Shattered Hart (2 page)

My brother seems to know that I’m
thinking about how hot
Sabrina is
,
because he glares at me and shakes his head sharply.  Clearly
,
t
he lovely Ms. Tyler is not
on the menu.

He
moves the introductions along to S
abrina’s sister.  Turning her way
, I feel my heart skip a few beats. 
She
’
s
positiv
e
ly
gorgeous.  Her hair is long and ches
tnut in color, her eyes a rich hazel
, legs for days, a curvaceous body and a golden tan. 
Talk about sex on legs.
 

This girl is
a playboy centerfold come to life
,
and I mean the best centerfolds;
the ones before plastic surgery, implants and starvation
.  Lush, ripe and exquisite, she is a sight to behold.

“Damien, this is Sabrina’s younger sister, Brooke Tyler.  Brooke, this is my brother Damien.  He also works
with us
at Hart
.”

I see dozens of b
eautiful women every single day, and I’m all but impervious to beauty. I see things in
a
ver
y
cynical way, and I know it.  Outside of my family, e
motion has nothing to do with how I live my life.  I fuck, and
that’s
that. 
But
t
his
girl makes an impression.
I
don’t
know what it is that makes her so different, but she is.  I’m captivated by her.

When she raises her eyes to mine and smiles as she takes my hand, I feel like I’ve just been kicked in the chest.  Her voice is
as perfect as the rest of her. 

“Hello
Damien. 
It’s
a pleasure to meet you.”

I stru
ggle to remain unaffected
,
and
fail miserably.
 
With great effort
,
I see the introduction through before taking my seat at the table, relieved that there is a table cloth to conceal my growing erection.

It takes everythi
ng I have not to groan
when Dante pulls the chair out next to me and motions for Brooke to sit down.
  Turning to me, she smiles.
  My erection swells uncomfortably as her scent works its way in to my nostrils. 
No overbearing perfume
for this girl
.
  She sme
lls
light and deliciou
s. L
ike raspberries, I think.

My sisters start talking to Brooke
,
and
she turns to give them her
attention.  It should be a relief that she
isn’t
looking at me anymore
,
but
it
isn’t
.  I want her to be focused on me.  What the hell is wrong with me tonight?
  No matter who else I talk to at the table,
it
’
s
Brooke who has my full attention.  I’m aware of every move, every gesture and every laugh. 

It
turns out that Brooke and my sisters all attend UCLA, so they quickly start trying to figure out if
the
y
know
any of
the same people.  Listening to their conversation, I fi
nd out that Brooke is
a few weeks away from being
twenty-two
and
is
currently single. 

Christ, twenty
-one
. 
She
’
s
almost
the same age as my sisters -
far t
oo young for me.  I’m twenty-five
, too old to be looking at a girl
who
’
s
still in college.
 
Mentally castigating myself for even going down this road, I force myself to join the convers
ation and start behaving like I normally would, jokes and all.

It
’
s
a relief
that dinner turns out to be
fun.  My sisters
are clearly
taken
with Brooke, and I can see a friendship
could be
forming. 
The rest of us
j
oke and tease
,
just like always.
 
I’m bummed when dinner ends
.  Spending time with my family is always a highlight of my week
. 
Sabrina and B
rooke fit in
extremely
well, which is
a surprise.

Even as bummed as I am that dinner is over,
I’m relieved that I
won’t
be
seeing
Brooke again anytime soon. 
It’s
not as though
we will have occasion to run in to each other
often
.
  Works for me, because
I feel a pull toward her that
isn’t
something I want to pursue.
 
Her goodness, purity and compassion
,
roll
off of her in waves.
 

In other words, Brooke is the antithesis
of
the women I choose.

Brooke is
the last person I say goodbye to, and I joke
to her
that
my
family must seem
downright
nuts
si
nce we’re loud and rambunctious
,
always joking around and teasing each other.
 

Smiling, she shakes her head at me.  “If anything,
it
made me feel
remarkabl
y
light for the first time in forever.  My sister and I lost
our
parents last year.  The loving and fun dynamic reminds
me of how
our
family was when they were alive. 
It’s
just Rina and I now.  We’re extremely close, but with no family left,
it
’
s
diff
erent.  I’ve missed this
.”

Brooke says all of this in the
most straight
forward way, no artifice or atte
mpt for sympathy, but my heart
constricts uncomfortably in my chest
.  The only thing I’ve ever had that I could
rely on is this family that my
brother
, Spencer
and
I held together by
our
teeth.  If it
were suddenly gone
, I’d never recover.
The idea that
she
’
s
in pain is
oddly
uncomfortable. 
There really aren’
t words, but I have to say something.
 

“I’m so sorry Brooke, I
didn’
t
know
. It must be awful to have lost such
excellen
t
parents. I’m sure
they
woul
d
be
tremendousl
y
proud of
you
both
. 
It’s
clear to see
that
you
’
re
both amazing.”

Taking my hand,
she smiles
up at me as my brain struggles to process her perfection.
 

“What a lovely thing to say.  Thank
you
Damien.”

Her hand touching mine sends the blood from my head straight down to my groin, and I pull my h
and back in what I hope was not an obvious way
.
Jesus Christ.
My blood heats to a boil from that simple touch, turning me on more than when I touched a girl’s
naked
tits for the first time.
If I stand around and talk to
Brooke
much longer, I’m going to have trouble walking.  Talk about embarrassing.

Quickly s
aying my final goodbyes
, I hustle my way out of the restaurant and step out in to the night air, hoping it will clear my head. 
Climbing in to my car
, I floor it out of the parking lot and head off in to the night to find a
woman to lose myself in
.
 

I try to put her out of my mind as I drive toward the bar that
Spencer
and I are meeting at tonight. 
Its
little dive bar in the Valley
, but there are always beautiful girls there
. 
My luck being what it is, there isn’t one girl at the bar tonight who draws me in. 
It’s frustrating that none of the women here
appeal to
me as much as Brooke Tyler just did.  Not one of them attracts me
even a quarter
as muc
h as Brooke did
. 

It doesn’t help that e
very damn one of them comes up short when I hold them up to Brooke in my mind.  What the fuck is that about?  I don’t even
know
her.  If I did, I’d certainly have found flaws.  No one is that perfect.  Maybe she’s a closet slut or a kleptomaniac. 
Shaking my head, I
immediately discoun
t
those two options.  There’
s no way that she is either of those things.  But wait! Maybe she’
s dreadful in bed, a
cold fish, frigid and unmoving.
  The very idea makes me laugh.  I can actually see the sensuality wi
thin her, so that isn’t likely.

No matter what kind of person she is, the one thing I know for sure is that she’s dangerous to me.  My plan is to steer clear of her at all costs.  Luckily, that won’t be a problem.

From the moment
I looked
in to Damien Hart’s eyes,
I was
lost
. 
His brother Dante is
gorgeous, so
I
should have been prepared for Damien to be hot too
.
 
Their honorary brother, Spencer Cross, is hot too, but I feel nothing toward him.  For
some reaso
n, Damien’s beauty floors
me. 

I’ve never thought of a man as being
both beautiful and virile, but
Damien manages to be
both and in spades.
 
He
’s
tall and tan with
longish
brown hair that has little touches of gold in it.  The natural highlights in his hair and the color of his skin tell me that this man spends a
considerable
amount of time outdoors.
His clothes showcase a body that is an absolute dream
, all muscle and sex appeal
. 

Damien is the type
of man that women everywhere would willingly drop their
panties for without a moment’s
hesitation
… me included.  There’s just
something
about him.
And dear lord, his lips.  I’ve never considered a man’s mouth
beautiful, until I saw his
. 

His most prominent feature
are
his blue eyes.  They manage to be both a raging sea and a clear blue sky
at the same time
.  I think the latter covers th
e former
, and I’d bet it’s a full time job
.  As jovial as he is, I sense
serious
intensity inside of Damien, and I find myself drawn like a moth to the flame.
What would it be like to have all of that intensity focused on me?

While this dinner with my sister and his family has been
fun
, I’ve had to force myself to focus on the other people that are at the table
other than
Damien.
 
It’s
not just that
he
’
s
gorgeous, though that
doesn’
t
hurt. Something i
ndefinable draws me to him in an
elemental way, and no matte
r how I try to shake it off, I’
m
unable to do so
.