His gaze flicked behind me and back again with anannoying little smirk I wanted to punch right off his face. “Oh, yeah? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re more interested in playing bodyguard than Blood Ball.”
I kept my eyes trained on him like I was completely oblivious to Liam sneaking up on my five o’clock. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, man.”
Seb shot me a look of pure disbelief. “Don’t you?”
Liam’s yellow ball came to rest against mine with a quiet clink. Before Liam could stop me, I pressed my boot against my black ball, swung the mallet back, and hit my ball with a satisfying whack. The energy shot right through my ball and into his, sending it flying across the field. With a muttered curse, Liam went after it, middle finger raised as he ran past me.
Seb laughed, and his gaze landed over my shoulder again. The way his head tilted, I knew he wasn’t looking at her face. My guess was she was bent over, lining her mallet up with her ball, perky ass in the air and those stupid fucking cutoff denim shorts riding up her long thighs.
“Hey, Lennon, baby, come over here and we can talk strategy,” he called to her.
“What, so you can score an easy fifty points off the city girl?” she yelled back. “Do I look stupid to you, Seb?”
He was still laughing when I caught him by the waist and brought him to the ground, making sure he’d landon his knees. Knees were the easiest body parts to draw blood from, and I liked to win, too.
“Fifty points, asshole,” I muttered as dark red swelled from right below his kneecap.
Seb grunted. “Is that your way of calling dibs?”
“You can’t call dibs on a human being.” We rolled to our feet, shaking off the fall. “I don’t trust her, Seb.”
“Shit, man. I don’t trust half the women I fuck. Use protection and keep your mouth occupied with something that isn’t talking. You’ll be fine.”
“That’s your advice?” I shook my head. “Hell.”
“It’s good advice!” he protested.
“It’s—oof!” I grunted as Seb tackled me. My forearm scraped against the dirt, and I winced. Glancing down, I saw long scratches flecked with red. It wasn’t a lot, but it counted.
“Fifty points,” Seb half laughed, half groaned. “And Mateo is coming for your girl.”
I didn’t need to see him. With my cheek pressed to the dirt, I could hear him. The ground vibrated as Mateo thundered closer.
Not yet.
Not yet.
Now.
I twisted, scissoring my legs so they caught Mateo by the ankles. His knee rammed my shoulder as he stumbled forward. With a holler, he fell across both of us.
We lay there in a grunting, tangled heap for only amoment before Seb started shoving limbs aside. “I didn’t deserve that, Jay.”
“Yes, you fucking did,” I muttered.
“For what? Having eyes?” Seb demanded, making Mateo snicker. “She’s hot. What do you want from me?”
I want you to keep your fucking eyes closed around her. I choked back the words. Not because they weren’t true. But if I said that out loud, I’d never hear the end of it. We were brothers, all of us: Seb, Liam, Mateo, Holly, and I. The blood that tied us together wasn’t inherited—it was spilt, but that only made the bond stronger. And like any band of brothers, we tortured each other. That was how we showed love.
“You know Liam is going to take advantage of this moment, right?” Seb shoved me, then Mateo, as he tried to get up.
Mateo groaned through a laugh. “Or Holly.”
I shot to my feet.
Fuck, that hurt.
I didn’t have a second to worry about that, not with Liam and Holly bearing down on Lennon. The next several moments were full of even more pain. Bodies clashed together. Mallets swung at balls and ankles alike. Somewhere in the fray, I lost my own ball.
