Chapter Six
Shit, man, I am in trouble. Fucking Finn wasn’t kidding—Arden’s sister, Ellie, is drop-dead gorgeous.
From the moment she pulled up in my driveway, behind Arden, and stepped out of her silver Jaguar, I’ve been picking my jaw up off the ground.
I knew I shouldn’t have come outside to meet them. Everything Finn told me about Ellie is true. From the way the setting sun is making her raven-black hair, tumbling down her back in a cascade of soft curls, look so damn shiny and soft, to how her short-ass jean shorts show off her tan legs to perfection, I have a feeling I’m done for.
And the assault is relentless.
When I glance up from her legs, my eyes are drawn to how her white blouse is unbuttoned just enough to afford me a glimpse of her ample cleavage.
My dick takes note of that.
And now Arden, who thankfully appears to be blissfully unaware that his sister has me under her captive spell, introduces us.
As we stand in the driveway next to her car, he waves his hand between the two of us and says, “Nils, this is Ellie. Ellie, Nils.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say with a nod.
God, her eyes really are fucking turquoise.
“You too,” she replies softly, extending her hand.
Wow, I even like her voice.
We shake, and her skin is so soft and warm.
I quickly pull away, and I swear she looks…smug?
Okay, I clearly need to get it together. I, Nils Sten, am not some lapdog. And this isn’t like me anyway. I’m not so easily captivated by any woman.
Clearing my throat, I motion to the brick walkway leading up to the front door of my home and say, “Are you ready to go in, Ellie? I can show you around. Oh, and we can put your bags in your new bedroom. I’m giving you one with an en suite bathroom. It’s the next biggest to the master, which is mine, so it’s pretty nice.”
That’s a lot of detail, dude. Quit acting like a high schooler mesmerized by the homecoming queen. You don’t need to impress her.
Luckily for me, Ellie doesn’t seem fazed. She just nods and replies, “Sounds nice. Thanks. Let’s go check it out.”
Before we head inside, Arden and I take out Ellie’s two large suitcases from the trunk of her car.
He mentions to me that he’d like to get back home to spend some time with Willow before we go on the road tomorrow, adding, “Ellie is okay with me taking off, so if you don’t mind…”
I stop him there. “Not a problem, man. I got it from here.”
And I do.
So, while Arden and Ellie hug and say goodbye, I take the bags up to the house. I place her suitcases just inside the door, then step back outside to wait for her.
Ellie waves to Arden as he drives off, then makes her way up to the front entryway.
I try not to watch her, as I’m turning into a total creeper here.
This has to stop.
Stepping aside and motioning with my hand, I smile and say, “Ladies first.”
“My, aren’t you just the gentleman,” she replies with a soft laugh as she steps past me and into the entry hall.
Little flirt.
This does not help me behave. I shouldn’t like her flirting. But I do.
Ellie seems fun.
And I love fun.
Speaking of love, I absolutely love the way her ass looks in her shorts as I follow her in.
Yeah, I’m totally checking her out again.
I’m glad when she turns around to face me, simply because it gets me back in-line.
Adopting a serious tone, though I bet it’ll be short-lived, Ellie says, “Hey, before we go on, I just want to say thank you so much for letting me stay here. I promise not to be too much of a bother. And if I am, just let me know. Also, I know you told Arden you don’t want any rent, but I can certainly help out with things like cleaning and stuff.”
I wave my hand. “Ellie, yes, you’re right on the no-rent thing. But you don’t have to clean. I have a housekeeper who comes in once a week on Fridays. Just make yourself at home. Besides, you’re kind of doing me a favor by staying here.”
“I am?” She looks surprised. “How so?”
“Well…” I blow out a breath. “I’ll be gone a lot for away games, and I think it’ll be a nice change to have someone around when I come home.”
Cocking her head and bedazzling me with a million-dollar smile, she says, “Well, I promise I’ll try to be good company, then.”
Oh, I am in so much trouble.
Good thing I’ll be on the road often.
Picking up her bags and shaking my head, I murmur, “Don’t worry. You already are.”
After I show Ellie the bedroom that’ll be hers for her stay, one that happens to be right down the hall from mine—help me! What was I thinking?—I give her a tour of the whole house. I also hand her a key and fill her in on the code to the alarm. Finally, we exchange cell phone numbers in case she needs to reach me, or I have to talk to her.
This all occurs in the entertainment room, our final stop on my tour, while we’re standing next to a plushy leather sofa facing the massive big-screen TV on the wall.
Now that the tour is over, though, I’m not sure what to do next.
I’d like to make Ellie feel comfortable, and I don’t think running off and leaving her alone would result in that. Not to mention, I actually want to spend time with her. I’d like to start getting to know her as a person. It’d be nice if we became friends.
So, turning to her, I say, “I think it’s only like seven or something. Would you want to stay in here and watch a movie? We can order food if you’re hungry.”
I’m much more composed now than I was earlier.
I haven’t even been checking her out.
Well, okay, I have, but not nearly as much as before.
See, I can do this.
Finn will not win our bet.
And Arden won’t have to kill me.
I am a good, trustworthy dude. One you can definitely allow to house your hot-as-fuck sister and not worry he’ll try to bed her.
Nope, not me.
I’m so wrapped up in pumping myself up that I totally miss her reply.
“I’m sorry. What was that?”
Chuckling, she says, “I said sure. I’m up for a movie.”
“And food?”
She shakes her head. “No, I’m good. I had a huge salad earlier with Willow, so I’m still pretty full. But if you’re hungry, don’t let me stop you from getting something.”
“No.” I shake my head once. “I’m actually fine too.”
After we sit down on the sofa, I turn on the TV. We check out all of the options on my many streaming services, and ultimately decide to watch something scary.
Our selection is a new slasher flick with a B-level cast. Sometimes those are the best. But even if it’s not that great, a horror movie feels fitting and timely, seeing as it is October, and Halloween is coming up in a few weeks.
There is one other reason I prefer the scary movie choice. I sure as fuck don’t want to watch any kind of romantic movie with Ellie.
Or, God forbid, anything with sex scenes.
Hell, no.
Bring on the slasher flick.
Before I start the movie, Ellie slides over to the other end of the sofa and tucks her legs up under her.
I scoot down away from her to the far side.
We watch the movie, and it turns out to be just okay. Certainly not an Oscar contender or anything, but there are a few good scares. The film keeps my attention enough that I only sneak in a few surreptitious glances over at Ellie.
So, all in all, I behave.
I’m feeling more comfortable, so after the movie is over, I turn off the TV and, twisting on the sofa to face her, I ask Ellie, “What did you think? Did you like it?”
Sweeping her long dark hair over one shoulder and twirling a strand around her index finger, she says, “It was decent. I was surprised a few times.”
“Yeah,” I tease, “I thought I saw you over there jumping once or twice.”
“Riiight.” She rolls her eyes at me. “I think that was you doing the jumping, not me.”
Rolling back my shoulders and puffing up my chest, I declare, “No way. I don’t scare that easily.”
She snorts. “Okay, tough guy. Whatever you say.”
We look over at each other, and, as our eyes meet, we both bust out laughing.
This is good; we’re already joking around and acting like goofy siblings.
See, I knew I could be strong.
Now all I have to do is not think about, or lust over, her luscious legs…or her hot ass…or her beautiful eyes…or her pretty face…or anything else.
And if I do all those things, I’ll be driving around in Finn’s Escalade in no time, victorious and safe from Arden’s wrath.