Page 11 of Masked Sins
He’s all I had when I was really young, considering my mom left us when I was two. Well, until he met Felicity, Orion’s mom. Since she passed, my dad’s been… okay. Alone and bored, but okay. I’m just glad I live nearby so I can see him a few times a week.
“Hi, Dad,” I say, pulling away.
“I hope you’re hungry.” He gestures to the three massive steaks popping and sizzling next to him.
“Starving,” I practically moan. It’s true—I’d eaten lunch, but that was hours ago. I glance back at Orion, and his eyes snap up from my legs.
“How are you?” he asks, crossing his arms.
I do the same and lean against the opposite counter, arching a brow. “Fine. You?” I say politely. I somehow manage to keep my voice even despite the fact that my heart is galloping a mile a minute.
Did he get taller? Has he always been this tall? Is that even possible?
I’m tall for a girl—nearly five foot nine—but he practically towers over me at six foot four. And since he seems to have consumedonlyGoliath-approvedprotein powder for the past three months, he also seems bigger than that now.
“Yeah, I’m good,” he answers, running a hand behind his neck.
His shirt pulls up slightly, exposing a sliver of his abdomen. My eyes practically twitch as I keep them on the counter above his left shoulder. I shouldnotbe thinking these things about him.
Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look?—
“Ri, can you grab the beers and bring them to the table?” my dad asks as he plates the steaks.
Orion smirks at me before he pushes off the counter and walks to the fridge. Once he’s gone, I inhale three times rapidly, like I’ve somehow forgotten how to breathe.
“La-La, can you grab the potatoes and green beans?”
“Sure.”
I grab the bowl of creamy mashed potatoes and the platter of green beans sautéed with garlic and olive oil. My mouth fills with saliva, and I take my usual place at our decades-old dining table. My dad sits at the head, and I sit to his right while Orion sits to his left.
Across from me.
Just as I sit down, he kicks my shoe.
I glare up at him, and he sits up straighter with that same smug smirk as before.
The thing with Orion is that heknowsexactly which of my buttons to push to get me to lose my cool. I can’t decide if he’s just that much of an asshole or if he’s trying to get my attention for another reason. He only has one mode around me, and that’s unhinged.
Jealous, cocky, brutish …
I’ve seen him with others, and I know he’s only like this around me. It must be that we grew up together. Despite not talking, he defaults to playful brother behavior every time we’re together.
Zoe loves him, and I’ve seen the way his brothers talk about him. How mydadtalks about him. But for whatever reason, he acts out around me.
It drives me insane.
Mostly because he’ssohot and cold. He punched my date once for getting too handsy, and I didn’t see him again for months. When we kissed at Zoe and Liam’s rehearsal dinner, it was ten seconds of insane passion, followed by him pushing me away and leaving the venue early. I think most of that was because I was inebriated, but still. Nothing after both instances—nada. Not a call or text. It’s not that I wanted him to reach out to me after those events. Seven years ago, I made it very clear that I didn’t want him to be a part of my life anymore, so I don’t know why I was surprised when he was doing what I asked him to do—to leave me alone.
It’s just that sometimes he looks at me like he either hates me or wants to push me against the wall and ruin me forever.
Shivers work down my spine at the thought.
I don’t have long to dwell on the complexities of my Orion Ravage, however, because a second later, my dad plops a steak on my plate.
We all engage in casual conversation as we help ourselves to the sides. I grab a beer and ask my dad about his new prediabetes regimen. He was diagnosed last year, which meant that he’s now working out at the local gym four times a week, as well as watching what he eats. It’s also why I took a nutrition class to help him plan his meals.
As I chew the delicious steak, my dad asks Orion about his soon-to-be newly opened club. Orion stays mum about it, only saying it’s different from anything else he’s ever done. That piques my curiosity, and I make a mental note to ask Zoe about it the next time we have a girls’ night.
