in on our joined fingers then narrows.
“Can we talk?” Lennon asks him.
He gives a stiff nod, his jaw clenching as he picks up his steaming mug and stalks toward the couch. We follow, sitting on the loveseat across from him.
I open my mouth to speak, but Lennon squeezes my hand, and I glance at her. She shakes her head then looks to Bates.
“So, me and Arch, we’re together now,” she says.
He quirks a brow. “No shit, Lenny. I’ve got eyes. How long?”
“Not that long,” she tells him. “Just over a week.”
He scoffs. “What-the-fuck-ever. You two have been acting weird for months. Did you really think I didn’t notice?”
I cut in. “It’s not like that, man. She’s telling the truth. We’ve only really been together for, like, a week. We didn’t want to lie to you, man. That’s why we’re telling you.”
“You expect me to believe that? Really? A week?” he drawls then takes a swig of his coffee. “You guys are shit actors and even shittier liars.”
Lennon runs a hand through her hair, her fingers getting caught on a snag, and she yanks it out with a frustrated growl. “You want the full story? Fine,” she says, glaring at her brother. “We slept together once, well over a year ago, and since then, I’ve been fighting tooth and nail to stay away from him, Bates.”
He cringes, holding a hand out to quiet her. “Nope, stop right there. I don’t want to know about you two bumpin’ uglies.” His gaze locks on me, narrowing dangerously. “Bro code, dude. Those words mean anything to you? Fucking my sister is a major violation.”
“We’re not fucking,” I defend, standing. “We haven’t had sex since—”
Bates lurches to his feet, shoving me. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear it.”
I shove him right back. “Well, too bad. You’re going to listen to what I have to say, asshole.”
He charges me. We tumble over the coffee table, landing hard on the floor. Bates straddles my waist and slaps me twice before I manage to roll him off, reversing our positions.
I pin his hands by his head. “Stop!” I yell. “We had sex once last year when Jess fucked me over. It wasn’t supposed to happen, but it did, and I’m sorry, man. But it changed everything for me.”
The fucker reefs his right hand free from my grip and slaps me again. “That’s for fucking my sister,” he states.
“What were the other two for then?” I retort.
“The same damn thing!”
I sigh, releasing him and getting to my feet before offering him a hand up. “Fair enough,” I murmur. “I guess I deserved that.”
“No shit,” he grumbles, taking my hand.
We turn to face Lennon, who’s sitting on the loveseat, filing her nails. She glances at us, a bored expression on her face. “You two done?”
Bates mutters, “Yeah,” while I nod.
I return to the loveseat and sit beside Lennon again while Bates drops onto the couch, crossing his arms and avoiding looking at us.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Lennon says to him. He keeps his gaze averted, so she continues. “But I can’t keep running from this. Bates, I love him.”
My heart stutters, skips a beat, then takes off at a sprint. “What did you just say?” I murmur.
She turns to face me, takes a deep breath, and shrugs. “I love you,” she mumbles.
“Say it again,” I demand, sure I hallucinated those words coming out of her mouth.
Lennon shakes her head at me, a smile playing at her lips as she rolls her eyes. “Are you going deaf? I said I love you, you big idiot.”
I grab her, dragging her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her waist, and burying my face in her neck. “I love you, too, baby,” I tell her, brushing my lips over the hammering pulse point in her throat. I take her face in my hands, staring into her beautiful hazel eyes, and grin. “So fucking much,” I breathe then kiss the ever-loving shit out of my little spitfire.
“Ugh, okay. I get it. You two are in love,” Bates complains. “Keep that shit behind closed doors. It’s fucking gross.”
Without breaking the kiss, I stand, carrying Lennon back to her room where I show her just how much I love her with my lips and teeth and tongue.
We’re lying in her bed, recovering from the orgasm exchange, when she says, “So, that didn’t go as badly as I thought it would.”
I chuckle. “Which part? Telling Bates we’re together, or telling me you love me?”
“Both,” she