Page 126 of Controlled Burn
It looked staged, like she wanted someone to see it. Brooks. Jake. Anyone watching.
He didn’t know what was on the drive—but not knowing was worse.
He scrolled to a screenshot.
Talia on her knees. Sweat and spit on her cheeks. Ryan’s hands in her hair. Jake was buried deep in her mouth.
His face looked desperate. Ruined.
Her eyes weren’t even on him.
Just another tool. Another body to help her forget Maddox. And when she was done? She walked away.
His pride curdled into something sharper.
You used me, Cross. But you won’t do it again.
He messaged Brooks.
JAKE:What’s next?
BROOKS:Let her think she’s winning. Trust me.
Jake’s lip curled. Let her think she’s in control?
He’d show her what it meant to be used.
The part that gutted him wasn’t the sex.
It was the after.
The days she passed him in the hall, like he was invisible. The way she laughed too loudly at someone else’s joke. Leaned in close to Maddox like Jake had never touched her.
She didn’t blush. Didn’t flinch. If anything, she dared him to react.
A few days ago, he’d found her alone in the turnout room, stretching—headphones in. Lips parted.
Like she’d already forgotten what his cock tasted like.
He wanted to grab her. Make her remember. Make her feel it again.
But when she looked up?
All he saw was boredom.
Not fear. Not hate.
Just indifference.
Like he was already in her rearview.
Jake wasn’t built for being disposable. He was used to women texting for more. Crawling back and begging for another round.
He ended things. Not the other way around.
But Talia Cross didn’t need him. Didn’t need anyone.
That’s when it started.
