Page 43 of Sin

Her bright-gray eyes grow huge. “You were staring at me?”

My pulse speeds up. How much should I tell her? I suppose only the truth.

“I forced myself not to look, but it was difficult.”

Her smile is a little naughty. Fuck, she’s so cute.

“It was?” she asks.

I snort. “Of course. You’re a beautiful girl.”

“I wanted you to see me,” she says with a hint of defiance. “I’m pretty sure I fell in the toilet just to piss you off.”

I grin, shaking my head. That night, she told everyone she fell in the toilet and got so wet she had to take off all her clothes. I knew it was a lie. Lily loves to cause trouble.

But I had no idea it was for me. Even if it was only to tease me, I don’t care. She’s revealing something about herself whether she knows it or not.

We’re both drawn to each other. There’s an undeniable pull between us, an electric current that ignites whenever we’re together. Our personalities clash and blend in ways that feel almost…inevitable.

Lily’s head jerks up as she stares over my shoulder. Her face grows white and taut, and the hairs on my arms stand up.

“So the two of you are a couple now?” a grating voice asks from behind me.

When I twist around, there stands Mason. His eyes are narrowed, and his jaw is clenched so tightly it looks like it might crack.

I’m on my feet in an instant. “Do you have a death wish?” I hover over him, mimicking his aggressive posture. “Don’t you ever come near her again.”

“Death wish,” Mason mutters, his gaze scanning my face. “What did she tell you?” His head jerks in Lily’s direction. “If I find out…” His mouth tightens, his whole body vibrating with tension. “You’d better keep your mouth shut, Lily. I told you my family has a lawyer.”

My head grows fuzzy. “Lawyer?” I murmur.

What the hell is he talking about? I already know that he grabbed her by the wrists. I saw him do it. Why is he worried that she told me something?

He must be talking about something else. Something much worse than grabbing her wrists.

A thought comes to mind, something so ugly I want to push it away. Lily’s been acting differently these past several months. Withdrawn. Anxious. Unable to focus. Aren’t those signs of someone who was…

Oh, fuck.

My face drains of heat, and time seems to slow. When I glance at Lily, my focus narrows, like I’m on the field. Every tiny movement is somehow bigger. Her hands are shaking, and the pulse at her neck is flickering madly.

My God, she’s terrified of him.

I inhale a shaky breath. “If you don’t leave right the fuck now. I will break your nose, my football career be damned.”

He must sense the seriousness in my words, because he backs up several steps. “Lily,” he calls out. “You’d better not have told him anything. I promise it won’t end well for you.”

Lily scoffs, but I can see that it took effort. Her lips are trembling. “You’re calling yourself out, Mason, not me. And I don’t think you understand how lawyers work.”

Mason scowls. “You can go to jail for slander.”

Lily’s smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “No, you can’t, dumbass. Slander is a civil offense. A single Google search could have told you that.”

Mason’s face grows hesitant for the first time. “You can’t… There’s no way you can prove anything happened.”

“Get the fuck out of here,” Lily says, her voice shaking. “Just looking at you is ruining my appetite.” She drops her burrito onto the paper plate in front of her.

Mason hesitates and then turns on his heel and walks away with stiff, angry strides.

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