Page 67 of Ward Willing
Maybe they can clarify some of the questions I have.
“So, Zoe is a submissive,” Orion states factually. “How does that make you feel?”
I grunt. “All sorts of things I shouldn’t be feeling.”
Chase chuckles. “Sounds about right.”
I eye my second youngest brother as I take another sip of beer. “How did you… and Juliet…”
Should I be asking him?
He doesn’t hesitate, though. He clears his throat and sets his empty glass down.
“We were sort of opposite of you and Zoe. I knew I was a Dom, and she discovered her submissive side through me.”
I take in his words, already knowing the gist of how they got together. Then, I pivot my gaze to Orion.
“And you? Is there someone…?” My question is intended to be open-ended.
Orion stares down at his nearly full glass of soda water. His finger traces the rim of the crystal glass, and his whole demeanor seems to change.
“No,” he says, a small smile tugging at his lips. “It’s just for me.”
“One day,” Chase offers.
But I don’t miss the way Orion’s brow furrows slightly as he continues to trace the rim of his glass. He must notice my gaze because he looks up at me and smirks.
“Don’t give me that look.”
I roll my tongue along the inside of my cheek before finishing my beer. “Seen any good ballets lately?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.
Orion’s expression drops into a frown. “Not really.”
Chase looks between us as if he’s waiting for someone to fill him in, but I don’t indulge him. Orion’s obsession with Layla, his stepsister, well, technicallyourstepsister, but I’d only met her a few times, was not a new thing.
She just so happens to be a ballet dancer, and I know Orion likes to attend the shows when he can.
But I only know about that through sheer determination. None of the other brothers know about his little habit, but as long as it’s not drinking again, I don’t care how much of a stalker he appears to be.
“Are we going to acknowledge the elephant in the room?” Orion asks, eyes boring into mine.
“Right,” Chase says slowly, looking back at me. “Tell us about Zoe.”
Now it’s my turn to look down at my empty beer glass. “What about her?”
“You have feelings for her,” Orion says confidently.
I open my mouth to argue, but then I remember howfuckingturned on I was at Scotty’s concert, and in Catalina…
And it’s not just physical, either.
I care about her as much, if not more, than my own brothers. Despite not seeing much of her these last few weeks, I check her location obsessively to make sure she’s home safe. My eyes search for her when I walk into every Tuesday and Thursday morning class. I smile whenever I see that she has attempted to make me dinner and packaged the leftovers in the fridge, or when there’s a new pile of clean laundry on my bed.
And I definitely can’t deny the way my eyes linger on her whenever we’re in the same room or the spike of adrenaline whenever she’s close by.
“And?” I ask as a server brings Chase and me another drink.
I see Orion slip him cash before the server ducks out of our private booth.
