Page 24 of Forbidden Cravings

“Yes,” she replied dreamily. Leave it to Riley to fall for an older man. I was no better. Mason was eight years older than me, but that didn’t come close to the age difference between Riley and Greyson.

“Then that means he’s seen a lot more tits than yours, Ri.”

She elbowed me. “I don’t have to think about it, Casey.”

“Yeah, you prefer to think you found a forty something year old virgin?”

Her laugh told me he was anything but and the blush that filled her cheeks said everything I needed to know about the personal side of Greyson Tides.

“Mason told me what happened,” she said, quickly changing the subject.

I lifted myself from the bed, trying to steady my walk as I breathed in my hand to see just how heinous my breath was. I jerked my head back, trying not to gag. Brushing my teeth became my priority when I reached the bathroom.

“And what did he tell you?” I asked between brushes.

“That those assholes drugged you and no one noticed until he got there.”

Until he rescued me,I thought. And suddenly the incident took on an entirely different light. Mason had rescued me,protecting me from the assholes I’d naively flirted with in my attempt to get even with him.

“Case?” Riley was staring at me, and I realized I’d stopped mid-brush, the toothpaste dripping down my lip.

I returned to the sink and spit and rinsed before gurgling an extensive time with mouthwash. Content that my breath was up to par, I returned to the room, rummaging through my clothes for something comfortable. I didn’t care what I wore today. I only wanted to curl up on the couch and binge-watch something. Mason had seen me with vomit in my hair, so there was no sense in caring if I looked like a slob at this point.

I snagged a sweatshirt and a pair of leggings, along with clean undies and a bra, before heading back to the bathroom.

“Casey.”

I turned. “What do you want me to say, Ri? That I fucked up? That I got trashed because I was angry at your brother? That I didn’t want to go out, but I wanted to get even with him for turning me down?” I stopped, biting my tongue and realizing I’d said too much.

Her emerald eyes studied me with no judgement. “Did you tell him that?”

Sighing, I let my anger go. “No. No, I didn’t.”

She stood and came over to me. “You might want to. I can’t tell you he’ll admit his feelings, but I can say he’s a mess, and I think it has to do with you.”

I shook my head. “It’s Tyson. If I was any other woman, he would have taken me up on it by now.”

“Ew, that’s just gross every time I even try to picture it.”

“That you try to picture your brother having sex is gross on its own, Riley,” I teased.

“You’re nasty. Anyway, you’re not any other woman, Case. You’re you and you’re Tyson’s sister.”

“I know.”

She gave me a kiss on the cheek. “You’re already like a sister to me?—”

“You’d text me more if that were true.”

Punching me playfully, she said, “I’m serious, Case. You’re like a sister to me and if you and Mason end up together, that just makes it even better.”

She waved her hand in front of her face and headed to the door. “Your breath no longer smells like death, but you stink like a bar.”

“Thanks, that makes me feel better.”

Laughing, she paused, her hand on the knob. “Maybe you’ll even be my sister-in-law…if Tyson doesn’t kill him first.”

My jaw dropped, but she’d left the room before I could process what she’d said. Mason and I had barely touched each other, and she’d already married us off. The thought sent a shiver through me that sank deep into my soul like it belonged there. I shook it off and showered, washing the stank of the club from my skin and the lingering touch of the men Mason had beaten from me.

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