before.

Bryce and I would go a week without talking, and I wouldn’t give it a second thought. A week and a half with Connor, and I felt like I was falling deeper every day. I craved him. Craved his touch, his kisses . . . just craved being near him. Part of me was worried he’d see how much I cared, and I’d scare him away . . . the rest of me loved the rush of feelings and emotions I had, just thinking about him, that I’d never experienced with Bryce.

“What’s this?”

I almost tipped my chair backward when I flung my legs off the desk and reached wildly for the Kindle that had just been ripped out of my hands. “Give it back, Kota!”

“And his throbbing member—”

“Ew! You know it doesn’t say that. Give it back, asshole.”

He tossed my Kindle on my desk and sat down next to it. “What’s up, brat?”

I reached forward for my e-reader, but he slapped my hands away. “Ugh, what do you want?”

“What? I can’t check on my favorite sister?” he said with a charming grin.

“I’m your only sister, fucker. And, no, you can’t. You only ever come up here to piss me off somehow.”

“Not true, and I’m offended,” he grabbed at his chest dramatically. “I’m being nice and you’re just wanting to hurt me.”

“What do you want, Dakota?” I repeated as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“I need to know if you took care of the setup for the new clients we got this week.”

“Yes, I finished it as soon as Craig gave me the information, and the security officers have been informed of the new places.”

“See? Favorite sister.”

“Why are you really in here?”

He leaned forward, his hands gripping the edge of the desk as his expression got serious. “I want Amber’s number.”

“Um, no. Definitely not. She has a boyfriend, and I told you both no already!”

“I just want her number, I didn’t say I was going to try anything with her.”

My eyebrows rose up, and I laughed humorlessly. “You honestly think I believe you right now?”

“Hell no, but you can’t blame me for trying.”

Jumping off the desk, he grabbed my Kindle and began walking away. “Put. The Kindle. Down.” When he didn’t stop walking, I spoke louder. “Don’t make me use the ‘daddy’ card.”

Dakota froze and hung his head before he turned around. “Bitch,” he hissed under his breath as he roughly tossed it back on my desk.

“Aww, and here I thought I was your favorite.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you’re a bitch.”

“I learned from you.”

He huffed and turned back around. “Tell Amber I’m looking forward to Mammoth with her in a little over a week.”

“I’ll be sure to tell her you have syphilis.”

Dakota shuddered and looked back at me. “That’s just cruel.”

“It’s up to you, try something with her and I’ll make up a massive list of STDs that you miraculously and suddenly got overnight.”

“You don’t play nice.”

I shrugged and inspected my Kindle to make sure he hadn’t damaged it. “Neither do you.”

Sam came up behind him and shoved him into the wall, pinning him there. “We’re closing up, Mace. You can go home if you’re done with everything.”

“I am. I’ll see you Monday.” I grabbed my purse, yelled an “I love you” to my dad so I wouldn’t have to pass Dakota, and made my way outside.

Once I was home, I tried reading again, but I couldn’t even remember the main character’s name, so I did something else to pass the time.

I cleaned.

I know, I was that desperate for time to speed up.

A couple hours in, I’d thoroughly deep cleaned my apartment and was rearranging Christmas decorations when my phone chimed.

“Freaking hell. Finally!” I yelled at my phone as I raced to get it off the counter.

Connor G: I’m about to leave. I want you in my bed and waiting for me when I get home.

My face broke out into a ridiculous smile, and I hurried to hop in the shower so I could clean up before going to his place.

Connor

GRIPPING MACI’S HIPS, I gritted my teeth and tried to hold off until she was ready. Judging by the sounds she was making, she was close, but watching her ride me was making it almost impossible to keep myself from coming first.

I forced my right hand to release her hip, and brought it in between us to tease her clit.

“Oh, shit!” she cried out and threw her head back.

Her movements became frantic until she started shuddering, and her body bowed over mine as she tried to continue moving at the same pace. But the force of her orgasm had sent me into my own, and my hands gripped her soft skin to stop her movements as I finished pumping into her.

Maci’s forehead was resting on my chest, her shoulders and back rising and falling from her erratic breathing. Placing a soft kiss on my chest, she turned her head so her cheek was resting against me, and I ran one hand through her vibrant red hair as I wrapped my other arm around her.

“Come here,” I commanded gently and pulled her up to me so I could kiss her lips, which were still swollen from the rough sex we’d had earlier.

There was still a line from where I’d bitten down a little too rough on her bottom lip, and I ran my thumb over it. She quickly bit down on the tip of my thumb and grinned.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” I tried to assure her.

“You didn’t,” she said with a smile. “I didn’t even feel it. I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t noticed the blood.” Her face fell and she brought a hand up to cup my face. “Connor, I swear, it didn’t hurt. To be honest, it was really hot.”

But I’d made her bleed. I fucking hated that. All I’d been able to think about in those first few seconds of seeing the blood on her lip was what if next time, it wasn’t during rough sex? I opened my mouth to respond, when loud banging came from my door.

Maci and I both froze, and her eyes got massive when we heard the voices.

“Get out here, you pussy! Let’s go get a beer!”

She was off me and scrambling to find her clothes so fast that she stumbled into my dresser, and hissed a string of curses as she started to dress. I’d just grabbed a pair of jeans and was stepping into them when the banging got louder and they started up again.

“We’re busting down your door if you’re not out here in ten seconds! Ten, nine . . .”

I grabbed Maci’s face, and kissed her hard. If they found out tonight, so be it. But I would really rather it not happen this way. Not when their little sister looked like we’d just had a night like we had. The lamp was broken on my bedroom floor; her shirt—that she’d given up trying to put on before grabbing one of my own—would never be able to be worn again; the handle of my bedroom door had put a dent in the wall; the comforter and sheets were on the floor; and the headboard to my bed wasn’t even up against the wall anymore.

“. . . six, five . . .”

“Don’t let them back here,” she pleaded and walked toward my closet.

“. . . four, three . . .”

I finished buttoning up my pants, shut my bedroom door, and tried to stay silent as I ran to the door.

“. . . two, one! You asked for it, Green! We’re coming in!”

I swung open the door and saw Dylan, backed up, his leg raised in the air like he’d been getting ready to kick down my door.

“What the hell is wrong with you two?” I hissed, and stood in the doorway.

“What took you so long?” Dakota asked and pushed past me, quickly followed by Dylan. “It’s Friday, let’s go out.”

“Uh . . .”

“Man, you look like shit,” Dylan said on a laugh and dropped onto my couch.

The same couch that just earlier, I’d started literally tearing Maci’s clothes off her.

“What’s wrong with you? Not going to say anything?”

I tore my eyes from the couch and looked at Dakota. “I’m exhausted. I went in Thursday morning and didn’t get back until a few minutes ago.” Or a couple hours. “I had just started falling asleep when you came beating on my door.”

“Ah, shit man, I’m sorry,” Dakota said with a sympathetic look before throwing his arms out. “Sorry you turned into such a bitch. Get ready, we’re going out.”

“Why are you breathing so hard?” Dylan asked suddenly, and I had to force my body not to stiffen.

“I woke up to you bastards yelling and hitting my door. I thought someone was breaking in and I was going to have to shoot someone. So I have a shit ton of adrenaline coursing through my body right now.”

“Boo-fucking-hoo. Are you coming out with us or not?”

“Not. Dakota, I told you, I’m fucking exhausted.” At least that was true. “I’ll go out with you tomorrow night.”

“Fine, fine. But get some damn sleep, because I’m holding you to that.” He stood and Dylan followed. “Maybe Maci wants to go out with us, I’d bet she brings Amber with her.”

Oh shit.

“Oh fuck yeah, let’s go talk to her.”

“She’s not there,” I said suddenly and tried to school my expression when they turned back around.

“What do you mean? Her car’s in her spot,” Dylan walked toward the front door, and I thought of anything that would make sense right now without me looking suspicious.

“Yeah, she was getting in Amber’s car when I got home. From the way they were dressed, they’re probably not hitting the bars around here tonight.”

“Fuck, if she comes back with a guy, you better fucking call us.”

I just nodded and walked toward my door.

“I’m serious.”

“I hear you, Dylan. If I hear a guy in her apartment, I’ll let you know.”

“All right, see you tomorrow. Seven sound good?”

I nodded and pounded my fist against Dakota’s. “Yeah, see you both then.”

Dylan punched my arm as he walked out my door. “Get some sleep so you’re not such a pussy tomorrow.”

“Well, if you’d leave, I would!”

As soon as the door was shut, I locked it and went over to the window to watch Dakota’s truck. Once they took off out of the parking lot, I practically ran back to my bedroom and flung open the closet door.

Maci launched herself at me, and crushed her mouth to mine.

“Please tell me Amber won’t be at the bar tonight,” I begged against her lips.

“No, no. She got called into the hospital before you even got home.”

“Thank God,” I breathed and kissed her again, stopping when I finally noticed her body. “Why are you shaking, sweetheart?”

“I just—I thought—I . . . fuck,” she cried, and her head hit my bare chest as a sob tore from her throat.

“Maci, no . . . don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” Holding her close, I walked us over to my askew bed, and sat down with her in my lap.

“I thought they were going to find out. They can’t find out,” she said between strained sobs. “They’ll make us stop seeing each other.”

“No they won’t.” I didn’t even believe what I was saying.

“Yes they will, you know they will. You heard them just then, they wanted you to tell them if I brought someone home tonight. You’ve seen how they always act.”

“It’s not their decision if I see you or not. Just because that prick you were seeing would have listened to them doesn’t mean I will.”

“They’ll make you stop, Connor!”

I shook my head and grabbed her chin, waiting for her to look up at me. “There’s always a choice, Maci. They can tell me to stop, but like I said, that doesn’t mean I will.”

Her gray eyes stared at me as more tears fell down her face, and I brushed my thumb against her cheeks with the hand that wasn’t holding her to me. I hated seeing her cry, but something deep inside me was happy that she would get this upset over us not being together.

I turned and laid her down in my bed, and brushed my lips across her cheek as a lone tear slipped down. Bringing my hands to the pants she was wearing, I pulled them off her, and let them fall to the floor. Sliding my hands up her waist, and underneath my shirt, I unclasped her bra, and worked at getting it off through the shirt before leaving it on the floor as well. I kissed her gently and took my time looking at her like this in my bed. Nothing but my shirt and her underwear. Fucking perfect.

Walking over to my dresser, I took off my jeans and pulled on a pair of loose sweats before grabbing my comforter and crawling onto the bed. Once we were both covered, I turned her body so she was facing me, and pulled her close.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to start crying.”

“Don’t be.” Pressing my lips to her forehead, I held her body tight as the last of her shaking stopped. “Go to sleep, sweetheart.”

I was exhausted from being up for so long, and from a case Sanders and I had just finished—and was physically exhausted from the hours with Maci before her brothers had shown up. Sleep came quick, but the last thought on my mind was how I understood her completely. I was terrified of losing Maci, but I knew that regardless of her brothers, I someday would.

Chapter Nine

Connor

WAKING UP TO Maci in my arms was rapidly becoming one of my favorite things. The hard exterior she always wore from being raised in a house with only brothers was gone. Other than the few times I’d seen her cry, this was the only time when her guard was completely down, and I loved seeing her like this. But every morning I woke with her was a blaring reminder that I was one more morning closer to losing her.

My body was sticky from having been covered in a thin sheen of sweat when I’d woken thirty minutes ago, and like I was every morning, I was thankful I didn’t act out my nightmares. Maci would always still be asleep in my arms when I jolted awake, and only tried to move closer to me when my frantic breathing changed the quiet and calm air between us. But after making sure she hadn’t been hurt, I always crawled out of the bed and away from her to try to calm myself from the too-real scenarios my dreams played out.

Pushing her wild hair from her face, I grimaced and my heart rate sped up as I was assaulted with images from the latest nightmare. My hands around Maci’s throat. Her hands clawing at my arm as she struggled to breathe. Her face bruised, and blood dripping rapidly from her hairline. Her arms covered in varying stages of bruising.

I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and moved my hand away from her to cover my face as I pushed away the dream. I kept reminding myself over and over that she was fine, that I hadn’t touched her . . . but it didn’t take away the fear that one day it could be real.

I can’t do this to her. I can’t do this.

But I’m not ready to let her go.

Opening my eyes, I stared at her unmarked skin and took deep breaths in—letting her sweet scent wash over me as I looked over every exposed part of her body and reminded myself that she was fine. That I hadn’t hurt her.

When my breathing had returned to normal, I glanced at the clock behind Maci and stifled a sigh. Brushing my knuckles against her cheek, I leaned in and kissed the corner of her lips gently. A soft whimper sounded in the back of her throat, and she curled her body closer to mine as she dug her head into my shoulder.

“Wake up, sweetheart,” I whispered into her ear.

“Mmm, nu uh.”

Laughing softly, I kissed a trail down her jaw, and then up to her mouth. “I have to leave.”

She’d been leaning into my kiss, but jerked back when I spoke. “Where are you going? I thought you were off.”

“I am, but it’s Saturday. I need to go see my sister.”

Maci nodded in acknowledgment and studied me for a few moments before asking, “How is Amy?”

“She’s fine,” I said automatically.

“You don’t talk about her much.”

“There isn’t much to say.”

Another minute went by before Maci pulled from my arms and started to get off the bed.

“Where are you going?”

She looked over her shoulder at me as she grabbed her pants from the floor and pulled them on. “You said you have to leave, so I’m going.”

“I don’t need to go yet, I planned on spending some time with you first.”

“It’s not a big deal, really. Have fun with my brothers tonight.”

I sat up and pushed the comforter off me. “What the hell, Maci, what’s wrong? What changed from last night to this morning?” Last night she’d cried because she was afraid her brothers would make us stop seeing each other, and now she wouldn’t even stay with me? My stomach churned when I realized I might have done something to her in my sleep, and that’s why she was rushing to get away. “Maci,” I said again when she reached my bedroom door, my voice ragged as lifelong fears clawed at my chest.

She stopped and held the handle of my door, like she was going to shut it behind her, for a few seconds before finally looking back at me. “I don’t believe you.”

My brows pinched together in confusion. “Wait, what? About what?”

“Your sister. That there’s nothing to say . . . I don’t believe it.”

I let my face go into the expression I wore during interviews and interrogations, and hoped like hell she hadn’t noticed how I’d just gone still.

“You’re extremely protective of her. So much that I think I’ve only seen her twice in my life? And you pushed her into another room one time, the second toward her car. Have my brothers even met her?”

“What difference does it make?”

“You wouldn’t be that protective of her if there was nothing to say. You told me this week you see her every Saturday unless you’re at work. So all that says to me right now, is you’re lying. You’re keeping something from me.”

“Maci, don’t start this—”

She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. But it wasn’t a defensive stance, it looked like she was curling in on herself. “No, Connor, don’t tell me what to do or not to do. You didn’t like that I kept waiting for you to hurt me, that I acted like I didn’t care about you. Why is it okay for you to get frustrated when I lie because I’m shielding myself from being hurt by you, but it’s not okay for me to get upset when you lie to me?”

“I won’t hurt you.” My body felt hot and cold at once as I remembered making her bleed last night, and the nightmare I’d just repressed came flooding back.

“You keep saying that. I know. But you’re keeping something from me.”

Shaking the disturbing images from my head, I flung my arms out to the side, and tried to remember what we were talking about. “I don’t understand why you’re getting this worked up over my sister.”

“Don’t say it like that. You know why I’m upset. You freeze up whenever anyone mentions her, and you did it with me just now. If you want me to keep being open and honest with you, you need to be honest with me. I know you’re hiding something, Connor.”

“No, you think—”

“Save it. Have a good day.”

“Maci!”

She didn’t respond, and I didn’t go after her. Because she was right . . . I just couldn’t tell her. Sharing my past with Cassidy—and people who could benefit from my story—was one thing. Telling Maci was another. She’d had no idea that Amy and I were even adopted. And if I told her about my past, I’d have to tell her about my fears of the future. I wasn’t ready for that. I wasn’t ready to lose her.

Once I heard both our doors open and shut, I slowly got out of the bed and went about straightening it up before picking up the broken pieces of my lamp. I tried to stop the thought that by keeping Maci in the dark . . . and keeping her . . . I’d actually just lost her.

Letting our night together flood my mind instead, I took a shower, dressed, and headed over to Amy’s to spend time with her and my nephew.

AMY HAD SPENT most of the last two hours watching me carefully, and I’d hated that she was doing it. I knew what she was doing. She was about to go all mom mode on me, and she’d see right through my bullshit.

With a sigh, I sat up with Ben in my arms and focused on her. “Just say it. Let’s get it over with.”

Her lips pulled up on one side in a sympathetic smile. “What happened between you and Maci? You were so happy when I saw you last week.”

Knowing it was pointless to lie, I told her about this morning, and waited for five agonizing minutes as she studied me.

“You still haven’t told her about us?”

“Still?” I asked, a little confused. “I don’t know what you mean by ‘still.’ We’ve only been seeing each other for a week and a half.”

“You told Cassidy and you weren’t even seeing her,” she said, accusation coating her voice.

“Cassidy was different and you know that. She had a past worse than ours, she understood.”

“But you weren’t in love with her.”

I sat there, waiting for her to correct herself . . . or maybe for myself to realize I’d heard her wrong. But the way her eyes speared me, I knew I’d heard her correctly. “I’m sorry . . . but I’m not in love with Maci either.”

“Maybe not yet, but she’s different for you. You can’t deny that.”

Ben started squirming in my arms, so I let him go to crawl around the floor between us. “It doesn’t matter if she is or not, nothing can come of it and you know it.”

“Why not, Connor? What is so wrong with marrying Maci Price? You’re fearless, her brothers can’t scare you that bad.”

I looked at her, horrified. “I can’t marry her.”

“You would have married Cassidy.”

“She would have understood, Amy! She would have understood everything!” I tried to calm down as I waited for her to respond. But she just sat there shaking her head at me. “What?”

“Kevin didn’t have our past: was it wrong for me to marry him? Was it wrong for me to have Ben?”

“Amy”—I sighed and ran my hands through my hair—“you don’t have problems with your anger like I do.”

“You don’t have a problem with your anger. You’re afraid of getting angry, period. There’s a difference. You can’t always be afraid to turn into him, Connor. We don’t have his genes, who knows what either of our biological fathers were like? Mom sold herself so she could get coke. What you should have been afraid of all this time was developing a drug problem, because our fathers probably had one too. The man you’re afraid of turning into just took his anger with our mother out on us. You need to get that through your mind.”

I sat there staring at the floor and chewing on the inside of my cheek, trying to stop myself from saying what I so badly wanted to. But, in the end, it still came out. “When we were adopted, you were terrified of new men. Anytime you saw a man that was older, you would start shaking. It took you years of being asked out by guys at school before you finally said yes, and then you came home crying because you were afraid he would turn out just. Like. Him. Until Kevin came along, the only man you ever trusted was Dad. I have nightmares of me being the one to beat my future family. I never once judged you or said a word; I was just there for you. So don’t start judging me because of this.”

“I just want you to be happy. Cassidy may have understood better than most, but you have to know that you wouldn’t have done anything to her or your future family with her if it had ever even gone that route. But all you can see, or think about, with her is that she would understand. You’re not letting yourself realize that even you understood that you wouldn’t hurt her. You won’t hurt anyone, Connor.”

I looked up and instantly felt like shit when I saw her crying. “Fuck, Amy, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I just—I don’t know. I shouldn’t have said that, though.”

“I’ve seen how much Maci has changed you, and I saw how happy you were last week. I know you won’t turn into him. But if you won’t let yourself have that, then don’t lead Maci on with the pretense that something will happen between you two. I can see it, you may not realize it yet—maybe because you just don’t want to—but you love her. She’s going to see it too, so don’t do this to her. Don’t break her heart when you know that you can’t give her what she’s going to want.”

I knew what she was saying, and knew I needed to listen to her. My head started to nod, but shook instead. “I can’t stay away from her. I tried, but Cassidy didn’t even consume me the way Maci does. It’s like, now that I’ve finally pulled my head out of my ass, I’m trying to make up for all the time I’ve already lost with her. I can’t get enough of her, and I hate when I’m not near her. I hate that she’s mad at me right now, and it’s killing me because I know I still won’t tell her when I go home.”

“You have to tell her.”

“Amy, I just told you—”

“Tell her, or stop wasting her time. I know you’ve tried to protect me since Mom and Dad adopted us, and I appreciate what you did. But, I love you too much to let you ruin yourself and Maci like this.”

I just sat there, not knowing what to say after that. If only it was as simple as she made it seem.

Maci

TURNING AROUND TO face Amber, I blew out a deep breath and asked, “Okay, I look hot, right?”

“For the tenth time, yes, you do! I still don’t know why you’re trying to make him drool over you when you left his bed just this morning, but whatever.”

Amber wouldn’t understand what had happened between Connor and me this morning. It would seem stupid on my part, but she hadn’t seen the way Connor had hidden and protected his sister for as long as I’d known him. She was a huge part of his life, and I didn’t know what it was, but whatever it was he was keeping from everyone had everything to do with her.

Turning back toward the bar that I knew my brothers were at with Connor, I squared my shoulders and said, “Just want to make sure I drive him crazy tonight.”

“Mission accomplished. I’m betting he won’t last the entire time we’re here before he makes a move toward you.”

I smiled to myself. I was betting the same damn thing. I was wearing my dark skinny jeans with ridiculously high heels I’d borrowed from Amber, but the shirt . . . well, we’d gone on a hunt for it today. What little fabric there was, was a bright green color that connected in a knot low on the small of my back, and with a gold chain around my neck. The front was cut so low that I couldn’t wear a bra—not like I needed one anyway. It’d cost a stupid amount of money since all it covered was my boobs and stomach, but I was hoping it’d be worth it.

I’d spotted them sitting at a table with a pitcher of beer among them as soon as we walked in, and like he could sense I was there, he turned and his eyes went wide when he saw me. I watched as he took me in, and loved when his blue eyes met mine again. They were dark with want. Good.

Walking past their table, I paused when Dakota called my name, and tried not to smile. “Amber, please remember to stay away from my brothers tonight.”

“But they’re so—”

“You’re dating Aaron!” I hissed before turning around to walk toward their table. “Can I help you?” I asked lazily and eyed Dakota before punching Dylan’s arm when I caught him checking out Amber.

“The fuck are you wearing?” Dakota asked.

“Um . . . clothes?”

“You need to put more on,” Dylan added, and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair.

“I’m not putting your jacket on, I look fine. Was there something else you needed?”

Dakota pinched my arm, and I smacked his hand as I jumped away from him. “We’ll be watching you, Maci.”