Page 22 of Spider

She spins around, her hand on her chest. “Jesus fucking Christ! You scared the shit out of me,” she breathes.

I ignore her and open the fridge to get more orange juice. Once I’ve refilled the jug, I go to make another pot of coffee.

“So what, you’re ignoring me now? Is that because I watched you fuck a whore outside my bedroom last night?” she snaps. My head shoots up at her words. She stands there with her arms crossed, looking annoyed. My lips twitch in satisfaction. “It’s not funny.” She huffs.

I continue to ignore her, knowing that it’s only making her angrier. She throws her hands up in frustration and turns back around to continue cooking. Standing there, I watch as she mutters shit under her breath while she whisks pancake batter vigorously. I cough a laugh, and that’s enough. Her head snaps up and she spins around and storms over to me with a whisk in her hand. I continue to watch with amusement, but it only pisses her off more.

She stops just in front of me, holding the whisk up as a weapon. “Look, before you hated me because you thought I wasjust using the club, that I wasn’t Nash’s sister. You know that none of that is true. Sure, I hid my past and personal troubles, but I was scared. And yet you continue to hound me, torment me. Why?” she snaps. Her eyes flicker back and forth between mine. “What is it? Do you like being the big man? Being a bully? Because that’s what you are, a bully,” she fumes.

I grab her hand that is holding the whisk and force her to drop it. Keeping hold of her wrist, I spin her around and push her against the refrigerator, pinning her wrists above her head. She doesn’t gasp in surprise, and she doesn’t whimper or look scared. Instead, she stares back at me with fury in her eyes.

My eyes flicker down to her mouth, and all rational thought leaves my brain. All I can think about is how much I want her mouth. “Just a taste,” I mutter before I crash my mouth down to hers. She whimpers as my tongue invades her mouth. Her lips and tongue duel with mine, an angry passionate attraction that neither of us want and apparently neither of us can stop.

“Well, I would like to say I’m surprised, but of course, I’m not. I saw this coming,” Stars says, interrupting us.

I stop the kiss immediately. “Fuck,” I pant. I step back, gripping my hair.

“No, please don’t fuck yet. Let me get the coffee pot first,” Star says sarcastically.

“Star, it was nothing,” I state, not looking at Nova, because I know that what I’m about to say will make her hate me. “She is nothing. You know me, I like to play. I mean, she’s an ex-whore for fuck’s sake. Not a very good one at that.” I shrug as I slide my hands into my pockets.

Star looks from me to Nova, shaking her head. “I don’t know what dickhead journey you are on, or why you have to be such a nasty son of a bitch, but it stops now. I won’t tell Ghost or anyone else what happened here, because I am going to make it my dutyto keep her the fuck away from you,” Star chastises. “God Spider, why are you being such a cunt?” she snaps.

Because I want her, because I can’t have her, because she is my best friend’s sister, because I helped kill her family, forcing her to live a life of fucking hell. And because I don’t deserve her,I think to myself. I keep my face neutral and shrug.

Star groans and rolls her eyes. “Nova, trust me. There are better men out there. You don’t want this pig,” she snaps before she walks out with the coffee pot and orange juice in her hands.

I know the moment I look at her that I shouldn’t have. She is trying to mask her hurt, but her eyes are full of pain. I grit my jaw tight and walk past her. “The food is burning,” I mutter before I leave the room.

CHAPTER TEN

NOVA

I don’t knowwhy I expected anything else. I’ve never had a good experience with men and Spider has just confirmed that all men are toxic.

I didn’t dare go back out and join them for breakfast. Once all the food was done, I returned to my room, feeling embarrassed. How could I be so stupid to let a man, another criminal for that matter, make me feel like that? I am supposed to be here to see my brother, to reconnect. Not get swept away by good looking guys who ride bikes, and if last night’s hallway entertainment is anything to go by, he clearly knows how to fuck.

I slap my palm to my forehead. “Stupid, stupid bitch,” I chastise myself. I suppose the only highlight is that it hasn’t gone anywhere. Maybe I just felt a connection to Spider because of Nash? Maybe it’s because he provoked me, pushed me until I snapped? A knock at my door quickly has me snapping out of my self-pity. “Yeah?” I call out.

The door opens and all the women pile in with the babies. I frown, feeling confused as they cram themselves in, closing the door behind them. “Er, what’s going on?” I ask.

“This is an invention,” Dixie states.

“Huh?” I ask, still confused.

“An intervention,” Maggie corrects.

I shake my head. “But what for? I’m fine,” I state.

Star hands me Enzo and he immediately grabs a handful of my hair, yanking it hard. I wince. “Aww, just like your daddy,” Star coos as she begins to untangle his chubby little hand.

Maggie snorts with a laugh, shaking her head. “Right, we are here for an intervention. Star told us what Spider did.” I glare at Star. She swore she wouldn’t tell anyone. “Don’t be mad. We aren’t telling the guys, because well...” Maggie pauses. “That won’t help anyone, but we talked and decided you needed an intervention,” she states happily.

“Thanks, but I’m still confused on what exactly this intervention is for?” I ask.

“Yourself,” Queenie states. I raise my brow, still not understanding where they are coming from. “We at some point or another have been belittled, spoken down to, treated like shit, or received violence or otherwise by a man,” she states.

“Oh, but Spider wasn’t any of that,” I start defending.

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