Evelyn Vine Be Mine (11 page)

“Are you cold?” he asked me with concern, “You still don’t have much meat and that shirt is thinner than paper.”

“I’m fine,” I whispered. Briar nudged me in the side.

“Oh,” I said nervously, “This is my friend Briar. Bri, this is my older brother Logan.”

“Your brother?” she murmured, a grin growing on her face.

I nodded, knowing she and Fredi had thought differently from the phone call.

Logan eyed her appreciatively. “Nice to meet you,” he said with a naughty grin.

“She’s my age,” I whispered quietly to my twenty-five year old brother. He waved me away with his hand.

Briar fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously, “My, you’re even sexier than the triplets!”

Logan’s grin widened. “You’ve met our little brothers?” he asked curiously.

Bri shook her head. “Just saw a picture.”

Logan nodded and turned back to me with a frown. “Has Cooper called you yet?” he asked, “He called me earlier, wanting to know when your flight got in. That’s how I knew you were due back today.”

Briar’s eyes snapped to my face, a strange light dancing in them. “Is Cooper a brother too?” she asked.

Logan grinned. “Yep,” he answered for me, winking at her, “But he’s another little brother that doesn’t measure up to me.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Get over yourself,” I whispered.

He and Briar laughed and we pushed our way into the packed club.

***

I heard a familiar voice belting out a metal song and glanced up at the stage. Donny was behind the microphone, his gorgeous face contorted as he and Alec shouted out the chorus. Fredi looked hot behind her keyboard as she threw naughty smiles at her drooling male audience and I looked on in amazement at how smoothly Jamie’s hands moved over his base guitar. A heavy drum solo kicked in at the end of the chorus and my airway closed as I gazed at Stone. His shirt was off and his broad, muscled torso was slicked with sweat as he got right into the music. The look on his hard, masculine face was intense and I swallowed noisily as I watched the muscles jump in his arms.

“What’s wrong sis?” Logan asked, shrugging off a clingy blonde he’d been talking to.

“Nothing,” I muttered, blushing when I realised I’d been caught staring, “Let’s get a drink.”

Logan chuckled. “Soft drink on me,” he taunted as he led me to the bar.

By the time we were served, the band had finished playing, so Briar led us over to their table. I let my eyes run over each member, taking in their moods. Donny and Jamie were flirting with a couple of girls sitting at the table next to them and Fredi and Alec appeared to be having a debate of some sort. Stone was sipping his beer, leaning back in his chair, looking relaxed. His head turned and we locked gazes for a few moments, before his eyes drifted up to Logan. Something hardened in his features and I started to feel a bit uneasy about bringing another alpha male over to their table. Stone was assessing Logan with his eyes, as if trying to measure his worth.

“Oh!” Fredi exclaimed as we reached them, “Is this the guy you said you were meeting?”

The table fell silent and they all turned to look at me. I nodded nervously.

“I’m Logan,” my brother said, eyeing Fredi’s clothing (or lack thereof) appreciatively.

Stone placed his beer down with a clunk and Alec shot him a worried glance. Logan didn’t notice the tension though. He wrapped his arm around me, giving my shoulders a good squeeze.

“These your friends Evie?” he asked me, his usually flirty face softening.

I hesitated, unsure if everyone at the table could be considered my friend, but eventually nodded.

“Good,” he responded, his smile widening, “I’m glad you’re making friends.”

He turned his attention back to the table and smiled at them winningly, “My Lil’ E is very shy.”

I blushed and hid my face in his shoulder. “Stop embarrassing me,” I grumbled into his shirt.

Logan just laughed. “Do you guys mind if I steal her for a bit?” he asked my new friends, “I don’t get to see her very often these days.”

And whose fault is that? I thought bitterly.

Briar beamed at him. “Sure!” she agreed enthusiastically, sliding a glance toward Fredi, “We don’t mind.”

Stone got up and left the table, pushing his way towards the bar.

“C’mon Evie,” Logan said cheerfully, “You’ve gotta dance with me to keep away the grabby chicks.”

I blanched and dug in my heels as he started to drag me onto the dance floor. He was much stronger than me though and I ended up slow dancing with my big brother in the middle of the loud club. We danced a few songs, before he dragged me outside so we could talk in the beer garden. He told me about work and I told him about university, my trip to Sydney, and my visit back home. He didn’t mention his mysterious girlfriend, and I didn’t dare ask.

He left before midnight as he had to work in the morning, but he promised to call me soon and invite me over to his place. I nodded slowly in agreement, not sure what alien creature had abducted him and scrambled his brain. Something had to be going on if Logan wanted to hang out with his invisible little sister. I made my way back to the group, hoping they wouldn’t be too annoyed that I’d ditched them for nearly four hours.

“Hi,” I whispered as I sat down next to Briar. They all started and looked around as if wondering how I’d snuck up on them. I was good at that. No one ever noticed me. No one except Stone, who was staring a hole through my forehead. I rubbed the spot self-consciously.

Fredi leaned over and pinched me. “I thought you said you were single, miss,” she pretended to scold me with a smile.

I frowned at her in confusion. “I am,” I said firmly.

The group stared at me for a few moments, before Donny broke the silence with a laugh.

“You sure do have a lot of non-boyfriends,” he said, giving me a saucy wink.

Wanna join the club? I thought, but merely blushed and looked away…just in time to see the secretive laughter flash in Briar’s eyes.

seven

Candy showed up the next day and pestered me with questions, a little put out that she’d heard from Briar I’d actually gone to the uni club without her…when she’d been trying to get me to go all year. Thankfully, Mason had heard that she was back and swooped in to rescue me before she could get too carried away. Unfortunately, that also meant I was left wandering around campus for the next few hours whilst they used the room.

Classes started up again on the Monday, and I found myself run ragged as I hurried to purchase my new text books, find all my new classrooms and then endure the forty minutes of muscle torture inflicted on me by Alec. Yep, Alec and Briar’s determination to fatten me up hadn’t eased in the slightest. Well, okay, to be fair, they’d stopped piling my plate with a ridiculous amount of food. The day was long and I was relieved to escape to my room after dinner.

I collapsed on my bed, marvelling again at how lucky I was to have landed a free ride to a university that provided its students with plush, king-sized single beds. Yeah, okay, so I had to share this stylish, comfortable room with a messy party-animal that often brought her boyfriend back, but it was still pretty damn decent. Next year I'd be able to upgrade to a single room. I sighed with pleasure, imagining my own special haven. Growing up with so many siblings made me treasure privacy, quiet and solitude.

I glanced over to the other side of the room where Candy was dancing around in woolly pjs and playboy bunny slippers to a song I couldn't quite make out from the earphones she was using. It seemed someone had had a good first day back! I groaned. My first day of our second semester had been extremely tiring and all I wanted to do was go to sleep. Well, what I really wanted was to be back in Sydney with Briar's family-but I guess sleep would just have to do.

A firm knock sounded at the door, but Candy didn't seem to hear it. It's probably just Mason, I thought with a grimace. I got up and slowly opened the door, hoping it wasn't Mason and that I wouldn't have to find somewhere else to sleep. I froze, staring up at the unexpected guest in bewilderment. Stone stood in the doorway, propped against the frame, his leaning stance not doing anything to disguise his large size. His hard, stone-grey eyes swept over my warm, fluffy, yellow pjs, then shot up to stare at Candy. Candy turned mid-dance and froze. She grinned at him and whipped out her earphones.

With a slight movement of his head and the narrowing of his gaze, Candy read the command in his eyes: Get out. She winked at me and hurriedly moved past him on her way out the door. His gaze moved to me and he slowly stepped over the threshold, shutting the door behind him. I averted my stare, feigning an interest in the geometric patterns on the carpet. I could hear the rhythm of my pulse pounding in my ears, feel the blood rushing through my veins as I struggled to silence my harried breathing. What was he doing here? What did he want with me? I wanted to dare a glance up into those dominating, powerful eyes- but feared the command I'd find.

I waited.

I waited for longer, but he didn’t say a word. I lifted my head and peeked up at him through my eyelashes. He was standing completely still, watching me. Waiting.

He waited, I waited, and neither one of us moved as we locked gazes and I held my breath. Several seconds later, he began to move toward me, his large, heavy shoes moving soundlessly against the plush carpet. I felt my body tremble and I saw my hands shake as they rose to my chest, ready to push him away if I needed to.

He came to a stop in front of me and I stared straight ahead, his massive chest blocking my view of the door, my escape. I let my hands fall. They were useless. I doubt he’d even feel it if I reared back and hit him square in the sternum. I fisted my hands tightly, letting my nails bite into the palms as I tried to show no fear. He lifted his big hand and I flinched as it drew close to my face. He hesitated a moment, before gently tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. The feel of his warm, rough skin startled me and my stomach clenched as I waited for more.

Did he want to have sex with me? Is that why he was here?

He took a step away from me and sat on my bed, bending down to remove his shoes. I didn’t move. I glanced at the door, considering making a run for it, but I remained standing still. He tucked his socks inside his shoes and pulled back the bed covers. My heart began to race and I nearly squealed with fright as he reached out and pulled me over to the bed. He climbed in, still in his long-sleeved shirt and jeans, and rolled onto his side, facing away from me.

I stared at the broad expanse of his back in confusion. Not able to think of anything else to do, I slowly eased onto the bed, lying in the little space his big body had left, careful not to touch him. He reached down and pulled the covers up, without turning to look at me. He didn’t move again, so I turned off the lamp on my bedside table, immersing us in darkness.

I lay there stiffly for hours, but must have eventually fallen asleep, because when I woke the next morning…he was already gone.

***

I looked at my alarm clock and realised I’d slept in. I’d missed my morning run and breakfast time, and even now Alec must be waiting to train me. Sure enough, just as I was scrambling out of bed, there was a soft knock at the door. I ran a hand through my messy bed-hair and cautiously opened the door. Alec ran his eyes over me, looking concerned.

“Is everything alright Evie?” he asked softly.

I nodded, turning my face away to hide my blush. “I-I just slept in,” I replied, “I was tired.”

Alec smiled and ruffled my knotty hair. “We’ll skip training then today. You just get dressed and have something to eat before your first class,” he said.

“Okay,” I whispered.

“See you at dinner,” he called, as he walked away.

I groaned as I realised I’d have to face Stone at dinner…as well as the rest of the group. Did they know? Oh God I hope they don’t!

I trudged into the bathroom and started getting ready for the day ahead.

***

“Oh my god! There you are!” Candy squealed as I entered the cafeteria for dinner that night. She latched onto my arm and pulled me over to an empty table, practically pushing me down into a seat.

“I’ve been waiting to talk to you all day!” she cried, resting her elbows on the table and propping her chin in her hands as she leaned forward eagerly.

“Why-” I started to ask, before paling when I realised what had her excited, “You didn’t tell anyone did you?”