“Tessa McAllen.” Gibson’s dark brows dipped low, like he was trying to access an old file in his brain. Kade could almost see when the light bulb clicked. Gib’s spoon dropped into the bowl. “Wait, the Tess? From high school?”
“The very one.”
Gibson put his bowl aside and slid from atop the counter. “Jesus, Kade.”
“She’s divorced and is trying to get back on her feet. Her heart is in the right place with this charity, and I think she can do the job.”
“And you think you can get her in bed,” he said flatly.
Kade’s jaw clenched.
“Goddammit, man. You saddled me with this girl because you want to get her naked? You could’ve done that without the song and dance.” He flattened his hands against the counter in front of Kade, scowling. “Look, I know she was like the forbidden fruit for you back then, the girl you couldn’t have. Hell, I get it. I wanted her, too. But come on.”
“You what?”
Gibson shrugged like it was no big deal. “I was two years younger but I wasn’t freaking blind. That girl was hot. Every time she walked across the quad in those little skirts, I had to stop whatever I was doing to watch. That chick had legs for days.”
Kade’s fingers gripped his bottle hard enough to make the plastic crinkle.
“And I know you think y’all had something between you two. But after everything went down, she never came back around, Kade. She never asked why you didn’t come back to school or where you’d gone. She stayed with that prick of a boyfriend and went on like nothing had happened. She was hot, but she was a stone cold, self-serving bitch.”
“Hey,” Kade said, anger surging at the accusation. “She didn’t have a lot of choices. You don’t know anything about what her life was like. There was a lot of pressure on her, and I couldn’t give her what she needed. Not back then.”
“Bullshit, bro. There’s always a choice. Did you know that after you left, rumors started that you had tried to rape her that night and dickhead rescued her?”
Kade looked away. He’d heard a version of that story from his mother when she’d called to check on him a few weeks later. But he’d been living with his dad by then and too numb about everything that had happened to care.
“And Tessa didn’t say a damn thing to dispel it,” Gib said, disgust in his voice. “I had to go to school hearing people calling my brother a pervert and a freak. Even after your class graduated, I had people giving me the side eye like I was some sort of criminal.”
“I’m sorry you had to deal with that,” Kade said, wishing he could’ve shielded his brother from more than that after he’d had to leave town. Maybe if he hadn’t been so fucked in the head over it all, he could’ve gone back and not only protected Gibson but told Tessa the real truth about that night. He could’ve saved her a lot of heartache, but he’d run far and fast and had forced himself to forget about that previous life. “The whole situation was twisted and fucked up. Tessa was caught in the middle and did what she had to do to protect herself. She’s not what you think. Trust me. I need you to give her a fresh chance. It’s been a long time. We’ve all grown up and moved on.”
Gibson leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “I thought we had, but here you are, looking like you’re chasing after her again. Tell me the truth. Is this just about helping her out?”
He could lie to his brother, but it’d be pointless. Gib was too smart not to figure it out the first time he saw Tessa and Kade in the same room. “No. I’m sleeping with her.”
“Fuck. Of course you are.” He leaned his head back, looking to the ceiling as if it held better answers. “And now she’s willing because instead of some punk kid from Dunlop Road, you’re the Kade Vandergriff.”
“It’s not like that. In fact, I had to persuade her into a second date. She didn’t know who I was when we slept together. She found out about my job when I called her in for the interview. And she still doesn’t know I used to be Kaden Fowler.”
Gibson stared at him like Kade had lost his mind. “She doesn’t know?”
He sighed. “There hasn’t been a good opportunity yet. And I wanted her to get to know me as I am now, not by who I used to be.”
“And what happens when she finds out you fucked her under false pretenses?”
“Well, technically, I didn’t realize who she was either at the time.” He rolled his bottle cap between his fingers.
“And what about that you’re a dom?”
He groaned. “I don’t think I need to drop that bomb on her any time soon. At least not officially. I told her I like being in charge
and that I’m kinky. She’s intrigued by all of that, but she’s also as jumpy as a squirrel after her divorce. I have a feeling Doug wasn’t just verbally abusive but a controlling fuck—and not the fun kind of control. God knows what she went through in her marriage. I need to tread carefully.”
“And here we go again,” Gibson said. “My brother tortures himself by going after a vanilla girl who’s going to be freaked out by how you are. Why waste your time, man? You sure you’re not a masochist? You should just drop this whole thing, and I’ll sign you up for a session with Fabienne at The Ranch. She can beat this stupid notion out of you.”
Kade sniffed. “No thanks, I’ll leave that to you. I’m sure those paid sessions are very fulfilling.”
Gib’s expression darkened. Even though Kade was well aware of why Gibson went to The Ranch, the BDSM resort they both belonged to, neither of them usually acknowledged it aloud. He had a feeling his brother wasn’t as comfortable as he pretended to be with his conflicting proclivities.