Is the dread in my stomach a result of lived experience? Is it projection? Am I full of shit, superimposing my father’s face over this prick’s becauseI’mjealous?
“Anna…” Sick to my soul, I consider grabbing her. Tossing her in the car. Taking her away from here.
Instead, I glance down and gulp as she lays a gentle hand on my arm.Pat, pat, pat.Dismissed.“Give me a sec,” she murmurs, stepping around me and wandering to the guy who has no business being alone withanywoman.
Ever.
Stony faced, I back up to the car and lean against the driver’s side door, digging my hand into my pocket and tilting my head to make it fractionally easier to block out the sound of wind, because I’d rather know what the duo are saying.
I hear my name. I hear Carter’s grunting displeasure. I catch Anna’s eyes as they come across to mine, and then as she turns back to him and shakes her head.
She stays with him for less than a minute, hardly a conversation, then even before he’s done speaking, she turns on her heels, her smile bright and alluring, her nose scrunching playfully now that the other prick gets to see none of it. She steps offthe curb, swinging her hips and looking me up and down, then she walks straight into me, our chests clashing, my arm screaming in pain.
“What are you?—”
She pushes onto her toes and slams her lips against mine, wrapping her arms over my shoulders and walking her fingernails over the hair at the nape of my neck.
This is not how siblings kiss!
“Pay attention to me.” Anna’s tongue slides across to seduce mine, her fingers coming up to latch onto my jaw and force my focus away from the seething prick fifteen feet away. “This is a special night for me, Dean Warner, so if you don’t mind, I’d like you to look atmewhen our tongues touch. Not him.”
“But—”
“Will you drive?” She reaches into my pocket and snags her keys, touching my dick without meaning to, and releasing a deliciously surprised gasp when her brain registers her actions.
Collecting herself and slapping on a sultry smile, she drags her hand out again and places the keys in my palm. “Get in the car and I’ll tell you.”
Fuck yes.
I loop my arm around her hip and push away from the door, unlocking it quickly and whipping it open. I shuffle her in, too rough, too handsy, and force her to crawl across the driver’s side instead of walking her around like a gentleman.
Yet, she snickers, plopping into her seat and fastening her belt while I do the same on my side. I slam the door and jam the keys into the ignition, flipping the heater on with a turn of the dial and pumping the air up to get warmth circulating.
“The fuck was that?” I release the parking brake and slip the gearstick into reverse. Pulling out of our space, I bring us ontothe road and away from the park.Fuck, I still taste her on my tongue. “What’d he say that made you go kamikaze on your cover story?”
She grins in the dark, unzipping her oversized jacket as we rumble along a street lined with supermarkets. A bank. A clothing outlet store. “He said he doesn’t believe that you’re my brother. He even suggested you were lying to me, claiming to be my brother to get close to me to aid in your nefarious screw-Anna-over plan.”
“Little does he know, the brother story wasyours.” I scoff. “And since I’m feeling unfairly judged right now, it needs to be said:youwere the one who ran me down with your car.”
She snickers, sliding across the bench seat as far as her belt allows. “Take a left up here.”
“Ohhhkay.” I follow her instructions, too curious to say no, but careful not to rev the old engine so I don’t wake any sleeping children. “Where are we going?”
“Christmas light tour.” She cuddles into my arm, forcing me to steer with my bad side. But I’ll be fucked if I push her away. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’ve ignored the holidays for a while now, which means I robbed myself of a chance to drive around and look at the lights.”
I peek down into her perfect, glittering eyes.
“Carter said it’s weird how you were looking at me all night. That siblings don’t look at each other like that, so his detective instincts couldonlylead him to the conclusion you were a big fat liar.”
“Yeah?” I wrap my palm securely around the steering wheel. “Well, he’s got small-dick energy, so what the hell does he know?”
“I told him the truth. Most of it,” she amends, amused. “Ididn’t mention my driving negligence, but I said you weren’t my brother. I admitted that I was the one who lied, but that he’s not welcome to comment on the things I do in my private life. Then I turned around and kissed you.”
“Makes you a rebel,” I chuckle. “With a tasty tongue.”
“A tired rebel,” she happily sighs. “But I’m not ready for sleep, so if you’re up to it, I’d like to drive around for a bit. Look at the lights.” She places a whisper-soft kiss on the ball of my shoulder. “Spend a little more time wrapped in magic. Turn up here.”
I follow her instructions through residential streets bursting with bright displays and freaky-looking inflatable decorations, past houses that’ve already switched their lights off for the night, and along an industrial road leading away from the park we spent our evening in.
