“One of my friends, his brother goes to your school. Said that Leyton’s covered in bruises. Someone kicked his ass.”

“Shut up,” Max muttered. “It ain’t true. Leyton didn’t get beaten up.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Max’s eyes slid to Ashlynn momentarily before returning to the game.

“But I—” Brent tried again.

“I said shut up. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“He’s always fightin’,” Ashlynn remarked. “It makes sense that he’d be bruised up.”

“What do you know?” Brent countered. “You’re only eleven.”

“Almost twelve!” she shouted.

Brent always acted like she was a little kid, and it made her angry. He wasn’t even a whole year older than her. Only eleven months, but he always told her she was a little kid.

“Not yet, you’re not,” he grumbled, his eyes locked on the television screen, thumbs working furiously over the controller in his hand.

Ashlynn wasn’t sure what that had to do with anything, but she ignored Brent, anyway. He always wanted to fight, and she knew it only upset Max.

Max glared at her, but he didn’t say anything. He never did. For whatever reason, her big brother was always protecting her, never yelling at her the way Brent or Victor did. Or even Dad. But when Dad yelled at her, Max was always around. It seemed like he was watching out for her, like he was her protector.

The thought made her smile. She’d always thought of Max as her shield against the evil. He was the only one she could ever talk to besides Aidan, and she liked Max because he didn’t seem to mind when she wanted to talk to him. Once, when she was seven, he’d even played Barbies with her while she told him all about her school. But he’d told her that she couldn’t tell anyone he had played with Barbies or he’d never play with her again.

So she had never said anything and she never would.

“What do you want, Ashy?” Brent asked, his head never turning toward her.

“Don’t call me that!” she yelled.

“Ashy. Ashy. Ashy.”

“Shut the hell up,” Max bit out. “Do it again and I’ll punch you.”

Brent smiled. “Whatever. Maybe you’re the one who beat up Leyton.”

Max rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything.

Ashlynn liked Leyton—he was so cute. He was also nice to her like Max was, but he didn’t talk to her much. He seemed sad and mad all the time, but never at her. She’d never really tried to talk to him even though he was always at their house. Almost every weekend, Leyton was there, hanging out with Max, and Ashlynn wondered if he didn’t like his parents. She’d even asked him one time if his mom and dad were mean to him like her dad was to her, but he hadn’t answered.

“Dinner’ll be ready in ten minutes,” Walter, the man who cooked for them, called out from the other room.

“Hurry up,” Brent urged Max. “I’m not gonna listen to Dad yell because we weren’t sittin’ at the table when he gets there.”

Ashlynn launched up from the couch and ran across the room, making a beeline for the dining room. She wasn’t going to be late, either, because that was one of the times her dad was really mean, even though he always told her it was for her own good. And the last time he’d been mean when Uncle Patrick had been there, Uncle Patrick had come to her room to talk to her, and she wasn’t about to let that happen again.

Today, like every day, Ashlynn would show her dad that she’d learned her lesson.

Chapter Six

Irritated? Stupid fucking question.

Present day

November 1st

Ashlynn gave herself credit for being on her best behavior throughout dinner, then afterward, when everyone disappeared in their effort to pretend to be superheroes for Courtney.

But she was tired of the act, ready to let go of the smokescreen and get back to normal.

Most everyone had retreated to the veranda for after-dinner drinks and conversation while they’d waited for the superheroes to return. Now that the crisis seemed to be over, Ashlynn was no longer interested in hanging out with everyone, so she’d snuck back inside, seeking a little solitude. Quite frankly, she was all talked out. These days, she could hardly sit still, anxious whenever she was around people.

It wasn’t difficult to shove down her own needs and put everyone else’s in front of hers. She was a grown-up, after all. At twenty-six, she could put petty games aside when necessary, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t irritated.

And there was only one man to blame for her current mood.

For two months, Ashlynn had pulled out all the stops in her attempt to show Leyton that she was interested in him, ever since her birthday party at the club. Up to this point, he’d done a damn good job of pretending she didn’t affect him, though she knew otherwise. That night at the club, when he’d played voyeur to her and Jase’s tryst, Ashlynn had seen his interest. But she would have to give Leyton one thing … she had to admire the man’s willpower, because he certainly hadn’t given in.

Yet.

It wasn’t until recently that Ashlynn had recognized Leyton’s true nature, which had been the tipping point for her. For years she had actually thought that Leyton had a thing for Max, of all people. There’d never been any doubt that her brother was as straight as they came, but she had always questioned Leyton’s… What was the right word? Flexibility? Yes, that was a good one. She’d always questioned his flexibility when it came to his sexuality. Though she’d never known him to date men—or hell, to date anyone, for that matter—she was quite perceptive when it came to Leyton Matheson. He was intrigued by men, if nothing else. As much as if not more so than he was attracted to women.

That didn’t mean he hadn’t been with men; it only meant she didn’t have any concrete proof.

Yet.

It seemed that when it came to Leyton, Ashlynn continued to hold out hope. One day she would crack that tough exterior and get to the gooey, sexy center. Someday very, very soon. And yes, her interest, her slow-burning desire for him, required him to be extremely flexible with his own desires, so to speak.

Leyton had come into their lives long before Ashlynn’s head had been turned by a boy, but by the time he was a senior in high school and Ashlynn had been a freshman, she’d been incredibly aware of him. They’d gone to the same school for two years due to Leyton failing the tenth grade, mostly because he’d chosen to fight that year rather than worry about schoolwork.

Not that her infatuation with him had done her a damn bit of good. Though they’d been friends, Leyton had never acted on anything else, never even seemed to acknowledge her interest. But she only considered that a stroke of good luck on her part. After all, had she and Leyton gotten together at that point in their lives, she wouldn’t have had the pleasure of Jase’s company.

And Jase Malone was quite yummy.

“Hey,” a deep voice rumbled from behind her.

Speak of the devil.

Ashlynn turned to see Jase sauntering down the hall toward her, his thigh muscles bunching with every step. She loved the way those faded jeans hugged him in all the right places, accentuating his muscular thighs, fantastic ass, not to mention the giant bulge he sported between his legs. The man had caught her attention from the very first day he’d stepped into her house five years ago, looking for a job. He was mouth-wateringly good-looking, and that voice of his… His words alone made her insides quiver with need.

She was ready for some action of her own, and Jase was just the man to provide that for her.