The Sinner (The St. Clair Brothers 1)

“Seriously? You're going to leave me hanging?”

“Oh, umm. No.” I touched my palm to Piper’s in what would go down as the lamest high-five in the history of mankind. Piper laughed again and thanked our server when he deftly slid our drinks in front of us and cleared the empties. Piper lifted her full tumbler in the air and shook it, rattling the ice.

“I, for one, think this moment deserves a toast.”

I squinted. “A toast? I thought you said what I did was stupid.”

“Oh Kylie, believe me, what you did definitely fulfills the criteria for stupid.” Despite the insult, Piper’s wide grin was addictive, and I couldn't help but return it. “Just not for the reason you think.”

Huh? I tilted my head and wrinkled my brow. “I don’t get it. If it’s not the obvious, what’s the reason?”

With her free hand, Piper took hold of my wrist and raised my drink for me. “First, the toast.” She clinked our glasses and leaned close. “You’re stupid because…” Like a secret agent in an old spy film, Piper peeked to her left and right to check if anyone was listening before she continued. “If the sex was that great, you should have stayed long enough for round two.” As I picked my chin up off the floor, Piper loudly announced, “To round two! It's always twice as nice.”

If they weren’t before, our neighbors were definitely staring now. My face burned with humiliation, but I couldn’t be mad. Piper had this way of disarming people, of turning an uncomfortable situation into a lighthearted one. Instead of dying of embarrassment and wanting to crawl under the table, I laughed along with her. Once the hysterics calmed down, I clinked to my glass to hers—willingly this time—and took a long swallow.

“I’ll drink to that.”

“Cheers,” Piper proclaimed, lifting her vodka to her mouth.

We talked for hours, drinking and laughing until tears streamed from my eyes and my cheeks ached from smiling so much. Piper told me about her time in New York. What it was really like to date a famous athlete, all the way down to the dirty details and I ate up every last one.

“The scrutiny,” she said with a wistful twist of her lips. “It sucked. One thing I learned is that people can be really mean.”

My eyebrows rose. “Mean? Like how?”

Piper leveled a flat stare. “Puh-lease, Kiley. You must know what I'm talking about. Your brother plays for the freaking NHL.”

I glanced around, hoping no one heard her mention Rocco. Everyone was absorbed in conversation. Satisfied, I s

hook my head. "Rocco doesn't date. I mean, I know he's not celibate or anything.” The thought of my brother having sex made me shudder. “Never a serious girlfriend, though.” I shrugged. “The press doesn’t really write bad things about him.”

Piper nodded. “Because he's one of the smart ones. Dating is hard enough for regular people. For those in the limelight, it's a freaking nightmare.” She played with her drink, jabbing the half-melted ice cubes with the plastic stirring stick. “When I dated Brad, you know, the Yankee…” Piper’s voice hitched and her eyes glistened. “The gossip columns and papers, and even people on the street, the things they said about me…" She blinked back tears and my heart ached for her.

“They trashed you?”

“Yeah, they did.” Her voice was ragged and her cheeks flushed. A rush of sympathy welled up inside me for my friend. I reached across the table and took her hand.

“That sucks, Piper. I’m really sorry that happened.”

She looked at me, her stare serious. “I hope you never experience it.”

“I won’t,” I said a little too quickly. “I’ve been going to Rocco’s games since I was fourteen. If anyone wanted to write about me, they would have by now. New York is different. It’s like a fishbowl, all self-contained, and I’ve heard and seen how intense the fans are.” I finished my drink and cupped the empty glass between my palms. “The… thing, whatever you want to call it, that I had with Sebastien,” I waved my hand in the air to find the right words. “It was a one-off. He doesn't have my number and I don't have his. We didn't make plans to see each other again and I have no intention of doing so.” I lowered my voice. “He can’t ever know who I am. Like I said, Rocco would literally kill us both if he found out."

Elbow propped on the table, Piper rested her head on one hand and sighed. “You’re so lucky. I always wanted a protective older brother.” Her lips contorted into a puckered frown. “I’m an only child.”

“Yeah, Rocco's great. Sometimes though, he can be smothering. Way too intense, you know? I guess I just wish he would give me the space to grow up and make my own mistakes.”

Piper smirked. “Mistakes like Sebastien St. Clair?”

I winked. “Yeah. Mistakes like him. Totally worth it.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “I know exactly what you mean.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Totally. Worth. It.”

Seb

Try as he might to ruin my day, Rocco Calloway slammed into me over and over during practice, but not even Sasquatch could wipe the smile off my face. At the time, I felt like a jackass, but sending that note to Kylie ended up being one of the best decisions I’d ever made. I’ve had sex before, lots of it, in every way imaginable. But nothing compared to the utter rapture I felt when I thrust my cock into Kylie’s tight pussy.

“Ow.” I winced as my dick throbbed inside my cup. Hard-ons and protective gear don’t mix well. The sharp pain in my groin made quick work of my swelling cock and I reached down and adjusted it.