Tanner turned off the water. He leaned a hip against the counter and folded his arms across his chest, facing me. “Alright, big brother. If you know so much about women, tell me what Presley wants.”
I looked back and forth between my brother’s eyes. “Trust, loyalty, and dependability are important to Presley.”
Tanner shrugged. “I can give her all those things.”
I wanted to say ‘Now you can give them to her? Where the hell were you seven years ago?’ But instead I just gritted my teeth and motioned to the sink with my eyes. “You got this? I have something I have to do.”
“Yeah, sure. Go do whatever you need to.” Tanner smirked. “Or whoever you need to.”
I probably should’ve walked to the bar a few blocks away and finished getting shitfaced, but instead I went to my room, unable to bring myself to leave the inn. Since my room was at the far end of the hall, away from the common areas of the house, I couldn’t hear when Presley came back. Which was probably just as well.
But an hour or so later, there was a light knock at my door. I opened it to find Presley.
She glanced back over her shoulder. “Can I come in?”
I debated saying no for about two whole seconds, but who the hell was I kidding? I was incapable of turning this woman away.
So I stepped aside and held my hand out.
Inside, she stared down at the floor. “This is such a mess. I don’t know what to do.”
“I do. We need to tell him.”
Presley’s eyes flared as she looked up. “No, we can’t!”
I raked a hand through my hair. “If I have to watch him put his hands on you or listen to him call you babe one more time, I’m going to lose it.”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. But I don’t know how to make him stop. You’ve heard me tell him to knock it off. I’m not doing anything to encourage him.”
“No? You don’t think playing two-hand touch with a man who has made it known he wants to touch you all over is encouraging him? Or making his favorite meal for dinner in the house you invited him to stay with you in?”
“I made you your favorite dinner.”
I scoffed. “That’s not what he thinks.”
“I don’t care what he thinks.”
“Good.” I put my hands on my hips. “Then we’re in agreement. If you don’t give a shit what he thinks, we’ll tell him.”
“Levi, don’t twist my words. You’re not being fair.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Fair? You know what’s not fair? Having to answer my brother when he asks me for advice on how to get you back.”
Presley closed her eyes and blew out a deep breath. “God, I’m sorry.”
“Are you? Because I’m starting to think maybe you just want to keep your options open.”
She pursed her lips and glared at me. “You know that’s not true. Stop being an asshole.”
“Tell me, babe. If I go down on you, are you going to moan my name like you usually do, or might Tanner’s slip out?”
If eyes could shoot daggers, I’d be pretty holey at the moment. From the look on her face, I thought I was about to experience the wrath of Presley, but instead she stormed toward the door in silence. I caught her arm as she attempted to pass, knowing I needed to stop her, but not sure what the hell to say.
She spun around, and our eyes locked. So many emotions blazed through my veins: anger, sadness, confusion, terror. Presley’s chest was heaving; she looked as pissed off as I felt. I took a deep breath to try to calm myself, so I could figure out how to fix this, but all it did was bring in a whiff of her perfume.
Fuck.
She smelled so good. Suddenly, the anger coursing through my veins mixed with something else, and composing myself went out the window. I yanked her arm, pulled her against my chest, and used my teeth to capture her mouth.
Fuck.
Like a salve to a wound, her taste soothed the pain away. I felt greedy, wanting all of her to erase the doubts in my mind. Backing her up against the wall, I wrapped my hands around her cheeks and planted my lips over hers. The last two days seemed to disappear as she moaned into my mouth and lifted her legs to wrap around my waist. Her tits pushed against my chest, and she grabbed for the button of my jeans. This. This is what I needed to forget about everything else in the world. When she slipped her fingers into my pants, wrapped them around my cock, and squeezed, the swoosh of blood coursing through my ears was so loud, I wouldn’t have heard the fire alarm.
Though it wasn’t the fire alarm I needed to hear.
It was the knock at my bedroom door.
CHAPTER 21
* * *
Levi
“What do we do?” Presley’s eyes bulged.
I held my finger to my lips and prayed Fern would respond when I spoke.
“Who is it?”
“Tanner. Can I come in?”
Shit. I closed my eyes. I wanted to tell him about Presley and me, but this was not the way it should go down. So I pointed to the bathroom and mouthed, “Go in there.”
Presley nodded and scurried in, quietly closing the door behind her. My heart raced like a runaway train as I walked to the door. A deep breath did nothing to compose myself, but if I took any longer, I’d definitely raise suspicions. So I opened the door and held onto it, blocking entry and hoping he’d take the hint.
Tanner looked over my shoulder. “Took you long enough. I was starting to think you had a woman in there and I was interrupting something.”
I swallowed. “Nope. I was about to jump in the shower.”
“Again? You just showered an hour or two ago.”
Crap. I shrugged. “Summer in South Carolina.”
“Yeah, I’m not used to the heat either. Anyway, I wanted to ask if you knew where the grilled-cheese makers for the campfire are. Alex told me you had them when you camped out for his birthday.”
“They’re in the cabinet in the garage.”
“Great, thanks.”
Tanner turned away, and I almost breathed a sigh of relief. Almost. But he turned back around.
“Do you happen to know where Presley is? I went to her room first, but she’s not there.”
I looked into my brother’s eyes. Did he know she was in here? Or was he sincerely asking a question? My nerves were frayed, and I couldn’t be sure one way or the other. So I answered as truthfully as I could, uncertain how well my face contained the lies.
“I’ve been in here since she left for the store.”
My brother nodded. “She mentioned she might go see her friend Katrina. But I’m wondering if maybe she’s seeing someone.”
“Why would you think that?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. It just feels like something is in my way.”
I swallowed.
“You’d tell me if you knew she was with someone, right? Even if she asked you not to say anything? I mean bros before hoes and all.”
I studied his face. Did he know? I put the odds about even, because fuck if I had any idea. But I was in too deep now to go off script. So I nodded.
“Of course.”
He put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here. I miss having someone I can talk to.”