Chapter 5: Sawyer

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.

I didn’t just hear that right, did I? I couldn’t have heard that right.

BROTHER? My mystery lover was my stepfather’s BROTHER?

The tension in the room was palpable. From what I understood, Sylas Drakos had been estranged from the family for over a decade. Dimitri hadn’t taken his leaving well. It was common knowledge that he hated his brother for it. Now here Sylas was. Standing in front of his long-lost family out of the blue… and staring at me.

He needed to stop fucking staring at me. I highly doubted it would improve relations if Dimitri figured out his disgraced brother just nailed his stepdaughter in a supply room.

The room had fallen so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I was surprised the whole place couldn’t hear my heart beating out of my chest as we waited for Dimitrios to explode in anger. To everyone’s surprise, that explosion came as a burst of laughter. Shocked looks were exchanged as Dimitri threw his arms around his brother in front of everyone.

I noticed Christina close by in the crowd and seized the opportunity to get the hell out of there.

“We need to go,” I hissed in her ear. “Now.”

I dragged her out of the ballroom and toward the front of the building. I ignored her inebriated protests along the way. It wasn’t until I jerked my keys from valet’s hands and barked at the kid to just tell me where my car was parked that she started to pick up that something was off.

“Whoa, sweetie, is everything okay?”

“Just… help me find the damn car,” I snapped as we entered the parking garage across the street. “Please.”

It only took her a second to point up at the numbered row the valet had told us painted right over my head. With a frustrated grunt, I clicked the key fob to follow the beep. Grabbing the hem of my ridiculous dress, I trudged toward my car down the row. Now entirely sober, I shoved myself into the driver’s seat and slammed the door beside me.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I said as Christina joined me.

“You didn’t drink that much,” she teased. “You need to learn to hold your booze better.”

“I need to learn not to be such a whore,” I blurted out.

“Hey, now,” Christina exclaimed. “Nobody talks about my best friend like that. Not even my best friend. Besides, I’ve seen your love life, sweetie. Trust me. You’re far from a whore.”

“You’re right. A whore wouldn’t be stupid enough to fuck her uncle at her mother’s anniversary party,” I announced. “So, I’m just a dirty slut.”

“Holy fuck,” Christina exclaimed. “I’m sorry. You’re going to have to repeat that.”

I let out a frustrated scream, banging my hands on the steering wheel before collapsing against it. At first, I closed my eyes, but I kept seeing his eyes and the way they looked at me. I straightened up and shoved the key in the ignition.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, you’ve got some explaining to do, missy,” Christina insisted.

“Can it just wait until we get home?” I protested. “I’m just trying to keep the canapes from making a second appearance right now, okay.”

“Alright, alright,” she said.

The drive home was quiet. Despite the fact that I knew Christina was about to come out of her skin. I pulled my car into my spot in the garage and hit the button for the door. I aggressively dragged myself out of the car and headed for the door.

Pushing into the house, I was greeted happily by Aldo, my five-year-old golden retriever. I gave him a good scratch behind the ears which helped calm my nerves a little. But at this point I just wanted to get out of this dress and take a long, hot shower.

“Not so fast,” Christina called out as I headed toward my room. “You’ve got some explaining to do.” I grimaced, but reluctantly turned around as Christina dropped her heels on a kitchen chair. “All I remember is going to get you a drink, then coming back to find you dancing with tall, dark, and handsome. You looked quite comfortable, so I wasn’t about to intrude. The next time I see you was nearly an hour later when you were stumbling out of the bathroom. So, what the hell was all the mess about being a slut and fucking an uncle you don’t have?”

“Yeah, um… so, tall, dark, and handsome you mentioned, let’s just say we hit it off REALLY well,” I admitted with a blush. “We kinda disappeared to find a place more private and… you know.”

“Holy shit,” Christina said with a smile spreading from ear to ear. “I never thought I’d see the day sweet little Sawyer got kinky in public. How was it? Tell me everything.”

“Can we focus here,” I argued. “That is not the important part here.”

She grabbed my shoulders roughly. “How the hell was it?”

“Ugh… It was fantastic,” I admitted. “The best I’ve ever had. There. Happy now?”

Christina squealed and clapped her hands. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Yeah, don’t be,” I said. “It was a huge mistake. It’s not like I planned on it happening and then it just did. Which was unbelievable on its own. I mean, we didn’t even exchange names, for Christ’s sake. But it was okay, because it just felt so right. At the time… And then, you know that whole confrontation that had everyone thinking there was about to be a murder take place next to the ice sculpture?”

“Yeah, that was crazy intense,” Christina replied.

“Okay, did you miss that whole part where he called Dimitri brother?” I asked incredulously.

Christina’s mouth dropped open. “That was literal?”

“Yes,” I yelled, throwing my hands in the air.

“Holy… that means you…”

“Yeah, I fucked my uncle.”