Page 23 of Landlord Daddy's Girl

“I bet.”

Slater walks me to the bedroom and helps me get ready for bed. He’s so gentle and tender that it pulls on my heart in new ways. This nurturing side of him is something I haven’t seen before, and it only endears him to me even more than he already is. We settle into bed, and I nuzzle close to him, wrapping his arm around me, drawing warmth and strength from him.

With the strong, steady thump of his heart ringing in my ears and the warmth of his hard, toned body pressed to mine, a smile touches my lips as the darkness of sleep reaches up and pulls me down into its comforting depths.

My eyes flutteras I rise from the depths of sleep, and when I feel Slater’s body pressed to mine, what happened last nightseems like something that happened a million years ago. In Slater’s arms, I feel safe. Protected. I lie there for a minute, reveling in the feeling of him next to me. I listen to the sound of his steady, even breathing and smile.

Slater is everything I’ve ever wanted in another person and so much more. Not even when I was just a girl, caught up in my schoolgirl crush and fantasizing about being with him did I think that things could be as amazing as they are. Being with Slater is so much better than I ever imagined. And what’s even better is that this isn’t just some schoolgirl fantasy. This is reality.

We share a connection that’s so unique it feels like something out of a fairy tale. At least on my end. I don’t want to put words into his mouth, but I think he feels it, too. I sometimes see it in his eyes when he looks at me. We haven’t talked about what this is or where we’re going, but whenever he looks at me, all I can see is something like love in his eyes. It melts my heart every single time.

Right now, I don’t feel pressed to label or define what we have. I’m content and happy to just enjoy it and let things play out naturally. I’m pretty confident where things are going anyway, so there’s no need to force anything. Slater’s warm breath tickles the back of my neck, and I smile, relishing the moment with him. As I come fully awake, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end, and a strange feeling steals over me. It’s fear. And I suddenly realize the dark, oppressive feeling gripping me is because we’re not alone.

I sit bolt upright, and when I see the figure standing at the end of the bed, a shrill scream erupts from my throat. Pulled out of a deep sleep, Slater sits up beside me, his body taut and coiled like a spring, ready to fight.

“What in the hell is going on here?”

The voice is familiar, and when the sleep and fear-induced haze clears and I can see straight, I find myself looking at my brother. His face is dark and twisted with anger as he stares at Slater and me in bed together.

“Dude,” Slater says. “I?—”

“Shut the fuck up,” Derek shouts and turns to me. “Get your ass out of the bed, get dressed, and wait for me at my place, Sierra.”

“Derek—”

“Now!” he roars.

I glance at Slater, who gives me a slight nod and silently tells me to listen to my brother. My heart hammers wildly, and my stomach churns. I slip out of bed, gather my clothes, and run out of the bedroom. I get dressed quickly and head out the front door when the enraged shouting in the bedroom behind me starts.

I’m halfway to Derek’s place when I realize I probably should have stopped and stood up to my brother the way Slater has stood up for me several times already.

13

SLATER

Iclimb out of bed and pull a t-shirt on, half-expecting Derek to start throwing punches the entire time. He doesn’t. He just stands there glaring at me like he’d like to do a lot worse than just punch me in the face. He looks so pissed that if he had a gun, I’m reasonably sure he would have shot me dead right there.

I sit down on the edge of my bed and look at him. My room is filled with tension so thick, it’s like thunderclouds have rolled in, and the storm is about to break. He’s clearly waiting for me to begin, likely so he can cut me off in a fit of rage.

“Look, Derek?—”

“Shut the fuck up,” he roars.

And there it is. I do as he says and fold my hands in my lap, letting him begin the tirade I’m sure is coming next. He’s angry. Maybe even has some right to be. In the back of my mind, when this thing between Sierra and me began, I knew there would come a day of reckoning with Derek. I knew I’d have to face himdown over this. And as much as I’d like to put him in his place, I know I need to let him get this out of his system.

“What the fuck are you doing, dude?” he seethes. “She’s my little sister.”

“She’s also a grown woman?—”

“You’ve known her since she was practically in diapers. Do you even understand how fucking sick that is?”

I’m not going to lie and say it hasn’t crossed my mind, but I’ve also come to the realization that it was a long time ago. We’re both grown adults. A lot has changed. We’re also not the same people we were back then.

“I can’t believe you’re pulling this shit behind my back, man,” Derek growls. “You were the one person in the world I trusted, and you do this? What the fuck, dude?”

“It’s not like that?—”

“No? Then what’s it like?” he cuts me off. “Tell me what it’s like, Slater.”

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