A Brother's Love

Your Affection

Jake drove Easton and me to a fancy sushi place. The minute Easton and I left the car cameras started flashing. I never experienced people taking your picture like that, it felt hostile and kind of scary. Easton kept his hand on my back and guided me into the restaurant while Jake and men who apparently followed our car to keep Easton safe tried to maintain the crowd. Once we were inside the hostess gave us some space, she probably felt like we needed a moment which was true. I faced Easton, nerves still raging through my body and making me shiver. He placed his hand on my arm, gently running it up and down.

“Someone must have seen us together before.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze, “They’ll give up when they realize there is no story to cover.”

“There isn’t?” I asked.

It was a loaded question and we both knew it. Easton merely pulled away from me and approached the hostess to ask for our table. He wasn’t going to answer the question because he probably didn’t know how to answer it. We weren’t together so there wasn’t a story about his relationships or the lack of it and he definitely didn’t want the world to know about his other life. So I was aware Easton was never going to answer that question.

“Follow me.” The gentle voice of the hostess snapped me out of my thoughts. I followed after Easton and the hostess taking a seat at the table she appointed to us, “Let me know if you need anything, Mr. Dehn.”

“Thank you.” He smiled charmingly at her.

This was apparently also a restaurant he visited occasionally. Probably with clients and women he liked to take to bed. I didn’t fit in either category so who was I to this guy? A woman he needed to protect because he was stupid enough to knock on her door that one time? Things between us were weird right now and it was better to let things happen naturally, I suppose. Just going with the flow and see where it leads to.

“What do you recommend?” I asked him, taking the heavy menu which Easton offered me.

“Excuse me?”

He wasn’t paying much attention to me, maybe he also got distracted by his thoughts.

“You obviously come here more often so you must know the dishes I absolutely should try.”

Easton flashed me his charming smile as well, I think we were at this place because things were going on in the background. I didn’t question him, I knew he’d keep me safe. If I just let go of the scare I had outside I could enjoy this night together with this handsome man sitting across me. I moved my menu, holding it open between us while he pointed out the things he preferred when eating at this fancy sushi place. We ordered quite a bit but it was worth it. Everything was amazing and by the time we were heading home, I was sated and ready to take a shower and then crawl into bed like a happy girl. We were seated in the backseat of Jake’s car. Now I knew Easton always had a small team following him around. I figured he doubled up security after he got shot. So he wasn’t as on top of things as he made people believe. He called it a miscalculation that night. I was curious about it but knew better than to ask Easton about it.

“Had a good time?” Said man asked me.

I trailed my eyes to him. Like me, he looked happy. He must have enjoyed dinner as well and was also ready to call it a night. Or maybe that was just my imagination and the minute I was crawling into bed he'd run to his secret hide-out and start planning to take over the world or something.

"I enjoyed it quite a bit," I admitted to him.

He lightly chuckled, “I’m glad you consider me good company now.”

“I never said anything about you being good company.” I casually pointed out, “The food was great so I am happy a girl. Who cares the view was good too?”

It was silent for a minute, Easton probably didn’t quite catch what I was trying to say. When he did process my words carefully he sat up and stared at me, his eyes carefully scanning my face.

“Yeah, you enjoyed the view?” He asked, “You just didn’t like talking to the one who provided the amazing view?”

I burst out in laughter, moving slightly away from him and glancing out the window to hide how amused I was by him. My grin I tried to hide yet I had a feeling he still saw it.

"Something like that," I whispered.

He chuckled, grabbing my wrist which made me glance at him. His eyes gleamed victoriously, he intended to have me looking at him. My breathing picked up, staring into his eyes. It was such an intimate moment in a confined space while Jake was sitting in the driver seat. It was wrong on so many levels yet neither one of us pulled away. I held my breath when Easton leaned in, brushing his lips against mine. It was like the other time he kissed me, barely there. He didn’t pull away this time. It was like he wanted to know if I was okay with it. I was so I placed my hand in his hair and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. Flashbacks of that night of us pressed together while kissing each other like there was no tomorrow making this all the more intense for me. I didn’t know how long we made out like that in the back seat but when we reached the mansion Jake let out an awkward cough. We pulled away from each other. My cheeks heated while I ran my fingers over my lips, trying to fix whatever was left of my lipsticks while beside me Easton merely chuckled.

“Ready to head in?” He asked.

I nodded, refusing to look at him. It might end up with me jumping him and I did not want that to happen in front of Jake. Jake opened the door for me, his face thankfully impassive. I climbed out of the car and headed into the mansion, not even waiting for Easton. The man followed me though, I could hear his footsteps behind me.

“You heading to bed?” He asked me.

Taking a deep breath I forced myself to turn around and face him, “Yeah, that’s for the best right now.” My voice was barely above a whisper and I hated how breathy I sounded.

Easton already pulled himself together, looking like his regular self while I was a hot mess. Life was definitely not fair.

“You’re probably right.” He agreed gently, “Good night, Poppy. Thank you for dinner.” His lips curled to a smirk which made me press my thighs together so a rush of liquid heat wouldn’t trail down my thighs, “And your affection.” He added quietly.

This man was impossible. I turned my back to him and ran up the stairs, heading to my room without looking back. The chuckle which followed after me, made the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. I needed to calm down. A hot shower didn’t feel right to me, I needed to have a cold shower ASAP.