Page 22 of Pray for the Damned

I carefully drop my glass back to the table and turn to them. “Can you teach me how to make them?”

She nods. “Of course. Thursdays are usually a little busy, but there will be plenty of time for some cocktail making lessons.”

Hannah heads off to help another new signup, and I lean back in the booth and take in the space around me. It’s strange, when I first walked in last night, I wanted to turn my ass around and hightail it in the opposite direction. But now that I’ve spent some time here, it feels safe.

I’m not sure what that says about me when there’s literally a man being whipped on the stage right now, but it’s like I can finally allow some of the tension to bleed from my body.

Abigail is fluttering around the bar with a bright smile, but she checks in on me every now and then as I nurse my second cocktail.

I wasn’t lying when I said I’m not much of a drinker. Being vulnerable has never been my strong suit, but for some reason it feels okay to let go a little here.

“Waverly.” Emmett’s voice startles me from my thoughts, and I look up to meet his dark eyes. “I’m glad to see you’re back.”

I smile as he slips into the seat across from me, and I can’t help but think about last night when our places were reversed. “I’m glad to be back.”

“How are you finding it?”

“It’s…overwhelming. But kind of incredible,” I admit. The alcohol moving through my body has made me more relaxed than usual, and I’m not bothering to filter myself for once in my life, and it’s nice.

“It is,” he agrees.

“You weren’t watching tonight.”

He chuckles and brushes his fingers over his short stubble, but there’s a look in his eye that I can’t quite decipher. “Not from the booth, no.”

My brows tug together in confusion before I take a sip from my drink. This cocktail is a passionfruit mojito, and I’m pretty sure they’re dangerous as hell. I can’t even taste the alcohol.

“I stepped in to supervise the dungeon while they found someone to take over,” he explains.

“Oh. I didn’t see you down there during my tour.”

“You were a little distracted.” He smirks.

Heat touches my cheeks, and I tear my eyes away from him. I’m a little embarrassed that he saw how intrigued I was by the things I saw in those rooms, but there’s a part of me that likes that he knew I was there, that he was keeping an eye on me.

“You’re beautiful when you blush, Waverly.” He reaches across the table and brushes his thumb over my warm cheek, and I find myself leaning into him. “Would it be okay if I drove you home again tonight? I can’t stand the idea of you walking this late at night, especially after a couple of drinks.”

I nod. “As long as you brought your car and not the bike. I don’t know if I could handle that twice in one day.”

He stares at me for a moment, confusion filling his dark eyes before something I can only liken to a shield snaps into place, cutting his emotions off from my view.

“Don’t worry, I have my car.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

KADE

There’s not much that surprises me in this life, but Waverly’s interest in the scenes playing out in the middle of the Scarlet Lounge shocks the hell out of me.

I’m having to be a lot more careful than usual now that Emmett knows I’m hanging around, but there are several dark corners of the club that keep me out of sight.

I watch as my brother crosses the club, his eyes focused on the woman that we’re both infatuated with. Equal parts of me love and loathe watching them together. It’s a bit like looking in a mirror in some ways, while in others I’m jealous of how close he is to her soft skin.

Thoughts of how she held on to me on the back of my bike are still on replay all these hours later, and I’m already scheming how I can get her in that same position again. Hell, I’m thinking about where I can take her to fuck her on the bike. But I’ll have to get her past Emmett first, and once he gets wind of me seeing her today, my little game might be all over.

I mean, he would have to explain his evil twin, and if she asks any questions, he might have to tell her he was the one that saved her all those years ago, but it would be the righteous thing to do.

I roll my eyes at the thought. I wasn’t surprised when I found out my brother was working at a church as a pastor. He’s always had a soft heart, and even I can admit the things we saw growing up made it hard not to search for a higher power to look to for guidance. Emmett chose God. And I chose the devil.

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