“I should get that.” I grazed my lips against hers.
She shook her head. “You’ve been gone for a year, Shay, I need you.” She reached between us and gripped my cock. But the ringing persisted. “Switch it off.” She sucked on my neck.
“Give me a sec.” I reached for the phone and about to switch it off, the name on the screen had me frowning. I answered, “Griffin’s not with—”
“It’s Skye, Shay,” Grady blurted, cutting me off.
Just three words and I pushed off Ryleigh. “What about Skye?” I barked, anxiety tightening the tendons at my neck. Climbing off the bed, I caught Ryleigh’s eye roll. She made to grab my waist, but I stepped away, and cradling the phone between my neck and shoulder, I fastened my jeans and belt.
“She called a couple of minutes ago and asked me to fetch her from Tyler’s home. I might be wrong, but she sounded upset,” he explained.
“What the fuck?” My jaw clenched. “Why the fuck is she at Tyler’s place?” He was the resident bad boy of our town, at least he thought so.
“I’m not sure.” He’d never lie to me, Skye was considered family to them. Griffin would have his ass if he did.
“Thanks, Grady, I’ll take care of it,” I gritted, trying hard not to ‘shoot’ the messenger. Cutting the call, I shoved the phone into my jeans pocket and looked at Ryleigh. “I need to go.”
A hard scowl riddled her beautiful face. “Seriously, Shay,” she snapped. “Why do I get the feeling I’m competing for your affection when it comes to that brat?” I cocked a brow saying nothing and reached for my shirt. “You’ll drop just about anything for her, wouldn’t you?”
“Not anything, Ryleigh.” I slipped the shirt on, taking my time to button up then looked at her. “Everything.” I banged the door on my way out and left her cursing into a pillow.
Downstairs, Griffin’s surprised gaze met mine over the backrest of the sofa he sat on. My furious expression must’ve been a dead giveaway because he immediately jumped up, his hard cock glistening with Lina’s saliva. She stood, wiping her mouth, her barely-there smile telling me she wasn’t happy with his early departure.
“Skye.” I shot Griffin a smirk and while I headed for the main door, he followed, scrambling with his jeans.
“Another one bites the dust.” He muttered around the t-shirt hem gripped between his teeth as he zipped up his jeans and pulled on his jacket. “When would these girls learn that while they’re welcome to the attention of your cock, your heart will always ace out when it comes to Skye.”
I shrugged, sliding behind the wheel of my black Camaro. As the engine purred to life, I glared at him, trying to figure out what he was getting at.
“What?” Eyes narrowed, he held out his palms questioningly. “It’s true, isn’t it?”
“She’s my sister, Griff—”
“Stepsister,” he scoffed.
“And your point?” I growled, not liking his insinuation yet not ignorant to my cowardice.
“Nothing.” He glanced out the window then as if rethinking his words, he gripped my arm. “Fuck, Shay, you should’ve seen your face tonight.” Slowly, he shook his head. “When she descended those stairs regal like a fucking made-for-Disney princess, you looked ready to combust from all that jealousy you struggled to hide.”
I stared at my friend. Hadn’t I almost kicked his ass for looking at Skye a couple of times over the years and now he was slamming me for doing the same thing. It scared me that he could read me so well.
“I almost called the damn fire department,” he grumbled.
Annoyed more with myself than him, I yanked my arm from his grip, crashing my foot on the gas. The car bucked under the pressure without losing its roadholding. “It wasn’t jealousy. That dickhead ogled her like she was the fucking dinner his parents starved him of since birth.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”
My lips pulled tight in a severe scowl, not sure which angered me more. That he’d noticed or he was right. I was stupidly jealous as fuck that someone else stood on the receiving end of her beauty and her affection, other than me. He didn’t deserve her and I didn’t think anyone would. Did that make me sick?
Of course.
I was supposed to be the responsible adult in her life. Could I really deny that she owned my heart? Deny she’d crawled into my life as my baby sister and stolen every emotion I should reserve for the girlfriends I tried to keep since I was old enough to fuck. Yet, no matter how much I craved more with Skye, it would be deemed a depraved act to everyone who knew us.
“When are you going to stop behaving like an ass and see this for what it really is?” Griffin asked, verbalizing my thoughts.
My gaze riveted on the wipers I shook my head. “Never.” People would consider me vile for admitting out loud that what I felt for Skye went way past perverted. A cliff edge I could easily trip over if I wasn’t careful. And after what I did to Ryleigh moments ago, she’d probably brand me as a pedophile if she caught on. When had my life gotten this complicated?
If only it were easy...
