Page 92 of Killer Kiss

So I took that anger inside me and spewed it all out onto him. “How do we even sleep at night, knowing that we’re fucking behind Fawn’s back?”

He blinked hard, recoiling. “Wait, what? That’s what you’re upset about? Fuck, Ophelia. Fawn and I weren’t a couple.”

“She had a crush on you. I heard the other women at your club say that.”

“So what? The feelings weren’t reciprocated. She never even told me, but if she had, I would have told her exactly what I’m reminding you of now. I’m ten years older than her. I’m all rough, sharp edges that would slice her to fucking pieces. I would have never gone there. She’s like my little sister.”

Everything he was saying was true. I’d only known him for a few weeks and yet I understood where he was coming from. It would be like me going after his brother. And while Banjo seemed like a nice kid, that’s exactly what he was in my thirty-three-year-old mind.

A child.

I couldn’t fault Augie for feeling the same way about Fawn. Fawn was a romantic at heart. She’d fallen in love so many times with boys who had just walked past her on the beach, only to find another infatuation by the time she’d washed off the sand. It was something that had always amused me because I was so the opposite.

He sighed. “What am I supposed to do, Lia? Pretend I don’t want you just because of her crush?”

I sniffed and nodded once. “Maybe?”

I didn’t sound convinced.

He took my arms, holding me so I couldn’t look away. “I can’t do that.”

He stole my breath. He always fucking did. It was his eyes and the emotion in them that he reserved for me. I’d never seen him look at anyone else like that. With open honesty that showed who he really was on the inside.

He hadn’t told Fawn about his childhood. The horrible things he’d seen. The horrific things he’d endured.

Only me.

My heart squeezed with a sudden rush of feelings that were too big to contain. My tongue burned with words it was too soon to say, and I bit down hard enough it hurt.

Out of the corner of my eye, a man caught my attention. I grabbed Augie’s arm, digging my fingernails into his skin. “That’s him.”

He blinked. “What? Who? Eddie’s brother?”

I nodded to the three men at a table in the corner. Much like Augie, they were dressed in jeans. Zane wore a white fitted shirt, half the buttons undone, his friends both shirtless. One had a woman on the floor, working his dick, but Zane and the third guy were both solo, watching performers in one of the cages.

“At least we aren’t interrupting anything,” I said through my teeth, storming in that direction, Augie close behind me. “If he was sitting over there getting his dick sucked this would have been a whole lot of awkward.”

It was only his friend’s gaze slow rolling over my body as we approached that reminded me I was wearing next to nothing.

Whatever. It didn’t matter if he knew where Fawn was.

Zane finally glanced over when I stopped a few inches from him. He shook his head. “Not interested,” he said and turned back to the entertainment.

I leaned down, making sure I was still a few inches higher than he was, so I had the appearance of having the upper hand. “Wasn’t offering. Do you know who I am?”

His friend grinned. “Fucking hot, that’s who you are. My friend here might be blind, but I am not. I’m definitely interested. Want to join this one here on your knees? I bet—”

Augie had him by the throat in a second. “Finish that sentence. I dare you.”

Zane and the other guy both flew to their friend’s defense, launching across the armchairs at Augie. Their chairs scraped along the floor, and people around us scuttled out of the way. The woman on her knees squealed, crawling out of the way.

On instinct, my fingers closed into fists, ready to defend Augie.

A sharp whistle split the room, and a guy in a flannel shirt came storming over, hauling Zane back into his seat and yanking his friend’s arm back in a painful hold.

I recognized him as Nash, one of my brother’s partners, and stopped him before he could get to Augie. I gave him my most charming smile. “Hey, brother-in-law. Long time no see.”

Nash took in my face and then my outfit and winced, slapping a hand over his eyes. “Oh, Jesus, Ophelia! What are you doing here? Christ, I did not need to see you dressed in that. I have to spend Christmases with you, dammit. I can’t unwrap presents if I know you hang out in places like this.”

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