Page 154 of Tag

His grin turned feral. “That’s not hate, baby.”

A hand slid down to my thigh, gripping it just enough to make me inhale sharply.

His other hand stayed curled at my waist, holding me in place like he was weighing the line between teasing me and taking what he wanted.

“Ahem.”

The sound of Cade clearing his throat broke through my lusty haze.

“As erotic as this is, can you get off my sister so we can go home and not give these people a show they should be paying for?”

My face heated. Ryder didn’t look remotely ashamed. He grinned at his brother and stayed exactly where he was.

“We can finish this later,” he promised, low in my ear, kissing the corner of my mouth like punctuation before finally stepping back. “Let’s get you home and in bed.”

I swatted him, cheeks blazing as I slid my legs back inside the truck and busied myself with my seat belt like it was suddenly the most complicated task in the world. Cade climbed into the backseat this time and held out my phone. My poor, neglected phone, which I really needed to keep better track of.

I reached for it, and he grinned. “The old parking lot rendezvous, eh?”

“Shut up.” I snatched my phone from his hand and swiftly turned in my seat.

Ryder’s laugh was drowned out as the truck rumbled to life beneath us, headlights cutting across the lot. His hand found my thigh as he pulled out onto the road.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

SANJANA

I stretched my legs out as much as the seat allowed. The inside of the truck was warm, Ryder’s jacket still wrapped snugly around me. His hand had yet to leave my thigh, and with only cheer shorts on, he had access to nothing but skin. He was taking full advantage. His fingers moved lazily, tracing idle shapes that felt anything but innocent. I was seconds from throwing myself out of the truck before I did something worse and moved his hand where I needed it most.

Cade would for sure launchhimselfout instead.

My phone started ringing, and I nearly wept with relief at the distraction. A FaceTime banner slid across the screen. I answered, and Roxxi’s face filled it, sharp and stunning as ever, her red hair piled in a loose bun, a soft champagne-colored silk robe draped over her shoulders like she belonged on the cover of a perfume ad. She was propped against the velvet headboard in her grandmother’s guest suite, expensive lighting casting gold over her cheekbones.

Cade leaned forward, catching a glimpse. “Damn, Roxx. Could’ve warned us. I’d have put on pearls or something.”

From the driver’s seat, Ryder let out a short, quiet sound, part scoff, part laugh.

Roxxi smiled faintly in his direction. “Where are you right now?”

I angled the camera around the truck. “Still driving. Not home yet.”

Ryder gave a small lift of his hand in acknowledgment, then returned it right to my thigh, higher this time, closer to the center than before.

It took everything in me not to visibly react. I glanced sideways, and he was smiling wickedly, knowing exactly what he was doing.

“Check your texts,” Roxxi prompted.

“One sec.” I flipped to the chat with just the girls. A new message sat unread from her. I tapped it open and saw it was a photo of another text. I read it out loud since Ryder was driving. “It was sent to Layla from sender 1128.You really thought no one would find out what you’ve done? Do your friends know who you let in at night?”

Cade made a low sound behind me. “Hmmm. Wonder what that means.”

I glanced back, but he was looking out the window.

“She got that during practice,” Roxxi explained. “Ari was smart enough to get it with her phone while we were warming up. You know, before things went to shit.”

I nodded slowly, brushing the edge of the screen. “This is vague to me, but I’m sure Layla knows what it means.”

“She played it off remarkably well Ari said. We didn’t want to say anything right away for obvious reasons.”

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