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“How? She literally sleeps outside your room.” Liam tossed Lij the ball and he fumbled the catch before finally grasping it.
“She’s been dating this new bloke. Seems to be getting serious too, if her not coming home last night is any indication. Usually when she goes out on a date she comes home.” He shrugged and passed the ball back like it was no big deal. But it was. She was… Liam didn’t even know how to describe her. She was bright and bubbly, like a beacon lighting up all the dark spaces. He loved seeing that incandescent light inside her glow brightly.
Whoever the guy was, he must have been something special to capture her attention. An unfamiliar prickle washed over him, and Liam wasn’t even sure how to label it. Frustration simmered in his veins. Maybe a little anger too. Addy was like a little sister to him, and the urge to put himself between her and this new bloke was overwhelming. “Hey, you gonna pass that back or you trying to burst it?” Lij pointed at the ball he was white-knuckling, and Liam shook off the frustration that had enveloped him.
“Yeah, ah, sorry.” They tossed the ball back and forth until a silver Subaru pulled up at the curb. It was mid-morning, late enough that it wasn’t a walk of shame but a weekend away. A burly guy, who had to be close to his height but much broader in the shoulders, got out and rushed around to get the door for Addy and Liam’s pulse tripped. She stepped out and he reached in for her backpack. They stayed close, moving inside each other's personal space. There was a comfort between them too. Chemistry that was off the charts. Liam bit his tongue trying to calm his racing heart.
When the man slung her bag over his shoulder, Addy gripped his belt buckle, pulling him against her. The smile he shot her was filled with affection, warmth lighting up his eyes. He cupped her face, reverently touching her hair as he leaned down to kiss her. It was chaste, a soft brush of his lips against hers, and Liam’s breath caught. Heat crawled through his veins, a tingling sensation in his fingers. What would it be like to caress Addy in the same way? To see if her skin was as soft as it looked, and her hair as silky. But that was ridiculous. He couldn’t. They weren’t like that. They never had been. So why did Liam suddenly want to know? Why did he want to find out what it was like to be a part of that magnificent picture?
Addy looked tiny wrapped up in the man. He couldn’t turn away. The bloke’s arms were like tree trunks. Thick and strong. Liam tried to shake off wanting to know what they felt like. When Addy slid her hands up, they didn’t even come close to covering his bicep, and Liam shivered. The image of the two of them together was incendiary. He shouldn’t—no couldn’t—want her. She was Lij’s little sister. It was a line he couldn’t cross.
He watched as her guy stroked her cheek and dipped his chin once more to press another lingering kiss to her lips. Would they be strawberry flavoured like her favourite balm? What would the scent of her skin be? What would the scent of her and her guy be like mingled together?
No.
No, no, no. He definitely couldn’t go there.
He had to back the fuck off now. But he couldn’t tear his eyes away, watching as he held her and kissed her slowly, worshipping her. Liam’s gut twisted. He sucked in a breath and erected, brick by brick, the wall of attitude he needed to process what the fuck these insane thoughts running around his stupid head were. It was as if there had been a seismic shift in the ground under his feet since they’d pulled up. Actually, since Lij had told him that Addy was seeing someone. Fuck. He cleared his throat and shot a look at Lij that he hoped looked more incredulous than pained. “This guy? Really?”
“Why not him?” Lij asked. “He’s hot in a lumberjack kind of way, and they seem to have plenty to talk about—they’ve been on the phone every night this week.”
“Yeah, ’cause it looks like they’re doin’ lots of talking,” he muttered, forcing himself to look away. “He’s gotta be twice her age, and who the hell drives a Subaru?”
Lij rolled his eyes and passed the ball back, but Liam was done.
Without even knowing what he intended to do, he stalked over to them. With every step closer, his view improved and he watched, riveted as the man’s tongue dipped into her mouth, teasing her lip. She smiled into the kiss as he pressed a hand to her lower back and cradled her head with the other.
When they finally broke apart, Liam blinked, meeting the other man’s eyes. Heat flared in them, his pupils lust drunk and blown wide. His kiss swollen lips glistened with the remnants of Addy’s gloss and he was breathing hard, Addy’s body pressed against his from shoulder to knee. Their gazes locked and Liam shifted, the low thrum of desire pooling in his belly and waking up his cock. God damn, the man had the most spectacular eyes. Dark and rich like melted chocolate. His pouty lips were framed by a few-days-old stubble that looked soft to the touch. He was gorgeous.
Wait, what? Gorgeous?Liam gave himself a mental slap across the back of the head. What was he thinking? He’d give it to Lij—the dude was good-looking—but Liam hadn’t been checking him out, not really.
“He’s not quite twice my age, only seven years older.” Adelaide’s words stopped him in his tracks. “The Subaru lets him carry his bike or surfboard, or whatever else he feels like taking somewhere—”
“What, like bodies?” Liam looked at her with a raised eyebrow, his attempt at humour falling flat. Addy’s laugh in response was harsh. Derisive. She flashed him a look filled with contempt, and it was like a kick in the guts. She’d always been sweet and cute. Years ago, she’d been the annoying little sister who idolised her older brother. But then she’d grown up. He’d be blind not to see her beauty, but this craziness that had swept over him was… ridiculous. It had to be just a momentary lapse. His brain catching up something that he’d always known but never really seen. She was beautiful and now she had a man who was… equally hot?
“Kingston, my dickhead of a next-door neighbour and—for reasons completely unbeknownst to me—my brother’s best friend, Liam.”
“Pleased to meet you, mate,” Kingston replied with a half-grin, his voice washing over Liam like an expensive whiskey sliding down his throat.
Lij was wrong in his assessment of the lumberjack vibe. The guy was more refined than that. His cream knit sweater was far too sophisticated for that. His blue jeans were too clean, even though they were well-worn. They looked comfortable too, the denim soft where they hugged thighs that Liam was hella jealous of. He was built for speed, with smaller compact muscles. Kingston, on the other hand, was sheer bulk. The short beard gave him a ruggedness that bordered on smouldering, and he found himself wanting to run his fingers through it. Was it as soft as it looked?
It was insane how topsy-turvy his world suddenly was. Checking out Adelaide and her new guy? Liam didn’t do that. What the hell was wrong with him? Scowling, he glanced at Kingston again. Reflected back was a zen-like calm. His smile, just a small tilt of his lips upward, was the same—relaxed and at ease. Kingston’s voice too. It was deep and smooth. The kind you could listen to for hours and never get sick of hearing.
As much as Liam wanted to feign indifference toward the man, his first impression was the opposite. Without a word, Kingston was drawing him in, making Liam want to get to know him. The notion was ridiculous. How could someone let off tranquil vibes? How could they put out a calmness into the world that settled him without even saying a word? The idea of it set Liam on edge. Put him on high alert. Kingston held out his hand and without even thinking, Liam reciprocated. They closed the gap between them and electricity zinged up his arm from their connection. Kingston’s hand was dry and cool. Calloused. Liam didn’t want to let go, squeezing harder to keep their connection intact.
Liam ground his teeth together, his head and his body in a desperate battle to break the contact between him and Kingston or to keep it going. He wasn’t sure which part of him would win. But Kingston didn’t flinch. It was as if he was waiting for Liam to get over himself and decide what his body was doing. Liam looked for the fire he managed to provoke in so many people, but all he saw were deep still waters.
He exhaled slowly, loosening his grip and Kingston blinked, his stare seeming to communicate a million words to Liam, without his understanding any of them. When Kingston turned his attention to Lij, Liam wanted to object. To have those pools of liquid silk on him again. It had never bothered him before, but Liam had instantly hated the idea of Addy having a boyfriend when Lij had told him. He didn’t think there was a single man who would be worthy of her—but Kingston was something else. Something that terrified and enthralled Liam simultaneously.
Addy moved to stand in front of Kingston, her arms crossed over her chest looking up at him with fire in her gaze. Her lips were pressed together, pursed in determination, her eyes narrowed a challenge in them. Liam’s dick twitched again, loving her sass and the way she stood up to him. Addy wasn’t scared to ride his arse if she thought he was being a dickhead. She never hesitated to call him out on his shit either. Was it completely fucked up that he loved provoking a reaction from her?
His stare locked with Kingston’s once more. Heat suffused Liam, those umber eyes on him almost a caress. He shivered, unsure whether the perusal turned him on—a match to Addy’s challenge—or was a dare to lash out against him. Liam didn’t intimidate easily, despite being a lover, not a fighter. He pursed his lips, his ears flaming as they continued watching each other. There was a shift in King’s expression. The heat had diffused, humour and light danced in his expression. There was a spark in his gaze that matched Addy’s zest for life.
“Liam, pull your head outta your arse for five minutes and quit your stare-down.” He blinked, shaking out of the spell that Kingston had weaved over him. “Kingston’s a nice guy. You’d actually like him if you gave him a chance. Stop acting like some macho idiot that puffs up his chest when he’s feeling threatened.”
His mouth dropped open in shock. What was she talking about? Threatened? Not so much. Inexplicably turned on, definitely. He couldn’t even begin to figure out what the hell was going on with him, but he needed to get out of there.
“Kingston, my brother Eli. Eli, Kingston.”
