Free Being With the Brothers Next Door by Jenika Snow Page A

and you’re acting like some crazy person.” She wiped away her tears and balled her hands into fists. “You’re not Dad, Rian.” Her brother gritted his teeth and continued to breathe heavily. “You’re acting like some kind of caveman, and all it’s doing is driving a wedge between us.”
    “Sash—”
    “Why, Rian? You go and act all insane because they love me and I love them?” She knew it was more than that, but right now her emotions were running high. He looked down, and his jaw clenched. “I don’t expect you to take all of this in stride. It’s a shock to all of us, but violence, Rian?”
    He looked at her harshly, then to Tanner and Jonas, and left out of the front door in angry strides. Once he was gone no one said anything, and the silence grew to an uncomfortable level. Jonas’s nose had stopped bleeding, as had Tanner’s, but they were still bloody. This was all her fault. If she had just told Rian about how she felt a long time ago, things might have been different. These were his best friends, and she was his little sister, so she could see why he would be angry, but the shock of everything coming to light was a reality check of the worst kind. The fact Rian felt betrayed, or that he was somehow protecting her, was unjust. Something needed to be said, but what?
    “So, you love me, too?” Tanner grinned over at her, all bloodied and bruised, but still managing to make light of the situation. Jonas groaned, but she could tell it was all in fun.
    “Come on. Let’s clean you guys up.”
    ****
    After Sasha had helped the guys clean up they stood around the breakfast bar. Tanner’s eye was starting to turn a nasty shade of purple, and Jonas’s cheek was red and swollen and his lip was split. She was pissed at Rian, but in her heart she knew he had acted that way because he did love her, even if he handled it in a totally fucked-up way.
    “You know, he just doesn’t want to see you get hurt,” Jonas said and rested his forearms on the counter.
    “Especially given my history with women.” She didn’t miss how Jonas narrowed his eyes at his brother. “I’m not going to lie to her, Jonas.”
    “I don’t want you to lie to her either, but bringing that shit up right now certainly doesn’t help anything.”
    Jonas was right. There would never be a good time to talk about that. Resting her elbows on the counter and covering her face with her hands, Sasha thought about how in the hell she was going to talk to Rian about this. He had been so angry, and the look he had given her, like she had somehow stabbed him in the back, cut her deep.
    “Everything will be okay.” Jonas smoothed his hand up and down her back. What she needed to do first was talk to Tanner about what she revealed. He was looking at her when she lifted her head. Straightening and putting on the bravado of confidence, something she didn’t feel at the moment, she just went for it.
    “I meant it, Tanner.” Her words were low, purposefully so, and when he didn’t say anything she caught his gaze. It was out there, so the only thing she could do was deal with it.
    “As did I.” Those three words were spoken so strongly, as if he wanted her to know he meant them from the very depths of his soul. She exhaled, not even realizing she had been holding her breath.
    A part of her snapped, and she started to laugh, a full-on bellow of rolling laughter. Tanner and Jonas looked at her as if she’d lost her mind, and maybe she had. Wiping the tears away she sobered.
    “This whole thing isn’t funny, but it is fucked up. I mean I am in love with my brother’s best friends, and slept with both of them. How does that even happen?” She said the last part to herself, but a second later both of them started laughing, too. She supposed all someone could do was make light of a very strange and unorthodox situation. When the laughter died Tanner grew very serious.
    “Come here, Sasha.” At the sound of those words her heart started