Fade - Fighting Fate #3 Read online

  I didn’t bother answering him. Instead, I turned to Mom, who was busy pulling things out of the fridge. “What can I do?”

  She looked at me with surprise. “Oh . . . you can get the bacon going, if you’d like . . . ?”

  My frown deepened. I didn’t like the way it surprised her to have someone offer to help.

  I glanced at Ryan, my annoyance with him going up yet another notch. The little leech obviously didn’t ever bother.

  I bit my tongue.

  Now, as I pulled the rashers of bacon apart, I wondered if I would’ve turned out to be like Ryan if our positions had been reversed and it’d been me who’d come to live with Mom instead. I liked to think I wouldn’t have, but it scared me to think it might’ve been a possibility.

  Throwing the bacon into the pan, I looked up at Ryan. He was watching me with the same damn smirk on his face. I was ready to wipe it off.

  “So Dad tells me he offered you an internship this summer,” I said, watching the smirk slip clean off his face.

  I’d heard all about what Dad had offered, as well as the fact that Ryan had blatantly refused. It was fucking stupid on Ryan’s part. Dad may have been a useless father, but his company was huge, and internships there were eagerly sought after and sparingly given. It would be a good opportunity for him.

  “Yeah, I don’t take bribes,” Ryan said distastefully.

  Mom straightened and gave Ryan a level stare. “Ryan . . .”

  I watched him sneer. “Whatever, Mom. You know I’m right. I’m not going to be the old man’s charity case.”

  I blinked at Ryan’s words. Charity case? I wasn’t quite sure what that was about. The old man certainly didn’t give handouts. To anyone. If he’d offered Ryan an internship, it was because he thought he had the brains.

  “You’re not a charity case, Ryan,” Mom said, interrupting my thoughts. “Your father thinks you’ve got what it takes to work in his company.”

  Picking up his coffee, Ryan smirked at Mom and made his way toward the stairs. “Later . . .”

  I gawked at his retreating figure before turning back to Mom. “Does he always speak to you like that?”

  She gave me a look that I knew meant she wasn’t prepared to answer me. “I wish he’d just stop being so stubborn and take the damned internship.”

  Turning back to the pan, I pressed my lips together. I wanted to tell her just what I thought of Ryan’s attitude, but I knew it wasn’t my place to say. She did the best she could under the circumstances she was given. She gave Ryan everything she could, but Ryan was an adult now. It was up to him to learn how to become a man.

  Chapter 3

  Amy

  The whole twenty-four hours since I’d left Ryan’s had been a wash. I’d gone from feeling devastated, to depressed, to pissed off, to relieved, then back to devastated all over again.

  If I were to be honest with myself, I think I was in shock over the fact that Ryan had broken up with me solely because I wouldn’t sleep with him. I mean, I knew it happened, but I was pretty sure the guy usually made up some other reason and wasn’t so blatant about it.

  Sitting on my bed one whole day post dumping, I still wasn’t sure how I felt about it. One part of me was telling me it was a good thing. If he couldn’t see all the good things about me that were worth sticking around for, then he wasn’t worth my time.

  But another part of me was telling me that I just hadn’t tried hard enough. That I should’ve been more accommodating.

  A knock on the door brought me out of my head, and I looked up to see Mom standing in the doorway.

  “Really, Amy. Are you going to be sitting around like some sort of sloth for the whole day? You could be helping me with the plans for the dinner party tomorrow night. It’s about time you learned the finer details when it comes to hosting. It’s not as easy as I make it look, you know.”

  She sighed and brushed her hair off her shoulder.

  “Now, I’ll need Ryan here by seven o’clock sharp to help your father greet the guests, so can you please at least do me the favor of passing that on . . .”

  I flinched at hearing Ryan’s name. I’d forgotten about the dinner party. This was not going to go down well.

  Mom paused, her eyes narrowing as she stared me down. “What?” she said dangerously.

  I swallowed. “Uh . . . Ryan and I kind of broke up.”

  Her eyebrows shot up, and she sucked in a harsh breath. “What!”

  I pressed my lips together, waiting for the explosion.

  It was as quick as flicking a switch. Her jaw clenched, and her eyes narrowed into tiny little slits. “No,” she said sternly. “You will not do this to me, Amy. I have already told the Fitzgeralds that Ryan will be here. You know how interested they are to do business with Universal Management. Ryan was their way in. What do you think it’s going to do to my image if he’s not here after I told them he would be?”

  She took one hand off her hip to point her long, manicured finger at me.

  “I swear to God, Amy, if you ruin this for me, you can forget Paris this Christmas. I mean it.”

  I sat staring up at her, a lump growing in my throat. I really wasn’t good enough for anyone, was I? Why couldn’t I just make them happy? What was I doing that was so wrong?

  I racked my brain, trying to figure out how to fix everything. I knew I’d promised her that Ryan and I would be there, but how was I supposed to make Ryan come when he didn’t want to be anywhere near me?

  Mom’s sudden shriek had me flinching as she began storming toward my closet. Throwing the doors open, she thrust the garments roughly to the side, dresses falling in clumps to the floor as she went.

  Pulling a slinky red dress off its hanger, she threw it on the bed, then grabbed me by my upper arm and yanked me to my feet.

  “It’s time you grew up, Amy. Stop dressing like a child with your jeans and god-awful tank tops and be the woman Ryan needs you to be. It’s no wonder he broke up with you. I’ve been telling you for weeks the kind of man Ryan is going to become needs a proper woman. Now put the damned dress on and go apologize. Grovel on your hands and knees if you have to. I don’t care. You do whatever it takes to get him here tomorrow night, or don’t bother coming home!”

  I gasped, my heart hammering with a slight panic as I watched her stomp out the door.

  I didn’t know what to do. I tried so hard to make Mom proud of me, but nothing ever seemed good enough. Just once. That’s all I wanted. One time where she would look at me and say, “I’m so proud of you, Amy.”

  Glancing at the dress she’d left on my bed, I wondered if it was that easy. Was that all it was going to take? For me to put on a sexy dress and apologize?

  Ryan’s angry face flashed in my mind. No. It was going to take a lot more than that. I was going to have to give him my body to get him to Mom’s dinner party, and I wasn’t sure if I could.

  I thought of how proud Mom would be if I managed to get Ryan back. The need for her approval made my chest ache. I had to at least try.

  Chapter 4

  Daniel

  “Are you sure you’re okay with me going out tonight?” Mom asked for the third time.

  I laughed. “It’s fine, Mom. I’m just going to head to bed early anyway. The bus trip is finally catching up with me.” It wasn’t. But I wanted her to be okay with going out just the same.

  “Okay, then,” she said, exhaling lightly. “We’ll do something tomorrow.” Grabbing her keys off the hook, she giggled. “See you in the morning.”

  As soon as the door closed behind her, Ryan stepped out from the kitchen. “Finally!” I watched him pull his cell from his back pocket and start tapping the screen. “It’s booty call time.” He grinned and glanced up at me. “Want me to tell her to bring a friend?”

  My brother was seriously a dick. For the first time in my life, I hated the fact that we were identical. Knowing people could mistake me for him pissed me off. “Nah, thanks, man. I’m good. I’m going to hit the
sack soon.”

  Ryan lifted one eyebrow in amusement. “Are you sure? These girls are a sure thing, man.”

  I bit back a sharp reply. “Yeah, I’m sure, man. You have a good time, though,” I said, pushing myself to my feet and heading for the stairs. I wasn’t really that tired yet, but I could force myself to go to sleep if I had to. And I really had to get away from Ryan.

  Taking a long, hot shower, I forced my muscles to loosen and relax until I was sure I was languid enough I would definitely fall asleep.

  Going back to the room Mom had put my things in, I threw on a pair of boxers and climbed into bed, fleetingly wondering why there were flower petals all over the floor, before I quickly drifted off to sleep.

  I woke to the feeling of the bed dipping beside me. Over the years at military school, I’d painstakingly trained myself to remain still if woken. That way, I could hopefully give myself time to assess what was going on before anything disastrous happened.

  Lying there, I quickly tried to gather my wits. The first thing I noted was that it was still somewhere in the middle of the night. Then I noted the scent. Female. Sweet. It was nice. I wondered who she was.

  I felt the comforter being pulled back, then soft, warm skin brushing against mine. Her hand gingerly touched my chest, her fingers hesitantly moving over the contours of my pecs.

  Ryan must have ignored my decision and told the girl he’d been calling to bring a friend after all. Well, it was either that or the girl refused to come without a friend. I wouldn’t put it past my brother to ignore my wishes just so he could get a piece.

  The girl moved closer, her body pressing more fully against mine. She was so soft and warm, and her breath sent little tingles of pleasure over my skin every time she exhaled. I knew I should tell her to leave, but it’d been so long since I’d been with a girl, I was having trouble denying myself this one pleasure.

  Her fingernail lightly drew across my chest, an accident I was sure by the way her breath paused for a moment, but the thrill it gave me caused an involuntary groan to escape me.

  Deciding it was futile to feign sleep one second longer, I inhaled and moved like I was rousing. Fuck it. If she was willing to give it, why not go with it?

  She burrowed a little closer to me, her smooth leg rubbing against mine. Letting out a soft groan, I slid my hand onto her lower back and pulled her more firmly against me, rolling a fraction so I’d have better access to her lips if she’d let me kiss her.

  The little gasp she let out, followed by some sexy-as-hell breathy panting, had me tightening my hold on her.

  I slid my hand up her spine while I rolled a little more, my other hand finding the curve of her hip.

  The second I discovered she was topless, my control vanished. Pulling her fully against me, I took her mouth. I didn’t consume her like a starved man. Something told me that would’ve been a mistake. Instead, I slowly drank her in. Tasted her. And damn if she wasn’t the sweetest thing.

  Without breaking our kiss, I rolled us until she was underneath me, careful to keep my weight off her tiny frame. Slowly, between kisses, I opened my eyes. With the moonlight filtering in through the gap in the curtains, I could just make out her features.

  I froze, gazing down at her. She was gorgeous. Stunning.

  I disliked the thought of thanking my brother, but I sure as hell would this time.

  “Don’t stop,” she breathed, splaying her hands across my shoulders and pulling me back down.

  I licked her bottom lip, already drunk on the taste of her. Gently, I caressed her silky skin, running my hand over the predominant bone on her hip, up over the contours of her ribs, cupping the small mound of flesh on her chest.

  She stilled under my touch. I kissed her slower, deeper. With the gentlest touch I could conjure, I brushed my thumb over her nipple. She gasped, her eyes popping open with genuine surprise. I did it again and she moaned, arching up to kiss me again.

  “Oh, God,” she whispered against my lips. “That feels so good.”

  I was positive my cock had never been so goddamned hard. It damn well ached, it wanted her that much.

  “I’m so sorry,” she murmured between kisses. “I shouldn’t have said no.”

  My head tried to process the words she was saying, but the way she felt under my touch was making it so damned hard.

  “I thought I wasn’t ready,” she breathed against my ear as I kissed her neck.

  I wanted to lick her nipples. They were obviously very sensitive. I wanted to feel her squirm underneath me as I ran my tongue over them.

  “Please say we’re not done,” she whispered, gripping my shoulders tighter as I licked down her chest. “I can do this now. I promise. This feels right. You feel so good . . .”

  My need to get to her nipples took over. I had no idea what she was saying. The words seemed to be jumbling up inside my head. Carefully, I ran the flat of my tongue over one nipple.

  Her back arched instantaneously. “Oh my God! Ryan!”

  I paused. The fogginess of my brain sensing something wasn’t right.

  “Oh, please don’t stop. It feels so good,” she panted out. “You were right. I know that now. Please forgive me.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. What the hell was going on? Did she really just call me Ryan?

  She dug her fingers into my skin. “I don’t want to lose you, Ryan. Please. I know I shouldn’t have turned you down. I just wasn’t sure I was ready to have sex . . .”

  Fucking hell.

  I pulled back, my desire shot down in flames. That fucking douchebag twin of mine was going to cop an absolute earful from me in the morning.

  “Ryan?” she asked, her voice sounding more and more unsure.

  Throwing back the covers, I climbed from the bed. “I’m not Ryan,” I growled.

  I didn’t mean for my voice to come out sounding so accusing, but Ryan had really pissed me off this time.

  The girl jackknifed up to sit, pulling the sheet up to cover her chest. “What?”

  “Shit.” I grunted, running my hands through my hair in frustration. “I’m really sorry. I’m not Ryan. I’m Daniel, his brother. I thought you knew.”

  I wasn’t sure how the girl’s eyes got any wider than they already were, but they did. I saw the comprehension come over her, and she covered her mouth with her hand in shock.

  “You’re Daniel?”

  I dropped my hands to my sides. “Yeah. I really am sorry. If I had known you thought I was Ryan, I would’ve told you sooner.”

  Her gaze constantly took me in, sweeping my hair, my face, my chest.

  “You look so much like him,” she whispered.

  I gave her a humorless grin. “That’s usually what identical means.”

  She watched me for a moment, still clutching the sheet to her chest. “How did you not think I was here for Ryan? Do you normally have random girls creep into your bed in the middle of the night?”

  Shit. How did I answer that? She obviously didn’t realize Ryan was a major player.

  “I . . . uh . . . no, I don’t.” I rubbed the back of my neck uncomfortably. “To be honest, I was ready to tell you to go away, but you kind of smelled and felt incredible. You’re kinda hard not to want.”

  Despite the low lighting, I could still tell she was blushing from my words. What the hell was she doing with my douchebag of a brother?

  “Could you . . . uh . . . maybe turn around or something while I get dressed?” she asked softly.

  “Oh, right, of course. Sorry,” I mumbled, turning and running my hands over my face.

  I listened to the rustling of clothes as she dressed, only coming out of my head when I heard her soft voice.

  “Sorry?” I turned to find her fully clothed in a very tight, very short red dress. It was nice—sexy as hell—but it didn’t really seem like it suited her.

  She blinked at me. She looked sad all of a sudden. “This isn’t Ryan’s room.”

  It wasn’t a question. I wasn’t sure ho
w she wanted me to answer. If at all. “Uh . . . no. His room’s down the other end of the hall.”

  She bit her lip, her gaze falling to one of the flower petals on the floor. Shit. She looked so dejected.

  “I’m really sorry. I’m so embarrassed,” she said, putting her hands on her cheeks. “I guess I’ll go try the right door.”

  Giving me a small smile, she took a step toward the door. Reality quickly kicked in, and I automatically took a step that way as well. “Uh . . . that’s probably not a good idea.”