Page 35 of Destructive Truths

Twisting in his arms, I nestle my scarlet-covered face into his chest. “You can say that again.”

TWENTY-ONE

SAOIRSE

“Rise and shine!” Beibhinn pulls back the heavy curtains, and I toss my forearm across my eyes, shielding myself from the sun’s audacity.

My lids squeeze tight, and a groan vibrates from the base of my throat. “My eyes are burning.”

“Good,” Beibhinn chuckles as she dives onto the foot of the bed and tears my arms from my face, “now you know how I felt when I walked into the weight room and found you and my brother going at it, balls to the wall.”

“Oh. My. God!” I flop back and reach behind me, then tug the pillow from under my head and use it to cover my face. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“Never be embarrassed about getting some O’s.” Beibhinn’s laughter cuts through my muffled words. “Girl, trust me, if it were anyone other than the penis I shared a womb with, I’d be jealous as fuck. It’s been too long since I’ve gotten thoroughly fucked.” Her brows wiggle as she makes a stupid face that is supposed to be seductive. “Sucks for me, but I’m related to most of the guys in this town, so my penis-picking options are unfortunately minimal.”

Slowly, I ease the pillow from my face and peek at her over the edge. “So, you don’t hate me for sleeping with your brother?”

“Not in the slightest. Sure, wasn’t I the one who told you to submit to the sexual tension?” Her brow hitches towards her hairline. “If anything, I’m thrilled he finally pulled the stick out of his arse and made a move. For a second, I thought he’d lost you to a King without putting up a fight.” Beibhinn rests on her elbow and props her chin in her palm. “Honestly, I’m glad he didn’t wait any longer. You deserve options. That way, when the time comes for you to choose, you can make an informed decision.”

Pushing myself into a seated position, I scoot back and rest my spine against the headboard. “There will be no choosing, trust me! Whatever that was with Rohan is now well and truly over. Yesterday, he not only put a nail in the coffin, but he also hammered that fucker home.”

Beibhinn pushes herself into a Buddha pose, criss-crossing her legs and resting her elbows on her knees. Her eyes narrow as her gaze turns pensive. “Hmm.” There’s a look on her face I can’t quite place, and I don’t like it. Beibhinn is normally a no filter, open book kind of girl. But something tells me she’s hiding information.

“What?” I mirror her stare. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Do you honestly believe Rohan King will bow down like some lowly peasant? He’s a syndicate heir, Saoirse. Yesterday, you laid down a challenge. And, like it or not, my cousin loves nothing more.”

She’s right. I know she is. The little I know of Rohan cements her statement, but that doesn’t mean I have to partake in his deranged mind games. I have enough going on without adding his complications to my life.

“Rohan is like a bull in a china shop,” she adds. “And you, my friend, have waved my brother in his face like a giant red flag.”

“Oh.” I push the duvet back and haul my arse out of the bed. “But the quality of the fabric is soooo good.”

“Too soon, bish! Too fucking soon.”

Suddenly, my pillow comes flying across the room, narrowly missing me as I grab my gym gear and rush to the en suite to get changed for our morning run. “For that, I’m making you do two extra miles.”

* * *

It’s official, people who exercise at the beginning of the day are psychotic. It’s barely eight o’clock, and I am wrecked. Honestly, I could crawl back into bed and sleep for a week, especially after Beibhinn ran all the air from my lungs and the mobility from each of my limbs.

Like it or not, classes start in fifteen minutes, so even if I could’ve convinced her to bring me home before school, a power nap was out of the question. If I want to pass my trials, I need to graduate in a few weeks, which means attending school as much as possible.

Much to my dismay, Beibhinn indicates into the school car park, and all the tension I’ve been hiding rises to the surface, escaping through my bouncing leg and jittery fingertips.

“What’s got you so on edge?” She quickly tilts her face toward me as she pulls into a free space.

My eyes roam across the picnic area, settling on the KOK table—Aodhán, Hannah, and a few other faces I don’t know too well are all sitting along the benches. But they’re not who my attention catches on. Off to the side, Rohan leans against the edge of the table, arse perched against the wood with his feet crossed at the ankles with a joint dangling from his lips, and his eyes laser-focused on me.

He has one side of his shirt tucked while the other hangs over the waistband of his school trousers, looking every inch the part of a villainous arsehole. Around his neck, his tie hangs loose and undone, resting over his shoulders like a scarf. Tossed black hair frames his still-bruised face, but even though he looks like a dishevelled mess… there’s something wild and beautiful about him that claws at my chest. And I hate it.

Rohan King is untamed chaos, like a raging sea threatening to drag me under.

“What was that you said earlier?” Bev sasses. “Oh, I remember… ‘Whatever that was with Rohan is now well and truly over.’” Her lips purse in an all-knowing way.

Reaching across the console, I slap at her arm. “Shut up.”

Suddenly, she’s shifting in her seat, turning to give me her undivided attention. “Truth time… and I want full blatant honesty, got it?”

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