Page 54 of Restrained

I drop my hand to the side, my eye already swelling. My jaw ticks with anger. Not necessarily at Lola, but at the whole fucked-up situation.

Thank you, life, for fucking me once again.

“I didn’t fucking know you. What was I supposed to say, Lola?”

“How about when we first met at the coffee shop instead of the line of bullshit you fed me? You could have said, ‘I know Penelope. We share DNA.’”

I growl, thinking about that day, being taken by Lola and her throwing off my plan of getting to know my sister. “I wanted to know who she was first.”

She shakes her head. “That’s why you hired us? Itwasall a scheme.”

“No.”

“Bullshit, Hayden. You made me look like a fool.”

“It wasn’t about you.” And it wasn’t. Lola was a curveball, something I should be used to but didn’t see coming.

“Right. It was all to trick Penelope. What do you want from her?”

“Nothing.”

She moves closer to me, her chin tipped up, fire burning fiercely in her eyes as she glares at me. “If you hurt her, so help me. I’ll cut your balls off and toss them into the ocean.”

Jesus. A threat shouldn’t be so fucking hot. “I don’t want to hurt her.” I can smell her honey and lavender scent. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“She’s my best friend. You lied to us both.” Her chin trembles. “You slept with me.”

“That had nothing to do with it.”

“No? It wasn’t just to get closer to her?” She’s searching again. “Your taking of my virginity was just part of a fucking scheme.”

Her teeth are clenched again, but now I’m pissed. How the fuck can she think that? “We didn’t know each other. You didn’t fucking tell me the truth either, remember?”

She winces but only slightly. “Fine. I didn’t tell you that I’d never had sex before I gave it up to you. And you’ve lied to me since day one about your identity. Totally the same thing.”

“The two have nothing to do with each other, Lola. I was attracted to you from that first day, but I didn’t know you enough to confide in you.” My hand wraps around her waist, andI chance pulling her body closer to mine. “When we had sex, I thought it was a hot hookup with a pain in the ass I was working with. Not defiling a fucking virgin.”

She shoves me away with her hand on my chest. “Fuck you and your defiling. Fine. I didn’t tell you about being a virgin because I wanted you in that moment and I didn’t want to have a very awkward, very personal conversation. And you didn’t tell me you were Penelope’s brother for pretty much the same reason.”

This has to be a trick leading to my downfall. “Yes.”

She doesn’t cross the threshold of my house, but she’s right at the line as she edges closer to my body. “But every time after? After we told each other so many personal things and shared our bodies with each other? You still didn’t tell me.”

“I was trying to find a way.”

“Yeah, well sticking your dick in me was definitely not it.”

I cringe, knowing everything we had, whatever it was, is now gone. She isn’t going to look at me the same way.

“It was sex, Lola. It had nothing to do with the fact that I’m related to Penelope.”

“Even you don’t believe that, Hayden. You know it was a betrayal. Every touch. Every kiss. Every single pleasure filled moan...” Her eyes are deadly serious, and I feel a loss greater than any I've ever experienced. “It was all a lie.”

“Lola, you’re a smart woman. Come inside and we can talk about it. I’ll tell you everything.” I reach for her hand, and again, she pulls away from me.

“No.” She raises her hands, and I see tears in her eyes that threaten to kill me. “I need...” She puffs angry air from her mouth, and I see her shoulders tremble with anger and sadness. Her eyes linger on my swelling left eye. “I have to go.”

“Don’t.” I’ve never begged anyone in my life, but I hear it in my voice. That’s exactly what I'm doing.

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