Read Online Every Which Way (Sloan Brothers) by Calia Read - Free Book Online

smirked at Lily’s attempt to keep everything calm and evenhanded. She glanced over at Macsen as he caught her eye. From his expression, she knew he was curious about what he had interrupted.
    If she tried hard enough, she could create her perfect Eden . It’d be far away from here—maybe on a beach. Her paradise didn’t include being caged in between the Sloan brothers. Severine wanted out of this room. If she could sprout wings, she’d have taken flight.
    “Sit down, brother,” Thayer said, his tone completely flat.
    Macsen barely acknowledged Thayer and set his book bag on the floor. “How are you, Severine?”
    “Much, much better.” She pointedly looked at Thayer at her last word. Her smile was genuine when she directed her attention back to Macsen.
    Flicking his green eyes in Thayer’s direction, Macsen leaned closer to Severine. “What did I miss?”
    “Nothing,” Ben muttered. “Just the world’s most incredibly awkward conversation. Ever.”
    Macsen nodded his head in understanding. “If you were talking to Thayer, that sounds about right.”
    Severine grinned and went back to studying. At the rate she was going, she’d be on this page for the next hour. Her mind was a sphere that never seemed to stop spinning. After a while, she gave up and shut her book. Slowly, she traced the words on the exterior of the book.
    Everyone was quiet. It wasn’t the silence that was accompanied by calm energy. All five of them sat with their backs straight. They were runners at the starting line. One of them was going to bolt.
    Macsen shifted loudly in his seat. Severine looked up on instinct. He gave her a pointed look and nudged his head toward the shelves of books on the right side of the floor. Severine gave him a brief nod.
    He wanted to talk to her. She got up to follow him, and she swore that with each step her legs were calling out, don’t talk about it, don’t talk about it .
    When they were settled in the back, Macsen turned around and sighed loudly.
    “I think I offended you earlier.”
    “Hmm?” Severine couldn’t materialize indifference. She could at least try.
    “Let me rephrase. Earlier, in class, I upset you.” Severine’s face remained neutral, and he narrowed his eyes. “I’m sorry if I did,” he said sincerely.
    “You didn’t, though.” To her ears, it sounded good enough. “There’s no reason to apologize for something you didn’t do, right?”
    He looked doubtful. It seemed he wanted to say more, but finally, he nodded. “You sure?”
    “Positive.”
    “If you’re positive, then let’s go back.” He swept his hand in front of himself for her to go first.
    “You felt the tension. Do you really wanna go back to that?”
    He dug his hands into his pockets and leaned against the shelf behind him. “What did I interrupt earlier?”
    “You interrupted nothing.”
    “Really? It looked like something.” Macsen’s lips quirked, “Is my brother getting to you?”
    “He’s been giving me a headache since the minute I met him,” Severine admitted.
    Macsen laughed. He didn’t keep it restrained like everyone else would. It was carefree and easy. The soothing reverberations subdued all the anxiety that came from talking to Thayer.
    “Most of the time, he’s not such a douchelord.”
    Severine laughed dryly. “So I bring out the worst in him?”
    He mulled over her question and reluctantly nodded his head. “For reasons you won’t ever understand, yeah, you do.”
    “Perfect.”
    He pressed his shoulder against her, and she moved closer. All she needed was a barrier to lean against, and his was impenetrable.
    They stood in a congenial silence. Severine was afraid to break the moment. It was the most at ease she had been around the Sloan brothers. God, this was a requisite for her emotions.
    “Is this why you lured me here? So you could talk about Thayer?”
    “I’m not blind. I could see how tense you were.”
    Severine was rigid because she was trying to keep hold