The Better Brother

by Rye Hart

  Penny’s hands shot out to push me back with a startled glance. She took a hasty step back from me right before Alyssa came into the living room. My daughter’s head was tilted down to focus on her phone in her hand. I silently thanked Penny’s quick reflexes and Alyssa’s constant fascination with her phone.

  “How long do you think we’ll be at dinner?” Alyssa asked. She glanced up and looked at me in surprise. “Oh, Dad. I didn’t hear you come in. Did you just get here?”

  I cleared my throat as I reached up to unbutton my heavy jacket. Penny kept her eyes riveted to the floor, and I brushed by her with a forced smile gracing my lips. Something told me that I would be doing a lot of this tonight, with Nikki Lewis sitting across from me.

  “Just got in,” I replied. “I’m about to jump into the shower. Did you settle on a place for dinner?”

  “I told William where it was,” Penny said, an edge to her voice. I wanted to calm Penny’s nerves, but I kept to myself as Alyssa walked over to where she stood near the windows. I didn’t want to give Alyssa any sort of indication about a relationship between myself and Penny. Not yet, anyway. I needed to talk with Penny desperately without distractions around, but it seemed impossible over the past few days.

  I took a hot shower to ease the soreness from my muscles before getting dressed again. It was close to five-thirty when William called up from downstairs to inform us that he was waiting outside in the SUV.

  A thick snow started to trickle down from the sky when I followed Alyssa and Penny out into the cold evening air. I kept my gaze fixated on Penny as she walked alongside Alyssa to the back passenger seat. I opened the door for the two of them to slide in before I hopped into the front seat of the SUV, alongside William who immediately pulled out of the parking lot.

  “Is this place close?” Alyssa asked. “I told Scott that I might be able to see him later tonight, depending on when dinner ended.”

  I twisted around in my seat to look over at Alyssa pointedly. “You’re being rude, Alyssa. This is Penny’s mother, who happened to be a good friend of mine a long time ago.”

  “She doesn’t even want to go,” she remarked cynically. “She tried talking her way out of dinner tonight because of that piece of shit boyfriend that is tagging along with her mother.”

  I glanced over at Penny, who sat rigidly in the back seat. Her head was turned away from the two of us. I couldn’t gauge any sort of emotion because her long blonde hair shielded her face.

  Piece of shit boyfriend. Now, it made sense why Penny had avoided going home. To spare her the humiliation, though, I didn’t question anything until we pulled up in front of a steakhouse on the other side of Chicago. I spotted Nikki standing alongside a younger man with dark blonde hair and a beard. She turned to smile at the SUV as William pulled up to the curb.

  I turned to look back at Penny, but she had already hopped out of the SUV to walk around the front to greet her mother. I watched the two of them embrace awkwardly while I slipped out of the passenger seat, leaving instructions with William to wait for my call.

  “My baby girl,” Nikki said, hugging Penny fiercely to her. “You look so beautiful, honey. I can’t believe how much you’ve changed over the past few months.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Penny said. She took a step back to barely nod in the younger man’s direction, which appeared instantly at Nikki’s side to stare at her. “Hello, Dylan.”

  “Always good to see you, Penny,” he said smoothly. “And you look amazing, like your mom said.”

  The comment caused something to flare up in my chest. I clenched my fingers into fists in my coat pockets as Dylan gazed at Penny long and hard before he twisted his head in my direction to look at me with distrust. Nikki paid little attention to any of it as she stepped forward to embrace me tightly as well.

  “It’s so good to see you, Gabriel,” she said. “I’m glad you’ve been able to keep an eye on my girl here.”

  I plastered a smile on my face again. “Of course. I know you’d do the same if Alyssa wanted to come visit you over in New York City.”

  “Of course,” Nikki said, smiling. “Alyssa, darling. I remember when you were toddling around the hallway. You have grown into quite the young woman now.”

  “Thank you,” Alyssa said. “It’s good to see you again, Ms. Lewis.”

  “Shall we go in, then?” Nikki asked and looped an arm through Penny’s. “It’s starting to snow like crazy out here! Come along, Gabriel. I know how much you like a good steak.”

  I stepped up behind the girls and stared hard at the back of Dylan’s head. I could see immediately why Penny didn’t like him. He had a predatory air about him and I didn’t like the way he looked at Penny. At all.

  Dylan tore his gaze away from Penny as she followed her mother in through the glass doors. The tips of his ears went red when he noted that I had been watching him stare at Penny. Something wasn’t right about the way Dylan’s eyes rested on Penny a bit too intently. It didn’t sit well with me, either, when he flicked his eyes up and down me in an assessing manner.

  “Can’t wait, babe,” he said, looking back at Nikki. He turned to walk up the pathway to follow Nikki and Penny inside. It was Alyssa who gently touched the back of my elbow with a frown.

  “I didn’t imagine him staring at Penny, did I?” she whispered, breath streaming out in front of her. “It was weird, right?”

  “Something isn’t right about him,” I agreed, and draped an arm around Alyssa’s shoulders. “Come on. We need to go inside before we freeze our butts off out here in the snow.”

  We settled at a large table that faced a snowed-in patio area, and we exchanged polite conversation. Nikki seemed interested in my upcoming proposal for the government contract. As I spoke, I kept one eye trained on Penny, who sat on one side of her mother while Dylan sat on the other side. His eyes kept shifting over to where Penny sat looking at her menu, but her eyes weren’t moving.

  “I hear that you are in line for some good things,” she said. “That’s exciting! I’m so happy for you, Gabriel. You’ve done really well for yourself and Alyssa.”

  “Figured I better put my brain to good use,” I said with a shrug. “What about you, Dylan? What do you do?”

  Dylan’s eyes glittered with irritation when he looked up at me. “I am actually Nikki’s personal assistant back in the city.”

  “So, she’s your boss?” I asked coolly.

  The subtle insult didn’t slip past Penny’s attention, and she looked up to smile at me. Anger radiated from Dylan, but Nikki placed a soothing hand on his forearm when he glared at me.

  “Let’s talk about something else,” she said. “Find any good men here, Penny?”

  Penny’s cheeks reddened at that. I swallowed the nagging guilt in my throat when Nikki looked at me expectantly for an answer. Yes, me. It’s me, Nikki. What do you think about that? I forced those thoughts away, though, before they could come spilling out of my mouth.

  “No one,” Penny said. “Can we talk about something else? Something that doesn’t involve my love life?”

  Nikki shrugged as she swept Alyssa up into a conversation, then. The rest of dinner passed by in a series of awkward questions while Penny kept her gaze fixated on her plate, refusing to look in anyone’s direction. It was vividly clear that she was uncomfortable, but Nikki paid little attention to it. She was clearly more interested in her own agenda than the comfort of her only daughter. It made me angry on Penny’s behalf. This was not the Nikki I had known all those years ago.

  I paid for dinner before Nikki could retrieve her wallet, and I rose from my chair quickly because I wanted to get as far away as possible from the situation. The guilt licking at my insides was enough to chase away my appetite. I hugged Nikki goodbye as Penny climbed into the passenger seat with Alyssa behind her.

  “I can never do anything right these days,” Nikki said with a sigh. “I came all the way out here to make amends, to spend some time with her, but she barely even spoke a
word to me.”

  “I’m not sure, Nikki. It might be something she doesn’t want to talk to you about yet.”

  The answer appeased her a little bit as she took ahold of Dylan’s hand. They both nodded at me as a taxi cab arrived to take them back to their hotel.

  “I’ll come by tomorrow,” Nikki said. “If that’s all right with you? I’m only here for a few days.”

  “That’s fine,” I said, even though a part of me wanted to tell her no. “I’ll be in touch. Have a good night, both of you.”

  It wasn’t until we arrived back at the condo that I turned to look at Penny while she hung up her coat on the coatrack next to the door.

  “I don’t like that guy,” I said. “What the fuck is his problem?”

  “Yeah, he’s creepy,” Alyssa added with a frown. “You never mentioned that to me before, Penny. He kept staring at you.”

  “I don’t know,” Penny said, rubbing at her arms. “He’s always been weird toward me, and I’ve made it clear that I don’t like him at all.”

  Alyssa turned to look at me, then. “Do they have to come over tomorrow, too?”

  “Well I can’t exactly keep Nikki from her daughter, unless Penny tells me that’s what she wants,” I said, sighing. “Where are you going?” I asked, as she was turning to go again.

  “To meet up with Scott for an hour,” Alyssa said, tightening her scarf while I slid out of my own coat. “He drove all the way over here to see me. Romantic, huh?”

  She opened the front door and disappeared with a cheerful wave in our direction. I looked over at Penny, who chewed on her bottom lip in contemplation as she looked over at me. The discomfort in her eyes faded away slightly, but now that we were alone for at least an hour, I wanted to take the time to talk to Penny alone. I held out a hand for her to take.

  “Come with me,” I said. “I want to show you something.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN – PENNY

  After that fucking awkward dinner, I didn’t hesitate to take hold of Gabriel’s hand when he offered it to me. He grabbed both our coats from the coatrack and pulled me out through the front door. He led me down the hallway in the direction of the stairwell, pulling me up the cold concrete steps to another door.

  I relished in the feeling of Gabriel’s hand in mine. It felt so strong and comforting, which was exactly what I needed. Throughout the entire dinner, I’d been forced to suffer silently while Dylan eye-banged me. The dirty fucker had no shame at all. He stared at me greedily, not even bothering to hide his infatuation with me. And why should he hide it? My mother seemed completely oblivious to her boyfriend’s creepy leering.

  For whatever reason, she had a serious blind spot when it came to Dylan’s wandering gaze. Maybe she truly didn’t notice, or maybe she was so deep in denial, no amount of disgusting gawking would register in her brain. I felt kind of sorry for my mother, she was beyond pathetic over with this guy, and she had no idea he was just interested in her for her wealth. If he loved her back, there was no way he’d look at me the way he did, especially when she was sitting right next to him.

  Just being around him made me feel dirty. I’d tried so hard to get away from him over this break, but my troubles at home found a way to follow me all the way out here to Chicago. The only consolation I had after a night like that was being here with Gabriel. He was a real man, and when he looked at me, all the horrible feelings melted away, replaced with a warm fuzzy feeling that felt like more than simple attraction.

  Gabriel pushed the door open and coaxed me forward, out of the building and into the night. A chilly blast of icy air greeted me, followed by the thick cloud cover and a trickle of snow.

  The city lights were hazy in the distance as Gabriel led me along the snowy rooftop to the edge. A wave of vertigo washed over me as I looked down at the world far below us. Gabriel noticed my balance faltering, and he slipped behind me and wrapped his hands around the curve of my waist to hold me steady. It felt good to have his strong arms around me. It felt safe.

  We both gazed down at the snow-clad city full of Christmas lights and cheer. The tension that had been circulating through my system faded away with the sensation of Gabriel’s firm body pressed up against mine. I could feel his hot breath against the side of my neck as he rested his chin on the top of my shoulder.

  My eyes closed of their own accord as I tried to fight the rest of my emotions. I didn’t know what to think anymore when it came to how I felt about Gabriel. All I knew was that his kiss and his touch felt amazing, and I also loved the comfort and protection I felt in his presence. Despite how right it felt to be with Gabriel, I knew it was wrong. Nothing could ever last between the two of us, even if we wanted it to. Our age difference was too much for other people to accept, and even if that wasn’t an issue, we had completely separate lives. And more importantly, neither one of us wanted to risk losing Alyssa by engaging in a serious, public relationship.

  “If we don’t stop doing this,” I said, reaching down to gently touch Gabriel’s hand resting on my right hip. “Then it’s only a matter of time before Alyssa catches us together. Or it might be someone else who sees us and tells her about it. She’d be seriously upset if she ever found out.”

  “I know,” Gabriel said. “And I’ve been trying to find some time for us to talk about everything that’s been going on, in private, but it’s been impossible.”

  “We’re alone now,” I said. “So, here’s your chance. Tell me, what is it that you want?”

  A shiver went up my spine when Gabriel’s warm lips pressed up against the side of my neck suddenly. He kissed his way up lightly to my ear.

  “I want you,” he murmured, his voice husky. “I do know that. I want you more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my entire life.”

  “I want you too,” I whispered, opening my eyes against the cold wind. “But we both know this isn’t right. I know how Alyssa is going to feel if we keep this going. I know how the rest of the world will look at us, too.”

  “None of that matters to me. We can figure out the future later. For now, though…” I felt his hips grind up against my backside, while his hands grasped my hips sensually. “For now, I just want to be with you. Right here. Right now.”

  I didn’t argue with his thrilling words. I wanted him, too. All the questions and all the doubts didn’t matter there, on that icy rooftop. All that mattered was how good his warm body felt holding me and how much I ached for more. He lit a fire inside me that warded off the cold.

  And after the shitty dinner I’d been forced to sit through, I knew that Gabriel was the one thing in the whole world that could make me feel good right now. I needed a powerful, amazing man like Gabriel to worship my body and make me feel whole again.

  Twisting around in his strong arms, I turned to gaze up at him, and I took in the way the hazy cloud cover brought out an almost ethereal quality in his eyes. They nearly glowed with desire as he looked at me. I felt that welcoming touch of lust surge through me, and I tilted my head up to part my lips in invitation for a kiss.

  Gabriel’s hot lips pressed against mine in a searing kiss, and the cold wind couldn’t cool the fever brewing underneath my skin. My fingers clenched around the fabric of Gabriel’s coat, and I returned the kiss with a sigh.

  It occurred to me then that I would never be able to kiss another man, not after kissing Gabriel. No other man in the world would measure up to the amazing feeling of his lips on mine. Everything about his kisses was paralyzing and hypnotic. His tongue parted my lips, tangling with mine. My heart hammered in my chest, and my head felt dizzy with lust. We were surrounded by the twinkling lights of the city, as if we were somehow floating above the starry sky. The furious wind whipped around us, as if it reflected the wild passion building between us. And up here, all alone, it felt like we were the only two people who existed in the entire world. Being here with Gabriel felt like a dream.

  He tugged me away from the ledge. Our lips continued to clash together with muffled moans wh
ile he continued to back us up in a mindless direction. It wasn’t until he twisted me around sharply to push me up against the cold side of the building that I felt his fingers skimming along the back of my thigh. They slipped up beneath the hemline of my dress, teasing the hot skin there. He reached the elastic band of my nylons to yank them down to my knees.

  I gasped as lust spiraled through me, making me feel like I was floating. The tips of my fingers were cold from where they gripped the side of the building, but it was a distant sensation, eclipsed by the fire Gabriel awoke inside of me.

  His lips nibbled at the side of my neck, and I could feel something hard pushing up against my ass while he ground himself up against me. His skilled fingers slipped between my legs and cupped my burning pussy confidently. The contrast of heat and cold nearly threw me over the edge as he swept a finger across my bundle of nerves. A second later, he pulled my panties down to rub me without anything separating us.

  He let out a throaty groan that warmed the back of my neck, but it was nothing compared to the wicked heat blazing between my legs. Every stroke of his hand sent bolts of hot fire rocketing through my body, and all of my nerve endings were aflame with passion. My panting breaths steamed up the air in front of my face as the delicious pressure built up inside me.

  His fingers brought me to an earth-shattering release. I cried out into the night, my screams echoing in every corner of the city, while hot fluid dripped down my thighs. My entire body trembled as pleasure pulsed through me in wave after wave. Gabriel’s strong arms held me up as I rode out my orgasm.

  As I was starting to come down, adrenaline rushed through me as I glanced over at the door leading back down into the building. At any moment, someone could come walking through it. Someone like Alyssa who would be looking for us shortly, once she returned back to find the condo empty. But for some reason, the danger of it thrilled me, and my body ached for more.