“Oh, no thanks, I’m good.” I hold up my half-full cup.
He steps closer. “I’m Paul. Care to give up your secret identity?”
Man of Steel here is not getting the hint, but I don’t want to be rude. “Kylie.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Kylie,” he says. He holds out a hand and I take it. He starts to shake, then brings the backs of my fingers up to his lips and kisses my hand.
I snatch my hand back. “Paul, it’s very nice to meet you, but—”
Paul’s eyes widen, and I stop mid-sentence. Someone is suddenly standing very close behind me, and I don’t have to turn around to know who it is.
“Hey, Kylie,” Braxton says. His hand brushes my ass and I try not to gasp. He’s standing so close that I feel a little dizzy.
“Hi, Braxton,” I say, barely resisting the urge to run my hands all over his abs.
Braxton shifts so he’s next to me and stares at my boobs, making zero attempt to hide what he’s doing. “Holy shit, you look hot as fuck in that thing.”
My mouth drops open. Does he not remember we’re supposed to keep this quiet?
“Um, wow,” Paul says. “Kylie and I were having a conversation here.”
Braxton looks over at Paul, then back at me. “Shit, I can’t compete with Superman. You two have fun.” He quirks an eyebrow at me and saunters away.
I watch him go, my mouth still hanging open.
“Who the fuck was that guy?” Paul says.
I can’t stop staring at Braxton’s ass in those jeans. “What? Oh, that’s Braxton. He’s Selene’s brother.”
“Kind of a dick, isn’t he?” Paul asks.
I laugh, my eyes still on Brax. “You have no idea.”
Paul looks back and forth between Braxton and me a couple of times, then shakes his head and walks away.
A girl in a purple genie costume walks up to Braxton. I take a sip of my drink, trying to pretend like I’m not watching them. He smiles at her, but angles his body away when she tries to move closer. His eyes dart to me and I arch one eyebrow. His shoulders tense up, and he rubs the back of his neck. He shoots another quick glance in my direction.
Oh, this is fantastic. He actually looks uncomfortable.
The girl reaches out to touch his arm, a classic flirty move, and he flinches. Under different circumstances, I’d be pissed, but I know he wore that so-called costume to torture me, so I love that it’s backfiring on him.
Selene sidles up next to me and slips her arm through mine.
“Having fun?” she asks.
I blink, trying to act like I wasn’t just staring at her brother. “Yeah, this is a great party. The decor is fantastic.”
“Thanks,” she says. “I’d take credit, but I just paid a guy to do it for me. It does look pretty amazing, though. I should do this every year.”
“Definitely,” I say.
“God, look at him,” Selene says, gesturing toward Braxton. He’s still talking to the genie girl, and two others linger nearby. “He’s such an attention whore.”
“Yeah, he is.”
“I wonder which one of those poor girls he’s going to hook up with tonight,” Selene says. “Although it almost seems like he’s been going through a dry spell lately. No, that’s probably my imagination. He never goes through dry spells.”
Nope, definitely not a dry spell. I try to sound uninterested. “Who knows?”
“What do women see in him, anyway?” she asks.
I really wish we weren’t discussing him like this. “Well, he’s your brother, so you just don’t see him that way.”
“I guess,” she says. “So, still seeing the dumb guy with the big dick?”
I laugh. “Um, I don’t know. Maybe? I guess?”
Selene looks at me and I almost blurt it out. I’m with your brother and I love him!
“Hey, Tina is here! I have to go say hi.” She flits off in her stilettos.
I blow out a breath. That was close.
I wander around for a while, chatting with people I know. These purple drinks go down so easy, I have a couple more. Braxton circles opposite me, always keeping distance between us. He meets my eyes and winks once in a while, but he doesn’t come near. The women of the party never let up, a new one darting in to talk to him every time another walks away. If he wanted attention, he’s certainly getting it. It’s weird to see girls flirt with him so openly without feeling the least bit jealous. They don’t know he’s mine, but I sure do.
And by the looks he keeps giving me, so does he.
After a while, I take my empty cup back to the makeshift bar in the kitchen. Zombie Doctor guy asks if I want another purple thing, but I grab an ice water and take a few sips. I need to hydrate or I’m going to regret it tomorrow.
Out of nowhere, Braxton appears next to me. We both stand against the island, facing out toward the rest of the party.
He leans down to speak quietly in my ear. “I don’t know how much longer I can look at you dressed like that. Did you do that on purpose?”