Chapter 17
CALLUM – LYING TO MYSELF
As soon as the front door clicks, all the guys look at me, but no one speaks for a moment. If we had a clock on the wall, the tick tick tick of the seconds passing would echo loudly through this room, but we don’t.
“What are you doing?” Jax asks point-blank, holding nothing back.
“I don’t know.”
“You fucked her last night, and she didn’t sign.”
“So.” Knox twirls his cup in his hand. “We watched, and I didn’t hear you complaining about it last night.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Jax bats his hand in Knox’s direction. It’s more a statement of frustrated friendship than anger. Knox and Jax have a bond that has been forged over the years that goes deeper than any of us, but nevertheless, Knox loves to annoy the shit out of Jax, and he makes it easy.
“I’m just speaking the truth,” he fires back, throwing his hands into the air as he walks over to stand next to Emmett.
“Do you think she’s going to sign?” Jax asks, cutting his eyes away from Knox at the last second.
“Yes, but she wants more. That’s the only reason she didn’t sign last night.”
“More?” Jax drops his head.
“I’ll give her the goddamn world on a platter…” Knox lowers his voice to an exaggerated baritone, the mockery obvious.
Jax cuts his eyes at me, like Knox is my responsibility.
“I nearly came when you said that,” Knox continues, squeezing Emmett’s shoulders from behind, like Emmett’s his bodyguard.
“Seriously. Shut the fuck up,” Jax huffs, pushing away from the counter, causing Knox to duck behind Emmett. “I’m not coming after you. I’m just going for a run.”
“Built-up sexual frustration? I get it, bro. I’ll come with,” Knox offers.
“Hard pass.”
“What the hell, man?”
“I need space from you,” Jax chuckles, shaking his head.
“Fine. I’m going for a run too. You can’t stop me from doing that. And if we accidentally, not on purpose, happen to be running in the same direction, then that will be a surprise to me.”
“You’re an idiot.”
Knox just shrugs and runs up the stairs, cutting Jax off.
“Remind me why we keep him around?” Jax asks, turning back to look at us.
Knox’s voice filters down the stairs. “Because you need my bubbly personality to add a small glimmer to your rusted soul.”
Jax mumbles something as he walks up the stairs while Emmett and I both chuckle.
“I’m surprised Jax hasn’t killed him yet,” Emmett says, drying the last plate and putting it in the cabinet.
“For all his grumbly talk, Jax would miss Knox too much if he was anything different from the pain in the ass he is.”
“It’s too early for all of those words.” Emmett walks around and sits beside me at the bar.
“What’s up?”
“Just checking on you, brother. Trouble seems to be mixing things up around here.”
A soft, involuntary breath blows from my nose—half laugh, half sigh.
He claps his hand on my shoulder. “I haven’t seen you like this. It’s a good thing.”
“I don’t know what it is about her,” I sigh, shaking my head.
“I’ve heard of instant love and I’m not saying that’s what this is, but it’s definitely instant something.
She flipped up on the camera at the Cupid party and there was something about her.
She seemed broken and sad, but not in a bad way.
” I can’t help but laugh. “I know that sounds bad, but I don’t know.
” A sigh blows from between my lips. “I can’t explain it, but I just want to fight her battles for her.
She seems like she’s been through it, but she’s a fighter. ”
Emmett laughs.
“It’s like I want to hold her and comfort her, while at the same time, fuck her and break her.”
“Yeah. She seems different from the other girls we’ve had. They were eager to be pleased, but Everlee… she definitely wants to be pleased, but she also seems to enjoy pleasing.”
My hand latches onto Emmett’s arm. “She sucks cock like a fucking pro. E, I swear. She sucked my cock into her mouth and I about fucking came. In like two seconds.”
“We saw. We had bets.”
“Fuckers.”
He laughs. “I will say it seems very natural with her here. We haven’t ever let anyone stay the night, and she has twice already, and… I love it. It’s just… natural.”
“We can’t let ourselves get attached. This is a temporary thing. It always is. We have rules so we don’t get hurt again.”
“I know.”
We stare at each other without speaking.
I hope I’m not lying.