Page 185 of Dare To Break

I almost laugh bitterly at that last one. The only friend I have is Miles.

“—everything changed so fast for her. Eli is still adjusting to having you both in our lives, too, but hopefully, they will become friends.”

“I don’t want to be her friend,” Eli mutters, a nerve ticking in his jaw.

I glare at him. “I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a fork.”

“Arabella, enough!” Elena snaps. “We do not speak to people like that at the dinner table. Sit down and finish your meal. Now!”

I retake my seat, but I don’t touch the soup getting cold in front of me.

Chapter 118

Eli

The only time I see Arabella over the next two days is at the dinner table. My dad seems oblivious to the tension, but Elena’s eyes dart between the two of us. Kellan tries to ease the situation by making conversation with both of them. I don’t even pretend to be happy about playing happy families. Having her so close to me and not being able to reach out and touch her is torture. I can smell her perfume, feel the heat of her body, and I walk away from dinner each night shielding the erection I’m sporting.

Elena seems to be thriving in her position of trophy wife. She’s thrown herself into everything the wife of a rich businessman seems to be. Dinner parties, charities, and gala events. You name it, she’s involved in it. So, when she announces that she’s been invited to host the annual Thanksgiving party at the Country Club, I’m not even surprised. What does surprise me are the words that follow the announcement.

“I told them that while I’d love to do it, I want our first Thanksgiving dinner together to be here at home as a family, so we’re having the party on Friday instead.”

“Good idea, darling.” My father drapes his arm across her shoulders and pulls her into his side.

I turn away. I don’t want to see him with a woman who isn’t my mother. Maybe that’s selfish of me. I want my dad to be happy. I do. But my heart just can’t take the thought of that happening with someone other than my mother.

My cell chimes as I’m climbing the stairs to wake Kellan up and, frowning, I pull it out.

Who’s messaging me?

Kellan is here. And Arabella hasn’t texted my other cell since I left her naked and desperate in the tomb. I’m pretty confident I’ve ruined whatever had been happening between us with my decision that night. But the truth is, I didn’t want to fuck her as Sin. I want to fuck her as me.

Unlocking my phone, I discover the notification is from the school’s social media app and not a text.

Why the fuck is Jace Black messaging me?

I open the message and stop on the stairs, staring down at it.

My hand gripping the smooth wood of the handrail tightens and I swear softly. “No fucking way.” My eyes scan over the message.

Jace Black: Hey, Travers, you might have sucked on her tongue, but I got her tits.

The photograph attached is Arabella, topless. A hand is gripping her chin while she stares at the camera, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. There’s a sheen over her eyes.

Fucking tears.

I grind my teeth, the muscle popping in my jaw.

Tucking the cell back into my pocket, I surge back into movement, taking the stairs two at a time. I don’t even knock on Kellan’s door, just shove it open and walk in.

“Get up.” I kick the side of the bed.

“What the fuck? Unless you’re coming in here to give me a good morning blowjob, fuck off.”

“Get the fuck out of bed. We have somewhere to be.”

He shoves his hair away from his face and sits up. “We have no plans today. You said so.” He clears his throat and does his shitty impression of me. “You can come to my place for Thanksgiving. You can stay in bed all day if you want to.”

“I never said that. And I don’t sound like that. Get dressed. Wear something you don’t mind getting dirty.”

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