Page 9 of My Brother's Teammates

She looked down at the open book and licked her lips again. I was sure she was going to tell me no but instead she stood up and moved closer to me. Standing next to me, from the doorway, it would look like we were sorting out the dresser. She looked up at me and searched my face with eyes the color of expensive whiskey.

“Go on, Jenny.” My accent came out thicker and I had to shove my hands into my pockets to keep from touching her.

“‘Devon glared up at me. I was speechless as he stood up and came around the desk. He moved with too much ease for a man so angry as he came at me. Bracing his hands on either side of my head, he closed me in and brought my world down to the size of the space between us. I waited for him to say something, to demand that I get out and never come back, but he didn’t. He dragged his hand down the door until his fingertips touched my shoulder. The dark smile twisting his lips when I jumped promised things I couldn’t even comprehend.’”

Jenny looked up at me again and the way her lips parted made me wonder what she saw staring back at her. If I was showing even a percentage of how much I wanted to take her right then, she’d probably run screaming. She hadn’t run that morning, though. Not until after I’d come with her name on my lips.

She looked back down at the book. “‘Devon’s fingertips barely brushed over my heated skin as they trailed down to my wrist and then disappeared. I searched his gaze, wondering if he was done with me, but then I heard the sound of the door locking. My pulse quickened and my sex pulsed at the promise in that sound.’”

Jenny snapped the book closed and stood perfectly still. I’d stopped breathing the moment she said the word sex. Neither of us moved as the words she’d read filled the air around us.

She swallowed and shifted away. “Um, yeah. I should do some work, I guess.”

Before I could stop myself, I reached out and caught her wrist. My grip was too tight and I had to make myself let up. “I shower every morning.”

She looked up at me but didn’t say anything. We both knew what I was saying.

“I’d rather not share a bathroom with Hudson, so I’m just going to keep my things in here and shower here.” I watched for any signs of hesitation. “I should be better at locking the door when I shower, but I never learn.”

Her lips parted and her tongue slipped out to wet her lips.

“This morning’s shower was the best shower I’ve ever taken.” The words hung between us. Taking an even bigger risk with the door wide open, I stepped closer and pressed my mouth as close to her ear as I dared. “Feel free to come back, Jenny.”

***Jenny***

Thatfirstnight,Islept like crap. My mind was a mess of dirty promises and misplaced guilt. It felt wrong that I could feel so turned on by someone else just days after I’d been sure of my love for Landon. Was it possible for my body to turn off those feelings for Landon so quickly? It was confusing and I cried after fighting the urge to touch myself to the idea of Axel. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of Axel coming in. I hadn’t bothered to lock the door since I knew he had a key. Instead of going to the bathroom and watching him like my body wanted to, I squeezed my eyes and legs shut and stayed hidden under the blanket that smelled like him.

That day was full of classes for me and by the time I got back to the house, it was late and I was so tired I barely had the energy to shower and climb into bed. I jerked awake the next morning, already late. A sense of sadness washed over me when I realized I’d missed Axel. It wasn’t logical, but it was what it was. I wanted the opportunity to see him, even if I didn’t take it.

It was Friday and I’d planned on meeting a few of the freshmen from the Intro to Psych class to help them study. When I got to the library, they’d already gone, though, so I took the time to send them an email apologizing. With my day cleared, I decided to do something I liked to do when I had the time.

I found a bench in the shade on the quad and took out a notebook and pen. I settled in and tried to clear my head. I liked pretending I was watching and profiling people. It was a silly game I’d played since I’d first heard about FBI profilers. I understood the art of profiling was just that, an art that was perfected with years of training, but I liked to imagine I was already there.

It was a part of me that I didn’t share. I knew what people thought of me typically. I was shy and quiet. I carried myself in a way that made me look smaller than I was. I blended into the wall and that was the way I liked it. That person didn’t go hand in hand with what people most thought of when they thought of an FBI agent. I wasn’t going to scare any bad guys into submission, but I knew I could figure them out behind the scenes. At least I wanted to. I was desperate to make it.

Telling people my dream just didn’t happen, though. I didn’t want the laughter. It’d happened once before when I admitted to my family what I wanted to do. They hadn’t meant to hurt me, but they had. That was why my little game was my secret. I’d never even told Landon.

I was lost in watching a couple across the quad when suddenly I wasn’t on the bench anymore. I screamed but the sound was eaten up by cheers all over the quad.

“Look who got caught in our marching path!” Jason laughed and tossed me even higher. “Go Saints!”

I swore then and there that I would murder my brother. The team marched across campus before home games and I’d always been able to avoid the craziness. If I hadn’t been so caught up in the couple I’d been watching, I would’ve noticed the march coming and made a run for it.

“Put me down, Jason!”

“Go long, DuPont!” Jason shouted a play and my eyes went wide as I went airborne. I quickly decided that was a mistake and slammed them shut.

I grunted when I landed against a hard chest. I looked up and saw Ryder scowling over the top of my head. I swallowed and struggled to get free, embarrassed that Jason had just thrown me. Ryder’s arms were locked around me, though, and I just ended up wiggling around against him.

“If you’re going to toss your sister around like a fucking football, at least throw her to someone who won’t drop her on her head, asshole.” He turned that scowl on me. “Stop wiggling.”

I froze immediately and then huffed. Why did he think I had to listen to him? Why did I listen to him? Still, I did as he carried me out of the way of the crowd marching by and put me down. I made sure my clothes were still in place before looking up at him. “Thank you?”

Jason’s laughter was loud from the other side of the crowd. He was caught up in the fever. “Sorry, Jen!”

Ryder slapped something into my hand and when I looked down, I saw it was my little notebook of profiling. He turned to leave but I surprised us both by hugging him around the waist.

“Thank you, Ryder! If I lost this, I don’t know what I’d do.” I pulled back and flashed him a smile. “And thanks for not letting Hudson drop me on my head.”

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