Guess the tough guy thing isn't just an act, a rich son slapping his richer asshole dad in the face. No, the crap happening in front of me is as real as it is dangerous.
It should disgust me, send me running, prove that everything I've feared is totally right. But it doesn't.
I can't help but swoon when I realize he's won the fight. Karl climbs the seat next to me, screaming his lungs out. When he's finally done, he reaches into the cooler at his side, and passes me another wine cooler. I'm screaming too, even as I twist off the cap, yelling like a mad woman until Ty's finally out of sight, the attendants helping him off the stage.
I normally don't drink this much. Hell, I'm normally not this violent. I don't know what I am anymore, and I'm not sure I'll figure it out before I give into this throbbing urge to feel my step-brother's lips on mine.
I'm confused. There's something in the air tonight, something thick and sultry and otherworldly. I can't even describe it better than that.
“Hang tight with me, Claire,” Karl says. “We'll get into the bar much easier once we let the crowd clear out.”
He grabs my hand and makes me settle back into my chair. Probably a good thing. As soon as I stood up, my body rocked. I'm seriously tipsy, drunk like I haven't been since drinking with Dana.
I'm glad Karl's here to help. With this many drinks flying around, amping the crowd up alongside the testosterone and adrenaline, it might be dangerous going out there alone without all my wits.
I take a good, long look at the blonde haired man at my side. I've got to admit, he's kinda cute in a rogue way. He doesn't have the body Ty does, and the buff arms sticking out his sleeves don't have a single stripe of ink.
My mind's screaming through all the excitement. The big Swede's looking better with every new sip I take. Good enough to be my escape from throwing myself at my own step-brother, if I really want him to be.
I'm drunk, dizzy, and burning like never before. Honestly, I'm terrified of what I'll do when I'm alone with Ty again.
I can't really give into these insane urges, right? Jesus, I'll never live it down if I let him fuck me, if I let myself give away my virginity and my body to a fucking relative. No, we're not blood related, but he's technically my brother. That makes it wrong enough.
I have to keep my mind off the taboo. I just need to focus on having fun, treat it like any other girl's night out, maybe invest a little more energy in the handsome man at my side.
Except he's looking more and more like a disappointment with every step we take. I don't know what I'm going to do with Ty, but I know I don't really want his co-worker. Getting my V-card punched by a total stranger's worse than the asshole I know.
Karl flashes me a thick smile and grabs my wrist, this time a little more forcefully. “There's more waiting for us in the VIP lounge. We'll catch up with your brother later. Come on. Looks like it's all clear.”#p#分页标题#e#
I follow him down the winding path and then upstairs, evading a few drunken stragglers bobbing in the halls. We head back toward the closed room where I ran into Ty fucking those whores the first night we met. There's another door just before it, not far from the restrooms. Karl jerks me inside a smaller, darker room that feels like a grotto.
It's elegant, dimly lit, and the walls must be awfully thick. I can't hear a damned thing in here, not even the hundreds of people milling around in the lounge.
There's only one other couple in there with us. The look up, give us an uneasy look, and then return to their drinks and hushed conversation.
Karl holds out an arm so I can pass by and take my seat at the small VIP bar. “What'll it be, Claire?”
“Something stronger than the wine coolers. We've still got like four or five hours until closing time, right?” He smiles and nods.
Yeah, I really want to drink tonight. It's either that or fuck my step-brother raw. Maybe a few drinks will help clear my head before I make the mother of all mistakes.
Karl lingers near the bottom shelf, as if he's showing off his backside. It's nice, but I've seen better. He comes up a minute later with a massive bottle of vodka and some pomegranate grenadine. He pours them together and shakes it up like a pro. His muscles ripple as he preps the drinks, and I'm all kinds of conflicted.
I grab mine a little too eagerly and knock it back. Karl laughs, pops the vodka bottle, and pours more into my glass straight. “Something tells me you don't need the sweet stuff.”
Staring like an idiot, I lean back and smile, tossing my hair. “I know how to put it back. Most valuable skill I learned in college.”
Actually, it's not far from the truth. I spent my last year drinking with friends just as hard as I studied, and I'm dangerously close to carrying the same habits into the grown up world.