One Night With The Wrong Brother

thu

s a whisper, fragile and hopeful, born from the haze o

ns was too bright. It burned. But not as much as the sudd

the taper of a waist she had clung to only hours ago. The skin

ound immediately. The silence in the room stretched, heavy and

her ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage. Something was wrong. The air in

tur

herine's lungs in a

sn't

th she had fallen in love with over the summer. There was no kindne

us Ri

younger

he warm body she had stumbled into in the dark-crashed into the reality of the morning. She had whispered

ing on the single syllable. "I t

look like a man who had just spent the night with a woman. H

th sleep but sharp with mockery. He walked towa

k against the headbo

w falling over her, blocking out the sun. "You mean you felt the alcohol?

stomach churned, bile rising in her throat. "No.

e her flinch. He leaned down, placing a hand on the

t. "You were drunk enough to be loose, but

es, hot and humiliat

ng scent of whiskey and the expensive soap he used. "You didn't want m

iscous, flooded her veins. She wanted to die. She

he hallway outside. H

e you in

r's v

est, tightening around her lungs until she couldn'

lert tension. He looked at the door, then back at her. For a second, just a spli

rm. His grip was

p," he

lothe

ow

eet around her naked body. Gus didn't wait. He dragged her across the plush c

clicked and swung open, revealing a

s closer now. The doorkn

ne tripped, her bare shoulder scraping ag

shut behind them. The click of the lo

faint green emergency exit sign down the hall. The space was tight.

hispered, her voice shaking

ther side of her head, caging her in. He leaned in, his forehe

ous hiss. "If you breathe a word of this to any

l seeped into her skin, contrasting viole

ing this?" she

already on a plane to London. You missed your chance. And you ar