Page 77 of Be With Me (Adair Family 4)

He shrugged, his focus drifting over my head. “I honestly don’t know. I can’t think of any instance that I pissed someone off that badly.”

Perhaps it was because I didn’t want to be dragged out of our bubble so soon, but I smoothed my hand over Arran’s chest and said, “It’s probably just a prank. But keep me posted. I’m glad you told me.”

He seemed to relax under my touch as he studied my face. Then he pressed a sweet kiss to my nose. “You’re awfully calm about this considering …”

I shrugged. “I can’t be paranoid about every little thing, Arran. It’s no way to live, and I don’t want to do that anymore. And neither can you. So let’s just live. And if something else happens, we’ll deal with it.”

Arran’s eyes gleamed with something that made my breath catch. “You’re amazing, you know that?” His voice was hoarse with emotion.

And it was turning me on. I squirmed against him. “Don’t look at me like that when I can’t do anything about it.”

The cocky bastard grinned and then kissed me. Hard. Hungry. Completely inappropriately. When he finally let me up for air, my body throbbed with need.

“Now look what you did,” I said breathlessly, and then gave him a little shove. “You better go, or I am not going to make it to work on time.”

“Apologies.” He was still looking far too smug as he stepped back to let me get into my car.

“Just for that, you’re doing all the work tonight.” I slid behind the wheel, but before I could close the door, Arran grabbed it.

He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to my lips before murmuring, “I’ll keep my head buried between your thighs all night if that’s what you want.”

My belly flipped low and deep at the imagery. “Sounds like a plan.”

“But I’m guessing you’ll want my cock inside you before very long.”

My cheeks burned at his crudeness and even more so at how much my body loved it. Trying not to give his ego any more reason to inflate, I raised an eyebrow and pushed him out of the car. “Let’s just see if your tongue keeps up first before we think about offloading some of the work to your cock.”

Arran laughed loudly in delight, surprise glittering in his eyes.

I tried not to break my sassy scowl, but my lips betrayed me, twitching with amusement. Closing the door, I pulled on my seat belt while outside my window, Arran grinned down at me.

My return smirk made him grin harder before I backed out of the space.

I felt his eyes on my car until I disappeared out of his sightline.

30

ARRAN

I kept my promise and did most of the work that evening.

The scent of sex permeated Ery’s bedroom as we laid tangled together in a heap of damp, hot skin. Her head rested on my shoulder, for once her mass of curls not tickling my face as she still wore the thick twin braids she’d deftly plaited this morning. Ery’s fingers traced a gentle pattern across my pecs while I caressed her upper arm.

Our breathing had finally normalized after our energetic activities of five minutes ago.

Staring at the ceiling, I couldn’t help but think of all she’d confessed to me in this room less than a week ago. The truth was, I hadn’t been able to think of much else. I wished that wasn’t her history. I couldn’t imagine losing a sibling, let alone my bloody twin. The closest to that would be losing Brodan, and that would destroy me. It would kill me to lose any of my brothers or Arro.

I glanced down at the top of Ery’s head, marveling, not for the first time, at her strength. She’d lost so much. First her mum, then her grandmother, and then her sister. All of her family.

Something occurred to me, and I hesitated to say it, but curiosity, the need to know everything about her, compelled me to. “I know you said there were no leads on your dad, but have you ever considered asking Lachlan to have someone look into it? He knows a private investigator.”

Ery was quiet for a moment, and I wondered if it was the wrong thing to ask. However, when she released a sigh, her warm breath fluttered across my nipple. “I’ve thought about it, but it was never safe to do that. I didn’t want to bring unwanted attention to myself that way.”

“Right. Of course.” Fucking Ezra Jefferson. I’d asked Lachlan if there was anything we could do to bring that bastard down, and Lachlan said Ery had specifically asked him not to, fearful it would alert him to Ery’s whereabouts. I understood that. But I hated it.

“Ultimately, no. I don’t want to know my father.” She sat up to look at me, a small frown between her delicate brows. “I know that sounds weird. I didn’t always think that way. I went through a phase of bugging Granny about him, asking her if she was sure she didn’t know just one tiny detail about him, and she was always patient and gracious. Kia hated me asking about him because she’d decided he was not worth her energy, her curiosity, her longing. But me …”

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