Page 89 of Liars

The moment my mind twisted into that space, disgust punched through me. My hands clenched against the girl’s sides, and I wrenched her mouth away from me.

“Get your hands off me,” I growled.

She blinked, stunned. “What?—?”

I pushed her off me, not gently, not carefully. I couldn’t be.

The wig slid sideways, her real hair peeking out beneath it. The illusion shattered, and all I saw was a girl who wasn’t her. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked, her voice thin and confused.

I didn’t answer.

Didn’t look back.

I left her there, sprawled on the couch in the back room, lips parted in shock, eyes tracking me as I stormed out. Her feelings mattered little. I didn’t care about anything except getting far away from what just happened.

I needed a drink.

Something stronger than whiskey. Something that could burn through the filth inside me, the mess twisting through my skull.

Because Kaylor Steele was living in my house.

And I was already too fucking lost.

24

KAYLOR

The slow, deliberate chime of the grandfather clock downstairs wrenched me from a restless sleep, dragging the weight of my humiliation along with it. Who the hell still owned a grandfather clock? I needed to get a fan or something to drown out the noise.

Groaning, I rolled over, pressing my face into the pillow, but the memories came anyway—Kreed’s hands on my waist, his mouth on mine, the heat of his body, the sharp interruption.

Raine Corvo.

Ugh! I’d been on top of Kreed. Half naked. In front of his brother.

I groaned again and kicked off the blankets as I sat up, my pulse hammering. I had to have lost my mind. There was no other explanation. Kissing Kreed Corvo? What the hell had I been thinking?

I wasn’t. That was the problem.

Shoving aside the spiraling embarrassment, I grabbed the oversized hoodie I’d stolen from Kreed—God, I really needed to stop taking his clothes—and made my way downstairs.

What would happen when we saw each other? How was I supposed to act? Would he say anything? Would he act like nothing happened? Ignore me completely?

A small, pathetic part of me hoped he might be…nice.

The house was quiet except for the rhythmic ticking of the clock, like a countdown to something I wasn’t prepared for. It was a Sunday, and I should be snoring logs. The scent of coffee guided me to the kitchen, and my stomach twisted the second I spotted Raine leaning against the counter, a steaming mug in his hand.

The eldest Corvo fit the bill. Tall. Dark. And handsome as hell.

I hesitated in the doorway, debating whether I should turn back and pretend I never saw him. Too late. He glanced up, flashing a slow, knowing smile and a pair of lethal dimples.

God help me.

“Morning.” His voice was deep, smooth, and laced with amusement.

Holy. Hell.

I hadn’t gotten a full look at him last night, not with the circumstances, but in the light of day, Raine was just as devastating as Kreed. In a different way. If Kreed was all sharp edges and smoldering defiance, Raine was smooth, polished precision. He watched me with the eerie calm of someone always three moves ahead, and it made my breath hitch.

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