Page 83 of Sinners' Appetite
“It’s not like we have feelings for each other, Malachi. It was one night. We were grieving.”
“That doesn’t fucking matter! We both felt something, you know it and I fucking know it!”
“Fuck. You’re overthinking this. Just fucking tell her—before I do.”
I slam the package of strawberries down onto the island in front of me. “I swear, if you fucking tell her anything, you’ll never see me again.”
Dean lets out a heavy sigh. “She deserves to know. At least tell her about Amber.”
“I don’t see why any of that matters. It’s all over and done with…”
“Is it? I think if it was, you wouldn’t be so worried about Nikki finding out.”
“So, what? I’m supposed to just tell her that a drunk driver killed my fiancée, so I tortured and killed him, then fucked her brother while I mourned her death?”
Dean shakes his head with a disdain look in his eyes. “It was that simple, hey?”
“Look, I don’t think she’s ready to hear about that part of my history. Especially after everything she’s been through lately.”
“I think it’ll upset her more if you wait to tell her.”
I let out a sarcastic half-laugh. “Like I said…if you fucking say a word about any of it, I’ll—”
Dean pushes himself away from the counter and walks up to me with a fierce look in his eyes. He pins me against the fridge door and brushes his lips against mine. “You’ll what? Disappear? That’s nothing new, Malachi.”
I shove him away from me, grab the strawberries and push past him, heading straight through the front door.
In an attempt to catch my breath, I stop when I’m around the side of house and lean against the cabin.
How in the actual fuck did I think this would be a good idea?
Maybe it’s because I thought those days were well behind me. I thought I had moved on from what happened between Dean and I.
Maybe I was fucking wrong.
I run my hands over my face and take a deep breath before heading back down to our cabin. When I open the door, I don’t see Nikki anywhere. That’s when I look out the window and see Nikki, Sammi and Jeremy down on the beach.
I can’t get rid of the nauseous feeling in my stomach. I need something—anything to distract me.
Heading back out the door, I decide to join them, mentally preparing myself to push through the agonizing adrenaline rushing through my veins.
As soon as Nikki sees me, she flashes me a smile. “Hey, baby. I was just about to come find you,” she says.
Fuck, it’s a good thing she didn’t.
“Oh? Did you miss me already?” I tease.
She opens her mouth to say something, but then stops herself.
I take a seat next to her on the sand, reaching over to place my hand on her thigh, but when I do, she abruptly stands up and shoots me a glare.
“I’m going swimming.” She reaches down to grab Sammi’s hand, pulling her along behind her.
I watch as she pulls her shirt up over her head and runs into the lake. Sammi follows closely, running her hands through the water as she walks in deeper.
“Should we join them?” Jeremy asks.
“I’m good. I think I’m going to go take a shower,” I reply, standing back up to head off toward our cabin.
