Page 56 of Release Me

‘A friend, huh?’ James sits forward in his seat. ‘How considerate of you.’ His sarcasm isn’t lost on me.

‘So, what exactly was this present?’ Caelon quips, with a wicked gleam in his eye.

I’m saved from answering by the purr of a Bentley pulling up outside. ‘Oh, look, your women are here!’

Thomson, Avery’s driver, hops out first. He opens the back door, and Ivy, Avery, and Scarlett fall out. Avery is clutching a bottle of uncorked champagne, and I bet my lifeit’s empty—and not the only one they’ve consumed either. The sound of their giggles is audible even through the triple glazed window.

Thomson shakes his head at us through the glass and mouths ‘sorry’ to Killian.

‘What on earth are they doing?’ James stands and strides towards the window where the girls seem to be coaxing something out the back of the car. If Ivy brought that slobbery dog Roxie, she better be prepared to walk her, because I, for one, do not feel like freezing my balls off in the snow. Plus, every time the damn dog shakes its drooly jowls, we all look like we’ve got jizz on our trousers.

But no, it’s not Roxie the boxer who emerges from the back of the Bentley.

It’s Rebekka.

And she looks utterly fucking edible in a white fluffy coat, and leather leggings that sculpt her shapely thighs in a way that should be illegal. Avery reaches out to steady her as she wobbles in her high-heeled ankle boots. The two women clutch each other, laughter pouring from their lips.

She looks up, then she senses she’s being watched. Her eyes catch mine. It’s a miracle the window doesn’t shatter with the sheer charges of chemistry shooting between us.

The world stops.

My brothers’ words fade into the background.

My blood turns to molten lava in my veins, and all I can hear is the pounding of my own pulse.

‘Earth to Rian,’ James snaps his fingers in front of my face. ‘I said, do you happen to have another present for Rebekka tucked away somewhere?’

‘Maybe in your pants?’ Caelon snorts.

‘She’s married.’ I remind them, turning my back to the window as Thomson escorts the women towards the front door.

‘So is Anthony, but that doesn’t stop him,’ Caelon tuts. ‘Remember my stag night?’

‘I do indeed.’ He fucked off for a “private dance” at my club. And I know for a fact he fucked the dancer, because she came to me after and warned me he was a little rough with her. I compensated her heavily, and ordered all the security staff to ensure he doesn’t get near one of our dancers again.

‘I don’t know why Rebekka puts up with him,’ Caelon continues. ‘Ivy would have my balls if I so much as looked at another woman.’

‘It’s not that simple.’ I glance towards the door, straining my ears for the sound of the front door opening.

‘You like her,’ Killian observes quietly from the couch.

Understatement of the century, but I’m not about to correct him.

‘It’s irrelevant.’ I sigh, then knock back the whiskey in my glass. It burns my throat in the best way.

‘Oh fuck.’ Caelon stares at me for a long beat. ‘He loves her.’

That goddamn fucking heat is flaming my cheeks again. I don’t even recognise this version of myself anymore.

I could deny it, but what’s the fucking point? My brothers are my best friends. We take the piss out of each other day in and day out, but I know without a shadow of a doubt, they would kill for me or die for me.

‘That’s irrelevant too,’ I say quietly. For once, my ability to crack a joke fails me.

‘Fuck,’ Caelon repeats.

‘Does she feel the same?’ James spins to face me.

‘I don’t know. There’s something between us.’ I stalk across to the drinks cabinet in search of another whiskey.