Dare Me Tonight (The Knight Brothers 3)

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He settled into his favorite club chair across from his brother.

“You fucked her again?”

An unwilling smile tipped Ethan’s mouth. “I tried.”

Sebastian raised his eyebrows. “She turned you down?”

“And threw a salt shaker at me.”

His brother burst out laughing. “I think I like this woman. At the very least, she challenges you.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Ethan clasped his hands together and met his brother’s gaze. “I asked her to have an affair and keep it a secret.”

Sebastian shook his head. “Oh, brother. You are a piece of work.”

“How the hell was I supposed to know her father kept her mother a dirty secret for years?”

Leaning forward, Sebastian rested on his elbows. “And you think that’s the only reason that was the wrong move?”

Ethan rose to his feet, unable to sit still. “No. It was a shitty thing to do. In my defense, I was trying to protect the stadium contract.” Which, he still had to tell his brother, was in jeopardy.

He walked over to the window and glanced out at the nighttime sky, feeling small in comparison, which was ironic because his problems felt huge.

“What’s really going on?” Sebastian’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Ethan drew a deep breath and turned to face him. “Sienna is pregnant.”

Sebastian’s eyes opened wide. “And you’re sure you’re the father?”

“Yes.” No need to share that Sienna had been a virgin. Some things ought to stay private, and the fact that she’d chosen him to give herself to first was one of them.

“Christ, you don’t do things halfway, do you?”

Might as well give him the rest of it, Ethan thought. “Ian found out and threw me out.” Shoving his hands into his front pants pockets, Ethan kicked at the floor.

Ian’s punch still grated but he wasn’t about to go after Sienna’s brother. Not when Ethan had deserved at least one solid shot.

“You do realize we have a binding contract with the Thunder? That he can’t terminate the contract because you knocked up his sister?” Sebastian asked.

Ethan nodded. “Yeah. I know.” Once he’d calmed down, it was one of the first things he’d realized. “I just wanted to give everyone a chance to chill before I pushed my way back in there.”

“And the baby? What are your plans there? Because when I told you that Ashley wanted a family, your exact words were, better you than me.”

Ethan winced. “I felt that way. I still sort of feel that way. I mean, I barely have my head out of my ass when it comes to what Mandy did to me. Now I’m going to have a baby?” Panic rushed through him at the thought, but at the same time, so did a flicker of excitement he couldn’t contain.

“Hey.” Sebastian put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Let’s back up, okay? First, can I get you a drink?”

Ethan nodded.

After walking over to the bar, Sebastian poured them both tumblers of whiskey, handing one to Ethan.

He took a long sip and groaned at the burn as the liquid went down.

Sebastian did the same. “Aaah,” he said, shaking his head after the drink. “How do you feel about Sienna? Why don’t we start there?”

How did he feel about Sienna? He’d been trying to avoid that very question since the moment he’d laid eyes on her. Something about her had drawn him from the beginning and not just her looks, although there was her innocent beauty that called to him. But her outgoing personality, her pure joy in any situation, and the way she rolled with the punches, taking what life threw at her with seeming ease. Even when it hadn’t been fair.

And life hadn’t been fucking fair to her, that much he knew. Still, she loved it. Loved her family, her new job… Did he want her to love him? Maybe it was too soon for that, but he wanted a lot more from her than he’d been willing to admit so far.

“She makes me feel again,” he said slowly, finding it difficult to come up with the right words to answer Sebastian’s question. “At first it was uncomfortable as hell, but I didn’t have to worry about it because it was one weekend and done.” He paced the floor in the room and Sebastian sipped his drink, letting Ethan deal with things in his own way.

“After Mandy died, I thought life was over. Then blow after blow came and I figured it really couldn’t get much worse.” He finished his drink in one long gulp and placed the glass on the nearest coffee table. “And then this young woman blows into my life and gives me a weekend to remember. Next thing I know, I’m seeing her again in Miami and I can’t stay away.”

He saw his brother’s grin and ignored it, not wanting to deal with sibling teasing and shit right now. Being smart, Sebastian seemed to sense Ethan’s need to be serious and talk this through.