Bender (The Core Four #1)(14)

“Who the hell are you?” Camden’s deep voice boomed through the open space.

“I’m Sarah, who the hell are you?”

Dodger was already at the bottom of the steps chuckling at my sister’s response, and I was trying to shove the key in my pocket and race down the steps without falling.

“Sarah!” I scolded. “Watch your mouth.”

She shrugged indifferently. “What? He started it.”

I seriously hoped my mother wasn’t letting her talk like that while I wasn’t around. Camden looked over at me as my feet hit the last step and started to glance back at Sarah but did a double take at Dodger and me standing together. I gulped. I had an idea of what it looked like since we’d both come from upstairs.

His jaw worked back and forth. “She belong to you?”

My mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. I wasn’t sure how to respond to his sudden anger. His tone was clipped and the way he referred to my sister was as if she were an inanimate object. “If by belonging to me you mean, is this my sister, then yes, she belongs to me.”

“Huh,” he grunted. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

I took a defensive stance, crossing my arms over my chest. “You might if you were around more. This is the third time she’s been here.”

His eyes flared. When it came to Sarah, I never held back. I’d played mama bear to her on more than one occasion. This was no exception.

“Yeah well, I work. You know, going out and earning a paycheck.” His sentence was dripping with sarcasm, and it ruffled my feathers.

“Excuse me? I work. How do you think I pay for this place?”

“Doesn’t matter how you earn it. As long as you’re paying, I don’t care.”

“Oh well that’s a real fantastic attitude to have about someone living in your house.”

“It is what it is, Blue.” He shrugged, and it made my blood go from a slow simmer to a boil.

“Seriously, what’s with the nickname?” I nearly shouted.

“Hey,” Sarah piped up over the top of the couch. “Trying to watch a movie here.”

“Yeah, she’s trying to watch a movie, keep it down,” Dodger cut in. I’d totally forgot he was still standing there, and he was looking highly amused by the heated argument Camden and I were having.

“Shut up Dodge,” Camden clipped.

His younger brother just chuckled. “No way man. I agree, the kid is watching a movie, and you two are making it difficult to hear.” He looked between us. “Shew! There’s some serious sexual tension in this room.”

Camden growled and ran his hands through his sweaty dark hair. “Christ, you don’t know when to fucking quit.”

“What’s sexual tension?” Sarah’s curious eyes peered at me.

I turned to glare at Dodger and Camden. Flinging my hands up in the air and slapping them back down on my legs. “Oh my gosh!” I exclaimed, grinding my teeth together. Whispering really low, I pointed to both of them. “Thanks a lot. And watch your mouth. She’s only eight.” I moved toward the couch and said, “Sexual tension is just when everyone is really happy and having a good time.”

I heard someone snort behind me. That was it, Sarah wasn’t coming back here until I gave both of them a talk about how to behave in front of my little sister. I could picture it now. Sarah was at school, and my mom gets a call because my little sister was loving the sexual tension on the playground. I sighed.

“Wellllll…this has been fun, but I have places to go, chicks to meet,” Dodger said before Sarah could ask anything else.

He put his hand on my shoulder as he walked past me. He bent down and kissed me on the top of my head. I don’t know why it didn’t seem odd, considering he hadn’t known me that long, but Dodger made me feel comfortable, and I knew it was just a friendly gesture. “Be good,” he whispered in my ear. I nodded slightly and watched him walk out the front door.

I risked a glance over my shoulder at Camden. His eyes were fixed on me. Why was he looking at me like that? He closed his almost russet eyes and breathed in through his nose. When he opened them again, he focused on my sister. “Hey kid,” he tilted his head toward the TV, “what’re you watchin’?”

Sarah eyed him skeptically. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua, wanna watch it with me?” Clearly his demeanor didn’t intimidate her.

“Depends, is it any good?” He started moving toward her, passing me on the other side of the couch.

“Duh, it’s about dogs. Anything with dogs is good.”

His body nearly brushed mine as he walked by. I involuntarily breathed in, and his scent crashed into me like a ton of bricks. It was so clean, and yet he was still sweaty. I gripped the back of the couch.

He sat down on the opposite side from her and continued to talk. “Do you have a dog?”

She shook her head. “No, Mom won’t let me have one. She says they’re too much work.”

He nodded. “I grew up with dogs, and they are a ton of work. But maybe someday you will get one.”

As angry as he made me, his softer attitude toward Sarah was a refreshing change. Having a man in the house who was always irritable and broody made my normally happy disposition negative. In the week that I’ve lived here, I found it exhausting. Looking at Camden sitting with Sarah watching a totally ridiculous movie, I felt like the universe had tilted. How on earth did my baby sister penetrate his ‘don’t mess with me’ shell? Maybe he liked kids. The two of them looked pretty settled. I ran my hand through my long hair. It looked like I’d better get comfortable, because I wasn’t expecting my night to take this turn.