AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I did, my heart pounding through my chest.
My brother’s deft fingers were on my neck and then he was plucking the glass shard carefully out of my skin, and I felt his hard hand now soft on my throat as he gently stemmed the blood flow with his fingers.
I felt a shudder go through me, the prickles of sensation over my skin.
“Wow,” said my fiancé, trying for joviality. “I’ve never seen her listen like that before, ha-ha.”
“Lele knows when to listen,” Torin said, and he was standing so close that I could see the fire in his dark eyes, the midnight blue almost eclipsed by how darkly he stared at my throat, making sure he stemmed the flow of blood.
“I guess that’s the only person a woman will listen to, ha-ha,” Drew tried again. “Her big brother, ha-ha.”
But Torin had never been a ha-ha guy, and he only said, “Yes. She listens because she belongs to me.”
There was a sudden silence, and Drew cleared his throat. “Ha-ha,” he said again.
I held my breath, wondering what Drew would say with my brother’s fingers surrounding my throat. He was clearly uneasy, and he laughed again. Torin didn’t laugh back. Because he had meant every word he said.
Getting no response seemed to irritate Drew, and he looked down at his watch. “Come on, Laoise,” he said. “We should get going or do you need to be checked out by an actual doctor?”
“No, no, I’m fine,” I said breathlessly. “Let’s go to the bakery, Torin.”
I saw my brother drop his hand, slowly, the blood from my neck staining his fingers.
“Oh, you’re still covered in glass,” I laughed, using my hands to carefully brush all the shards from his plaid shirt, my hands stretching up as I raised on my tiptoes to get his shoulders.
He smelled like cigarette smoke and harsh soap and something else that made the hairs on my neck stand on end.
Torin had been bigger than other boys his age for a long time, and now he was very big, my fingers running over the broad width of his shoulders, feeling the muscles underneath.
He held my gaze, and I saw his chest begin to rise and fall, his breath heavy and harsh now.
“Laoise, we’re going to be late,” Andrew said, and I heard an impatient note in his voice as he took my hand.
Then there was such a brief flash I couldn’t be sure. I must have been mistaken. But I thought I saw my brother raise the fingers stained with my blood to his lips.
I hadn’t necessarily been looking forward to this benefit, but from the very beginning it had gone downhill. Most of the attendees were Drew’s business associates or contacts, other serious, properly dressed business owners and professional people.
Torin with his huge shitkickers and casual clothes stuck out like a sore thumb, and right away I could tell a few people thought they recognized him.
“Laoise, who is this?” the vice-mayor asked uncertainly.
I felt irritated. “This is my brother, Torin Reilly,” I said.
“I think. . .” the vice-mayor began, “that is to say, do you have a doppelganger?”
“No,” I said defiantly, jutting my chin out. My cheeks were flushing a bit, but why should I be ashamed?
“That was my brother you saw on TV,” I said. “He’s been in jail for 10 years.”
“Ah,” the vice-mayor said, darting his eyes around like he would rather be anywhere else. “Sometimes drugs—”
“Torin killed our father,” I said firmly. “He was in jail for murder.”
“Ah,” the vice-mayor said.
Torin looked thoroughly composed, and I saw a small smile tugging at his harsh lips.
Drew came smoothly over, handing a glass of champagne to the vice-mayor and changing the subject.
