Page 53 of The Misfit

Close your eyes. Run away. Look at the floor.

I do none of those things. I simply stand there frozen in time, cataloging details I shouldn’t want to notice.

The way his muscles flex as he shifts.

The trail of dark brown hair leading down his stomach.

The obvious evidence that he’s affected by my presence.

The intensity in his storm-gray eyes as they lock with mine.

“I …” My voice trembles, and I’m not even sure how I manage to speak right now. “Aries said …”

“Aries?” The way he says his friend’s name, appearing to be as confused as I am, tells me all I need to know.

Oh god.Lee’s expression changes in an instant as he mentally puts the pieces together. That soft look in his eyes transforms into something dark and dangerous in seconds.

I spin around, face flaming, only to find Aries leaning against the closed door with a satisfied smirk. I don’t mean to, but I flinch when he reaches behind him, the sound of the lock engaging deafening.

“Surprise,” he drawls, and I realize with horror that I’ve walked right into whatever terrible plan he had. Caught like a mouse in a trap looking for a quick escape, I glance back at Lee and then check my exits.

There are none. There is no escape.

“What the fuck did you do, Aries?” Lee growls, and his timbre makes me shiver. Time suspends like honey dripping from a spoon—thick, slow, inevitable. I can’t move, can’t breathe, can’t do anything but stand there caught between them. The steam from Lee’s shower makes everything hazy, and for a moment, I wonder if all of this is merely a dream.

Reality crashes into me hard and fast when Aries clears his throat.

“Little ole me? Oh, I didn’t do anything. Just being a good friend and helping things along.” Aries’s voice is filled with false innocence. “I saw Salem here in passing and thought since you’re together now, her being yourgirlfriend,she might want to see what she’s said yes to.”

“What we are, or aren’t, isn’t any of your business,” Lee growls. “Salem isn’t your concern.”

“I didn’t say she was my concern, but I guess it doesn’t really matter since it’s all fake, right?” His gaze bounces between us, watching our faces and our reactions.

The wordfakelands like a slap against my cheek. And when his eyes narrow, I know I just confirmed it.

Is it really that obvious?It shouldn’t matter if Aries knows our relationship is nothing but an act; he is Lee’s best friend, after all. But if he sees it so easily, are we really going to be able to sell this to his family? I peek back at Lee.

He remains standing, with little care for his current state of nudity. My cheeks heat to the temperature of the sun.Don’t stare at his junk, Salem.One look at his face, and I know he’s close to detonation. Drops of water continue to trail down his muscled chest and abdomen, each one distracting me further, and right now, he looks less like a Greek statue and more like an avenging angel.

“Salem.” Lee’s voice is deadly quiet. “Come here.”

“Don’t,” Aries counters. “He’s playing you. Has been this whole time. The perfect gentleman act, the careful distance, pretending to be?—”

“Shut up. What we’re doing, who she is to me—it’s none of your concern.” Lee takes a step forward, all predatory grace, and my breath catches. “Salem. Come. Here.”

One foot moves forward without my permission.

Two warring instincts: run or stay.

Three seconds before everything explodes.

“You should see your face.” Aries laughs bitterly. “Both of your faces. All this pretending, these carefully constructed lies. If you really want to convince people, you need?—”

Whatever he was going to say gets cut off when Lee lunges at him. Moving with shocking speed, he pins Aries to the door with his forearm across his throat.

Side by side, they’re about the same height, but Aries is bigger, with more muscle and weight on him. Somehow, that doesn’t seem to matter. Anyone with enough anger can be dangerous if given the right incentive.

But all I can see looking at them are the long white streaks across Lee’s back. Pale white lines over his shoulder blades, his lower back, even his butt.Mark after mark.There has to be at least thirty of them.

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