Betraying Her (Savage Brothers Second Generation 3)

I’m not feeling sorry for myself. I have a great family. They all love me, and we’re super close. Plus, not everyone views my difficulties speaking as an issue. Mom never has. She fought for me, but did it in different ways, like making sure to find me the best therapists that money could buy or getting me on the latest medication—along with cooking healthy with diets recommended to promote healing. Mom even placed me into an exclusive medical trial where they used electrical shocks around the vocal cord or some such shit like that. It helped, although, I still stutter. Oh, it got better, but it didn’t take it fully away. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it probably never will.

Mom and Kayden accept me like I am. About the only ones who see it as a drawback are Dad and Dom. They may love me, but there’s no hiding their uneasiness around me. I shake away my thoughts and concentrate on Gabby.

“Hey G-Gabby. Jazz.”

Jazz is Gabby’s best friend. She’s not like Gabby though. She’s constantly rebelling and getting into trouble. Uncle Dancer is near the end of his rope with her. He and Dad talk about it often.

“Hey,” Jazz says, but Gabby just smiles.

“You w-want to dance?” I ask, feeling proud when the words come out easier than expected.

“I…” she looks around before shaking it off. “Sure, Tom.”

I figure she’s looking around for Dom. It annoys me, but it’s understandable. She already told me that she told him they could only be friends. She probably doesn’t want to hurt his feelings. I need to get over feeling so insecure. I don’t do that anywhere else—or at least I don’t think I do. It’s when my brother and father are concerned that I fall into old habits.

We move out onto the dance floor, and I hold her close, breathing her in. Gabby wears this perfume that is kind of floral. It’s not my taste, but it smells feminine. When I hold her close, I feel like I was made to try and protect her, and that’s an emotion I love.

“Kayden is on cloud nine,” Gabby says as her body relaxes against mine.

“She is. Ch-chains is g-good for her.”

“He will be. He’s not my type, but he’s exactly right for Kayden.”

“Wh-what’s your type?”

She pulls back just enough so she can see my face. She is smiling, and it makes her eyes sparkle. “I’d tell you but then you would just become even harder to try and resist,” she flirts.

“Maybe you should stop re-resis-resisting.”

“Maybe I will someday, Thomas West. Maybe I will,” she giggles, having no idea what her words do to me. My hand shakes with the need to kiss her. The only thing that stops me is when I look up and see Dom staring at us from a distance.

Shit.

I’m going to have to talk to my brother soon. I don’t want to hurt him. Maybe if I do, though, he’ll back off and Gabby will finally feel comfortable enough to be mine.

Chapter 2

Dom

I watch as Thomas and Gabby dance. It’s fucking hard to watch. Gabby is my girl. She has been for a while. We’ve been playing this game silently while trying to shield my little brother from hurt. He’s in love with Gabby—so much so that it’s painful to watch. My girl has done her best to discourage Thomas, letting him down gently. So far, that doesn’t seem to be working.

Thomas chooses right now to look at me. Guilt is written all over his face. He knows Gabby wants me. She’s told him that. I know because every single time she tells him that she loves me and not him, she comes and cries on my shoulder, feeling horrible for hurting Thomas.

We thought that once it was clear that Gabby loves me, Thomas would move on. Still, I claimed Gabby—giving her promises that I never thought I would give—and in the time since, not a damn thing has changed. Thomas is still holding out hope that he and Gabby will become more than friends.

We’re approaching the moment when everything is going to come to a head, and I know the fallout is going to hurt like a motherfucker. I just don’t know how to avoid it. I love my brother. I’d give him anything I had, but I can’t walk away from my girl. She’s like a fever in my blood, and I can’t seem to get free.

I don’t even want to.

Their dance wraps up as I look down at my phone. Gabby and I made arrangements to meet at four in the garage. It’s not the most romantic place to fuck, but my baby likes it dirty. We always have so many eyes on us that we have to do this kind of shit to keep our secret. I think Gabby likes it. She says it adds excitement. She’s a freak in the sheets and down for anything—all of it is shit I taught her because we were both virgins when we got together.