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“You’re still a piece of shit,” I tell my brother when the waitress walks away, and we start eating our dinners. “You’re lucky I even showed up after what you pulled.”
He laughs. “Come on. You’re still not over that? It ended up getting you your latest boy toy, didn’t it?”
“Don’t call him that.”
He arches a brow. “So more than a boy toy? Interesting. Can’t say I’ve seen you look this happy in a while, so maybe I won’t have to beat his ass...yet.” He grins, but really more like he’s baring his teeth.
“You won’t be beating anyone’s ass, Liam.” I roll my eyes.
“That’s to be determined. How’s work going? Worth the move?”
“Absolutely. The kids are great. They’re so smart and sweet. Most of them anyway.”
“Which one is the asshole?” he asks with a chuckle.
“No first grader is an asshole.”
He waits in silence.
“Okay, there’s one. Not an asshole, but he’s such a bully, Matthew. He gets in trouble at least twice a day. I found myself actually smiling because he was absent a few days ago. I’m the worst teacher ever.”
“Oh, please. You remember what I was like in school?”
“How could I not?”
Liam was one of the worst kids in school. Being that I lived with him, I knew why he had trouble concentrating in class and was quick to lash out at teachers and other students alike, but no one else cared about that. He was just seen as the problem child. Even when I started school, just having the same last name as him was enough to have many of his former teachers hating me.
Somehow it never occurred to the teachers or principals that he acted that way because of the black eyes he came to school with, or the broken arm he needed a cast for two months for. Not a single word of help was offered, even when he showed up with long-sleeve shirts on in June to hide the iron-size burn mark on his arm. A scar he still has to this day. A scar he got defending me.
“Yeah, well that shit started early. I was that way in school since pre-k. So maybe that kid has something going on.” He shrugs. “Or he’s just an asshole. Figure out which.”
I nod and swallow around the knot in my throat at the thought that maybe the kid in my class could be having the same things going on in his house that we had growing up. I’ve learned kids are usually bullies in school because they’re going through hell at home and that’s how it manifests outside the home, or because their parents are bullies and taught them to be the same. After having spoken to Matthew’s parents a few times, I’m leaning more towards the latter. They’re even bigger assholes, really.
“Anyway,” I clear my throat. “How’s your new house coming along?”
He sighs. “The bathroom flooded last night. Then when the plumber came, he told me the pipes have lead in them, so now those have to be replaced.”
Liam and I both saved up to buy fixer-uppers while we lived together. Both of ours have had their share of problems, but Liam’s more than mine. His has needed major repairs in damn near every area.
“But it’ll be beautiful once everything is all fixed up,” I say.
And it will. It has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a finished basement and huge attic.
“Yeah, and I’ll be broke as hell too.” He chuckles.
“Hey, maybe I can ask Damir to come take a look at it.”
“Oh yes, I’d love to meet him. Show him the nice backyard that I’ll bury him in if he ever hurts you.” He smirks.
“You have something so wrong with you.” I shake my head.
My phone vibrates, and I smile when I see the name as I turn it over on the table.
Damir: Hey. What are you doing?
Me: Eating dinner at a restaurant.
I start to put the phone down, but it immediately vibrates again.
Damir: Well at least you told the truth.
My eyebrows crinkle in confusion.
Me: I’m lost.
Feeling like I’m being watched, I look over to the windows and find Damir standing there, the phone casting a glow on his face. I wave to him, but he gives me a stiff nod. Again, confusion hits me until Damir’s eyes move to my brother, and I get what this must look like.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell Liam, quickly getting up to head towards the entrance.
I walk outside, and Damir watches me as I approach, his face still hard when I reach him.
“You’re gonna have so much ass to kiss later,” I say.
“Excuse me?” His deep voice rakes through me.
God, I’m hot and ready off of two words. I put that aside for the moment as my hands go to my hips.
“That man that’s got you looking at me without smiling, is my brother.”
His face instantly softens, and his eyes travel over to my brother again, then he gives an awkward smile.
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh,” I shake my head. “Come meet him.”
He follows me into the restaurant to my table. My brother looks up as we get closer, his eyes going back and forth between Damir and me while he stands up.
“Damir, this is my brother, Liam. Liam, this is Damir.”
They shake hands, and I don’t think I imagine Liam giving Damir’s hand a little extra squeeze. Men. Damir takes an empty chair from the table next to us and sits down. The waitress comes over and asks if he’d like to place an order, but he tells her he’s already eaten.
“So, you’re the one who saved my sister from my prank.” Liam grins.
“That would be me.”
“I was just telling Liam that maybe you could come have a look at his house,” I suggest. “He bought a fixer-upper too, but he’s been having problems every time he tries to repair something.”
I see Damir’s shoulders loosen at my words. Construction he knows. Easy conversation, I bet.
“Yeah sure. I can come check it out. I hope yours is in better condition than your sister’s.”
Liam shakes his head. “Much worse. It looked better when I brought it, but that was before people started tearing down walls, and sinks and showers started leaking.”
“That’s usually the case. All the real ugliness stays hidden until you get inside.”
“And you?” Liam asks. “Is Mariah gonna find a shitload of ugliness once she digs a little deeper?”
I glare at my brother across the table. Seriously?
“I’ve told her all about my ugliness, and she’s still here, so I think we’re good.”
Liam nods. “And I don’t really need to threaten you right? You know there’s no dark corner I wouldn’t find you in should you hurt my sister. She’s already had one man in her life who hurt her. I’ll never let there be another.”
“And I would never be that guy,” Damir is quick to respond.
Liam extends his hand again. “Then you’re alright by me. Keep it that way.”
Damir shakes his hand with a nod. And with that, Liam stands up, as if he’s wrapped up a business meeting.
“Call me later, little sister,” he tells me. “I’m sure Damir can get the check.”
“Asshole,” I murmur.
He grins at me before he tussles my hair like I’m five again and walks away.
“I like him.” Damir grins.
“He likes you too. You would have known otherwise. But enough of that. You have some serious ass to kiss for thinking I was on a date with someone else.”
He chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. “In my defense, you guys look nothing alike.”
He’s not wrong. My brother’s mother is different from mine, and white; I’m sure it looked very much like I was sitting here, having a date with a white guy.
“True,” I acknowledge. “But still, I told you I wasn’t seeing anyone else.”
“I feel it’s always better to ask then assume, so I asked.”
“And assumed all at once.” I arch a brow.
“I’m sorry. I really am.”
“Lucky for you, jealousy looks sexy on you.”
He grins. “Oh really?”
“Yeah, that kind of jealousy. Nobody likes the crazy kind though.”
“Noted.” He laughs. “You ready to get out of here?”
I nod, and he pays the check when the waitress brings it over. Since my brother was my ride and he ditched me, Damir drives me home.
“I think you should come inside and make up for your foolishness,” I say when we reach my door.
“Gladly.” He smirks.
We go inside, and he pushes me back. I don’t even mind the pain when my back collides with the wall because all I can think of is the feeling of his lips meeting mine. A groan leaves him, and his hands begin trailing over my breasts, down my stomach, going lower and lower until they reach the bottom of my dress. He begins lifting it, his fingers sliding along my skin, making me shiver.
“Just how much making up am I doing?” he asks.
“Until I tell you to stop,” I answer.
“But would you ever really tell me to stop?” He nips at my pulse point.
“Never.”
“That’s what I thought.”
I feel him smile against my neck before he drags me off the wall and over to the couch. My breath leaves me in a rush when he pushes me up against the arm of the couch, bending me over it. My panties are quickly pulled down my legs, and the air barely has time to hit my pussy before his mouth is there, licking, sucking, biting.
If I didn’t have the couch for support, I’m sure I would’ve fallen over by now, my legs are shaking that bad. His hands grip my hips, keeping me right where he wants me as he devours me, licking from my clit to my opening again and again.
“Please,” I beg. For what, I don’t know.
He backs me up into his face and sucks my clit into his mouth. I gasp, and my orgasm slams through me. My nails dig into the couch’s fabric as I come apart. I grind back on him, needing more of him, and moan his name while my body floods with pleasure.
His mouth suddenly leaves me, and I hear foil behind me seconds before he drives into me. I yelp, and my body tries to fly forward, but his hands are right there, gripping my hips hard and keeping me close to him. He doesn’t start slow or decrease his pace after a few strokes. No, he pounds into me like a man crazed with lust. His thrusts are so hard I know I’ll be aching between my thighs later and not a single part of me cares.
“More,” I plead.
“Fuck yeah,” he grunts.
His hand moves from my hip to my shoulder. He holds me so tight to him, barely pulling out before slamming back into me. His balls slap against my clit repeatedly as he thrusts into me, groaning before he somehow speeds up. When he dips down a little and drives into me, I come, spasming around his dick, moaning his name.
“God, I love when you say my name.”
“Fuck me, Damir.”
A noise leaves his throat, and he slides out of me, laying me on the couch. He’s quickly back inside me, pounding into me so fast I’m left breathless and dizzy until he throws his head back and gives one last brutal thrust before stopping. His body twitches as he slides out of me and takes the condom off, walking to the kitchen to throw it out. And I watch that magnificent ass move with each step.
“What are you grinning about?” he asks when he comes back into the living room.
“You have one gorgeous ass.”
“We have that in common then.”
He puts one arm under my head, the other under my legs and picks me up. As he carries me to my bedroom, he kisses my nose and cheeks, and finally my lips before we enter the room. I don’t let him go when he lays me down, dragging him into the bed with me. He gives me that beautiful laugh as he falls beside me.
“Is it too early for me to be wanting you to stay with me for much more than a night?” I ask low.
“Then it would have to be too early for me to want to stay.”
“I’ve never been in love,” I whisper.
“Me neither, but I can’t wait to see how it feels.”
“With me?”
“With you. Only with you.”
I smile against his chest and close my eyes.
