Was he trolling me? Amazing was Bridget with her flawless complexion, willowy body, legs for miles, pear-drop tits, and sultry cat-eyes. So perfect that she'd been a Vogue cover model. Twice!
I made the mistake of rolling my eyes. Apparently, he wasn't a fan of my newly discovered sass.
"You don't believe me," he observed, eyes narrowed.
"Well, no."
"Want me to list all the things about you I think are perfect?"
That sounded…embarrassing. I tried to wriggle off his lap, but he held me in an iron grip, and the more I struggled, the more he refused to let me go.
"Your sweet nature."
OK, so that wasn't too embarrassing, even if he was wrong. The blonde Australian bitch at the hostel hadn't called me sweet when I told her to fuck off and die after she woke me up with her incessant screeching.
"Your gorgeous hair."
Again, wrong. Nothing gorgeous about the tangled mess tied up in a hair elastic.
"Your eyes." OK, so my eyes weremaybemy best feature. I'd let him have that one.
"Your ass." I flushed red. This was venturing somewhere I didn't want to go.
"Ass?" His hand slid down and cupped said ass.
"Yes, ass." I wasn't sure what to do with that statement. "The ass I've spent way too long thinking about these last few weeks. Inappropriate thoughts."
"Thoughts about what?" I regretted asking the minute the words fell from my lips. Saoirse would probably hate me forever if I fucked her eldest brother, but in this moment, I wasn't sure I cared. Besides, if what Declan had told me was true - and I had no reason to assume he'd lied - she had been highly economical with the truth about why she fell out with Katie.
"Dirty thoughts."
A blistering wave of heat swept over me, leaving me breathless. I wanted to believe him, but a big part of me still refused to accept that a man like him - older, self-assured, and used to having any woman he wanted - would look at a girl like me with anything other than platonic affection.
But the moment I shifted slightly and felt him harden between us, I knew he wasn't lying. A flutter of arousal shot through me.
"I thought you saw meas a sister?"
"I lied."
44
Declan
Having lustful thoughts about Verity was wrong for many reasons, but my dick hadn't got the memo. It loved having her soft, fleshy ass nestled exactly where I needed her.
Verity's eyes widened at my confession. And for the record, there was fucking nothing brotherly about how I saw her now. Yes, I'd known her as a kid, but she'd spent very little time with me. It wasn't until the twins brought her back from Italy that I really paid her any attention. Before that, she was a girl who occasionally stayed at our estate. Thea's sister.
Not that it stopped me from feeling like a fucking pervert. Leonardo di Caprio might get away with banging much younger women, but I wasn't him. For starters, I was way better looking, and second, I had no desire to be a movie star.
But my feelings weren't important right now. Verity's self-confidence hung in the balance, and it was pretty fucking obvious some asshole had made her feel less than.
I rubbed my thumb across her pouty lips, enjoying the way her tongue flicked out in response.
"I'm done lying about how I feel," I told her. We might not have long, but she needed to see herself as I saw her. The woman sitting on my lap might be fragile, but I knew if she dug deep enough, she'd find her inner strength. And once she did, the world was her oyster.
"I know you've slept with my brothers, but I’m not jealous."Much. "We like to share."
From her sharp intake of breath, she understood exactly what I was saying.
