Page 13 of Tarnished Hands

“Do you two plan to talk to each other or just stare at one another?” Lucas asks.

“Piper.” Ezra nods.

I haven’t seen him for two weeks. I don’t have his number, and he doesn’t have mine. Sailor, Keir’s wife, told me I should get it. However, I’m not sure if I want it. I decided I needed to keep my distance from him, whether I wanted to or not.

“It’s Ezra’s birthday,” Tony says. It’s then that I notice he has the same eyes as Ezra, but that seems to be the only resemblance they have.

Before I get lost in my thoughts, I glance away from his brother to Ezra. “Happy birthday,” I tell him.

“Not really,” he replies.

“Why?”

“I hate celebrating.”

“Aww, look, you two are bonding,” Lucas teases.

“Fuck off,” I tell Lucas, who only chuckles before he walks away.

“Who are they? Damn, that man is hot,” one of the girls says loud enough for me to hear. I glare at her, and her cheeks go red. The blonde, on the other hand, is still watching me.

“Well, I hope your birthday gets better,” I tell Ezra before I turn and follow Lucas.

His hand finds mine, and I hate how instantly I know it’s him. The warmth, the possessive grip—my traitorous pulse answers before my head does.

“Stay. Please make this bearable. It was my brother’s idea, and I’m fucking over it.” I almost want to smile at the pain laced in his voice.

I have to fight a smirk. “I need to work.”

“You always have work,” he grumbles before looking behind me. “Joey, can I keep her for the night?”

“Yep,” Joey says and taps him on the shoulder. “Happy Birthday, man. See you next week.” Then he leaves.

I look back at Ezra, who is grinning at me. “Why are you smiling?”

“Because my night just got a whole lot better.” I roll my eyes as he leans in. He doesn’t kiss me, but he gets close enough that he could. “Want to get drunk and let me fuck you in my car?” He wiggles his brows at me. And I can’t help the laugh that bubbles up. I try to cover it with my hand, but he pulls it away. “I’ll take that as a yes. And I plan to hear that sound from you more often, dear.” He winks and pulls me back to where his brother is standing.

What did I just agree to?

And why do I agree so easily with him?

Chapter Eight

EZRA

Her laugh! Fuck, it makes me hard. Who knew I could repeatedly want to hear something so simple from this woman? It’s just like the way she comes. Fuck.

My brother asks her questions, and she gives him short answers. She clutches her vodka like it’s armour. Her fingers wrapped too tightly against the glass. Her shoulders haven’t dropped since she arrived. Standing next to Piper, I can’t take my eyes off her, but she doesn’t look at me. Not fully, but now and again, she flicks her dark eyes to mine, quick and sharp like she feels the weight of it too. We’re three drinks in when I pull her to me, my hand going around her waist, and I lean my chin on her shoulder as Tony tells her about medical school. I swear he could talk under wet cement. I slide my hand to sit just above her jeans and slip my finger inside, running my fingers across her smooth skin, following the goosebumps that arise from my touch.

“So, you two are a thing?” Lydia asks a little too sarcastically for my liking. She’s been quiet with her friends since Piper arrived. I feel Piper tense beneath my hand.

“No,” Piper answers before I can. It’s the truth, but her words blister angrily across my skin.

“Looks like it,” one of Lydia’s friends adds.

“Does it matter to you what we are?” Piper asks Lydia.

“Was curious since, you know, Ezra doesn’t do anything serious and tends to fuck them and leave them.”

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