My Brother’s Girl

by Parker, Ali

  Annie’s second answer rolled in quickly: Tonight. Don’t judge.

  “Did you hear me?” Olivia glanced over at me and smiled. “I’ll go to see Jake, but no blonde jokes. Tell him.”

  I forced a smile. “Right. No blonde jokes.”

  She pressed the gas and the car shot off down the road. “Hold on, baby. It’s about to get bumpy.”

  “Yeah, maybe it is.” I leaned back in my seat and worked through how to tell her without ruining the evening. We both needed it too much, and yet without telling her about Luke, the night would end with an awkward parting instead of me making love to her until she begged me to stop.

  Who was the bigger bastard? My brother? Or me?

  Chapter 28

  Olivia

  “I love this lookout.” I parked the car and looked over at him, trying hard not to let him know how close I was to breaking all the rules. “You wanna go lay on the hood?”

  He laughed and opened his door. “It’s going to be a tight squeeze, but we can do it.”

  I got out of the car and walked to the front before leaning against the car and working on my shoes. The straps were tight, and I almost lost my balance.

  Caden reached out and grabbed me before kneeling in front of me and working the shoes off my feet.

  “Thanks.” I moved up on the car and lay back. “Are we really in our mid-twenties? This scene feels like it belongs to us from years back.”

  Years back in the bed of a big red truck wearing nothing but yellow lingerie and diamond-stud earrings.

  He smiled and got up on the car beside me but didn’t lay back. He turned on his side and propped himself up on his elbow, leaving him to almost hover above me.

  His dark hair and tanned skin were a deadly combination to any woman he turned his sights on.

  “Why aren’t you dating someone?” I moved close to him as the wind blew. It had little to do with the temperature and much more to do with wanting to be close to him.

  “I haven’t found the right girl yet.”

  “No?” I wagged my eyebrows. “Tell me what you’re looking for. I have some single friends.”

  “Yeah, all right.” He reached over and brushed a random strand of hair from my face. “She has to have sandy-blonde hair and big blue eyes.”

  “All right. I know a few of those kinda girls.” I clasped my hands below my breasts and tried to breathe through my mouth so the tantalizing scent of his cologne would stop drowning me in lust.

  “Alabaster skin and a great smile. She has to play piano and sing in the church choir.” He ran the back of his fingers over my cheek. “And she needs to want kids and love sex. I know that last one is going to be hard to find, but I want to have loads of practice in making babies, you know, so we get it right.”

  “Practice in making babies?” I laughed loudly and moved away from him only to turn on my side to mimic him. “You love sex?”

  “Only with the right woman.”

  “Have you had a lot of sex over the years?”

  “I’ve not made love to anyone.”

  “Bullshit.” I sat up and pulled my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them and glancing out at the city lights.

  “I’ve fucked a lot of girls, which I regret tremendously, but being young gives you a pass for being dumb, I guess.” He sat up and moved closer, pressing his shoulder against mine.

  “Have you ever made love?” I hated to ask, but I needed to know what I was. Somewhere trapped inside of me was the notion that our one night together didn’t mean anything to him. The taunting of my peers and people that were supposed to be my friends left me broken. It was stupid to live in the past, and yet I couldn’t push beyond it.

  “Only once. My heart was ripped from my chest the next day.” He shrugged. “And the more I think about it, the more I realize that maybe I got it all wrong.”

  “Got what all wrong?” I leaned my head over and laid it against his thick shoulder as I closed my eyes. There was no strong emotion pulsing through me to stand up and defend myself against whatever he might throw at me regarding our last night together. I’d done nothing wrong but trust him.

  He turned and kissed the top of my head. I listened to his steady breathing before he finally spoke. “Did you tell the cheerleaders that I had a little dick? That I was the worst lay in the world and that I forced myself on top of you?”

  “What?” I jerked back like someone had doused me in ice water. “Why in the fuck would you say that?”

  “Because.” He lifted his hands as I got off the hood and took a few steps back. How dare he turn the tables on me and make it sound like it was my fault our world was destroyed that day?

  “Because that’s what I was told you said. I couldn’t even hold my head up on graduation day. I left here and went to New York to recreate myself. To try and forget how bad it hurt to have a knife slid between my ribs on the morning after I gave myself to you. I was saving myself just for you and then you betrayed me.”

  “What? No, I didn’t. I would never do that to you!” I wrapped my arms around my chest. “The cheer squad said that you told everyone I was a whore. That you were the one that talked to the counselors about your whoring girlfriend and they fucking called my parents. I had to sit in between my mom and my—” My voice broke as a sob took its place. “You ruined me.”

  “No way.” He slid off the car and moved toward me faster than I could back up. “No fucking way I would do that. I would have sat between your parents myself and taken any beating anyone could give to save you. I’d never hurt you. I would have died for you, Olivia. I still would.”

  I couldn’t figure out how to accept his words as truth. “I remember seeing the disgust on your face that next day at school. I’ll never forget the way you looked at me. Like giving myself to you didn’t mean anything other than the fact that you thought I was easy.”

  “Easy? Is that a fucking joke?” He gripped the sides of my face and forced me to look up at him. “I waited years to get into your panties, baby. Years. And every second was well worth the wait. You are the worst whore in the world if that’s the case.”

  I laughed, despite the fear that clouded my mind. I had to get away from him. If he didn’t hurt me, then why weren’t we together?

  Luke. Right.

  “You didn’t tell them those things?” I whispered and slid my hands over his sides to pull him closer to me.

  “Never. You didn’t say that shit about me either?” He leaned down and brushed his nose by mine.

  “Fuck no.” I leaned in farther as his arms wrapped around the tops of my shoulders.

  “I tried to get to you back then, but between your daddy’s shotgun and you ignoring me completely…” Caden trailed off and shook his head. “I was just a kid. I didn’t know how to fight for you then, Olivia. But I do now.”

  “Who could it have been then?” I replayed the events of our first night together. Of the truck parked under the stars and my yellow lace panties and bra. Of the butterflies in my stomach as I waited for Caden to pick me up. Of the knee trembling, embarrassing visit to the corner store where I had to look Rachel Kenny in the eyes when I bought condoms for the occasion. I was a good girl. A safe girl. And-

  “Oh,” I breathed.

  Caden arched a curious eyebrow. “Oh?”

  “Rachel Kenny.”

  “What about her?”

  I laughed as realization donned on me. How could it have taken me so long to see the very obvious answer right in front of my face the whole time?

  “She told everyone about us.” I gripped the front of Caden’s shirt as relief rolled through me. There had been an explanation after all. Dana had been right. Damn her and always being right. “When we stopped at the corner store, I bought a pack of condoms and she was working behind the register. She knew we were going to have sex. She was the only one besides Dana.”

  Caden’s stare darkened. “Seems like a catty thing Rachel would do for kicks.”

  “I
thought it was you that ruined my life.” I pulled back a little.

  “I would never hurt you. Not ever. But Rachel? She’d do it with a smile on her face.” He slid his hands up my back, pressing in softly as he leaned down and brushed his lips by mine. “I love you. I’ve loved you all my life. You know this.”

  I gripped him tighter, letting my body betray my mind. “Your brother doesn’t deserve this.”

  Caden kissed me softly, nothing more than a quick peck and moved back. “Give me the keys and let me get us back to the hotel. We can talk there.”

  “About what?” I grabbed my shoes and handed him the keys before getting back into the car.

  “About Luke.” He buckled up and glanced at me. “I’m so glad you’re not the heartless bitch I believed you to be. I couldn’t imagine how those years meant nothing to you. My whole childhood gone and for what?”

  “I felt the same.” I buckled up and let my shoes drop between my legs. “I’d rather hear whatever you’re going to say about Luke now. I’m tired of being played with. If he’s playing me.”

  “He’s a bastard.” Caden started the car and reached for my hand.

  “I am too most days of the week.” I closed my eyes and sank down into my seat as he kissed my fingers. “I haven’t been fair to him. Sure, he’s a bit all over the road with what he wants, but he’s been good to me, Caden. He’s taken care of me. And he’s helped me make my dream come true. If not for Luke, I never would have ended up at Taylor, Taylor, and Barden. If not for him, I’d never have even had a moment’s peace from thoughts about you. I owe him more than this.”

  “He’s sleeping with Annie, Olivia.” Caden gripped my hand tighter as I came up from my restful position and exploded.

  “What? Are you sure? You’re not just—”

  “Never.” He glanced over at me with a dominant glare. “I wouldn’t lie to you. Fuck that. I might still want you like I did six years ago, but I would never fuck up your life to make mine right. I wouldn’t do that shit to my brother either.”

  It couldn’t be true. Luke would never do that to me. He loved me. He told me every time I saw him how much I meant to him, how much he needed me. I was the one holding back. I was the one not saying those three little words.

  “How do you know?” I tugged my hand free from his. I wasn’t a child. I could handle the truth.

  Caden frowned. “I don’t want to hurt you more than I already have.”

  “Tell me, Caden.”

  “Here.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. “There’s no way I could know and not tell you.”

  I took the phone but didn’t take my eyes off of him. “When did you find out?”

  “Tonight.”

  Chapter 29

  Olivia

  “Un-fucking-believable,” I whispered and handed him the phone back. I wasn’t good enough for the town hero years ago and wasn’t good enough for the town dick now.

  But Annie? Really?

  I knew I couldn’t trust her farther than I could throw her.

  “Olivia.” Caden reached over and squeezed my shoulder as I turned toward the window and pulled my legs into the seat with me.

  “Leave me alone. Please.” I pressed my chin to my arms and watched the darkness make way for the various lights of downtown Houston. Nostalgia rolled over me, and I wanted to see my mother. Maybe staying in the hotel with Caden wasn’t a good idea. I could get a cab to take me over to momma’s or even call her and she would come. “I just need some time to process.”

  “Don’t make me spend the whole drive back to the hotel in silence,” he pouted.

  I sighed. “Talk about something else then.”

  “Done. Guess what I got?” His calm demeanor and soft tone forced me to look over at him.

  I wasn’t willing to cry a single tear for Luke Taylor. Fuck him for using me. I’d be packing up my shit and leaving him and his firm when I got back to New York. And then I was leaving the Big Apple too.

  “What did you get?”

  He glanced over at me. “A bike.”

  “You trying to get healthy?” I didn’t feel at all like talking, but the very fact that he had changed the subject and was trying left me with little to no choice.

  He chuckled. “No, silly. I got a Harley. I’m taking you for a ride out to the prettier parts of New York when we get back.”

  “Maybe.” I turned and watched other cars move by as my heart ached in my chest. “I hate him.”

  “I do too.” He rubbed his hand over my arm. “I didn’t tell you so that we could get back together.”

  “Why did you tell me?” I turned my head a little so I could watch him from the corner of my eye.

  “Because you deserve to know. I would want to know.”

  “Would you?” I unbuckled and got out of the car with my shoes dangling from my finger as soon as we pulled up to the hotel.

  “I would. Trusting the wrong person with your heart can lead to intense amounts of pain.” He followed me into the elevator and stopped in front of me as I pressed my back to the bar behind me and forced myself to look up at him.

  “What do you want from me, Caden? I’m glad we cleared up the past, but I’m not her anymore. I’m not sure who I am.” I shrugged, feeling so incredibly empty all of a sudden. My glass house didn’t sustain the rock that was launched at it. I could feel it shattering around me.

  “I don’t need you to be her. I need you to be you.” The door opened, and he reached out and picked me up, carrying me like a newlywed bride.

  “Put me down.” I sank down into his arms and rested my head on his chest. “Or don’t actually.”

  He kissed the top of my head and stopped outside the door. “How about just for a minute?”

  “Yeah, okay.” I gripped his neck and slid down the front of his body. “Why am I not enough?”

  Anger burned through me as tears filled my eyes.

  “You are so much more than enough, and you know it. That bastard has no clue what he has because you’ve tucked the real you behind the same icy cage that I’ve tucked myself in.” He reached around me and opened the door. “Come in here and we can share a bottle of wine and scream ‘fuck the world’ like we used to when we were kids.”

  I walked in numbly behind him before stopping at the couch and turning over my shoulder to have him watching me.

  “Why do you still love me?”

  “Why do you not love me anymore?” He moved up behind me and reached up, tugging the zipper to my dress down slowly.

  “Caden.” Please don’t make this any harder on me. I can’t bear it.

  I closed my eyes and let out a soft sigh as his finger pushed the soft silk of my dress off my shoulders, letting it hit the floor beneath us.

  “Olivia.” My name on his lips made my blood rush in my ears.

  “Who says I don’t love you anymore?” I turned and reached up to work on his shirt, unbuttoning it as he reached out and brushed his fingers down my stomach and over my hips.

  “You sure you want this?” He pulled me in tight as I pushed his shirt over the thick muscles of his shoulders and leaned in to kiss his tattoo.

  “I can’t remember ever wanting anything more.” I groaned as his hands slid over the curve of my ass and gripped tightly.

  “Jump and let me carry you to the bedroom.” He held on tightly as I did as he asked and wrapped my legs around him. Caden hesitated. “We shouldn’t do this. We’re as bad as Luke if we—”

  “No.” I rolled my hips and ground against his erection. I wanted his slacks off, but it would have to wait. “I wanna fuck you, Caden. He screwed Annie.”

  “It’s not the same with you, Olivia. It can’t be.” He pulled me down for a long kiss that left me dizzy with need. He slipped his hand into my panties and cupped my ass again, only to dive a little lower and brush his finger over my wetness.

  “I just want us to be together. Even if tomorrow ends it.” I moaned and tightened my arms around his ne
ck. “Just tonight at least.”

  “Stop talking like that. We have so much to—”

  “Tonight.” I pressed my lips to his and tightened my thighs around him as he laid me back on the bed.

  I knew this was a mistake. I knew this wasn’t the right way to go about things. I should have taken off my makeup, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and marched my ass right into my own bedroom and locked the door behind me. I should have screamed into my pillow about how much I hated Luke. I should have called Dana.

  I should have done literally anything but this.

  But my body and my soul ached for Caden so desperately and I knew it was the only thing that would make me feel full again.

  “Whatever you want. I’m all yours.” He tugged my panties over my hips and chucked them behind him before dragging his eyes up to mine. “Take your bra off. I wanna touch every part of you, taste every inch.”

  I groaned again and worked on my bra before tossing it aside and lying back.

  His strong hands roamed over my body, squeezing and tugging, gripping and scratching as he moved onto his knees near the bottom of the bed. “I’ve wanted to do this more than I care to ever admit.”

  “Then do it. Do anything you want.”

  “I wanna do whatever you want tonight.” He ran his tongue up the center of me, lapping a few times as the world melted around me. He was the only man I’d ever wanted between my legs. To have him there again stirred up too many emotions.

  “Fuck me,” I whispered and lifted my legs as he worked me far better than anyone I’d been with before. I couldn’t help but glance down at him to see if he was enjoying himself. The soft grunts leaving him combined with the expression of ecstasy on his face as he licked and sucked at my skin drove a spike of carnality through my center.

  “So close,” I whispered and arched my hips.

  “Here, baby. Come for me.” He pressed two fingers deep inside of me and sucked my clit into his mouth as his tongue rolled over it faster and faster.

  I screamed his name as I came up off the bed and gripped the sheets. He wouldn’t stop, and the orgasm turned into two as I shook beneath him.