Page 29 of Unburied

The line went dead, and he rolled his eyes. He threw a look Jaxon’s way. “Wanna grab a beer?”

“I would, but I’m headed to Adalyn’s.”

Part of him wanted to ask how that situation was going, but the tone of Jaxon's voice stopped him. He couldn’t tell exactly what he detected there. Maybe the same possessiveness he felt for Vivi. He thanked Jaxon as he dropped him back at his bike, then headed toward Van’s Bar downtown.

He scanned the room, and his eyes were immediately drawn to his brother sitting at the corner of the long bar, a dark brown bottle in front of him. Winding through the maze of tables, he approached and slid onto the stool next to him.

Beer bottle to his lips, Miles sent a little half-nod his way, then wiped the moisture from his mouth. “Hey, man.”

“Hey.” He flicked a look at the bartender and gestured toward the bottle in Miles’s hand. The younger guy nodded and reached into a cooler, then cracked the top before passing him the bottle.

He could feel his brother’s eyes on him as he chugged half of it before setting it on the bar. “You been stressed lately?”

It was more of a statement than a question, but he nodded regardless. “Just a lot on my mind.”

Namely the gorgeous little brunette he’d fallen into bed with a week ago and hadn’t been able to get his mind off since. He saw her every single day at work, but she avoided him like the plague. It left him frustrated and, ironically, even more crazy for her. The woman knew exactly what she was doing, making him work for it. Why he was going along with it was beyond him.

That wasn’t true. She drove him crazy—in the best and worst of ways. She was quirky. Crazy. But she intrigued him. There were so many layers to Vivi that he wasn’t sure he’d ever reveal them all.

And the craziest part of this whole thing was that he actually wanted to. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to taste her again, feel her soft skin under his hands. There was just something about her that revved his engine, and he wanted more of it.

“Well,” Miles said, pulling him from his introspection, “plenty of ways to forget it tonight.”

He followed Miles’s line of sight as his gaze swept hungrily over the single women sporadically placed throughout the bar. He grunted. “Not in the mood.”

“Since when?” Miles lifted a brow his way, and he rolled his eyes.

“I don’t need to get laid to make myself feel better.”

“Never hurts,” Miles countered.

Months, even weeks ago, Miles probably would’ve been correct. He enjoyed having fun, especially with women. He enjoyed everything about them, from their sweet lips to their soft skin. But he couldn’t remember a single woman he’d slept with in the past. Their faces had all been replaced by Vivi’s bright countenance, her dark eyes and sweetly curving mouth.

“Maybe,” he replied, but his tone held no conviction. He had no intention of pursuing anyone but Vivi.

Miles stared at him. “What’s going on?”

He picked at the label on the bottle, scraping at the glue with his thumbnail. “I’ve kinda been seeing someone.”

“No kidding?” Miles tipped his chin. “Where’d you find her?”

“The hotel.”

Miles grinned. “I knew there was something up with you. So, what’s the deal?”

“I’m not sure.” He sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“You like her,” Miles said slowly.

“This girl is…” Beautiful. Smart. And amazing and so perfect it was like she was made for him. “God, I don’t even know how to explain it.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“Most immediately?” He lifted a brow. “Her brother. She doesn’t want to tell him about us, and I… I get it, but I hate it.”

Miles stared at him. “Why doesn’t she want him to know?”

He drew in a breath. “Because we work together.”