1
SHANE
“Hey, trouble.” I walk into Lilly’s small home with a bag of tools I’ve borrowed from Kane.
“Thank you for helping me.” Lilly gives me a smile, one that's always been reserved for me since she was a little girl. She closes the front door behind me and walks ahead, holding her satin dressing gown at the front as she leads me into her kitchen.
Her hand smoothes over her long hair, shining like a raven's feathers in the afternoon light from the kitchen window. “With everything Kane has going on, I didn't want to ask him.”
“You worked the night shift last night?” I set the bag of tools on the floor as she fills the kettle. I haven’t seen her out much, so she must be picking up extra shifts at the hospital.
“I was at home studying late.” The satin fabric shows off every delicious curve of her ass. I shouldn’t be looking at my ex-wife’s little sister’s ass, and I certainly shouldn’t be thinking about all the things I want to do with said ass, but the older and curvier she gets, the more my resolve weakens.
“Coffee?” She lifts two mugs from the cupboard, then spoons in instant coffee without me even giving her so much as a nod.She knows me well enough to know I’ll say yes. Anything to prolong my time here.
“Want to show me the damage while we wait for the kettle to boil?” I lift the bag of tools from the floor.
She turns around, pulling her knee length dressing gown tight over her body. It might hide her camisole and shorts, but it accentuates her womanly shape. Her full breasts hang low, telling me she’s not wearing her usual push-up bra. “It’s in my bedroom. I’ll show you.”
A slither of thigh with black ink peeks through the gap in her robe as she leads me up the stairs, her ass bouncing under the satin fabric with each swish of her hips, daring me to take a bite.
She pushes against her bedroom door, letting it swing open. Black lily patterned wallpaper lines the main wall, framing her pewter headboard attached to her double bed.
“The leg broke and the slat.” She lifts the bottom of the duvet where the mattress slopes towards the floor.
I grind my back teeth. Visions of what she was doing to break the bed, and more importantly, who she was doing them with, cloud my mind.
She moves a ring light to the corner of the room, next to her dressing table, giving me more space to manoeuvre.
“What’s that for?” I nod towards the ring light with a mobile phone holder in the centre. The blood in my veins bubbles at thoughts of someone filming her while they do things to her I can only dream of.
Parting her mouth, she flicks her gaze between me and the ring light. “Er…” She chews on her bottom lip. “I do makeup tutorials online.” Her hand waves towards the dressing table covered in various makeup bags, perfumes, and hair curlers.
I let out a breath, relaxing a little as I kneel to inspect the slats on the bed.
“And before you go all big brother on me, I know what you’re thinking and you’re wrong. No man’s been here. I broke the bed while I was standing on the edge to reach the top cupboard.” She points to the built-in wardrobe a few feet away.
A small chuckle escapes, but more a sigh of relief. “I wasn’t thinking anything.”
“It was written all over your face.” She folds her arms over her chest. “I don’t have time for another man. But don’t tell Kane that.”
I raise an eyebrow and look up at her from my knelt position, like a man worshipping the ground she walks on. “Are you still holding out for him?” I hate to break it to her, but that ship sailed the minute his ex’s daughter showed up on his doorstep.
Kane’s been my right-hand man since we were at school together. I know him better than anyone, and I know he tried to be the man Lilly deserved, but he’s always been tormented by his past. If anyone can help him, it’s Violet, his deceased ex’s kid. Though she’s not a kid anymore. She’s a curvy woman with violet hair and a bratty attitude to keep him on his toes.
Lilly rolls her eyes. “He was…” She sighs, tapping her white tipped manicured nails against her dressing table. “Emotionally unavailable. That girl has done me a favour.”
My lips curl at the corner, thinking about how Kane’s got his hands full there. “Sounds like you’re jealous.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sure she’s nice enough. And I’m not jealous. I just don’t get why I wasn’t enough for him, but he drops everything for this girl who shows up in the middle of the night who isn’t even his.”
Hearing her say she’s not enough twists my insides. Something tugs on my heart. I stand and place my palms on either side of her shoulders. “You’re enough for any man. Kane has his own demons to fight. It’s nothing to do with you. Hestill carries the guilt of what happened twenty years ago, and he thinks it’s his duty to care for his ex’s girl.”
She bites on her bottom lip as she nods in agreement. The plump pink skin bulges between the gap in her front teeth. It’s what I’ve always loved about her. She wore braces throughout high school to close the gap. They worked a little and pulled her teeth inline, but they never closed the gap completely and I’m glad. It’s what makes her unique, that and the beauty spot on her left cheek above her dimple when she smiles.
“What are you looking at? Do I have something on my face?” She wipes a hand over her lips and cheek.
Shit. I’m all dopey eyed, staring at her like a fucking idiot. “Sorry, I was miles away.” My hands burn on her shoulders, itching to pull her closer to me. Before I give in to my body’s demands, I dive back down and inspect the bed again. “I’ve some wood in the car. You need to replace a few of these slats.”
