Page 101 of Liars

He had an incredible ass. Delectable. And my fingers still remembered the way it had felt beneath them, the taut muscles clenching as he moved above me, but now he was gone, and I hated how empty the bed felt without him in it. I told myself to go back to sleep. To bury beneath the covers and pretend like last night hadn’t unraveled something inside me, but the longer I lay there, staring at the ceiling, the harder it was to ignore the gnawing unease in my gut.

Why had he left?

Where had he gone?

Something about the way he moved, the quiet precision of his steps, the way he’d waited until he thought I was asleep before slipping out… It wasn’t normal.

I should’ve followed. Should’ve thrown on his hoodie and stalked him through the house like the crazy person he probably already thought I was.

Instead, I rolled onto my side, clutching the sheets, trying to hold on to the last remnants of his warmth, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever Kreed was doing had something to do with the note in my locker. I wasn’t sure if I was more afraid of what I’d find if I dug too deep…

Or what would happen if I didn’t.

Holy. Crap. I’d slept with him.

26

KREED

The rich scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the kitchen. I leaned against the counter, sipping from my mug, trying to shake off the weight of last night. I’d left her in my bed this morning, crawling out before the sun came up for a run. My body still felt the ghost of her touch, her taste lingering on my lips. I curled my fingers around the ceramic mug as I took another sip, trying to push the memory of Kaylor’s body pressed against mine, her breathless moans, her fingers clawing down my back—Fuck.

I should’ve felt guilty.

I should’ve walked away.

But I didn’t.

God, she felt like heaven to my hell. Angelic. Pure. Untouchable. And yet, not once had she shied away from me. Never did I catch a flicker of fear in those sultry, knowing eyes. Her need had matched mine. Her hands had pulled me closer, not pushed me away.

She was something I was never supposed to have.

Every kiss we shared was imprinted in my mind. Every stolen moment was burned into my memory, and now, I’d gone and slept with her.

If thinking about her lips used to drive me crazy, how the hell was I supposed to function knowing how it felt to be inside her? To hear the way she gasped my name? To feel her fall apart beneath me?

Torture.

I prided myself on self-control. I had built my life around it. Ruthless, unwavering restraint, but with Kaylor, my control had turned to fragile threads, and she was a wildfire tearing through them, one slow, devastating smile at a time. Even the damn sound of my name from her lips affected me.

She had power over me, and if she ever found out how much…

She could destroy me.

Worse, if my family ever found out, they’d see it as a betrayal.

Maybe it was.

I could no longer tell what was right and what was wrong. My moral compass, already shaded in gray, had become so fucking murky I wasn’t sure it even existed anymore. Kaylor could never be mine. No matter how much I wanted her, it wasn’t possible.

If it was only lust and attraction, I could’ve walked away. I had a dozen other girls eager to satisfy my needs.

The problem was…she made me feel things. Things I had no right feeling. Not about her.

Those other girls? They didn’t do it for me anymore. Not even when I closed my eyes and pictured her. Maybe at first, I could convince myself it was just attraction. But now?

A substitute wouldn’t do.

The kitchen door swung open, breaking me from my thoughts. Raine strolled in, looking way too smug for this early in the morning. He poured himself a cup of coffee, leanedagainst the counter beside me, and took a slow sip before cocking a brow. “Sleep good last night, little bro?” A lazy smirk graced his lips.

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