Page 17 of Vengeful Sins

And I’m right. “Sorry I was MIA by the time you finished up with Tiana,” he says, grinning my way. “I was sort of busy by then, myself.”

“Oh, really?” Do I sound interested? I need to sound interested. It’s not like Carter and I often share deep, personal thoughts—that’s not what we do, with each other or with anybody. Even so, he’s not a complete dick. He’s going to figure out there’s something going on with me, and then what? How do I explain it away? I can’t, that’s the problem. Not even to myself.

“I ended up getting a lap dance from Jenny Miller. You know that nice, thick ass she has,” he says, his voice taking on an almost dreamy quality, like a man reliving a profoundly happy memory instead of just one more thing he’ll forget by the time the weekend comes around. “She knows how to move it. I was halfway ready to blow my load by the time we went out to my car to finish things up. It was fucking hot.”

“Nice.” We cross the quad, and I thank the weather gods for giving us a more comfortable day today. I don’t feel like every breath is going to sear the inside of my chest simply as I go from one building to another. A handful of girls are lying out on the grass, catching some sun, and Carter whistles his approval. They laugh and roll their eyes, but it’s obvious they like the attention.

Even they’re not enough to distract him. He’s got a one-track mind today. Who am I kidding? It’s most days. “So, what did you end up doing last night with Tiana?” he asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Did you decorate her chest, her ass, or her tongue?”

I have to swallow back a tiny bit of revulsion. Not because of his choice of words—that’s just how we talk to each other—but because the memory still makes me ill. Fuck, what if she tells somebody? Like one of her friends? Those bitches can’t keep their mouths shut. That’s all I need, for people to know not only did I have trouble getting it up, but I was thinking of Maya after I came. Jesus Christ, how much worse could it get than that?

As it turns out, it can get much worse. I should know better than to ask that question, even in the silence of my mind.

My phone buzzes at the same time a soft chime sounds from Carter’s pocket. He grabs his phone before I can and barks out a disbelieving laugh before coming to a stop. A couple of guys almost run into him from behind, but he ignores the way they mutter in irritation, too busy elbowing me and laughing again. “Shit, did you see this?” he asks. “Check your texts. You’ll be glad you did.”

I can’t imagine what would be that important or funny, but I check my phone anyway, noticing from the corner of my eye that I’m not the only one now looking down at a screen. Slowly, I realize there is soft laughter starting to ring out around me, and I know the reason why.

Instantly, a flash of heat rips through me, boiling my blood, setting my brain on fire. All it takes is the sight of Maya on her back, held down by hands whose owners are out of frame. The photo centers entirely on her. On the look of disgust she wears, on the full, perky tits exposed thanks to the way somebody pulled her shirt and bra up over her chest.

“Man, Tiana is ruthless,” Carter points out with a laugh. “I mean, I like her style and all that, but damn. What do you think Maya did to deserve this?”

I know exactly what she did, or at least what Tiana thinks she did. I could kill the bitch.

“Who did she send it to?” I ask, gripping my phone tighter, balling my other fist in my pocket because otherwise I might have to smack Carter’s phone out of his hand. He doesn’t need to be looking at that. Nobody does.

“Uh, like, probably everybody she knows.” He scrolls through the names, snickering. “I’m sure everybody in school will have seen it by the time the day is over.”

The stupid bitch. She just can’t leave well enough alone, can she? She has to keep pushing, digging, finding new ways to be unlikable. I wish I had never wasted my time with her last night. It was bad enough when all I had to think about was her acting like there’s something going on between us now that I let her suck my dick in the bathroom. I was worried she would tell people about my difficulties, but somehow this is worse.

“Hey! Tiana!”

My head snaps up from my phone when Carter calls out to her, lifting a hand overhead to wave at the girl now walking toward us wearing a shit-eating grin. “Way to go! You should be a professional photographer!”

“What can I say?” she asks with a shrug. “When you’re passionate about what you do, it’s easy.”

“You’re passionate about this?” Jerking my head to the side, I signal for her to join me behind a thick tree, where we might have a little bit of privacy.

Of course, Carter takes it the wrong way. “Maybe you two should get a room to celebrate,” he suggests with a laugh, lifting a hand as he walks away. I notice him approaching a group of guys who are all laughing and whistling at the photo.

They have no right to see her that way. The way I’ve seen her. The way she looked when she gazed up at me, so full of trust, maybe a little worried but willing to take a chance.

Look where that chance got me.

Tiana leans against the tree, folding her arms, giving me a coy smile that turns my stomach. “You’re welcome,” she purrs.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Her smile slips, her brows drawing together like she’s confused. Of course she’s confused. She never thinks in the first place. “I don’t get it. You said you hate her. I did it for you!” she tells me in a fierce whisper.

“You did it for me? I don’t remember ever asking you to do a damn thing for me, especially not this.”

How can she stare at me like she’s not sure whether she can believe what I most definitely mean? “Are you serious?” she asks in a voice that trembles. If anything, it pisses me off more.

“Do I look like I’m fucking joking? You dumb bitch,” I hiss, relishing the pain that touches her eyes. Now I can’t believe I ever let her anywhere near my dick, much less the rest of me. I must’ve been pretty goddamn desperate last night.

“You don’t mean that.”

“Tell me again what I do and don’t mean.” Leaning in, I place a hand on either side of her head, the bark rough under my palms. I focus on the sensation. It centers me. “Go ahead. I dare you.”

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