Page 55 of Sugar Coated

Though it proved to be a challenge for me, I tore my mouth off hers and let my hands fall away from her face. I breathed hard, as did she, and we stared at each other for a few seconds before I whispered, “We should get back to the party. You three go on ahead. I’ll hang back a bit so we’re not seen coming in together.”

“Okay,” she said. “But we’ll pick this up later. I’m not finished with you.” Whether she meant the kissing or being mad at me, it didn’t matter. I’d gladly take either.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” With a smirk, I watched as she held her head up high and walked around me, leaving me alone in the women’s restroom shortly after that. My lips still tingled from the touch of hers, and something told me I’d be reliving that kiss the rest of the night.

Our first kiss, even though it wasn’t. Our first kiss where everything was out in the open, where neither of us were hiding secrets from the other. There was more to say, of course, about everything, but for now, it was enough.

I waited a few minutes, and then I braved the party, rejoining it like I hadn’t missed a thing.

Chapter Eleven – Laina

The dinner lasted entirely too long. By the time we finally drove home, it was well after eight. Night had fallen across the city. Needless to say, it was practically impossible to sit there in the backseat with Kieran, while Tessa and my dad were in the front.

Kieran for obvious reasons. Tessa because I now knew she was the root of all of my problems. And my dad, well… it wasn’t him.

It wasn’t him.Not too long ago I would’ve sworn up and down that my dad was the reason I was kidnapped. I would’ve staked my life on him being involved. I spent nearly the entire time in that room furious and hateful, and now it turned out I’d been directing my anger toward the wrong person.

It wasn’t my dad. It was Tessa. The thought still didn’t sound true, no matter how many times I repeated it to myself in my head.

And Kieran… Kieran was my Devil. Kieran and my kidnapper were one and the same, two sides of the same coin. One side was flirty, silly, and sarcastic, while the other side was dark and domineering, a little bit rough. Yet, there had been times when the other had shown through, when the two sides mixed.

I tried not to look at him too much during the drive home, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t glance at him at all. Now that I knew, it was like something compelled me to sneak glances at him every now and then.

Tessa was busy talking in the front seat, “It was so nice of Sylvester to come. And his donation—he topped everyone. I had no idea the Lucianos were doing so well still. It certainly does pay to have powerful friends, doesn’t it?”

My dad smiled at her. “I wasn’t expecting that, for sure, but I definitely won’t complain.”

Leaning around the seat, my step-mother, the woman who nearly had Kieran killed and wanted me dead, gave me a warm smile. “How are you feeling, Laina? You seemed off tonight.” Lying and putting on a smile apparently ran in the family bloodline where she and Kieran were concerned.

Seriously, she was good.

I gave her a smile of my own, hoping I could match even half of her skill. “I’m fine. It was just boring. Not exactly what I want to do on a Friday night.”

“Yes, I can imagine” was her dry response, and even though there was a lot I could’ve said, I let it drop. She could have the last word, for now. Whether she suspected Kieran had told me the truth, I didn’t know, but my guard would permanently be up.

My dad must not have sensed anything was the matter, because he sounded quite oblivious as he said, “Well, I’m just happy it went without a hitch and that we raised almost a quarter of a million dollars. Not too shabby, for something we threw together in less than a week!”

Tessa chuckled, and the sound made me itch. “Yes, honey. Imagine what we could do for your next campaign.” Though her words sounded innocent, if a bit greedy, I knew the underlying sentiment, what she wasn’t saying.

Two years ago, she tried to have me, a girl she hardly knew, killed, and it was a stroke of luck that Kieran couldn’t go through with it. Instead of killing me, he kept me somewhere she would never find me, and two years she thought she got away with it. She thought everything went according to plan… until I came strolling back, beaten and bruised, minus two fingers.

Even though my dad was now mayor, and support for him was through the roof, shestillwanted me gone—and not only that, but she wanted it enough that she was willing to have her own brother killed in revenge. I mean, that’s some pretty screwed up shit.

Money. Money really made people do terrible things. It made them blind to empathy and the suffering of others. If only money didn’t rule the world, then maybe there wouldn’t be so many people who’d be willing to stab their loved ones in the back for it.

Their loved ones, strangers, girls who hadn’t even turned eighteen yet… the list went on.

The moment we arrived at the house, I headed straight to my bedroom. I shut the door, needing privacy. Needing something. What I really wanted to do was grab the sharp claws Fang made me, march to wherever Tessa was, and show her how I wasn’t afraid to use them and get a little bloody.

Instead, all I did was tear off the blond wig and throw it to the floor of my closet, sinking down to the small square ottoman in the center of it and burying my face in my hands. I worked on kicking my heels off.

What a night. What a long, ungodly night.

Kieran was my Devil, and he loved me.

The sound of someone entering my bedroom caused me to snap my head up and say, “I’m in here.” I knew it couldn’t be my dad or Tessa; Tessa had made it clear she wouldn’t try anything in the house, and my dad always knocked, so it had to be one of the guys: Mike or Kieran.

Whoever it was had heavy footsteps, so by the time he walked into my closet, I already knew who it was: Mike. The tall mountain of a man was never quiet as a mouse, unlike Kieran.

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