I don’t move for a good five minutes once the video comes to an end. Relief hits before welcoming the shame that follows. Yet I can’t seem to ignore the part of me that needs to let her know that I got the video and at least enjoyed it. If I can still be considered a gentleman after what I just did, then . . . that’s what I’m striving for.
Quiethours
There was no need to be nervous. You look stunning in black, Velvet.
“Uncle? What are you doing here? Oh! Shit—I’m sorry. Is it already noon?”
What?
The music that was playing in the studio cuts off, and then Evie is in front of me. Her face is drawn in with worry, and once again, I’m hounded with the same guilt that’s been following me around the last few months. I give my head a shake and put the weight of my focus on her instead of the woman I know is behind her, thankfully out of view now.
“Yes. It’s past noon. I tried texting and calling first.” I clear my throat. “If I’d known you were working, I’d have just dropped this off with Petal and seen you later.”
Evie’s features relax. Her eyebrows even out as she adjusts the headband keeping her messy brown hair out of her face and says, “It’s okay. Let me finish up here, and we can eat. We’re nearly done. Maybe just . . . step away so we can finish in private?”
“Right.” I try to bury my discomfort before she can catch it.
She pats my arm before giving it a shove. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Take your time.”
“You don’t really mean that, but since you offered,” she teases, already stepping back.
The space between us allows me a straight-shot view of Brielle. I need to look away before I lose the chance, butshit. Is she checking me out?
I remain frozen in place, watching as she runs a set of confident, mossy-green eyes up my thighs, then my chest, and finally, my face. Her stare clings to my jaw before sweeping up and over my lips and nose. By the time our eyes connect, her right eyebrow has lifted just enough to betray what I assume to be approval.
The soft pink colour of her lips is exactly what I pictured while watching that video, and that makes this all that much worse. I wanted to know, sure. But not like this. Not with her being someone my niece knows, and sure as hell not a sister of one of my players.
That sharp sting of shame grows furious the longer I stand here staring at her, allowing those bold eyes to check me out, as if I’m not her brother’s boss.
Closing off my expression, I tame the sudden ridiculous puff of my chest and straighten. With my jaw tight, I look back at my niece, dismissing Brielle and the interest that I’d have to be blind to miss.
Evie narrows her eyes at the corners, but I’m turning away much too fast for her to get a good look. After all these years of it just being us, she’s grown to see a bit too much when it comes to my emotions. I blame that on my inability to keep anything from her. How could I even contemplate keeping secrets from her after all she’s lost? My pain could never compare to hers, even ifI loved my sister deep enough that even now, I swear I can feel her guiding me through the toughest moments in my life.
“I’m so sorry about that, Brielle. I feel like you should give me a bad Google review or something,” she babbles to herclientthe moment I get moving.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not overly shy.”
My fingers twitch at the honeyed sound of her voice because Christ, it’s like she’s making it sound like that on purpose. It shouldn’t affect me. My cock shouldn’t be growing stiff, and I shouldn’t be tempted to take just one more look back at her.
Evie’s laugh carries through the studio, enticing me further to glance over my shoulder. One last time wouldn’t kill me . . .
My feet keep moving when I give in. I twist my neck and curse, seeing Brielle holding her bright red hair up off her bare shoulders with two dainty hands while arching her back, pushing her chest out. The soft lines of her thin body are exactly how I remember, yet so different in person. For the very first time, I can see the elegant pull of her throat as she leans her head to the side and smiles coyly at the camera. Canfeelhow consuming her presence is. So powerful you can’t help but get trapped beneath the ease of her confidence and the sexual prowess she holds because of it.
It’s maddening.
And suddenly, I’m furious with her for being who she is.
In the span of ten minutes, my perfectly constructed reality has warped. It’s now chipped, and I need to scuff it out before it has the chance to spiderweb.
7
BRIELLE
It’ssafe to say that Evie’s uncle is a fucking smoke show.
Obviously, I already knew that from the few times I’ve seen him at the stadium and team events, but he was so up close and personal on Wednesday. I had this urge to pounce across the room and sink my claws into his perfectly pressed dress shirt just to see if he’d shove me off or enjoy the roughness.
