AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But you looked so good out there.”
He smiled. “Thanks. You want to watch a movie?”
“Okay.”
Cameron tapped the can she clutched in her hand with the neck of his beer bottle. “To our first date, and I promise the next one won’t be a house party.”
Cheers?
Brendan curled his fingers around the railing in front of his upstairs office as he looked out at the main club floor. Members prowled about, drinks in hand, dressed to entice. Seduce. Subtle notes of plum, patchouli, black amber, and musk pumped through the ventilation system to blend with the heavy scent of arousal. Sex. He breathed it deep into his lungs, but it didn’t stir him like it usually did.
Why did he unlock that door?
He glanced at his phone. Just after ten. Here, behind the red door, the night had barely even begun. She must be at that party with him by now. The game was over a couple hours ago. Brendan tried not to think about what his sweet girl might be doing. It was all he thought of, though. Was she drinking? Dancing? Fumbling in a dark corner with her tongue in his mouth while his hand slipped beneath her sweater? His gut clenched. He shook his head to break the chain of thought and reminded himself that Katelyn wasn’t his.
He let her go.
Because it was the right thing to do. Not for him. For Katelyn.
And it killed him. Those stolen moments with her brought him to life. Woke up every dormant cell in his body. Katelyn made him feel things, and the things she made Brendan feel rocked him. Threw him off-kilter. He thought he could convince himself to overlook how much younger she was, but he couldn’t ignore her innocence. Her light.
‘What kind of a grown-ass man preys on the innocence of a young girl? It’s a sick fucking monster that does that.’
And he’d be damned if he was the one to snuff it out. He could still see the shattered look on her face when he told her he’d made a mistake. Let her believe he was a dick. An asshole. She was better off fumbling with some inept jock in a dark corner of a frat house than for him to drag her into his fucked-up world.
Cuffing his sleeve, Brendan took the stairs down to the main floor. He didn’t even glance over at the hedonistic display of naked bodies on the platform as he made his way to the booth by the bar. A bottle of whiskey sat waiting for him, along with Bo, Dillon, and Taylor. That surprised him. Taylor never came out to play anymore now that he had everything he wanted at home.
Lucky bastard. Must be nice to put your morning wood to good use every fucking day.
He couldn’t help but hear them now that the nights were cool and windows were left open. And Chloe was loud. He wondered how baby Chand slept through it all. Sometimes, if the wind blew just right it sounded as if they were right there in his bedroom instead of in their own next door. Chloe would die if she knew how often Brendan jerked his dick to the sound of her screams. Taylor would punch his balls. He chuckled to himself.
“What’s so funny?” Bo drawled.
Brendan took a seat next to his cousin and poured himself a finger of Glenlivet. “Nothing, man.” He looked across the table to Taylor. “What are you doing here? Jess and Chloe come with you?”
“Hello to you too, mate.” Taylor pretended to be offended. Brendan knew better. “Thought they could do with some together time, so here I am. We’re all coming for the Halloween Ball, though.” He winked.
At that, Dillon stopped scrolling through his phone to glance over at Taylor and he snickered, “Can’t wait.” Then returned to his scrolling.
What the fuck is up his ass?
Bo shrugged.
“Need help tomorrow, Bo? Kodiak’s stuff all moved over to Linn’s old place?” Brendan felt his cousin tense up next to him at the mention of her name.
“Thanks, Bren, we got it. Ky, Jess, and Tay here helped me with the moving part. The stairs in Linn’s row house were a bitch—tight as a virgin’s…”
“Indeed, but we sorted it. The girls did their thing behind us. Done.”
“…pussy,” Bo finished.
“Linn’s fetching him from the airport and bringing him over for dinner. Chloe wants everyone there by six so he feels welcome,” Taylor reminded them. “Dillon?”
He looked up from his phone. “What?”
“Dinner.”
“If Chloe or Linn are cooking, you don’t have to ask me twice.” He winked. “I’ll be there.”
