something else entirely had she not been my sister in a former life. “Thought you had plans tonight.”
She brushed past me as I reached for a t-shirt, pulling it over my head in an attempt to make myself decent.
“I called it off,” she said, her face equal parts exhilarated and frightened.
“Called what off?”
Everly’s breath rushed and blonde wisps fell into her eyes. I leaned over and brushed them out of her face before my arm fell on hers, pulling her into me.
“You need to calm down,” I said, cupping her face as she stared up. “Have a seat.”
I led her to the foot of my disheveled bed.
“I called off my engagement,” she said. “I was engaged for all of two or three hours, and then I called it off. You were right, Gray. My future is mine. No one else’s.”
Her phone went off in her bag, startling her for a second before she fished around and whipped it out. Her eyes rolled as she silenced it. I caught a glimpse of it just long enough to catch the caller ID that read “Holden Banks”.
I scratched my head. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone. Didn’t mention it the other night.”
“I didn’t want to bother you with my problems,” she said. “You’re already dealing with your own.”
I rested my hand on her thigh. “I’m always here for you. Don’t ever question that. You can talk to me about anything. Just like you used to.”
She smiled and leaned her head against my solid shoulder. Our scents mixed together: cheap hotel soap, leather, gardenia, and new car scent. It was funny how our lives had taken completely different turns and yet we were still able to find each other again.
I slipped my arm behind her as we sat in silence. She’d talk when she was good and ready, that much I knew. As a young girl, she’d rattle my ear off all night long, telling me all about her troubles. Well, the kinds of troubles a twelve-year-old girl could have. Most of the time she’d cry about how mean the girls were to her at school, saying she smelled or that her hair was greasy. Since I was a little bit older than her, I’d gone through it already. My skin was thicker than hers, and as I got bigger, I was able to clock anyone who dare tried to make fun of me. I’d have clocked those girls who hurt Everly too if I wasn’t against hitting members of the opposite sex. Unlike my father, I never allowed myself to cross that line.
“You look pretty tonight,” I said, trying to break the silence. I didn’t know much about women, but I knew they liked to be told when they looked nice.
She laughed and shrugged her shoulders as she nudged me. “All the better to please you.”
Her fingers searched her thick, blonde hair until they retrieved a few bobby pins, letting the rest of her hair down. It spilled like a silky gold river down her shoulders and framed her pretty face. If I squinted hard enough, I could still see the sweet-faced little Everly I’d once protected like a shepherd and his lamb. But looking at her straight on, she was all woman. And damn if she wasn’t sexy as fuck.
My dick hardened in my pants, and I forced my mind to think of anything but the beautiful lady sitting next to me with her breasts damn near spilling out of her dress and her long hair that would be perfect for grabbing if she were riding my cock.
She’s like your fucking sister. She’s not some biker bitch. Don’t think like that.
I never did meet a girl worth settling down for. My whole life Big Nash had driven ideas into our heads that women were only good for fucking and keeping you warm at night and maybe cooking a hot meal if we were lucky. He’d warn us never to fall in love. It was just the same as placing our most powerful weapon into the hands of someone who could turn on you in an instant if they wanted. That or they’d die on you when you least expected. That was Big Nash’s experience anyway, and due to his obsession with the matter, it’d been handed down to us through stories and