Page 1 of Possessing Paisley
PROLOGUE
PAISLEY
“Put that down!”
I never thought I was a murderous person, but I’m starting to rethink my morals. Especially when the box I’m carrying gets yanked from my hands by the Incredible Hulk. If only he were actually green, I might like him a bit more.
My best friend’s brother Kieran scowls down at me. It’s his normal expression. Sometimes, I wonder if he’s had Botox and can’t move his face, which is why he always looks like that.
“You were supposed to tell us where to put everything. Bash instructed you girls not to lift shit.”
When I agreed to move in with my best friend and her husband, I didn’t think about the fact that her brother lives right next door. Or the fact that he’s her husband’s best friend, so he’s over here all the time. I figured after our first time meeting, that he would ignore me and act like I don’t exist.
Putting my hands on my wide hips, I glare at him. As usual, he doesn’t back down. Unlike most men, he’s not intimidated by me. It’s irritating. And oddly satisfying, too. Not that I’m going to tell him that.
“It’s my stuff. If I want to move it, I’m going to.”
“No, you won’t. You’re small, and this shit is heavy.”
“Thisshitis my stuff, jerkface. And it’s not that heavy. Give it back.”
When I reach for the box, he raises it so it’s out of my reach. Which is way too freaking easy for the giant of a man.
“Oh, that’s mature,” I huff.
He responds with a grunt and a smug smile before he spins around and takes the box up the stairs. God. He is so freaking maddening.
“Is Kieran beingKieranagain?”
My best friend Chloe skips up to me, grinning. Her pigtails bob up and down with her movements. She looks so carefree and totally amused. I think she enjoys watching me and her brother going at each other’s throats.
It’s his fault. If he hadn’t been such a dick the night we met, maybe we wouldn’t hate each other’s guts. But being an asshole seems to be his thing. He excels at it. Especially around me.
“He is so aggravating. I don’t know how you can stand being related to him. I’d totally shank him.”
Chloe bursts out giggling. “Do you even know what shank means?”
I shrug and watch Bash and Grady carry boxes toward the stairs. “I’m pretty sure it means stab. Or cut off their head? I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Either way, I would maim the hell out of him.”
Wrapping her arms around my neck, Chloe squeezes me. She’s been so happy since she got with Bash, and I’m thrilled for her. Truly. She deserves it. And sometimes, I feel like a shitty friend for these pangs of jealousy.
“He’s not that bad. It’s because he cares that he gets all bossy and grunty.” She kisses my cheek the way she always does, and my chest swells like it always does. After going so long with no affection in my life, getting it from my best friend is all I need.
I roll my eyes. “I’m pretty sure the last person your brother cares about is me. He’s so overbearing, and he hates me because I don’t let him walk all over me like the other women he comes across.”
Chloe glares at me, but there’s no heat behind it. “You know we don’t let him walk all over us. We give him as much crap as you do.”
Letting out a huff, I roll my eyes. “Yet, for some reason, he hatesmeand not all of you.”
“He doesn’t hate you. If he hated you, you’d be at the bottom of the river.”
My eyes bulge. “What?”
She snorts and bursts out laughing, slapping me on the back. “I’m kidding. He wouldn’t kill a woman.”
Oh, because that’s so much better.
Dropping my shoulders, I stare at my best friend. “Are you sure you want me here? You just got married. The last thing you need is me living with you.”