Page 174 of Sinful

I was good with that plan. More than good with it. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze to show him, earning a relieved look.

“So I heard Sin is back with the watchers,” Bryce said as we walked. One of his curls fell out from beneath his hat and bounced against his forehead. He cast me a quick glance. “And he’s with you now too.”

I locked eyes with him for a moment before focusing on the path in front of us. The hurt in his voice was apparent, but I was still working on one thing at a time.

“That part is solved,” Mirage said. “Sin is home.”

I peeked over at him, still intrigued by how he simply knew things.

“Maybe it’s beginning to be that time where you focus on the next one,” he continued.

I kept walking in silence until we stopped at one of the vending machines for Bryce. Staring at my feet, I got lost in my thoughts on what Mirage said about focusing on the next one.

The next guy.

“It’s not me,” Mirage murmured as Bryce shook the machine for eating his dollar and cursed.

I followed Mirage’s eyes and knew he was talking about Bryce being next.

My feet became my focus again as I realized I didn’t even know how to traverse that part. I’d never even kissed Bryce, but he’d quickly become someone I cared deeply for and wanted to explore the possibilities with. He already said he wanted to. The problem was doing it without upsetting the guys.

Maybe I needed more time to acclimate to all of that so we were comfortable before I plowed on. . . or got plowed further.

My cheeks heated at what was going through my mind.

“I just want some damn crackers,” Bryce muttered, shaking the machine again. “Everything in this place sucks. The damn machine in the cafeteria ate my other dollar. I’m out of money, man.”

“I got it.” Mirage stepped away from me and went to the vending machine.

“You have a dollar?” Bryce sounded hopeful.

Mirage scoffed, and then the noise of a crash sounded out and made me jump. He’d knocked over the vending machine and was kicking it. The front cracked a bit, and he shoved his boot through with the next kick, completely obliterating the entire front.

“There. Get as many as you want,” Mirage said as a few students scattered away from us.

“You’re insane.” Bryce shot him a look, but he still bent down before grabbing a bunch of snacks from the wreckage and stuffing them into his bag. “That’s because I know they overcharge my parents for what I get out of this place.”

“The anger management classes could use some work,” Mirage agreed, grabbing snacks with Bryce. “They’re certainly not helping me. I think they just piss me off more.”

A hand came to rest on my back. I thought maybe it was one of my guys, so I turned to face them.

Instead, I came face-to-face with my nightmare.

Adam Larson.

My breath caught as I stared up at him.

“Hey, Sirena,” he greeted me, a sly smile on his face. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

He’d moved his hand to my waist.

I was frozen. Completely frozen.

“You’re still so pretty,” he whispered in my ear. “That pussy still tight for me, baby? I think I’ll be finding out soon enough.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Mirage was between us in an instant, shoving Adam away from me. “You looking to die, fuckmeat?”

Adam let out a laugh. “Sorry, man. I was seeing if she knew where I could find Cadence. My bad for forgetting she doesn’t speak. Silent little church mouse.”