Filed To Story: Craving The Wrong Brother Book PDF Free by Elysian Sparrow
“I don’t want to hear it.” He stands now, jaw clenched. “Because, Sloane, I am one hundred percent sure that my mother called her to come see me. And if she had to wait for her to do that, I don’t want to see her.”
I don’t know what to say to that. Not without pushing too far. Maybe I am pushing him for the wrong reasons. Maybe it’s not about closure for him- maybe it’s curiosity for me. I want to know who Lydia is. I want to understand why her name still sends aftershocks through this family like a dormant volcano just cracked open.
Knox walks toward me. His hand brushes the top of my head before he places a kiss there.
“Gotta run, love. Do you really need to go to your sister’s?”
“It’s not my sister’s house,” I say, closing the makeup case. “It’s my house. If I’m to stay here, I need the rest of my stuff. Don’t worry about me..
“Oh, I’m not worried. Those two bodyguards are well trained.”
He squeezes my arm and then nudges me toward the hallway. I tuck Lydia’s number into my shorts pocket on the way out, unsure if it’s for him or for me.
We head down the stairs and out of the house in silence. Once out the door, Knox veers off to his car, and I slide into the back of mine. My two guards- one driving, one riding shotgun-exchange a glance as we pull out of the gate.
I sit back, trying not to think about how weird it is to have constant company. They were even in the salon yesterday, flanking me like I was a visiting dignitary. One woman had the nerve to ask if we were in a poly relationship. I hadn’t even processed the question before one of the guards told her to stay back. She hadn’t meant harm, I don’t think. She was just curious. But now I can’t even joke with strangers.
By the time we pull into my building, I’m already reaching for the door handle. The guards move in sync with me.
“Seriously?” I glance back at them. “I’m going upstairs. I’m fine.”
“We know you’re fine,” the one in the passenger seat says. “We just want to make sure you remain that way. As is our job.”
Perfect.
I wave at Johnny, the building’s security guard, on my way in, and he raises both brows at the two men following me like shadows. Our feet echo as we make our way up the stairs. I swipe my card at my door and step into the apartment.
There she is. Serena. She’s curled up on the couch, holding a mixing bowl of ice cream that looks like it came straight from the freezer. She glances up.
“You’re back.”
The guards step inside behind me, closing the door. Serena freezes, spoon halfway to her mouth. She places it down slowly.
“Who are they?” she asks.
“My bodyguards,” I reply, heading toward my bedroom. “I need to pack a few things.”
“Bodyguards?” she repeats, jumping out of the couch and trailing after me. “What do you need them for?”
“My boyfriend thinks I’m in danger.”
“From whom?”
“My boss. Kind of. He owns the company. They used to be old pals.”
She frowns. “None of this is making sense. And why do you need to pack a bag?”
I drop onto the edge of my bed. “I’m moving in with Knox.”
“Seriously? You’re just going to leave me here by myself? I’m not used to being alone. I don’t think I’ve ever actually lived on my own before.”
“Now would be a great time to learn, Serena. You just broke a man’s heart and slept with your stepfather. Maybe what you need is a little solitude.
“You sound like me.”
“I don’t think so. I wasn’t mean enough.”
“Screw you.”
I laugh softly and turn away from her to head toward the dresser, needing to focus on the task at hand: packing. I pull open the top drawer and grab a few folded shirts. Next is the bottom drawer. My fingers sink into the stack of leggings shoved in the back corner. I tug at a black pair I haven’t worn in weeks, and a small box falls out with a quiet thunk.
I glance down. There, half-tucked against the dresser leg, is a small white box with rounded corners. A pregnancy test kit.
Before I can so much as blink, Serena is in motion. She lunges forward and snatches the box off the floor.
Her arm folds around her middle protectively as she turns away, hiding it behind her back like I didn’t just see what I saw.
I’m not moving. I’ve forgotten the leggings in my hand, forgotten the shirts still folded under my arm.
“Please tell me there’s another reason why you have that with
Serena’s face stiffens. “Have what?”
“Don’t play dumb.”
“I buy these things all the time, Sloane.”
“Were you and Nathan trying for a child?”
Ou.”I say.
She exhales. “No. He hates condoms. I hate hormonal pills. So we settled for withdrawal. Every now and then, my period’s late and I get scared. So I buy a kit. It’s never been positive.”
“And now?”
She turns and walks back into the living room, where the guards are standing awkwardly near the window. I follow her.
“Rena?” I call.
She doesn’t look at me. “Just do what you came for, Sloane. Don’t worry about me.”
She plops back down and resumes feasting on her ice cream. Her fingers tremble just a little.
“You bought that kit for a reason,” I say. “And you haven’t taken the test.”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“Why else did you buy it?”
“Impulse purchase.”
“And you’re seriously not going to take it?” I ask. “Why not just put yourself out of the misery?”
“Because, Sloane. If there’s even a slight chance that I’m pregnant, I don’t want to know. I’m not in the right frame of mind to deal with it.”
“Because Nathan hates you? You’re dreading telling him you’re pregnant?”
She slams the spoon into her bowl, ice cream splattering.
“Jesys. You should have been a lawyer. You just don’t let things go, do you? Fine. If two lines appear on that device when I pee on it, I wouldn’t even know who to call. It could be Nathan’s; there’s a high chance. But it could also be Jade’s. It’s that tiny possibility that is keeping me from taking the test, Sloane.”
~~DELILAH~~
I’ve been putting this on hold for a while. It’s now or never.
The fertility pills have made me bloated, alittle weepy, and just i irritable enough to snap at a waiter for putting too many ice cubes in my soda. Still, I took them. Because timing is everything, and my cale fellst me this is the window. Peak ovulation. Prime conception. One shot to make good on this increasingly psychotic plan.
I’m standing at Finn’s door, trying not to panic. My heart is knocking a weird rhythm behind my ribs. Not because I’m scared of him. Not because I’m new to seducing Finn-God knows that’s never been hard-but because this time, I’m not just looking to scratch an itch. This time, there’s a bigger purpose. A bigger risk. One that could show up as two pink lines in a few weeks and alter both our lives forever.
And, okay, maybe I’m also panicking because I’ve been doing Pila s religiously, and the thought of ruining my figure makes me want to cry.
I raise my hand to knock again, but the door swings open before it lands.
Finn stands in the doorway, looking unexpectedly… normal. There’s color in his face. A steadiness in his eyes that wasn’t there before. The cast is still on his arm (proof of the madness I helped him orchestrate), but he’s casually biting into a green apple and smiling.
“Delilah,” he says, visibly surprised. His gaze drops to my dress, that high-slit crimson thing that borders on indecent, and his lips twitch. There’s hunger in his stare, as usual, that intense kind of interest that never fades no matter how bad things get between us.
“Finn,”1 reply. “Can I come in?”
“Umm.” He glances over his shoulder. “I kind of have
?? guest.”
“A guest?”
“Met her at my AA meeting. She’s cool.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.