Defy You: A Brother's Best Friend/Age Gap Romance (Rebel Ink Book 3)

by Tracy Lorraine

“Wow, thanks for that.” I run my fingers through my hair, trying to tame it. I haven’t looked in the mirror since our shower earlier, so I have no clue what state it’s in.

  “It’s the girl, right? Kas?”

  “Yes, no. I don’t know.”

  She passes my mug over before lowering herself to the sofa in front of me.

  She looks at me knowingly for a few seconds before saying words that rock my world.

  “You’ve fallen for her, haven’t you?”

  “What? No, of course I haven’t. She’s Zach’s kid sister.”

  “And that’s meant to stop how you feel about her?”

  I open my mouth to try to argue some more, but she beats me to it.

  “We can’t help how we feel, Spike. I of all people should know that. Look at how I ended up when I fell for the wrong one.”

  “And that’s the exact reason I haven’t. I’m not going there. Not with Kas. Not with anyone.”

  “Why?” she asks, her head tilting to the side much like a confused puppy. “I know I complain about this, but if I hadn’t met him then I wouldn’t have my Freddie, and I can’t imagine life without him now. He’s my world.”

  I shrug. “I have my reasons.”

  She sighs, and I hate that she’s pitying me right now. I don’t fucking need it.

  “Just give it a chance, Spike. Who knows what could become of it.”

  Two broken hearts and a bleak future? No thanks.

  I shake my head. “It’s not meant to be.”

  “The fact that you’re sulking about whatever’s happened tells another story.”

  “Even without my own bullshit, she’s Zach’s little si—”

  “Sister, I know. You mentioned… once or twice. If you spoke to him, I’m sure he’d understand.”

  “Oh yeah.” I gesture to my face. “Does it look like he understands? And he did this without knowing anything happened.”

  “So something has happened.” She raises a brow.

  “Fucking hell.”

  21

  Kas

  After telling Zach once again that I was fine, he finally took the hint and left after he finished his coffee. I’d be seeing him in a bit at the studio, but I got the feeling he didn’t want me out of his sight. It was sweet, although totally overbearing and unnecessary. He confirmed that the threat has gone, that it was all over and that I could get on with my life. And that’s what I intend to do.

  I’m excited to embark on the next chapter of my life where I can hopefully have a job I love and finally know what it’s like to live with my head above water with people who care if I float or drown.

  That’s not entirely fair. Jodie would have cared.

  Feeling guilty that I’ve been too distracted with my own disaster of a life to reply to the message she sent me checking in, I sit on the edge of my bed and tap out a reply, asking if we can meet up in the next few days. I might not spell out the recent events in my message, but I have every intention of telling her all about it. Hell knows, I need someone else’s opinion.

  I hit send just as the front door slams, followed seconds later by Spike marching past my room and to his own.

  My teeth grind as I think about how he just stormed out earlier. He goes on and on about how he needs to do the right thing, not betray Zach or whatever—it’s a little late for all that if you ask me, but hey—but the way he blew out of the place didn’t exactly look like a guy who doesn’t care.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” I shout, marching to his room and throwing the door wide open.

  “Nothing, I needed a breather.” I watch as he pulls his shirt off and replaces it with another.

  “Really?”

  “Really. I need to get to the studio. Are you fucking coming or what?” He spins and pins me with a hard stare. His jaw is tight and his lips pressed into a thin line. Whoa, he really is pissed.

  “Uh, yeah. I’m coming, let me just change and—”

  “Be fucking quick.”

  “Jesus, what crawled up your arse?”

  He takes a step toward me, his dark eyes boring down into me. If it’s meant to scare or intimidate me, then it falls far from the mark. I know him too well now to ever be scared of him.

  His lips part like he’s about to respond, but he must think better of it because he closes them again and storms past me.

  “It was nice talking to you too,” I mutter as I make my way back to my room to throw some clothes on.

  “Ten minutes and I’m leaving,” booms through the flat.

  I pull on a skirt and t-shirt before running a brush through my hair and shoving my makeup into my bag to do at the studio. I’m not sure pushing his patience by doing it right now would be wise.

  “Right, let’s go then,” I announce, walking through the living room and pulling the front door open.

  Spike pushes from where he was leaning against the kitchen counter, staring at his phone, and walks over.

  At the last minute, his eyes lift and find me. They instantly narrow, a deep frown line forming between his brows.

  “You’re not wearing that,” he spits.

  “Err… I think I am.” I jut my hip out and rest my hand on it, the cut making it smart a little.

  His jaw pops as he stares at me. “This is the worst fucking idea ever,” he mutters before blowing through the door. I assume I’m meant to follow, so after pulling the door closed, I run down the stairs after him.

  He doesn’t say a word to me as I climb on the back of his bike, suddenly understanding his issue with my skirt, and he speeds off into the city toward Zach’s studio.

  After parking out front and allowing me to get off, he kills the engine and immediately takes off for the building I haven’t been inside since I had my latest ink done.

  As I walk through the front door, the place feels totally different. I was a nervous wreck during my only two visits here. I was terrified to tell Zach who I really was, terrified that he wouldn’t believe me and that I’d be sent away like I didn’t exist. That was the only time in my life I’ve ever been that nervous. The knowledge that my only living family member—that I know of—could turn me away like I was nothing has butterflies erupting in my belly. He probably thought I was a weak and timid little girl back then. I’m hoping he’s learned that isn’t who I really am now.

  Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Zach saw something within me—a little bit of him, maybe—and he took my words seriously. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express how much his faith in me meant that day. After I lost Mum, I didn’t think I’d have anyone close again. Yes, I had Jodie, but I knew that at some point she’d finish college and move on. She’s a beautiful, intelligent woman, and any man would be lucky to have her. Unlike the rest of the arseholes I’ve met in the shitholes Mum moved us to, she doesn’t deserve to be there or to have been dealt the shitty hand she has.

  “Kas!” Biff says excitedly as she walks through a door at the back of reception. “It’s so good to see you. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m okay,” I say and immediately wince, hearing Spike’s warning not to say those words. “It’ll take more than last night to break me.”

  “That’s good to hear, but you don’t need to put on a brave face around me.” As she passes me, she runs her hand down my arm in support. “I know the guys can be a little…”

  “A little?” a deep voice prompts from behind me, and when I turn I find Titch standing in the doorway, wearing an amused smile.

  “A little… rough around the edges, hard to talk to, arseholes,” she explains with a smile while Titch shakes his head at her.

  “You wound me, sis. Wound me.”

  “I told you to stop calling me that.”

  “What?” he asks innocently. “You’re officially my little sister now.” He throws his arm around her neck and messes up her hair.

  “In-law, Titch. In-fucking-law, and you’re barely a month older than me and a hell of a lot less wise, so knock it off, wou
ld ya?”

  Titch turns his amused eyes on me. “She’s just pissed because Danni has told her how much better I am in bed than Zach.”

  “Stop talking right fucking now,” Zach booms from behind me.

  “Jesus, I think I might have made a mistake agreeing to this,” I say with a laugh.

  “Nah, you’re already part of this fucked-up family, kid. You may as well embrace it fully.”

  My teeth grind at his use of the term ‘kid’ again, but as he pulls Biff into his arms, he looks too damn happy for me to rip him a new one.

  “Where’s your mentor? Still got his knickers in a twist?”

  “Something like that. He stormed straight down there the moment we arrived.”

  All three of them follow my finger and look down the hallway toward their rooms.

  “You’re fucking up his head good and proper there, girl. I’ve never seen him like this,” Titch says—much to Zach’s irritation, if the colour of his face is anything to go by.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Biff whispers in his ear, but the second she’s finished she swallows nervously. It’s good to know she’s kept my secret, although it seems to be killing her. I wonder how long that’s going to last.

  “He just doesn’t like having a female housemate. I’m ruining his game, I think.”

  “Well, if he should find it while you’re still there, you’ll know about it. The nights I had to listen to his fucking headboard banging.” Titch rolls his eyes as my stomach twists uncomfortably.

  It’s not news to me that Spike’s bedroom door may as well be a revolving one, but knowing it and hearing someone else describe it are two very different things.

  “She’ll be out of his hair soon,” Zach says. “We’re gonna find her a place of her own.”

  “Really?” Titch asks, his brows shooting up almost to his hairline.

  “Why is that so shocking?”

  “N-no reason. I’m just surprised.”

  “Okay well… I’ve got a client heading in at ten. I need to sort my shit out,” Zach says, kissing Biff on the nose and disappearing down the hallway.

  “What?” I ask when I turn back to find both Biff and Titch’s stares burning into me.

  “I don’t know about my lil’ sis over there, but I wasn’t born yesterday. There’s no way in hell Spike is letting you out of his sight anytime soon. The only other place he wants you sleeping is the other side of his bed, not in another flat on the other side of the city.”

  “Whatever,” I say, waving off his comment as if it’s nothing. “I should probably go find him.”

  I walk away, knowing that they’re still both staring at me.

  “I promise not to say I told you so when it turns out I’m right,” Titch calls after me before barking a laugh when I flip him off over my shoulder. “He’s in fucking trouble with that one,” I hear him say to Biff before I knock on Spike’s door and slip inside.

  I’m expecting to find him brooding in the corner of the room or something, but when I look around, I find it’s empty.

  Making the most of my peace, I take everything in. Unlike his flat, this place is tidy—spotless actually. The two walls are covered in hand-painted designs, another has photographs of more artwork framed and arranged kind of like a huge mosaic, and the third wall holds a floor-to-ceiling bookcase with a built-in desk. It’s impressive and totally not what I thought I’d find. I was expecting some dark and dingy room with crap everywhere.

  I run my fingers over some of his art as I make my way farther into the room before letting my hand float up the soft leather of the tattoo chair and making myself at home behind his desk.

  There’s a half-completed design that he’s clearly been working on, and I can’t help but picture what he might look like while deep in concentration as he sketches.

  I run my fingers over the intricate floral design, totally lost to the details of the piece, so much so that I don’t hear him join me.

  It’s not until he speaks that I realise he’s here and that he’s right behind me.

  “So you haven’t changed your mind ?”

  “Jesus, Spike,” I say, clutching at my chest where my heart is racing beneath. “A little warning would have been nice.”

  “I didn’t exactly sneak in.”

  “Yeah, well. You scared the shit out of me.”

  With his hand on the back of his chair, he spins me around. His eyes drop to where my skirt is sitting high on my thigh. It’s probably high enough to give him a flash of my underwear beneath, but I don’t make any effort to cover up.

  After long, tense seconds, his eyes find mine.

  “You like what you see?” he asks, a twinkle in his eye that’s been missing since our time in the shower this morning.

  Fuck, how was that only this morning? My core clenches with my need to feel him inside me once again.

  Biting down on my bottom lip, I make a show of checking him out.

  “I think you already know the answer to that,” I say in a voice that I hope is low and seductive.

  “I wasn’t sure about it,” he says, leaning over me and swiping his sketch from the desk. “I think it’s too dark for what my client wants.”

  My brain misfires for a few seconds as I try to switch lanes to talk about his sketch instead of telling him how badly I need him to fuck me again.

  “J-just switch out a couple of those red roses for whatever these lighter ones are,” I say, pointing to the flowers in question.

  “Maybe. I guess we’ll find out soon. She’s in this evening to get started. I need to finish this off for her. Do you mind?”

  “Oh… um… sure.” I hesitantly stand, but the arsehole doesn’t move, so the second I’m at full height, I’m almost pressed against his hard body.

  “Spike?” I question, trying to figure out what the hell kind of game he’s playing. He blows hot and cold faster than I can compute.

  “Kas,” he counters, his voice deep and sending tingles right where I don’t need them.

  “My brother could walk in here any moment,” I say, pointing out the obvious. “How do you think he’d feel, seeing you pressed up against me like his?” It’s a low blow, but I can’t help the words falling from my lips.

  His eyes darken and his jaw pops with frustration while his scent fills my nose and makes me want to do things that would be a really, really bad idea in Zach’s studio.

  “Go and sit in the chair over there, and stay out of my way.”

  A shiver runs down my spine at his cold words. I might believe them if his eyes didn’t betray how he really feels.

  “With pleasure.” I slip away from him, making sure I run my hand across his crotch.

  “Motherfucker,” he grunts when my fingers tease his already semi-hard cock.

  I walk over to the other chair, where I dropped my bag when I first walked in here.

  “Spike?” I ask, bending down to pick it up and ensuring my arse is in the air.

  He clears his throat before answering, and I can’t help but laugh. “What?”

  “Where’s the bathroom?” Standing to my full height, I spin toward him with a smile plastered on my face.

  “Down the hall on the left.”

  I nod and duck out of the room. I can’t help laughing to myself as I hear him cuss as I shut the door behind me. Although, I can’t help but wonder if he was right as we left the flat earlier, because this could be the worst idea ever.

  There are two cubicles in the room labelled as the bathroom, but I ignore them in favour of the mirror hanging above the basins.

  Dragging my makeup bag out, I place everything I’ll need on the counter before starting with my concealer. I might have slept better than I was expecting last night, but that doesn’t mean I’m not rocking bags darker than most days.

  I’m putting the finishing touches to my red lips when the door opens.

  “Looking good, Kas,” Biff says, taking in my face full of makeup.

  “I got dragged out of
the flat before I had a chance this morning.”

  “Men,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “Seriously though,” she says, her smile faltering. “How’s it going after…” She trails off. I assume she means since I admitted to fucking Spike.

  “Oh it’s… going,” I say with a sigh.

  “Zach said you refused to let him look after you last night, that you only wanted Spike.” The slight wince as she said it tells me all I need to know about how Zach feels about that.

  “I wasn’t in any kind of frame of mind to make sensible decisions.”

  “Kas,” she warns. “They might buy your hard-arse bullshit, but I don’t.”

  As I stare at her I feel some of my walls start to crumble. I like Biff, I have since that first day I walked in for my first appointment with Zach. I know I can trust her. She didn’t go running back to Zach with details about me and Spike, despite the fact that I know it’s killing her, but I really don’t want to put any more of this on her shoulders.

  “Spike just…” I blow out a breath. “He makes me feel safe in a way I’ve never experienced before. I know it’s fucked-up, but it is what it is.” I shrug. My movement pulls at the bandage I redid after my shower this morning, and I drop my hand to it.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, just a scratch from last night.”

  “Let me see.” I lift my shirt, intending on showing her that it’s wrapped and nothing to worry about, but the second her eyes widen, I know I made a mistake.

  “Fuck, Kas. Let me look.” She drops to her knees and, much gentler than Spike last night, pulls the tape from my skin. “This needs stitches. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

  “No, it’ll be fine. It’s just where it is. I keep moving and opening it back up.”

  “Exactly. It needs stitches. We’re going now, or I’ll get Zach involved,” she warns.

  “Ugh, fine. But it better be quick, I don’t want to skip out on my first day.”

  “The boss won’t care. Come on.” She takes my hand and drags me out of there like a woman on a mission. She sticks her head into Spike’s room and tells him what we’re doing before doing the same with Zach, and before I know it we’re on the pavement and climbing into an Uber.