Page 71 of Claiming Pretty

“Who’s the better brother now?” I murmured, leaving one last love bite on her neck.

Ava’s body went rigid, her muscles tensing beneath my touch. In a sudden burst of strength, she shoved me away, hard enough that I stumbled back a step.

Her eyes blazed with fury as she whirled to face me, her chest heaving with each ragged breath.

“Get out,” she hissed, her voice low and dangerous. “Get the fuck out, Ty.”

I smirked, reaching for her again, but she slapped myhand away. The sharp crack echoed in the steamy bathroom.

“Don’t touch me,” Ava snarled, snatching her towel from the floor and wrapping it tightly around herself. Her knuckles were white as she clutched the fabric, as if it could shield her from what had just transpired.

I could see the war of emotions playing across her face—anger, shame, confusion, and beneath it all, a flicker of desire she couldn’t quite extinguish.

I took a step closer, backing her against the sink.

“You don’t mean that,” I murmured, reaching out to brush a damp strand of hair from her face.

Ava flinched but didn’t pull away.

“Youleaned into my touch,” I continued. “Youtugged my hand to your pussy.”

“I thought you were Ciaran.” She glared at me. “Myboyfriend.”

I snorted. “Ava, if you had a twin, I’dneverconfuse you. Even if I was fucking blindanddeaf.”

“You are insane,” she hissed, tightening her towel around her.

I hummed under my breath as I adjusted the bulge in my pants. “Really? It wasn’t your boyfriend whose eyes you couldn’t tear away from when you were getting fucked.”

“Fuck you,” she said, her cheeks flaring red. “That didn’t mean anything.”

I shrugged. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“Getout.” Ava turned toward the fogged-up mirror and snatched up her hairbrush and yanked it through her hair. When her towel slipped, she hurried to pull it back into place.

“It’s not like I haven’t seen it all,” I said, leaning against the wall opposite her and crossing my arms over my chest. “Or had my fingers all over it, all in it.”

Her hands flinched, but I kept going.

“My tongue knows every inch of you. I’ve licked you clean of anyone but me. I’ve come inside of you, Ava. Your mouth, your pussy, and your ass. I’ve possessed you, claimed you.”

The hairbrush clattered to the counter and I wasn’t sure whether she’d thrown it down in anger or whether it had slipped from her damp fingers at my words.

I was fine with either. I coulduseeither; I could be her punching bag or I could be her forbidden fruit.

Ava snatched her bottle of lotion and began to rub it onto her arms, her movements sharp and jerky.

She glanced back at me over her bare shoulder. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m with Ciaran?”

“Just once,” I answered, “if you really meant it.”

Ava laughed bitterly as she moved her hands to her shoulders. “I’ve told youmorethan once.”

“I’ve not once believed you,” I said in a low, dark voice.

Ava’s hands froze around her neck, her back to me, the steamy mirror hiding her expression from me.

But I could imagine the fear which played like a shadow across her face. I knew without touching her that she’d broken out in a cold sweat. Increased pulse. Erratic. Uncontrollable. She knew I spoke the fucking truth.

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