Page 3 of From My Past
“Nice to meet you, doll.” He took my hand and brought it close to him and kissed my knuckles. I couldn’t help but giggle and looked over to Kieron who was barely containing his own smile at his friends’ antics.
“Finally, someone who can match your nonsense level, Trent.”
“I know! And if you’re not careful enough I will take her from you. Damn you for seeing her first, but I will honor the dibs.” Trenton said with a gallant wave of his hands and pushed me ever so slightly in Kieron’s direction before running off into the sea of drunk people. My heart started to race slightly at what Trenton implied.
It was hard to tell in the dimmed light of the kitchen if he was as affected by me as I was by him, but I could swear I see a hint of a blush cross his cheeks. There is no way this fine specimen of a man saw me and called dibs in the way that I’m thinking. No way.
“You called dibs?” I hoped with everything inside me that I sounded confident and like I was teasing him but even I could hear the breathlessness in my voice. The wonder and awe.
He chuckled and moved his hand up to nervously scratch at the back of his neck while putting his other hand in his pocket.
“I did. I hope you’re not offended, but some of these guys are not all winners. I didn’t want to take the chance that one of them gets to you first. It didn’t help matters that you’re a knockout and I had my eye on you since the moment I walked in here.”
“Really?” Call it whatever you want, but I had a hard time ever accepting that a man wanted something more from me than just my temporary company. I had a hard time accepting that they might actually wantmeinstead of always trying to trick me in some way.
“Yes, really.” Kieron said quickly.
“That’s very sweet of you.”
“‘And you’re a knockout too, Kieron.’” He teased in a high-pitched girls voice and it made me laugh.
“I’m so sorry for my ignorance. And you’re a knockout too, Kieron.” I said, bringing my hand to my stomach to help the ache from laughing.
“I love your laugh. I could listen to it all night.” He said with such conviction that I had no choice but to agree.
“Thank you,” I whispered as he stepped in closer to my personal space. I could feel his heat and smell his scent, he was so close. I stopped breathing. He smelled crisp and clean with a hint of something spicy but warm, like cinnamon.
“So, what about that drink?” He whispered and I swear I could lose myself in his voice. It was deep and strong, with a hint of some kind of accent that I couldn’t place yet. One quick glance up to his face showed me that he knew what he was doing.
“Let’s do it.” I answered with as much sass and confidence as I could muster. “I’ll take a vodka and orange juice, please.”
“You got it.” His dark eyes held mine for a moment longer before he vanished from my personal space and I felt like I could breathe again. I sat back to the side and watched him work, pouring and mixing, making sure it was chilled before handing me a cup and taking the other for himself.
He didn’t say anything as he took my hand, his large, tanned one engulfing mine, and pulled me back in the direction of the backyard. I prayed to every god I knew that Morgan wouldn’t show and embarrass me or try to seduce this god-like man away from me. Even though, it was highly possible that that exact scenario would happen in my nightmares, I dreaded that it had even the possibility to be a reality for me.
I stumbled slightly over nothing and caught myself before it could really become embarrassing, but Kieron’s grip on my hand tightened slightly, like he was making sure that nothing would happen to me if I did fall.
“I’m good.”
“Be careful.”
“Yes sir.” I said in a mocking tone, but when Kieron looked back at me, I saw a fire in his eyes of pure lust. So, he liked being called that, he liked being in control.
Noted.
“Over here.” He pulled me closer and led me to a spot in the back that was fairly isolated. Or at least others hadn’t found it quite yet. It was by the wooden fence, but partially hidden by a shrub. Someone had gone through the trouble of making it a little sitting area with a self-made looking bench and some cushions and a small string of lights along the fence.
“Wow, I didn’t see this earlier.”
“It’s a hidden secret. I made this back when I was a brother.” He explained and gestured for me to sit first.
It wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but in that moment, I didn’t care.
“When you were a brother, does that mean you aren’t anymore? Isn’t there some ‘once a brother, always a brother’ bullshit line like that?” I said bluntly, taking a drink. It was perfectly made, strong but the juice covered the bitterness of the vodka.
“Like you said, it’s a bullshit line.” He took a long drink himself and looked anywhere but at me.
“Fuck, I’m sorry. Sometimes when I’m drinking, I can be too…”
