Grabbing my phone, I ran back into the house while she returned to the surface. I watched as she scrambled out of the pool and ran toward the house, pointlessly trying to cover herself. She stopped once she was on the deck.
“Asshole, let me back inside,” she yelled, her mane of hair a wet, tousled mess but sexy as hell.
I couldn’t help myself. Darcy’s sexy body had done it again, pull the evil out of me. I’m a first-grade asshole. Why am I always so mean to people that mean so much to me?
But the damage was done now, so I smiled and held up a towel. Her body was so hot. All I wanted to do was go out there and take her on the grass. I pressed Lila’s number on my phone. “Hey, little sis. I see your car at your old place. Where are you?”
“I took Darcy’s car to get her some gas while she showered. We’re going out with the girls for dinner tonight. How can you see my car? Where are you?”
I listened to Lila while Darcy sat on the patio chair, arms crossed in front of her, blocking my view of her sexy breasts. Perhaps I should have thought this through. I was now going to be living beside the sexiest terrorist in Miami and number one on her hitlist.
“I’m at the house right now with Darcy. When are you coming back?”
“And you’re still alive? I should be back in about 15 minutes, give or take,” Lila told me.
“It seems Darcy is in dire need of help at the moment. She’s acting like an animal at the zoo, pacing her enclosed structure.”
“What on earth are you rambling on about, Thane?”
“I guess you’ll find out when you get back here. All I have to say is I couldn’t help myself. Bye, Lila.” I hung up and grinned at Darcy. She gave me the finger, ran back to the pool, and jumped in. It took everything in me not to join her and ravish her in the water.
Good job, Thane, you've done it again. When was I going to learn? Would I ever be free of my old evil self?
* * *
Darcy
Time lost all meaning while I was doing laps in the pool, but I was getting tired. As the water flowed around me, in my mind's eye all I could see was short, chestnut-brown hair that settled into waves, a trimmed mustache and beard, and those deep-brown, haunting eyes that seemed to pierce right though my soul every time our eyes met. Oh, and that muscular, taut body that told the tale of his Navy SEAL past. I dove back under the water, hoping to wash the image away. The anger had finally subsided, but Thane would pay for this. I was supposed to be ready as Lila and I were to meet Shellene and Remi for dinner, and now I was going to be late. He’d soon experience Darcy Blackwell’s wrath. I wasn’t sure how I would get my revenge, but it wouldn’t be pretty. Thane was either going to suffer physical pain or severe embarrassment. Both if possible. I hadn’t decided.
Thane was my new favorite hobby. Getting back at him was my new obsession. What he did to my best friend Lila required constant punishment. I knew revenge was pitiful, but I needed to protect my friends at all costs.
Although I was the youngest in my group of friends, I cared for them like a mother. Maybe I cared a little too much about their wellbeing. As I had fought for and lost everything in life many times over, I was determined to keep my friends out of harm’s way. I had to. I just sometimes wished I had someone to do the same for me. Even if just for a little while.
But I couldn't afford to dream of a non-existent knight in shiny armor when a prick in shitty couture was about to have his fate delivered in the form of my revenge.
Giving up on doing laps, I rested my arms on the side of the pool. I was watching the sliding doors to the kitchen when Lila finally appeared. She peeked outside, and I waved shyly at her. Unlocking the door, she stepped out.
“What are you doing locked outside? How did that happen?” Lila yelled out to me from the deck.
“If you bring me a towel, I'll be happy to enlighten you on your brother’s evil behavior.”
Lila walked over to me, carrying a towel—a very confused look on her face. Lila’s long, straight hair was much darker than Thane’s (nearly black), and she was almost as tall as him, though much thinner. Light blue-gray eyes held my own as she eyed me curiously. They might have a few physical similarities, but their cores couldn’t be more different. I loved Lila to pieces and let’s just say love was not even close to what Thane awakened within me.
“Thane called and said you needed my help. This wasn’t at all what I pictured.” As she handed me the towel, I got out of the pool. Her gasp let me know she was only now noticing I was naked. “Holy crap. What on earth happened between you two?”
I toweled myself dry, then wrapped the towel around my body, scowling. “Your asshole brother thought it would be entertaining to steal my clothes and towels from the bathroom, film me dancing in my room, throw me in the pool, and then lock me out here naked.” I was late and pissed, so I stomped off to the house to get ready, leaving a very dumbfounded Lila behind. It wasn’t her fault her brother was a jerk.
Lila soon followed. “Wow. That was not a cool thing to do, but itisa little bit funny.”
I stopped and turned to her, causing Lila to almost bump into me. “I am going to let that slide since you are my friend, and I know you share genes with the devil, so you also have a bit of the ‘Erickson evil streak’ in you.” I turned back and slid open the door.
“Whatever do you mean? I’m as sweet as sugar pie,” Lila defended herself.
And it was sort of true. She was a sweetie, most of the time. Her brother, however…
“I’d love to throw a pie in your brother’s face at the moment,” I told her. “I’m going to get ready now. I’ll try to be as quick as possible. In the meantime, you should think of ways for me to get back at your shit-for-brains brother. It’s your duty to me as my best friend.”
Lila tried to hide a giggle. “I’ll see what I can come up with.”