Page 36 of Falling for my Brother's Best Friend

“Say the magic word.” I feel him grin against my hot skin.

“Please,” I beg, and he lowers his body, thrusting his hard length into my center.

God, this feels so good.

“Your wish…”

I grab the back of his head and pull his face up to meet my lips again. He rests a hand where my neck and collarbone meet. His calloused palms are rough, and I grip him hard, wishing I could strip him down right here. His mouth slides off mine and he casts open-mouthed kisses along my jaw to my ear. A low growl erupts from him and my insides clench.

“Tell me you didn’t fuck him,” he says in my ear and my body goes cold.

“What?” I whisper, our bodies still entangled. Is this about some pissing contest and marking his territory?

He draws back and our eyes meet under the glow of the lights inside the tent. “I have to know.”

“Why?” I step back, my body missing the strong support of his.

“Because I keep imagining his hands on you and I don’t like it.” His jaw sets in a rigid line.

“Let me ask you a question—do you think I did?” I cross my arms, waiting for his answer.

He shoves his hands into his pockets. “Well, all signs point to yes, so…”

“That’s what you think of me, huh?” I try to walk away, but he grabs my elbow, circling me back around. “You think I’m someone who would skip from bed to bed? Maybe you think that because that’s what you do. We were together and then a few days later you were hitting on Marlene at the bar. Well, I’m not like that. Sex means something to me, and I don’t give it up freely like you.”

He crosses his arms. “Let’s not beat around the bush. That’s not you. Tell me what you really think of me.”

All of the frustration and anger and outrage that’s been building expands to the point where I can no longer cage it in. “You’re a whore! You’re a man-whore who goes through women like Tic Tacs! But the minute you think I did something even remotely the same, you judge me for it. I’m nothing more than a conquest to you, and once you’ve conquered me, you’ll be on to the next. The only reason you’re chasing me is because I won’t sleep with you. Tell me, did you make a bet with someone or something?”

He shakes his head and stares at me. “What happened that’s made you so jaded?”

I throw my hands in the air. “Screw you. I’m not jaded. It’s called being realistic.”

“When are you going to start living your life instead of living for everyone else? You might as well have died with your parents.”

My reaction is automatic. I step forward, slapping him across the face.

Gasps sound from behind the backdrop, and I look down at my mic in horror.

The deejay runs around the corner. “I’m so sorry. I have no idea how the mic turned on, but—”

“You want to know the truth?” I ask, unshed tears in my eyes. “My car wouldn’t start, and I spent the night at Brooklyn’s. That’s it. I’d say you don’t know me at all.”

“Fuck this. Have a great life.” Liam storms into the darkness beyond the tent.

Juno, Brooklyn, and Holly all come around the backdrop and stare at me.

“What? You know we don’t get along.” I wipe the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand and suck back all the emotions trying to burst forth. “I’ll be right back.”

I head into the house to compose myself, trying to figure out how it all went so bad.

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