Page 8 of Off Limits

“Asa?” I asked stupidly.

He glared at me and slowly climbed to his feet, wincing as he straightened up.

“Are you okay?” I gave him a quick once-over out of habit. He seemed to be favoring his left side, but I couldn’t tell if he was hurt or if the impact had just jarred him.

“Fine,” he grumbled, still glaring at me.

“What are you doing back here?”

“Mom sent me to look for you.” His glare melted into a sardonic smile. “Your fan club doesn’t want to leave before saying goodbye to their supreme leader.”

All the goodwill and concern I’d felt for him disappeared in an instant. This was the Asa I was used to, combative and full of childish insults.

“Jealous?”

The corner of his mouth curled up in a smirk. “Why would I be jealous?”

“Because…” Now it was my turn to glare at him. I couldn’t say anything without sounding like an egotistical asshole. “You’re annoying.”

“And you need to watch where you’re going.” He rubbed his back, his eyes tightening slightly.

Was he hurt?

Asa wasn’t a small guy by most standards, but next to me, he looked downright scrawny. He was only an inch shorter than me, but I had at least thirty pounds of muscle on him. Running into me would be like running into a wall for him.

“Maybe you would have been able to see me if you hadn’t painted your eyes shut,” I said, a weird flare of anger hitting at my concern for him.

It wasn’t my fault he’d run into me. It wasn’t like I wasn’t a big enough target to avoid.

“Really? That’s all you got?” He arched one eyebrow at me. “A crack about my eye makeup? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. You did go to Notre Dame, after all.”

“Are you done being a dick?” I clenched my fists and tried to calm my anger. Only Asa could make the name of my college sound like an insult.

“How am I being a dick?” His voice was calm and sweet and only served to piss me off more. “I was just pointing out a fact.”

“Move,” I said, not bothering to answer him.

Asa had an annoying habit of twisting my words, and arguing with him always left me in a fouler mood than him. I’d had a shitty enough day already; I didn’t need to add verbally sparring with my asshole stepbrother to make it worse.

He stepped to the side, clearing a path for me to slip past him.

As I did, our arms brushed, and the scent of peppermint and citrus invaded my senses.

I had no idea if Asa wore cologne or aftershave or if that was just his deodorant, but he’d been wearing that combination of scents since I met him.

Flashes of memories hit out of nowhere. Warm skin, soft whimpers, and low moans. An eager mouth and a strong, solid body.

Quickening my steps, I forced those memories back where they belonged and hurried into the kitchen. As much as I wanted to hang around and spend more time with my siblings, I needed to get the fuck away from Asa until my damn body remembered that we hated him as much as he hated me.

3

ASA

“Thanks for this,”I said to Zander as he lowered a box of my books onto the floor of his living room.

“Of course. It’s no problem.” He shot me a scrutinizing look as he stood and pushed his long hair back from where it had fallen over his face.

I kept my expression neutral as he studied me.

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