Page 18 of Take Me, Sir

“Good,” I said as I walked into the kitchen.

When I came back out with a damp paper towel, a question was lingering in the back of my mind. It'd been there ever since I discovered that Dean knew my brother, but I'd been trying to ignore it. Aside from the fact that I didn't particularly want my brother to get involved in my business, I wasn't sure I wanted Dalton to know that I'd slept with Dean.

Dalton had Anthony on his knee when I came back in, and he held his squirming child while I cleaned off his face. He was definitely a natural.

“So, where are you and Juliette off to?”

A flush spread up Dean's neck. “A club.”

“Really?” I picked Anthony up. “Maybe I'll have to come with you some time. I haven't been to a good club in a while.”

His eyes went wide for just a moment, sparking my curiosity.

“You do know I'm old enough to drink, right?” I kissed Anthony's forehead.

“Juliette mentioned something about a new guy at work about your age,” Dalton said quickly. “She thought you two might hit it off. I'll have her give him your phone number.”

“I've actually met someone.” Shit. I hadn't meant to blurt it out like that.

“Really?” Dalton's eyes narrowed. “At work? It's usually not a good idea to get involved with someone you work with.”

“Are you serious, Dalton? You're going to give me dating advice?” I laughed as I shook my head. “I love Anthony and Juliette, but your relationship isn't exactly the best example of a traditional progression.”

“I want to meet him.”

I took a slow breath and bounced Anthony on my hip. “Actually, you already know him.”

“Who?” Dalton stood.

“I met him after the wedding,” I continued, “but I didn't know the two of you knew each other until later.”

“After the wedding? Who would you have met after the wedding?”

“Um...” Fuck. I glanced back toward the bedroom, but Juliette was still back there.

“Kyndall.”

I hated the way Dalton said my name, like I was some child he was reprimanding. Why was it, when I wanted him to be all laid-back about something, that was when he chose to dig in his heels?

“Dean, okay? Dean Stokes.”

Myriad emotions flashed across Dean's face, but they quickly disappeared behind the bull-headedness I'd seen only a couple times growing up. “No way in hell are you dating him.”

Even though I'd expected a similar reaction, I bristled. “That's really not your call, is it?” I didn't bother to tell him that Dean and I weren't actually dating.

“He's too old for you, Kyndall.”

I hadn't even thought about age. “If he's not our parents' ages, I don't think that's an issue.”

“He's too old, and I'll be damned if I let him date my little sister.”

“Like I said, it's not your call.” I clenched my teeth. “I can date or sleep with anyone I want.”

“I really don't want to hear that.” Dalton ran his hand through his hair.

“Tough,” I said bullishly. “If I want to see Dean, if I want to fu-” I glanced at Anthony. “If I want to sleep with Dean, I'm going to.”

“Look, Kyndall, Dean's a nice guy, but you don't need to be around him in...that way.” Dalton's expression was hard. “He's way too experienced. Stay away.”

Before I could argue any further, Juliette emerged, and they hurried off, leaving me with a mess to clean up, and a night to try to figure out exactly what my brother had meant by too experienced. Something about the way he said the words had me thinking that there was more to it than just regular sex. Dalton knew something about Dean that he wasn't telling me.

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