Page 22 of In the Midst of Chaos

“Yeah?” I replied as I looked at her. Finley walked up to me and hugged me. I wrapped my arms around her.

“Thank you for trying to be my knight.”

I hugged her tighter. She pulled back, and I thought she would say something else, but instead, she fucking kissed me.

She tasted forbidden and sweet, like a disaster waiting to happen, and because I lived for chaos, I kissed her back.

She was everything I could want, but then I remembered she would marry my brother, so I pushed her away.

Chapter Eight

I lookedat myself in the mirror before I left my room. My hair was slicked and straight as a pin. I wore black from my head to my toes. The only color was from my red lips and my soles. My pantsuit was all business, but the cut on the blazer was sexy. The tops of my breasts looked terrific in it—a strategic look on my part. I was here for business, and I wasn’t a little girl anymore.

Strutting down my room, I made my way to the foyer where the boys were already waiting. Had I been less of a female, I might have staggered back at the sight of them.

No one could say these Crull boys didn’t clean up nice. Huxley looked like he belonged in a three-piece suit. He was made to run a boardroom: broad shoulders, loafers, and his fancy watch. Duncan was like a rock star who cleaned up for the Grammys. Still edgy but a bit restrained. He licked his lips when he saw me.

“Nice tits,” he joked.

At that, Nashton and Huxley turned around.

It didn’t matter that my future husband was in the room, he ceased to exist when his brother was in the room. Nash’s mouth fell open, but after he took a deep breath, he composed himself.

“Dad wants us to get there together.” His voice came out hoarse like it had cost him to speak. “The helicopter should be getting here any second now.” He gave me one last look and walked away.

I watched him walk away from me for what seemed like the seven-thousandth time, and it still didn’t get easier. If time didn’t lessen the blow, I doubted anything would.

I closed my eyes and was transported back to the first time it caused me pain. Where I felt like I was dying. Like my heart was tearing in half.

Nash had just taken the vow. I knew the men didn’t want me there at the clearing. Still, I also knew that if my father had been alive, I would be standing next to him, watching someone from the family take the vow of loyalty and silence.

Part of me was scared, but the other one was proud. Every day, Nashton reminded me more of my father. The grace was there, but underneath it was the savage way in which they dealt with laws.

My heart beat faster that night, and my breathing became shallow. He had awoken feelings in me I had no idea I was capable of possessing.

Trying to flirt with Nash made me feel stupid and childish. I didn’t think he knew what I was doing, or even if I was doing it right.

I knew guys liked me because they stared at me at school, but no one dared to touch me. Not when I was always with a Crull boy or a Disciple.

I took my shot, and it tasted like heaven. Nash was caught off guard, but I felt the way his fingers dug into my hips, like he was trying to carve his fingernails into my bones so he wouldn’t have to let go. The way his lips were bruising, like he was trying to leave the imprint of himself behind. Then he pushed me back.

“What the fuck,” he growled, looking manic.

His mismatched eyes were lit up with anger, one of them bright and icy, and the other one warm and blazing.

“You kissed me back,” I spat.

Nash wiped the kiss off with the back of his hand. “You’re like my little sister, Finnie.”

Except you didn’t fuck your little sister and then kick her out of your bed.

“You look gorgeous, Finley.” Hux was at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me. He extended his hand to take, and because I was not in the mood to fight, I took it. That was a lie. I took it because I wanted to see the look on Nash’s face when he saw me get to the helipad with his brother’s hand in mine.

I was a bitch because being a doormat never got me anywhere.

When we made it to where the helicopter was waiting, Duncan was the first to notice that Huxley and I walked hand-in-hand. He observed our hands and then raised an accusing brow at me.

Perhaps he was more perceptive than I had given him credit for. And maybe I was playing with fire, but what was life without getting burned?

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