Atonement (The Atonement Series) by Elle Chardou Read Free Book Online

cousin, Aubrey.”
    She leaned over the console and studied his profile before she gave him a kiss on the cheek too. “Thanks for being my hero tonight… stud .”
    I briefly turned toward Colin in time to see his face flush a deep shade of crimson. “No problem,” he managed to squeak out.
    “Don’t worry about it,” Aubrey said calmly as she dug through her small handbag, reached for a cigarette and lit it. “I seem to have that affect on the male species. Anyway, what’s on the agenda tonight? I’m beat.”
    “Nothing,” I answered back. “Listen, Colin is driving us back to my place because I have to convince Drew it’s okay for you to stay with us. Speaking of, how long do you think it will be this time?”
    She was quiet for a moment as she continued to drag on her cigarette and blow lazy smoke rings out of the half-opened window. “I don’t know. It’s not like I planned to catch my ex and my roomie in action, you know what I mean? I have a full schedule coming up at Bare so perhaps a few weeks at the most. I am sure I can either find another dancer to stay with or I’ll improvise or something.”
    I turned fully in my seat. “Or something? Listen, Colin and I will be going away for a while—”
    “Oh, cool, where ya headed off to?”
    “We’re doing a trip through France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.”
    “Awesome…can I come too?”
    “You don’t even have your freakin’ Canadian passport let alone your American one and we are leaving next week so that would definitely be a no.”
    Aubrey let out a long exaggerated sigh of discontent. “Jeez, you are such a party pooper.”
    “Listen, that is the least of your worries. You better hope Drew is as generous as me and agrees to let you stay.”

     

     
    “Absolutely fucking no.”
    The speaker was Drew and we sat next to one another in his bedroom on his elaborate California King bed.
    I stood up and began to pace, something I did often when I was nervous or upset. I was more of the former than the latter. “Goddamn it, Drew, she’s my cousin. What am I supposed to do? Have her stay at a halfway house? My uncle would chew off my ass. Colin has agreed I can stay at his place until we leave so she could have my bedroom and I would leave my portion of the bill money with you. You get to call all the shots and the first time she messes up, you get to kick her out.”
    Drew leaned back on his bed, his slim-fitting tee riding up to reveal a toned tanned stomach with a thatch of light brown pubic hair leading down past his jeans.
    “We both know how she is, Deirdre. I don’t need a walking nympho in my residence. I get enough action from the male and female population at work—this is my sanctuary. We have always had an arrangement and it’s worked out great. I know what to expect from you and I like living with you. I was hoping we could spend your last week here together. I won’t see you for a while after that,” he explained with deep emotional gray eyes.
    I stopped pacing and stared at him with my most sincere look. “Listen, I am just trying to keep everything calm around here. I don’t want you to be upset and at the moment, I am at the end of my rope. Please, make this easier on me and just say yes.”
    “I don’t like this whole ‘staying with Colin’ situation. The man is a whore and isn’t very discriminating with who he brings to his bed. I don’t want him to become a bad influence on you—”
    “Isn’t that like the pot calling the kettle black? You haven’t managed to corrupt me and I highly doubt he will. Besides, we’ll be staying together when we are in Europe so what exactly is the problem here?”
    Drew finally stood and strode to me before he slid his arms around my waist. “It would break my heart if another man tried to take advantage of you—that’s all. Am I out of line for wanting to keep you safe?”
    I slipped my arms around his neck. “We both know what this is about and I have let you