Page 31 of Wildflower and Whiskey
“Luc,” I hissed, the second his large frame ducked through the door. Relief hit me like a tidal wave, quickly replaced by a rush of irritation.
He froze, eyes wide like I’d caught him red-handed.
I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorframe, forcing my voice into a playful mocking tone. “Well, well. Look who’s sneaking in like a teenager past curfew. Should I ground you, or just take away your phone?”
Color rose in his cheeks, but he smirked. “Relax. I just left the main house.”
“And what does Pierre think of you staying in his house until all hours of the night?” I asked. Pierre was super protective over Izzy. If Pierre wasn’t around then Eric, Becket, or Asher took that job just as seriously.
“I used the fire escape. I wasn’t risking bumping into any of the Thorne brothers.”
His comment made me laugh as I remembered Pierre ordering all kinds of safety features for the main house after his wife left. It didn’t make sense but it was his way of dealing withthings and was better than developing an addiction. Something inside me eased. “Pierre gave you his blessing to date his daughter. I don’t think he expects you to be celibate. You guys are twenty-one, for goodness’ sake.”
“Elyna, as much as I love you, we aren’t talking about that,” he said stiffening, and it made me laugh some more. Then Luc’s gray eyes zeroed in on me. “Why are you up so late?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I was thinking. . .”
“About Phoenix Thorne,” he said, throwing me off-kilter.
I felt my eyes bulge. “No, obviously not.” I couldn’t hide my defensiveness well.
“Come on, something is going on between you two. Whenever you’re both in the same room everyone can feel the tension.”
My throat tightened, and I forced out a laugh. “Absolutely nothing. We’ve known each other forever. Sometimes people just rub each other the wrong way.”Or the right way,I thought to myself.
Luc didn’t look convinced, but he dropped onto the futon with a shrug. “If you say so. Just don’t let him get under your skin too much, okay?”
“Goodnight, Luc,” I said firmly, steering the conversation closed.
“Night, sis.”
I lingered in the doorway, watching him pull a blanket over himself. Relief from earlier still prickled in my veins, though it left me shaky. For a moment, I imagined it had been someone else climbing those stairs, but I wasn’t going to enlighten my brother on what a screwup Riley was. Not after the realization my mom had been having an affair with his father. That still didn’t sit well with me. Mom was clearly drawn to the wrong kind of man, and maybe I was just like her. My reputation made me feel like that was the truth, but I was trying to change. I wastrying to do better by my son. I decided I would keep Luc in the dark about this whole Riley fiasco. He had enough to worry about with school, hockey, and landing a solid NHL contract. I wasn’t going to burden him with my problems. He was young, in love, and going places, and I couldn’t be happier for him. This storm was mine to bear alone. That is what I had always done in my life and that’s what I would continue to do.
CHAPTER 17
Phoenix
Seven damn days of her moving around me like I was invisible. At the brewery, she kept her eyes fixed on the floor, the tables, the customers. . .anywhere but me. She worked with this sharp, laser focus, smiling when she had to, but never lingering long enough for me to catch her gaze.
Not once, dammit.
And every night when I came home, the loft lights cut through my kitchen window like salt in a wound. I’d see her shadow moving across the blinds, her hair catching in the lamplight, sometimes cradling Braden in her arms, sometimes pacing the room.
She was driving me crazy. Because no matter how much she tried to shut me out, I couldn’t stop watching. Couldn’t stop thinking about the way she’d come undone against me in the stockroom. The way her body had responded like we’d been made to fit. Now she was acting like it never happened. Like I didn’t exist. I told myself to let well enough be. Let her have her space. She had a baby, responsibilities, a whole mess of her own to deal with. But hell, if I could turn off the storm brewing inside me. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her parted lips and heardthe sound of my name in her throat. She’d built walls higher than ever this week, and still I caught myself trying to find the cracks.
Not to mention I was constantly hard. That night after our kiss, I went home so tight I thought I’d burst. I tried to calm down, take the edge off, but it didn’t work. No matter how many times I got myself off to the memory of her breathless moans, the way she clung to me, and the wet heat of her under my hand, it was never enough. Nothing seemed to be. I needed Elyna.
I’d never been this strung out over a woman in my life. Never let anyone crawl under my skin this deep. But she was always there, embedded in every aspect of my life. She practically lived in my house. She worked in my bar. She was always in my head. And my traitorous body wouldn’t let me forget the way she felt. I had an ache that hadn’t let up for seven days straight. I was losing my mind. She wanted to pretend I didn’t exist, but I was there. The way her body reacted to me was off the charts. I knew she must have been feeling the way I did, but she was so damn stubborn. She wasn’t going to give in to her feelings and I knew they were there. The way she went off like a rocket doesn’t happen if there is no chemistry. Her body fit mine like a piece of a missing puzzle. I knew it, but how did I get her to admit it? I had no clue. What I did know was, I needed a break from thinking about Elyna Chabot. So, when Eric texted me about going fishing, I knew it was the perfect thing to distract me from myself.
I headed over to the main house. What I needed was my family right now. Luckily, when I walked in, I found them all congregated in the kitchen snacking.
“Look who finally decided to show up,” Asher said.
“I’ve been busy with work. You know what that is, right?” I asked Asher.
“Don’t be a jerk,” Asher responded.
“Why not? Phoenix likes to be a jerk,” Becket added.
