“Let me grab my clothes,” I whisper, throwing back the covers just as Miles walks in.
His face darkens as he takes in the scene. Grey eyes turn stormy as he barges over.
“I knew it! I fucking knew it, you bastard!”
Climbing out of bed, I reach for my boxers, not wanting to have this conversation butt ass naked.
“Miles, calm down. We can explain,” Savi says, getting out of bed.
His eyes scan down her body before meeting his sister’s frantic plea.
“You’re wearing his fucking jersey, Sav? Jesus, how dumb can you be? You’re not the first to wear it, and you won’t be the last,” he spits out angrily.
“That’s fucking out of line, and you know it,” I say, getting in his face. “You want to talk, we’ll talk, but I won’t have you disrespect her.”
“You’re fucking my sister. I think you’re the one who needs a lesson in disrespect. I’ll be in the guesthouse waiting to talk.” He flicks his eyes to Savi, who’s clinging to my arm in hopes of defusing the situation before they blaze into mine again. “Remember that place? The one you are supposed to be living in because I trusted you with my sister?”
“This isn’t his fault!” Savi yells, getting in her brother’s face. “I came on to him, not the other way around.”
“It was still his choice to fuck you,” Miles says quietly, walking away. “Five minutes, Stone, and I want your ass out there.”
He disappears from the doorway, and I hear the slam of the cottage doors a few seconds later as he walks outside to the pool house.
“I can’t believe he’s acting like this! I’m going with you. You are not doing this alone.”
“I need to talk to him first,” I sigh, throwing on my pants. “He’s just shocked, that’s all. He’ll calm down once I explain how I feel about you. At least I hope,” I chuckle, running a hand through my hair.
“I’m not finding this funny at all,” she says, putting her hands on her hips. “Miles is out of line. It’s not his business who I sleep with.”
“He’s hurt,” I say quietly, feeling the familiar pang of guilt wanting to weave its way in. “He just found out his best friend is sleeping with his sister. He knows my past with women. I betrayed his trust, and he’s worried I’ll break your heart.”
“He should know that you would never do that.”
“Why?” I laugh. “All I’ve ever done is push people away. I fuck and leave. It’s all I knew before you. It’s all I wanted until now.”
The worry in her eyes has me pulling her to me.
“I’ll talk to him and explain. We’ve gone through so much to get where we are that not even Miles is going to keep me from you. Everything will be okay. I promise.”
Kissing the top of her head, I head to the door and stop.
“There aren’t any guns in the pool house, are there?” I turn in the doorway and arch my eyebrow at her.
“That’s not funny,” she says, crossing her arms.
“Just trying to lighten the mood,” I chuckle uneasily, walking out the door and toward God knows what that’s waiting for me.
When I reach the guesthouse, I turn the knob and walk in, shutting the door behind me. Miles’s fist slams into my jaw the second I turn around, knocking me back a step.
“Motherfucker,” I growl, bending over slightly and moving my jaw, feeling my lip split a bit from the contact. The taste of iron hits my tongue as I swipe a little blood away.
Standing to full height, I stare at him hard, both of us refusing to back down from the other.
“I probably deserved that,” I say quietly. “That’s your one free shot, though. Come at me again, and I’m going to hit back.”
“How long?” I see the hurt in his eyes, and I sigh heavily at the guilt.
“About two weeks after I moved in.” I move past him and grab some ice from the freezer, throwing it in a hand towel and applying it to my throbbing jaw as I take a seat on the couch.
