Page 41 of Second Sin

I blow out a breath through my nose, sharp. Drag my hand down my face like it might wipe her memory off my skin. "I close my eyes, she’s in my dreams. I wake up, and it’s worse. Like she’s fucking carved into the inside of my skull."

I shake my head, rub the back of my neck hard, like I can dig the tension out.

"And when I see her, it’s like something grabs hold of my fucking chest and doesn’t let go. Feel like I'm going insane."

Kane exhales through his nose, slow.“Jesus,” he mutters. “You’re falling for her.”

I freeze.

Don’t answer. Don’t breathe.

Because he’s right. And I don’t even know when the fuck it happened.

“You need to be careful,” he says. “Because if this blows up? You don’t just break her heart. You take her job down with it.”

My chest tightens like a goddamn vice."I'll stay away from her."

Kane lets out a low sound—almost a laugh, but there's no humor in it. Just something dry and resigned. Like he’s been here before. Like he already knows how this ends.

“Good luck with that, man.” He shakes his head. “From experience? Walking away from something like that’s a hell of a lot harder than it sounds.”

I don’t respond.

Because I know he’s right.

Every instinct I’ve got is already wired to go to her. Touch her. Hear her voice. Kiss her again.

“I’ll figure it out.”

It’s a lie. But I say it anyway.

Kane doesn’t call me on it. Just gives me that look—like he’s already seen how this ends.

I stare at the ring of condensation on the table. At the cracks in the wood. At anything that isn’t her face in my head.

She’s still there.

Under my skin.

In my ribs.

Right where I can’t reach, but feel every fucking second.

And no matter how much damage I’ve already done, part of me still wants more.

CHAPTER 16

OLIVIA

Iwatched the game tonight. Every brutal second.

Watched Sebastian get benched midway through the second period.

Even through the screen, the frustration rolled off him in waves—his shoulders tight, jaw clenched, head down like he’d just taken a hit that never made contact.

It hurt.

More than it should.

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