by Lily White
Every step through the mall to the parking lot is weighted with nervousness and fear.
I can’t believe I’m doing this, can’t believe I’ll be lying to everybody around me just because I want everything to be okay.
It has to be okay, right?
Despite everything, this entire situation has to turn out the way I want it in the end, or else my life really will be worth nothing more than a repetitive routine, day after day, trapped in a loveless marriage.
I can’t stop thinking about Damon and Ezra as I make my way to my car. I can’t stop seeing their cuts and bruises. Can’t stop feeling the heat of Ezra’s skin from when I’d run my lips over those marks, willing them to heal faster.
But beneath all of that is a vein of rage for what put those bruises there in the first place. It’s like flash fire tearing through me, the flames reaching high to lick at my thoughts.
After the engagement party, and after seeing the way they both reacted to the reminder of their father, I’ve slipped one piece into the puzzle of what was done to them.
Seeing red as I pull into a gated neighborhood that’s right next to mine, I grimace.
The houses are just as large and ostentatious as the ones in my subdivision, a show of wealth that makes the owners feel that much more important and powerful.
I hate being in this place, hate pulling into this driveway, hate walking up to this particular door. But I do it anyway, hating the reason why.
Exhaling loudly, I lift my arm and ring the doorbell before looking up into the security camera.
A butler answers the door and leads me into a sitting room off to the side of the foyer.
I take a seat on a wingback chair and fold my hands demurely in my lap. I don’t miss the flash of light on my engagement ring, that little flicker causing my stomach to roll again as I close my eyes, take a breath, and open them again.
It was dumb of me to sit down in the first place, especially when I push to my feet as soon as William Cross walks into the room, his dark eyes looking me over with interest and curiosity.
William’s a tall man, his shoulders just as broad as his sons’. But while the twins are carved in all the right places, the years have only packed weight onto their father.
He appears soft compared to them. But I don’t let that fool me into believing he’s anything less than a monster.
It also surprises me to see William’s face cut up and bruised. Somebody recently fought with this man, the evidence of it reminding me what Ezra and Damon looked like coming back from those horrible weekends.
I’m not upset to see William beat to shit. He deserves it. But I fight against what I want to do to him after remembering the marks always left on the twins because of him.
Forcing a fake smile on my face, I take a breath and play the game.
“What a pleasant surprise to see you, Emily.”
Reaching out, he takes my hand and pulls it to his lips to kiss the top. Nausea rolls through me at the contact.
A slimy smile stretches his lips as he lets my hand go and meets my stare.
“Why don’t we have a seat? I have to admit I’m extremely interested to find out why you’re here today. I’ve been waiting on pins and needles ever since you called.”
Ezra
Arriving at a small diner close to the city, I pull into a parking spot and turn off the car. Both Damon and I sit back in our seats and stare at the large plate glass windows in front.
Stars glimmer overhead because I never have the doors or top on the ‘77 Jeep CJ7 Shane and Priest restored for me several years ago.
There’s a chill in the air, but that’s not what’s causing goose bumps to run over my skin or my muscles to be tight over my shoulders.
No. Those goose bumps and that tension belong to a certain redhead I know is waiting in the diner to eat dinner with both of us.
Damon is more excited than anything, his head turning my way as a grin stretches his lips.
“Any particular reason she demanded to meet us in public?”
Yes.
I demanded it.
Not that I’ll tell him that.
“She’s probably worried you’ll attempt to sidestep the friends only thing.”
More like I’m worried.
He scoffs.
“Whatever. I’ll take her however I can have her. Come on.”
Except I know my brother when it comes to Emily. He won’t be able to help himself when it comes to touching her. Not that I can blame him. The three of us spent a lot of time doing things we shouldn’t, even after promising it would be just once.
It’s hard as hell to let those memories go.
Damon jumps out his side of the Jeep, and I jump out after him, both of us with a ground-eating stride that is in perfect step as we approach the front doors.
We’ve spent a lifetime making people believe we’re exactly alike, so it’s common for us to move the same way and walk the same speed when we’re together.
As far as most of the world knows, we’re mirror images. It’s only the Inferno...and Emily...who can tell us apart, even from a distance.
Once inside, Damon and I both look around for Em, and when he takes off quickly to his right, I assume he found her.
The bastard almost knocks over a waitress on his way to Emily’s table, his head shaking as he says something to her and steps back.
She smiles, the expression nervous as her eyes cut my direction and she stands up from the booth.
Damon immediately wraps his arms around her and lifts her up, making a show about it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him spin her around, but thank fuck there’s not enough room for that.
Emily laughs as she braces her hands on his shoulders, her body sliding against his as he sets her down on her feet.
My jaw tics to watch the display of affection, especially since she won’t be getting the same from me.
I refuse to think that nagging pulse inside me is jealousy from watching anybody else touch her.
Fuck.
This was a bad idea.
It’s almost as if she can hear my thoughts from across the room. Her smile falls as soon as she looks my direction again, her pissed off scowl doing things to my body it shouldn’t.
Biting the inside of my cheek to keep from growling, I walk their direction and take a seat on the opposite side of the booth from Emily and Damon.
Turquoise eyes lock to mine, annoyance flickering across her face when I don’t react to the obvious anger she flashed at me earlier.
Do I feel bad for making her do this?
Hell no.
Should I?
Probably.
“So I have a favor to ask you two.” Her eyes flick to me. “In the interest of friendship, of course.”
I roll my eyes at the snap in her voice, and Damon plants a finger against her chin to turn her face to him.
“What are you willing to give us for it?”
And there he goes. Not even five minutes near her and Damon’s already pushing boundaries.
Thankfully, Emily is quick to offer Damon something he won’t be able to refuse.
“A chance to help prank Gabriel.”
Not as good as sex, but definitely something we both will jump on.
We’re tight as a group.
Like brothers.
Which means we’re always screwing with each other.
“I’m down,” Damon says, laughter already on his voice. “What’s going on?”
Emily grins. She knows how we all are and most likely had no doubts we’d be all over it.
“I have to call Ivy at nine. After that we’ll meet her at Bishop Park to help her bag and tag Gabe.”
Her eyes flick to me again, that adorable as fuck smile she keeps giving Damon disappearing as soon as her eyes meet mine. She looks back at Damon, and I shake my head.
So this is how it’s going to be?
Fine.
I deserve it.
I’ll also make he
r pay for it. If for no other reason than my amusement.
Nothing turns me on more than Emily being rebellious and stubborn. Except for maybe when she’s pissed off.
“We’ll need a way to transport him,” she says, flicking a quick glance at me again.
Damon runs a hand through his hair and looks my direction.
“We could use Priest’s van.”
My brows lift at that, and I settle against my seat.
“Give Shane a call and let him know. He and Priest are at a bike show, but I’m sure he has a set of spare keys laying around.”
“Thanks for this. I knew I could count on you two.”
Damon leans toward Em and cups her face with his hands, his forehead pressing against hers as he traps her eyes with his predatory gaze.
A low growl sounds in my throat before I can stop it. If the fucker attempts to kiss her, I might launch myself across this table.
I wouldn’t permanently hurt my brother, but I’m not opposed to smacking him upside the head fifty to a hundred times.
But only because what he’s doing breaks the friend rule, I tell myself. Not because I’m feeling so damn possessive right now I want to lick every inch of Emily’s skin to stake my claim.
“Anything for you,” he says to her, but leaves it at that before letting her go as a waitress approaches the table.
After giving her our orders, Damon leaves the table to call Shane, and I glare across at Em, my jaw tight and my voice a rough warning.
“It would be nice if you’d stop leading him on so much. Why not just throw yourself in his lap? It would save us a lot of time.”
Her gaze narrows and jaw drops. I grin at the way the skin crinkles between her eyes, pure fire behind that stare.
I won’t even try to lie and claim it’s easy to stay on my side of the table and not reach across to drag her to me.
“You can fuck off with that. You’re the one who wanted this, not me. I’m not leading anybody on. We’re just being friends. And maybe you should take some fucking notes by watching Damon so you can learn how to be a decent guy for once instead of being such an arrogant ass all the time.”
My brows shoot up at that, but I gain control of my expression and smirk. It only pisses her off more.
“Same tricks, killer. Seducing guys for the fucking fun of it. Apparently we’re not only in your head still, you want us buried deep inside your body as well.”
Her angry eyes flare, and fuck if it doesn’t make me want to force her jaw open so I can kiss her in a way that reminds her exactly who she belongs to.
Slamming her forearms against the table, she leans toward me, her lips a thin line and her shirt falling lower so I’m getting a nice view of her tits.
When my eyes drop down and back up again, the corner of her mouth quirks. “Like what you see?”
“Actually, yeah.”
“Then take a good, long look, Ezra. Because that’s all you’ll be doing since I’ll never let you touch me again.”
I lean forward to mirror her posture, our faces only inches away.
“That’s a nice lie you’re telling yourself. It’s a shame I don’t believe it.”
She leans closer to me.
“That’s a nice fantasy you have, but you might want to wake up and realize I’m not yours to boss around anymore.”
Fuck!
This isn’t working.
How the hell did we go from quiet and cordial to being at each other’s throats within two seconds of being alone?
This is what we do to each other. I draw out her fire, and she drives me so far up a wall that I want to tear the damn room apart just to keep from touching her.
“I never bossed you around.”
She laughs, the sound anything but funny. “You sure as hell tried.”
And she wouldn’t let me every time I tried. Which is one of the reasons she’s perfect. And also one of the reasons she’s a giant pain in the ass.
“Everything okay?”
Perfectly in sync, Emily and I turn our heads to look over at Damon, and then sit back in our seats to act casual.
“Everything’s fine,” she says.
“Yep. Great,” I add.
Damon glances between us. “You sure? Because that looked like one hell of a heated discussion.”
Emily smiles when Damon slides into the booth beside her.
“We’re sure. We were just talking about the past.”
A grin stretches his lips, his eyes locking on her with way too much interest behind them.
“Oh yeah? What about the past?”
After flicking a look at me, Emily answers.
“I was just reminding Ezra that he’s an arrogant ass.”
Damon’s brows shoot up, but he laughs it off.
“Can’t argue there.”
“Yeah,” I interrupt, drawing both their attention my way.
“And I was just reminding Emily of how she’s a giant pain in the ass.”
Turquoise eyes lock on mine.
“You never said that.”
“I didn’t?” Rubbing a thumb across my lip, I grin. “Weird. I must have just thought it.”
We go silent, our stare a clash of swords across the table. Her scowl deepens when I smirk.
“Okay,” Damon says cautiously, his eyes dancing between us again, “well, Shane said the van is all ours. We just need to stop by his place to grab the keys.”
I force my stare away from a redheaded nightmare sitting across the table.
“Perfect. We’ll take the Jeep after we finish eating and grab the van.”
“I can follow in my car,” Em suggests.
“You’ll go with us,” I say, not bothering to look at her.
“I’ll do whatever the hell I want.”
My eyes slide to her then, every muscle in my body tight.
I’m about one snapped word away from dragging her across the table and shutting her up with my cock or my tongue.
She must recognize the look on my face because heat paints her pale cheeks a rosy pink, her full lips softening and her eyes so damn liquid that I’m staring at a bottomless sea.
“Just go with us, Red. We can bring you back to your car when we’re done.”
At what point did my hothead for a brother become the voice of fucking reason? It’s pissing me off.
Emily is the one to break our stare this time, her lips curling into a sweet smile when she turns to Damon.
“Fine.”
Oh, sure.
Argue with me, but then listen to him.
This friendship is bullshit.
The food arrives, and even eating becomes a silent war between Em and me.
I bite into my burger like I’m biting her ass, and she snaps her front teeth down on her fries like she used to do to my thumb every time I pulled that rebellious mouth open to take what I wanted.
The entire twenty minutes are spent with me staring her the fuck down and her casting me little pissed off glances before she turns those blue-green eyes back to Damon looking like a freaking angel.
I’m not sure I’ll survive six weeks of this crap, and I realize ground rules will need to be set between us before it gets out of hand.
In truth, I can’t figure out why I’m so mad. All I know is the longer I’m around her, the angrier I get.
Maybe I’m mad at myself for thinking we could do this. Or I’m mad at Damon for needing her as much I do. Or maybe I’m fucking pissed she walked away from me while breaking promises, and because of that, I can’t bring myself to forgive her.
Whatever the reason, or the combination of all of them, I’m a beast pacing his cage, my eyes set on Emily with every intention to attack. And the only thing that’s stopping me is my brother.
Emily checks her phone when we’re finished eating.
“Crap. It’s getting late. We should go.”
Damon pays the bill, and the three of us head into the parking lot.
It doesn’t escape my notice that
Emily stays next to Damon the entire time, her red hair falling forward to shield her face from me.
When we reach the Jeep, she makes a few failed attempts to climb up before Damon laughs and grips her waist to lift her.
My fingers curl tightly into my palm when his hungry stare locks to her ass as she moves into the backseat.
I feel like a fucking caveman every time he looks at her, and my first instinct is to beat him down, then point at Emily and growl Mine!
But I can’t do that.
We’re only friends.
And this entire arrangement is a shitshow.
Clenching my jaw, I climb into the driver’s seat and attempt to ignore their easy friendship, my foot a little too heavy on the gas as we pull out of the lot and onto the road.
Nobody says a word as we drive to Shane’s house to grab the spare keys and then to Priest’s shop to grab the van.
Every so often, I catch myself glancing up into the rearview mirror to see her holding onto the roll bar with one hand while trying to tame her windblown hair with the other.
It looks like red flames flickering around her head, a small smile tugging at her lips as her eyes stare up at the stars above our heads.
Instantly, my thoughts go back to that bonfire. To her dancing. To a promise she broke so quickly it made my head spin.
And then I’m angry again because she turned down what should have been.
Damon helps Emily down from the Jeep when we reach Priest’s shop, but before we leave, she calls Ivy and puts it on speaker. My ears almost bleed from the high-pitched voice on the other end of the line.
“Hi, Daddy!”
Emily snorts and lets Ivy continue while Damon and I glance at each other in disbelief.
By the time Ivy starts talking about clowns and balloon animals, I’m biting my cheek not to laugh, only because I can imagine what Gabe’s face must look like to hear this shit.
Emily ends the call and we all laugh as we’re climbing into the van to head to the park. Damon offers to let Em have the front seat while he takes the back.
It sucks for me because it means I have to fight that much harder to keep from reaching over to touch her.
She’s like a drug, this woman. One I want to rub up against because she somehow soothes all the rage inside me.
We reach the park and step out of the van to wait for Ivy’s car.