Unwritten Law (Steele Brothers 1)

“I’m under the impression real Anders had no idea Law and I were seeing each other, so it’s not like they did this for fun. Not together at least. But Law doesn’t seem like the type to fuck with people for entertainment.”

There’s a knock at the door, and I freeze in my steps. My heart rate kicks up a notch as if it knows who’s behind that knock. Part of me hopes Deb has an emergency and it’s not who I think it is. I can’t face him. I will never be able to face him.

“Reed, let me in.”

Dammit. “Brody, I gotta go.”

“Is that him?”

“Yup.” I hit end on the call, and when I open my front door, I narrow my eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk.” He pushes past me.

“Rude much?”

“I need to explain about what happened. It has a lot to do with my brother and what he’s been through.”

I fold my arms across my chest. “Oh?”

“Anders has issues.”

I laugh and mumble, “That’s understating it.” I examine the man’s features closely as he chews on his bottom lip—something Law has never done before. His stance is all wrong, he’s more nervous and twitchy than the Law I know, and there’s something about him that I can’t put my finger on. All I know is, this isn’t my Law standing in front of me.

“You have to understand. Anders … he—”

“Cut the bullshit, Anders,” I say. “I know it’s you.”

“How?” A finger rubs over where his piercing should be.

“I know Law inside and out. You look nothing like him.”

“We’re identical twins. Our own mother gets confused sometimes.”

“What are you doing here?” What is it about the Steele brothers that makes me antsy, uncomfortable, and horny all at the same time? Wait, that’s not entirely true. Standing here, eyeing the real Anders, there’s no attraction to him whatsoever. He’s not Law. The confusion between the two had always been present because it was Law the whole time. “How did you know where I live?”

“I got my client’s address and knocked on two other doors before someone told me which one was yours. How much did Law tell you about me? When he was with you, I mean … as me.”

I shrug. “Not a lot. My relationship with ‘Anders’ wasn’t much more than physical. It was my relationship with Law that meant something …” Who’s the same guy. No matter how many times the scenario plays out in my head, I can’t get over the shock.

“Wait, so you do have a thing for Law? While you were with me, you were falling in love with my straight brother?”

“You and I were never together. And he’s obviously not straight. What I don’t understand is why he did it, why you’re here, or why I’m even bothering listening to you. Do you do this type of shit often?”

He doesn’t hesitate in answering. “Yes.”

“Get out.”

“No. Not until you let me explain. That date with you wasn’t the first time Law has had to pretend to be me. Did he tell you what happened a few years ago?”

I shift from one foot to the other. “A little. That an ex tried to kill you.”

“I still have issues because of it. The night I was supposed to meet you, I called Law in full on meltdown mode. I couldn’t breathe, I swore I was having a heart attack, and I couldn’t … I couldn’t face you, because you weren’t what I was expecting. You’re stocky, and—”

“Too old for you. I know. That’s one thing Law did tell me. I’m not your type.”

“You would’ve been if it wasn’t for Kyle. Your physique reminded me of him, and it only took one glance at you to induce a panic attack. I can’t allow myself to go for the guys I truly want, because …” Anders blows out a loud breath. “Kyle fucked me up big time.”

I want to hate Anders, but I can’t help feeling sorry for the guy. “I’m sorry that you went through that, but I still don’t see what any of this has to do with Law meeting me that night.”

“I didn’t have your phone number, I couldn’t call or text to cancel, and standing you up would’ve been a dick move. I’m not that much of an asshole. I asked my brother to break off the date for me, and whenever I have an … episode, if you will, Law is there to get me through it. I’m ashamed to admit he’s broken up with a lot of guys for me because I can’t handle conflict. He was supposed to walk in, tell you something came up, and then leave again, but—from what little detail he’s given me—he wanted more. He’d never been with another guy before you.”

While I suspected as much ever since I found out the truth, it kills me that I didn’t know sooner—that he didn’t trust me. He hasn’t only been keeping his identity from me, but personal shit I should know; especially if we’re hooking up. “That doesn’t make what he did acceptable, and it also pisses me off. I should get to decide if I want to be someone’s sexual experiment.”