Page 19 of The Spare

Melody folds her arms obstinately, and I cut my eyes at her, kicking off my shoes and drawing a knee up onto the bed to drape my arm overit. Settling myself in to talk about this with her. She and school have been like oil and water, and I need to get to the bottom of it before Isobel inserts herself in the picture. Because,my god,as much as I love that woman, I'd rather throw myself to my death head first off the Eiffel tower than deal with overbearing, pregnant Isobel.

Fuck.

Godblessmy brother. He's a saint.

"I told you to call me if you started having problems again, and I'd start back tutoring you, Mel. I'm really not happy that you're failing something that could be easily rectified with a phone call and some extra tutoring time, sweetheart. That doesn't make me feel good."

I feel rejected, actually.

She purses her lips and her cheeks flush as she nibbles on her bottom lip in irritation. "Yeah, well,you've been busy."

Uh-uh.

"I'm never too busy for you,you know that,"I snap, a lot harsher than I mean to. "I told you I'd always be there for you. All you have to do is call me."

Melody looks over at me and flicks her eyes from mine to my lips and back again. For a second, it almost looks like she wants me to kiss her. My body strains towards her; however, I keep myself in check. Honoring my promise to my brother to give her time.

Goddamn it. Fuck him. I take back the saint comment.

My hesitation doesn't even matter because she turns at the last minute, snatching the soda off her nightstand. The barely there visible muscles of her trim waist ripple with her movement, drawing my eyes down. Her cropped top rides up just a little, revealing the bottom edge of her pink sports bra. It's all very innocent.

Forher.

"Well,"she stresses, handing me the can. "I know, but…" she hesitates, looking unsure.

"Tell me," I stress. "Don't clam up on me, sweetheart.Just spit it out."

She meets my eyes, her speech reluctant. "I overheard your brother and your dad talking about how they'd lost out on a few clients those couple months you were tutoring me, and I figured I didn't want to rock the boat any more than shit already was. I know your relationship with your dad is not…" she trails off, but she doesn't need to say it.

We both know the status of mine and Father's relationship.

There really isn't one. Me helming my own financial sector didn't exactly help like we'd all thought. It's fucked up.

"Melody, I don't give a flying fuck about what they want," I say, shoving a hand through my hair. I look back at her, trying my hardest to hide my irritation. My father and brother, always fucking something up for me. "We made a pact, Mel. You need help,you call me!That was the deal!"

She’s silent… too silent.

I reach over and pull her to face me. I soften my tone, cognizant of the pressure that the both of us are under regarding our families. "Hey, I thought we said that even if everything and everyone else fell away, that we'd still have each other," I say softly. Her beautiful brown eyes widen, and the can crinkles in her hand. "Is that not the case anymore?"

"Yeah…i-it is,"she says in a shaky voice. "That's never going to change. Are you…" her eyes flicker between mine. "Areyouworried that it's going to?"

"No," I say hoarsely. "The only change I'm concerned with isyours,butterfly. I'm dying to see you break out of your cocoon."

The cracks are forming already. I swear I can see it.

"Nothing's going to change, Masey," she whispers, her eyes flicking to my lips again. My cock jerks again. Arousal rises up within me swiftly, setting my skin on fire.

I almost do it; I almost lean forward and kiss her.

My thumb brushes her cheek, I even lean in a bit, but at the last second I pull away, taking a deep breath.

"It better not," I growl through the lump in my throat. Because I can't imagine not ever having her. My whole fucking world would end. I spent too long curating this life for myself so that when it was time, I could pull her into my orbit.

And if my father ruins this for me because he feels like I'm not giving our family business every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears that he and Hendrix did, then I'll never forgive them. Ever.

Especially after me having to also moonlight as a financial advisor to Lucien.

They hadyearsto work and focus before their spouses came along.