The Better Brother

by Rye Hart

  “How do you know about Penny?” I asked stiffly.

  “Her name was brought up to me when I came back into the club to pay for my tab,” Neil said, and I could hear the frown in his voice. “I went back to the booth, but the curtains were closed. That’s when the security guard told me that you were talking in private with a woman named Penny Marshall.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. The security details in there don’t even know her name.”

  “Well, this security guard seemed to know her name,” Neil said. “It doesn’t matter though, Gabriel. I’m your best friend. Do you think I’m honestly going to say something to you about it?”

  “You’re the one bringing it up,” I muttered tersely. Silence stretched on the other end. “I’m sorry, Neil. I’m just nervous with this clusterfuck of a lawsuit going on around me. I don’t know who I can trust anymore these days.”

  “You can trust me,” Neil said firmly. “Whatever you do in your personal life is your business. I don’t want to know any details of it, but you’re right about one thing, though. You need to be careful about who you trust these days. That sort of thing could destroy your reputation in the public eye.”

  I returned my gaze to the city full of people below my feet. The public eye had become very important to my career the moment I had gained the government’s trust. Scandalous reports about any impropriety with Penny going public could destroy my credibility.

  CHAPTER TEN – PENNY

  “I can’t figure out what is going on with my dad.”

  My cinnamon spiced latte suddenly curdled in the pit of my stomach when I looked over at Alyssa sitting across from me. Her eyes were focused on the steady stream of people outside of the small coffee shop, and a concerned frown tugged at her lips.

  Shame flooded me when I looked down at my drink. I didn’t know what to say, either, besides for the truth; the awful truth that would shatter our friendship. I couldn’t tell Alyssa, even if I wanted to. Things with my mother back in New York were strained enough. I didn’t want to risk losing the only good thing I had in my life at the moment.

  I curled my fingers around the hot ceramic mug. “What do you think is going on?”

  “I’m not sure,” Alyssa said, tapping a finger against her lips. “It’s something, though. It’s like he’s distracted over an issue that he can’t work out.”

  “He’s under a lot of stress with his job,” I pointed out because that seemed plausible. “Plus, you’ve got things going on with your mom and the lawsuit.”

  “It’s not his job. I know when he’s stressed from his job because he won’t ever leave the office. He won’t take phone calls, either. He goes ghost on everybody—including me.”

  “I’m sure whatever it is, he’ll work it out,” I said. I hoped, at least. I didn’t know what to think about what kept happening between us anymore, or why I felt the irresistible urge to kiss him. This was my best friend’s dad, and yet, I couldn’t look past the fact that he made me feel so many wonderful things with just one simple kiss and touch. I wasn’t a virgin by any standards, but it had been a very long time since I felt something so amazing.

  Maybe the forbidden nature of being with Gabriel drew me in more than anything else. The temptation of it. I sighed inwardly at that. It sounded like a cheesy romance novel that you picked up at the airport. But I felt a wild thrill rush through me every time I thought about kissing him again, or letting his hand slip back between my legs to caress me.

  Alyssa twisted around in her chair to look at me. “I hope so. Listen, I have to tell you something that I haven’t told my dad yet.”

  “What is it?” I asked, sipping at my coffee.

  “You know how my dad is about me dating guys. He hates it. He tells me all the time to wait for someone to sweep me off my feet.”

  I arched my eyebrows at her, not sure where this conversation was going. The last time I checked, Alyssa had been too busy with final exams and assignments to go on dates with the classmates at our school. Not that any of the men there were really Alyssa’s type. They were all frat boys who liked to party and bang as many college girls as they could get.

  “You’ve mentioned that before,” I said. “So?” “There’s a guy here in Chicago that I used to go to high school with.” A smile spread across her face then. “We’ve been talking for a few months back and forth about hanging out while I was home. He goes to college here.”

  “What is his name?” I asked curiously.

  “His name is Scott Myers,” she said. “He’s a really good guy, Penny. He actually texted me on our way here to see if he could come join us for coffee, if you’re okay with that. I can’t really tell my dad because you know how he gets protective over me.”

  “Right,” I said and watched as Alyssa pulled out her phone to text him. “How about I leave so that you and he can have some time alone?”

  Alyssa looked up from her phone. “I didn’t mean that you had to leave, Penny. Please don’t think that was what I was implying.”

  I waved her concerns away while I gathered my purse and sweater from the back of my chair.

  “Don’t fret,” I said, smiling down at her. “Enjoy your coffee date. I don’t want to be the third wheel here, so we can hang out later.”

  “Are you sure?” Alyssa asked.

  I slid back into my thick sweater. “Of course. I didn’t expect you to give up all your plans because of me tagging along.”

  “Thank you. You’re an awesome friend, Penny.”

  I forced a smile on my face as Alyssa quickly resumed her attention to her phone. If I was such a great friend, I wouldn’t have let myself get carried away with Gabriel.

  I stood huddled against the cold on the curbside, waiting for a taxi cab to pull over. Once inside the warm car, I rattled off the address to Gabriel’s condo, even if a part of me said it was a bad idea to go back. That meant having to face Gabriel alone for a few uninterrupted hours. The temptation of it startled me as I dug through my purse to pull out my vibrating phone. I glanced down at the screen with an inward sigh.

  “What, Mom?”

  Nothing. Just breathing. Heavy breathing for that matter.

  My fingers clutched the side of my phone before I quickly ended the phone call. Just a random butt dial. That’s what it was. I didn’t want to think of the alternative explanation, which had been happening quite a bit over the past few months. The late-night phone calls, paired with the random ones throughout the day. My mother insisted that there had to be something wrong with her phone because the phone calls weren’t coming from her.

  I had another idea of what it was, but I didn’t want to go there. I didn’t want to think about any of it right now. I rested my head against the passenger window to cool my feverish skin down.

  The taxi cab parked in front of the condo building. I handed him a few twenty-dollar bills before exiting the cab to head in through the lobby. The security detail there didn’t even question me as I breezed by them. They knew my face by now. I took the elevator up to the very top floor and let myself in with the spare key that Alyssa had given me. The condo was bright from the late morning light. It was quiet while I slipped out of my sweater to head into the kitchen to make more coffee.

  It was the sight of Gabriel standing in nothing but a towel near the kitchen sink with a glass of water in hand that stopped me short. I found my eyes taking in the strong muscles of his back where water trailed down the bumps of his spine before disappearing into the towel wrapped tightly about his trim waist. He turned to look back at me in surprise, which only revealed his well-defined torso even more. Water clung to the faint patch of chest hair that trailed teasingly down past his navel to disappear below the towel there, too.

  I swallowed thickly when my eyes focused on that part of him. I still could remember how hard and big he had felt through his pants. Sex with Gabriel Bradley would undoubtedly be the best sex of my life. My entire body thrummed with the temptation of it.

  “I’m so
rry,” I forced out, tearing my eyes away as Gabriel set his glass of water down on the kitchen island. “I didn’t think you were here.”

  “I didn’t think you were going to be back so soon,” he said. “Where’s Alyssa?”

  “Having coffee with a high school friend.”

  My heart continued to beat erratically as Gabriel padded across the kitchen slowly in my direction. He stopped directly in front of me. The smell of fresh soap clung to his skin, and it took all my control to not reach out to touch him.

  “Friend, huh?” He arched an eyebrow at me. “That’s code for her meeting someone she doesn’t want me to know about. Will she be a while?”

  Standing so close to Gabriel, a very naked and still somewhat wet Gabriel of all things was only adding fuel to the fire sparking in my lower belly. The core of me throbbed for his touch, no matter how hard I tried to tell myself to back away, to remember that Alyssa would be devastated if anything happened.

  “Probably,” I managed to say. “An hour. Maybe two.”

  Gabriel’s eyes darkened as he reached forward to cup my face. “Thank God. I know this is wrong, but I can’t get you of my damn head.”

  Blood roared in my veins. I stared up into his moody eyes that were alive with passion and lust. I wanted this. I wanted him before I burst from the inside out.

  “I can’t get you out of mine, either,” I confessed with a whisper. “I just want you to kiss me again.”

  “With pleasure.”

  The corner of his lips quirked up briefly before his lips crushed against mine in a searing kiss that instantly melted me. Strong arms wound their way around my waist as he drew me closer to pull me flush against his naked body. I swept my hands over his hot skin, feeling every inch of him with a soft sigh.

  His hands slid along my back to cup my ass cheeks firmly before lifting me up to wrap my legs around his waist. Our tongues collided together as he moved beneath me in the direction of his room. The door shut behind us a second later, and the unique smell of Gabriel washed over me—a mixture of masculinity and cologne. I inhaled sharply through my nose as he deposited me on the bed and tugged my long-sleeved shirt up. He helped me squirm my way out of every inch of my clothing. Then he paused to nibble and suck at my breasts with heated moans. It wasn’t until I laid completely exposed, with Gabriel crouched lithely at the end of the bed, that I realized that it was going to happen.

  Nerves crashed over me. I smoothed a hand through his dark locks of hair, unsure if I should pull back. My body was already wound up tightly with a deep-seated need. The first touch of his tongue against the core of me dashed all of that away. I flopped down onto the comfortable mattress while his tongue and fingers worked me until I was thrashing underneath him in release.

  Gabriel chuckled when he caught the glossy look on my face. He scooted my twitching body across the bed so that our legs could properly tangle. A shudder went up my spine as he slid easily between my bent knees. I took a moment to gaze down at his well-equipped package that was currently nudging me. I sucked in a deep breath when his sharp hips rolled back before pushing himself into me in one thrust.

  My head fell back into the pillow while we both let out throaty moans. His hands gripped the blankets next to my head as he forced his body to go still, to savor the feeling like I wanted. To feel the thick and throbbing heat inside of me was exquisite. It nearly brought me over the edge again, but then Gabriel moved fluidly against me to set a deep and hard pace. I clutched at his shoulders to ride out the overwhelming pleasure that tore at every inch of my body. A tingling sensation filled the tips of my toes. I could dimly hear Gabriel muttering incoherently against the side of my neck as passion blinded him, too.

  His fingers dug into the back of my thigh as he pinned me down to the mattress to thrust jaggedly into me. My peak fell over me in a tingling cloud of heat that left me gasping for breath while my body trembled violently. I felt Gabriel’s cock, buried deep inside of me, twitch a few times before he collapsed against me with a sated groan.

  We laid there in a sweaty and tangled mess for a long time. I didn’t want to move, not yet at least. I wanted to bask in the afterglow before the harsh reality came settling back in. I had just fucked my best friend’s father, and it sounded so horrible to say it, but I enjoyed every damn second of it.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN - GABRIEL

  Penny avoided me like the plague the following afternoon. Neither one of us wanted to look at each other, but I didn’t regret having sex with her, either. The sensation of entering Penny for the first time had been the most breathtaking experience in my life. She had been tight and wet and willing. She’d pulled me in and locked her legs around my waist as I’d thrusted, coaxing every drop of fluid from my body. But my experience with Penny had been on a whole different level, to the point that the other women I’d been with couldn’t even be judged using the same scale as Penny. My time with her had left me feeling completely satisfied and relieved. Still, I could see it coming with dire consequences if anyone found out. There was no way this would end well. It didn’t take a genius to figure that out. I spent my entire life predicting other people’s behavior, but when it came to trying to understand my own actions, I was at an utter loss for what to do.

  Maybe it would be a good idea to convince Penny to head back to New York City while I still could. It was becoming clear that I couldn’t be alone with her at all. Which meant I needed to stay holed up in my office for the next week until I figured out a proper way to deal with it.

  I took a cold shower after spending the entire night tossing and turning, haunted by images of Penny’s head rolling back in pleasure and how those perky breasts of hers had bounced in time with my thrusts. It was too much for any hot-blooded man to resist. I could only try to put it far from my mind by giving myself release quickly in the shower before facing Penny again.

  When I emerged from my bedroom, I was surprised to only find Alyssa sitting at the kitchen island with a cup of coffee in one hand while her other hand was busy texting away. Swallowing my disappointment, I entered the kitchen to glance over at my daughter who immediately turned her phone off when she caught sight of me.

  “That doesn’t look suspicious,” I said, rolling my eyes. “What are you doing up so early?”

  Alyssa shrugged her shoulders. “I just thought I could finish up the last of my Christmas shopping at the mall today.”

  “With Penny?”

  “I offered to take her, but she isn’t a shopping type of girl. She said just wanted to stay in here to study.”

  I poured myself a cup of coffee while Alyssa fidgeted on the bar stool. She glanced over at her phone when it buzzed on the counter top. It occurred to me then that she wasn’t going to the mall to just shop on her own. I remembered yesterday Penny mentioning that Alyssa had gone to meet an old high school friend.

  “So,” I said calmly. “Who’s the old high school friend you are going to go see at the mall today?”

  The color drained from Alyssa’s face. She sighed in resignation when I gave her a pointed look while sipping at my coffee.

  “His name is Scott,” she said. “He was one grade above me in high school, so he’s a sophomore here in Chicago.”

  I thinned my lips because no matter how much of an adult I knew Alyssa was, I still didn’t like the idea of my daughter dating while in college. I wanted her to concentrate on her studies and not get distracted. Even if I couldn’t keep her away from the opposite gender completely, I could discourage it.

  “You know how I feel about you dating while you’re at school,” I said. “I’m not paying for you to find a boyfriend. I’m paying for you to get an education.”

  “I know that. Hence, the date today is during the break for the both of us.”

  “So, it is a date then?” I asked.

  “I’m an adult, Dad,” Alyssa said, hopping up from the stool. “I know that you can’t let me go, but I am going to eventually find someone I want to be in a relationship with
. Until then, I just want to have a little bit of fun.”

  I shook my head at her in exasperation. “You’re only nineteen years old, Alyssa. I don’t think you have a clue about what you want.”

  “Oh, trust me. I know exactly what I want.”

  “Too much information,” I said, grimacing at the mischievous look in her eyes. “Fine, Alyssa. Just promise to keep yourself protected at all times.”

  Alyssa laughed as she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. She smelled of coffee and perfume, but I still smelled baby power and lotion like when she was a child. A pang filled me as I squeezed her back tightly. Then, the guilt followed as she pulled back to look up at me with a frown.

  “Is everything okay with you, Dad? I’ve noticed that something is bothering you over the past couple of days.”

  “It’s nothing,” I said and plastered on an assuring smile. “Don’t worry about me. I’m able to take care of myself, despite what you might think.”

  “I suppose you do a good job at taking care of yourself,” she conceded, eyeing my broad chest with a small smile. “I bet Mom didn’t know what to think when she saw you. I’ve seen pictures of Jack Miller on the internet. You’re way better looking than he is.”

  I chuckled at her attempt to cheer me up. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said, grinning. “Any woman you want would be lucky to have you in their lives.”

  She slipped out of my arms to go down the hallway in the direction of her room. I downed the last bit of my coffee with a queasy stomach, then I texted my driver to meet me in five minutes while I gathered up my things for the day. At least my daughter didn’t know the truth about my “relationships” with women when she was away at college. She’d think I was a straight-up hypocrite for encouraging her to stay away from sleeping with whoever she wanted. I lingered in the hallway for a moment to gaze at Penny’s closed door. I didn’t know if she was awake yet, or if she would even welcome me going down there to talk to her at this point. My phone buzzed with a text message from William to let me know that he was waiting for me down in the parking lot. Tucking my phone into my pocket, I slid into my heavy jacket before leaving the condo to let Penny have some time alone. I didn’t need to complicate things any further by trying to talk to her.