I couldn’t help the smile tugging at my lips. Blake’s sister, Faith, had started coming around our group recently, and she was …
God, where did I even start? Faith was unlike any woman I’d ever met.
Blake folded his hand with deliberate slowness, like a predator preparing to strike. “Dude, that’s my sister.”
I couldn’t help my smirk. “How does it feel?”
“This is different,” Blake insisted.
“You’re married to my sister,” I reminded him. “You really don’t have the moral high ground here.”
Blake opened his mouth, then snapped it shut.
“Besides,” I said, studying my cards, “I haven’t asked her outyet.”
Technically, we weren’t dating. But calling what we’d been doing “hooking up” felt wrong, too shallow for what was happening between us. Those stolen moments belonged to just us, wrapped in secrecy because she wasn’t ready to name it, acknowledge it, or risk making it real, only to watch it shatter. I got it. I could wait. Because what I felt for Faith went deeper than anything I’d ever experienced, and I was pretty damn sure she felt it too. She just needed time to catch up to what I already knew in my heart was inevitable. That we were meant to be.
“But I do find her … intriguing.”
“Intriguing,” Axel repeated with an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
“Out of all the women in the world, we’re seriously going to what, swap sisters?” Blake groaned. “Go find someone else and leave my sister alone.”
“Sucks having the shoe on the other foot, doesn’t it?” I challenged instead of answering directly.
Blake rolled his eyes. “That’s completely different.”
“Really? Because I seem to remember you falling for my sister against my explicit wishes.” I raised an eyebrow. “And if I recall correctly, I told you to stay away from Tessa multiple times.”
“You eventually came around,” Blake muttered.
“After you nearly got yourself killed, saving her life.” I leaned back, enjoying watching him squirm. “The guy who fell in love with my sister has no right to look like I shit in his Cheerios for being intrigued by his.”
“Leave her alone, Ryker,” Blake snarled. “She’s been through hell. The last thing she needs is someone showing her affection, just to rip it away.”
There it was again, those hints about Faith’s mysterious past. I knew the basics. She and Blake had lost their parents in a car accident when they were young. They’d been thrown into the foster system. After Blake killed a foster father in self-defense, they got separated. But there were shadows in her eyes that suggested the story went much deeper than that. Sometimes, I wondered if Blake even knew all of it.
“Why would I rip it away?”
He glared at me. “Relationships end for all kinds of reasons. She’s not in any position to have her heart broken. She’s still healing.” With one final glower, he demanded, “Stay away from her.”
Yeah, about that …
Keeping what was happening between Faith and me under wraps was getting harder. Especially around Blake. Every time her name came up, I had to school my expression, measure my words, pretend my pulse didn’t kick up at the mere mention of her. The sneaking around had been thrilling at first, but now? Now it was starting to feel like a weight pressing against my chest, making it harder to breathe.
We already had moments together that I’d replay over and over in my mind. I hadn’t planned on keeping my growing feelings a secret from Blake forever. But I wasn’t going to say anything until I figured out what the hell was happening between Faith and me.
Something that started before I’d even met her.
Blake had talked about her throughout the years, had told us stories. Hell, he’d even shown us a photo of her once. At the time, I told myself I was fascinated with her because my friends meant everything to me. Plus, I had a sister myself and couldn’t imagine not knowing every detail of Tessa’s life. So, naturally, all that intrigue was simply empathy for Blake.
Right?
Did I happen to find her picture stunningly gorgeous? Okay, fine. Yes. And when I found out she was going to start coming around, was I a little more excited than Axel or Jace? Sure. But that didn’t mean anything.
After all, I was the guy who vehemently rejected the idea of dating a friend’s sister. Been there, done that, got the emotional scars to prove it. Back in high school, I’d dated my close friend’s sister. When things ended between us, my friendship with him got messy, then ugly, then busted completely. People can swear up and down that it won’t affect the friendship, but trust me, it did. So, when it came to the men in this group? That line would never be crossed.
These guys meant too much to me.
