Bedding the Wrong Brother(26)

His right shoulder itched with intuition just before the phone rang. Rolling over, he reached for the phone and picked it up, knowing immediately who it was. “You are so dead.”

Silence. Then a hesitant, “Where's Melina?”

“Listen, you little—”

“If that's your brother,” Melina yelled from the bathroom, “you can tell him he's a dead man when I see him.”

“Already done, Ladybug,” he called through clenched teeth.

“She's still there?” Max sounded so proud of himself that Rhys tightened his hand on the receiver, wishing it was his brother's neck. “So what's the problem, man? I'm assuming you took advantage of the situation?”

“That's the problem, Max. I don't take advantage of women, especially not Melina.”

“So you didn't—” His brother cleared his throat. “You know?”

“No. Why don't you enlighten me? Exactly what did you think was going to happen, Max?”

“Was she wearing something sexy?”

Rhys remembered the little shorts and top she had been wearing, modest and simple by most standards, and currently lying on the floor. “Flannel pajamas.”

“Damn. And her hair?”

Loose and gorgeous. Feeling more relaxed, Rhys stretched out on the bed only to tense when he heard the bathroom door unclick. Feigning disinterest, he stayed on the bed as Melina peeked out from around the corner, her hands clutching her sheet while she searched for the bag he'd moved underneath the desk. “Pinned back in that bun of hers.”


“And the glasses?” Max groaned.

“The glasses? As butt-ugly as ever.” He looked straight at her when he said it, and she wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue at him. He sat up, and her eyes widened, which, bastard that he was, immediately made him hard. Despite the fact he was fully clothed, he didn't miss the way her gaze moved down then up his body. Unlike similar glances other women gave him, her hesitant assessment made his chest puff out and his heart pound out of control.

“So what the hell did you guys do all night?”

“What do you think we did? We played rummy, watched a girly movie, and I ended up sleeping on the floor.”

Melina covered her mouth to hide her smile of relief, but he saw it anyway. He cocked an eyebrow at her.

“No sparks?”

More like Mount St. Helens. “Not a one.”

Max sighed. “Well, hey, I'm sorry, man. I really thought…I don't know. I just thought if I finally pushed the two of you into taking a chance—”

Almost feeling sorry for his brother now, Rhys smiled and rose. “You're still dead when I see you.”

“So Melina's okay?”

His smile widened until a grin split his face. While she remained frozen where she stood, wrapped in the sheet like a Grecian goddess, both determination and anticipation rolled through him. He stared at her. What he might have done or should have done before no longer mattered. She'd offered herself to him. She wanted sexual tutoring? Fine. Mistake or not, he was definitely the best man for the job. He was going to prove both her and that little twerp she'd dated wrong. By the time he was through with her, she'd know exactly the kind of power she held over a man. Over him.

“She's going to be fine.” Dropping his gaze, he allowed himself to take in the curves he'd felt and tasted last night. He wanted that sheet gone. Now. And by the way she was looking at him, she was starting to realize it. “In fact, she's going to be f*cking fabulous.”

While his brother squawked and started asking questions, Rhys hung up on him. He planted his hands on his hips and thrust his jaw out aggressively. “You ready for your next lesson, Ladybug?”

Game on.



* * *



Melina stared at Rhys and shifted uneasily from one foot to the other.

Next lesson? Was he crazy or was she? Because suddenly she wanted to drop her sheet, wrap herself around him, and never let go.

Fortunately for her, her saner side prevailed. After three failed relationships, she didn't believe it was better to love and lose, rather than never to have loved before. Especially not with Rhys. She loved him. She'd always loved him. But that love, combined with his pulling away from her, had caused her far too much pain of late.

If she was honest with herself, Rhys had hurt her far worse than Brian ever could, and that was not something she was going to ignore. If she held any place in his heart still, she'd have to content herself with that; she wasn't going to voluntarily seek out more only to have him walk away from her again. She turned toward the bathroom. “Um, I think I'll—”