Page 48 of Bossy Ex's Brother

Why? That was the question of the century. If he wanted to take off and leave his mother behind, that was one thing. But why would he steal that from me? Something he didn’t need.

Or maybe he’d blackmailed the Moretti's and gotten a payoff. Maybe that was how he was funding his new life.

All in all, it was clear something very fishy was going on here. And I needed to figure it out soon.

NINETEEN

JANE

After Luca left, I let out the breath I was holding, relieved that there wasn’t going to be a brawl. I wasn’t sure for a second there. After Felix said what he said, I sensed Luca’s entire aura change even though he kept that same devil-may-care expression on his face. The way he cleanly got off the bed and advanced toward us, I knew if I let it proceed, there was going to be hell to pay, and Felix was going to be the one paying for it. So I’d stopped it and kicked him out. I wasn’t going to let him kill my brother.

Instead, I just might do it myself.

I finally turned to Felix, who was still looking at me with a combination of disgust and anger.

“I can’t believe you—”

“Quiet,” I said in a mild tone, and Felix must have known I meant business because he instantly shut up, even though his face still held its wrath. Good, because I was bristling with so much anger that I might have slapped him if he continued. I understood him being upset that I didn’t heed his warning and embarrassed to have caught me in bed with someone because of it. But berating me to this level was unacceptable.

I came forward and stuck my hand in his chest.

“You.” Poke. “Don’t.” Poke. “Tell.” Poke. “Me.” Poke. “What to.” Poke. “Do with.” Poke. “My body.”

And to punctuate it, I continued, using considerable effort to keep myself from yelling, “I'm your sister, not your girlfriend. Who I sleep with has nothing to do with you and is none of your business. I don’t have to explain myself to you, and I don’t deserve you calling me a whore if I do sleep with someone you don’t like.”

He blushed and looked a bit regretful about that. “I didn’t—”

“No, but you were going to,” I told him, letting my voice get cold. “If Luca hadn’t stopped you, you were going to call me a whore weren’t you?”

He shook his head.

“No? So what other creative words for it did you have running through your head?”

Even though my brother towered over me, I could feel him shrinking before my quelling gaze. I let him squirm a little more before I stepped back, crossing my arms over my chest and tapping my foot. I was waiting for it.

“I’m sorry.” He blurted out because Felix had never been able to take one of my judgmental silences. “I didn’t mean to say that. It’s just that I didn’t think you would fall for a guy like that.”

“A guy like what, huh?” I asked, finally getting to the root of the problem. “A businessman who runs a successful business and takes care of his employees? Or is it the fact that he’s Lorenzo’s brother that is putting you off?”

“Neither,” he replied.

“Then what is it, huh? Tell me.”

He opened his mouth to say something but couldn’t seem to spit the words out. A line of stress crossed his face, and then his mouth snapped shut again.

“What?” I inquired again. “Because he’s a player? You think I can’t possibly stop myself from falling in love with him?” Iscoffed, even though there was a niggling doubt in my mind that told me my brother was right.

Felix shook his head, and his expression was one filled with frustration.

“Just be careful, okay?” he finally spat out before he spun around and stormed out of the room.

Now, what the hell was that supposed to mean?

I didn’t know what to make of my brother’s exit as I went back to sit on the bed, my head in my hands. Instead, I focused on my final words to him while I recalled everything that had happened tonight. The bed was still tousled with the reminder of everything Luca and I had done tonight, all the different ways he’d taken me, owned me. God, I could still feel his lips on my neck, could still feel his touch, the hair between my thighs, and my skin. And every time I remembered it, I felt that pang of hunger again.

I wanted more.

Shit. Even after everything that just happened, my primary regret was that I sent Luca away without another round. I was like an addict. I wanted more of him, and I wasn’t even sure I could listen to reason. To hell with what my brother or anyone else said about it.

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