The Fight In Us: A Brother's Best Friend College Romance (The Four Book 4) Becca Steele (speld decodable readers .TXT) 📖

were always the discreet rooms away from the main party, packed with those of the Alstone elite who wanted a more sordid kind of entertainment. It wasn’t right, but I guess I’d buried my head in the sand about it, especially since at the time, both my brother and I had wanted as little as possible to do with my dad and his relationship with Christine.

Lena had been attempting to track down the local organisers of these fights, as and when she had a chance, in between school and home life and whatever other shit she had going on. Her intel had led her to what was supposed to be an exchange of actual animals but had turned out to be an exchange of money, and now she had this name. The name of the man I was investigating for potential financial discrepancies. With my dad’s suspicions, the red flags that had been raised the minute I’d seen Martin Smith in person, and now this? I didn’t have any proof, but my instincts were telling me that there was a link here.

With that in mind, I ran my hands through her hair and placed a soft kiss on Lena’s mouth. My head was telling me that getting involved with her while all this shit was going on, not to mention everything she’d been through, was a bad idea. But I guess I was a selfish bastard.

“I think we should get the others involved. The boys and Winter. It’s not safe for you to be going off on your own, and if there’s anything that the situation with Christine taught me, it’s that we’re stronger together than apart.”

At her hesitant nod, I smiled, and then my face fell. “Fuck. Cass.”

She sighed against me. “I know. We spoke after Winter had left to find you, the night you’d gone to the hotel, and he was…I’d never seen him so cut up. Let’s just say that the overprotective older-brother routine is about to get a whole lot worse, especially now he’s going to find out the details of what I’ve been investigating.”

“Yeah, that, but I also meant you and me.” I forced the words from my mouth, hating them even as I said them, which just proved to me how into this girl I really was. “I think it’s better if we put this on the back burner for now, until he’s had time to deal with everything else.”

“No.” Her gorgeous mouth set in a stubborn pout. “Not happening.”

“Fuck, you’re stubborn.” Shaking my head at her, I couldn’t help the wry grin that stretched over my lips.

“Get used to it.” Gone was the soft, vulnerable side that she’d shown me earlier, and in its place was the strong, fearless woman that I knew and liked. A lot. And I liked her even more now that she’d shown me her vulnerable side, shared a part of herself that she never showed to the world. Only her closest friends and family knew about it. The fact that she’d allowed Winter and Cassius to tell Caiden and Zayde what had happened to her, and the fact she’d told me herself, proved how much she saw us as worthy of her trust. She’d been slowly working her way into our group, and I just hoped she was here to stay.

Wait. What? Here to stay? Pushing down that thought, because there was no way I was thinking of the future right now, I reminded myself that I needed to take things one day at a time.

“Okay,” I said, because apparently she had me wrapped around her finger already. Was I ready to give her up, now I’d admitted that I liked her, now I’d had a taste?

The answer to that was a solid fuck, no. “We’ll take it slow, and nothing in front of the others yet, alright?” There was going to be enough pressure as it was without having whatever was starting to happen between us be under a microscope. And as much as I loved my best mate, I knew he wouldn’t be able to help himself interfering.

“Deal.” Then she fucking shook my hand, making me laugh. After a second’s hesitation, she laughed, too.

“That was lame, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

She jabbed me in the ribs, and instead of retaliating, I pulled her into my lap, gripped the back of her neck, and slanted my mouth over hers.

Much, much later, I lifted her off me and stood, adjusting my dick, a move Lena didn’t miss.

“Need some help with that?” Her tone was sultry, but I could see the flash of uncertainty in her eyes.

“Nah, I’m good. Just the effect you have on me.” Giving her a cheeky wink, which resulted in an almost shy smile from her, I attempted to think of anything to deflate my hard-on. Taking it slow was going to be torture, when I was used to the opposite. But Lena wasn’t just a quick fuck. So… “Wanna get it over with? Tell the others about the dog fighting now? Then go through the evidence we both have and see if we can find anything that matches up?”

“I guess so.”

“No need to sound so happy about it. Come on, follow me back?”

“Alright.”

TWENTY-ONE

Although it was a detour, we drove back to my house first so I could grab an overnight bag and my laptop. Leaving my car behind, I slid into the passenger seat of Weston’s DBS, letting the scent of leather and new car surround me. As Weston drove, I couldn’t help noticing the way he kept sneaking sidewards glances at me. Every time he did it, my heart skipped a beat. This still didn’t seem real, that he was actually into me. How was it possible?

When we arrived back at the house that he shared with the rest of the Four and Winter, there were no cars outside.

“I thought everyone would be home,” Weston commented as he unlocked the front door. Stepping back to direct me inside, he continued