Anyone but Alex (The English Brothers Book 3) by Katy Regnery Read Free Book Online Page A

angry words, and it didn’t take her more than a minute to figure out if Cam didn’t let go of her wrist, Alex was going to get involved. She didn’t want that. Wrenching herself away from her brother, she frowned at him.
    “ You’re making a scene. Stop treating me like a child.”
    He bent his head to her ear, speaking through clenched teeth. “We’re leaving. Now.”
    As Cam started for the nearest exit, Jessie found Alex’s eyes still focused on her, his lips tight and angry.
    “ Are you okay?” he mouthed, and she nodded, giving him a slight, reassuring smile and mouthing “I’m fine” before following her brother out the door.
    Five minutes later , Jessie sat beside a seething Cam in a taxi.
    “I can’t believe you were alone with him. Did he touch you, Jess?”
    “I’m not answering that.”
    “ Damn it. He is trouble, Jessica. Your reputation will be—”
    “Mine! My reputation will be and is mine!” She shifted in her seat to look at her brother with fury. “And you can’t tell me what I can and canno—”
    “I’m your older brother who loves you. Don’t pursue it!”
    She tried a different tact, making herself calm down and speak in a level, gentle voice.
    “It was nothing, Cam. Nothing,” she said, tapping her fingers on the windowsill as they stopped at a red light. “The ballroom was warm so I went outside and Alex joined me. It was just a conversation with an old family friend.”
    “ An old fam—Damn it, is that how he spun it? Don’t be naïve, Jess. You’re a girl. And you’re pretty. That’s all Alex requires to seduce someone, and I’ve even seen him drop his standards on pretty now and then. Not to mention, in his eyes, you’re fresh meat, and there’s nothing Alex likes more than to be first in line.”
    “ You’re overreacting.”
    “ He will screw you and leave you. If you have any feelings for him, your heart will be left broken . What don’t you understand about that scenario?”
    “How it’s any of your business.”
    Cam whipped his head to her. “If I hear he touches you? It won’t just be me who gets involved in your business, Jess.”
    She knew exactly what he was saying. In addition to Cam, who was the third of her four older brothers, there was also Brooks, Preston, and Christopher. None would take it lightly to hear that she was spending time with Alex English. She chewed on her bottom lip.
    “I think you’re being unfair,” she said, as the car s tarted moving again. “What if—and I’m only speaking theoretically here—I dated Stratton or Weston English? Would you have a problem with that?”
    “ Strat and Wes are not Alex. And to be clear, I like the English brothers. Hell, I consider Alex a good friend. Always have. But he’s not for you, Jess. He’s not good enough for you.”
    We’ll be discreet , or we can’t be friends.
    “Maybe he could be.” Her voice was meek and miserable when she responded. “People can change.”
    “Jessica!” he said, turning to face her as the car stopped in front o f his apartment building. “What the hell is going on in your head? Let go of any fantasy that involves Alex English right now, because he’s not going to change. He. Is. A. Dog . A manwhore. Other guys call him ‘the Professor’ because he could school any of us on getting laid. He’s a master at casual, love-‘em-and-leave-‘em style sex. And he is absolutely, positively off-limits to you.” His eyes skewered her. “Are we clear?”
    “You’re not my father,” she said softly, looking down at her lap , her breathing sharp and ragged.
    Cam raised his eyebrows at her, then reached into his pocket and took out his phone. Hard ball. “Okay, fine, Jess. Let’s call Brooks. He’s the closest thing you have to a father. Let’s see what he thinks.”
    Brooks was their oldest brother, eleven years older than Jessie, and Cam was right – after their father passed away, Brooks had become the closest thing she had to a father. She