Nothin' But Trouble by Jenika Snow Page A

her brother.
    Would
Court attack Roan, and the two of them would be in a full out brawl in her
mother’s living room? But before she could say anything Court started chuckling
and rubbing his jaw.
    “I
deserved that, and more.” He grinned, and thank God Roan did, too. Damn, was
this how guys “made up”? She could remember her fights with her girlfriends in
high school, and it had always been overly dramatic and drawn-out. There wasn’t
a punch to the face and things could be smooth again.
    “Well,
I can’t really stay mad at you since you helped me with Lilly, and that goes a
long way in my book. But Court, man, you have to have known that if you just
came to me and told me how you felt for Lilly I would have been cool with it.”
But then this look covered Roan’s face, as if something just came to him, and
his cheeks became red. “Wait, you weren’t getting with her before that night,
right? You weren’t fucking my underage little sister, were you?” Roan curled his hands into fists again, but Court was
shaking his head.
    “Fuck
no, man. I didn’t even see Lilly as anything but your kid sister until that
night at her graduation party.”
    “I
don’t understand why that night made the difference?” Roan asked.
    Court
sat back down, and it took her a second but she followed suit. He looked at
Roan, and after a minute he sighed and sat in the chair. “I don’t know why it
took that moment for me to realize that I wanted Lilly as something more. It
was just the time my bear rose up when it saw her and smelled her scent, and I
knew I was lost.” Court looked over at her, and there was so much raw emotion
that it was like she could feel him reaching across the space that separated
them and running his fingers over her cheek. “But I knew it was wrong. You and
I have a history, Roan, and I love you like a brother. It felt like I was
betraying you. And shit, she is ten years younger than me.”
    “But
five fucking years, Court? You pushed me out, turned your back on us all
because of some stupid ass notion that I would what, kick a bear shifter’s ass
for wanting to be with my sister?” When her brother put it that way it did
sound ridiculous, but now was not the time to think about any of that.
    “Court
had his reasons for doing what he did, and I don’t think we should harp on why
he did what he did. Can’t we just think about now and move forward?”
    Both
men looked at her, and they sighed in unison.
    “She’s
right, Roan. I fucked up, but I did what I thought was right at the time, even
though it was far from it. I just want my best friend back in my life.” Court
turned and looked at her. “And I want to take care of Lilly.” Before anyone
could say anything Court’s cell started vibrating. He pulled it out of his cut,
looked at the screen, and stood. “I have to take this. I’m going to step
outside.”
    Lilly
watched him leave out the front door, and looked at Roan. Her brother watched
her intently, and she knew she was about to get “the talk”.
    “You
have feelings for him, Lilly, like ones that are serious enough that you want
to get involved with an outlaw bear shifting biker?” She didn’t need to think
about Roan’s words to know what she felt in her heart.
    “I
cared for him all those years ago, Roan, but pushed the feelings down after
everything went downhill after that night.” He ground his teeth, and it sounded
overly loud. “I want to see where this goes.”
    “What
if it isn’t going where you think it is? What if you get hurt,
Lilly?” Roan leaned forward and rested his arms on his thighs.
    “Isn’t
life about getting hurt, dusting yourself off and trying again? And besides, I
know how he makes me feel, and I see the way he looks at me.”
    “Yeah,
I see how he looks at you too, like he wants to tear an asshole’s head off if
they screw with you.”
    That
had her smiling, but not because she found it funny, but because her brother
was currently wearing the