Thrust

I tilt my head, suddenly feeling a bit of pride. Is that weird? Hell . . . this is all weird. Does it even matter now? “They have?” Seriously? I never would’ve slept with Hunter had I known. It’s not something I seek. You know?”

Dane lets out an amused laugh. “I figured that about you. I’ve seen other girls attempt many times. They usually end up in Hunter’s bed first and then attempt to hook up with Kyan. Kyan always turns them away, but I see something different when Kyan is with you. I noticed it the first night I met you. It’s not the same with you, Calla. He’s different. That’s a huge step for him.”

My heart skips a beat from his words and I find myself smiling. Knowing that Kyan looks at me differently than other girls definitely sparks a little excitement in me. The problem is . . . he doesn’t look at me differently enough. Not enough for us to be together. “Yeah well . . .” I let out a small breath, feeling the ache take over again. “Kyan walked away from me. I told him how I felt and he didn’t want it. I fell for him, Dane. I fell for him like an idiot and now he can’t even be with me. I messed up by getting twisted up in this Wilder mess.” I shake my head and sip on my straw. “I’m here to tell Hunter that we have to stop what we’ve been doing. I’m done with the Wilder brothers now. I have to be.”

He gives me a small amused smile. “Here comes the younger one now. I hope you’re ready.” He grabs a beer and sets it on the bar, in front of the stool next to mine. “I’ll be around if you need me.” He nods behind me, saying hello to Hunter, and then turns and walks away to check on people’s drinks.

I stiffen when I feel Hunter’s hand wrap around my waist from behind. He quickly presses his lips to my neck before pulling away and taking a seat next to me. “Shit, you smell so damn good.” He smiles and reaches for his beer, sticking his thumb in the neck of the bottle. Lifting a brow he says, “I have a feeling you have something on your mind. What’s up?”

I look at him for a minute, remembering the high school Hunter and how all I wanted was to have a chance with him. It’s so weird that I got that chance and now it might be the one reason that I won’t get the person that I truly want to be with. It’s crazy how that works.

Pulling my eyes away, I take a deep breath and just let it out. The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can start my process of forgetting the Wilder brothers and moving on. “I feel like an idiot for saying this. I feel like an idiot for being in this situation to begin with, honestly. I never planned to just have . . . sex; especially with two guys, let alone two brothers. I can’t do what we’ve been doing anymore, Hunter. I need to stop just doing this for fun.” I look up to meet his eyes and he doesn’t seem surprised. Not one bit. It’s as if he saw it coming.

He lets out a small laugh. “Because of my brother?” He tilts back his beer, taking a quick drink. “I know, Calla. I could feel it the last time we were together. You were there, but not really. Your head was back at the gym with Kyan. You care about Kyan. I’m not surprised. He’s a good guy. He deserves for you to care about him.”

“Yeah.” I say relieved. “He’s an amazing guy. Not that you aren’t . . .”

“I’m not too bad,” he says with a smile. “I’m definitely no Kyan though, right?”

“I’m sorry. It’s not . . .”

“I’m kidding.” He winks and pushes my leg, before gripping my knee and scooting closer to me. “You’re amazing and beautiful, Calla. You’re a good girl and I didn’t expect what we had to go past just one night of having fun. It’s just that I wanted to have sex with you so bad and for so long. I expected it to be once, but then it was so damn good that I let it keep going. It’s okay. No hard feelings.” He stops and brings my chin up, looking me in the eyes. “And Kyan? Have you told him how you feel? We haven’t talked much lately. He’s been shutting me out.”

I swallow back the hurt that rises in my chest at the thought of him walking away from both of us. I don’t want him to shut Hunter out and I hate him shutting me out too. That last kiss has been taunting me for days, reminding me of what I could have had. “Yeah.” I grab my glass and take a long, needed drink. “He doesn’t want to be with me. It’s not going to work out. It’s fine though. I’ll be fine. I told him that we had to be more or we had to stop talking. I did my part and he wanted none of it.”

He glances over my shoulder before grabbing my face and pressing his lips to mine, completely catching me off guard. Stiffening up, I try to push him away, but he only kisses me harder, making a show of it.

I push him again, finally separating our lips. “Hunter! What the hell . . .”

Out of nowhere, Kyan storms over like a maniac, slamming Hunter against the bar. Gripping his neck, he carefully pushes me backwards and closes the distance between them.

I throw my hand over my mouth in shock and jump off of my stool as Kyan starts to go off on Hunter.

“What the fuck? Don’t you ever fucking touch her like that again, asshole!” He slams him into the bar again, but harder this time, before releasing him and allowing Hunter to get back to his feet. “Stay the fuck away from her. You don’t give a shit about her and you know it.”

Hunter walks forward, getting in his face. “Why?” He walks into him so that their chests are touching. Both of them stand tall, neither backing down. “Does it bother you seeing her with someone else? Did it piss you off seeing my lips on hers? Huh?” Kyan pushes him backwards, but Hunter steps back in his face again. “Does it hurt thinking of her being with someone else?”

“It’s none of your fucking business, Hunter.” He gives him another shove toward the bar, causing everyone in the room to stare. “Just leave her alone before I fuck you up.” Kyan presses his finger into Hunter’s chest, shoving him backwards. “Is that why you called me down here, asshole?”

Hunter pushes Kyan’s hand away and shakes his head. “No, brother. I called you down here so I could open your fucking eyes. You’ve fallen for her, but you’ve been so set on keeping your heart closed off that you’ve been fighting it like a moron.” He gets in Kyan’s face, causing Kyan to steel his jaw as he listens to what Hunter has to say. “You needed to see that Calla doesn’t want me. Not like she wants you. That’s why I called you down here. So open your fucking eyes before it’s too late. I’m tired of seeing you alone and miserable. Fuck! It’s been three years now.”