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Maybe, if she’d pushed back harder, I could have held off, but she wanted me just the same, even when she denied it to herself.
I’m not sure how much time has passed when Rowan steps out.
He comes to a screeching halt when he sees me still outside the door, which he quietly pulls closed.
“You need to leave, Alec.” His eyes are dark and full of hate, maybe even fear, but his words are strong.
“I can’t do that.”
“Why the fuck not? It was easy for you to walk away two years ago.”
“She wasn’t mine then.”
“She isn’t yours now,” he growls.
I take a deep breath, turning to face him full-on. “She is mine, Rowan. She’s been mine … since before she knew she was. Don’t stand there and pretend like you didn’t see this coming.” When his face falls, I continue, “It’s the exact reason you started coming on strong when I got back. You’ve known for years that she’s what I wanted, so you’ve kept her at arm’s length, making sure she didn’t see me. You were afraid if she knew I wanted her, that maybe she’d want me, too. And where would that leave you, little brother? If you loved her, you’d have realized long ago that she was worth risking everything for.” I hit my chest. “I’ve known it. I waited—”
He laughs, shouldering past me, and I follow him a few steps but don’t leave the hall.
“You didn’t wait for shit, Alec. You’re fucking married. Whatever you think you had or planned to try for with Oakley is over.”
“You don’t know shit about what’s happening here, so don’t play like you do.”
“So, tell me!” he shouts, spinning to face me again. “Tell me what’s going on. Tell me where you were and what you did while you were gone. Tell me why you and Mom always had private conversations that shushed the second I walked in the room. Tell me why, when you came back after two fucking years of no word from you … all you cared about doing was pulling the one person who had given me all she had right out from under me?”
My brows pull in as I scan Rowan’s face.
Son of a bitch.
This goes so much deeper than my girl lying in his bed.
“Things are tough right now—”
“You came back out of fucking nowhere and have been screwing with what I was trying to build with her! You’re supposed to be my brother!”
“I am your brother!”
When he starts laughing, placing his hands on his hips as he turns away with his head shaking, my spine straightens.
Oh fuck.
He locks his eyes on mine and sees that it’s clicked.
I hang my head, and he scoffs.
“I should have known. We couldn’t be more different. Shit, we don’t even look alike.”
“How’d you find out?”
“Needed my original birth certificate for the first time when the academy started. Seems the Daniels name passed me right up.”
“Rowan—”
“She had an affair and got pregnant after ‘Dad’ already got snipped. He didn’t let her give me his name. Guess I know now why he didn’t like coming home much, huh? Couldn’t stand to look at me.”
“He’s a piece of shit.”
He ignores me. “It’s no wonder it was so easy for you to take off. You weren’t leaving much behind, right?”
“Just because we don’t share the same sperm donors doesn’t mean—”
“You’re not my brother!” His eyes harden. “A brother wouldn’t step in where he wasn’t wanted.”
“That’s not what’s happening here.” I take a step closer to him, trying to keep my voice low. “Things aren’t easy to explain right now, Rowan, but—”
He scoffs, “Talk to me, Alec.” Again, his voice is strong, but his eyes beg as they bounce between mine. “Shit, tell me anything.”
When I glance away for a moment before meeting his stare again, his shoulders drop an inch.
He licks his lips. “If she came out here right now and demanded answers, would you give them to her?”
That’s easy because I know she wouldn’t ask. “Yes.”
He nods, looking off. “That’s what I thought. Get the fuck out of my house.” He meets my stare. “Or I’ll call the police and have you arrested for harassment.”
“I’m not leaving her here.”
“What are you afraid of, big brother?” he taunts. “Think things might get a little out of hand?”
“She’s emotional right now. I won’t let her feed off that and do something she doesn’t really want.”
“You mean me, right? She doesn’t want me?” Rowan leans against the back of the couch. “A few weeks don’t erase twelve years of feelings, Alec. Things can still change.”
“They won’t.”
His smirk is slow. “If you were sure, you wouldn’t be here. If you were confident in what you thought you had or wanted with her, you’d give her the time she needed.”
Brave little bastard is about to get his ass kicked.
