I didn’t want to make a promise that I wasn’t sure I could keep, but I didn’t want to break Lily’s heart either, so I squeezed her hand and ruffled her hair. “The vet will take the best care of her that he or she can. Now try to get some sleep, okay?”
“Okay. Night-night, Chase.”
I smiled and watched her close her eyes before turning the lights out and heading back downstairs to the laundry room. The sheets and blanket were still going in the washing machine, and I sat and waited, almost nodding off again until a beeping sound alerted me that it was finished. I tossed them all into the dryer and then finally headed back up to my room to find my phone.
How’s it going? I texted to Lina.
She responded ten minutes later. It’s not as bad as we thought. Bacterial infection, but it’s easily treated. I’ll be home soon with meds for her.
Thank God for that.
As I waited for her to return, I shook my head as I realized just how far removed I was from my normal life at the moment. Usually at this time of night, I’d be out with buddies or picking up girls to take back to the hotel room I always hired, not sitting around waiting for an animal to get home from the vet.
The reason I’d always booked out a hotel room on those nights was twofold. Firstly, I couldn’t bring home a string of girls when the house was being watched by media douchebags half the time, and secondly, I did it so that when I screwed the aforementioned girls, they couldn’t track me down again after I was done with them.
Something inside me stung as I recalled what a dick I’d always been. I’d treated so many girls like expendable garbage, and I didn’t want to be like that anymore. I didn’t even care if that made me sound like a pussy to other people. Fuck it, if that’s what being a total pussy was about, then bring it on.
Lina knocked on my door half an hour later. “You still awake?” she asked softly.
“Yeah. How’s Goldie?”
“Still pretty weak, but she’ll be fine by tomorrow. One problem, though…”
“What’s that?” I asked, watching as she unlatched the cat carrier’s door before gently lifting Goldie onto the end of my bed.
“We need to feed her a little bit of this medication once every half hour for the next few hours. Too much at one time will upset her stomach. So it looks like we’re going to be up all night.”
I’d been dead tired, but seeing Lina made me perk right up again, and I grinned. “Well, it won’t be the first all-nighter I’ve pulled because of some pussy.”
She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Oh, come on. That’s the best you could do?”
“Gimme a break. It’s almost two in the morning.”
“Fair enough.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a little bottle of medicine and an eyedropper. “Okay, so we fill this little dropper up to this mark here, and then we just drop it in Goldie’s mouth. It doesn’t taste great, so she might struggle a bit, but we have to make sure she swallows most of it.”
“All right.”
“I’ll give her the first dose so you can see. The vet said it’ll help her swallow if we gently massage her throat.”
“Okay.”
Goldie hissed and glared as Lina gave her the first dose of medication.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” Lina said, gently rubbing her. “I’m so sorry. I promise you’ll love us again when you’re all better.”
Goldie stared at us with a baleful expression on her face before curling back up into a ball, and Lina sighed. “I guess we should do something to pass the time. Do you have any movies?”
“Yeah, heaps. What do you feel like watching?”
“Hmm…I dunno. As long as it isn’t some violent action movie.”
“Aw, c’mon, I was totally gonna suggest Rambo,” I said with a grin.
She rolled her eyes. “I still don’t get you. You’re meant to be this preppy rich boy, yet you’re obsessed with action and fighting and all that junk.”
“Junk, huh?”
“You know what I mean.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I do. I should be wearing sweater vests and attending golf tournaments, right? Maybe smoking a cigar with my friends from the yacht club, or doing lines of coke off high-class escorts?”
She snorted with laughter. “Something like that. So why do you do that whole fighting thing, anyway?”
“I dunno how to explain it, really. I just love it. Just this feeling I get when I do it; all that adrenaline running through me. Makes me feel alive, if you know what I mean.”
“But aren’t you worried your Dad will find out? Or the media? I mean, when I first saw you there, there must have been almost a thousand people watching. Surely someone will realize who you are, if they haven’t already.”
I shrugged. “I was worried at first, but no one’s caught on so far. Only person who knows who I really am is my cousin, who trains me. And you. Most of the people who go to illegal fights aren’t exactly the sort to read the papers and follow politics, y’know?”
“Well, you should be careful, especially with this election campaign. It could really screw things up for Peter—sorry, your Dad.”
“I’ll be careful. I’m doing less fighting now anyway. It’s kinda the off-season for it, and I’ve got all my classes too, so I’ve gotta concentrate on them.”
“Yeah, I suppose. What year are you in now?” she asked.
“Second. How’s it going for you, anyway? All settled in?”
She nodded and scooted up further on my bed, our movie plans all but forgotten. “It’s going really well. I was so nervous when I first started, but I know my way around campus now, and I’ve made some new friends.”
“But not Jessie Bond and her little cronies, I assume.” I instantly felt bad for bringing it up, and I waved my hand at her. “Sorry.”
She chewed on her lower lip before replying. “No, it’s fine. I’m over it now. She’s just an immature bitch. I mean, who acts like that after high school?”
“No shit. She’s fucked. She’s been after me for ages, but even I wouldn’t sleep with a bitch like that.”
“Implying you’d basically sleep with anything that moves, as long as they aren’t a stuck-up bitch?”
She stuck her tongue out at me, and I chuckled. “Smartass.”
“I suppose if you did hook up with her, it’d be like a ‘sleeping with the enemy’ type of thing.”
“How so?”
“Because her father is running against your Dad in the election, right?”
“Oh, right. Yeah. Anyway, back to college…have you figured out your major yet?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. I’m taking all the compulsory core classes like we all have to, but I’m also taking Intro to Biology and Intro to Genetics this semester. Next semester I’m doing more of the same.”
“What major is that for?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. “Sounds pretty intense.”
“Biomedical science,” she said. “With a minor in genetics.”
“Wow. So what, you’re gonna cure AIDS one day, or something like that?”
“Yeah…something like that,” she said softly, looking down at the duvet. “I actually want to help research a cancer cure one day. I’m just so glad I’m getting to study it all now. I have to say, I was kind of wary of your Dad at first, but he’s given me all these opportunities I wouldn’t have had for years.”
I grinned. “Yeah, he’s an asshole sometimes, like most politicians, but he’s got his good points. So why are you so interested in cancer research?”
She hesitated. “Um…I don’t know if you know this, but my father…he died three years ago. He had cancer. I kept thinking if I went to college one day and helped with that sort of research, maybe I’d be able to help stop the same thing from happening to other people and their families.”
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I had no idea. I knew he’d passed away, but…”
My voice trailed off, and she shook her head slowly. “I don’t talk about it much. Neithe
r does Mom. It was pretty hard to deal with.”
“Yeah, I can imagine. Look, I know we haven’t exactly been the best of friends since we met, but if you ever wanna talk about it, feel free to come find me.”
“Thanks,” she said, her lips curving into a small smile. Even the tiniest of smiles from her was enough to make my heart race and my cock throb.
I glanced at the clock on my bedside table. “Time to feed Goldie again. Where’s that dropper?”
Lina picked up the kitten and held her as I fed her the medicine, and this time Goldie happily swallowed and started to purr.
“I think she’s already starting to feel better,” I remarked.
“I’m glad. We still have to give her the medicine another few times, though, just to make sure she gets the full course of antibiotics into her system.”
“Yeah.”
As she placed the meds and eyedropper onto my bedside table, Lina saw the framed photo I kept there. It was of me, my father and my mother in happier times, when I was a kid. The photo had been taken at Disneyland, and I pursed my lips as I remembered how far away my Mom was these days.
“Is that your Mom?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
“Where is she now? If you don’t mind my asking,” Lina said.
“Paris. She lives with some artist she met on a cruise.”
“Oh, wow. Is that why your parents split?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Dad cheated on her with his receptionist. He bought Mom a ticket to the cruise as a ‘sorry’ present, but she met another guy and realized she didn’t want to deal with being married to my father anymore.”
Lina’s eyes widened. “Oh. I had no idea. So your Dad…do you think…”
Her question trailed off, but I knew what she was wondering.
“It’s okay,” I said. “He’d never do it again. I know it was a total asshole move, and he’s a dick in a lot of other ways when he wants to be, but I also know he regrets it. A lot. Their marriage was never great to begin with, to be honest, but still…anyway, don’t worry, he loves your Mom. I can tell. You don’t need to worry about him cheating ever again.”
She nodded. “Okay. Good.”
Goldie got up and stretched before strolling up to one of my pillows and settling down on it. Lina smiled and moved up to her. “Aw, someone’s a little sleepy head.”
I grinned and watched as she stroked the kitten. “So how about we finally watch that movie?”
“All right. But no Rambo!”
“Fine, fine.” I feigned an exasperated sigh and searched through my movie collection before finding an old one that I thought we’d both like. It had plenty of drama and action, but it also had Brad Pitt starring in it, so I doubted Lina would complain all that much.
I didn’t even need to worry about whether she liked it or not. She was obviously exhausted from the long night of worrying about the kitten, because within ten minutes, she’d nodded off with Goldie wrapped around the top of her head.
Powerful emotions shook me as I watched her chest rise and fall with each soft breath she took, and I quietly pulled the blanket over her and stood up, still watching her.
Fuck, I wanted her.
I could think of nothing else, and no one else. I craved her, needed her, and each minute that passed by in which I didn’t have her, I could feel my frustration growing and morphing into a ravenous beast that demanded her with every movement, every breath. I wanted nothing more than to claim her as my own.
If only it were that easy.
I sighed and grabbed a spare blanket from my cupboard before curling up on the sofa I had near the window. As fucking amazing as it would be to sleep next to Lina in my bed, I knew it was the wrong thing to do. She’d only just started to trust me and open up to me, and I could tell she was really starting to see me as a real friend. Maybe even as a brother, as much as I hated that idea.
I couldn’t ruin all that by hopping into bed next to her. Knowing my luck, I’d accidentally roll over and start cuddling her in my sleep, and she’d wake up in the morning to feel my hard cock poking her in the back.
And that’d be the end of that friendship.
Besides, I needed to stay awake and give Goldie her medicine for the next two hours. I gently lifted her from the pillow above Lina’s head and cradled her in my arms. She purred contentedly as I gave her the next dose of medicine, and then we sat together on the sofa, watching the movie together. Every so often, Lina stirred and moaned softly in her sleep, and every time that happened, Goldie meowed softly and nudged me.
“I know,” I said, giving her a chin scratch. “I know you want to sleep with her, but you’ve gotta stay here with me so I can give you your meds. My lap’s not so bad, is it?”
She pressed her little nose into mine, and I smiled. “See? Not so bad.”
Truthfully, I wanted to get into that bed and cuddle Lina as much as Goldie did, but I’d already established that there was no way I could do that.
Fuck. She was officially making me lose my grip…and I was letting it happen.
Chapter 11
Lina
“I’m just saying, there’s never a good time to wear sequin Uggs,” Landon sighed, shaking his head. “Seriously, Michaela, I don’t think I can forgive you for buying them.”
“They were totally a good buy!” my other best friend argued, her eyes blazing fire. She stuck a leg out, her silver Uggs catching the light and nearly blinding us all. Landon pretended to barf in his salad and dramatically rolled his eyes.
“Landon, you wear glasses even though you don’t have a prescription,” I gently reminded him, which resulted in a triumphant look by Michaela and an evil glare thrown in my direction by Landon.
“Michaela hates those. Let’s agree you each have one horrific style choice per month, okay?” I was trying to make them see reason, because when it came to their fashion choices, my friends were fiercely opinionated.
“She’ll need one per day, more like,” Landon snorted and I shook my hands in the air to get them to stop. As soon as Michaela laughed it off, I knew we were out of the woods.
We were sitting at our favorite brunch place, Brunch O’Clock. It was a regular hangout for them, but I’d only recently started coming along, since I could now afford luxuries like eating out. Even though I still felt like I was accepting Peter’s charity by occasionally using the credit card he’d given me, I loved hanging out with my friends…and I loved the café’s eggs Benedict, so that was good as well.
My friends started chatting to me about my classes, and we quickly fell back into our rhythm…until Landon had to burst the freaking bubble again.
“So, how is stepbrother dearest?” he asked me, waggling his eyebrows. I sighed, knowing this moment had been coming sooner or later.
I’d filled them in about Chase before, but they still didn’t know about his secret… or mine, for that matter. As far as they were concerned, he was just my stupidly hot stepbrother, who was totally off-limits, totally preppy and totally boring.
But I knew the time had come to tell them the whole truth. I hated keeping secrets, and it had been weighing on me for a while. I wasn’t going to screw things up for Chase by telling everyone, but I figured if I told my friends, it’d make me feel a little better, just having told someone at least. I knew they’d never tell anyone else.
“Do you remember that night we went to that…” I looked around us, making sure no one was eavesdropping. “Fight in the abandoned warehouse?”
Michaela and Landon nodded gravely, both of them leaning in, already expecting this to be good.
“And you chickened out with the hot fighter dude,” Landon nodded vigorously.
“Yes,” I growled. “Thanks for the reminder, Landon. Anyway, as you know, my Mom told me about the engagement two days after that and we went to dinner with Peter and Chase. And, erm, turns out that Chase… he’s the fighter I almost slept with.”
I had to admit, I was expecting more than the blan
k stares they were facing me with in response to what I’d just said.
“Well?” I asked impatiently. “Can I have some kind of dramatic, over-the-top reaction here, please?”
“Well…” Michaela and Landon exchanged guilty looks, and I instantly knew something was up with them. “We kinda already knew, Lina. We figured it out when we saw that article about you guys in the paper after that media lunch thing you had. But don’t worry, we haven’t told anyone.”
So I guess the shocked reaction would be coming from me now…
I stared at them with my eyes wide open, then hissed a response in their direction. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“We were going to,” Landon said. “But you hadn’t given us the chance yet. So, anyway…how’s living with an underground fighting champion slash handsome preppy boy treating you?”
My grim expression spoke volumes and he shook his head.
“That bad, huh?” Michaela said sympathetically, patting my hand. “I imagine it must be hard after the whole thing in the hotel room.”
It was hard…but not for the reasons they likely imagined. It was horrible because every time I looked at Chase, I thought of his hands undressing me and his mouth claiming mine in a passionate kiss, just like they had on that first night. And the worst part was, I longed for it to happen again, even when we were sitting at the lunch table with Lily, chatting about her day at kindergarten.
I was totally whipped, but I couldn’t say it out loud—that would just mean it was actually real. Better to live in denial than to accept what was actually going on.
I looked at Michaela and Landon with a worried expression, and I knew they were on the same page. We’d known each other since we were babies, and there was no way I could’ve hidden anything from them. They’d always been able to read me like an open book.
Yep, they totally knew I had it bad for him.
I half expected them to say something, but as our eyes met, I found compassion and worry in their looks. They didn’t say a word; instead, they realized I wasn’t willing to say anything about Chase out loud and tucked back into their food.
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