Page 35 of Loving Bad

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Taylor

I touched my slightly swollen lips as I stood alone in the janitor's closest. Sin hadn't said one word to me the entire time. I knew we had an arrangement in place, but I couldn't help feeling taken aback by his behavior. Was this really how this type of arrangement was supposed to work?

The sex had been awesome, but I'd felt the lack of connection between the two of us. It was a good thing my classes were finished for the day because after that I was still feeling a little dazed.

On my way back to my dorm room, I saw my brother leaning against a car with his arms crossed over his chest. Normally he dressed in a suit and tie, but this time he was dressed casually in jeans and button-up blue shirt. His hair was the same color as mine but his eyes were green. My mom had been the one with the blond hair and blue eyes. The green eyes he'd inherited from our dad.

What the hell is he doing here?

I was annoyed. I loved my brother, but sometimes his protectiveness over me was stifling. There was no way I believed he was here on business. He was here to check on me and I resented it. I walked closer. He saw me and smiled. He pushed off the car and walked to meet me as I came to a stop in front of the doors to the dorm.

"Hi," he greeted as he pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back.

"What are you doing here?" was the first question I asked as he released me from the hug.

"A brother can't just drop in to visit his sister?" he asked.

"Visit, yes; check up on, no," I told him, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Isn't it the same thing?" he asked in a teasing tone.

"No, it isn't," I informed him. He glanced down at his super-expensive watch.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat," he suggested. I didn't want to go off campus to eat so I suggested a small coffee shop close to where we were.

"Sounds good," he said as we walked side by side. There were several moments of silence.

"Why don't you see if your roommate is available to join us?" he suggested. I turned to glare at him. I knew exactly what he was up to and I wasn't having it.

"That's what this is about?"

I was fuming.

"You wanted to check my roommate out," I said. I was really angry now. He didn't answer.

"I love you, but I won't tolerate you meddling in my life," I told him.

"Is it so bad that I want to protect you and keep you safe?" he argued back. He was using that parental tone with me and I hated it. He wasn't my parent; he was my brother.

Our parents had died when I was nine and Connor had been eighteen. Overnight he'd been thrust into the role of my guardian and it had been a lot of responsibility for a young adult. My parents had left us some money, but Connor had wanted me to have the best. It had been the driving force behind his success. But it didn't mean he could dictate my life when he felt like it. I understood why he acted the way he did, but he needed to let go of me so I could make my own decisions and live my own life.

"You've probably already done a background check on her. What more would you need to know?" I informed him, crossing my arms over my chest defensively.

He didn't reply so I knew I was right. He pressed his lips together as he held my gaze.

"She is nice and I like her. That’s all that counts," I told him. I wasn't trying to be difficult, but my brother was a force to be reckoned with and if he put his mind to something he usually got his way. But this wasn't something I was prepared to give up.

Connor would have a fit if he knew about all the weird stuff that was happening lately. Then I thought about Sin. If my brother knew what I was doing with the bad-boy, he'd have a stroke. I couldn't stop the secret smile that tipped my mouth at what we'd just done in the janitor’s closet.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you," he told me in a soft voice. It tugged at my heart. I reached out, taking his hand into mine and I gave it a gentle squeeze.