I rose from the bed, so we were standing inches apart. “These bitchy girls were picking on Liv the first day of school. Carmella had suggested kissing Liv in front of them to make them jealous.”
“How old are you? Seriously, dude. You sound ridiculous.”
“I didn’t want to do it. But it worked.”
Tate sneered. “That’s a bullshit excuse.”
“While Olivia has been living under my roof, she’s become number one in her class, will give the valedictorian speech next month at graduation, and was accepted at Kingston University. So don’t look at me like I’m some creepy old man taking advantage of your sister. She’s an adult now. Your sister isfucking brilliant and headstrong, and she knew what she was doing. It’s time you stopped treating her like a little girl.”
“Tate, he’s right.” With a sheet wrapped around her body, Olivia stood beside me. “Drake has only ever helped me. The first time we kissed was the only time until last night. He turned me down the next time I tried. He said it was inappropriate because of my age and because he was my legal guardian.”
“Damn right,” Tate shot back.
“I came on to Drake last night. I asked him to kiss me for my birthday. I begged him.”
Tate’s gaze swept over our bodies, annoyed. “You did a lot more than kiss.”
Frowning, she inched forward as if approaching an animal in heat. “Please don’t be mad at Drake. I’m a big girl. I slept with him. It was my choice.”
“Are you two serious?”
“It was one night,” Olivia said.
“You fucking asshole,” Tate shouted, pointing a finger at me. “You ruined our friendship over one night? Go fuck yourself.”
There was no reasoning with Tate when he was like this, so I let him storm out of the room. He needed some space to cool off and think things through.
He was still in shock.
“Nope, not happening,” Olivia said and followed him, the bedsheet trailing behind her. She grabbed his elbow from behind and forced him to stop and turn around. “Don’t talk to me or your best friend like that. I’m sorry you’re mad that I didn’t tell you I liked Drake, but get over yourself.”
“You’re just another girl to him,” he said. “Drake doesn’t date. Do you know what kind of women he fucks? Whores. Prostitutes.”
Her eyes widened at me. “Is that true?”
“There’s this club,” I started to tell her and then stopped myself.
“No, keep going.” Olivia angles her body to look at me. “Tell me.”
Shoving down the nerves stirring in my stomach, I forced myself to tell her the truth. “It’s called The Mansion. I go there sometimes for sex.”
“Why?” Olivia bit out, horror scrolling across her face. “You don’t need to pay for sex.”
“Because he doesn’t want a relationship, Liv.” Tate clutched her arm and pulled her toward the elevator. “You’re wasting your time. Drake has never dated a woman for more than a few weeks.”
I was like my father in many ways. I went to the same exclusive club to meet willing, easy women, so I didn’t have to maintain a relationship. But Olivia was my exception to everything. For her, I wanted to be different.
“This won’t end well for you, baby sis. I won’t be around every morning to bring you breakfast or rock you back to sleep when you need someone to mend your broken heart.”
Tate was acting like a giant asshole, but I understood it came from a good place. He was protecting his sister. Olivia didn’t know the truth. Tate still hadn’t told her we were half brothers or that he shared no DNA with Olivia.
“He won’t break my heart,” Olivia said, sure of herself.
“Liv, open your fucking eyes. Do you see him fighting for you? No. He hasn’t said more than a few words. This relationship is one-sided. You offered yourself to him, and he took advantage.”
“That’s not true,” I interjected. “You’re blowing this completely out of proportion.”
Tate tipped his head back and laughed. “Yeah, okay, Battle. You know, it’s a good thing I came home on leave. Or this mighthave gone on for longer than it should have. We both know you can’t keep a relationship with anyone. Hell, look at what you did to Carmella.”
