Page 16 of My Brother's Enemy
I let her see the storm inside of me, and after hesitating a second, she skated to stand on the other side. There was no reason to hide my pain. I couldn’t. She’d know what was going on in my life the next time she checked her phone, so what was the point?
Besides, I wanted her. This was more than just a crazy connection. A need to claim her pulsed in me, and I wasn’t second guessing it. I’d felt this way with a few other women, and I’d learned that the sooner I fucked them, the sooner we could all continue with our lives.
Those other women had also been in male-dominated professions, so maybe it was about that type. Strong. Independent. I didn’t know. I just knew that when I got these feelings, the sex was fucking amazing, and with the shitstorm hitting my world right now, I could use an escape. Even if it was momentary and fleeting.
I showed her all of that.
I could see her warring with herself. It was too late to hide her sadness, and she knew it, but she considered it. Her shoulders rose and she pondered, her eyes darting to my hand. But then she looked back to my eyes, and it was like she decided to give in too. Her eyes flashed, lust-filled and yearning.
I leaned in, resting my forehead on the partition beside my hand, and she bit her lip before she fitted her hand against mine. It was a perfect match. Or it would be.
I started for the rink door, and she skated to beat me there.
She was just stepping off the ice when I got to her side. “You okay with this?” I asked.
She’d been looking down to make sure she didn’t fall, and when her head lifted, her eyes were wide. Startled. “With what?”
I stepped into her, my hand cupping the back of her head. She made a squeaking sound.
“This,” I said as I pulled her against me, molding our bodies together. “I want you.” I tilted her head back so she could look all the way up at me, meeting my gaze.
Her hands lifted to my chest. “You want me?” She seemed a little dazed. “I…” She licked her lips, and the slight resistance was gone. She sagged into me. “I shouldn’t.”
Yeah. Fuck that.
I bent down, and my lips touched hers.
12
RAIN
I—what?What?
I shoved Tyler back.What the fuck?
He froze, his hands still on me, but his head and chest bent away. He seemed startled. Then his eyes widened and he jerked back a step. “Wait. You’re not—I thought you were—that this—” He gestured between us. “—was a thing. I got that wrong?”
He hadn’t. My body told me that.
He’d looked at me, and I hadn’t been totally aware of what was going on because I was so locked in on my memories. I’d been skating and flying and feeling everything from the past, and for a moment, seeing Tyler at the glass watching me, I almost thought I was back in high school. That’s when I’d had such a huge crush on him. For a moment, some part of my fantasy had come to life.
He kissed me—an actual real touch. His lips were on mine. My mind had stopped thinking and my body began demanding, but then my brain caught up and reminded me that thiscould nothappen.
“I got it wrong,” he said. “I thought… Shit. Fuck. I thought you were giving me come-hither eyes, and I was all about thecoming and hithering, but now you’re looking at me like I…” He swore under his breath, raking his hands through his hair. He turned away, dug out his phone, and pressed a button. He shoved it back in his pocket, his eyes a little crazed. He turned away from me.
I still didn’t fully understand what was happening, but my body protested. “I…” I went back over the events and what he’d said. “Come-hither eyes?”
“Yes,” he snapped, his body rigid. “You were. But look, I’m not that type of guy. A person can change her mind, and that’s obviously what happened.”
His phone began blaring. Alert after alert poured in. He closed his eyes and cursed savagely. For a moment, it seemed as if the whole world had dropped onto his shoulders. Eventually, he let out a soft exhale and reached for his phone.
I caught his hand but didn’t take it in mine. I kept my fingers wrapped around his wrist. He stilled. I knew he was watching me, but I couldn’t look at him. Whatever this was between us, it was important. Because he wasn’t wrong. I had given him come-hither eyes, because I couldn’t help myself. I was already frayed at the edges, and he’d certainly returned that look.
I shook my head. There was a storm inside of me, but I shut it down. I did what I always did and put the lid on it, making everything go away. “I can’t do this. My job. And even if my job wasn’t a factor, I still couldn’t do this. I’m not good at it.”
“At what?”
“This.” I gestured between us.
