He chuckled. The sound was low and throaty and made butterflies take flight in her stomach. “I’m pretty sure I can read your mind. And I’m pretty sure you’re dragging my name through the mud.”
“In that case, I’m sorry you heard that.”
He chuckled again. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll stop hovering over you like an over-protective big brother if you promise not to fall victim to Fisher’s charms. I’m serious. That man is trouble.”
“But see?” She lifted an eyebrow. “Iliketrouble.”
All the teasing fled from Sam’s eyes as a muscle went to work in his jaw.
Figuring it was best to quit while she was ahead, she turned for the bank of computers and left him staring after her.
14
There was little point in replying to Hannah’s last declaration, so Sam was left to watch her pad over to Ozzie’s computer station in her socked feet.
As she took a seat in one of the rolling chairs, scooting herself close to a keyboard, her words drifted through his head.“I am not, and never have been, your little sister.”
Good thing, too,he thought uncomfortably.Considering the dreams I’ve been having.
He realized Ozzie had come to stand next to him when he felt a hand clap on his shoulder.
Ozzie kept his voice low enough not to reach Hannah’s ears, but it resonated in Sam’s like a knell of truth. “Speaking of red flags, you telling Fisher to steer clear of Hannah is like waving one in front of a bull’s face. You get that, right?”
“Yeah.” Sam ran a hand through his hair in frustration, hearing Pale Horse rumble to life below. The big motorcycle’s engine filled the cavernous space so he didn’t have to worry about the volume of his voice when he added, “But what should I have done? You know Fish. He’s the MVP of the Players Club.”
The thought of Hannah with Fisher didn’t just turn Sam’s stomach. It twisted it into knots.
Ozzie cocked his head. “Why does the thought of her with Fish bother you so much?” When Sam opened his mouth, Ozzie pressed ahead. “And don’t give me any of thatshe’s like a kid sister to me and I’m trying to keep her from getting hurtbullshit. You know Fish. He wouldn’t harm a fly. If he and Hannah started something, he’d make sure she knew where it’d end. Also, just so you’re aware,nobig brother looks at his little sister the way you look at Hannah. At least none that don’t require an emergency intervention followed by a boatload of therapy.”
Horror at his own transparency rose to the surface. “Jesus,” he rasped, rubbing a hand over his beard.
Ozzie was quick to reassure him. “Don’t beat yourself up. You’d have to be blind not to notice she’s a purple-headed smokeshow. And sheisn’tyour kid sister.”
Sam frowned as the sound of his motorcycle grew quieter, the Bat Cave eating up the noise of the engine the same way it devoured light. He found his thoughts pulled in two different directions.
On the one hand, Ozzie was right. Hehadnoticed how beautifully womanhood had settled on Hannah’s shoulders, curves in all the right places with that little edge of counter-culture rebel shining through. On the other hand, so what? So she was no longer a metal-mouthed teen? So she’d grown into a fiery, fascinating woman full of sarcasm and sex appeal?
It wasn’t like thatchangedanything.
I still dated her sister.Sleptwith her sister. I still knew her when she was just a kid. Which means nothing can ever happen between us because—
He wasn’t aware he wanted to ask the question that popped out of his mouth until it was hanging in the air between them. “What are the rules for dating sisters, do you think? I mean, is it ever permissible?”
Holy fucknuts? Do I want Hannah?
It was too outrageous to fathom.
Except, hewasfathoming it.Hadfathomed it, even if he’d refused to admit it to himself.
Ozzie frowned, giving the topic the consideration it was due. Eventually, he shrugged. “I think the rules are probably different depending on the situation and the sisters in question. How would your old girlfriend feel about you getting it on with her baby sis? And how wouldyoufeel knowing you’d…uh…really gotten toknowboth of them?”
“Dunno.” Sam answered honestly, running a hand over his beard again. “I mean, what happened with Candy was teen stuff, right? It was a million years ago, and we’re both different people now.”
He was no longer the high school jock with too much swagger and too little sense, and Candy was no longer the reigning prom queen champing at the bit to find a way out of the old neighborhood.
“Guess the thing to do then would be to ask Hannah howshefeels, huh? You might be tying yourself into knots for nothing.”
Before Sam could respond, the sound of the front door springing open distracted him with its familiar securitybeepfollowed by a slighthissand apop. The door was made of reinforced steel and pressure-sealed itself when it closed.
