Casanova(43)

“Just did what anyone else would have.” I took another mouthful of whiskey.

Nope. Still tasted like shit.

“Doesn’t matter. You didn’t need to go to Dirty tonight. You know as well as I do you didn’t go for that stupid bachelor party. You went for Lani.”

I stared into the glass. “I wasn’t alone. I was with Matt. I wanted to see if I could take it.”

“You’re a worse liar than your sister is when it comes to lying to me, but you’ve got the same tell.”

I looked up. “Which is?”

“Your lies smell like bullshit.” Dad smirked.

“Lies and bullshit go hand in hand,” I said, smirking back at him.

He chuckled. “Lies or not, thank you. For being there tonight. For whatever reason. Your sister might be a grown woman, but that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about her.”

Embarrassment flushed across my skin. It was a simple compliment, but even that was a rarity from him. “She’s my sister. Looking out for her is my job.”

“And Lani?”

“I did what any decent person would do.” I scratched behind my neck.

Dad drained the rest of his whiskey in one mouthful. A clinking sound filled the air as the glass made contact with the wooden bar, and he put his hand on my shoulder. “Yeah. You tell yourself that, son.”





I couldn’t tell myself that.

I knew what my father had said was true. Of course it was fucking true. Anybody with half a heart would intervene if they saw someone spike somebody else’s drink, but would I have been so mad if I didn’t know the woman whose drink had been touched?

No.

No way.

There were two different types of anger too. My brotherly instinct had me pissed that someone had spiked my sister. I wanted to break their nose for even the attempt. I wanted to slam them against the wall and feed them their own damn drugs.

But for Lani?

I wanted to kill them. I didn’t just want to feed them their own drugs—I wanted them to choke on them.

It was an alarming kind of anger. One that burned red hot no matter how many minutes passed. It crept through my veins like adrenaline, keeping me awake and feeding itself to my muscles. The clock didn’t tick over nearly fast enough when all I wanted was for it to be six-thirty so I could work out the anger in the gym.

Then there was the anger because I was angry. I had no reason to be so angry over Lani. A part of me still hated her so fiercely that every time I looked at her, I never wanted to see her again. A part of me still hurt so fucking bad that I wished I’d never acknowledged her presence back in my life.

I wanted her more. It was my biggest problem and the reason I was wide awake at two in the morning. I wanted her so badly it took every ounce of strength not to go down to annex, wake her up, and kiss her again.

One more taste.

That was all I wanted.

Just one more.

Sure, I wanted it with my cock buried eight inches inside her, but I never pretended I didn’t.

One more—would it be enough? I didn’t think so. Every time I kissed her, I wanted more. I wanted it to be longer and deeper and harder. I wanted to kiss her until she moaned into my mouth.

I wanted to kiss her until she forgot she hated me and I forgot her hated her right back.

I wanted to kiss her until I couldn’t kiss her any longer.

I sat up in bed and rubbed my hands down my face so harshly my skin stung. If I could, I’d rub this want right out of my body. I didn’t want to fucking want her. I wanted to forget everything she’d ever made me feel.

If I could do that, she’d be just another girl. Just another girl in a sea of brown-eyed brunettes I barely pay attention to.

I wished like hell she could be that person. Everything would just be so much easier if she were. I’d be able to bullshit my way through this damn agreement.

More importantly, I’d be able to forget about her.

Something I couldn’t do now. I knew that, without a doubt, if Lani Montana walked away from Whiskey Key again, she’d never return. I’d never forget her either. I’d live forever with the memory of her imprinted into my brain, far more vivid and intimately than it ever was before.

I dragged my hand down my face again and looked at my window. I hadn’t closed the drapes before dropping myself into bed. There was no moon, so there was no need to, but now a faint orangey light just reached the bottom of the glass pane.

I got out of bed, adjusted my boxer briefs around my cock, and walked to the window. I had a full view of the annex across the courtyard, and thanks to the light emitting from the little light outside, I could see the courtyard too.

Lani was sitting on one of the benches against the wall of the annex. Her knees were at her chest with her arms wrapped tightly around them. I didn’t know what she was looking at, if anything, but the softness of the light in the pitch-black darkness played across her face, illuminating every angle and shape that combined to make her who she was.

I stood and watched her for a few minutes. She didn’t move any more than one or two slight twists of her head. She sat there, staring into the darkness, hugging herself.

She looked damn lost.

And god help me, I pushed away from the window and grabbed a pair of sweatpants from the chair in the corner of the room. I shrugged them on along with socks and a t-shirt and grabbed a light sweater. My heart thumped a little too loudly as I made my way downstairs. If it weren’t for the light creaks of the stairs, I’d have made it down without a single sound.