Page 48 of Heroes & Hitmen
“So?” she huffs, growing adorably flustered.
“So, we wouldn’t be breaking any rules,” I reply, voice dropping lower as I reach out to skim my palm up her leg. “Just slip those shorts off and let me get a taste, babe.”
She kicks my hand away once more, lips twisting in a scowl. But for as much as she’s resisting, there’s no mistaking the scent of her arousal permeating the air between us. She wants this as badly as I do– she’s just too damn stubborn to admit it.
“Why is everything about sex with you?” she huffs, fighting the blush rising to her cheeks.
I shrug. “Can’t help it. You’ve got your vices, I’ve got mine.”
She quirks a brow, and I gesture to the candy carnage spread across the coffee table.
“My sisters brought that over,” she snaps defensively.
“Uh huh.”
“They did. They dropped by earlier to see the place.”
“Which sisters?”
She frowns. “You really don’t believe me?”
“I’m just trying to get to know you better, sweetheart,” I drawl, settling back against the cushions again and tossing an arm up to rest on the back of the couch. “Tell me about your family.”
Miley heaves a sigh as she shifts to sit up straighter, pulling her legs in and covering them with the blanket. “Charlie and Jordan are older than me, Blake and Drew are younger,” she supplies, her voice guarded.
“What are they like?” I probe.
She sighs again, but it’s less dramatic this time. “Charlie’s the oldest, and she’s the smart one. She’s working toward a degree in molecular biology, top of her class.” There’s a flicker of pride there, despite the clipped tone.
I nod, encouraging her to go on.
“Jordan, you’ve met,” she continues. “She’s a rebel, always fighting and partying and hooking up. Anything to piss off Alpha, though he doesn’t pay enough attention to notice.Blake’s nice to a fault, always thinks the best of people. She’s a romantic, which won’t do her any favors once she’s paired.” She gestures between us. “This whole thing didn’t help matters.”
I tilt my head. “How so?”
Miley frowns, fiddling with the worn corner of her paperback. “She wants life to be a fairytale, and now she thinks mine is. Gives her false hope that she’ll get her own happily-ever-after.”
“There’s no harm in a little hope,” I murmur, swiping a hand over my chin.
“In my world, there is,” she deadpans. “Hope just leads to heartbreak.”
A heavy silence settles between us, my chest tightening as I think about what she’s said– and what she hasn’t. The weight she carries. The rules that cage her. And the worst part is, I know I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface. She’s built walls out of steel and sarcasm, and I can’t tell if she’s daring me to scale them or warning me not to try.
I clear my throat, steering us back to something lighter. “And what about the other one? Drew?”
“She’s only seventeen, still a kid,” Miley replies dryly. “We don’t hang out much, but she tagged along today because Jordan caught her scoping out my old apartment. Think she just came for the gossip.”
“Because you’re living in sin with a bad influence?” I smirk.
She rolls her eyes. “Something like that.”
I nod, filing the details away.
Miley pops the lollipop out of her mouth and points it at me. “Your turn.”
I grin, stretching my legs out and crossing them at the ankles. “Two siblings, both older. My brother Archer is Alpha of our pack, and he’s the golden child. Always got good grades in school, followed the rules… I’m sure you know the type.”
She gives a quiet snort of recognition, the corner of her mouth lifting like she can’t help it. She knows the type, alright. Hell, sheisthe type.
