Page 106 of Lady Killer

“That’s how you can tell us apart, isn’t it?” he said.

I said nothing but looked up and attempted to burn a hole through him with my eyes. It didn’t work.

“Curious how I got it?”

“No,” I replied a little too quickly.

“Liar.”

He leaned even closer, bringing his long legs to either side of my own and pressing them together.

“Did Alister tell you anything about us? Our childhood? Or has he been too busy losing himself between those beautiful legs of yours?”

Bands of tension wove around my chest, and my pulse jumped.

“We weren’t always Blackwells,” he said, his eyes roving over me, savoring my discomfort. “I mean, we’re Tyler’s sons, same as Lucian, but we’re bastards. Born to a drug-addicted mother who was an easy lay for a selfish, rich bastard who never got over his wife. She thought we would be her ticket to a life of leisure.”

He chuckled bitterly.

“Joke was on her though. Tyler dumped her ass so fast once he realized she was knocked up.”

Alister had alluded to something along those lines.

Nixon’s jaw tightened and he swallowed, his Adam’s apple sliding up and down the column of his muscular neck. This close, I could make out details of the tattoos that covered the pale skin there. The same tattoos that Alister had said belonged to Nixon, not him.

“Tyler died when we were eight years old, and we didn’t hear boo at first. Imagine not even knowing about your own father’s funeral.”

“My mother was his funeral.”

If the poor little rich boy thought he could use pity to lure me in like easy prey, he was picking the wrong girl.

He smirked. “Right, I forget, you come from a long line of killers too. Anyways, when our dear old deadbeat daddied, followed shortly by his sister, Locke’s mother, our grandfather decided he was running short on heirs and two bastards were better than none.

“One quick call to CPS, and we were ripped from our mother faster than you could blink. A couple bribes later, he was our official guardian, and on paper, it was as if our mother never existed in our lives," he said. "Shortly after that, she ODed, and then it was as if she never existed at all.

“Alister was ambivalent about the whole thing. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my brother’s not big on emotions. I had a bit of a harder time with the transition. She was a shitty mom, but she was still my mom, ya know?”

The loss of my own mother still stung, and a drop of compassion bubbled up in me.

Then I remembered who I was dealing with, and I quashed it. “Is this the part where I’m supposed to spread my legs for you? Because of your mommy issues? Or is it daddy issues? Grandaddy issues?”

Nixon slid his hands down to grip the tops of my legs. “I could force them open right now, pet. Spread you nice and wide for me. See what makes that cunt so special that my brother keeps coming back for more.”

“Everest would kill you if you tried, but I would beat him to it.”

“With what, your little plants? Do I look stupid enough to take food from you? You’re a one-trick pony.”

Now it was my turn to play with him.

I leaned closer, biting down on my lip, and gazed at him from under my lashes. “Oh Nixon, there are so many more ways to poison a man. Especially one as careless as you.”

He bit down on his own lip and squeezed my thigh hard enough to leave a bruise.

Maybe Everest would end up killing him, after all.

“You’re distracting me from my story.”

“Oh, please, do continue.”

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