Shattered Hart (4 page)

Pulling up to Brooke and Sabrina’s, I’m forced to park in the street because the driveway is full of cars.  In addition to Brooke’s little Mercedes and Sabrina’s Jag, my brother’s BMW and Camaro are both
parked as well.  I’m out of the car and on my way in when Brooke comes barreling out the front door.

“See! I’m right on
time
.  Not even a minute late.”

Smiling, I hold open the passenger door for her, enjoying her scent as it wafts up to me.  It never fails to turn me on.
  “You’re not late because I slowed down when you said you were behind schedule.  I know how you operate Miss Tyler.”

It’s funny how things turn out.  Just over a year ago when I met Brooke, I was relieved that I’d not have much opportunity to see her.  Things didn’t turn out like that at all. 

The
very
first
night
that
we
’d all met
my sisters took Brooke under their wing.  The three of them are
now
inseparable.  Spence and I joke that the Hart twins became the Hart triplets the second the girls met. 
They are literally always together, which is
amusing
because my
sisters have always been an island unto themselves a majority of the time.  They both have a ton of friends, but since they were each born with a built in best friend, they’ve never had anyone like Brooke in their lives.

Brooke and my sisters spend a lot of time with Spencer and me, especially
after
the
twins
turned
twenty-one and c
ould
go clubbing.  With almost
n
o discussion, Spencer and I
shifted fr
om going out every night in search of
a casual lay to spending more time with my sisters and Brooke.  We both agree that keeping an eye on them in the clubs is the only way to ensure their safety.

In addition to going out with Brooke, Spencer and my sisters two or three times a week, I
also
see Brooke and her sister Sabrina at
family
dinner every Sunday night.  On one hand it
s absolute torture
being with
Brooke so
much
.  Every time I see
her
,
I
want her more.  Knowing
her as well as I do now
hasn’t diminished her appeal even a little bit.  If anything,
I like her more and more each day. 

Brooke and her sister Sabrina are the real deal.  As
ide
from my own sisters and my A
unt Sandra, the Tyler girls are the only two women
I’ve ever met that I would trust impl
icitly, without any hesitation. 
I can
clearly
see that my brother is struggling with his desire for Sabrina
, and it was really obvious yesterday when he had a full on shit fit after watching Sabrina dance with another man who had the nerve to kiss her after.  I’d never seen my brother that passionate about anyone, and it was a surprise.  For all that,
I know he
won’t ever
act on it.  Much like how I feel about Brooke, Dante knows that visiting
our
family bullshit on
Sabrina would be unacceptable. The Tyler girls are not casual, and since neither of us do commitment…

I’m not sure
that Dante, Spencer or I c
ould
even
be faithful for a
month
, much less a lifetime. 
None of us have
ever
tried to be exclusive with any woman, ever.  It
wouldn’t
be fair to get involved with a woman like Brooke or Sabrina.  They deserve better.

Sliding in to the driver’s seat of my Escalade, I look at Brooke and gesture at the cars in the driveway.  “What’s up with two of my brother’s cars being here?”

“
He’s in the house with her now.  He showed up about twenty minutes ago. I just woke her up so I’m not sure, but I’m guessing she
drove one of his cars to get home last night.  I was supposed to give her a ride home from his house, but the girls and I
wound up going to a party in Delilah's building,
so we never wound up at Dante’s.”

My fingers involuntarily tighten around the steering wheel. "Who had the party?"

Delilah's neighbor
Ryan
is every brother’s worst nightmare to begin with,
but I hate him the because of
the fact that he has such
an obvious
hard on for Brooke
.

I can tell just by the little pause between my question and her answer that it was in his apartment. 

"Don't get all over protective on me Damien.  It was at Ryan's.  No need to flip out.  Absolutely nothing happened, scouts honor."

What I wouldn't give to have a few minutes alone with that little frat boy.  If he lays one fucking finger on Broo
ke, I don't know what I'd do. 
The girls think he's harmless, but the dudes a fucking douche.  If he wants to keep on walking without the aid of crutches, he needs to keep his goddamn hands off Brooke and my sisters.

Giving a stiff nod her way, I let it drop.

Steering the conversation to other topics, Brooke and I spend the rest of the drive to Malibu talking about a thriller that we both just finished reading.  I love that we have such similar taste in books, movies, music and television.

Our conversations are always engrossing, unlike anything I've ever experienced with a
woman
before.
Hell, unlike I’ve ever experienced with anyone aside from my sisters, my brother, my aunt or Spence. I’ve never had a woman or a friend in my life that is Brooke’s equal. 
It's just another thing that draws me to her.

I'm bummed when the ride to the beach comes to an end.  It's always great to spend time alone with
her
.  After grabbing a parking spot, we unload our gear and head down to where Spencer and my sisters have already set up camp for the day.

Throwing all our crap down on the sand, we spend a few minutes setting up an umbrella and unfurling our towels.  I'm already wearing my swim trunks, so after whipping my shirt off, I'm ready to go down to water.

Delilah and Spencer are already in the w
ater, and I watch for a moment as they splash and laugh at each other.  I turn around to tell Brooke and Dominique to hustle, but completely lose my train of thought as I get a look at Brooke in her white bikini. 

Holy.
  Shit.

How the hell am I supposed to maintain control when she looks this fucking hot?  I'm not sure where my brain was when I set up a day at the beach.  I've seen her in a bathing suit before,
but this..
.
 

It's not indecent in any way, but it showcases her body as if it was made specifically to accentuate her
and her alone.  I don't think I've got a speck of saliva left in my mouth, and I know damn well that I need to do something and quick before she and Dominique realize that I'm standing here like a love struck fool.  And to top it all off, a love struc
k fool with a serious erection.
Pivoting away from the girls, I run to the water and dive in.  It's the only way to h
ide my reaction to her.

I'm just about under control when Brooke and Dominique join us in the water.  Diving under the waves, Brooke emerges about a foot in front of me.  Just close enough for me to be jealous of the drops of water running from her collarbones into her bikini top.  Oh yeah, I've got problems where she's concerned. 

We spend the next hour in the water, joking around and riding the boogie board.  Dominique is the first one to get out, letting us all know that she's going to get her tan on. 
That leaves the four of us in the water, still messing around having a blast.

Watching Brooke throw a water safe football back and forth with Delilah and Spencer makes me smile. 
For a moment, I'm out of time, almost
as if I'm
watching
the scene
from a distance.  This
is
, I
realize,
the happiest I've ever been, and the most content.  It isn't
going anywhere
, but it's true nonetheless.  I know damn well I can't have Brooke, as much as I ache to be with her.  But that doesn't change how happy she makes me.
  When she's around, everything has more color.  Life makes more sense. 
How is she so different from anyone else in the world to me?

I'm jolted out of my reverie when I realize that she's jumped up on my back in a piggyback position, her arms around my shoulders and her legs wrapped around my waist.  To her, it's a playful nothing.  To me, it's more meaningful than I care to think about.

"Dame!
Where did you go?  You've been standing here like a blank slate for a few minutes now.  Are we boring you to death or what?"

Fuck
me;
even just feeling
her
against my back has me at an eleven on the arousal scale
of one to ten
.  Her breasts
rub
against my back in a totally innocent way, but my cock doesn't care at all.  It's damn lucky for me that there are so many people around, because if there weren't, I'd probably turn around and ask her to hang on to me the other
way. 
Chest to chest and
sex to sex.
  What I wouldn't give…

I manage to get out a choked laugh.  "No nothing like that.  Sorry.  I was actually thinking about a work problem.  Don't worry, I'm back on earth.  Let's head back to the beach.  I'm thirsty."

Sliding down my back, Brooke swims along next to me as we head to the shore. 
By the time we're there, I've got myself
mostly
under control. 

The four of us throw ourselves down on to the beach blankets
.  Delilah rifles through the cooler that Spencer brought, producing sodas for each of us. 
Taking a long pull of my Doctor Pepper, I watch from the corner of my eye as Brooke dries off.

I'm so engrossed with watching her that I completely miss the fact that we've got a visitor until I hear
his
obnoxious ass start to speak.

"I can't believe you guys are up and around already.  I just barely got my ass out of bed.  I figured the three of you would be so hung
over you'd be crashed until mid-
afternoon at the earliest.
Yet here the three of you
are, looking hotter than anyone else on the beach.
"
 

Just my fucking luck that Delilah’s asshole neighbor would be at the beach today. Or is it my luck?  It’s awfully convenient that of all the beaches he could have gone to, he wound up here.

The fact that he’s staring at the girls like they’re a buffet spread out just for him has my blood boiling.
Does he wa
nt me or Spence to punch him in the face? Because u
nless I'm imagining things, it looks like Spence is seconds away from smashing his face in, too. 

I give him my most glacial look, making sure I’ve got his attention.  “Ryan, is it?  Sorry to be blunt, but you’re interrupting a family day.  Maybe you can catch up with the ladies some other time.  Also, if you ever look at my girls like this again, you’re going to want to be wearing full body armor.  You got me?”

I’ll give the kid credit.  He knows when he’s in dangerous territory, and he all but moon walks away from us.

Poking me in the chest, Delilah laughs at me.  “Dame, he’s a fucking idiot.  Don’t let him upset you.  We went to the party last night because we had other friends there.  We all know he sucks.  And he’s a liar too, because not one of us was drunk last night.  Ignore him.  The three of us certainly do.”

I can’t help but to breathe a sigh of relief.  The idea of that asshole getting the girls drunk and preying on one of them, particularly with him having eyes for Brooke, fills me with rage. 

Deciding to shake it off, I say no more about Ryan.  Everyone spends the rest of the day soaking up the sun, while I soak up this time with Brooke.  She can never know it, but she’s become the brightest part of my life.

Another week brings another family dinner at my brother’s house. Grabbing my shrimp platter from the back seat, I head in to the house.

E
ven knowing that Brooke was going to be in here did nothing to lessen the throb of desire
I feel when I see her. 
She
’
s
perched
on the kitchen island wearing a pair of
faded
cut off denim shorts and a
dark blue
tank top, her
legs dangling from the counter.  I can’t contain a little groan at the sight of her bared feet, toes painted a delicious l
ooking bubblegum pink that causes me to fantasize about
sucking them in to my mouth.