“Oooh. Protective, are we?” he asks with a grin.
“That’s Jared. He likes to fuck women then never call them back,” Declan says flatly and Jared shrugs.
“Got it. One night stand only,” I say and everyone laughs when Declan and Darian narrow their eyes at me.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mia,” Jared says, offering me his hand.
“Likewise,” I laugh and shake his hand.
“You know what they say about a girl with a good grip?” he asks, still holding my hand.
“Jared,” Declan growls.
“Single, apparently,” I say with a sweet smile.
“Alright. You’re grounded,” Darian says as he grabs my waist and pulls me away from his friends. “I thought you said you were socially awkward?”
“I’m good at faking it,” I shrug.
“Oh, you won’t have to fake it with me,” Jared says with a wink, and I giggle.
“Jared. Seriously?” Declan asks.
“What? Just shooting my shot, sir. She’s hot and sassy,” Jared says.
I’ve never been called hot before, so I am a bit shocked to hear someone freely admit it. In a way it’s understandable. They didn’t know me when I was overweight and didn’t take care of myself. I got medicated for anxiety the summer after high school and I was able to pull my head out of the water and not feel like I was drowning all of the time. From there I was able to focus on the basic things like hygiene, my appearance, and my health. Shauna was such a big help when it was at its worst. There were times that I was perfectly content sitting in the same spot and not doing anything besides watching TV or eating. I had no desire to go outside, take a shower, talk to anyone, or do really anything.
“And off limits,” Darian says as a warning.
“I didn’t know you were my dad. I thought he was dead,” I say to Darian with a smile.
“Damn. And she has a daddy kink,” another guy says.
“Shut up, Alan,” Declan says.
“Still want me down here?” I ask Darian with a smile.
“You could have just said you didn’t want to. You didn’t have to be a brat,” he says, narrowing his eyes again.
“I always have a point to make,” I smile and pat his cheek, making Jared chuckle. Darian’s expression changes and it forces a flash of heat to sweep over my body. He’s not mad or even happy. It’s lust. I know how men look at me when they don’t know me, but he knows me. I don’t react or jerk away from him when he puts his hand over mine as it’s on his cheek.
“Please don’t let our friends get you in bed. We don’t want to have to bury a body… but we will if they touch you,” he says in a soft voice.
“Don’t worry,” I smile. “No one is getting me in bed.”
“Looks like it’ll be one of you two getting her in bed,” Jared says.
“Isn’t she their sister?” one guy asks.
“She’snotour sister,” Declan and Darian say at the same time.
“Your parents are married,” Alan says.
“And the only reason y’all know that is because Jared is nosy and looked her up on Facebook,” Declan says.
“Our parents got married the summer after high school and we’ve not lived together really until now,” I say.
“Gotcha, so she’s off limits because you two are trying to be the one to get her in bed,” Jared says seriously.