Page 63 of Twisted Kings

He paused on the threshold of the hallway. “Lucky?”

“Yes, lucky. Lucky she’s forgiven you for letting her down like all the other men in her life.”

“Like you, you mean?” There was just enough light from the fire to see his faint smirk.

“Yes, like me,” I said bitterly. But it was the truth, and I knew it.

“I am lucky, yes,” he admitted. “I fucked up, but I won’t make that mistake again. She needs me. Needs us all.” He watched me for a moment, and even though the shadows cast by the flickering fireplace shielded me, I felt stripped bare. Exposed. And not in a good way. “She needs you too, so man the fuck up and sort your shit out.”

I scoffed as he walked away, carrying the woman I loved with all that remained of my black, diseased heart.

She didn’t need me, but I sure as hell needed her.

29

Thea

Verity giggled loudly as Landon blasted out his version of Madonna’sLike a Prayer, complete with all the stupid dance moves. It was hard not to laugh at his antics. Even Dario’s lips twitched, and he’d spent most of the day hovering on the edge of the room like a ghost.

A hot ghost.

One I’d like to fuck, but we weren’t going there.

Cassian sat on my left side, his hand resting on my thigh, much to everyone’s amusement. Apart from Dario’s, of course.

I’d had a massive panic attack this morning when I remembered what had gone down between me and Cassian last night, but when Kyril caught me mid-meltdown in the bathroom and I confessed, he just smiled.

“Good,” was his response before he kissed me hard and then made me come three times in the shower.

There was no jealousy. No angry ranting about what a cheating whore I was. Just calm satisfaction at the knowledge I’d almost fucked his friend.

I still hadn’t come to terms with how easily these men accepted each other’s presence in my life. Landon had been giving me heart eyes all day. I knew he missed our previous closeness. Or rather, his blatant attempts to get into my pants while I pretended I didn’t want him.

It was how we rolled - me firmly in the avoidance camp while he ignored all my boundaries.

But my relationship woes were not important today. Today was all about Verity. She deserved to have a normal day with people who cared about her. The guys didn’t know her, not really, but all of them accepted her place in my life.

My phone buzzed.

Eden: Glad you stayed?

If I’d run like I wanted to, where would I be now? Stuck in a hotel, miserable. As much as it pissed me off to admit it, Eden had been right. Leaving would have been a mistake.

I was still mad at her for calling Kyril and warning him of my intentions.

Me: I’m being forced to listen to Landon murder Taylor Swift on the karaoke. What do you think?

Eden: Best gift ever lol

It was impossible to be mad at her for long.

Verity was asleep within minutes, worn out from the excitement of our first proper Christmas Day. Her eyes had almost popped out of her skull at the sight of gifts under the tree in the livingroom. We’d had a few Christmas gifts before, from Dario, as I now knew, but not this many.

The guys - and Eden - had gone all out this year, and aside from the small gifts in the stocking she’d opened before breakfast, my sister now had all the books, tech items, makeup, hair accessories, and clothes she wanted, or needed.

They’d also bought me new clothes, designer toiletries, and from Kyril, some beautiful hunting knives in a hand-tooled leather holster. Both of us knew what sort of ‘hunting’ I’d be doing in the New Year.

I owed them all so much.

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