Page 8 of Addicted Lies

A soft whimper escapes her, and she tugs at my belt greedily. I begin to lift her shirt off. All of her. I need all of it. Every last bit she’s willing to give me.

Something crashes, and Billie shoves me away.

“What the fuck?” Hawke says in disbelief. “What are you doing?”

Billie pulls her shirt back down, and I reach out to help because I don’t want anyone else to see her like that.

Especially my brother.

Then, a predator steps into the room, and I’m immediately ready to fight.

“What the fuck?” Dutton snaps. Hawke’s staring at him in shock. Dutton barges past Hawke and shoves me away from his sister. I don’t even think I’d try to fight him. I’d probably let him pound me into the ground, knowing Billie would hate me if I hurt her prim and proper brother. Who, by the way, I actually like.

I don’t even feel guilty.

“Dutton! It’s not what it looks like!” Billie yells. “I had a bug on me!”

Dutton pauses, glancing between me and Hawke as we silently communicate in the way twins sometimes can.

The thing about my brother and me is we’d lie for one another.

Die for one another.

Kill for one another.

But right now, I’m silently communicating that I’ll handle this.

“Is that true?” Dutton demands, not at all believing Billie’s explanation. And if he were to take one look at my cock pressing against my jeans, it would tell him that’s the biggest fucking lie. But he’s seeing red. I’ve seen what Dutton does when he’s in these moods, and I’m waiting for the punishment.

I go to speak, but Hawke beats me to it. “It was pretty fucking big, but don’t tell Eli I’m scared of them or anything.”

Dutton’s eye twitches as he looks around as if searching for the imaginary bug. He can’t seriously be falling for this. Then again, why would he have any reason not to trust us? We’ve always had his and Eli’s backs.

I feel a sense of guilt because, yet again, I can’t refrain from my impulses. Billie’s so terrified she doesn’t even look my way. And I realize then that it might be shameful for her to be seen with me. She is, after all, basically a princess. I’m no more than a street rat who was polished into a killer.

“And why were all three of you in here anyway?” Dutton asks, and I can tell he’s trying to calm himself down.

Billie rolls her eyes. “You can’t seriously be pissed right now? And we came in to get the cake.”

“The cake’s out there,” he says suspiciously, staring her down.

Whatever she sees in his expression makes her pause, but only for a moment before she starts arguing.

“Hello? Did you forget I enjoy baking? Did you really think we’d only bring one variety of cake?” Her tone is sassy, yet I can sense the hint of nervousness in it. “Gosh, you’re so insufferable. I need to find Hope and Ivy to get away from all this testosterone.” She huffs as she heads for the door. “Besides, shouldn’t you be getting your shit together?” she asks with an arched eyebrow.

Dutton swallows, and realization dawns on his expression. I notice him looking at the stack of plates on the counter, and I hand them to him. He nods but seems unsure as he stares at my brother and me.

Then he takes his leave.

I don’t feel any particular way about it. But I’m certain that whatever Billie and I had is now over. It was bound to come to an end one day, but my hands ball into fists as I grapple with accepting it.

The moment Dutton closes the door behind him, Hawke shoves me against the pantry door, fisting my shirt. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

I don’t do anything to resist him. I know I deserve punishment for touching her. I just didn’t expect to get hooked on her in the process.

“Say something. Are you serious right now? I thought I had a problem when it came to women, but you’ve chosen the one woman in this entire fucking world who is off-limits. What the fuck are you thinking?”

I shrug.

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