I’m not patient, and I’m on my way down the hall and to his office. If he’s not here, it’s the other likely location. One hinge of his door squeaks. I twist my body around, and in front of me is the asshole of the hour.
“Want to explain to me why the fuck you’re in front of my room? I think Charles was clear with you. This part of the house is off-limits.”
He’s in a silk robe, an almost plum color. His hair is wet, and his aftershave wafts from the threshold of the door. Fuck! I’ve always loved the way he smelled.
“Yeah, Chuck spelled it out for me, but you and I need to have a chat. And right fucking now.”
His right eyebrow hitches farther up than the other. Isaiah doesn’t show his anger, typically. He’s calm and collected. The man thrives on letting his fury come out in punishment. Not one where he raises his voice or throws. Yeah, I have no doubt I’ll have consequences because of this, but right in the here and now, I don’t fucking care.
“I’ve been a shit brother. It ends now. You ever fucking talk to Kenzie like that again, you better prepare for a fist in the nose.”
Isaiah takes three steps toward me. They’re controlled and not rushed. His hand reaches for my wrist before I have a chance to breathe. And it’s the first time we’ve been like this, since that night, the fated night that turned the two of us against one another.
“You know your threats only make me hard, and I know it’s difficult for you to deal with.” Isaiah takes my hand and places it where his cock has come alive.
I yank my hand from him. “I mean it, Isaiah. This shit ends with Kenzie. Leave her be; you want to be an ass, take it out on me, not her. She’s been through enough—losing three parents in her life.”
He doesn’t respond about Kenz. “If I remember right,” he starts. “You used to beg for my ass.” He’s palming his own erection through the silk of his robe. I don’t know if it’s because of my time with Kenzie or Isaiah goading me on, but I’m down for a fuck. It can’t be Kenzie, so….
But then it all comes back to me. His rejection was two years ago. The cold shoulder he’d given me afterward. The way he’d do everything to egg me on but pull back whenever I thought he’d let me be a part of his life. I never fell for a guy, not like I had with Isaiah, but I sure as fuck fell for him.
“Cat got your tongue, little boy? I didn’t think it would be longer than twenty-four hours before you made your way here, to beg.”
I push past him, and in the middle of his room, I’m surrounded by everything that is Isaiah—a wet bar with bottles of scotch displayed against the wall like it’s art. A dark burgundy duvet cover, and on further inspection, is velvet, covering a more giant bed than merely a king-size. A large couch and two matching oversized velvet chairs sit on either side. There’s a fucking Christmas tree in his room, too, decorated with all purple. There’s a deep espresso wood for the bed frame, dressers, end tables, and a large television stand, sans the television. The darkness of it all matches his evil soul. But I suddenly can’t find myself breathing, as the memories flood me from two years ago when I knelt before him, begging him to take me. I wanted my first time to be with Isaiah. After his rejection, I screwed as many pussies as I could get hold of. I thought eventually I’d fuck all the memories away. I haven’t, and being in his space with his expensive smell, I remember why I begged him.
“I mean it, Isaiah, lay off of Kenzie.” The tear-stained face of my adoptive sister is embedded in my mind. “Yeah, so I’ve acted as though I never liked her, but she’s all I have of my dad, and I’m all she has of our mom, so she’s off-limits. From now on, she’s under my protection.”
A deep chuckle that has to radiate in his belly catches my attention. It’s oddly soothing. “And you think that moving two unappreciative brats into my house is just for fun. I have your best interests in mind, regardless of what you think.”
I ignore him and slip another warning his way. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed how you look at her, Isaiah. She’s not a toy to tease and lead on, only to reject her when she’s ready to give you everything she has.”
His steps are hurried, breaking the space between us in two strides, pulling at my wrist, and yanking me to him. “Is that really what you think, little boy?”
I laugh his way as my answer, and when I think we’re as close as we can get, he pulls me deeper into his body. “Because letting go of you was the hardest thing I ever did. I had a boy who wanted to give me everything I’ve ever needed in someone. And he just happened to be both my best friend’s son and underage, so you are so fucking wrong. I’d think of you at night, what I could do to you. You were clay; I could form you as it seemed fit because you were brand new. Now you’re not a virgin, which is partially my fault.”
It’s a statement, and there’s no fluctuation or emotion in his voice. It’s a fact and has taken time to come to terms with, if I had to wager a guess.
“You wanted me then?” My own question has every emotion that was void in his voice, in my tone. “Why didn’t you tell me? You turned me away like a bag of garbage, stinking up your life.”
I want to believe him, and now I’m back to the heartbroken kid who went out the night he changed me, and I found the first pussy for comfort. I haven’t stopped since then.
“Riv.” His voice dips, and I finally see a little bit of his regret in the way he looks away from me when the pitch cracks. “Robert was my best friend. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him, and being with you would have destroyed our friendship to the core. You were as much of a child as Kenzie was to him. If I had told you it was because of your dad, it would have given you hope. I couldn’t afford to give you anything but the truth.”
I step away, placing my arm out as a warning to give me space. “And why didn’t you tell me? I was never the same after you let me go.”
His eyes soften, drawing his shoulders up with his hands placed at his sides. His stare is focused on his feet. He’s avoiding eye contact.
“I watched you spiral. There wasn’t anything harder, and…” Isaiah twists his body from me, walking away to the other end of the bedroom. “Please close the door behind you when you leave.”
He’s leaving me again. I’m not done because my message still hasn’t been received. Moving toward the door he’s disappeared behind, my hands lose the battle with it, but he won’t be able to miss my threat.
“Listen to me, you fuck nugget, stay away from Kenzie. Do you fucking hear me? Stay away from her.” I cross the room to the hallway door, slamming it behind me, my dramatic departure yet another warning my sister is off fucking limits.
Chapter 8
Isaiah
* * *
I hide in the master bathroom; River had continued with banging.
My mouth is dry, and my stomach rumbles. I’m an asshole and only suppress the real me, behind the asshole I display. These two things are such contrasting behaviors, but there’s a thin line that connects both.
There had been hurt in River’s eyes, and in my own self-loathing, I should run after him and apologize for my actions. Could I have been honest with him two years ago and risk my relationship with Robert? And River is just enough this side of hard-headed; he wouldn’t have relented until he’d gotten his way. I have limited restraint.