My Brother's Beta (UNEDITED SAMPLE)

21 My Brother's Beta

“Because I can see that it makes you uncomfortable,” he said in explanation, twirling around my bronze thumb-ring that I’d bought when shopping with Victoria and Ashlyn three years ago. His voice caught a little, but as manly as he is, he just cleared his throat and carried on. “When – if – you do say it, I don’t want it to be out of guilt, or pressure. I want to know that you mean it; I want to see it in your eyes. I know that sounds corny, but that’s how I feel.”

Without thinking, I pulled him close to him and gave him one long, sweet kiss. I knew that the bell would be going any second and someone – like my brother – could see us, so I pulled away after a few seconds and just held him. His arms wrapped around me, embracing me with so much protection and compassion that I didn’t doubt anything that he said. That he’ll ever say. If my ‘Love’ for him was put on a scale, I would like to think that it just went up a notch.

When the bell went off, I pulled away from him and whispered a good-bye as I left to go to my locker. I heard him whisper it back, more in my mind than my ears. When I turned around, he was already gone.

* * *

At four o’clock, Aaron and I were standing outside quite possibly the biggest house in all of America. It wasn’t so much of a house as it was a few conjoined castles, completely towering over the two of us. And it’s very rare that Aaron is made to look small.

We were here because of Maddy, of course. She’d found Aaron during school, gave him a note with her address and two words: Bring Bethany.

So here we were, at her new house – which, I’m assuming, her parents did not live in with her – waiting for something to happen. Was she going to come out and get us, or were we supposed to go knock on the front door?

I asked Aaron, to which he replied, “We should wait here. If she wants us, she can get off her ass and come get us.”

I smiled. I liked Angry Aaron – he’s even sexier than Regular Aaron. His dark eyes smouldered to near black, and his biceps flexed as he pushed himself away from the fence we were leaning on, and instead walked over to a tree and sat in it’s shade. He patted the spot next to him, motioning for me to go sit with him. I walked over, and instead sat on his lap. Instinctively, his hands came up to rest on my thighs.

“So…” Aaron started, smirking a little and just looking into my eyes. “I like this skirt.”

I laughed, smacking his hands as they playfully ran up and down my legs. Despite this, I made no move to actually move them. “Down, boy.”

He pouted playfully. “Aww, can’t I admire my beautiful mate?”

“You’re going have to wait ‘til I’m seventeen,” I said. He pouted again, so I added, “Your rule, not mine.”

“Who said I’m going to break the rule?” he asked, grinning and raising an eyebrow. Then, he nodded like he’d figured out some hidden answer. “Oh, right, I’m not allowed to kiss you. I’m turning into a nun! A munk! I will never kiss you again! You can say goo-bye to-“

Cutting off his joking rant, I planted a kiss on his lips. As usual, fireworks exploded within me, and that magnetic connection between the two of us pulled me impossibly closer to him. My hands wrapped into his hair, tugging a little. He moaned into my mouth, smiling against my lips.