Page 5 of Reese’s Protection

He shrugged. “What were you doing at Sinful? You’ve said you don’t like parties and stuff.”

I went over to the bench and grabbed the gun, then stalked to him and tried to put it in his hand. The only problem? They were sort of hidden in my jacket, and he flapped the sleeves at me to ward me off. “I can’t!”

“I don’t want to see you dead over a selfish dickwad. Layton would never shut up about it.” I won a small victory when his eyebrows did a little dance before settling low on his forehead. “And I was at Sinful because Layton was supposed to be there. He asked me if I wanted to have a drink with him, but he was gone by the time I walked through the door.”

Reese grinned. “Probably got drunk and forgot. You care about your brother?”

I wasn’t sure where this was going, so I set the gun down on the coffee table. We both stared at it. “Of course. No one else gives a shit about us.”

“I do,” he mumbled. “Layton’s my bestie forever and ever.”

My heart clenched and my stomach did an odd roll as I studied his face. His gaze was still glued to that gun, and he chewed the corner of his mouth. I wanted to plant my lips on his. The thought made me take a step back. But with the way he was cuddled in my jacket, looking lost . . . . It made me want to keep him safe.

Well, now wasn’t the time for that.

No, he needed protection.

I had no doubt he could learn to use a gun, but there was a difference between knowing how to fire a weapon and having the heart to do it. I could pull a trigger if it came to protecting myself or him or my brother.

Could he?

I would give the gun to Layton, but God, could he do any better? My brother was all light and joy. What would happen if he ended up shooting the asshole following around Reese?

“Will he go to Layton’s place? Your ex, I mean?”

A pinched, guilty expression took over his face as he glanced up at me quickly. “I don’t know. If I’m gone from Layton’s, then there’s not much chance he’ll go there.”

My brain percolated, all the info congealing into one answer to this problem that had me scratching the back of my head and shuffling my feet. “I’ll make you a promise.”

Reese glanced up at me. “What? No, you don’t have to⁠—”

“That dick for brains won’t touch you again.”

Reese blinked at me. “How will you manage that?” A hint of sarcasm swirled in his tone, but he mostly held himself together.

I nodded at the gun. “Stay here. I can and will keep you safe.”

“For real?” There he went again, gnawing on that bottom lip. It was getting red and shiny, and hell, I could see why someone would stalk him. He was really pretty with a razor-thin edge of something harsh. He was a strange amalgamation of wholesome and edgy.

I shrugged.

Reese shook his head, and I hated how his cheeks flushed and a glossy sheen glazed his brown eyes. “I can’t ask you to do this.”

“Fine, then I’m doing it to keep my brother safe.”

He grimaced and a couple of tears escaped his eyes before he swiped them away. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I stepped in and dragged him against my body. He gasped, and before I could decide if that was a pained sound or not, he burrowed in against my front, and I had my arms around him. His hair smelled amazing, reminding me of a musky peach dessert as I pressed my nose to the strands, the scent masculine but also edible.

“Thank you,” he said, tipping his head back. He brushed his lips against my cheek, and all I could think about was the way his breath was warm and smelled like coconut. Was his entire body trying to entice me to lick it? My mouth was on his before I had time to decide whether or not it was a good idea.

Turned out actually having a conversation with him was the thing that sapped my resolve to stay away.

With a delicious whimper, his hands slipped up to grasp the back of my neck, and I teased my tongue into his warm, tasty mouth. He moaned and melted against my front, and then I was dealing with a hard-on that could knock down a tree.

Recently, I hadn’t been with anyone, had been keeping to myself. All at once, the lack of a warm, pretty person in my life seemed damned near sacrilegious. I needed someone just like Reese to kiss and hold.

He leaned back and glared at me. “This is probably some stupid fucking thing where I’m feeling like a wreck because I thought I was going to die. Do you mind? Wanna fuck me?” he asked, then sucked on my bottom lip. His hot, slick tongue slid along my mouth, and my brain transitioned from reasonable to static while my dick twitched.

I grunted, then laughed and leaned back to stare down into his face, which gave me the joy of seeing his expression transform into a pout.