Page 19 of Bottoms Up
Nathan gave him an insouciant look, as only a cat can manage. “Not likely.”
* * * *
The Tennessee River, a few miles downstream from Chattanooga
Silver took a long sip of wine and leaned against Julian’s shoulder, letting the breeze on the top deck of the Southern Belle tangle through her hair. Lights shimmered off the dark water below, and the call of a saxophone drifted lazy and low from a deck below.
Julian handed her another wing, the good kind — spicy, crispy, perfectly messy. His fingers brushed hers, cool against her warm skin.
She smiled, licked sauce from her thumb, and leaned into his side.
Blissfully unaware a battle had just been fought for her safety.
Chapter 6
One year later
Silver
I was so excited about going to Will, Davy, and Micca’s wedding. Okay, so technically it was Will and Micca’s wedding, and then their commitment ceremony to Davy. All three of them were glowing in the leadup to the big event, I wassofreaking happy for them.
And a little sad for me. Julian and I are perfect together. We fit in all the ways that matter. He’s mine and I’m his, but it seemed easier to just not tell anyone about us. Not even the band.
Because how do you explain that the man who feeds from your throat, who holds you like you’re precious but then turns around and breaks you apart until orgasms spill out — is someone else’s property?
Yeah. A for-real slave. Not a kink thing. Not pretend. Not just vampire politics.
Aslave.
I mean, everyone in the band knows about vampires, so it wasn’t like I had to keep it secret because of that, but still. I kept him hidden, like I was ashamed of something that had nothing to do with him. And I wasn’t ashamed ofhim. I just…
I wanted him to be free.
I’d even asked Marco if I could buy Julian’s freedom. An easy fix, cut a check, problem solved.
But Marco said it wasn’t that simple. There are contracts, responsibilities, laws older than most countries on the planet.
I let it go after that. Or I told myself I had.
But it was still there. Poking at me.
I have millions of dollars and I rarely spend any of it, so why not buy his freedom? Except I can’t. Money doesn’t buy everything, after all.
But it buys a lot. I have a house and a car. I’d sold the SUV and bought an Audi R8 since I drive curvy mountain roads so often these days, but even that hadn’t made a dent in my assets column, and the money just keeps piling up. Benji invests what I don’t spend, and that works for me.
I don’t actually use my house a whole lot, since I split most of my time between the Beast Castle and Homewood. When we’re writing new stuff and practicing a lot, or when Julian is traveling, I’m with the band. Otherwise, I’m mostly at Homewood.
My invitation to the wedding was for a plus-one, and since I wasn’t taking Julian, I figured it was time the band and my friends met my brother.
When I first found out Hailey and Ghost are stepsiblings, I gotsomad. It isn’t right. It made me sick to my stomach. Physically ill. At some point, Hailey asked me which of my stepbrothers I wanted there to bemorewith, and her question made everything click — why I was having such a huge problem with even theideaof it.
I’d had a crush on Benji when we first met, but after a couple of months, I never considered the possibility ofmorewith him. He’s my big brother and I love him more than anyone else on the planet. Would anything have happened if I’d wanted to change our relationship? I honestly don’t know, and it probably doesn’tmatter at this point, but I’m glad Hailey asked the question, so I’d realize why I was so pissed about her relationship with Ghost.
And really, it isn’t necessarily gross with them. Their parents split up when they were kids, and they didn’t see each other for a decade. By the time they reconnected, it was a different kind of relationship.
But Benji and I are still siblings. There was never a break — he’s been a video call away from the day circumstances moved us away from each other, and we see each other multiple times every year. It doesn’t matter we aren’t blood related, he’s my big brother and he’salwaysbeen there for me. At least, since we met.
He flew into Chattanooga, rented a Toyota Land Cruiser, and we drove to the resort in North Carolina, with breathtaking views in every direction.
