His hand stopped. He tilted his head for clearer sound.
Larissa, and one other.
A male other.
The growl echoed through the shower stall. He grabbed a towel to cover his body and exited the room.
If the man threatened her, he was dead.
If the man was a rival for her, he would wish he was never born.
As he entered her living room, the two humans sensed his presence. Larissa’s eyes widened while the male’s narrowed, and the grinding of the man’s teeth was sharp in Terak’s ears.
The male was her brother, the only dark-haired one among the boys. She was not dealing with a male who desired her.
Larissa’s mouth parted in surprise. Her hair was damp from a recent shower of her own, and she wore a shirt that hung off her shoulder, as if she had risen from the soft bed he had awoken in.
Her eyes locked with his, wide and blue and bright. The slope of her shoulder enticed him, invited him to nuzzle her, follow the curve of her skin wherever it led him.
She swallowed hard, her hand coming up to cover her bare shoulder, her thumb brushing the skin of her neck as he wanted to do.
The energy from her brother grew so dark Terak turned his gaze to the human male. He was murderous, his body tensed in preparation for a fight.
Larissa seemed to sense her brother’s mood, for she broke from his gaze to turn to her brother. For a few long moments debate was clear on her features, a questioning on what to do next.
Then her chin came up, that little signal of defiance that often wrung a groan of frustration from him even as every cell filled with pride at the sight.
She walked over to stand in front of him. Sliding her hands up his chest, she stood on her toes to brush a kiss over his mouth, the pink lips softer than anything he had ever experienced before. “Baby, this is my brother, and we’re having a sibling discussion. Why don’t you wait in the other room and we’ll be done in a moment.”
Thank goodness Terak had done as she requested.
Of course, she still had a pissed older brother to deal with.
“Ris, who was that?”
Her hands went to her hips, an instinctive reaction when her brother used that tone on her. “You don’t get to lecture me, Michael.”
He stomped over to her, his eyes ablaze. “I don’t get to say anything when my baby sister is obviously sleeping with some guy she never even introduced to the family?”
She poked him in the chest to get him to back up. “Your baby sister is twenty-six years old and lives on her own! Do I stomp over to your house to see what kind of hussy you are shacking up with?”
“We aren’t talking about me!”
“Well, we aren’t talking about me, either! My sex life is none of your concern.”
He groaned, putting his hands up over her ears like he could block the words. “I don’t want to hear my little sister use that word again.”
“Grow up. You’re the one trying to insinuate yourself into my life. Don’t act like you can’t handle it.”
They eyed each other, both refusing to back down. Hands on hips, he said, “This isn’t right.”
Realization struck Larissa and she looked down to see her stance mirroring her brother’s. They really were a lot alike.
Of course they were. They were family.
Larissa drew a deep breath, releasing the tension. She walked up to him and patted his chest, causing her brother to drop his hands to his sides. “I love all you guys. More than that, I like you all, and your approval means so much to me. But don’t you feel it too? That sometimes it’s too much, that you need a break from the family and their expectations, that you need your own life and freedom? Michael, you had to, you’re the one who left us first.”
Her brother’s gaze slid across the floor, taking in her words. Her brother had been gone for eight years in the military, the only family member who left the neighborhood.
Her father had been so proud of his boy, talking to everyone about how his son had signed up, but Larissa saw it in him, the constant worry, the dread that gave him an ulcer and had him eating antacids like candy.
None of the rest of them ever left after that.
And Larissa would swear that the happiest she had ever seen her father was when Michael announced he was coming back and joining the police force.
“Larissa, is it serious with this guy?” Time to proceed with caution. If her brother thought Terak was trying to take advantage of her, he would go into the other room and dangle her guest off the balcony.
He wouldn’t drop Terak though.
Probably.
“I’m not sure what we have together yet. I do know he’s special to me. And I know, even if we separate, I will never regret him.”
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, and Larissa knew she won. “Baby sister, you’re killing me. Dad’s going to scent I’m hiding something and he’s going to make my life hell.”