The Maddox Brothers: Beautiful Burn Part 10

"You should probably take it. It's the refrigerator again."

"d.a.m.n it, d.a.m.n it, d.a.m.n it!" Wick said, tossing his cigarette and missing the canister.

The back door slammed behind him, and I picked up his still-lit b.u.t.t and buried the end in the sand.

"Good thing you picked that up," Tyler said.

"I've heard that one already," I said, taking a drag.

Tyler pulled his cap low over his eyes, and then shoved his hands deep in his coat pockets. Before I could ask him how he managed to get the day off, he grinned.

"How is it? Working for Wick?" he asked.

"Not as bad as I thought it would be."

"That's unexpected."

I took another drag, watching him put out a cigarette and light another. "Do you come here every day?"

"During fire season, yes. In off season, if I'm here."

"When are you not here?"

"When I'm traveling."

"Oh."

"Oh?" he asked. I could see that familiar desire in his eyes, even behind the shadow cast by his ball cap. The dimple in his left cheek deepened, and he leaned a millimeter in my direction.

Even that nominal response made the old me wish for a bottle of bourbon and a dark room. I swallowed. The old me was just two days away, and she wasn't buried deep enough to withstand the way Tyler was looking at me. I wanted to hide underneath his body and replace the pain with his fingers digging into my hips and to watch him tense while he thrust himself deep inside me, forgetting everything else but Tyler's rough hands on my bare skin, letting the sweet escape of intoxication carry me through.

"Stop looking at me like that," I snapped.

"Like what?"

"Like you've seen me naked."

"Have I?"

I rolled my eyes, bending down to put out my cigarette.

"Hey," he said, reaching out. He scanned my face, almost as if he was trying to remember. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

I shrugged him off. "I better get back in there. I sort of need this job now."

"Does uh ... does Zeke have a thing for you?"

"Zeke?" I said, my voice going up an octave. "No. I mean, I don't think so. No, definitely not."

"Do you have a thing for him?"

My expression twisted. "Why in the f.u.c.k are you asking me that?"

"Have you met my brother?"

I stood, completely confused. "You sound completely crazy right now."

"Just making sure before I make a pa.s.s at you."

"Make a pa.s.s at me? Are we in junior high?"

His eyebrows pulled in. He was really concentrating now, looking as confused as I felt. "I went to middle school."

"I don't think you left."

He breathed out a laugh. "What are you doing later?"

"Not you."

He choked on the drag he'd just inhaled, and then smoke and laughter tumbled from his mouth. "Easy, sweetheart. You're going to hurt my feelings."

"Listen, I'm having a hard time going back inside, which tells me one thing: you need to go away, and stay away. I'm trying to be good here, and you're ... not. Good ... for me ... at all."

He touched his chest with his palm. "I'm good," he said, feigning insult.

His confidence made my thighs tingle. "No. You're bad. And I'm bad. And you need to go back to the station or headquarters or whatever you call it so I can keep my job."

"I'm going to Turk's later. You should meet me there."

I shook my head, backing away. "Nope. Definitely not."

He took a step forward, amused by my retreat. He knew the effect he had on me, and he was enjoying it. "Am I making you nervous?"

My back touched the door. I sighed, looking up at the clouded sky. "I'm going to get fired." I reached for his face and planted a hard kiss on his mouth.

Tyler didn't flinch, gripping my coat and pulling me toward him. His lips were vaguely familiar, commanding and purposeful. He slipped his tongue inside, and I hummed, closing my eyes and letting him take me somewhere else-anywhere else-but the surreal, cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k scenario I was currently in.

I pushed him away, breathless. "Is your truck around?"

"My truck?"

"Yeah, the one with the back seat." I reached down for the rock behind his zipper.

"It's ... at the station." He moaned, taking my a.s.s in both hands. He lifted up, pressing me against him.

I was glad I was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. If I had been in the leather and light sweater I'd worn the day before, no amount of f.u.c.king could have warmed me up.

"Does Wick keep that storage building unlocked during the day?" I asked.

Tyler leaned back, looking down at me with labored breath. He grinned. "Are you serious?"

"Just check the f.u.c.king door, Tyler."

He tucked his chin and blinked. "Tyler?"

"What the f.u.c.k?" another voice said behind him.

Tyler's carbon copy gripped the back of his coat and yanked him backward, throwing him to the ground.

Zeke stood wide-eyed behind him before holding up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! They didn't know! I didn't tell him! I didn't tell her!"

I wiped my mouth and straightened my clothes. "What the h.e.l.l is going on here?"

The Tyler on the ground wasn't sure what to think, while the one standing was clearly ready for war.

Zeke pointed to the Tyler I'd just mauled. "Ellie, that's Taylor, Tyler's twin brother."

"Oh, f.u.c.king h.e.l.l," I said. They weren't just twins, they were reflections. I couldn't see a single difference. "What ... why didn't you tell me?" I cried.

"s.h.i.t. That's Ellie?" Taylor asked, holding up his hands, palms out. "You didn't tell me she worked here!"

Tyler pointed at his brother. "You didn't even get her f.u.c.king name before shoving your G.o.dd.a.m.n tongue down her throat?"

"Are you f.u.c.king kidding me right now?" Taylor said, sitting up slowly. "Don't act like you haven't done it a thousand times, f.u.c.k stick."

"You know better than that s.h.i.t, Taylor! We always make sure. What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you?"

"She..." he said, looking at me. "I asked about Zeke! I asked her about you! She didn't act like ... she didn't say anything!"

"Did you say my f.u.c.king name when you asked her, or did you just ask about your brother? It's not the first time someone's been confused."

Taylor shrugged, sheepish, and Tyler moved toward him.

I held out my hands. "I kissed him!" I blurted out.

Tyler froze.

"I kissed him!" I said again, touching my chest with one hand, the other still held out toward Tyler. "This isn't his fault!"

Taylor stood up and brushed snow and mud off his coat and pants, red-faced and teeth clenched.

Tyler glared at his brother. "I owe you one, d.i.c.k."

"Fine, you owe me one." He glanced at me. "Nice to meet you, Ellie."

"That's it?" Tyler growled.

Taylor's jaws danced beneath the skin. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."

My shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry, too."

Taylor disappeared behind the storage building with Zeke not far behind. Tyler rolled back his shoulders and looked down on me with disappointment in his eyes.

"No," I said, pointing at him. "You don't get to be jealous. You barely know me."

"I'm not jealous. That was my brother, Ellie."

"Please," I sneered. "Like this hasn't happened before. Just based on the forty-five minutes I've spent with both of you combined, I'm fairly certain you've shared a dozen or more women at some point. Maybe without even knowing it."

"No," Tyler said, nearly pouting. "We have a system. It usually works."

"I have to go back in."

"Ellie?"

"Yeah?" I said, annoyed.

"Were you telling the truth or were you just trying to avoid a fight?"

"What?"

"You said you kissed him ... thinking it was me."

"So?"

"I thought you said you didn't do repeats."

I sighed. "I'm going to be straight with you, Tyler. I f.u.c.ked up. My parents cut me off. I'm broke, and I need this job. I did something terrible to my sister, and I'm trying to change so if and when she finds out, she'll know I'm not that person anymore."

One side of Tyler's mouth curled up, and the same dimple on his left cheek appeared.

I pressed my lips into a hard line. "This was just a weak moment. I don't do repeats. Especially, definitely not now."

Tyler processed my words, nodding once. "Fair enough."

I breathed out a laugh. "Okay, then. Enjoy Colorado Springs."

"Colorado Springs?" Tyler asked, confused. Recognition lit in his eyes, and he seemed embarra.s.sed for me. "Oh. That's Taylor."

My cheeks burned. "I'm glad I'm staying away from you. The twin thing is too much for me sober."

Tyler laughed and reached out, offering a low, small wave as he began to walk away. "Goodbye, Ellie Edson. It's been fun."

"Fun Ellie is dead. All that's left is broke-and-alone Ellie," I teased.

Tyler stopped. "She's not dead. Just transitioning. Like a b.u.t.terfly."

"That's deep, Maddox."