Page 8 of Vulnerate

Valentin

It’s late when we get home and Tali is dragging ass, taking forever to open the door. Kicking the back of his ankle to get him to move faster, I make sure not to jolt Dani in my arms. She feels right here with her hair tickling my face. Vlad opens the door and keeps his mouth shut as we walk into the house. He’s nearly thirty years old but the sad fuck has been waiting for us, if the tumbler in his hand is anything to go by.

My life is a joke and I have to lay my dream girl in my brother’s bed. Pretending to be exhausted, I lay beside her not giving a fuck if Tali has to sleep on the floor. He gets her every night, sneaks her into his room, and they do whatever the fuck they want. After hearing their weird ass plan for him to hook up I relaxed, but seeing Dani get comfortable in his bed is pissing me off.

It’s always going to happen. They’re too close and I hate it because there’s no reason for them to be friends. He’s been obsessed with this stupid theory that we have a little sister for longer than I can remember but it doesn’t mean Dani has to fill that gap for him since Vlad shoutedat him for mentioning it. Or sleep in his bed and wear his clothes. He doesn’t look at her like he’s attracted to her, but he always kisses her cheek. They do it to each other. We’re not children anymore, we’re teenagers and she should be friends with girls, only. Even then I might limit her interaction in case they talk shit to her.

He’s too tired to notice me and throws the covers over her. My fake sleep disappears when he grabs a pair of shorts, if the shithead changes in front of her I’ll kill him. There’s too much familiarity in his movements, showing this is their usual routine. He saves himself and goes into the bathroom, so I make myself comfortable. Dani grumbles as I attempt to move her over to the other side, so he doesn’t have any space, and she wraps her arms around me. She’s so beautiful, even when she’s asleep. There’s something inside of her that’s all goodness and light, drawing me closer since the first time I laid eyes on her.

Closing my eyes, so I’m not evicted from my place, Tali flops down on the other side of Dani. He doesn’t go under the covers and her face is tucked against my chest. I’m only eleven months older than her, but I feel older due to getting involved with the underground fights. I should have listened to Vlad and waited; the controlling fucker would be ecstatic to hear he was right, so am I fuck admitting it.

Vitali always falls asleep quickly as long as there are no lights on, and I wait for his breathing to even out in the dark room. All of the external lights on this side of the house have been turned off so he doesn’t get disturbed after Vlad moved him from my floor when he caught Dani trying to scale the side of the house to climb through the window.

Dani’s skin is soft, her hand is resting on my chest and there’s no scars on her knuckles. The callouses on her fingertips are from her art, her creations. Not destruction like my rough hands. My eyes have adjusted to the dark and I pull her closer as I lay my phone on the bed between our chests. The muted light from the screen doesn’t cast any shadows, just enough light so I can see more of her. She twitches her nose as I trace her features with the pad of my finger, the cute little shit. Doing it again, she swipes at my hand, and I bite my lip to stop from laughing. She’s so adorable all curled up against me.

All the cunts who try to hurt her have never been able to and even though she has me she’s never come to me to complain. My Dani is good and doesn’t even try to get revenge. Especially against the bitch Zoe whowrecked the sculpture she made of her mom. So many hours and trips to get the perfect colors and materials wasted over some little cunts need to be feel superior. No one is better than Dani, they wouldn’t be able to compare, that’s why they keep fucking with her. Even though she hides away, there’s not a single person that doesn’t see her, she’s powerful covered in paint and not noticing the world.

I kiss her forehead and I don’t move my lips away, soaking up as much of her as I can get. She’ll wake up and run after my brother, both of them inseparable, and there’s no room to fit myself between them. Her lashes flutter against my chin and I move back before getting caught. There’s no shame, I want her to catch me and sink into me physically like she has mentally, to lay claim to me and breathe life into my soul like she does her art.

She strokes up my chest and curls her hand around my nape already falling back to sleep. I’m sick of being around her and never having her, like a lonely dying star stuck in her orbit never allowed closer. All she has to do is look at me and I’m fucking hers, but she’s too busy with my dumbass kid brother. I know if he loved her I still wouldn’t stop, I’d take her from him because she’s mine. But he doesn’t, he’s told me he hasn’t fucked her, and he always gets pissed when I say he has.

I press my lips to her forehead and let her sleep. Trying not to wake her again, I turn on my side tucking her closer and wait the one minute until it’s the right time. My phone buzzes against my shoulder at the same time as I whisper, “Happy birthday, Dani mine.”

She has one leg wrapped over me and I pull her up so she’s fully resting on me. Her smile touches my jaw and a soft whisper floats into my ear. “Thank you Val, you’re the only person who says it at the exact time.”

Her parents will be home tomorrow for her meal, so we always get the day before, but I’ll never go a year without wishing her happy birthday at the exact moment she was born. It’s the moment my other half was created.

Kissing her cheek, I drag out any words to keep her with me.

“I always will be.”

Sleep isn’t more important than time with me alone. She softly hums, but she doesn’t say anything straight away. Her lashes flutter, tickling my cheek and I can’t help myself as I kiss her crown. It’s innocent, notsomething that would ever be associated with me, the act or Dani. I don’t move my head as she looks up and whispers, “Promise?”

Fuck, she’s so pretty I forget words, losing my entire vocabulary in both languages, and what we’re talking about. I lower my voice to disguise how much of a little bitch I sound as I negotiate the terms for her requested promise.

“Kiss me and I will.”

Even if it’s just my cheek like the car I’ll survive. It took everything in me not to turn my head and claim her lips like I wanted to. Her voice is even lower as she slowly inches up. “Close your eyes.”

She’s cute, getting nervous for her first kiss and I do it.

It’s not the setting I wanted, but I’ll take it, and my heart speeds up in anticipation as warmth ghosts over my face. My arms tighten around her as she moves closer and innocently kisses my cheek, avoiding my lips. Exhaustion weighs her down and she sinks against me. I don’t mention her cop out as I settle her so her head is resting against my shoulder. Her hair is soft too and I stroke it back loving the texture as I give her the promise she wanted.

“I promise Dani mine, you’ll never get away from me.”

She falls back into sleep, and I stay in place watching the sun come up. I could kidnap her, keep her locked on my floor on one of the nights she climbs through the window. No, I’ll get her drunk and make her marry me, then she’ll never be able to escape, and Tali can’t get involved because husband trumps weird ass friend who just eats all the time.

There’s going to be a lecture about not being a pervert as soon as I get up. I swear to fuck if I hear Vlad say the phrase ‘only perverts obsess over who their family fuck’ one more time, I’ll blow my brains out. I don’t give a fuck what Tali does, he could have lopsided muscles from jacking off so much and I wouldn’t give a shit as long as Dani is never involved in any scenario with him.

My phone buzzes again with my alert to train with Dima. I pull Dani with me as I slide out, making sure there’s as much distance between her and Tali as possible. It’s not enough when he’s like a snake following her warmth. Taking her backpack, I put it in the middle, if he wants to hug something he can use that.I add the pillow as an extra layer of protection before leaving his room.

Dima raises his brows at the direction I’ve come from as I go up the stairs. He doesn’t say anything, and Vlad tries to pin me in place with his stare. They’re both weird as fuck, they’re in some little relationship where neither of them get laid, but they’re like a married couple and will finish each other’s sentences. Well, Dima does considering I caught him last week so I bring up his infidelity in the hope it gets his husbands attention off me being in Tali’s room.

“Who were you at the club with?” I ask Dima.

His brows come together as I pull my t-shirt over my head, and he asks, “Which club?”

Vlad throws a pair of shorts at me but there’s no interest in my shit talk, so I add more. “I only saw the back of her head, but she must have been pretty enough for you to want her on her knees.” I don’t bother leaving to change when they wiped my ass.

---