Page 87 of Liars

“Was it good? The sex?”

I glared at him, and my scowl deepened. No matter what I said, Raine wouldn’t believe I hadn’t slept with her. Maybe it hadn’t happened tonight, but because of our compromising position, he’d believe we’d been intimate. Not sleeping with her would be very unlike me, and if he hadn’t shown up, I would have had sex with her. A sobering thought.

God, what got into me?

Obviously, I needed to get laid, just not by the girl upstairs.

He grinned. “That fucking good, huh?”

I clenched my jaw. “Drop it.”

Raine leaned back against the counter. “You’re in deep shit. If you’re not careful, that cold heart of yours is going to thaw, and you’re going to catch feelings.”

“Not on your life.”

He hummed, unconvinced. “Pretty freaking convenient that you failed to mention how stunning our ward is. Keeping her to yourself?”

“Hardly,” I muttered. “Now that you’re home, you can take over and see the crap I have to deal with.”

A strange light danced behind his eyes. “Something tells me keeping an eye on little Miss Thing won’t be much of a hardship. And the twins?” he inquired.

I ignored the flare of irritation in my chest. “Have been behaving themselves this week, which means they're up to something. Why are you here, Raine? Did something happen?”

He hesitated. “It’s nothing. Nothing I can’t handle.”

I wasn’t convinced. “Yet,” I added because I knew my brother. “Does this have anything to do with what happened at the club?”

“Alexus called me,” he stated.

Alexus was a family friend with a special skill set. If anyone could get Kaylor’s attacker to talk, it was him. “And? What did you learn?”

“He still isn’t talking. Not yet.”

“But you know as well as I know who’s behind this. They’ll try again.”

Raine’s finger tapped the side of his glass as he stared into the dwindling fire. “Then you’re going to have to be ready for them.” He swirled the whiskey in his glass, watching the fireflicker in the hearth. “You need to put your feelings for her aside, Kreed. One distraction is all it’ll take.”

“I don’t have feelings for her.” The denial was automatic, sharp.

Raine smirked. “Whatever you say, little brother. But for the family’s sake, you’d better hope no one finds out what I walked in on tonight.”

I set my drink down, my fingers curling into fists. Mason might be hurt, but he’d get over it. Maddox and Dad? They’d see it as a betrayal. “I know my responsibilities, Raine. I don’t need a reminder.”

He held up his hands. “Just making sure. Because things are about to get a hell of a lot more serious, especially since we have one of their guys.”

“They started this,” I muttered. “Did they really think there wouldn’t be consequences?”

Raine drained his glass. “Just don’t forget what side you’re on.” His stare was all blades and intent. “And be careful. They underestimated you tonight. They won’t make that mistake again.”

“I’ll talk to Maddox and Mason.”

Nodding, he set his empty glass on the coffee table. “I’ll be around for the next week or so. Get some sleep. You’re going to need it.”

Sleep? What a joke.

I couldn’t even fully blame Kaylor despite the overwhelming urge to despise her, to blame her for this rage curling within me, consuming me. A part of me recognized she wasn’t directly at fault, but knowing who she was and where she came from wasn’t something I could forget or ignore.

Guilt nibbled its way into my stomach as I recalled the dream I’d been captured in before she woke me up. I didn’t want to think about how it nearly paralleled what happened on thiscouch, which was how my dream got mixed up with reality, and I almost had sex with the enemy.

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