Free JOINED (The Joined Series) by Alexia Stone Page A

on me and he pulled me by his side. “With all do respect…You’re mistaken,”—He stood in front of me —“I don’t know who you think my sister is. Don’t put your hands on her again .”
     
    Two tall men, in casual clothing, and built like brick-house WWE fighters rushed into Brayden’s face out of nowhere.
     
    “Everything is fine,” Mateja told them. They loosened their grip on Brayden, who didn’t flinch. “A misunderstanding.” The two men nodded at him and dispersed into the crowd. I tried to track where they went, but I couldn’t. Just as swiftly as they came, they exited.
     
    “I thought she was your companion,” he said, as if that was enough of an explanation for his rude and domineering behavior.
     
    “Why would it matter if she was my companion or not?” Brayden finally asked, taken aback. “I know that you own this hotel, and we ’ve do ne shoots here, but I won’t accept you confusing my sister for someone she’s not!” I couldn’t love Brayden more in that moment for his protectiveness over me, but all his energy was misplaced and as their exchange continued, I realized that I did a poor job of handling this confrontation.
     
    “Very well, then,” Mateja conceded. Darting his eyes over me, he moved farther away from me. “Rebecca, a moment, please?”
     
    Brayden’s eyes widened in alarm, his mouth opened in a muted gasp, rapidly changing into a disbelieving look of sadness mixed to anger washing over his face. I flinched, never experiencing such disappointment from him. “Bray,” I said solemnly. “It’s fine. I know him.”
     
    Making a moue of disapproval, he took a seat on the nearby chair. “I’ll be waiting, Rebecca.” I cringed under the dour sound of his voice and the use of my first name.
     
    I walked side by side with Mateja, following him and his two bodyguards . To anyone else, like his bodyguards, he was impassive, but his dark brown eyes conveyed a mix of emotions that I couldn’t divine. Sharp in his pin strip tailored suit, he definitely gave the impression that he was a power-player. I wondered when he owned this hotel or how he came to own it.
     
    “I didn’t ask the front for his last name. There’s absolutely no resemblance,” he said in a suspiciously calm tone.
     
    “ So that excuses your behavior? Let’s say, he wasn’t my brother? ” I temporarily stopped and his bodyguards gestured me to follow Mateja. “ Who do you think you are?!
     
    Ignoring my question, with pride, he stated, “I like him. Obviously, h e takes his role seriously.” His bodyguards briefly looked at each other, equally surprised that I questioned him about his behavior and by him complimenting my brother.
     
    We walked into a small sitting room, with three chairs, a small marble oval shaped table, and photographs and signatures of celebrities who stay ed at that the hotel on the center wall . The room was an oddly nondescript and barren in comparison to the grandeur and the décor of the other rooms that I saw in the hotel. Tilting his head at his bodyguards, they immediately left.
     
    “Why am I here?”
     
    “Because you followed me in here.”
     
    Pivoting on the heel of my feet, I strode to the door. I was still fuming from mixed messages and I didn’t want to play games . Mateja pulled me from behind, molding to me like a glove. The feel of his chin on the crown of my head brought me to a daze. Every pore on the surface of my body absorbed the dense air in the room. I inhaled the crisp scent of his aftershave and the minty breath feathered over my ear. Lost to the feel of his muscular and hard chest over my back, I involunta rily nestled my head against him . No longer frustrated or angry, I began making circles on the front of his hand with the pad of my index finger.
     
    His hold over me relaxed and I wanted to turn around, give him a leer. “Did you think you’d be able to get a hold of me when you left?” He asked with an edge of