A melody of bells sounds off in the distance, pulling me out of my restless sleep. Leaving Adriana after everything that had happened with her brother left me in an uncomfortable state, one that wasn't fit for a decent nights sleep, even three weeks after the fact. The sound has me reaching out to my nightstand, fumbling around for my phone. Once my hand lands on it I swipe the screen to answer.

"Tris?" His name came out groggily.

"Brax."

"How's things?" I glance at my clock to see it's six in the morning.

"Things are... complicated." His tone is nervous, hesitant which has me sitting up immediately.

"You care to elaborate on that or are you just going to leave me in suspense?" There's a long pause which makes my anxiety spike. "Tristan, what the fuck is going on?"

"You remember our conversation about Daniela?" His tone is guarded like he's preparing for me to be angry about something.

"Yes, I remember our conversation about Daniela." Specifically me asking him not to sleep with her. Fuck, he slept with her. "For the love of Christ please tell me you didn't sleep with her. You didn't, did you?" Not after the butchery I'd seen Torey was capable of. The man is fucking insane and I do not want him anywhere near my brother, not after seeing that mutilated body. "Tristan, can you fucking answer me?"

"No, I haven't slept with her." He pauses again.

"Why does it sound like you want to tack on the word yet? Like you haven't slept with her yet." He clears his throat, sounding uncomfortable and I know that's because he very much does. "Out with it, Tris."

"I asked Daniela to marry me and she said yes." My heart sinks into the pit of my abdomen. "We're getting married in a few weeks."

"A few weeks? A few weeks?" I try to wrap my brain around the situation and just can't. "I told you not to sleep with her so instead you thought you'd propose to her? Have you lost your damn mind?"

"You know her family has been pushing us toward this and insinuating this is what they wanted. Well, Dedaj flat out asked me the other day. I talked to Daniela about it and she knows there's really no other option for us. So we're getting married."

"If you get married to Daniela... Even if it's a fake marriage..." I don't have to say the words aloud, my brother knows what Torey will want to do to him. "Torey is nearly completely recovered, Tris. If you saw what he did to a man that broke in..." I cringe at the thought of what he would do to my brother.

"I worked with Torey for a few years. I know exactly what that man is capable of, the brutality. He trained me. I'll be able to handle him if it comes to that." He sounds confident but all I hear is stupidity.

"You can't play house with Torey's kid, with Daniela."

"I don't really have a choice here." The words were a defensive growl. "I marry Daniela and Torey wants to kill me. I don't marry Daniela then my boss will actually kill me. I don't really see an abundance of fucking options, Brax." He does make a valid point. "Plus, Dani needs someone. I can be that someone for her right now." And there it is. My brother has fallen for her. I had suspected it but now I know.

I let out a long sigh with, "be careful, brother." It's all I can say because there's really nothing else to on the subject matter. "I'm sure it'll be a shit show around here once Torey hears the news." He lets out a wry laugh. "I know I told you not to sleep with her but if you're playing husband and father... Living with her and sleeping in the same bed..." He's quiet and I know that's because he'd probably thought much the same. He doesn't have to say he's thought about it happening either because I know he has. "Just remember that it's a part the both of you are playing. It isn't real. Her feelings for you are not real."

"Right. Yeah. I know." He clears his throat and I can practically see the uncomfortable look on my little brother's face. "I have to get going."

"Call me soon." He doesn't say anything to that and I know it's because what I'd just said got under his skin. "I want pictures of the wedding since I won't be able to be there. And I am never letting you live down the fact that I'm not able to be your best man."

"Will do, brother. You know you're always my best man. Love you."

"You too." He ends the call and I'm left with a sinking feeling in my stomach.

✩✩✩

I find Adriana where I always find her— buried under a pile of blankets in the theater room except, instead of watching a movie, she's on her laptop. She's got that messy bun on the top of her head looking rather adorable, if I do say so myself. She finally looks up at me and when she does I'm met with a wide smile.

"Hey, bear man." The nickname makes me grin every damn time. "Miss me?"

"I'm not paid to miss you."

"You're not paid to do a lot of things you've done to me." I quirk a brow at that. "Not that you've done much but you get what I mean. The fingering and all that jazz." All that jazz being holding her close to me for a week straight after her brother fucking traumatized her.

"Right. All that jazz." She rolls her eyes and goes back to typing away on her laptop. "What're you doing?" I plop down next to her on the bean bag. She immediately shuts her laptop. "You know, if you're watching porn, I am not going to care."

"If I were watching porn I'd be watching it on that." She flings out an arm toward the giant screen. "Although that would be like watching giants fucking. That's a whole other kink that I am not into."

"You, not into something kinky. I can't believe my ears."

"Even I have my limits." She goes to put her laptop down but I snatch it out of her hands and flip it open. "Nice try but you'll need my password and I am not keen on giving that to anyone so..." She opens and closes her hands in a 'give-it-here' kind of way.

"No."

"You know what they say about cats and curiosity."

"It's a good thing I'm a bear, little koala." Her lips go into a flat line. "Oh, come on, it can't be that bad."

"I write smut." She deadpans.

"Of course you write smut." The woman basically lives and breathes sex, well, not here lately. If it weren't for her brother's little stunt a few weeks back I'm sure we'd be doing much more than cuddling these days. Not that we cuddle. But still. "I want to read it." Even though I have a pretty good idea what goes on in her mind I kind of want to know exactly what she's thinking about in regards to sex. "Let me read it."

"Fine."

That was easier than I thought.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you want to read my raunchy filth then by all means." She snatches the laptop away from me and types in her password. "Go right ahead." She hands it over to me and I lean back propping an arm behind me. I begin to read and she wasn't wrong about it being raunchy filth.  After a few minutes Adriana asks, "well?"

"I particularly like the bit about the backward cowgirl position. That position always gives such a wonderful view." Now that I'm thinking about that view I am picturing Adriana giving me that view. I close the laptop and hand it over to her with a cough trying not to think about her and I doing the things that I'd just read. I am trying and failing. "What made you want to write that today?"

"Considering I'm always thinking about sex I figure I might as well get it out of my head and down somewhere. And, to be completely fucking honest, I have not been dicked down in quite some time. Just writing down some rather memorable occasions."

"You're saying you've done that with someone?" I point to the laptop.

"I mean things like it, yes. Care to give me something worth writing about?" She quirks a playful brow that has my brain going to dangerous places. Places like my dick.  "You look like you want to say yes." Because I do. I really really do. Those grey blue eyes dance mischievously. "I think you want to." She reaches down and cups my dick.

"You know you should really ask for permission before grabbing someone's crotch." Her face falls, just slightly, and she immediately lets go of me. The action has me automatically feeling bad because it's not like I didn't want her to grab my dick. I want her grabbing, riding it, doing whatever the fuck she wants with it.

"I'm... I'm sorry?" It sounded like more of a question but the look on her face right now is killing me.

"You don't have to ask me anymore." I grab ahold of her hand and bring it back down to me. "You can touch me whenever you'd like, wherever you'd like." Her features soften and I can't help myself as I lean in and place a kiss on her lips. She pulls back from me with a serious face, one that has my brow furrowing. "What's wrong?"

"You know you should really ask for permission before kissing someone." She pulls her hand away from me and crosses her arms over her chest. "It's kind of rude, you know, claiming someone's lips and everything. Especially, you know, after telling them they can't touch your ding dong."

"You did not just call it a ding dong."

"I did, indeed, call it a ding dong."

"You are ridiculous, you know that?"

"Ridiculously good in bed."

"That has yet to be proven." There's a challenge in her eyes, one I'm more than willing to accept. "But if you would like to prove it then by all means." I lean back and eye her knowingly but she surprises me by putting a mask of nonchalance on.

"Meh, I don't think I'm in the mood."

"Bullshit."

"I don't have a condom either so it's going to be a no from me." She gets up from the bean bag, leaving me staring at her in disbelief. "Think I'm going to go have fun with myself." She sways her hips seductively as she heads toward the door. "You coming?" She cocks her head over her shoulder while adding, "because I'm about to be."

A/N:
Random update time!
Sorry it's been a little bit since I've updated.