Page 47 of The MC's Little Brother

“You didn’t know,” I said with a shrug.

Her gaze shifted in the direction of Xander’s room. “If you let Xander sleep with Thor, doesn’t that mean you won’t sleep well?”

“He needs him more.”

Her expression turned soft, and she gave me that smile that always made my heart race. The one that was all warmth and sunshine.

“You’re a good brother, Wraith.”

No, I wasn’t. Not yet anyway. But I wanted to be. I wanted to make up for not being there sooner. I wanted to make sure he would be okay. Maybe him getting out before he was an adult would spare him from the worst of it.

“Are you gonna be okay sleeping on your own?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Gonna come sleep with me instead?”

She huffed out a laugh, shaking her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It won’t make it any easier to pretend like nothing happened.”

I made a face, straightening. “Who the hell said we were going to pretend like nothing happened?”

If it was Wyatt, I was going to kick his ass. I didn’t think he’d go so far–

“I just assumed after Wyatt’s hissy fit that he acted the same way with you and you would want to go back to the way things were. It’s fine, really. I know how much you value your friendship with him. I wouldn’t want to get between the two of you.”

While she rambled, I crossed the room, kneeling on the edge of the bed as I caught her chin. Light blue eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at me, only to slip shut when I pressed my lips against hers. When I pulled back, she swayed a little, chasing me. I smirked to myself, whispering against her lips.

“He told me to end it. I told him no. I’m not missing out on my one shot to be with you.”

Her breath stuttered, and her eyes locked on mine, wide with surprise. I knew why she was looking at me like that. I was loyal to my crew. To my friendship with Wyatt. I pretended for years that I didn’t see Mel as anything other than Wyatt’s sister, because I respected our friendship too much. But that was before I knew she wanted me. I couldn’t just overlook that. I needed to see where this went.

“Come downstairs with me, Mel. I want to pick up where we left off.”

27

Melissa

When did he become so smooth?

I didn’t have time to ask before he was pulling me off the bed like it was effortless. One arm wrapped around my waist, plastering me against his side, while the other cupped my jaw, running his thumb along my bottom lip. I had maybe a million questions, but they all flew right out the window when he dipped his head to kiss me again.

My fingers curled in his stupid tight t-shirt that showed just how often he worked out. I saw the weights in the corner of the garage, he obviously took the time to exercise, and his body definitely showed it. I’d never seen it, he wore t-shirts even on beach days with the kids, and after years of pining, I had almost no reservations about joining him. There was only one thing that stopped me.

“What about Xander? If he gets scared, he’ll come looking for me.”

He leaned his forehead against mine, frowning for a second. “Hold on.”

He released me long enough to step back into the hallway and knocked on Xander’s door, opening it just enough to speak to him.

“Yeah?”

“You stole my dog. I’m stealing Mel for the night. If you need us, we’ll be downstairs.”

Xander huffed out a laugh. “Fair. Okay. Thanks Mattias.”

When he came back with a stupid grin on his face, I couldn’t help but laugh. “You couldn’t have lied?”

He shook his head. “I’m not pretending we aren’t a thing, Mel. He’d figure it out eventually. Come on.”

When he offered me his hand, my stomach fluttered, and I felt a flush fill my cheeks. I couldn’t even guess how many times I wished he would look at me like that. With heat and promise in his eyes. I took his hand, telling myself not to swoon when he drew me in close and pressed another slow kiss to my lips.

---