Page 47 of Filthy Sweet

“Reggie,” Fox says sternly, jumping in. “You know Owen doesn’t want to talk about that.”

Reggie grunts and holds his hands up. “Okay, okay.” He turns to me. “Fox told me I have to stop bossing you around so much, but I told him it’s just as much as I boss him around, or as much as he bosses him around, or I mean me around, or—”

“It’s okay,” I say, jumping in to save him as he gets tangled in his words. “Thanks, Reggie.”

I feel dizzy, very pleased that Fox told Reggie to stop bossing me around, but also a little embarrassed that he had to, although all of that sinks into the background as another wave of guilt crashes down on me.

This isn’t right. We can’t go on like this.

“I get it,” Reggie says. “It’s just a sex thing. But remember, if someone is only looking for sex, you can’t really trust them.”

Fox grunts under his breath. “What the hell does that mean?”

“I’m not talking about you,” Reggie tells him. “You’re only looking for sex, but you aren’t hooking up with guys like Owen.”

“Hey,” Fox and I both say.

“What?” Reggie objects. “A lot of guys who are only looking for sex are creeps, and Owen doesn’t have the experience to look out for himself like you do, Fox. He’s kind of innocent.”

I feel prickly and defensive. “Reggie, can we—”

Thankfully, a powerful guitar chord thunders through the room, reverberating. Reggie stands straight up, a delighted grin on his face.

“Shit,” he says, looking between us. “You guys mind if I go up by the stage? We can pick this up later, if you want.”

“Go dance, Reggie,” Fox answers, clearly relieved. “Please.”

“Thanks,” Reggie says and hurries away.

I press my hand to my forehead. “Oh my god,” I groan. “That did not feel good.”

Fox frowns, wrinkling his nose. “Yeah. Agreed,” he says, keeping his voice loud enough for me to hear over the concert. “Total guilt bomb.”

I look at my brother by the stage. “I don’t like keeping secrets from him, turns out.”

“It doesn’t not feel like lying.”

“But then he makes me so mad!” I add as drums echo through the venue. “He’s so bossy about my business! And he acts like I’m some naïve country mouse in the big scary city for the first time.”

Fox snorts. “It’s as bad as the time we tried to be workout buddies. That friendly asshole couldn’t stop spotting me, no matter how many times I told him to sit down.”

I laugh. There are a couple feet of space between us, and I have to fight to resist the urge to bump our knees together under the table, the need to touch him still strong.

Fox cocks a slight smile. “It’s probably time to figure out how to talk to him,” he says. “If you’re ready.”

I nod. “Yeah,” I agree. “I’m ready.”

It makes my stomach tight, but I know Fox is right, and I appreciate that he doesn’t waste any time in saying it. If anything, the fact that he’s encouraging me to do the right thing just makes me like him more.

I swallow, not sure how to ask what I want to ask, but aware that this is the time to ask it. “We’ll tell him that we’re hooking up,” I say, carefully studying Fox’s reaction. “And that we’re going to keep hooking up?”

“As long as we both want to,” Fox answers with a nod, and I notice that he sets his jaw, like he’s steeling himself. “And when you’re ready to go out and find a boyfriend, we’ll cool things off.”

“Sure,” I say. Emotions swirl through me, faster than I can make sense of them. “That sounds perfect.”

Fox must see my anxiety, because his expression softens, and then he flashes me a roguish smile. “Don’t think it’s going to be easy to quit that sexy whimper of yours. This just means we’ll have to enjoy ourselves while we have the chance.”

I bite my bottom lip, flattered but not flustered. “But you haven’t even licked my hole yet,” I tease.

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