CHAPTER NINE
Reid
My eyebrows pinch down as the brunette bombshell walks away from me.
My thoughts drift from how good her arse looks, to wondering why the hell she captivates me.
No one has ever had the power to mess with me this way.
I know she wants me, but for some crazy reason, she’s fighting it.
It’s like getting whiplash every time we meet. I kind of like it.
I know I know her. There’s no question or doubt when it comes to that now. There’s a familiarity when I’m near her.
But fuck if I know how I know her.
I look up, focusing in her direction again, and find her gaze on me. Heat. That’s what passes between us.
I smirk, knowing she feels it too—if the rise to her chest is any indication.
Her eyes narrow on me slightly, yet her body language is telling another story. She’s not as aloof or annoyed as she makes out to be. She bites down on her lip, and I can’t help but want to be the one who does it instead.
I lift my foot ever so slightly, deciding to break my promise to my brothers. I have to have her. It’s like she walked off holding a piece of rope attached to me and is tugging it for me to follow.
When she gives me the middle finger and begins to storm off, a chuckle escapes me.
Yeah, I definitely need to have her.
Liam clears his throat, jerking me from my thoughts and all the dirty things I have planned for Summer. “Need a minute?” he asks.
I slip on the fake, charmer smirk. “Some might need a minute, but I can go for hours.”
He grunts, folding his arms over his chest. “Not what I meant.”
I was so focused on Summer, and now Liam, that I forgot Malia was here. Which is why she manages to catch me off guard when she slaps her hand on my shoulder. I flinch, then narrow my eyes when her grip tightens. Like really tightens.
Normally this shit would turn me on, but I’m off my game today.
“Really?” I squeak out.
“She’s stunning,” she states, and I know she’s referring to Summer as she watches me closely. “But don’t mistake her for a fool like so many others do. She’s more than a pretty face.”
When she doesn’t let go or step back, I arch an eyebrow. “Are you finished?”
“You don’t want to make an enemy out of me, Reid. I bite back. Harder.”
My smirk widens. “I have so many responses to that but all of them will come back to bite me in the arse later.” I wink. “See, I’m learning.”
Liam snorts. “Translation: he doesn’t want what happened with the last cousins he got involved with to happen. He hit on one whilst he was trying to get into the knickers of the other. I’m pretty sure they were the reason for the house cameras I installed, right?”
I groan, wanting to smack the shit out of his ruggedly handsome face. “Listen, Chatty Cathy, your commentary isn’t needed right now. And it’s not like I knew they were cousins.”
He isn’t completely wrong though. It wasn’t like I slept with both.
I didn’t get the chance to get in one of the women’s knickers.
I took one of the cousins home, and we were just getting to the good stuff, when her roommate came home.
Who happened to be the cousin I banged the weekend before.
Screeching broke out, and I left before they could remember I was still in the room.
It didn’t stop the chick from trying to sneak into our house to finish what we started.
A few times. It didn’t matter that my mum gave the girl her marching orders, or that the police were called three times—she still kept coming.
He chuckles. “Would it have stopped you?”
It takes me less than a second to answer. “No, but...” my gaze goes to where Summer just was.
But...not her. I wouldn’t do that to her.
Where that thought comes from is beyond me. But it’s swirling in my head, going around and around, until I’m frowning.
Malia lets out a heavy sigh, removing her hand from my shoulder. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. You’ve gone and made me feel sorry for you now.”
“Huh?”
She meets my gaze as she fights back a smile. “I was going to warn you stay away from her.”
I arch an eyebrow at her. “You already kind of did,” I point out.
She puts her hand up, indicating she wasn’t finished, and this time, she’s no longer holding back a smile. “I was going to warn you away and knee you in the balls before letting you stew on my warning. Instead, I think I’m just going to enjoy this.”
This time, I don’t bother hiding my surprise. Or wariness. “Enjoy what?”
She just laughs and turns her back to me, walking up to the house.
“Enjoy what?” I yell.
“You’re so fucked,” Liam chuckles, following her into the house.
“I’m not the only one who has a boner for someone here, you know.”
He turns, walking the rest of the way backwards, smirking. “There’s a big difference there. I’m not you.”
My frown deepens. “What the hell does that mean?”
He just laughs as he turns back to the house, not saying another word.
“Liam?” I call out, but he continues to ignore me, closing the door.
I run my fingers through my hair and glare at the closed door, wondering when I started to let people mind-fuck with me. I do the mind-fucking. It’s in my genes.
But as I walk over to the quad, there’s a niggle in the back of my mind telling me I missed something from the conversation.
I need to get laid.
I always think better after I get laid.
*** *** ***
I frown down into the swirling, golden liquid of my pint, wondering what on earth has gotten into me lately. Maybe my need to fuck all the time keeps me on the straight and narrow, because right now I’m not getting any and I feel like I don’t know myself.
The thought has me freezing, my pint halfway to my lips. It’s like a light bulb has gone off.
Now I wonder how Jaxon will take the news that me fucking about actually helps me—and everyone in my life—in the long run. I can think clearer with regular sex. I’m never about to self-implode over some chick I can’t remember.
Me fucking around isn’t the issue. It’s actually the solution. He doesn’t need to ream my arse every time I stick my dick in some chick. Because I fucked up more today than I ever have.
But as I send a quick glance to the bird who has been eyeing me up from the bar for the past hour, I know a quick shag around the back won’t fix what’s wrong with me. So I drop my pint back to the table and go back to staring at the bottom of the glass, hoping I’ll find the answers at the bottom.
“What the fuck is with you two?” Isaac demands from his seat opposite me.
I glance to my left, finding Luke in the same position. His head is bent, his gaze in his pint.
“What’s wrong with you?” I question.
“It’s obvious what’s wrong with him. Tiny still won’t let him in,” Isaac states.
My eyebrows shoot down. Do we know a Tiny? “Tiny?”
“Mina.”
I glare at Isaac when he answers for Luke again. “Did his voice box break or something?”
He snorts. “I’ve been talking to you two for the past twenty minutes and neither of you have responded. I’ve been answering my own questions, hoping one of you miserable fuckers would notice.”
I grin. “You know, talking to yourself is probably one of the first steps to madness.”
“I’d be inclined to agree with that statement if it was said to anyone but me. But I’m related to you two fuckers so it doesn’t apply.”
I don’t even flinch. “Ouch.”
He sighs in annoyance. “So, what’s wrong?”
“I’m going,” Luke announces, his pint unfinished. “I’ll catch you later.”
I watch my triplet leave the bar, barging through the crowd coming in. Most of them open their mouth to snap something, but once they see who it is they keep going, not wanting to fuck with a Hayes.
Guilt gnaws at my stomach. “Seriously, what did I miss? Is he okay?”
“I think he likes Mina,” Isaac replies, worry in his tone. “She’s broken. I’m worried he’s setting himself up for failure.”
I glance at my brother in disgust. “Isaac, it pains me to say this, but I really want to punch the fuck out of you right now.”
He rears back. “What? What did I do?”
I lean forward. “She’s not broken. She was assaulted in a way people like us will never understand. Broken is the last word I would use to describe her.”
“Woah, calm down. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just worried. He’s always going to the club to see her, even though she shies away from him. I think he’s also been sitting in his car outside her building when the gay guy is working late, so he can keep an eye on her in the only way he can.”
I roll my eyes. “I hate being the one who makes sense. It makes me feel mature.” I shudder. “He likes her. He’s protective. He’s not harming anyone. If he wants to take steps to gain her trust, let him. He’ll be good for her.”
He stares at me like I just solved world peace but doesn’t quite trust it. “Do you like her?”
“What? No! I don’t have the same kind of filter as Luke. I would say something to upset her. I mean, I like her as a person. It’s like Rebecca said, there’s something about her you want to protect and keep from harm.”
His shoulders drop. “Yeah, I get that.” He pulls Luke’s pint closer to him. “So what’s up with you?”
“I think I need to get laid,” I answer.
The seat next to me dips as a husky chuckle reaches my ear. “Please, don’t tell me you can’t go without sex for a few hours, Reid Hayes.”
I arch my eyebrow at Hayden. “Are you offering to take me to the bathroom?”
“Reid,” Clay warns, dropping down in the chair next to Isaac.
I wince. “Shit. My bad. Didn’t see you.”
“Told you this would be entertaining,” Hayden remarks to Clayton.
He snorts. “You found your dad searching high and low for his car keys entertaining.”
She shrugs. “He’ll get them tomorrow when the postman turns up.”
“You posted them?” he asks, his eyes bugging out.