Chapter 23
EVE
One minute the Sullivan brothers were punching the shit out of each other and the next Ethan had me slung over his shoulder as he stormed out of the living room like some kind of feral caveman or…or…
“Ethan, let me down!” I screeched, thrashing in his grip until he stumbled and released me. “What the hell was that? I’m not your property! How dare you carry on like that, hit your brother, then treat me like a discounted sack of flour you picked up at Costco!”
Ethan’s jaw dropped in shock and he shook his head with bewilderment. “I would never fuck a bag of flour the way I want to fuck you right now, Lilith. Could you imagine the mess? Andrew would have a heart attack.”
Despite how furious I was, a bubble of amusement popped out of me before I could wipe it away. “Stop it, I’m serious. March your ass right back in there and apologize.”
His brows shot up. “Apologize? To him? Not a chance. He’s lucky I didn’t—”
“Fine, suit yourself. But until you and Con work out your differences, a bag of flour will be the only thing you’ll be fucking because all of this?” I gestured to my body. Okay, fine, I gestured to my general crotch area. “Closed for business.”
Shock rippled over his handsome face, and his eyes darted past me to whoever was now listening in. I’d put money on it being Haze, to be fair, but only because Brodie wasn’t here.
“Ha ha, sucker!” Brodie’s voice echoed through the speaker of my phone, and I glanced over my shoulder to find Haze—as expected—holding my phone up so Brodie could listen in on our argument.
“Evie babe, I’m leaving for the airport now.
I’ll be home by morning! Can’t wait to have you all to myself now that Ethan’s in the doghouse. ”
“Good luck prying her out of Andrew’s bed,” Ethan snapped back, scowling. “You’ve got more than just me to play nice with now.”
Brodie gave an exaggerated groan, then sighed. “Oh well, good thing Drew’s a heavy sleeper. I can just fuck you right there in his bed and he probably won’t even stir.”
“The fuck you will!” Andrew exclaimed, coming into the hall to join us once more. “Brodie Keller, if you get your sweaty ball sack on my Egyptian cotton sheets, I will strangle you with them and throw the body to snapping turtles so no one ever finds the evidence.”
“Ah, so that’s a no to group sex with Andrew? Hmm, okay, we can work on that. Shit, my driver is here. See you soon, Evie babe! Love you, bye!”
The call ended, and Haze and Andrew both snapped their gazes to me, eyebrows lifted.
“Love you?” Andrew repeated, while my cheeks burned hot.
“You can’t be shocked,” Ethan muttered, his own face a little pinker than usual as well.
“It’s Brodie. I’d bet he’s already joking-but-not-joking suggested marriage to Eve.
She’s quite literally his obsession. And mine.
” With that, his gaze returned to mine, sadness and regret and guilt all shining through clearer than if he were holding up a billboard full of apologies.
Damn it. Ethan was so hard to stay mad at.
“Go and check on Connor, please,” I said softly, shaking my head.
“I don’t know what has happened between you in the past to create a constant animosity, but it can’t last if we’re going to make this relationship dynamic work.
Please, sort out your differences, because I refuse to choose between the two of you.
I’m already too far gone to ever pick, so don’t make me. It won’t end well for any of us.”
I was so nervous about him calling my bluff that my hands were trembling, so I balled them at my sides and prayed he wouldn’t notice. To my relief, Ethan nodded sadly and headed back toward the living room, pausing to kiss my hair on the way past.
“I’m sorry, Eve,” he murmured.
“Don’t say it to me, say it to Connor,” I replied, sticking to my guns. Sure, Con had taken a swipe at Ethan too, but that hadn’t warranted the reaction from his older brother’s fists.
Once Ethan disappeared, I let out a long breath and let my shoulders sag. It was a relief to know they weren’t pissed at me about Connor—or Andrew for that matter—but then I’d gone and jumped straight out of the frying pan and into the fire. Because of course I had.
“So…were you thinking of heading to bed?” Andrew asked in the ensuing silence.
I smiled, shaking my head. “It’s barely 8:00 p.m., so no. I actually have assignments to work on for a certain bad-tempered professor.” I rolled my eyes and started up the stairs. Then I paused. “Actually, you have the same assignment. Want to work on it together?”
“Naked?” Andrew suggested with a smirk, already passing me on the stairs. “I’ll grab my laptop and come to your room.”
I lingered a little longer, glancing back at Haze once Andrew disappeared. “You knew?” I asked quietly. “I guess Con was telling the truth about those cameras, then?”
Haze took a couple steps closer until we were eye to eye, thanks to me being on the third step of the stairs. “He wouldn’t lie about that sort of thing. Not to you.”
I don’t know why that statement made my breath catch so hard, but it did. “Did you watch?”
Haze wet his lips, drawing my gaze to his mouth. “Yes.”
Fuck. Why was that so sexy?
“And Andrew?” I frowned, curious to know how he knew about us.
Haze shrugged, a small smile tugging his lips. “There are a lot of cameras in this house, love. More than you might think.”
My brows rose in surprise at his honest confession, and my core tightened with arousal.
How much had he actually seen? Did he have cameras in my bedroom?
Had he witnessed everything between Ethan, Brodie, and I as well?
Did he know how well I took it in the ass these days?
Part of me wanted to ask, but part of me wanted to show him myself…
“Besides,” Haze continued, reaching out to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear, “you weren’t exactly subtle about it, having Andrew eat you out right there in the hallway.”
Oh shit, he really had watched. Holy crap, that was a turn on.
“Do you like to watch, Haze?” I asked, my voice stupidly breathless with how turned on I suddenly was.
His hand dropped away from my hair and he gave a small shrug.
“I was taken by enemies of my family when I was seventeen and tortured for four months before the boys got me out. Part of the lingering damage done was my inability to stomach physical touch from anyone, so watching is literally all I’ve ever allowed myself. Until you, Evelyn. Until now.”
Words failed me as I stared back at him, my guts in knots for all that he’d been through, even as my heart raced for what he was saying about us. But was he also trying to tell me he was a virgin? It sort of sounded that way.
“Now…” he continued, that small smile playing across his lips, “now I want to do so much more than just watch.” To demonstrate, he cupped my face in his huge hand and kissed me with enough passion to turn my blood to lava and my panties to drench.
“But not until you finish your assignments, love. Go on, Drew will be waiting.” He winked…
fucking winked…then left me standing there with my whole body on fire as he returned to the living room once more.
“Cruel,” I muttered aloud, then continued upstairs to my room where Andrew was already waiting, frowning at my desk with its single chair. “What’s wrong?”
“You only have one chair,” he said, stating the obvious.
I shifted my gaze from him to the chair in question, then back again. “Yes…you can use it. I’ll sit on the floor.”
That suggestion seemed to stress him out even more, so eventually I went and borrowed Brodie’s desk chair and wheeled it into my room so we could both sit side by side at my desk. It was actually stupid cute when I thought about it.
“Hey, Evie, can I ask you something?” Andrew said several hours later, when we’d finished our assignment.
“No, Andrew, I don’t want to peg you unless you’re really into that sort of thing,” I teased, a little loopy from too much academic work in such close proximity to a man who I desperately wished would rip my clothes off and fuck me over the desk. “Are you?”
“Huh?” he seemed puzzled. “No, that’s not…I don’t think that’s my vibe. Brodie would probably be into it though. He loves trying new things.”
I snort-laughed, nodding. “Good point. What did you want to ask, then?”
“Ah, I was curious. When was the last time you spoke to him?”
“Oh,” I said, shaking my head to shift gears.
“Uh, I don’t even know. Maybe when I was ten?
He dropped me off at the Lewis’s place so he could go on a business trip, then never came back.
He called a couple of times with bullshit excuses about his work being extended, but eventually even that dried up, and I guess he just… I dunno. I guess he forgot about me.”
“He didn’t though. I think he was just trying to keep you safe,” Andrew commented thoughtfully. “What about your mom? Is she…”
“She died when I was little.”
He frowned, thinking. “I don’t remember that.”
I shrugged. “Me neither, but I guess we were both pretty young. Anyway, why do you want to know?”
He drew a deep breath, standing up to stretch.
“No real reason. I was just thinking about the assassin who’d been sent after you, and how it seemed…
I’m not sure what the word is. It seemed more than just business, the way he came after you.
Like it was personal or…something. I’ll keep marinating on it. ”
I shuddered, remembering the horrific sight of the man’s head halfway blown off, thanks to Lacey. “Well, he’s definitely dead now. Thank fuck for that.”
Andrew forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah. But I’m not sure that’s the end of it. I’d feel a lot better if we could speak with your father directly. Do you think maybe if you reached out…”
My brows shot up in surprise, not having expected that question at all. “Oh. I tried with the number I had and it was disconnected. My guardians haven’t heard from him for years either. I’m not su—”
“Forget it,” Andrew quickly cut me off, shaking his head. “I don’t even want you back in his world, even via the phone. I shouldn’t have suggested that. I’ll figure out a way to track the connection.”
He started toward my door with his laptop under his arm, but I stood up quickly to stop him. “Wait, where are you going?”
“To my room,” he replied with a sexy grin, “where I can be confident no one else will try to join us in bed. Are you coming?”
I grinned back. “Not yet, but hopefully I will be soon.”
His smile grew, and a happy, horny Andrew was absolutely irresistible. “Repeatedly, Evie. I want to see you fall apart so hard you lose count and can’t physically walk your ass out of my room until morning.”
Shit, he didn’t need to tell me twice. I quickly saved my work, shut down, and all but ran to Andrew’s room to see him make good on that promise. Or was it a threat? Same-same.