Page 39 of Unmask
“What did I tell you about touching her?” The words tore from my throat in a growl, rough and jagged from sleep and the bitter aftertaste of whiskey still clinging to my tongue. My voice cracked, the muscles in my neck straining as I pushed the words through gritted teeth.
Raine’s chuckle rolled through the room. “Just being friendly.”
Fire shot through my veins, hot and immediate. I jackknifed upright, the couch cushions groaning under the sudden shift of my weight. My vision swam for a split second, too much movement too fast, but I pushed through it, scowling as I swung my legs over the side and planted my feet on the hardwood floor as I reached for the ceramic mug Kaylor had left on theglass coffee table. “Go be friendly somewhere else.” The coffee was cold, but I sipped it anyway. My eyes caught on the grease-stained pizza box sitting next to my mug, cardboard edges soft with moisture, and something twisted in my gut. I couldn’t decide if I was grateful she’d thought to feed me or pissed that she felt the need to take care of someone who’d destroyed her so completely. Probably both.
Raine draped one arm along the back of the couch, his posture screaming casual indifference even as his light-green eyes tracked my every movement. “If only I could trust you not to do something reckless or say something incredibly stupid.”
I cursed. Having brothers was the damn worst when it was inconvenient and the absolute best when it was convenient. The duality of it all made my head throb as I shot him a dull glare. “Then you clearly don’t know me.”
He snorted, but it held no real surprise, just the weary acceptance of someone who’d watched me self-destruct in spectacular fashion more times than either of us could count.
My gaze drifted to Kaylor like a compass finding true north, and I swallowed hard. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“This is a one-time thing.” Her spine straightened, shoulders squared in a defensive posture that meant business. “And you need to go back to school.”
My entire body went still. “Will you be there?”
She blinked once, lashes casting shadows on her cheekbones. “It doesn’t matter where I’ll be. It’s not your concern.”
I leaned forward until my elbows rested on my knees. “Everything you do is my concern.”
“Kreed.” My name came out threaded with exasperation, and the sound of it on her tongue was both salvation and torture, familiar as breathing and foreign as a dead language all at once.
My fist pressed hard against my sternum, knuckles grinding into the bone as if I could physically hold my heart togetherthrough sheer force of will. “You can’t do that to me. Not after everything.”
Her eyes rolled skyward, but I caught the slight tremor in her hands before she crossed her arms, tucking them safely away from view.
Raine raised one hand like he was about to deliver testimony at a congressional hearing, his expression caught somewhere between amusement and genuine discomfort. “The tension in this room is making me uncomfortable. You two either need to kiss and make up or have really loud, angry sex. Preferably when I’m not in the house.”
Kaylor shot him a flat look. “I’m not the one who fucked it all up.”
I absorbed the blow, letting it settle into the collection of guilt and regret that had taken up permanent residence in my chest. “How long are you going to punish me?”
She didn’t hesitate. “You want to earn my trust back? Start by not disappearing into the club and actually showing up to class.”
I lifted one eyebrow, the gesture automatic despite the way my pulse hammered against my throat. “For how long?”
Beside me, I caught the subtle twitch of Raine’s lips, the barely suppressed smile of someone who already knew exactly what was coming and found it endlessly entertaining.
“Until we graduate.” The word dropped between us like a gauntlet thrown down
A slow smirk tugged at my mouth. “What do I get?”
“The privilege of still breathing.”
And just like that, the knot of tension that had been strangling me for weeks loosened a fraction. Not gone, not even close, but enough that I could draw a full breath without feeling like my ribs were caving in.
Damn. I’d missed her fire, missed the way she could cut me to ribbons with nothing but words and still somehow make mefeel more alive than anyone else ever had. I would do just about anything to keep that flame from burning out even if it meant getting scorched in the process.
Raine’s phone buzzed. He glanced down at the screen, cursed under his breath, and stood. “I’ve got to take this. Don’t set anything on fire while I’m gone.” He strutted out of the room as he answered the call, and it was just me and her again.
Fucking finally.
This was what I wanted, what I’d been waiting for. A chance.
Kaylor sat curled into the corner of the couch, arms around her knees. I crossed the room slowly and dropped onto the cushion beside her, leaving just enough space for her to move away if she wanted to, but she didn’t. That was all the permission I needed.
“You want me to go to school? Fine,” I said quietly. “I’ll go, but you have to agree to let Evan detail you.”
