I watch her leave, and an uncomfortable feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. Something wasn’t right. I wanted to leave her opinionated self in that corridor, but something made me stay. She received a message, and after that, her whole posture changed. She became defensive, anxiously looking around, and quickly ran away. Who was it?
A heavy hand lands on my shoulder.
“Don’t go there.”
I turn to Alex, whose eyes are focused on mine.
“Don’t go there, Archie. You are my brother, but I don’t want you near her.”
“Why?” I square my shoulders, even though I know the answer, and I know he’s right—we don’t go for our brothers’ families, no matter what. My body language is just a dumb bravado for nothing—I don’t know who I’m trying to prove anything to.
“You and me,” he shakes his head, “we’re not the same as the others. We didn’t come back whole, and she is too young to deal with all of that. That’s why I stay away—I love her from a distance. And that’s how you should too.” His stare is filled with heavy meaning. It screams ‘stay away.’
“Don’t worry; she is safe from me.” I switch my attention toward the direction her car disappeared.
“I still do.”
I glance at him.
“Worry,” he continues. “She likes to fix broken things, and you’re just about as broken as they come.”
I quirk a brow—we’ve never beaten around the bush, but it’s a little harsh even for two vets chitchatting.
“Don’t give me that look,” he chuckles. “You know I’m right. I came back half a man.”
I shoot a glance down his front, and he punches me in the chest, laughing. “Not there, asshole. Everything is man enough there.”
“You sure?”
He snorts. “Just ask Freya.”
“I just might.” I smile, not intending to ever start that particular conversation with his soon-to-be wife.
“Yeah, you actually might. Forget I said it.” He shakes his head, most likely trying to erase the image he pictured in his mind. He looks at me, his expression somber. “But Archie, don’t go there. I’m serious. She tried fixing me, but I just barked every time she said something. I just can’t talk to her because she just—” he wipes his face with his hands, pressing into his eye sockets with the heels of his palms. “She’s just so damn intuitive and stubborn, and she sees so fuckin’ much. And when she speaks, it’s always a fuckin’ bull’s-eye. I just don’t know how to behave around her.”
“Yeah, man,” I side-eye him, “smooth you are not.”
He gives me a heavy stare. “We both know that you’ve got a kink.”
I raise a brow, curious how he knows about it. We sure as fuck never shared partners. To be clear, I’ve never shared partners with any other men I know, nor will I. Two women on the other hand…
“And what do you know about my kink?” I challenge.
“More than I care to, and I don’t want my sister near it. Are we clear on this?”
I hate being ordered around—it never sits well with me. It’s one of the reasons I always got in trouble in the Navy. But Alex is like family to me, and I don’t want to lose him because my dick leads me the wrong way. I’d never disrespect his family like that even without his warning. Even if the temptation is strong. So strong.
I’ve seen beautiful woman in my life—and Leila is beautiful—but she is also something else. The air around her is of a different color. It’s bright but has little, dark engravings, not visible to everyone. She has this aura of confidence and calmness. It clashes with her youth and purity, making her so unique. I like unique things. I like to collect them on my body in the form of art.
She is vibrant.
“We are.” I finally nod, deciding to end this conversation because otherwise, it won’t go anywhere good. He made his opinion known, and I accept it.
“Good,” he says, looking between the house and the road she disappeared on. “Something is up with her.”
“Yeah,” I agree easily, as I was thinking the same thing.
“You noticed that too?” He sends me a curious look. “She came back to the table acting differently.”
“Yep.” I cross my arms over my chest, hoping he’ll stop questioning.
No such luck. Well-deserved. “I thought it was because you said something to her,” he says, voice full of snark. I bite my tongue, trying not to let out a smart-ass remark.
“I thought so too,” I say instead.
“Really?” He turns to face me. “And what did you say to her?”
“Nothing that concerns you, Alex.” I meet his stare with one of my own. “She’s a big girl.”
“And she’s my sister.” He gives me one just as heavy.
“I know,” I say slowly, showing him I get it.
“Alright. Let’s go back inside.” He shivers. “It’s fucking cold out here. I don’t know how you’re never cold. Fuckin’ beats me, man.”
“It’s my British blood talking,” I laugh. “It’s made of ice.”
“I doubt that,” he mumbles under his breath, but I still hear it and decide to let it slide. Too many deep conversations for one evening.
“You’re gonna be a father, huh.” I eye him as I say it—I’ve never thought of him as a dad, but now I see it’s happening. The right partner and the right time.
“Yeah.” He scratches his damaged cheek. “I’ll be the worst fucking dad on the planet.”
I laugh and smack him on the back. “You’ll be the best. I know that. Let’s go.”
With that, we go back to the house. Everyone moved to the living room. When I lean against the doorframe, Kenneth walks over to me, a steaming mug in his hand.
“Do we need to have a talk?” he asks tiredly.
“Alex already did.”
“Good.” His tone cheers up. “Saves me the trouble. I just want to add that you wouldn’t be the first guy whose nose I broke for her. I’m sure you wouldn’t be the last.”
I send him a curious stare, surprised to hear that. Not that she got around a lot, but that whoever got her first let her go. If I was younger and cleaner and had someone like her, I’d hold onto her with all my might. No number of broken bones would stop me.
“Did she date a lot?”
Even though I think she can date anyone she wants and shouldn’t be ashamed of her sexuality, the thought of her being with other people irks me. It’s fuckin’ hypocritical, considering the notches in my belt, but I can’t help it.
“The opposite. I mean, look at us.” He glances at Aiden and Alex. “No one stood a chance. Everyone was too scared to mess with the Benson’s sister.” He laughs quietly to himself, probably remembering something. “But there were a couple times she came home from college for holidays looking sad.” Then he winks at me. “It was a fun road trip for us.” He shifts his attention to Aiden. “That was the first time I saw Alex when I looked at my little brother. A damn beast, worse than him.” He looks at me with a twinkle in his eyes. “Warned you our dinners are weird.”
I laugh because, it’s a different sort of weird than I’m used to, but weird regardless.
“It’s alright.”
A few moments later, Stella brings out a steaming cup and offers it to me. I look at her hand like it’s a snake about to bite me. She smiles understandingly and pushes the mug toward my hand. “It’s my special tea. We gather and dry herbs with Leila every summer.”
I swallow the saliva and accept the offering. Leila made it.
Scratch it, fucker, her mom Stella made it, and you are in their house. You’re a sick fuck.
I take a sip, and flavor bursts in my mouth. “What is that?” I ask, looking inside the mug, expecting to find the answer.
“It’s lavender, mint, chamomile, and something very special.” She winks.
I sniff the steam. “What’s the special ingredient?”
“Love, my boy. It’s love.” With a huge smile, she walks away.
An annoying cackle sounds to my left—Kenneth watches me from behind the brim of his cup.
“What?” I ask.
He shakes his head and chuckles, not giving me the answer.
A couple hours later, we pull into Kenneth’s driveway. I’m about to open the door when he starts speaking.
“I don’t know how much you guys saw there.” His sigh is heavy. “But I see that you’ve changed. Even though I didn’t know you before, I assume whatever issues you had before the service multiplied when you came back.”
I keep quiet; I don’t think my answer is needed here. We both know he’s right.
“I know that because my brother came back worse than he left, and trust me, that’s saying a lot.” The chuckle that follows is sad. “And I’m not talking about his scars. I’m talking about this.” He taps his temple with his finger. “I did a couple tours and sure as fuck don’t want to go back there, but you both did. Alex wanted to escape his life here, and from watching you and that story you shared, I can tell you did the same.” He grips the steering wheel with one hand, and the other keeps tapping his knee. “But I just want to tell you that you’ve got a place here. No matter what. We know how to deal with the demons of the past. We get it.” He avoids looking at me while squeezing the steering wheel tighter. “You found the right place. Little Hope does that for people.”
“Does what?” I ask quietly.
After a long moment, he finally looks at me. “Gives hope.”
I swallow a sudden lump in my throat the size of a basketball and nod, showing my appreciation for what he just said. I fear that my voice would waver if I spoke now.
“Still, stay the fuck away from my sister,” he adds with a cackle.
I flip him off and climb out. It’s going to be a fun night.
