Page 64 of Tangled Lies
I took a deep breath trying to ignore something I’d made sure had been buried so deep there should be no chance to dig it up. Except I felt something. I stepped into my room and glanced at the bed where Jett was holding onto her.
She would have been in my arms had I stayed.
But I wouldn’t stay.
I couldn’t stay.
Jett could take that on because at this point I wasn’t changing how attached he was. The guy couldn’t do anything halfway. It was all in and it’s what we loved about him. But today?
“Shit,” I said, under my breath and tried to get to the bathroom without either of them stirring. I almost made it.
Jett called me from the bed. “We good?”
My hand squeezed the knob of the bathroom door.
“Yeah, J. We’re good. Take care of her.”
I pushed through before I could drown in the scent of her filling my room.
Control. Control is what made us good at what we did. Control ensured we could take care of business no matter what it was. Some days it was as easy as showing up in the office of our construction company and going over books for my father. Other days it was hunting down someone who crossed the family or someone we viewed as our responsibility. Lately the responsibilities seemed like more and more. It didn’t help that there was always someone out there trying to take over the family or settle a grudge we didn’t care about.
The last few weeks hit hard. We almost lost one of us. Maybe it was okay to let them enjoy something softer. What was in it for her though? What would keep her here?
I turned on the water in the shower and stripped off my shorts. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. The scars were there as a constant reminder of where I came from. But the smile on my face?
I shook it off. Head in the game, that’s what I needed. I'd have to check and see if Knox was going to get to that contract we’d intercepted. A familiar female face floated through my mind. She’d risked herself to get that. Did she know how dangerous it could have been?
The steam floated out of the tiled shower and I stepped inside, letting the water rain down on me, washing away the sweat. This wasn’t the first time I’d almost wished it would wash away whatever parts of me were still human.
I grabbed the shampoo and started on my hair in the same order I showered every day. Control. I could bury it all again. There was no reason to feel anything. I carried out the justice that kept my family safe. That’s what I could control. Justice.
I was lost in the routine, but I froze as small arms wrapped around my waist. The bar of soap I gripped nearly went flying as I held the slick surface way too tight.
“What are you doing?” I asked Margaux.
We both stood there as the warm water ran over our skin.
“Hugging you.”
I looked down at her arms.
“People have died for sneaking up on me.”
I could feel her cheek pressed against my back, and fuck, the vision of what else was pressed against my skin.
“Well, you didn’t kill me yet, so that’s got to be a good sign. Right? But I mean if you’re going to, at least the water would wash away the blood. Quick cleanup,” she said.
I grabbed one of her wrists and spun out of her grasp, quickly shifting to press her against the wall, my hand around her throat.
“Good point, little bird. Should we try it? See how long it takes for you to bleed out if I bite you right here.” I ran a finger over the main artery in her neck. Something about the idea of biting her woke up my cock. I leaned into her neck and did as I promised, but I didn’t break the skin.
Her fist pounded against my chest and she yelped in my ear, but I didn’t let her go. Not until her hand gripped my cock, surprising the hell out of me.
“Unless you like to screw dead things, you’re going to want to stop biting me because this tells me,” she paused and stroked me from base to head, “you don’t really want to kill me.”
I hated the look in her eyes. Equal parts crazy and desire.
What would tip her over the edge? Danger? It’s what got the guy today killed.
