I blink at him, and he must take my confusion for irritation, because he says, “It’s fine either way. I totally get it if you have plans or—”
“I don’t have plans.” The mistake was the bathroom and the timing, not the hookup? Holy. Fucking. Shit.
He traces my bottom lip with his thumb. “Good.” He drags his bottom lip between his teeth. “Because I’m really looking forward to teaching you what it’s like to be worshipped.”
Dead. I’m dead.
RIP, Stella Jacob. She died of thirst.
He looks me over one last time and winks before straightening and backing toward the door.
“Want me to come with you?” I ask. “To talk to Dean? I won’t let him be all overprotective. He knows I’m a big girl and make my own decisions.” Panic flashes in his eyes, and I realize that before I opened my mouth, it hadn’t occurred to Kace that Dean might want to talk because he knows we’re in here together.
He swallows and shakes his head. “Nah. I’ve got this.”* * *KaceI’m a grown-ass man, but as I wander around the backyard looking for Dean, I feel a little bit like a kid on his way to the principal’s office. Dean wants to talk to you.
Those words might not have bothered me much if we hadn’t been talking right before I left to find Stella. So either a) something really was bugging him earlier and that’s why he was acting so weird, or b) he knows I was with Stella and what was about to go down, and has an issue with it. I really fucking hope it’s not the latter, because now that I’ve had a taste of her, I’m craving a whole lot more.
I find Dean in the back corner of my yard, poking around in the firepit. “Smithy said you were looking for me?”
He startles, and the look on his face is more like that of a kid caught with his dad’s booze than a man stoking a campfire. There’s definitely something on his mind. “Hey, yeah . . .” He clears his throat. “We need to talk.”
Obviously. I shove my hands into my pockets. “I thought you might have something on your mind. What’s up?”
He takes a stick from the pile and tosses it into the fire. “It’s about Stella.”
Well, fuck. I rock back on my heels, braced to defend myself. Or her. Or . . . I don’t know what. I don’t exactly want to explain that we were just going to hook up one time. Dean’s pretty chill, but I’d fucking take issue if he had a one-night stand with my sister. Okay, I’m a hypocrite. “Are you sure you want to do this? Maybe it’s better if you just trust that she’s an adult and—”
“She is, but Mom doesn’t see it that way, and she’ll never ask her to leave.”
“Wait. What?”
“A condo at Lakeview Acres is about to go on the market. You know I’ve been wanting to get Mom in one of those for years, and now that I finally have the chance, Stella’s living with her. Mom won’t move if she thinks she’s putting Stella out.” He frowns. “What did you think I was talking about?”
I shake my head. “No. Nothing. I . . .” I blow out a breath. “I see what you’re saying. Isn’t Stella apartment hunting?”
Dean puffs out a breath. “In theory, I guess? But it’s more like she’s keeping her eyes open for an affordable opportunity. She’s starting nursing school at the Mountain Laurel Community College in the fall, so she doesn’t have a lot of extra cash. She’s looking for a roommate more than a place of her own. And since Brinley isn’t living with you anymore, I thought maybe . . .”
I blink at him. I think I left half my brain in the bathroom with Stella, because it takes much longer than it should for his meaning to register. He doesn’t want to kick my ass for hooking up with his sister; he wants me to let his sister move in with me.
He wants Stella to live in my house.
My feelings for her might be all over the place, but I know for sure I can’t have her under my roof. Stella’s brand of wild isn’t something I want Hope exposed to on a day-to-day basis . . . which is just further proof that I’m a hypocritical ass. And hell, even though I’m the one who wants casual, I don’t want to see the guys she brings home, couldn’t handle overhearing her being with them. That level of casual isn’t in my DNA. “Does she know you’re asking?”
“What? No, man. I wouldn’t make it awkward for you like that.” He frowns. “You’re not okay with this? You let Brinley move in back in April, so I thought . . .”