AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Knox?” Finn inclines his head toward the redhead, eyebrows raised. Do I want in? He’s asking.
We share women who want to be shared. I’ve walked in on him more than a dozen times. He’s done the same to me. If we both want the same woman and she’s willing to share, so are we.
I shake my head. I’m off sex, and I can’t explain why. Nothing excites me anymore.
He raises his eyebrows. “Hey, Knox, I’m thinking your old fella might have fallen off?”
“You thinking about my enormous cock again?” I grin. “I know you’re jealous, but Christ man, it’s also disturbing to be thinking about my cock so much.”
He flips me off.
I laugh and take a slug of beer. “Looks like you’ll be busy later on.” I motion with my head to the business card on the bar.
“Nah. She’s got the look that says, ‘hopeful boyfriend.’” He holds up his hands. “And you know that’s not me or you.”
Aye, I do.
I sigh and stare moodily into my glass. Our little fucked-up family. My two brothers and I have our roles. I’m the pusher of boundaries, the control-freak, and yeah, I own that one because we wouldn’t be where we are today if I wasn’t the one holding everything together. Finn is the happy-go-lucky guy, who runs the bar and makes a shit ton of profit. Lachlan, the architect, can’t sit the fuck down long enough to have a conversation. Pure energy runs through his veins.
We all have scars we hide.
A couple slips onto the stools beside me. I jerk back at the blast of her scent. They are practically making out in front of me. His hand down her top. Hers pressed against her man’s jeans. In my younger days, I’d have my tongue hanging out following the action. A sparkly ring on her left hand and a shiny band on his. Newlyweds. I salute them with my drink. That’s about as likely to happen to me as Elvis and Bob Marley playing Wembley stadium with Kurt Cobain singing backup.
You guessed it. Marriage is definitely not in my future.
To be honest, my cock hasn’t twitched for a while. Finn will fuck anything that moves and approves. Me? I’m older. The days of fucking, stilted conversation, accidentally falling asleep and having nightmarish morning conversations are in my past. I don’t do relationships. Neither of us does, thanks to Ma and Da who fought physically and emotionally. Their love was fucked up, if you could call it love. Hate maybe. Who knows? They hated Finn and me and told us daily, but loved Lachlan. Come to think of it, I think only my mother’s vague Irish Catholic faith made sure her pregnancies weren’t terminated.
Pure love right there.
Yep, we’re one fucked-up family. But we stick together, always have. Always will.
Ma and Da cut us loose and their parenting role fell to me. We never heard from them again, and that suits me fine. I hate them. Finn doesn’t care, but Lachlan does. At only twelve, he wandered dazed around the house for days, silently crying. Fast forward fourteen years, and I still see the haunted look in his eyes. He rarely goes out, and shuns people. Which is why I don’t do this whole intimacy bullshit. None of us do. At the ripe old age of thirty-two, I’ve never kissed a girl. I don’t know if that’s just plain sad or jacked up. Truth be told, I don’t care.
“Another hard day at the office?” Finn pours pints for suits at the end of the bar, but his eyes are on me.
“Aye, but a good one.” I run a hand through my hair. I take another slug of beer. “With Lachlan on the reno of this place, you running the pub and me pushing the next deal it’s all grand.”
Which is one of the reasons we bought this pub. Lachlan saw such potential in the upstairs flats. He was sketching plans while we took a tour. There was a light in his eyes, and fuck me, it was good to see. Yeah, it was a good investment, but one shared look between Finn and me, and we knew. The deal was sealed. Four flats and one already rented out on a short or long-term basis. It’s going to be a goldmine.
So here I am looking for the next opportunity; the hunt, the chase. I love the chase, which leads me to why I’m here on a Saturday night. Will there be something or someone who interests me tonight? I fucking hope so. But I know it won’t all be about the physical. I want a woman who challenges me, and who I can challenge.
Finn, Lachlan and I meet here every Saturday night. We discuss shit. Shit being what’s happening in our lives, business and private if the need calls. Not that it often does. We’d all rather eat shit on toast with jiz gravy than discuss feelings. If we have any, that is. Could be we were born without them. Well, I don’t have any. Finn buries his. Lachlan feels too damn much. One thing not in dispute, but if one of us were in trouble, the other two would have our back.
I look around the packed pub for a sign of Lachlan. I catch the eye of at least three women. All attractive. I’m waiting for my cock to give me a heads up, so to speak. Nothing. Not a goddamn thing, the evil fucker. I send them an apologetic smile.
I turn to face Finn. “Where is Lachlan anyway?”
His forehead creases. “Shit, I forgot. He texted earlier. He’s been up for twenty-four hours fixing something.”
Finn and I eye each other. “I’ll check in and make sure he’s okay,” I say. We’ve all got demons, but Lachlan’s hide in his marrow.
He knows these family meetings are important to me. I know he hates coming down here, hates the attention from women. Even I have to admit he’s a handsome fucker. Lachlan isn’t into swiping right. He’s looking for a girl to settle down with. How he’ll find her locked in his room is a mystery. Even more of a mystery is why he wants to settle down, after seeing the shit show that was our parents’ marriage.
I look around the pub. Truth be told, I’m bored. There is no excitement in my life. Everything is running as it should. Investments are making a crap load of money; this pub is pumping more.
Finn is reaching for the top shelf of whisky for some suits. I smile when he pulls down the eighteen-year-old Lochside Mist Reserve. Our some-time business partner makes it. Only Killian could turn water into an award-winning whisky and charge the equivalent of a pound of cut cocaine.
The newlyweds next to me leave. Thank God as her perfume could take down a rhino. The next second I breathe in flowers and what I can only describe as sunshine. A gorgeous, raven-haired beauty sits beside me in tight denim jeans and boots, fresh-faced and eager. She doesn’t notice me because her eyes are glued to my brother’s arse.
