Chapter Six
Theobreathedoutarelieved sigh when Chloe left. Sitting so close had been torture. The sweet floral smell of her perfume, her light musical laughter, and the way she tucked her long dark-brown hair behind her ear exposing her neck had bewitched him, and it took a huge effort for him not to reach out and trail a finger along her smooth skin. Thank God that Ethan was there. With Ethan sitting at the table, it was a reminder for Theo to keep his hands to himself.
Shortly after Chloe left the restaurant, Blake and Logan said their goodbyes. Theo hung around until Ethan had to leave to catch his train.
Once everyone had left, Ethan leaned back in his chair and said, “I have a favor to ask you.”
“Shoot, what is it?” Theo said and sipped his coffee.
“I need you to watch out for Chloe,” Ethan said, his eyes intent. “Spend some time with her until she’s settled in New York.”
Theo choked on his coffee and spluttered, “What? You can’t be serious!”
“Deadly. You saw how she was today. Jumpy, evasive, hungover.” Ethan stressed the last word. “I’m worried about Chloe in New York on her own. With our family scattered around the world at the moment, she has no one she can rely on if she needs anything.”
“What could she need?” Theo said putting down his cup.
“For starters, she needs to stay away from men like Logan. He’s a great guy, but I saw the way he eyeballed her. If he had a minute alone with her, he’d make a move.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Everything was wrong with that. Logan went through women on a regular basis. A man like that wasn’t good enough for Chloe, he thought somewhat hypocritically considering his recent sexual streak. Although, who was he to decide if Logan was good enough for her or not? It was none of his business who she wanted to screw around with. Maybe his concern was due to her being Ethan’s little sister and he was protective of her the same way.Yeah, right.He immediately dismissed the thought. At lunch he wasn’t being brotherly when he kept remembering how sexy she’d looked sprawled on his bed wearing nothing but a lacy black G-string. How he’d almost fucked her, and how disappointed he’d felt when he had to stop.
“You can’t be serious? He’s a fuck-em-and-leave-em kind of guy. And I don’t want my sister included in his conquests. She deserves someone better than that,” Ethan said, uncannily echoing Theo’s own thoughts.
“I can tell Logan to stay away.”
“But what about the next guy?”
“She’s thirty—like she said, she can look after herself. Plus, like she said, she has friends here.”
Ethan thrummed his fingers on the table. “Her friends have their own lives. They won’t have the time to watch out for her.”
What about my life? But he knew that Ethan wouldn’t listen to that kind of logic. Plus he hated to admit it, but his friend had a point. If her friends were the same women Chloe had been dancing with last night, then they sucked at looking after Chloe. Visions of her in her red sequined dress sparkling under the club’s lights as she swayed in time with the music filled his mind. He’d wanted her from the moment he saw her. Would have had her if she hadn’t been Ethan’s sister. And dammit, he still wanted her. But he couldn’t go there. You don’t touch your best friend’s little sister, not when you couldn’t offer her anything more than a fling. And especially not when you wanted to do all the things that your best friend had asked you to protect her from. Dammit, he was as bad as Logan!
It had been hard enough staying away from her when they’d been younger. When she blossomed in her late teens, he couldn’t help but notice the changes in her. The way she’d matured from gangly to gorgeous had sent his blood pumping. He’d noticed her long legs in the short skirts and shorts she liked to wear. Noticed the damn birthmark on her hip that had driven him crazy when she’d worn a bikini—all he’d wanted to do was lick his tongue over it. He’d had to keep his feelings to himself and ignore her when she’d hung out with them. If Ethan or Aiden had gotten a whiff that he was interested, they would have kicked his ass across Sydney.
Pulling himself out of old memories, he said, “She’ll be fine. Don’t worry so much.”
“I called her this morning, and she was hungover,” Ethan said, repeating himself from earlier. “What if some guy had taken advantage of her while she was drunk? Who knows where she could have ended up?”
She’d ended up in his bed, and he’d been the guy who had been about to take advantage of her. And damn, if that didn’t sting. Luckily, he’d recognized her before he’d fucked her and had gotten her home safely. “I’m taking her out tonight; I’m not sure what more you want me to do?”
That seemed to be the opening Ethan was looking for because his eyes brightened. “Keep hanging out with her. Take her out places. There are a lot of sights around the city you could show her. Just make sure she’s not out every night getting drunk and ending up in strange dudes’ beds. That kind of thing.” When Theo opened his mouth to protest, Ethan put up his hand. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but you’re my best friend. I trust you. There’s no one here I trust more. Please say you’ll do it.”
Theo tried another tactic. “If Chloe finds out about this, won’t she be pissed?”
“Don’t say anything to her, and she’ll never know,” Ethan said with a shrug and a wink.
Theo scrubbed a hand at the back of his neck. What excuse could he give Ethan to not do it? The truth? Tell him that he’d almost fucked Chloe? That he still wanted to see her naked in his bed? That wouldn’t work. Not to mention that Ethan would probably beat the snot out of him if he found out the truth. There was nothing he could do. They were friends, he couldn’t turn him down.
Scrubbing a hand through his hair, he relented, “Okay, but once I think she’s fine and there’s nothing for you to worry about, I’m done.”
Ethan frowned for a beat then stuck out his hand. “Deal.”
Theo hesitated for a second before he took it to shake. God, he hoped this didn’t blow up in his face.
Chapter Seven
Steppingoutoftheshower, Theo heard his cell buzz in his bedroom. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he padded into his room, picked the phone up from the bedside table, and read the message.