"If he thinks I'm drunk, he backs off. Always. If I'm sober, he's a little too touchy. It's really not a big deal. I need to go check on him. He took a hard hit from Maverick. I also need to check on Corbin and Maverick. Kode always goes down swinging."
She's worried about them. She won't even look into my eyes right now. I'm going to kick all of their asses for this. How often does this shit happen?
"Here," Tria says as she rushes in with some towels.
I take one, but Rain turns away from her sister and me. She drips all over the floor, refusing to accept a towel as she walks out of the room. Stubborn ass. Some things never change, apparently. I mutter a few choice words before calling after her.
"Rain, dry off. I'd rather not have someone break their neck on my—"
A loud squeal followed by a thud rings out and interrupts me. I rush through the doorway to see my wet marble floor has just taken down the clumsy girl with too much pride. An array of unladylike words rattle out of her as she wobbles back to her feet and kicks out of her heels, taking a second to curse them as well.
I bite back a grin, but Tria pouts beside me as Rain resumes her task of stalking away.
"This was an absolute fail. She wouldn't even take a towel from me," Tria sighs, staring at Rain's back.
I shrug as I walk toward the glass doors, watching Rain sit down on the edge of the chaise lounge where they've dumped Kode's unconscious ass. Maverick and she have a heated conversation, and he grips his head while glancing toward the pool. Corbin nods at whatever she says next, and then they put my drunk brother over Maverick's shoulder and head down through the beach access, apparently deciding they don't want to come through the house.
Dale walks toward me, tensing his jaw in true frustration. When he opens the door, his eyes fall to Tria momentarily before coming back to me. "We're taking Rain and Kode home. He's going to crash at her place, since he might have a concussion. She wants to keep an eye on him."
My hands fist at my sides. "You're kidding, right?" I growl. "Tell them to bring Kode's ass in here. I'll keep an eye on him."
"Won't work," he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Rain feels like it's her fault that he was knocked out, so she wants to take care of him. It's always the same. One of them is a jerk, and she always takes care of them. They're never going to grow the hell up if she doesn't make them. It's the same with Maverick and Corbin. They treat women like shit, but she simply bats her eyes and gets them more, knowing they're just going to fuck the girl and then fuck her over. I'd stage an intervention, but it would be pointless."
"He shouldn't be there." I'm pissed that he's even considering leaving my drunk and crazy brother alone with Rain after he apparently tried to force himself on her.
"Don't look at me like that. Kode's a jerk—especially when drunk—but he wouldn't dare do anything like that. I'd go rip him out of their car right now if I thought he would. You know better than that. He thinks he's clever, but he's really not. It's so obvious what he's doing, but no one else seems to catch on."
"What do you mean?" I ask, feeling just as oblivious as the others.
Dale shrugs, seeming as though he's surprised that I don’t know. "He's always had a thing for Rain, and when he's drunk, he uses it as an excuse to try and spark something between them."
Now that really strikes a chord in me. I shouldn't feel jealous. She didn't want me. Obviously she doesn't want Kode either. She loves fucking with our heads, though. I don't know what I feel toward Kode right now—pissed or empathetic.
Dale runs a hand through his already disheveled hair, and then he glances around at the mess of water on the floor. "Couldn’t you have let her borrow some of Britt's clothes?"
His accusatory glare insults me. Does he really think I’m such a jerk that I’d intentionally just send her back outside without a towel and dry clothes? I’d have given her one of my T-shirts if she had let me. I might be pissed at Rain, but I'm not a dick.
"She ran out of here when I tried to hand her a towel," Tria says, distraught.
I actually feel bad for her.
Dale doesn't even acknowledge her. Instead, he turns toward the door. "I'm going to grab Fiona and go. I'll call you later."
"Yeah," I grumble, frustrated for so many reasons.
I guess I only thought I was over her. After touching her, feeling her so tightly wound around me... fuck.
Chapter 4
RAIN
I flop down in my guest bed beside Kode as he groans in his sleep. His eye is swollen, his lip is split, and his face is a little bruised. It's fortunate he wasn't hurt worse.
"I'm sorry, Rain," he mumbles while drawing his arm over his face. "I acted like a total jerk."
I smile as I slide in closer, and his arms come to wrap around me and draw me against him. This is my Kode.
"It's fine. I was handling you, but the guys got antsy. You didn't do anything too terrible."