Trick You: A Brother's Best Friend Romance (Rebel Ink Book 2)

by Tracy Lorraine

  “Oh, god, Carter. Carter.” Her chest heaves as her cries get louder.

  “That’s it, doll. Come for me. Show me exactly what I do to you.”

  “Fuck. Fuck.” Her nails dig into my shoulders and her thighs clamp tightly around my waist as she falls over the edge. Her pussy ripples around my length, pulling me even deeper as she rides out her release.

  “Jesus. Fuck, Danni. Fuck.” I push her into the wall as my body goes lax with my own release, my lungs burning as I fight to drag in the air I need.

  We stay frozen in place for long seconds, the only noise that can be heard over the water behind us is our increased breaths as we come down from our highs.

  “That was—”

  “Mind-blowing,” I add.

  “I was going to say unexpected, but yeah, that works.”

  She wriggles in my hold, and I reluctantly pull out of her and allow her feet to touch the floor once more.

  Standing before me, sopping wet and with her wide, dark eyes staring up at me, all I want to do is take her in my arms and never let go again.

  “I’m… I’m sorry I freaked out.”

  Reaching out, I take her hand and pull her so her breasts press against my chest. “You think I’m not freaking out here?” I brush a lock of wet hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear.

  “No. You seem totally happy with this situation. It’s almost like you planned it.”

  I laugh. “I can assure you that I didn’t. I may have a little more of a memory of our wedding night than you, but I can’t honestly say it was as much a surprise to me.”

  “Did I really ask you?”

  “You really did, doll.”

  “Will you tell me about it?”

  “Yeah,” I say before falling quiet.

  “Well, go on then.”

  “Oh, you mean now? No. I’m not telling you now.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I want to see if you remember it first.” She huffs in frustration, and I feel bad for not telling her the truth. The real reason that I don’t want to give her the details of our wedding is because I have a feeling that once we touch back down on English soil, she’s going to go running back to her old life and try to forget this ever happened. She might think twice if she still has no idea how it went down.

  Am I tricking her to keep her close? Maybe. I just have to hope it’ll be worth it.

  “Now, let’s clean you up before we have to go for dinner.” I reach for her shower gel and squeeze a generous amount into my palm before running my hands over every inch of her.

  By the time I’m done, my cock is hard once again, and I’m desperate for a second round.

  Looking down, she stares at it. “Again?”

  “Always. Now, it’s your turn.” I pass her the bottle and wait for her to return the favour.

  I see the moment she realises that it’s her chance to look at my ink, and she eagerly takes the bottle. I expect her to start elsewhere and not look too keen, but her impatience gets the better of her and it’s the first part of my body she goes to.

  I know the second she realises what it is, because a loud gasp fills the room.

  “Carter, you didn’t?”

  “I want to remember it.”

  She looks up at me, a mix of horror, shock, and bewilderment in her eyes.

  “But… it was a mistake. A drunken one at that.”

  “Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean I want to forget about it. About you.”

  “Fucking hell,” she mutters, staring at the design I sketched out when she was getting ready this morning. It’s roman numerals of our wedding date wrapped in forget-me-not flowers like the ones that filled the chapel. Simple and to the point.

  “One day, I’ll put it on you,” I say, my voice full of confidence I don’t really feel, but I need her to know that I’m really fighting for this, that I’m serious about us.

  “Oh no, no, no. That is not happening.”

  “Why? Don’t you believe in us, doll?”

  “It’s not that, I’m scared of needles.”

  “I promise that when you’ve got my hands on your body, you’ll barely notice.”

  “Whatever you say. You are aware that you’re totally crazy, right?”

  I shrug, wrapping my fingers around her wrist and encouraging her to start washing. I need her touch right now more than my next breath.

  We finish up and wrap ourselves in the fluffy towels sitting on the side before I leave her to it. The second I removed contact from her, it was like she immediately shut down. Feeling like I’ve probably already pushed her too much for one day, I leave her with her thoughts.

  “Hey, man. How’s it going?” Spike says when he picks up his phone. I’ve sent him a few messages since we arrived yesterday but not yet explained what’s going on. I sent him a picture of Zach and Biff tying the knot as he requested, because he ‘needed to see Zach being pinned down with his own eyes’. He’s asked about Danni—obviously, he’s intrigued as fuck as to how things are going to go between us—but I’ve yet to tell him the whole truth.

  “It’s… interesting.”

  He laughs. “She giving you that much of a hard time?”

  “Yeah, you could say that.”

  “She not putting out?”

  “You say that like she’d be able to resist me, man.”

  “Many women are able to. Me, on the other hand? Fucking pussy magnet, mate.”

  “Shut the fuck up.”

  “So to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”

  “We got married.” Whatever he just took a sip of sprays from his mouth.

  “Fuck, my fucking computer.” The sound of his chair being pushed back sounds out before he barks, “Hang on. Do not go fucking anywhere.”

  I wait while he mops up what I assume is his work desk.

  “You only ruined like, two sketches that I’ve spent hours working on.”

  “Sorry,” I say with a wince.

  “Whatever. What you’ve got to say sounds way more interesting. Hit me with it.”

  I give him the basics. I don’t tell him anything that Danni doesn’t know, because when she does either remember or I tell her, then it’s just going to be between us.

  “She married you and has no memory of it. Titch, that’s fucking epic, even for you.”

  “I know,” I mutter. This is just another fuck-up in a whole long line of them.

  “Your parents are going to have a fucking field day with this.”

  “They’d need to talk to me to find out first.”

  “True,” he agrees sadly. “Anyway, you don’t need them now.”

  “How’d you figure that?”

  “You’re making your own family. How long until you knock her up?”

  “Knowing my luck, I probably already have and it’s quadruplets.”

  He barks out a laugh before thankfully changing the subject and asking me about Vegas, or more specifically, Megs. He’s got some weird kind of crush on her, which mostly means he stalks her Instagram and gets himself off to her photographs.

  By the time Spike stops chatting, I’m late for dinner. I’m half into a clean pair of boxers when a knock sounds out and Danni pokes her head around my door.

  “Shit. Sorry,” she says, disappearing once again.

  “S’all good, doll. It all belongs to you,” I call out.

  “I’ll just meet you in the restaurant.”

  “Which one is it?”

  “I don’t know. Zach texted us with the name. Just look at that.”

  I blow out a frustrated breath as the main door to our suite opens and closes, signalling that she left quite happily. I’d kind of hoped she’d refuse and wait for me so we could go together.

  I grab my phone from where I threw it on my bed after my conversation with Spike and pull up my messages. As always, there are loads of unread ones. I do notice that none of them are from my parents checking to see if I’m still alive. I do however have some photographs fr
om my brother showing off. Standard.

  I find Zach’s name and stare at the restaurant. The letters start to swirl before my eyes in a way I’m all too used to. I give up after a couple of seconds and make my phone speak it to me.

  Zodiac Bar and Grill.

  I’m more frustrated than I should be by the time I step from the suite. I don’t even bother trying to look at the list of everything inside this hotel that’s pinned up in the lift—I already know it’s pointless. Instead, I head straight for reception and ask one of the ladies behind the desk for directions. It’s so much fucking easier and a hell of a lot quicker.

  By the time I arrive, they all have drinks and are happily chatting away. I almost consider turning around and going back to my room to have a pity party for one, but Biff spots me before I get a chance to run.

  “Titch, over here,” she calls, waving me over. “We’ve already got you a beer, just waiting for you to order.”

  “Oh… um…” I grab the menu as if I’m actually going to read the thing. Zach’s eyes burn into the top of my head. He knows exactly what I’m doing. “I’ll just have the steak.”

  “So, have you two kissed and made up?” he asks.

  “You want the real answer to that?” I ask with a smug-as-fuck grin on my face. I can’t help but laugh when he pales.

  “Everything is fine,” Danni says coldly.

  “So, I visited Rebel earlier.”

  “Oh yeah? What did you think?”

  “Home from home, man. You’ve done a great job.”

  He smiles proudly as if I’m talking about his first born. “Who’d have thought that when I bought it a couple of years ago all the Abbot kids would end up married in this very place.”

  “Do you have to?” Danni asks.

  “Just stating facts, sis.”

  “Yeah, well, if you could refrain I’d be more than grateful.”

  “Fucking hell. I don’t want to get involved, but if she’s still this uptight then you clearly didn’t do your husbandly duties correctly earlier, mate.”

  “I didn’t think you wanted the details.”

  “I don’t. But I also want to make sure my baby sister is being looked after.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Zach,” Danni barks. “Could I have another, please?” she asks a passing waitress, holding her now empty glass out to her.

  “Sure. Anyone else?” She looks around the table, but seeing three still-full drinks she backs away.

  “Careful, you don’t want two drunken mistakes in as many nights,” I say, looking at her hard-set face. Her walls are up so high right now that I’ve got no chance of getting inside them.

  “Ah, so now you agree that last night was a mistake.”

  “Whatever, Dan. Drink yourself into oblivion, but be careful, because I might not be there to carry you over the threshold tonight.”

  “Is it wrong to be glad that they’re having their first marital fight before us?” Biff whispers loudly to Zach.

  When the waitress returns with Danni’s drink, we all order food and talk about the night ahead. Danni sits there, silently fuming the entire time. I want to say something, but I don’t bother, because I have a feeling it’ll only end up with my head being bitten off.

  The night is so different to the one that went before. Yes, the food is incredible, and we drink way too much, but that’s where the similarities end. Danni gives me the cold shoulder almost all night. If I didn’t know that I hadn’t dreamed our time together in her shower, then I would be starting to worry that it didn’t actually happen. I know I was concerned about how she would deal with the situation that is us when she got home, but I was at least hoping she’d embrace it while we were here. At least give me a chance to prove to her that I’m worthy of her, despite her first impressions.

  When we get to the club Biff chose for the night, there is no bumping and grinding. She doesn’t even go as far as giving me a chaste kiss before she disappears into her bedroom when we get back to our suite sometime before sunrise.

  The room spins when I lie down alone in my bed. Knowing she’s right across the living room and slightly intoxicated is a temptation that I don’t need. I can still vividly remember her allowing her wild side to take the lead last night when we got back. It was sexy as fuck, watching her strip out of her makeshift wedding dress and take control. It was her confidence about what she wanted that made me think she knew what she was doing. I never would have thought she’d wake up the next morning with very little memory of the night before. It clearly didn’t rock her world as much as it had mine.

  With a sad sigh, I roll over and try to come up with a plan. A plan to prove to her that there could be something meaningful here. I know I’m not what she thinks she wants. If she could just drop her unrealistic expectations and see what’s right in front of her, I could be the one she’s been looking for. I’m just wrapped in tats instead of a fancy designer suit.

  20

  Danni

  My head throbs as I sit silently beside Carter, waiting for our gate to open to start our journey home.

  I rest my head back against the wall and shut my eyes. There’s a large family with overly loud children sitting opposite us. I pray to God they’re not going to be flying first class, because I’m not sure my head could take this noise for hours on end in a confined space.

  “Don’t they just make you never want to have kids?” I mutter, not opening my eyes to see if he realises I’m talking to him.

  “They’re just enjoying themselves.”

  “No, they’re being little shits is what they are.”

  “How would you know? Your eyes are shut.”

  “I have ears, Carter.”

  “Yeah, so they’re a little loud, but they’re just playing a game. If you really paid attention, you’d hear them laughing. They’re happy. They’re not getting in anyone’s way. They’re just passing the time without complaining. Unlike someone I know.”

  “Well,” I huff, “they should read a book or something. Anything that’s quiet.”

  “Maybe they can’t read.”

  “Really? Their parents can afford for the entire family to fly to Vegas, but the kids can’t read. I highly doubt that.”

  He doesn’t respond, forcing me to turn to look at him.

  “What?” I ask when I see his brows drawn together in concern.

  “Nothing. I just wasn’t expecting you to be such a judgemental bitch.”

  His words hurt, but as I think back over what I just said, I can’t really argue. There could be a million reasons why those kids aren’t reading a book right now, and who am I to judge?

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s the hangover.”

  “I feel like shit too, but I’m not picking holes in anyone.”

  “Oh, so you’re not judging me right now?”

  “You’re my wife. I’m allowed.”

  “I don’t remember that being in the vows.”

  “Funny, because I didn’t think you remembered any of them.”

  His word hit exactly where he intends, and I snap my lips shut. As much as I might enjoy this teasing banter with him, I’m exhausted. I’ve no idea what time it was when we eventually got back to the suite last night, all I know is that I’ve not had anywhere near enough sleep to deal with this.

  I’ve had a few more hazy flashbacks from the night in question, but nothing of any significance. I have an image of a jewellers in my head, and for some reason I keep thinking of blue forget-me-nots. It could be a coincidence, my mind playing tricks on me, but something tells me it’s real.

  I could ask about it, but he seems set on withholding details of that night from me, so it stops me.

  “I’m assuming you don’t want kids, then?” Carter asks out of the blue after being quiet for a number of minutes.

  “What makes you say that?” It’s a stupid question, and I regret it instantly. “I do, actually. Not yet, but one day in the future.”

  “As long as they don’t mak
e any noise in an airport,” he deadpans.

  “I’ll just warn them to stay away from hungover people.”

  Thankfully, we’re invited to board not long after, which puts an end to any further conversation about how I see my future.

  I had such a clear picture of what I thought I wanted. But since I walked into that restaurant and found him waiting for me, everything has got a little blurry. I hate the unknown, the confusion. I like my life to be like business: organised, planned, and to the point. But suddenly I’m weaving about all over the place, and my head and heart are constantly warring, not knowing which way is up.

  It’s all his fault. All of it. If he hadn’t have tricked me into thinking he was someone else, then none of this would have happened. If I met the Carter I believed I was meant to be meeting that night, I might now be in the beginnings of a serious relationship, not at the start of an unplanned shotgun Vegas wedding that can only end in disaster.

  The second we’re able to rest our seats back, I put my ear buds in and close my eyes. If I can sleep this entire journey, then maybe things won’t seem quite so bad when we touch down in London.

  A girl can only dream.

  I lift my hand to the wedding ring still hanging around my neck. I went to take it off this morning, but I found I just couldn’t do it. Not yet.

  There’s plenty of time to rehash my drunken mistake once I’m back and alone in my flat, and I can shove this thing in a drawer and pretend it never happened.

  By the time we touch down at Heathrow, I’m feeling much more refreshed thanks to the hours of extra sleep I was so desperate for and the healthy breakfast I was served.

  “So I guess this is it, then,” I say to Carter when we emerge from arrivals and out into the damp English weather. I was hoping Carter might have headed home as soon as we disembarked, but then I guess, knowing him like I do now, I shouldn’t have been surprised when he insisted on coming with me to collect my luggage and walking out together.

  “You really are trying to get rid of me, aren’t you?”

  I shrug. “I’m sure you’ve got loads of stuff to do. It’s not like our trip was planned. Real life awaits.”