“Rose?” I questioned, swallowing thickly. My eyes bounced between his eyes and his lips, and it was an absolute struggle to fight against the deep-rooted urge to kiss him.
“Yeah,” he murmured. “It suits you better.”
God, I wanted this man. There was no doubt in my mind I was with the wrong brother. Brent was a fabulous lay and a fun guy to be around. We worked. It was easy, despite him being a complete jackass at times. Brent had low expectations for what we wanted from each other, and I was the same.
But Cain.
The things I felt when I was around Cain were on another level, and I was so incredibly conflicted about how I felt versus how I was supposed to feel around the brother of the man I was dating. There were so many things I wanted to say to him. So many things to admit—to confess. They were all at the tip of my tongue.
“Cain… I…”
His abrupt movements interrupted me as he pushed to stand and lifted me so I’d stand too. Confusion laced my brows together at how quickly he’d pulled us upright, and icy-cold rejection pulsed through my veins as Cain raked his hand through his hair again, cast his eyes downward and muttered, “Let’s go. I should get you home to Brent.”
I was jostled from the memory when Cain reached up to brush the hair out of my face, much like he did all those years ago. His touch made me flinch, the past rejection simmering through my blood as my thoughts swam with the swirl of emotions from that one, fleeting memory.
Cain had always been the only man who could make mefeeldeeper than I ever thought possible. The one guy who softened the exterior shell I’d built around myself to protect that stupid, fragile organ behind my ribs.
And I still fucking hated him for it.
Using his chest for leverage, I pushed off his body and stood, pulling Sly’s t-shirt down as I did.
Looking down at him, the petty side of me reared her head as I twisted his past words and threw them back at him. Words that I doubted he’d remember even saying, but I would likely never forget.
“I should go. Gotta gethometo Sly.” It came out as a sneer, and as I turned on my heel and walked out of the darkened living room, I could feel moisture sting the backs of my eyes. I wasn’t a crier, not unless I was deeply enraged.
Obviously, Cain had succeeded, yet again.
Rolling my eyes toward the ceiling to choke the tears, I used my finger to dab at my lower lashes and walked through the open alcove, into the club’s hallway.
I hated how he made me feel like this—so vulnerable and scarred from the tumultuous wave of emotions he’d caused. From the moment I met him, I knew he’d left a permanent etching on my heart—a mark that could never be erased.
He was different.
Distinct.
Strikingly noticeable when all I wanted to do was ignore his very presence.
He wasn’t the man I should have fallen for all those years ago, but I’d been marked by Cain in a way that still didn’t fully make sense. My heart singularly beat for only him, despite my constant objections and effort to expunge him from my life completely.
Cain was determined to not only make amends, but to tear down the walls I’d built and crash through them like the wrecking ball he was.
And I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to resist him much longer.
CHAPTERFIVE
She’d followed me for the last six years.
Her hazel eyes, her scent. Her take-no-prisoners attitude. Everywhere I turned, her memory lingered, reminding me of everything I’d lost but never truly had.
The things I said—I never meant them. And they imploded my entire world in less than ten seconds.
My entire life, I grew up enamored with my older brother. He had it all: our parents' adoration, nearly perfect grades, friends, popularity, and girls. Goddamn, did he have the girls. I learned everything I could from watching him. The way he’d speak to adults, his demeanor in front of friends, and the confidence he exuded in front of the opposite sex.
He waseverything.
In the eyes of everyone in my life, I was an outcast. The complete opposite of my brother in every way possible. The guy who never did anything quite right. I never got the girl, only had one person I could qualify as a friend, and I was constantly straddling the line of fucking up. Despite that, I was fine with the way my life was going: I had the love and attention of Brent, and my brother was the only person I truly needed.
Until he wasn’t.
