If Carter is at all bothered by the warning, then he doesn’t show it.
5
Carter
I find it hard to take Zach’s warning seriously. Plus, it’s too little too late, because I’ve already had a taste of his sweet sister and I have every intention of having another. Tonight, if this incredible turn of events is anything to go by.
I had no fucking clue she was connected to my life in any way aside from being Biff’s friend. Maybe if I’d have gone against what she asked of me before I left Biff’s flat that night, I might have discovered the truth. Christ knows Biff’s tried to dig for information. It seems she forgot to mention the one piece of information I could have done with.
I watch as Biff and Zach happily chat with his parents—who happen to look exactly as I’d imagined all these years: perfect—and I wonder if Biff kept her lips shut on purpose. She knows too well how private Zach is about his life. Hell, she managed to insert herself right into the middle of that clusterfuck, so maybe she’s still protecting him—or her.
She excuses herself from Zach’s mum and turns to Danni. The two have what looks like a few tense words before Danni looks around the table to find a seat.
There are only two left that are vacant. There’s one next to Spike and opposite myself, or there’s one at the other end of the table. I laugh to myself when she locks eyes on the one the farthest away from me and marches towards it.
“What’s amused you so much?”
I turn back to Spike, trying to decide how much to divulge. Seeing as he was the one who helped me set up the damn dating profile in the first place, despite his warning that it would probably end in disaster, and the fact that he knows all about the clusterfuck date that followed, I decide to be honest.
“So, funny story…” He quirks an eyebrow, and I lean towards him to ensure no one overhears. “You know the girl I met online?”
“The one who curbed your arse the first time she saw you?” he asks with amusement and an ‘I told you so’ dancing in his eyes.
“Yeah. That one. Turns out she’s Big Man’s sister.”
His eyes fly to the other end of the table. “Fuck off. It’s not.”
“It is.”
“She’s the one who only wants a swanky banker?”
“Apparently so.”
“I mean, she kinda looks a bit stuck-up, so I can understand her preferences for a slick Rick.”
“Trust me,” I mutter, “she’s not stuck up when you strip away the designer clothes.”
Spike gives me a double take. “T, you been holding out on me?”
I spot Zach heading this way out of the corner of my eye and panic. “Shut the fuck up, yeah? The less he knows the better.”
Spike opens his mouth to say something but must change his mind, because no noise comes out.
“So…” Zach says looking totally out of his comfort zone. “I guess meeting my family was a little overdue.”
“They’re awesome, man. I don’t know what you were so worried about,” Spike says, slugging him in the arm.
Zach nods, glancing over to where Biff’s chatting to his parents. “This is all her fucking fault,” he mutters to himself, but a wide smile twitches at his lips.
“Mate, we always knew a good woman would sort you right out.”
“Now that’s where you’re very wrong. There’s nothing good about Biff. She’s all bad.” He winks. I groan and roll my eyes just to wind him up, but since he got the girl he seems resistant to my piss taking, unlike when she first appeared at the studio and I could make that vein in his neck pulsate with just a look in Biff’s direction.
Everyone takes their seats, and most of us go silent as we check out the food options. She might be at the other end of the table, but that doesn’t mean I’m not aware every time she looks at me. My skin heats and desire tingles just below the surface. I refuse to look up, resulting in her glances getting longer and longer. It’s as if she wants me to look over.
My need to see the look on her face when she’s caught eventually gets too much, and I drag my eyes from the menu I was pretending to stare at.
Our eyes lock immediately, proving that I was right about her staring at me, and her chin drops in shock. Yet she seems powerless to pull her eyes from mine.
A smirk curls at my lips. She can keep her distance all she likes, but her body tells me the truth. She wants me. She might think I’m all wrong for her and a liar, or whatever, but her desire is clear.
Pursing my lips, I mimic kissing her. That move finally pulls her from her trance as she looks around the table, making sure everyone’s distracted. Zach, at least.
“Right, how are we all doing? Ready to order?” the waiter says, pulling his notepad from his back pocket.
Zach’s mum opens her mouth to reply when a little rocket comes rushing towards our table.
“I’m so sorry. The tube just stopped in the middle of a tunnel and gah!” she says, lifting her arms out to the sides, looking totally flustered. My eyes drop from her face down her petite body, but they soon lock on her tatted arms. She’s cute, that’s for sure.
“Whoa, who is that?” Spike whispers, leaning over the table to me. I shake my head and turn back when Zach stands up to introduce her. “Everyone,” he says, turning his back on the waiter who has his notepad poised to take down orders. “This is my little sister, Kas.”
“Fuck me, how many sisters has he got exactly?”
“Two. Just two.” I know about Kas. Biff gave me the run down one night when my client didn’t turn up. I’m yet to have a conversation with Zach about it, though. Since he pulled his head out of his arse and admitted how he feels about Biff, it’s kinda like he’s forgotten I exist. It’s fine. I get it. He’s got regular access to pussy. I’d probably ignore everyone around me if I ever found a woman to put up with me.
“She is…”
“Off limits, I’d imagine. Just like the other sister.”
Spike turns to me, his face expressionless aside from the heat in his eyes. “That’s a damn shame.”
“Mate, you see the size of her. You’d break her.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know that these hands can be soft and gentle when they need to be,” he says, wiggling them in front of me.
“Fuck off. Don’t forget that my bedroom backs onto yours. I don’t hear a lot of ‘soft’ and fucking ‘gentle’ coming from it when you’ve got company.”
He shrugs and looks back over when Zach points Kas in our direction. His eyes run the length of her before he looks at Zach, I can only assume in the hope he wasn’t caught.
“Be nice,” Zach warns, pulling her seat out for her.
“When are we anything but nice?”
Zach shakes his head and returns to his seat as the waiter finally begins taking orders.
“Hey, tiny. Nice ink,” Spike says, his voice a little deeper than I’m used to, and I just about manage to stifle a laugh.
Sitting back to watch his attempt to pick her up, I can’t help but smile. I’ve no idea what he’s thinking—she’s clearly too young for him, and Zach would kill him for even looking at her the way he is right now. At least if he continues then it should take the attention away from me and the woman who’s still insisting on looking over at me.
Ignoring them, I glance back over at Danni as she places her order and take her in. Her make up is flawless and, much like the first time we met, her long dark hair is hanging straight down her back. The little black dress she’s wearing is fitted and doing a fucking fantastic job of showcasing her tits. I bite down on my bottom lip as I remember just how soft her skin was when I kissed it. Just how she tasted when I sucked her nipples into my mouth.
I shift in my seat, giving my thickening cock some space in my jeans before the waiter comes over and wants to know my order.
It’s a nice enough evening as family meals go. It’s a hell of a lot better than any I’ve been forced to endure with my own family, that’s for sure. More than anyt
hing, I’m just happy for Zach to finally pull both parts of his life together. I know I’m not really in a position to criticise how he dealt with his family, seeing as I hardly see my own, but after the number of times he’d told me they were good people, I couldn’t help but try to convince him to open up to them. Seeing the pride on both his mum and dad’s faces every time they look at him just proves my point. He should have done this years ago.
After a short argument from everyone around the table, we all eventually concede and allow Zach’s dad to pay for our meals before his parents, brother and sister-in-law bid us all goodnight and leave the restaurant.
“What’s next then, boss? Fancy hitting up The Avenue?”
Zach glances at everyone left around the table before his eyes land on Biff.
“Let’s do it,” she announces, pushing her chair out behind her and standing.
We all fall into step behind the happy couple, and I manage to ensure that I’m right behind Danni as we make the short journey down the street to the club we quite often end up in.
Her sweet scent blows down to me, making my mouth water as I watch her arse sway in that sinful little dress she’s wearing.
She laughs with Kas, who’s walking beside her, but every time she turns to look at her, she twists her head just a little too far and I know it’s so she can keep an eye on me. I’m making her nervous right now, and I fucking love it.
6
Danni
Safe to say that was the most awkward meal of my life. I knew it was going to be bad, but I never could have predicted just quite what his presence and constant attention would do to me.
I was surrounded by family who all wanted to chat, but the only thing I could think about was him. My body might have been in that restaurant, but my head was firmly back on Biff’s sofa all those weeks ago with his hands on me.
I shouldn’t be like this. He shouldn’t affect me.
Every time I glanced over at him, I was reminded just how much he doesn’t fit my ideal type. I want a good guy who’s going to treat me right, not a fuck ‘em and chuck ‘em bad boy. Yes, he was a good lay, but I need more than that right now. I want someone who’s up for a few dates, maybe even a little romance. I doubt he would know that if it bit him in the arse.
The food I’m sure was great—at least everyone else cleared their plates and made all the right noises. I just poked my salmon around the plate, too consumed with the arsehole a few seats down and his burning stare that seemed to become an almost constant thing.
Thankfully—I think—Zach didn’t notice. But as the night went on, I was starting to wonder if him noticing and taking Carter out of the equation for just looking at me that way might be exactly what I needed.
My intention was to go home as soon as the meal was done, but the second he mentioned The Avenue I found myself nodding and following Zach and Biff from the restaurant.
The Avenue is like my second home. I’ve spent almost every weekend there for a long as I can remember. Lauren, my old school friend, and I were trying to get in with fake ID before we turned eighteen, and nothing’s really changed since then, aside from the fact that we can now legally walk inside with no issues.
My intention was to be first out of the restaurant to get well ahead of him, but sadly, Biff called me back as I attempted to make my escape, and I’m now stuck behind her and Zach while Carter quite obviously stares at my arse as we make our way down the street.
After a slightly awkward conversation with Kas, mostly because my head’s in the clouds, an uncomfortable silence descends around us.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, turning to her, feeling awful that she’s probably just had her mind blown meeting everyone like that and needs some reassurance. “My head’s a bit of a mess right now. Work’s been crazy.”
“It’s fine,” she says with a soft smile. “I totally get it. I’m not much of a talker really.”
I want to tell her that usually that’s exactly what I am, but I can’t even find those words. All I can hope is that once we’re inside, I can get a drink—or ten—and that Lauren will be here so I can make my excuses to hang out with her and Ben, her boyfriend.
Carter and… the other one who’s name I’ve already forgotten, order us two rounds of shots once we get to the front of the crowd at the bar, and after a round of happy birthdays to Zach, we all down them.
With the Jägermeister warming my stomach, things seem a little better. That only increases when Biff wraps her hand around my upper arm and begins dragging both me and Kas out to the dance floor, leaving the boys behind.
“You having a good night?” she shouts in my ear. I’ve never been more grateful for the pounding music, because it means she can’t question me like I’m sure she’s desperate to.
“Yeah. I think Lauren’s here tonight.” Thankfully that’s enough to distract her. I’ve no idea if she’s seen anything between Carter and me tonight. I had every intention of totally ignoring him, but I know I’ve failed. What I don’t know is just how obvious I might have been looking over at him. I know he knows. He’s caught me more than once and nearly gave me a bloody heart attack when his green, hungry eyes met mine.
“Well, tell her to come and meet us.”
Dragging my phone from the bottom of my bag, I shoot her a message to tell her that we’re in the basement on the dancefloor.
Only minutes later, arms wrap around me from behind. I still. My first thought is that it’s Carter, but when I hear a female squeal in my ear I turn around and throw my arms around her.
The two of us used to spend all our time together. We met when Lauren started sixth form at my school. We clicked immediately. But her man and their business monopolise most of her time now, so we don’t get to see each other as much as we’d like.
“It’s so good to see you,” I shout, holding her tightly.
“It’s been too long.”
Pulling away from her, I allow Biff to say hi before attempting to introduce her to Kas. Lauren smiles and nods, but I’ve no idea if she hears a word that comes out of my mouth.
When I look over her shoulder, I find the man responsible for taking up her time. I smile at him and he nods in response, but not before Zach descends on him. I knew they were in the same year at school, but I had no clue they were still friends until I called Lauren for a catch up after everything blew up and she confessed to knowing all along. I wanted to be angry at her, but to be quite honest, I couldn’t find it in myself to care.
Lauren winces as she glances at the two of them. I smile back at her to tell her that everything is good. I think she thought I was going to fly off the handle when I found out, but really, I’m just glad Zach was able to open up. I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for him over the years to keep everything he does a secret.
A few of Lauren and Ben’s friends join us, and after a bear hug from Joe and a few more shouted introductions, we all start dancing. That is, until everyone around me seems to pair off into their couples.
Even Kas’ attention has been captured by Spike, who’s showing her some slightly questionable moves.
Each couple smiles at each other as they move in time with the music, and a pang of jealously hits me. I want someone to dance wi— When I look up again, my eyes lock with Carter’s, and all thoughts leave my head.
A smile curls at one side of his mouth, and my stomach twists with desire at knowing exactly what that mouth can do.
He looks around at the couples much like I did only a few moments ago before he mouths, “Shall we?” and holds both his arms out for me to step into.
I’m torn. A huge part of me wants to throw caution to the wind and walk straight into his body and start moving against him. That’s the irrational side of my brain that needs to be locked down. I need to be listening to the sensible side that’s telling me to run away from him as far as I can.
We stand, locked in our stare for what feels like the longest time as I fight my internal battle.
When I
eventually manage to drag my eyes away from him, I find Zach’s concerned ones where he’s dancing with Biff’s back to his front. The way his hips are moving against her makes me want to throw up a little in my mouth, but the happiness that oozes from him stops me.
“You okay?” he mouths, forcing me to plaster a fake smile on my face.
“Toilet,” I mouth back before stepping away from our group and walking to the other side of the huge space. The temptation to take a left and leave the entire club is strong, but I don’t want to do that to Biff or Zach.
Instead, I find myself in an annoyingly long queue for the ladies. At least while I’m standing there, I can’t feel his heated stare.
By the time I get to do my thing and am staring into the mirror above the basin, I almost feel like I’ve got my shit together and am able to walk back out onto the dancefloor and put him and everything he makes me feel to one side. I’m here for Zach. That’s it. You are also going home alone, I instruct myself. Temptation might be in touching distance, but I’m stronger than it is. I will not cave to Carter James Wright again. He is off limits.
I walk out of the bathroom, intending on getting myself a drink and finding the others once again. Only, as I turn the corner, I walk straight into a wall of flesh. I don’t need to look up to know who it is. I’d remember his scent anywhere. My mouth waters and every muscle south of my waist clenches. So much for that little pep talk.
“What do you want?” I shout into his chest, refusing to look up into his eyes.
That’s not good enough, because I soon find his warm fingers tilting my chin until I’ve got no choice but to look up. I keep my eyes over his shoulder at the women walking back to the bar.
“Doll, come on. You’ve spent all night staring at me. I’m right in front of you now. You can take your fill.”
Trick You: A Brother's Best Friend Romance (Rebel Ink Book 2) Page 4