wearing a black shirt, rolled up at the sleeves, with black dress trousers. It was simple, it was hot. He always looked hot. And tonight he looked hot as he leaned into a girl who was sitting

on a stool at the other end of the bar. She had her head tilted back while Adam braced one

hand on the bar and leaned in to whisper in her ear. She laughed and he lifted his face so they were almost close enough to kiss. Whatever he murmured to her made her laugh soften to a

flirtatious smile and I felt that burn in my throat transform into a lump of tears.

As if he sensed my gaze Adam’s head lifted and our eyes met. I’d never found it easy to

hide my emotions when I was feeling something particularly deeply and I hurried to look

away before he caught it.

“What can I get you?” One of the bartenders finally approached me.

“Bottle of water,” I replied, my voice hoarse with pain and he had to lean in for me to

repeat the order. Just as I handed him money for the water, I felt a hand on my lower back

and his cologne hit me seconds before his mouth brushed my ear.

“Els,” Adam said quietly, his voice thick with emotion.

I didn’t know how to respond. My eyes fixed downward on the bottle as I tried to control

myself, knowing that every day I was getting closer and closer to forcing our situation into

some kind of resolution by putting the truth out there.

“Sweetheart, look at me.”

I did as he asked, searching his face for answers I knew he wasn’t ready to give me,

answers he may never be ready to give me.

He lifted his hand from my back and brushed his knuckles tenderly along my jaw, his eyes

following their movement. “The prettiest thing I’ve ever seen,” he murmured.

The words stung because they signaled another round on this merry-go-round of mixed

signals. I reared back from his touch, grimacing. “Don’t.”

He dropped his hands. “Ellie—”

I gestured to the girl at the other end of the bar who was now throwing invisible daggers

my way. “Did you say that to her?”

“El—”

A surge of shocked murmurs and shouts interrupted him and we both turned to look over

his shoulder to see Braden rearing back from hitting… “Gavin,” I gasped.

Adam immediately took off to be by his friend’s side and I followed, my heart racing for

Braden. Gavin had been his and Adam’s friend at school, but he’d grown up into a prize

arsehole. Braden, for some reason, felt loyalty to him and kept him around. That was until

five years ago when he’d slept with Analise and betrayed Braden.

Now he was in his nightclub?

“That is Gavin.” Braden threw Joss a disgusted look. “The friend who fucked Analise.

Why the hell were you talking to him like you know him?”

Oh dear God, Joss knew him? For a moment I felt absolute panic take over me at the

thought of history repeating itself for my brother. But I remembered this was Joss, and

despite her flaws, she would never be disloyal. I only had to watch the shock fall across her features at the discovery of who Gavin was to realize that whatever this was, it was a big

misunderstanding.

Well, at least on Joss’s part. I sneered at Gavin.

“He’s a trainer at my gym,” Joss explained. “He helped me once.” She looked up at

Braden and as she promised him she had no idea who Gavin was she let her feelings for my

brother all hang out. I knew she probably didn’t realize it, would even be mortified if she

thought for one second she was making herself transparent. However, I was glad to see it and

wished Braden wasn’t so riled up because he didn’t even notice it.

“Looks like you moved on to better things, Bray.” Gavin peered at Joss in a way that made

my skin scrawl and I saw Adam’s shoulders tense in front of me. “Here’s hoping history

repeats itself because I’ve wanted between her legs for fucking weeks. How about it, Joss?

You fancy shagging a real man?”

I’d never witnessed my brother hit someone but he was on Gavin before anyone could stop

him. Adam tried his best, but I knew there was a part of him that didn’t want to pull Braden

off the sleazy little traitor. But he did, only just managing to keep a grip on Braden when

Gavin said something so crude I almost threw a punch.

By the time security came to drag Gavin out, I thought Adam was going to let Braden go

just so his own arms were free to start swinging. And poor Joss. I watched with concern as

Braden, bristling with adrenaline and anger the likes I’d never seen in him before, hauled her

out of the main club and up the stairs into his private office.

I didn’t even want to know what was about to happen in there.

Instead I stood there, still shaking from the whole thing, as the excited customers and

guests returned to enjoying their night. Adam and I were just standing on the dance floor

staring at one another. I reckoned we were both trying to work out where we were at, and

what the hell had just happened.

The girl from the bar strolled over to him in a tight jersey dress that showcased a

bombshell figure. She was shorter than I was but like Joss she had more hips and ass. I

suddenly felt dowdy in my shapeless, shimmery shift dress. Stopping beside Adam, the girl

placed a proprietary hand on his arm. “Let me buy you a drink after that.”

Adam glanced up from her to look to me and desperate not to bleed as openly as I had

earlier, I closed my features down and told him flatly, “Go. I’m leaving anyway.”

I brushed past him before he could reply, pushing through the crowds, and carefully

making my way downstairs to the street level. A hand suddenly curled around my bicep as I

was about to step outside and I looked up in surprise to see Adam was there with his jacket

on.

“I’m making sure you get home okay.”

“You don’t need to.”

He didn’t reply and he didn’t let me go. I was too tired to struggle so I let him manhandle

me into a taxi and I sat in absolute silence with him as the cab drove us to Dublin Street.

He paid for the taxi and followed me out and up the front stoop. He waited patiently as I

got out my keys and let us in to the dark flat. I took a few steps into the hall, flicked the light switch and turned around, kicking off my heels. “You can go now.”

Instead Adam slammed the front door shut behind him and stared at me sullenly.

I sighed softly, tired of fighting. Mum had always joked I wasn’t a fighter, I was a lover.

She’d even bought me a T-shirt that said it. “You can leave now, Adam. Thank you for

seeing me home.”

“What do you want from me?” he suddenly asked, his voice husky with anger.

I backed up at his tone, hitting the wall, watching warily as he stalked me. My chin tilted,

my lips parting in surprise as he placed his hands above my head on the wall and caged me

against it. He lowered his head, his nose sliding along mine until his mouth rested just above

my lips. I swallowed, finally finding my voice. “What do you want from me?”

His answer was to crush my lips beneath his.

Like the last time he’d kissed me like this, the world just disappeared, taking reality and

all the important stuff with it. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers curling into his hair, my breasts pressed hard against his chest as we devoured one another.