Sleet Banshee by S.J. Tilly

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

MEGHAN

Brother?

“Brother?!”

At the sound of my voice, Samuel turns to face me, pulling Sebastian with, still trapped in a headlock.

“Babydoll,” Samuel says, mussing up Sebastian’s hair, “allow me to introduce you to my sweet, darling little brother.”

“Sebastian.” I don’t mean to whisper his name, but that’s how it comes out.

Sebastian hooks an arm around Samuel’s waist, crouches, and reaches his other arm behind Samuel’s legs. Sebastian stands, now holding his brother in a bridal carry, forcing Samuel to release his headlock.

Samuel tosses his head back laughing. “You’re such a goddamn brute!”

Sebastian's eyes are locked with mine. “Hey, Banshee.”

That stops Samuel’s laughter. “Wait, what?” He looks back and forth between Sebastian and me. “Meghan is your Banshee?!”

His Banshee? He’s talked about me to his brother?

Sebastian drops his hold on his brother, and I’m more than a little surprised when Samuel sticks the landing. This must not be the first time they’ve done that particular move.

Samuel walks up to me, placing a finger under my chin, pushing up. Effectively shutting my mouth, which I didn’t realize was hanging open.

My eyes follow his arm. His tattoos. I look over at Sebastian’s forearms. His hoodie sleeves are pushed up and bunched around his elbows, exposing the decorated flesh. Well, I’ll be damned. The whole cuff of their tattoo sleeve is the same, only Samuel’s is done in watercolors and Sebastian’s is more graffiti in style.

Sebastian steps closer until they’re standing side by side. And fucking hell. Twins. Not identical, but pretty damn close.

Samuel is slender, where Sebastian is buff. Samuel is clean-cut where Sebastian is tousled. Samuel’s eyes have that touch of green, where Sebastian’s are all dark. It’s like having life-size versions of those angel and devil characters that you see in cartoons sitting on your shoulder, murmuring ideas into your ears.

“Did she just call you the Devil?” Samuel stage whispers to Sebastian.

Fuck, did I say that out loud?

“Wouldn’t doubt it. She did toss that drink in my face.”

“That was her?!” Samuel laughs and slaps his thigh. “This is total gold!”

I shake my head. “What… I feel like I stepped into a Bizzaro World.”

“It’s too much LeBlanc hotness in one location, right?” Samuel says with a wink.

A laugh bubbles up my chest, and I try to hold it back, but that just causes it to come out as a squawk. I give the universal give me a moment hand signal and walk away to gather myself.

This is just. freaking. perfect. Of course my new contact, at the best venue in town, is the twin brother of my… My what? My lover. My ex-lover. My tormentor. The man who goes from hot to cold, to hot, to frigid. The man I’m fighting not to fall in love with.

I shake my head to clear it. I’m not gonna try to figure out what we are to each other. I’m just going to carry on like I’m cool. Like I’m totally fine with all of this.

Continuing my stroll around the space, I work to take in the details. The room really is fantastic. Two walls boast full-length windows looking out over downtown St. Paul, and one wall of windows looks down into the museum. From here you can see part of a dinosaur skeleton, a full-size model of the Wright Flyer, and a three-story pipe organ. Then there’s the ceiling, or lack thereof. The entire roof above the room is glass, currently showcasing a bright sunny sky, but I can just imagine it at night. Nothing but stars above while you dance on the hardwood floors. It’s perfect.

“Meghan.” Sebastian’s voice is soft behind me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to catch you off guard like that.”

I slowly turn to face him, one brow arched.

“Okay, so maybe I did. But…” He shrugs. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“You have my number,” I remind him.

“Yeah, and I’m nearly certain you wouldn’t have picked up my call.”

I purse my lips as I pretend to think about it. “You’re probably right.”

He gives me a slow smile. “It was nice seeing you last week.” He steps closer. “But I was hoping we’d have found some time to talk.”

Damnit, he’s being nice.

I sigh. “I’m sorry about throwing my drink in your face.” I don’t sound sorry.

His smile grows. “You’re not sorry.”

I roll my eyes. “Obviously. You were being a jerk. You had it coming.”

“See, how on earth could I be done with you? You’re just too much fun to be around. I never know what’s gonna happen.”

He steps closer. The look on his face turns predatory.

I step back.

He steps closer.

I step back.

“Keep running, little Banshee. I’ll always find a way to hunt you down.”

I’m trying to remember why I was mad at him, but his stupid closeness is throwing me off. Time to pay it back.

I shift closer, placing my hand on his chest.

His hand comes up to cover mine, and I almost lose myself in the warmth. But then I remember the smug look on his face a moment ago.

Biting my lip, I look up to meet his eyes, hoping I look seductive.

He leans down, and I reach up to place my lips next to his ear.

“When I first saw you here,” I whisper, “I thought Samuel was your lover.”

Sebastian rears back with a look of pure disgust on his face.

Priceless.

I don’t know how, but I hold my shit together and slip past him, striding back to where Samuel is waiting with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“It’s perfect,” I tell him with a nod.

“Perfect indeed.” He holds his arm out for me to take. “Come join me in my office. We’ll compare calendars and find a time for you to come back after hours.”

“Deal.”

As we walk back towards the elevator, Samuel calls over his shoulder. “Hurry up, Lover!”

Laughing, I swear I hear Sebastian grumble something about fucking twin hearing.