Page 129 of Consume Me

Good, but now I am fucking hard.

I’ll take care of it when you come back.

I want you in my bed wearing fucking nothing.

Heat flames up my body, aching for him to soothe the fiery need. I slide the phone back in my pocket, and my brother slumps into the seat next to me.

“I have this. You can go home.”

“Sure?” Not that I would leave Bailey. We came together, and we’ll leave together, but I just want to see if Hunter reveals more.

“Yes. This girl will be the fucking death of me,” he grumbles and orders a glass of whiskey neat.

“And why are you blushing like that?” he asks, narrowing his eyes at me.

“I doubt you want to hear about it.”

His face scrunches up, and he takes a long gulp of the amber liquid. “It’s like I live in a brothel. At any given moment, someone is fucking.”

I burst into laughter. “Is that a bit of jealousy I detect? I doubt you lack willing women.”

His grip on the glass tightens, and he downs it in one go before slapping the empty glass down.

“No time for that, when I have to make sure this girl rests enough and actually sleeps. She listens to Blake, but with me, she is so damn stubborn I could wring her neck.”

This is the most he has talked to me about how he feels in ages. I want him to continue to let me in. I have no idea how to broach the subject again without him blocking my attempt.

“I think it’s normal to be a little scared when someone has so much power over you.”

He tenses up, and through a clenched jaw, he says, “No one will ever have power over me again.”

With that, he leaves me with more questions than answers again and the need to find out what happened to my twin. Not being able to help him is pure agony.

I catch his wrist. “Please, whatever it is… you’re my other half.”

“The lack of sex must be getting to me. Don’t worry, sis. Nothing a good fuck can’t cure.”

I swallow the bitter taste of disappointment and offer him a nod before he walks away, getting lost in the crowd.

Bailey is all flushed and sweaty by the time she reaches me. Her pupils are big and swimming in alcohol. “Can we stay a while longer? I mean, only if you want that too.”

She is the sweetest person ever. I’ll stay with her for as long as she needs.

“Of course.”

Dragging her to the other seat and offering her a bit of water, I say, “There’s a guy who hasn’t stopped looking at you.”

She steals a glance. “Hmm, didn’t notice, but that’s Eric. He’s a fellow student.”

I can’t shake off this nagging feeling, though. Maybe he likes her and is socially awkward. I am getting paranoid by the second.

Two sips of water and two shots later, she drags me to the dance floor.

My anxiety dissolves as I sway my hips, raise my arms, and let my body undulate to the rhythm of the music.

My brother hasn’t moved from his spot, still leaning against the opposite wall, watching us—or, more accurately, watching Bailey.

It’s another half an hour by the time she says, “We can go.”

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