Page 41 of Lady Sings the Blues

She pushes past us digging around for her keys in her purse. She finds them once we’ve stopped outside her door.

“Your keys should already be out and in your hand.” Chaos doesn’t look happy as he watches her. “Any fucker could catch you off guard. You gonna live in the city, Livvy, you need to remember. To be smart.”

“Wow. Thanks, Dad. Because I haven’t been on my own for years now.”

“I sure as hell ain’t your dad, but I’m more than willing to spank that ass,” says Chaos.

“Brother,” Blood warns. He keeps his hands at his side, calmly walking inside.

“What? I’m just telling it like it is. You show up to the party, expect party favors.”

“Women…” Blood shakes his head, disapproval radiating off him. “We wouldn’t even be here if Boss could remember that pussy tastes the same no matter where you get it.” Clueless. The man is clueless as a mother-fucker.

I can’t help laugh. “Then you ain’t tasted the right pussy yet, brother. I’ll do anything I have to, to keep her with me, safe. I gotta jump through hoops to get there—so be it. It won’t last long. She’ll get it. And when she gets it, we can move on to the parts I’m ready to move on to.”

“You will never find me jumping through hoops for some bitch,” he says. “I’m happy to fuck club pieces until I die or my dick falls off.”

“Careful, Blood,” I warn.

At the same time Liv says, “Nice, Raif.” And stares down her brother through hard, squinted, pissed off eyes.

Carver hasn’t spoken this whole time. Chaos just continues to watch Liv. Damn sure hope he thinks with the head on his neck and not the one on his cock. That’s Blood’s sister. Screwing over a brother for a piece of ass—even if she’s as pretty as Livvy—you just don’t. Period.

She flicks on the light then locks the door behind us after we’ve all filed inside. The place looks right out of the nineteen sixties, the walls are white but with color blocks of brown, orange and green. And the chick seems to have a thing for mushrooms. They’re everywhere. Painted on the walls. Ceramic knick-knacks. A flower vase. A rug.

But her view kills, an entire wall of windows looking out over Lake Michigan.

“There’s beer in the fridge if you want a drink.” She pulls me from my thoughts. “Help yourself to any food. I have a spare bedroom, the sofa and love seat pullout into sleepers. But I’m afraid two of you will have to spoon, or someone ends up on the floor. I’ll get blankets.”

“She’s my sister, so I get a bed,” Blood says.

“Calm your tits, brother,” says Chaos. “I’ll take the floor. Carver’s been quiet this whole time, so we aren’t denying him, and we’re here to stave off Boss’s impending freak-out if he doesn’t bed his lady again soon. Just remember who’s the bigger man here.”

Back from the spare bedroom, Liv drops an armful of blankets and pillows onto the floor in front of the windows.

We stay up drinking beers and stuffing our faces full of nachos Chaos made from fixins he found in her kitchen. I’ve seen that look she’s givin’ him before. It’s the look that says she can’t believe he can cook, that she’s clearly underestimated what the brothers are capable of.

Yes, we like to party and we like to fuck, but we’re more than that. ‘Course, I know from talkin’ with Blood, those ain’t the kind of men she’d’ve ever seen growing up.

About three o’clock in the morning Liv stands, stretches and announces she’s going to bed. Carver and Blood immediately start pulling out sofa beds, Chaos grabs a pillow and blanket, lying it flat over a white shag throw rug nearest the hallway, which leaves me the spare room.

I sit at the edge of the bed, pullin’ off my boots and stripping off my cut, T-shirt and jeans then slide underneath the covers. I wish I could sleep, but dammit, just thinkin’ about fingering Elise earlier this evening has me rock hard and ready. She won’t get away from me again. Hell, the woman will be lucky if I don’t bend her over my bike and fuck her in front of my brothers for putting me through this.

There’s rustling in the next room, then I hear through the thin walls. “Chaos, what are you doing?”

Dammit brother, don’t be stupid.

“I’ll be good, Liv. I just want to hold you tonight.”

“But my brother—he’s right out there.”

“Said I just want to hold you. Promise I won’t try anything.”

“Heard that before. I’m not eighteen anymore, Chaos.”

“Neither am I, Liv. And when it’s just you and me, you call me Gage.”

“Why? It won’t make a difference now just like it didn’t then. I gave you your one night.”

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