Page 31 of Enemies with Benefits (Finding the Right Brother #1)

"Let's just say that when Milo wants someone to encourage his stupid thoughts, he goes to Dominic. When he wants someone to debate them, because only one person will humor him that way, it's Elijah," I said, wiping my face. "God, it stinks even more of chlorine!"

"You're the one who decided to come down here," Jace pointed out. "You could have lounged anywhere in the hotel, in the city, but you were the one who insisted on being here."

"Like I had a choice," I said, eyeing Micah, now in the deeper end of the pool, legs curled up so he was left to bob lazily in the middle.

I was struck by the sudden image I had seen once on some nature show of how manatees would do something similar when they were relaxed.

"You try telling that kid no when he asks you. "

"He asked if you were going to come, not if you would," Jace pointed out, arching a brow with a pointed look.

Annoyance flashed through me. “You ever think maybe I can read between the lines with that kid better than you can?"

"You ever think maybe I could have handled it?"

"Dom came too, in case you forgot, because you know, he's right here."

"He's not a dickhead who has to be up my ass all the time."

"God, that's some interesting phrasing," I snapped at him, arching a brow.

His face contorted as pink rose to his cheeks. “Your brother's right, you really are a deviant."

"God, you two," Dom muttered behind us, a thunk echoing through the pool room as he flopped back, his bulk making the chair jump. "Get a room already. I'm sure there's a utility or storage room nearby that you can get all this excessively gay energy out in."

It was how close Dom was getting not only to the truth, but the specifics of what had really happened that shut me up in an instant.

Jace and I could only stare at one another, apparently neither of us willing to risk opening our mouths and saying anything else.

It wasn't easy to read anything behind the anger that still burned on his face.

General, normal anger at me, an anger and outrage at what I'd said because now making dirty jokes at his expense had greater weight than before that night we'd fought and both of us had been hard and rutting against one another.

Right. Don't have those thoughts while your brother and nephew are around. Don't do that.

I forced myself to huff and glance over my shoulder at my brother. “You know, you accuse me of being depraved, and then you say shit like that. You've been reading too many of those dirty books of yours."

"They're not dirty books."

"Dude, I took a peek at one of them, and I've watched porn that was less graphic than what was printed on those pages. How that shit is legal to read in a public place is beyond me."

"You read porn in public?" Jace asked, sounding appropriately scandalized at the thought.

"They're romance novels," Dominic corrected. "Not porn."

"Sure as shit read like porn," I told Jace.

At that, Jace sighed. “Yeah, I had an ex who was fond of those. She got upset when I called them porn too."

"Porn is strictly sex done for the sake of sex," Dominic said in a superior tone. "Romance novels have sex scenes in them... sometimes . And they serve a purpose."

"Do me a favor," Jace grunted. "Whatever purpose they serve for you, keep it to yourself."

I snorted, surprised that he'd managed to say something genuinely funny and catty for once. “Probably serves the same purpose as the bottle of lube he keeps with him while he's reading them."

"There's a mental image I do not need," Jace said, and I glanced to see him wrinkling his nose.

"Ah, right, my apologies," I said with a grin, which widened slightly when his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I forgot that a strapping, completely heterosexual man like yourself wouldn't want to even think for the briefest moment about another man jorking it."

His expression clouded over. “Do you even know how not to be an asshole for longer than five minutes?"

"Oh, lord, just keep it down so the kiddo doesn't hear you," Dominic muttered as he rolled to face away from us, jamming his ear buds back in and tapping his phone's screen.

"How am I being an asshole?" I asked, relaxing on the pool chair once more. If we were going to go back to familiar territory, I might as well be comfortable. "I'm just trying to be mindful of what makes you uncomfortable?"

"Since when have you ever given a shit about what makes me uncomfortable?"

"Well—"

"Except for when you use it to make me uncomfortable?"

"Ah, well, outside of that? Never."

"See? You're an asshole."

"Dirty hands are the quickest to point fingers."

"Fuck you."

I raised a brow. “Promise?"

It was amazing to see how quickly his anger was tempered with first confusion as his brow knitted together, and after a flash of understanding, a desire he immediately tamped down.

Just as amazing was how I immediately latched onto it, arching a brow and even spreading my legs a little, pushing my fingers just slightly under the band of my board shorts, not enough to be a spectacle if anyone were to glance over, but enough for his eyes to latch onto the movement and hold for a moment.

Amazing and still so fucking weird.

As per usual, he jerked his eyes away from what I was doing to glare at me, as furious as ever that I was getting a reaction out of him.

Of course, lately, that reaction had been a lot more fun than his normal reactions to what I said and did.

More confusing for both of us, but also more fun.

But just as I always had when I knew I was getting a reaction, I just stared at him, openly showing my amusement.

Not just amusement, though, not with this because I knew he was thinking about what it might be like to go so far as to fuck me.

He definitely wasn't giving thought to me fucking him.

.. yet , his desperate-to-be-straight mind couldn't handle that, but I had to wonder how tempted he was.

"Yeah," I said after a moment, keeping my voice low.

The only person capable of hearing us was Dominic, and from the chair next to me, I could hear his music, which meant it was far too loud for him to hear anything except maybe a bomb going off outside.

"You're definitely thinking about it, aren't you? "

"Stop," he hissed quietly through his teeth. "Your brother and...Micah are right there."

"Micah is currently trying to figure out if he's going to be.

..I think that's an otter, or if he wants to fish up some food, considering the time.

And Dominic is dead to the world and drowning out what he thinks is pointless bickering, when in fact it's confused and arousing flirtation disguised as normal arguing. "

His scowl deepened. “You call this flirting? How the fuck did you ever get laid?"

"I could ask you the same thing, but c'mon, we're both good-looking guys, that can be enough to make up for... a lot of things."

"Well, maybe you think this is flirting, but as far as I'm concerned, you're just?—"

"Tempting you?"

"Getting on my nerves."

I leaned forward, eyes roaming his body. “That's a shame. There's at least one other thing that I could see myself getting on that would be a lot more fun."

"Jesus Christ," he muttered, wiping his face but not hiding the flush that was creeping across his skin. "Can you just...be normal?"

"I feel obligated to point out that you're not telling me no. Have you finally given up the fight to proclaim your heterosexuality? Or is your dick taking over long enough for you to forget that?"

"I'm not gay," he hissed at me, eyes darting over to Dominic, who continued to lie on the pool chair without paying the slightest bit of attention to us. I expected at some point for him to check, if only to make sure we hadn't killed each other.

I raised a brow. “You, uh, aren't trying to tell yourself you're straight, though, right? Like...that ship has sailed, good buddy."

"We're not buddies."

"No, seriously," I continued, frowning. "You're not trying to lock yourself up in denial so hard that you're ignoring reality...right? Like?—"

He looked away from me, his jaw tight and his eyes narrowed. "I don't know what to call...what's been happening. But I'm not gay."

"Look, you're looking at the wrong guy if you think I'm going to insist that you are.

I like women as much as the next guy...well, you know what I mean.

Maybe you could make an argument that the first time was a one-off.

A few wires getting crossed, mixed in with some curiosity you didn't know you had, and that the first time took care of things. But uh...it's been more than once."

"I know that."

"And if I'm not suddenly suffering from a random bout of psychosis, then I'm not imagining that you are seriously considering doing it again."

"You are suffering from psychosis, because I'm not."

"Mmm, right. You just felt the need to tuck that towel over your crotch when I was coming onto you for the fun of it. Not because it would be the only way to hide the fact that you were getting turned on. Because we both know there's not a whole lot you could do to hide that thing otherwise."

My attempt at a compliment didn't seem to have done much as his brow furrowed even further while he sat on the chair, glaring into space.

Then again, I couldn't exactly pretend that he was readily going to receive any compliment from me.

Complimenting him wasn't familiar to me, but hell, I wasn't blind, and I wasn't so far in denial that I couldn't acknowledge the truth.

From what I remembered, his parents had been miserable pieces of shit, but at least their physical genetics had been good, his looks were probably the only decent thing his parents had passed along to him.

Finally, he glanced at me, lips thin and a furrow in his brow. "Everything's so easy for you, isn't it?"