Page 31 of Blood Ties
I stiffen, hands clenching at my sides.
“She’s not a problem,” Knox says smoothly. He nudges his shoulder against mine. “We’ve decided to share her. Ain’t that right?”
I take in a breath, slowly let it out, try to keep my temper in check. Dad’s still eyeing me. There’s no way for me to disagree. “Yeah,” I force out.
Dad grunts, spits a wad of chewing tobacco in the dust. “Fine,” he says. “Better keep it that way.” He gives a pointed look. “Remember the TV?”
I clench my jaw. We loved that TV, as limited as the channels were, and it provided a rare escape when we had some downtime after chores. But one day, Knox switched the channel when I was in the middle of watching a show, and the two of us started fighting. Not too seriously, but loud enough to wake Dad from his nap.
He smashed the TV with a hammer and beat both of us bloody.
“I remember,” I mutter, my stomach in knots.
When Knox looks over at me, his smirk is all triumph. “Guess it’s my turn,” he says.
?Chapter Fifteen
Riley
When I hear footstepson the stairs, I force myself out of my defeated slump beneath the blanket. If Kai is having doubts, that just means I have to work harder. I’ll smile brighter, bat my eyelashes, suck his dick — whatever it takes to convince him that I’m worth keeping around.
But when I turn to the stairs, the smile withers on my face.
“Knox,” I whisper, shrinking back against the wall. My eyes dart to the top of the stairs, hoping Kai will follow, but there’s only a closed door behind him. “What are you doing here?”
He ambles over, grin stretching the scar on his cheek. “Not happy to see me?”
My thoughts are frozen in panic. I’m not sure how to answer, or how to act. Kai is the one I’m trying to seduce... but I have no doubt that Knox will kill me if I fail to stay on his good side. “I’m just... surprised,” I stammer out. “I was expecting your brother.”
If Knox has anything akin to a conscience, maybe the mention of Kai will remind him of it. But instead he only chuckles, dropping to a crouch in front of me. I lower my eyes to the floor, clutching my blanket around my chest.
“Does this innocent act get my brother hard, or what?” His hand darts out to grab my chin, forcing my face up so my gaze meets his. “We both know this ain’t you.”
“You don’t know me,” I whisper.
“Feels like we got to know each other pretty damn well the other night.” His free hand snakes beneath the blanket. I try to pull away, but I’m already against the wall; there’s nowhere to retreat. “In fact, I know you well enough to tell you’re probably wet for me right now, you slut.”
