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“I wouldn’t get too confident, cub.”
“After Dane’s ultimatum I thought I’d clear my busy schedule and come see what all the fuss is about.”
His laughter sounds out around us while his hooded eyes roam freely up and down my body. “Looking good, cub.” He nods, giving me his seal of approval and I instantly feel the heat of my arousal rushing to my cheeks while my heart pounds harder in my chest.
“Erm… thanks.” I mutter under my breath, failing to hide the nervous laugh as it escapes my parted lips. His brown eyes are captivating as they bore into me some more and I can’t help but feel naked and exposed as I stand before him, and it’s not a bad feeling.
Thankfully Cameron doesn’t seem to notice as he shrugs back at me, his demeanor casual and composed. He’s a lot more chill than his brothers, that’s for sure. I struggle to tear my eyes away from him as his white shirt stretches tight around his torso as he crosses his arms over his chest.
“Just be thankful it was me who came to greet you and not Dane or Caleb.” There’s something hidden in his tone, a hidden warning of some kind but I struggle to make it out. Plus, I think I’m in too deep to listen to anymore warnings. I could be imagining it, my paranoid mind creeping in but my instincts have never failed me.
“Dane and Caleb aren’t here?” I ask, unable to hide my shocked expression from Cameron’s watchful glare. I say it purely to keep the conversation flowing but his eyes narrow, his large body inching toward me. When he comes to a stop, he’s so close I can feel the heat radiating from him and it has me feeling all kinds of things I have no business feeling right now, if at all.
Palming his chest his face softens. “Am I not enough for you, cub?”
Fuck. What the hell am I supposed to say to that? I know he’s playing with me but his words send my head spinning out of control and my own words fail me while I continue to drink him in, my eyes hungry for more and somehow, I manage a small smile. I’m thankful I avoided the word vomit threatening to escape my lips because I already know whatever I said wouldhave sounded all kinds of wrong and it would have been used against me at some point, for sure.
CALEB
“I thought I’d made my feelings perfectly clear?” I snarl, the venom heavy on my tongue and it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. “I fucking told you I didn’t want the Braxton brat anywhere near this house.”
“Are you being serious? It’s a party, man. Plus, I thought we’d moved passed this bullshit already?”
A deep insatiable anger runs through me, coursing through my veins like wildfire, ebbing and flowing, crashing into all my emotions and it makes me feel more unstable than I’ve felt in a long ass time. How fucking naïve can a person be?
“Dane, if he comes back and…” my throat constricts, refusing to give my words an outlet. No matter how hard I try I can’t being myself to finish my sentence, knowing the second I do then I’m acknowledging it out loud. Committing the fact to my reality. Sure, we both know the chances of that happeningare slim, but that doesn’t change the fact its still a possibility. He could turn up here any time. Completely unannounced.
Dane leans back, unfazed and unaffected as usual. Once again, more than happy for me to deal with the inevitable fallout. The fallout of his fucking messy and reckless choices.
“Yeah, like that’s ever going to happen. You and I both know that he’s too busy elsewhere to even think about coming back here. When are you going to open your eyes and see he doesn’t have time for us anymore. Plus, wouldn’t you rather have a little fun before he does return? Before he storms in like he never left and ruins everything you’ve built?” Waggling his brows, his lips curve into a sinister smile as he dares me to argue with his logic.
Usually, I’d be all for it. But I don’t know, something feels off about this current situation. Something isn’t sitting right with me and no matter how hard I try I can’t seem to fight off the unease. I can’t shut it down.
“It’s not that easy.” I reluctantly admit, more to myself than Dane, and I know the motherfucker doesn’t miss it. He doesn’t miss shit.
“Easier for who… you, or him?”
Fuck, any other time I’d be all over this. I’d be quick to shut Dane down in a heartbeat. I always put myself first—above anything and everything, regardless of the consequences. But I can’t do that. Not this time. There are too many complications and now I have to do something I’ve never done before. I need to take a step back and think. I need to tread these murky waters with care because this time it isn’t just about me.
This time it’s personal.
Personal for all involved. Dane included, even if he can’t see it because he’s too busy thinking with his dick. In an ideal world Dane would be able to see that there’s too much hanging in the balance. Even if I wanted to fuck about, I can’t allow myself to be the one who’s responsible for risking it all. You see, that’s where me and Dane are different. He thinks with his dick, whereas I like to think with my head—the one which houses my brain and not my japs eye.
I am the brains behind this operation, after all.
“Well?” He presses, refusing to take my silence as an affirmative answer. “How long are you going to stay hidden in his shadow? He doesn’t give a fuck about you. Not anymore. He doesn’t give a fuck about how his actions or lack of them affect your life man, so why should you care how your actions affect his?”
Deep down, beneath the stubborn armor I wear so well, I know Dane’s right. But I’m also a loyal motherfucker too. I will always give respect to those who deserve it and I’ll always expect the same in return. Sure, I get what Dane’s trying to say. Matteo doesn’t deserve shit from me at the moment, especially when he keeps disappearing, leaving me behind to pick up the pieces as they fall down around us. But he’s also my brother and a moment in time doesn’t erase a lifetime. Blood is so much thicker than water, and if it wasn’t for Matteo looking out for me and always having my back when we were younger, there’s no fucking way I’d still be here. I would have been dead and buried long ago.
No matter Dane’s thoughts on the situation, my debt to Matteo is too great. It’s lifelong. “Don’t try to twist this, Dane.” I warn. “This isn’t about me. This is about you deciding to go against everything we stand for.”
A quick flash of teeth graces my vision before his face sets, his jaw tight. “You know it’s all for the greater good.”
Biting down on a laugh I shake my head, refusing to process the bullshit he’s trying to hurl my way. This motherfucker is something else, that’s for sure. He’s bat shit fucking crazy. “There is no greater good. It doesn’t fucking exist. Not in this scenario. Fuck, we set ourselves a mission, focusing on one target and it’s getting closer and you’re ready to do everything in your power to sabotage it. Without any of us getting a say before you detonate the fucking bomb.”
“I know what’s at stake here.” Now it’s Dane’s turn to snap as he sets his jaw, his shoulders squaring ready for a fight. “Don’t stand there and make out I’ve forgotten.” Obviously, I’ve hit some kind of nerve for him to jump on the defensive so easily. “All I’m saying is, I don’t see why we can’t play around with Little Red Riding Hood while the wolf’s away. If the boot was on the other foot, he’d be all fucking over it. We deserve a little something for all our hard work, Caleb. Now it’s time to enjoy the fruit of our labor. We should be enjoying it while we still can, before it’s time to blow it all up.”
Narrowing my eyes, I take a step toward my brother while fighting an internal battle. I know he’s right but I’m not about to admit it. “You know why and so does Matteo. That fucker sees and hears everything. Whether he’s here or not his rules still stand.”
