Overture - Skye Warren Page 0,29
girl with mascara running down their cheeks.”
That makes me snort. “I wouldn’t think that would stop you.”
“Well, I’m not saying I’m going to stop.”
“If you want my advice, pick one this time.” There was an incident last year where he’d lured two women into his bed for a threesome. Except he had only mentioned it to one of the girls. The other one had not been pleased to realize she wasn’t the only one joining him.
“In my defense, I was falling down drunk.”
“How is that a defense?”
He grins, unrepentant. “She still called me for a date the next day.”
I can’t help but glance at Liam, where a woman touches his arm as she laughs, leaning close to give him a view down her dress. Will he invite her to his bedroom? There’s no question what her answer would be. Morosely I take a bite of the mashed potatoes, but even the buttery carbs can’t soothe the jagged edges of jealousy.
“You have nothing to worry about here,” Josh says, his voice dry.
“I’m not worried.”
“He hasn’t slept with a woman in so long I’m pretty sure he’s forgotten how. Or maybe key parts of his anatomy have atrophied and fallen off. It’s not healthy.”
I give him a sideways glance. “How would you know?”
“Because no one who’s gotten laid would be that tense.”
He does look tense. His knuckles are white where he grips the coffee mug. And who drinks coffee at a wedding, anyway? Everyone around him laughs and dances and flirts. These men put their lives on the line every time they take a job. They work hard, and they party even harder. This reception will continue long into the night. It won’t stop when Hassan and his pretty new wife leave for Hawaii.
Liam looks like he’d rather be anywhere else.
“Is it the Red Team?” I ask. Those kinds of things are top secret, but you hear bits and pieces when you spend hours outside the office every day.
“Maybe,” Josh says. “But I think more than that, it’s the wedding.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“So much happiness and love in the air,” Josh says in agreement.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the brothers had a rough childhood. Even this violinist knows that much. Only the details are hazy. “So he doesn’t believe in happily ever after?”
“He believes in it for some people. Just not for himself.”
The man in question looks this way, as if he can feel my regard. His green eyes burn as he stares at me from across the room. “That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“You want my advice?” Josh asks.
“Not really.”
“You got a hard-on for your legal guardian? Go for it. You want to work out some good old-fashioned daddy issues with Liam North, be my guest. I’m not the goddamn morality police, and Lord knows he could use the relief. But don’t expect anything more from him.”
My cheeks flame. Is my lust for his brother that obvious? Even more than embarrassment I’m furious that he would presume to warn me away. “Maybe you’re not giving me enough credit. Someone might be interested in me for more than just sex.”
He looks vaguely surprised. “Of course he wants you for more than sex. That’s not the issue.”
Liam must see something on my face, because he starts heading this way. People stop him as he goes, catching his arm. He turns to give them a few words before continuing toward us. “I know I’m not experienced enough for him—”
“He doesn’t think he has it in him to love someone.”
My heart aches for what could have made him that way. “He’s wrong, of course.”
“No, sweetheart. That’s the problem. He’s right.”
Liam reaches us in a few long strides, his expression hard. The tan of his skin contrasts sharply with his white shirt. He’s removed his tux jacket, which only serves to emphasize the hard, lean line of his body. Silver cuff links glint from his wrists. He’s as well-formed as any piece of art, a feast of shape and texture for the eyes—but undoubtedly his eyes are the crown jewels. A deep green like malachite, with darker striations running through them.
Josh stands. “How are you, dear brother?”
The question is asked in a mocking tone, but Liam rarely rises to the bait. Instead he studies me, his green eyes questioning. “Are you all right?”
I press my hands to my cheeks, feeling the warmth raging. You want to work out some good old-fashioned daddy issues with Liam North, be my guest. It’s hard to