Page 30 of Only Ever Yours
Finn
Where are you? I thought you’d be back by now.
Me too. But there was shitty traffic coming out of London, then an accident on the motorway. Practically at a standstill for a couple of hours. Thought Hollis might have let you know as I was driving.
Finn
Nope. I haven’t heard from her. Where are you now? I’m guessing you’ve stopped for a bit.
Yeah, we decided to stay at a hotel in the services.
Finn
Separate rooms?
I laughed. Finn’s protectiveness towards his sister hadn’t lessened over the years.
No, just one.
Finn
You lay a finger on her…
Calm the fuck down. She’s had a hard day. We bumped into her ex, and he seems like a right charmer. She didn’t want to be on her own. And you know full well I won’t go there.
Although the more time I spend with Hollis, I can’t know how sure I am of that statement any longer.
Hollis chose that moment to come out of the bathroom.She was dressed in her sleepwear: the top had a deep V which emphasised the fact she wasn’t wearing a bra, and the shorts were cut high on her legs, revealing a glorious amount of skin. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, exposing her creamy neck.
I wouldabsolutelyfucking go there.
Turning my attention back to my phone and trying to ignore the effect Hollis had on me, I messaged Finn.
We’ll be back in the morning. Keep you posted.
“Can I get a shower now?”
Hollis swallowed as her gaze raked over my chest, stopping short of my crotch before abruptly returning to my face. “Sure. I left the shower gel in there for you.”
I got up and brushed past her, breathing in the lemony scent. “Thanks.” I swore I caught her checking out my arse as I walked to the bathroom. The shower helped to warm me up, and I tamped down all thoughts of Hollis in her pyjamas, which came with an urge to jerk off. Knowing she was on the other side of the door and could potentially hear everything I did stopped me. Once I finished, I debated whether to brush my teeth, then remembered I had beers. Slipping my boxers back on, I tried to remember whether there had been a bathrobe in the wardrobe. Then I realised we were at a cheap hotel in the motorway services, and I doubted they had such luxuries. Going back into the main room, I saw Hollis had already got under the covers and was reading something on her phone. There was a T-shirt on my side of the bed.
“What’s that?” I pointed to it unnecessarily, grabbing a can of beer from the bag on the desk.
Hollis looked up, her cheeks colouring slightly. “It’s, um, for you to wear. I thought you might be cold.”
Picking it up, I realised it was one of mine. A forest-greenHollister one.
A memory from years ago hit me squarely in the gut.
The holiday in Princelake when Neil Bradley messed around with Hollis, incurring Finn’s wrath and the mandate that any of his friends were never to go near his sister. She’d run away from the beach, didn’t have any clean clothes, and I gave her one of my T-shirts.
This one.
Fuck.
“You kept it all this time?” My voice was low as I slipped it over my head. It had to be at least eight years old and was snugger than it would have been when I was younger since I’d discovered the gym. While I wasn’t a complete muscleman, I had toned my body. “And you took it when you moved to London?”
She lifted a shoulder, sucking in her bottom lip, and avoided looking directly at me. “I guess I wanted something to remind me of home.”
