“Can I not visit my darling brother?” she asks, peering up at him. There’s a hard look in her eye, though. Gives her away.
“You can, but you typically don’t unless I’m fronting your ticket,” he grunts, letting her go. He crosses his arms in front of him, eyes searching her face for an answer she isn’t giving. They can read each other without words. It’s a sibling thing. The sign of a good relationship. I’ve never had that.
Ariana ignores him, turning back to the table instead. She takes in each face, one by one, until she lands on me.
I blow another bubble and that fucking smile turns blinding.
Ignoring her brother, she saunters forward and leans down on her forearms. Right in front of me. She angles her head, platinum blonde hair falling like a wave over her shoulder. I force myself to keep my eyes locked on her face. That dress is skin-tight, and that hair has me thinking thoughts I shouldn’t be.
She is Forker’s sister.
She studies my face, that same look from our first meeting on the ice dancing in her eyes. “Hi, Boston Black. Fancy meeting you here.”
I can’t help it; my lip twitches upward. “What did I ever do to you for you to want me dead?”
She cocks a brow, her eyes darting to my mouth. Unfazed that I’ve caught her looking, she snaps her gaze back to mine again. “What on earth do you mean by that?”
I bring my glass of whiskey to my lips, more than aware of the looming presence behind her. “You can’t be looking at me like that with your big, bloodthirsty brother standing right behind you. I’ve seen him swing for less.”
She purses her pink lips, but doesn’t even bother to check if Forker is breathing down her neck. He is. His jaw is pulsing, his eyes burning a hole in the back of his little sister’s head. I can’t see him past her, but I know him far too well to know I’m right.
“Look at those arms,” she says, gesturing toward my biceps. Her eyes flash back to mine and she waves me off. “He’s not so scary. You could take him.”
Maybe, but I’d never fight him. That’s my boy.
Plus, it’s not him I’m worried about. It’s theotherguy who lives inside him. I don’t think there is a single person on thisplanet who could win against The Beast if he truly wanted them dead.
“I swear to god, Ari. I’m going to put you in a fucking home,” Forker grumbles. His hand is around her arm again as he tugs her away from me. She stumbles back, a shit-eating grin on that mouth, holding my gaze for much longer than she should.
They are definitely related. Trouble. Both of them.
Forker nods at Wyatt and EJ. They slide deeper into the booth, squishing in against Seth and Declan. I give it five minutes before Arden sweeps in here from across the bar and kidnaps Ariana so that she can be with the girls. I hope she does. I have a feeling Forker isn’t going to be much fun.
“Sit,” he barks.
She glares up at him. “I think I’d prefer the other side of the booth.”
My side.
I almost chuckle, but I hold it in. I don’t think Fork would appreciate me finding those kinds of comments funny.
Forker sucks in a long, frustrated breath. He pinches the bridge of his nose and tries to center himself, but The Beast is inside him, inching toward the door of his cage. “I think I’d prefer for you to be a normal fucking human being, but we can’t always get what we want. Sit down.”
Ariana rolls her eyes, but slides into the booth. She offers her hand to the boys she has yet to meet. They don’t appear to know where to look, as if they’ll lose their lives if they touch her.
Forker shoves himself into the booth next to her, shooting me an apologetic look when EJ finally takes Ariana’s hand in his with an intrigued wonder in his eye.
I smirk at Fork, shrugging it off. I don’t mind her attention. She’s interesting, and I’d never step over that line, so he doesn’t have to worry about me.
“Start talking,” Forker says, just as she finishes introducing herself to Seth.
“I just wanted to come see you!” she says, holding out her hands. “God, is that a cardinal sin now?”
Forker stares at her skeptically. His jaw tenses, trying to deduce if she’s being honest. She meets that stare with more bravery than men three times her size. Doesn’t balk. Doesn’t back down. She is probably the only person in the world who isn’t scared of her brother.
“How’d you get here?”
“On a plane,” she answers, shooting him a look that tells him he’s an idiot.
