Page 7 of Echoes of Desire
I’m guiding Raven back to the front of the club as my mind races. Could she be the person we’ve been looking for? Steel is more than interested in our little black-haired beauty.
“What do your eyes look like under those contacts?” I ask her while Steel is busy texting someone.
“These aren’t contacts,” she smiles up at me. Those gray eyes sparking with happiness. “No one ever believes me, but they’re my real eyes. I guess God decided since my brain wasn’t wired correctly, might as well make up for it with unique eyes and a slamming body.”
“You have beautiful eyes, Raven,” Steel says. “And a very delectable body.”
Luckily, she was still looking at me while my brother charmed her panties wet.
Fucking beautiful.
“How much further do you live?” Steel asks as we stop in front of the club.
“Oh, once I realized I was being followed, I took several turns away from my house,” she admits. “I live about six blocks that way.”
“Good girl,” he praises. “Let me see your phone, please.”
Raven hesitates for a few seconds before unlocking her phone and handing it to my brother.
“This is Reynolds.,” Steel says as he messes with her phone. When mine buzzes in my pocket, I know that he’s texted me from hers. Smart. “He’s going to take you home.”
“Renolds is a very trustworthy man,” I tell her as she eyes him wearily. “He’s the one who is actually a bodyguard.”
“Oh, then what are you two?” she asks as she accepts her phone back.
“Reynolds, hook your two-pointer fingers together,” Steel says, ignoring her question, which she’s not ready to hear the answer to.
Not questioning his reasoning, Reynolds does as he is instructed. “If by chance you’re surrounded by people and can’t remember who he is, ask him to do the sign. Once he gets you home, I want you to text either me or Jaxon. Both of our numbers are now listed under your contacts.”
Jaxon?Reynolds mouths with a smirk.
Fucker.
Raven nods and takes a step toward Reynolds.
“And, Raven,” I call out. “We’ll be looking forward to that message. Don’t disappoint us, sweetheart.”
“I won’t,” she says shyly. “Thank you, Jaxon and Jasper. It was a surprising and lovely evening.”
Jasper?Reynolds tilts his head, and I chuckle.
Our own parents don’t even call us by those names. But I’m not upset that Steel told our little Raven to do so. I think it was the smartest thing he’s ever done.
I lean back against the wall outside the club, crossing my arms as I watch Raven walk away with Reynolds. My mind is spinning, still stuck on the way her gray eyes lit up when she smiled. Steel may be the quiet one, but he couldn’t even hold back that compliment.
“She’s something else, huh?” I say, glancing at my brother.
Steel doesn’t look at me, his focus still on Raven’s retreating figure. “She’s intriguing.”
“Understatement of the century,” I mutter, shaking my head.
Steel finally turns to me, his expression unreadable but his eyes sharp. “You know as well as I do that she’s not just intriguing. There’s more to her.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “But the question is, what are we going to do about it?”
Steel slips his phone into his pocket, his jaw tightening. “She handled herself well tonight. Smart enough to lead the guy away from her house. Brave enough to approach us when she felt cornered.”
“Not to mention she’s got a quiet strength,” I add. “Didn’t flinch under pressure, even with you throwing out those blunt questions like you were interrogating her.”