She tensed. Holy Buddha’s belly, who was Calliope? Was this Raz’s girlfriend calling? A booty call? It was Friday night. Her pulse hammered in her throat as a thorny sensation prickled through her.
Jealousy.
Jealousy was a sensation she rarely experienced, especially when it came to men.
No, she wasn’t jealous.
No way! No how!
Erasmus Cress could bang half of Denver, and she wouldn’t care, right? Nevertheless, a hot streak tore through her. Blast her cockamamie chi. “Do you need to get that?” she asked, unable to stifle the huffy trill in her tone as she borrowed his words.
Raz huffed. “It’s my little sisters. Do you mind if I pick up? They’ve already left five messages tonight.”
Sisters?
It was hard enough picturing the arrogant ass as a father. And then it hit her. Sebastian had to have a mother. Did Raz have an ex-wife or ex-girlfriend out there? The thought of this man being connected to other humans was both incredibly foreign and weirdly comforting.
A strange sense of relief flooded her system. “Go ahead. Take the call.”
He tapped a button on the steering wheel. “Hey, Calliope,” he said wearily.
“Finally, Erasmus! Bloody nice of you to pick up,” came a woman’s teasing British accent.
He released a frustrated breath. “I’ve been busy.”
“Yeah, brother, we, along with the rest of the world, got to see exactly what you were busy with tonight. What a cock-up,” a slightly higher voice chimed.
“Hello, Callista,” Raz grumped with a distinctly resigned air to the words.
Libby listened intently. She thought back to Alec and Anders driving her bonkers with their video games and piles of dirty clothes haphazardly littering the floor next to the empty laundry hamper.
“We’ve got a question for you, Raz,” Callista continued.
“And what would that be?”
“Where do we sign up for the Libby Lamb fan club?” Calliope answered, and Libby’s jaw dropped.
“Why would you ask that?” he shot back.
“Because the woman is brilliant. We haven’t seen you jump like that in ages,” Callista replied. “We even came up with a snappy tagline: the Lamb schools the Lion. What do you think?”
Raz released a lion of a sigh. “I think you’re both off your rocker. And shouldn’t you be teaching English? I didn’t send you to South Korea on holiday. You’re supposed to be taking classes, contributing to society, and getting cultured and educated. You know, the things your big brother missed out on.”
Libby watched Raz closely. It warmed her heart to see him play the role of beleaguered big brother.
“We’re on a break. Now, who is this woman? We need to know everything,” Callista answered.
“She’s a crackin’ stunner, Raz, that’s for sure. And she’s got spirit. We think Meredith would have adored her,” Calliope added, but Raz didn’t serve up a cheeky response. Instead, the air inside the cab of the giant car grew thick with tension as the rush of bitter sadness rolled off the man in mighty waves.
Meredith—that had to be Sebastian’s mother. But what was she to Raz?
“Girls, Libby’s right here. We’re in the Hummer,” he replied as his grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“Bugger all, Raz!” Callista’s high trill chided. “Why are you driving a giant hunk of metal?”
“It’s like screaming to the world that you’ve got a tiny cock and need to prove your masculinity with that ridiculous car,” Calliope added.
Raz reared back. Even in the dim light, she could tell his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.
“I will not be discussing my manhood with either of you. And like I said, Libby can hear this. She’s in the bloody car.”
Libby couldn’t hold back as a tumble of giggles slipped past her lips. Raz stopped at another light, hung his head, and shook it—again exemplifying the plight of the pestered older brother. “Libby, meet my twin sisters, Calliope and Callista Cress. They are, as you can probably tell, a right pain in the arse.”
“Twins,” she repeated, surprise coating the word.
Raz nodded. “Yeah, they’re the same age as your twin brothers.”
Libby stared at the man. An hour ago, she would have sworn they had nothing in common.
“What’s that? Libby’s got twin brothers?” Callista prompted.
“I do,” she answered.
“And I doubt they call her to scream about cocks,” Raz grumped.
Libby released a nervous laugh. “Thankfully, we’ve never breached that subject.”
“Libby Lamb, let us be the first to congratulate you,” Calliope crooned.
“On what?” she asked as Raz hit the gas, turning onto the road that led to the uber-exclusive Crystal Hills and Crystal Acres neighborhoods.
“On doing what most women on the planet want to do at some point in their life,” Callista finished.
“And what would that be? Make a fool of themselves for the world to see?” Libby answered, feeling her cheeks heat.
How many people had watched her pelt Erasmus with over a dozen vibrators?
“No, you harnessed your power and let a bloke have it. Well done! Womankind thanks you,” Callista cheered.
“It was hard to hear anything on the recording,” Calliope added, “but were you calling our brother a beefcake?”
That word.
“I might have used that term,” Libby answered as a fresh wave of mortification hit.
“And you aren’t trollied?” Callista chimed.
“Trollied?” Libby repeated.
“It means drunk, plum,” Raz answered with a tinge of amusement in his tone.
She gasped. “No, I wasn’t trollied! That was a bit of rage yoga gone awry.”
“And by the way,” Calliope added, “that rainbow vibrator is phenomenal. In like ten seconds, my eyeballs are rolling back in my head.”
The car came to a screeching halt at the entrance to the ritzy Crystal Hills neighborhood. In the heart of the city close to the Crystal Creek shopping district, its multimillion-dollar homes belonged to Denver’s rich and famous crowd. Penny and Rowen’s mansion was here, and Charlotte and Mitch were close by in Crystal Acres.
“Stop!” Raz cried. “I don’t want to hear another word about sex toys.”
“Such a prude,” Callista teased.
Libby sat back and took in the show.
“All kidding aside, are you and Libby okay, Raz-a-ma-taz?” Calliope pressed, concern laced into the question.
Raz sighed and eased onto the gas as they continued into the neighborhood. “Don’t call me that, Calliope.”
“You didn’t mind when we were little,” she shot back.
“Well, you’re not little. And Libby and I are fine.”
“Back to Libby,” Callista chimed.
Libby braced herself.
OMG, these girls didn’t slow down!
“Was that vibrator episode planned because you looked ready to tear my brother apart? Are you really his spiritual advisor and Sebastian’s nanny like that prat Briggs says?”
Libby’s mouth opened and closed like a confused flounder. What was she supposed to say? She couldn’t tell them their brother had wrecked her life, banished her orgasm, and set in motion the events that changed everything.