Page 39 of No Longer Safe

Ace rubbed the back of his neck. “First, I’m not sleeping knowing that Carina can’t be in the bed with me.” Yuck, but okay. He was a goner. “Second, I’m not going to let you murder Audrey’s fiancé and bury him in our mother’s gardens.”

I grinned at my brother. “Oh, you thought I was going to murder him?”

“You were absolutely going to sic me on him,” Dimitri said from the shadows. His sudden voice and appearance startled me and not much did, but our creepy-ass brother knew how to be quiet.

I regarded my brothers with boredom. “I honestly hadn’t thought of it, but I do plan on giving him a hard time.”

Ace and Dimitri groaned together. He would be running with his tail tucked between his legs by the next morning. I would show Audrey that she deserved better than this pussy ass bitch.

Brian exited our blacked-out SUV and smiled at the driver. “Thanks so much, man.”

“My pleasure,” Jordan, our driver, tipped his hat before he sat Brian’s dark brown luggage down on the steps.

The welcoming committee which was only supposed to be a party of one, quickly became a party of all the Cristof brothers. Ace was fuming, but I thought it was nice. Nice in the way that we were all going to scare him off. Ace was the only one that didn’t want that to happen, for some convoluted reason. He was so fucking blind to what a loser Brian was. I hadn’t even met the guy and I knew he was shit.

Much to my surprise, Brian greeted us with a smile and zero fear. Ugh. I guess he got points for that. Nothing else though. When he walked up the steps, I stepped forward first with my hand outstretched. When he wrapped his weak fingers around mine, I yanked him forward. “So this is whoourAudrey is marrying.”

Oh, I was going to put it on so thick. Thicker than peanut butter. He would be swimming in it and if I had my way, he would drown. His smile faltered slightly at my words but he recovered quickly. He was a lawyer, after all.

Before he could say anything, Ivan reached forward and slapped him on the back hard. He stumbled a step, our hands still connected. I helped straighten him out. Ivan grinned like a psychopath and I could appreciate it. The rest of the brothers didn’t want to see Audrey end up with a loser either. “We’vebeen enjoying Audrey, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

I thought I was going to be the one laying it on thick. I raised a brow at my brother who was usually bored with anything and everything. For the first time in years, he appeared amused. He was definitely just as psychotic as Dimitri.

It was Griffin’s turn. “She’s such a gem. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know her. You picked such awildflower.”

Why hadn’t I thought of recruiting my brothers before now? This was genius. With every handshake and comment, Brian wasknocked down a peg. His shoulders slumped forward slightly as we walked him up the stairs.

“I know you probably planned for a romantic morning with your fiancé but I hate to break it to you, Grandmother will not allow the sharing of beds between unwedded people in this house, so,” I kicked open his door with a little more force than I intended. “You’ll be across the hall from her. Girls on one side,”

“Guys on the other,” Griffin grinned as all the brothers went to our side of the hallway. Everyone but me. It was funny how fate worked, or rather my mother, as I was the only one left without a room on theguy’s side.I was of course placed with my room butting up to Audrey’s. I leaned against my door territorially and his eyes skipped between my room and his fiancé’s quickly. He was a smart man, if not a little slow. He would catch on, if he hadn’t already.

“Brian?” A sleepy Audrey had my blood running molten. If only it were my name she was saying so breathlessly. “I didn’t realize you were getting in so late.”

She hadn’t seen me yet and exited her room in a pair of little shorts that showed off the underside of bright red, lace panties. I thought my blood was molten before, it was worse. I didn’t think it could get any worse. She wore a matching lace bra thing and a sliver of tanned skin was on display right above her shorts. Her hair was slightly messy from sleep and her bare face was glowing. If this was what she looked like waking up, what did she look like going to sleep? After being thoroughly taken care of? What did she look like as she came apart under my hands?

I stopped the thoughts before they could continue their downward spiral. This would get me nowhere. Brian watched me notice his fiancé and his mouth turned into a deep frown. I waggled my fingers at him just as he grabbed Audrey’s hand and yanked her right into his arms.

Game on.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Audrey

Brian beingpossessive was the last thing I’d expected. I fully expected him to be pissed off that he didn’t have anyone to greet him when he arrived and then having to sleep in a separate bedroom. Neither of those things phased him. He’d yanked me into his arms like a man desperate for air. His mouth claimed mine in a searing kiss like never before. His hands wandered but stayed above my clothing. Then he’d pressed a chaste kiss to my lips and went right to bed. The whole thing was weird and unnerving.

Unsurprisingly enough, he was missing from the breakfast table just a few hours later. He was probably exhausted.

Griffin slid into the chair beside me. “Brian is a real charmer.”

I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

“Is he up?” I looked around him to the entryway that led to the stairs.

“Oh, no,” Griffin immediately dug into a stack of waffles. “We welcomed him in last night.”

“We?”

“Wasn’t that sweet of Alexei?” Emeline asked as she breezed into the dining room.

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