Page 91 of Buried Beneath Sin

The cane comes down over and over. It whistles through the air loudly, each smack against Knox’s back more sickening than the last. To his credit, Knox keeps relatively silent until the cane lands on fresh welts. Then it’s all over. His wails become nearscreams. Thatcher pauses for a moment to wipe the beads of sweat off his forehead.

“Fuck! Alright!” Knox sucks in a sharp breath and lowers his forehead to the floor. “I’ll talk.”

“I’m listening,” Thatcher rests the rod on his shoulder as he considers Knox before him. “I’m very much looking forward to hearing what the hell possessed you to draw your knife and attempt to slice my sister’s throat. It’s one thing to scream and thrash under our touch. It’s another to draw the blood of one of our own. Somethingreallymust be bothering you for you to do that.”

Knox doesn’t respond right away. He breathes heavily while he gathers his composure. When he’s breathing a little easier, he looks up at Thatcher.

“I’m conflicted,” he growls through gritted teeth.

“About…?”

“Starr Girl.”

My stomach drops. I hesitate before pulling away from the wall. I know what they say about eavesdropping. I’m not sure I want to be here for this conversation.

Thatcher sighs. “What about her?”

“It’s just… You know I didn’t want her around to begin with,” Knox admits after a second. My stomach drops further. “But… I don’t know. It hasn’t been terrible having her around, and that’s fucking weird to me. You know how I am with people and how hard it is for me to… Anyway, it’s uncomfortable,I’muncomfortable with it. I feel like I’m going crazy or something.”

My stepbrother considers this for a second. “Let me make sure I understand. You’re uncomfortablebecauseyou’re comfortable around her?”

“Well,” Knox cringes. “When you say it like that, it sounds stupid. But yeah, I guess.”

Thatcher chuckles. “I think you see a lot of yourself in her and her predicament, and there’s no one you love more than yourself.”

“Fuck you,” Knox growls, though it’s followed by a weak chuckle.

“We’re getting to that part, Pretty Boy,” Thatcher assures his boyfriend. “Just think though, you were in her shoes once. You lived in a town like this one who treated you similarly, you had no one looking out for you, and you eventually turned into a killer.”

I feel like a few steps are missing there, but Thatcher doesn’t elaborate. Instead, he waits for Knox to say something. The man on the floor with a muzzle on his face and pearls around his neck doesn’t respond right away. He takes his time, mulling over Thatcher’s words.

After a second, Knox shrugs. “Eh, that’s a stretch.”

“Despite your similar backgrounds, you two are vastly different in your own ways. She creates a perfect balance in this family. You’ll adore her, eventually, as we have come to,” Thatcher says. “What’s that saying, again? Like calls to like? Now that we’ve got this sorted, can you control your mood swings? We need you in a good headspace.”

The muscles in my chest contract. My breath catches as my shoulders sag. Bracing my hands against the wall, I lean into them, feeling oddly lightheaded. They really do consider me family. Without me in the room, they wouldn’t need to continue any charades this could’ve been. The Hunt twins have truly accepted me.

I’m a part of a family… and I’madored. Butterflies take flight in my gut.

There’s another whack as the cane comes down on Knox’s back. As the man on the floor cries out, Thatcher comes to stand in front of him.

“On your knees, Knox.”

With a grunt, Knox sits upright. His chest heaves as he pants hard. Inadvertently, my gaze drops to his dick that’s thick, red, and hard. It juts out between his legs, surrounded by neatly manicured blond pubes. Something around the tip of his cock glints, catching the light in the room just right. What’s that? I press my face against the wall as if that might help me get a better look. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do anything.

Knox and Thatcher stare at one another. The heat in their gaze is intense. My breath is stolen, and neither are even looking in my direction. Slowly, Thatcher’s fingers reach out to curl around the metal bars of Knox’s muzzle. Then, with a yank, Thatcher pulls Knox up to his feet in the same instant.

Knox’s cry is loud, and I have no doubt it’s due to the sudden movement and the thing sticking out of his butt. Thatcher’s smile is cruel and handsome, a beautiful nightmare, as he drags his prey with him while he walks backward toward the bed. When the back of Thatcher’s knees hit the mattress, he allows himself to flop down onto the edge of the bed. With another jerk of the muzzle, he pulls Knox back down. Knox yelps as his knees hit the floor.

“I want to feel that mouth wrapped around my cock,” Thatcher says in a voice that’s practically a purr. Nimbly, the Hunt twin removes the muzzle and tosses it onto the bed behind him. “This same mouth that should’ve told me all of this earlier.”

Knox chuckles. “You say it’s because we have similar backgrounds, but maybe this all started when your sister sat on my face. Maybe the taste of your sister’s pussy has me all confused. It was delicious, you know. What do you think? Maybe if I devour her pussy again, I can get a better read on her and how I feel about the situation?”

I gasp—remembering only at the last second to slap my hand over my mouth before they hear me.

God, the thought of Knox’s mouth on me again makes my thighs slam together as heat floods my core. I stare at his profile, all those sharp lines, and then at his skinny frame. His hair, wet with sweat, gleams in the poor lighting and the red welts on his back are all hard to miss. None of that makes him any less beautiful. In fact, it enhances his looks. Heat gathers in my face at the thought of those pouty lips on mine.

Thatcher pauses. The smug expression on his face disappears, leaving a completely blank canvas. Like this, I would never be able to tell Thatcher and Sagan apart. It’s eerie.

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