by Jenny Penn
Maria hadn’t just dumped him. She’d hurt him, but Casey didn’t have a chance to chase after him. Instead, she had a different problem to deal with, and it came barging right into her living room with an arm looped around Patton’s shoulders and a bottle of Jack clutched in his other hand.
“It’s a party at the pixie’s house,” Dylan declared, as if he wasn’t completely aware of how much she hated him calling her that. “How is it going way down there, my itty, bitty pixie pal?”
“I’m not your pal,” Casey snapped back, wishing she could come up with a better comeback, but Dylan always managed to fluster her enough that she couldn’t seem to think straight. Tonight was no different.
“Whatever you say, squirt.”
“I say you’re an ass,” Casey shot back, meaning every word.
Brothers and roommates, it amazed her that Josh and Dylan had ever once shared a womb, much less that they managed to continue to live together. They were as opposite as brothers could be. Where Josh had been a math prodigy by the age of eight, Dylan had been winning spitting contests and breaking his bones in rodeos. Now Dylan was a detective in the narcotics division, and Josh ran his own highly secretive computer security company.
Whatever the hell that meant. Casey didn’t know, and Josh wouldn’t say. The only assurance he offered her was that if she ever needed his services then she’d know what they were. If only Dylan would be that cryptic, but subtle was not in his nature. Instead, he loved to regale everybody with gross and lewd stories from his undercover work.
He had tales about prostitutes, pimps, dealers, and perverts of every variety. Patton ate them up, and so, secretly, did Casey. She didn’t mind lewdness. She minded Dylan.
He was loud, rude, and macho enough that she kept waiting for the day, when in the middle of one of their infamous arguments, he finally tried to win by ripping off his shirt and pounding his overly developed chest with his fists in an attempt to intimidate her into conceding defeat.
That was never going to happen.
The man might be hotter than the sun and tall enough to reach it, but Casey didn’t even notice. Even if she did, she’d never have admitted it. After all, Dylan had enough bimbos hanging off him. Besides, looks didn’t matter. Talent did. A man had to be good at something more than bragging, and it had been her experience the more a man bragged, the less likely he was to actually be good.
That thought brought a smile to her face, and she was just about ready to share it with him when the sudden prickle of claws pierced through her jeans and had her glancing down into the sweet, innocent face of Dylan’s newest groupie.
“Ah, there is my little Kacey Pussy.” Dylan smirked as he pulled free of Patton to reach down and scoop up the small, black cat that had wandered into their lives not but three months ago. “Come here, Kacey Pussy. I don’t think you’ve met Peyton yet.”
“Oh, he’s sooooo cute,” Patton cooed, shooting Casey a smirk that assured her she got the joke. Not that she could miss it. The damn man had named the cat after her for God’s sakes, and it was a male…well, not anymore.
“Where did you get him?” Patton asked, glancing up at Dylan.
“I didn’t. He kind of just wandered in one day and refused to leave.” Dylan shrugged as if that was all there was to it, but Casey knew the truth.
He’d lured the cat in and given it every reason to stay, including more than just food and a bed. Casey had caught the big, tough man baby-talking to the rat-catcher more than once, which would actually be kind of sweet if he hadn’t insisted on giving the damn thing her name.
“I’m surprised Josh let you keep him,” Patton murmured as the cat mewed so pathetically and reached for her, melting yet another heart in its endless attempt to conquer the entire world. “Oh, what a sweetie.”
Patton folded just like that, even though Casey knew she didn’t care for cats, but Kacey was different. Everybody loved Kacey…everybody but maybe Josh. He had his reasons, though, for disliking the most likable cat ever.
“Yeah.” Dylan let her take the cat and watched as she cuddled it close. “He wasn’t too thrilled, especially when Kacey decided to pee in his laptop.”
That got a laugh out of Patton, who lifted to cat up to look him right in the eye and give him a stern talking to in a voice better reserved for small children.
“Did you do that? Did you? Were you a naughty kitty?”
“He’s a pussy,” Dylan corrected her before nodding toward Casey. “Thanks to her. She took his balls.”
“And Maria took Josh’s,” Casey shot back, knowing just how to get rid of Dylan and his pussy. “She dumped him.”
“What?” Just as Casey expected, that caught Dylan’s full attention because there was at least one thing they both agreed on. “That bitch. I’m so sick of her shit.”
Turning to head for the door, he was about ready to storm out, and Casey was more than glad to let it hit him on the ass as he went. Him and his cat.
“Hey!” Casey called out as she stepped up to retrieve the cat Patton was loving all over. “Don’t forget your pussy!”
That drew Dylan to a stop and had him whipping a wicked grin over his shoulder. “And which one would that be? You or the cat? Because I got an idea on how we can cheer Josh up and make him forget all about his problems.”
There was no disguising the blunt suggestion in his tone or the wicked curl of his grin, but the rapid pound of her heart and the heated rush that shot through her were easily masked by Casey’s scowl as she thrust the little rat-catcher back at Dylan.
“Take this one. It doesn’t have standards, just like the rest of your girlfriends.” With that, Casey slammed the door on Dylan’s smirk, only to turn around and be confronted by Patton’s.
“I still can’t figure it out. Is it Josh or Dylan? Which one are you really getting wet for…or is it both?”
Chapter 2
Dylan slammed into the apartment he shared with his brother, intent on finding out just what had gone wrong between Josh and Maria so he could get back to harassing Casey as soon as possible. God, but she was fun to pick on. The way her delicate little pixie features scrunched all up and flushed red, she was so damn cute he found himself laughing.
The beauty of that was Dylan knew his amusement drove her nuts. Driving Casey nuts was sort of Dylan’s secret hobby. Truth was, he couldn’t get enough of her and plotted almost every damn day about how to irritate her anew. Hell, he made up half the shit that came out of his mouth just to piss her off.
One day he was going to give her the education of a lifetime, but not tonight. Tonight, Josh needed him. His twin took precedence over everyone else, even Casey. As much fun as she was, and as grim as Josh looked, Dylan wished he wasn’t half as loyal as he was because part of him just wanted to turn around and flee as he entered the apartment he shared with his brother.
He found Josh sitting on the couch, staring blindly down at the floor with his shoulders slumped in defeat. Only Maria could make him look that depressed, which was one of the many reasons why Dylan hated the woman. She might have been hot, but she was also a drama queen.
If Dylan had to listen to another chapter in the endless saga that was Josh and Maria’s relationship, he was going to need a beer. Josh looked as though he could use one too. Actually, he looked as though he could use something stronger, but beer was all they had.
Without a word of greeting, Dylan dropped Kacey on the floor and strutted straight through the living room that was nearly identical to Casey’s and into the kitchen, leaving Josh brooding on the couch as he silently, pointedly, refused to look in Dylan’s direction. That was his way of saying he didn’t want to talk about the matter, even though they both knew that he really did.
That’s why he needed the beer. It would help him let go of the attitude. Carting two cold ones back to the living room, Dylan set one on the coffee table’s glass top before settling into one of the two oversized recliners that swiveled to face either the couch or the o
versized TV hanging on the opposite wall.
His ass had no sooner hit the leather than Kacey jumped up onto the chair’s arm to demand the affection he’d grown accustomed to. The cat crept into his lap as Dylan took a swig from his own bottle, allowing the silence to thicken. Truthfully, he kind of liked the quiet and really wasn’t in the mood to hear whatever woeful tale Josh had to tell.
It hadn’t been like this in the beginning of their relationship. It seemed hard to remember right then, but there had been a time when they’d been happy, when Josh had been happy. Dylan knew that his brother had his whole life mapped out, and Maria had fit perfectly into those plans.
She still did. The problem was that the plans no longer fit Josh, and he was just too stubborn to admit it. Try as hard as he might have, Josh still couldn’t escape who he really was, and it wasn’t no sophisticated, urban yuppie. He was just a country boy in a really well-tailored suit.
“So?” Dylan finally broke the silence as that thought cut through him. Josh needed him because he was the only one who understood his brother. “Casey says you and Maria had a falling out.”
Josh didn’t answer but dug into his pocket and pulled out the ring he’d wasted way too much money on as far as Dylan was concerned. On the other hand, Maria wouldn’t have said yes if the ring had been anything other than what it was—a big, gawdy statement of wealth.
“Ah,” Dylan sighed, unconcerned by Maria’s overly dramatic gesture. She was known for them. “Don’t worry, dude. She’ll be calling you first thing in the morning demanding that stupid thing back.”
“I don’t think so.” Josh closed his fingers around the ring, curling it into his fist. “She’s found somebody else.”
“What?” That caught Dylan off guard, not that he was shocked. Maria was a smart woman with an agenda. She knew to keep a bird in hand while hunting for a better pet. Apparently she’d found one.
“An investment banker,” Josh stated with a complete lack of emotion as he dropped the ring onto the coffee table and snatched his beer up. “They’ve been going at it for a while now.”
“That bitch.”
“She said I had it coming. That it was my just desserts.”
“That’s because she’s a psycho.” Dylan knew his brother better than anybody else and knew there was no way Josh would have done anything to hurt anybody.
“I thought you liked Maria.” Josh finally looked up to meet Dylan’s gaze, and what Dylan saw there about broke his heart.
“I did,” Dylan lied. “Until just now and don’t give me that look and don’t even try to defend her.”
Because Dylan could see that Josh wanted to. More than that, he could see the guilt glinting in his brother’s eyes and knew he was blaming himself, though there was nothing that Josh could say that would justify what Maria had done.
“She thought Casey and I were having an affair.”
Dylan about choked on the chug of beer he’d just taken when Josh dropped that bombshell. At first he didn’t know what to say, but there really was only one thing to ask.
“Did you?” Because if anybody could make Josh defy everything he stood for, it probably was the little pixie…or not.
“No!” Josh spat in disgust. “God! Why does everybody keep asking me that?”
“Who the hell else asked you that?” Dylan shot back, caught off guard by that revelation.
“Who hasn’t?” Josh’s shot back before snapping out a long list of names that did not leave Dylan feeling comforted. Especially not the last one.
“Anna?” Dylan leaned forward as his stomach twisted into a tense knot. “When did you see her?”
Anna was Maria’s best friend and accomplice. She also happened to be a real estate agent, who, along with Maria, had been pressuring Josh into buying a house. Dylan knew the women thought if they got Josh to spend a million or two on a house then he’d be more likely to follow Maria’s engagement ring up with a wedding band. Hell, he couldn’t even blame the women for trying to pressure his brother.
It had been four years.
Four years of more excuses than Dylan could remember. Even he had begun to wonder if Josh really wanted to get married. Of course, he’d assumed if the answer was no, it was because he had enough sense to recognize that life with Maria would be miserable. Then again, his brother tended to cave where she was concerned.
“You bought the house.”
Not just any house. The house.
It had a pool and sauna, along with ten thousand square feet that Josh didn’t really need. Maria had shown Dylan the pictures, and it had been clear that she was in love with the place, but what wasn’t to love? It had cold marble floors and statues of little kids peeing into fountains, not to mention enough rooms to need a map to navigate the damn place. It was definitely not Dylan’s style, or Josh’s either for that matter.
“I thought it would make things better.” Josh seemed to understand how bad that sounded and almost immediately corrected himself. “I mean, I thought it would show her that all this time I’ve been spending on the new project was worth it.”
“You got the bonus?” Dylan asked, his attention perking up finally.
Josh couldn’t talk about the specifics of his work, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t let a few details slip, like that the contract he had been currently working on came with a bonus if completed in time. It wasn’t some dinky bonus either, apparently.
“Five million.”
“Woo–hoo, man,” Dylan hooted, momentarily forgetting all about the Maria situation. “Can I marry you?”
That earned him a dour look. “You joke, but I got a house that I don’t want, a ring that I don’t need, and I am supposed to be leaving tomorrow on a two-week romantic tour of Paris and have nobody to go with!”
“Then come with me,” Dylan suggested, the idea springing into his head as he perked up.
“You want to go to Paris?” Josh asked, clearly appalled by the very idea.
“Oh, good God, no.” Dylan wrinkled his nose at the very thought, shaking his head as if he’d just smelled something unpleasant. “I’m talking about you coming with me.”
“And where the hell are you going?”
“Alabama.” Dylan savored the word and the thrill it sent through him before sucking in a sobering breath and focusing in on the moment. “You remember Chase Davis?”
“How could I forget?” Josh snorted. “You two went head-to-head at more rodeos than I care to remember.”
Growing up in South Georgia, Josh had only ever dreamed of getting the hell out of it. Dylan, on the other hand, had reveled in the open plains and hard work. Hell, if Josh hadn’t come to Atlanta to go to college, Dylan would have never done the same.
Not that he minded the city. It had its benefits, namely women. He’d had to travel with the rodeo to find as many available and good-looking women as he did within a block of their apartment. Of course, most of them weren’t half as wild as the rodeo girls had been, and even they hadn’t been half as kinky as Trina.
She’d been enough of a pervert for Dylan to think he’d found love. He hadn’t realized he had just been another conquest to her. That is, until he found her in bed with his good friend. He could have gotten mad about that, but instead, Dylan had just decided to join them and use Trina like she wanted to be used.
That was about the time he’d decided he was done with relationships. There was no point in committing to one flavor when the whole world was full of all sorts of women to dine on, and Sunday he was going to a banquet that promised to be a bounty of many flavors. A bounty Chase was no longer indulging in.
“Yeah, well, Chase has finally decided to settle down with that little girl who used to come around with him and his brothers.”
“I remember her.” Josh nodded. “She was a tiny little thing, cute as the button…didn’t she have a man’s name?”
“Patton.” Dylan filled in, remembering it only because Chase had mentioned it when they talked last night.
>
The girl, on the other hand, he couldn’t recall other than a faint memory that all the Davis brothers had been very protective of her. Apparently that hadn’t changed.
“So you headed out for a wedding?” Josh asked with a heavy hint of disgust coloring his tone. “Because I’m really not in the mood to watch and see if you can fuck your way through another bridesmaid chain.”
“All in one day,” Dylan boasted, savoring that memory for just a second before focusing on the real point. “But no, the church bells aren’t set to ring yet. I’m talking about a job and getting paid with all the pussy you can fuck in one week.”
Despite his grin, Dylan could tell his enthusiasm was not catching, as Josh continued to glare at him with a look Dylan knew all too well. Josh was thinking he was a dick. Maybe he was being a little insensitive, but Dylan had to do something.
If he didn’t and left Josh there all alone, he knew he’d return to find his brother had hooked up with Casey. It was all but a sure thing. After all, the two of them were perfect together, which probably explained why everybody thought Josh was cheating on Maria.
He should have been, but Josh wasn’t that kind of guy. Neither was Casey that kind of girl, but now that neither of them had to worry about their consciences, it was almost guaranteed that they’d be hitting the sheets in the near future. For some reason, that thought really bugged the crap out of Dylan.
“Come on, man, don’t give me that look,” he begged Josh. “It’ll be fun.”
Even as the words came out of his mouth, Dylan knew they were the wrong ones. Josh knew it too. His brows lifted, his lips parted, but before he could speak, Dylan beat him to the punch.
“I know. I know.” Dylan held his hands up in surrender. “I have a history of promising and not delivering…at least not by your standards.” Which were far afield from Dylan’s. “But, this time, I swear it will be your kind of fun.”