Silk

by Heidi McLaughlin

  We stopped and Nina grabbed my shoulders, facing me in her direction. She fussed over me for a few seconds and then rang the doorbell.

  “I hate those sunglasses,” she hissed quietly.

  I wanted to tell her that I hated what she was making me do, and if I had to suck it up, so did she, but the door opened and we were greeted by a friendly woman named Annie.

  Nina introduced us, and Annie immediately knew who we were. There was something about the older woman’s voice that I was instantly drawn to.

  She said she would show us into a sitting room and Cara would be in shortly. Sitting room? My nerves only increased when I realized how lavish everything here was.

  As she ushered us through the entryway, I quickly became aware of how sleek the floor was under my one-inch heel. I walked slowly, trying not to make a complete fool out of myself by falling. Looking up, I focused on the light inside the room. It was a bright white, not like the natural sunlight. It was warm inside the entrance; the heat made the room seem small.

  “These are such lovely flowers,” I heard Nina say, and the tone of her voice took me by surprise. I had never heard her sound so polite before.

  The soft rustle of hurried footsteps sounded behind me.

  “I’ll be back, Annie.”

  As surprised as I thought I was with Nina’s voice, I was completely floored at hearing his voice.

  Detained in my own distraction, my hip caught the edge of the table, knocking me off balance, and my shoes couldn’t find their footing. I tried to grab at the table, but my fingers couldn’t grasp what I was looking for. I heard the slow sound of the mocking rock on the tabletop and the whiff of fresh flowers swarmed me.

  I knew what was coming next. Any minute now the piercing sound of shattering glass would echo throughout the house and I was going to be on the floor, covered in it. The room shifted and I was thrown back. I landed against something firm, but it wasn’t what I expected. An arm slipped around my waist and pulled me tightly against his chest.

  I was all too aware of the way his arm tensed around my ribs, stretching my dress and exposing more of my cleavage. He was warm, and I could feel the rapid beating of his heart. His head dipped and I felt his lips move along my hair.

  “Easy there.” His breath trailed along the curve of my neck and I shivered.

  The teeter of the vase seized, and I realized I’d been spared at least some of my humiliation. Nina and Annie rushed to my side and I was pulled from his grasp. I wanted to protest, but I doubt they would have even heard me.

  They were both calling my name, and worried questions followed, but his question was the only one I focused on.

  “Araya?”

  At first I thought I was hearing things, using the phantom voice to attach to any male I heard, but when Annie spoke again, I knew I wasn’t.

  Ryland

  Six

  I woke up tired and grumpy, and that only pissed me off more. Araya had managed to keep me company for most of the night, but it wasn’t exactly the way I wanted. Her innocent smile, the alluring call of her soft skin, had me aching in more ways than one this morning.

  After spending most of my morning in a shower cold enough to form icebergs that could take down the Titanic all over again, I found myself sitting in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in my hands.

  I don’t really remember getting here, but I did it with clothes on, so the details didn’t really matter. The house was pretty quiet and I was glad I hadn’t had a run-in with either of the parentals. J.D. was probably already at the office, and if Coraline had taken reprieve with the entire bottle, I wouldn’t see her until late afternoon.

  Careless had mentioned a friend or something coming over so I didn’t have to worry about her today. Annie was probably off fussing over Sebastian, who was guaranteed to be battling his own demons with a different bottle.

  We were a couple of pill poppers away from a clinic with twenty-four-hour security. My family was a weapon of mass destruction all on its own¸ and I couldn’t wait to take Careless away from here before she was lost in the aftermath.

  I was on my own today and usually I didn’t mind that, but I had a feeling I was going to do something completely unlike me and possibly even borderline stalkerish. Much to my irritation, I was still thinking about Araya.

  Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if I didn’t already know her skin was as soft as it had been in my dreams. Or that her lips were able to drive me past the point of crazy, hearing the soft sighs she made when saying my name as I tasted the mysteries of her body.

  I growled, digging the heels of my hands into my eyes, rubbing my forehead before sweeping my fingers through my hair. Why couldn’t I get this girl out my head for more than five minutes?

  Logic wanted to argue that it was the classic want what you can’t have scenario, but there were a lot of things I wanted and couldn’t have, and I didn’t obsess this much.

  I didn’t believe in dwelling over a lost cause or playing games. Especially with women. For that one who said no because she thought she could change me, there were three more who would say yes, willing to take what I offered. I respected women, but I didn’t stick around long enough to waste that kind of time.

  Araya was different, though. She’d made herself stand out and made me take notice because she was different. She planted a piece of herself in my mind, and the more I thought about her, the more I obsessed, the faster she grew, and now she was slowly taking over my every thought.

  Maybe I needed to see her one more time, figure out what it was that continued to pull me back to her, and I could move on.

  The echo of the doorbell was like a warning bell, and I knew what I was going to do before I left the kitchen. Making my way toward the front door, I wanted to make my getaway before I got stuck making small talk with Careless’s company. I wasn’t in the mood to play nice, so I was hoping to slip out after Annie showed them in.

  As I rounded the foyer, I heard their voices and caught a flash of color before I ducked behind the wall again. I frowned instantly.

  It couldn’t be, I thought, shaking my head.

  I felt ridiculous and prepared myself to slip out easily. Annie was showing them into the sitting room and with their backs to me, I could escape.

  “I’ll be back, Annie.”

  I cursed the automatic response, and with a quick sweeping glance toward Annie, I reached for the door.

  It only took a split second for the fear of being caught to wear off, for it to register.

  The sound of my voice shocked her as much as seeing her standing inside my house stunned me. She’d been staring at the ceiling, and she knocked into the table in the center of the rounded foyer.

  The long vase filled with fresh flowers from Coraline’s garden rocked dangerously, threatening to fall over. I knew the vase was fine; it was light enough it wouldn’t follow through. Araya wasn’t going to be that lucky, and I watched as she struggled to stay upright.

  I got to her, pulling her against my chest and wrapping my arm around her ribs. The soft curves of her breasts brushed across my arm, and instinctively I pulled her tighter to me. Feeling her against me had images of my dreams flashing inside my head. I was torn between spinning her in my arms and burying my face into her sweet flesh or carrying her off to my room.

  Lowering my head, I breathed in her saccharine scent. She smelled just as sweet as the day I met her, like sunflowers. She was like spilled honey in my hands and it made me want to explore the rest of her skin to see if every part of her was just as heavenly.

  “Easy there,” I whispered, and her hair tickled my lips.

  Suddenly she was pulled from my arms by Annie and whoever the other woman was. The woman, although trying to look sincerely concerned, had a weird look of both annoyance and satisfaction.

  Annie gushed over Araya in a way I didn’t understand, but it didn’t seem to override the fact that I wanted to snatch up Araya and pull her back to me. That surprised me and I took a s
tep away from the three of them. I wasn’t possessive; I didn’t get jealous. That implied wanting more than I was willing to give. That implied I wanted…

  “Araya.” I hadn’t realized I said her name out loud until I noted everyone staring at me.

  “Do you two know each other?” the woman with Araya asked.

  She held only a slight resemblance to Araya, not enough to be her mother, but I figured they were probably related. Her red hair, dulled in age, wasn’t nearly as bright and vibrant as Araya’s. Her skin was pale with a yellow undertone. Her baggy clothes hung from her body in an unattractive way, proving life had taken a toll on her body.

  Her green eyes shifted back and forth between us, waiting, but I had the feeling she already knew the answer. I wondered if Araya’s eyes were the same color, but sunglasses in place, I was left to only wonder.

  “We, uh… we met… I met…”

  “Ryland.”

  I finished for her when she hesitated. Why bother to remember my name when she had no plans to ever see me again?

  “Ryland, of course.” She blushed and turned away from me. “We met in the park the other day,” she explained.

  The woman’s eyebrows lifted and she extended her hand toward me. “I’m Nina Davis. Araya’s aunt.”

  I took her hand, gave it a quick shake.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  My eyes found Araya again, but she wasn’t looking at me. No one said anything for a full minute. Finally, Annie spoke.

  “This is Cara’s guest. She’ll be tutoring Araya for a couple weeks.” At the mention of a tutor, Araya’s blush deepened.

  I nodded, but my eyes never left Araya’s face. If she noticed, she didn’t show it. I could sense Annie’s frown, but I didn’t acknowledge it.

  “Come on, darling,” she said, taking Araya’s arm and turning her toward the sitting room. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “I’m fine,” Araya said. “I’m sorry—”

  “Nonsense.” Annie shushed her. “It was an accident. Come on, let’s go sit.”

  Araya turned back toward me, but her gaze never quite reached mine.

  “It was nice to see you again, Ryland,” she said softly.

  “I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.” I liked watching the color spread across her cheeks.

  “Come on, honey.” Annie pulled Araya with her, glaring at me.

  Araya’s aunt caught my attention before she followed them, and I tried not to be completely creeped out by the way she looked at me. It wasn’t even an exchange I could explain.

  When they were gone, I took a step forward to follow them but stopped. Annie was on watch-guard mode now and she would probably stop me before I got anywhere close to Araya.

  I wasn’t into causing scenes and I especially didn’t want to get any more knowing glances from her aunt.

  Running my fingers through my hair, I dropped my head back and the bright light made me squint. Araya had been staring at the ceiling when I walked in and it made me wonder what she’d been looking at. The ceiling domed and windows wrapped around in a skylight. I couldn’t see anything past the blinding white glare and my eyes started to water.

  I tried to tell myself that if I saw her one more time, I could move on to the next girl without looking back, but I was a damn liar.

  If I were being honest with myself, I wouldn’t deny the spark of excitement I got when Annie said Araya would be around for the next couple of weeks.

  If I were being honest with myself, I would acknowledge the fact that I was already trying to figure out how I could get her alone.

  If I were being completely honest with myself, I would admit that I was far from ready to put Araya behind me… but that was only if I were being honest with myself and I wasn’t.

  Right now, I had to figure out how I was going to get Araya away from everyone. It wasn’t going to be easy. Annie had seen the way I was looking at Araya, and I had seen the way she looked at me before she walked out.

  She was daring me to try something, and I rarely disappointed when it came to a dare.

  ***

  “Sebastian,” I started slowly, “what part of this easy as hell plan are you having a hard time understanding?”

  I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, pacing the floor in front of his bed for the twentieth time. Apparently enlisting the help of my brother, who was obviously incapable of following a simple plan, was a dumb idea.

  He could barely brush his teeth I realized as I watched him struggle to push the toothpaste out of the crusted-over hole. He cursed when he squeezed too hard and it spewed from the tube and over everything but the actual bristles.

  He made a face as he shook his fingers in the air, somehow expecting the sticky paste to come off. It was sad when your older brother couldn’t do something a three-year-old could.

  “Don’t get smart with me, Ryland,” he mumbled around a mouthful of toothbrush. “I’ll kick your ass and you can figure out how to piss off Annie on your own.”

  He spit into the sink, brought a handful of water to his mouth, and then spit again. He leaned on the edge of the marble counter, lifting his eyebrows in warning.

  I wanted to tell him not to get dumb with me, but I really needed him to help me distract Annie. Sebastian ran his hand down his mouth and placed the toothbrush back in its holder. He turned around, crossing his ankles and his arms over his bare chest, and frowned.

  “Listen, all I need you to do is cause a distraction, break something, break a limb, anything to get Annie out of the sitting room for a few minutes.”

  “Break something?” His head tilted and his lips thinned as he thought it over. “I could break something.”

  I laughed. “Try not to go overboard, okay?”

  “Why are we doing this again?”

  “Since when do you care about details to raise a little hell?”

  “Since it involves Annie.”

  He turned back to look in the mirror and ran his fingers through his wet hair. We were nearly identical, from the same dark dirty-blond hair to the blue eyes to the square chin and height.

  There was only a year difference between the two of us, and most of the time people thought we were twins.

  “You don’t piss off that woman unless it’s for a damn good reason.”

  This was true. “It’s worth it.” I promised.

  “Who are you trying to nail?” he asked, disappearing into his closet.

  I hated that I instantly felt protective over Araya. I wasn’t going to lie and say I hadn’t thought about what it would be like to have her twisting and arching beneath me. To catch every sigh and moan with my mouth. To feel her against me, surrounding me…

  I shook my head, trying to remember where I was going with this. It wasn’t just about sex. Although it should have been, it wasn’t.

  “No one.”

  “This is about a girl, right?” He came out of the closet pulling a shirt over his head.

  “Kind of, sort of. Are you going to help me out or not?” I demanded, annoyed.

  He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. I had won. His eyes narrowed, and he warned, “But if your plan goes to hell and shit gets real, you can bet your ass I’m taking you down with me, little brother.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Easy, Cujo. We’re not trying to escape Alcatraz here. Just do your part, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

  He nodded.

  “What’s the plan again?”

  ***

  There were only two ways out of the sitting room and I was covering one and Sebastian would enter the other. I stood with my back against the wall and waited until Sebastian did his part before I moved in to steal Araya from Annie.

  I turned my head to the side, waiting and listening. It occurred to me that Sebastian was probably going to screw this up. Even after explaining to him once again that all he had to do was get Annie out of the room, I still fully expected him mess up his part.

  “Ann
ie!” Sebastian hollered from the hallway on the other end of the room.

  Showtime, I thought and waited for my cue.

  “Annie!”

  “For goodness sakes, Sebastian, why are you yelling?” Annie snapped and I knew she was up and moving around the room.

  “Who is this?” Sebastian said, and I instantly frowned at the way he said it.

  I tried to peer around the corner without getting caught by Annie.

  Lucky for me her back was to me, but Sebastian could see me and his stupid grin widened when he realized why he was helping me. That’s it! I thought to myself. I was going to punch the stupid grin right off his face.

  Annie’s voice was a warning in disguise. “This is Araya Noelle. She’s Cara’s friend.”

  Translation: keep your hands to yourself. And he damn well better.

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Araya,” Sebastian drawled.

  He swore by his ability to make any girl throw their panties at him just by the sound of his voice. I’d call bullshit on that if I didn’t swear I had the same effect on girls too.

  “You as well…” She waited for him to fill in the blank.

  “Sebastian. Sebastian Dare.” He whistled. “Worth it indeed,” he muttered, probably confusing everyone but me.

  I gritted my teeth. Yeah, I was definitely going to kick his ass.

  “What exactly did you need, Sebastian?” Annie scolded, and I wanted to thank her.

  “Does anyone else smell that?” Araya voiced, sounding worried.

  I sniffed the air and frowned. What is that?

  “Oh, right,” Sebastian said. “About that… Annie, I need you in the kitchen right quick.”

  “Why?” she asked, suddenly nervous.

  “Well, I didn’t want to alarm you, but…”

  “But what, Sebastian? Spit it out!” she snapped, growing anxious.

  “I may or may not have started a teeny, tiny fire in the kitchen.” He said it as if a small kitchen fire was no big deal.

  I did a face-palm and dropped my head forward. Really? A fire? I wanted to be angry, but I couldn’t help but laugh. Coraline was going to flip.