Snare (Falling Stars #3) (12 page)

"That's brilliant," Sherry exclaims when I'm finished. "This is what you've been working on here?"

"That, and some other things," I answer vaguely.

Turning her head to Xavier, she says, "We need to tell your sister and father about this."

"You okay with that?" His eyes bore into mine.

"Sure," I agree.

Hell, if this leads to some donations or sponsorship from Stonehard Productions, I'll take it. But first, I need to get Paul out of the business. Most likely, this means I'll need to buy him out, and I know he won't be willing to go easy. So, I'm already certain I'll be going into heavy debt to rid myself of him.

"Uncle Xave," Nate's voice calls from the bottom level, "wanna play some pool?"

"Yeah," he shouts back, climbing from the chair. "Let's play teams," he adds.

He rounds the coffee table and stops in front of me.

I tilt my head back and raise a brow at him.

"What?" I ask nervously.

"We're playing pool," he says.

"I don't—"

Leaning forward, he grips my arms and pulls me to my feet. The size of him is overpowering. He's, at least, a foot taller, bringing me to his shoulder.

I slap at his forearms as my stomach flutters, nervousness and anxiousness battling inside me.

"Quit maneuvering me," I complain.

Being lifted, held, and physically situated are not something I'm used to. Feeling unnerved, I step to my left, trying to put space between us.

"Come on," he says, his hand swallowing mine.

"I don't play pool," I grumble, planting my feet to the floor.

He ignores me, walks toward the stairs, and my body jerks forward, causing me to stumble.

"You're a big, hairy jerk," I insult, loudly. "And I can't wait to suck so hard that you—"

He stops, whips his head back, and raises his brows.

What I just said registers, and I shout, "At the game, you pervert! I
mean
, I can't wait to lose the game!"

His mother and sister's laughter follow us all the way down the stairs.

Chapter Nine
Sidra

"I cannot believe how bad you are at this," Xavier exclaims.

"I warned you," I say in a singsong voice, giving him an exaggerated grin.

"You're purposely losing. You have to be." He shakes his head.

"Please," I snort, "to play this awful is a natural born gift."

I line up the stick thingy, aim, and…

"Jesus, woman," Xavier yells, jumping out of the solid red ball's path. "That was aimed at my balls." He narrows his eyes at me. "You're doing it on purpose."

Ian and Nate lean against the wall, laughing.

"Is this over yet?" I ask, dropping my head back and sighing at the ceiling.

"After I sink this shot, it will be," Ian boasts, pushing off the wall.

Stepping back, I let Ian move into position. He sinks the eight ball.

I lean the stick against the wall, clap my hands together, and then raise them in the air.

"I'm out," I shout, and rush up the stairs before Xavier can stop me.

I reach the main floor, victory swimming in my veins. I've escaped bar game hell. Grinning, I stop short, my heart flutters, stomach tingles, and my palms itch.

Cass and Lyra stand in front of the wall mounted flat screen with controllers in their hands.

"There's an Xbox?" My question is almost orgasmic.

"Yeah," Lyra answers with a small smile. "Do you play?"

"Do you have Call of Duty or
any
racing game?"

Taking quick steps, I reach the heavenly black box. It's the Xbox 360, not the Xbox One, but I'll fucking take it. I scan the stack of games, looking for any of my favorites.

"Um…"

Cass' hesitation takes my attention away from the games.

"We were about to play The Voice game," she says, her voice so low, she's almost whispering.

"How do you play that? You have to sing?" I raise one brow.

Lyra nods. "Yeah, it's one of the only games we agree on, besides Dance Central."

It's not my choice game, but it's also not pool or darts, which the guys mentioned playing next.

"Let's do this bitch," I say, rubbing my hands together.

Realizing what I just said, I quickly amend, "I mean, this thing."

Cass and Lyra giggle.

"It's okay, Dad cusses all the time," Lyra tattles.

"Which means you should have enough for college by now, right?" I tease, reminding them about the swearing jar deal they have with him.

Game set up, Lyra goes first. She stands in front of the Kinect, microphone in hand, and rocks out to No Doubt's
Just a Girl
. Cass chooses Katy Perry's
ROAR
. Both girls sing really well and by the end of Cass's turn, Ember and Sherry have joined us.

"Your turn," Cass says, breathless and holding out the mic.

Taking the mic, I move in position and select my song.

"What are you singing?" Lyra tries to peek around me.

I move my body in her way and grin.

"I'm going to show you how this game is done," I taunt, pursing my lips playfully.

"Someone talks a big game," Lyra teases back, rolling her head on her shoulders.

Then, my song begins. The fast drumbeats announce the song and the guitar riff tears through the room. I yell on key and spin away from the TV. No self-respecting girl needs lyrics for
I Want You to Want Me
.

Instead of the TV, I sing to Cass and Lyra, who quickly jump up from the couch. They turn out to be self-respecting girls and match me, word for word. Hopping around and shouting, we sing into the mic together. Soon, Sherry and Ember are clapping along to the beat and singing.

We end with a kick-ass trio of air guitars and collapse on the floor, laughing.

"That was entertaining." Xavier's voice makes the three of us look to our lefts.

He looks down on us, arms over his chest, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Next show, tomorrow, same time, same place," I respond, sitting up.

Two large steps and he stands in front of me, his hand extended.

I take it and he clasps, pulling me up. The force he uses causes me to land against his chest.

I open my mouth to bitch about the manhandling, but the mic disappearing from my hand distracts me.

"My turn," Lyra says on her way to the TV.

Xavier tugs on the hand he has yet to release, leading me toward the couch.

Annoyed with the handholding and just the way his big ass keeps getting in my personal space, I slip out of his grasp. This earns me a confused look from over his shoulder.

Thumbing toward the kitchen, I say, "I'm gonna get a drink."

I turn on my heels and walk by Ian and Nate on my way to the kitchen. The sound of the next song follows me.

Leaning into the refrigerator, I grab a bottle of water and straighten.

"Thank you," Xavier's voice isn't a surprise, having felt his presence before he spoke.

"For what?" I ask, and take a sip from the bottle.

He jerks his head toward the living room.

"They need to have a good time right now. You gave them that, and I appreciate it."

I move out of the way of the open door and he shoves it closed.

Giving a small shrug, I say, "We were just having fun. Don't thank me. It was purely for my own entertainment."

The right corner of his mouth lifts and he steps closer.

"Uh, I like personal space, Sasquatch," I blurt, putting a hand out.

My palm flattens against his firm, wide chest. The warmth coming through his t-shirt raises my own body heat.

"You sing well," he says, finally stopping and leaving barely a foot between us.

"I'm no Liza, but I'm not terrible," I admit.

"No one is like your cousin," he says with a chuckle.

Pride and jealousy war inside me. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath.

Fuck me, he smells good—like fresh air, spice, wood, and…I don't fucking know, but I want to lick it.

"You okay?" Xavier's question is laced with genuine concern. His hand covers mine on his chest.

I pull my hand away, open my eyes, and smile.

"I'm fine."

Side stepping, I walk around him and out of the kitchen.

In the living room, I make sure to sit in a chair where no one else can sit with me. It works with Xavier, but not with the twins. Lyra and Cass take turns sitting on the arm or the corner in between their performances.

I focus on the twins, ignoring the moments I feel Xavier watching me,.

The girls decide to finish the game singing together. They bring up a song I'm not familiar with, but holy shit, it's about masturbating. Biting my lip, I try not to laugh.

"What the hell is this song about?" Ember asks, looking from me and settling her eyes on Xavier.

Sherry raises her glass of wine in the air, giving a
woo-hoo
.

He's mid-shrug when he gets it, a flush creeping up his neck and into his cheeks until he's completely red-faced.

"What the fuck?" he asks on a yell.

The girls stop mid-verse about loving themselves and screaming their own name, and that's all I can take. I lose my shit, laughing so hard, I almost slide out of the chair.

"There will be no loving yourself," he scolds, pushing up from the couch and turning the game system off.

"We were in the final round, Dad," Lyra argues, hands on her slim hips.

I gasp, trying to breathe, but it just fuels my giggle fit.

"And you…" his voice drops deep, mustering all the authority a father can, "you fucking knew what they were singing, didn't you?"

I can't stop laughing long enough to defend myself. Instead, I say, "You," I giggle, "cursed."

"Yeah, that's sixty—" Cass begins, but doesn't get to finish.

"Not this time," he barks, turning to face his daughters. "I get a free pass when my little girls are singing about… about…" he doesn't finish, instead motioning toward the game with his hand.

"It's a female empowerment song, Dad," Cass tells him.

I pull myself up into the chair and hide my face in my hands, trying to breathe through the hilarity.

"Keep your empowerment covered and don't speak of it again," he snaps.

"Oh my god," I squeak, peeking through my fingers and trying to remain calm.

"You—" his narrowed eyes pin me.

"So," Ember interjects, "what are we doing for dinner?"

Sidra

"I fold," Xavier grumbles, throwing his cards onto the table.

"You're counting cards," Nate accuses.

"Such a cry baby," Ember taunts.

"She has to be," he exclaims, throwing an arm out in my direction.

"Can't prove it," I say, keeping my eyes on the cards on the table.

Giggles fill both my ears. Cass and Lyra are sitting on either side of me as I covertly educate them on card counting.

"That's illegal," Ian adds from his spot in front of the TV, Xbox controller in his hand.

I gasp, looking up at Nate with wide eyes.

"I would never break the law."

Xavier spits out his beer, coughing.

"You did not just say that," he says, leveling me with a disbelieving look.

"I'm a good girl," I declare, looking back at my terrible cards.

"I fold, too," Nate growls, slapping his hand on the dining room table.

"Such a poor loser," Sherry teases, sipping from another glass of wine.

"Yay, I win again," I cheer, putting my cards face down on the table.

"What did you have?" Nate asks, reaching over to flip them.

I slap his hand away and narrow my eyes. "Back off, Mister Grabby Hands."

His eyes grow round and mouth gapes open.

Everyone at the table, except Nate, laughs.

Spreading my arms over the middle of the table, I pull all the pretzels and candy toward me.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," Ember says, pushing away from the table.

"Me, too." I quickly jump on an escape route.

After dinner, Sherry and Xavier tag teamed me, using the twins to prevent me from going upstairs. Now, I could maybe get an hour of work done before settling in to read.

I stand and motion to my loot on the table, looking at the girls.

"Divide it between the two of you and remember what I taught you."

"I knew it!" Nate points at me.

Glancing at him, I grin. "Still can't prove anything."

"That's kind of your motto, isn't it?" Xavier asks, leaning back in his chair.

"Hmm?" I furrow my brow.

"Can't prove it," he clarifies.

"It's not a motto, it's just a fact." I shrug and turn for the stairs.

"Oh, Sidra," Sherry calls out, causing me to cringe.