Page 68 of Heart of Thorns

I slip out and climb over her, then pause.

This is the part where I would dispose of the condom,maybeget the girl a towel or something, and then wait for their quick exit. But then again—it would be midnight, or three in the morning. Notseveno’clock in the morning.

She already spent the night.

I remove the condom and tie it off, chucking it in the trash in a wad of tissue, then climb back over her before she can move.

Her eyes widen. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure you’re satiated.” I eye her. Do I kiss her? Is that crossing a line?

“I… yeah.” Her cheeks are red. “Thanks for the help.”

“Anytime, kitten.”

“Well, no.” She shakes her head. “This was a one-time thing.”

My body hovers over hers. Barely touching, except our hips, and her breasts against my chest. But at that, the ice comes crashing down on me.

Of course she would see it that way.

“Right.” I clear my throat. “Then…” I roll off her.

Her gaze drops to my cock. She stares at it for so long, it grows half-mast under her attention. Then, slowly, to full hardness.

“You want another round?” I ask. “Or maybe you should take a picture. It’d last longer.”

She shakes her head and staggers to her feet. “I just need to pee.”

Her limp is more pronounced, and I sit up fast. She hobbles into my bathroom and closes the door, and I swear under my breath.

What the fuck iswrongwith me?

This is fake.

This isfake, and worse, it was my idea. I can’t be the one to fucking immediately catch feelings for her when she’s clearly just humoring me.

I find clean boxers and jeans. I rummage around for my phone, which still has a charge on it. There’s a text from Rhys, which was just the flame emoji—guess he saw me leave with Briar, even if I didn’t actually see him while I was there—and another from my dad.

Sent only a few minutes ago.

Father

Your mother and I are coming into town for your next game, Cassius. We want to meet your girlfriend.

“Fuck.”

“What’s wrong?”

My head whips up. Briar reentered the room, and she stands in the middle of it with a t-shirt clasped to her chest.

“I…” My mouth goes dry. “Um.”

“Cat got your tongue?” She cocks her head. “You look like you’re spooked.”

I am spooked.

“We’re screwed,” I say softly.

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