7

Veronika backed away, forcing a sterile smile to avoid being rude, and suddenly Samantha really felt sorry for the woman. She had just fallen in love and that feeling wasn't something you could logically comprehend or grasp.

You just loved the one you loved. It wasn't her fault that Killian wasn't good for her, that he would fire her if he found out. And it wasn't her fault that Samantha was jealous. None of this was her fault.

"What are you doing at the door, Samantha?" Killian's earnest voice boomed from the exact opposite direction that Veronika had disappeared.

Samantha didn't move, she hated it when he called her by her full name, not because she was hers didn't like names, but because he never called her that. Unless he was angry. And she hated it when he was mad at her for no reason.

Samantha didn't even look his way until his arm wrapped around her waist and he pushed her back into his apartment. He looked worn out, tense, the dark t-shirt clinging tight to his muscular body. He'd only just changed, the tips of his hair were still wet and as a drop of water slid down the muscle of his neck, Sam bit her lower lip as the urge to follow the drop - with her tongue - overcame her.

Guilt washed over her, followed by a wave of shame. Such thoughts were perverted and disgusting. She was gross and disgusting.

It had to be her! She quickly looked away and met his serious gaze. He was indeed angry, but she wouldn't be his sister if she didn't know how to deal with it. No matter how mad he was or why he was mad, he would never harm her.

Samantha pursed her lips in a pout and pulled away from him, then turned her back on him and collapsed onto the bed, the sheets she had already ruffled. She waited for her brother's outburst, which would inevitably follow. Samantha would never go so far as to compare Killian to her father Frank, but sometimes she couldn't deny that they both inherited his hot temper. And they apparently other abnormalities.

"I told you to lock the door." Sam rolled in the mattress, he thought it was cute when she did that and shamelessly exploited this circumstance.

"I know what you said. Did you know that Veronica has a crush on you?" Today, however, he was hardly distracted by it.

"Who the hell is Veronika and why didn't you listen to what I told you?" Samantha shrugged, ignoring the obedience question.

"Veronika is your current director, a pretty, voluptuously built brunette with little self-esteem and a hell of a romantic interest in you."

"I'm more into blondes and you didn't answer my question." Samantha gave him a piercing look. She couldn't explain it, but somehow there was something hanging between them, something unspoken, and she was grateful for that as Killian started to relax and settle down.

After a moment's hesitation, he sat down on the mattress next to her. Samantha used this brief pause to move closer to him and rest her head on his shoulder. until he sighed in surrender and she briefly ran her hands through his hair. He liked that.

"I was just teasing you, don't fire her, I actually think she's quite nice, that being said I may have given her a little scare and she certainly won't show up at your door in a short dress again." Killian tossed gave her a confused look, he really didn't seem to have noticed Veronika earlier.

His anger seemed to subside as her fingers briefly squeezed his neck and she smiled at him. He actually knew that his instruction came from an exaggerated protective instinct that completely quickly turned into something neither of them wanted.

"I'm here, Killian. I'm fine, except I'm still a bit tipsy." She whispered in his ear, actually daring to kiss his neck to tease him, but he didn't respond. Passed over the tenderness and still just looked at her.

This man was just impossible. Even when he wasn't mad at her anymore, he just needed to be in control at all times. But he would never succeed with her.

"Blondes, yes?" Sam asked with a big smile, but it took her more than that to force any reaction from him today and it was driving her almost insane. So, she slipped one of her legs over his and straddled his lap.

He didn't scold her, didn't push her away, didn't do anything to stop her, on the contrary, like it was the most natural thing in the world, Killian put both hands on her hips to hold her tight. He seemed to need that because for a brief moment he closed his eyes, the muscles in his neck relaxed and when he opened his eyes again there was no more anger.

Just a sad helplessness she had never seen in him before. Something had happened and Samantha wanted nothing more than to expel this something. She scooted closer, wrapped her arms around his neck, and ran the tip of her nose over his.

"Say something, you're scaring me." But he just kept looking at her, gripping her hips tighter and shifting her onto his lap so that the cold buckle of his belt pressed against her abdomen. She tried to ignore it, but it was hard to show composure in the face of this intimate position, which only seemed to make her uncomfortable. The confusing emotions fought for dominance within her. Afraid of whatever had made her brother sad. Shame at how she felt and anger at herself.