Page 31 of Absolutely Pucked
Yeah, I knew that feeling well.
“So,” I said. I gestured at the tea, and he looked both surprised and wary. He didn’t take it. “It’s not poison. I’m not that much of a dick.”
“I know,” he managed to get out. His voice was still a whisper—like he’d been screaming at a concert for six hours. “I just didn’t expect you to be nice.”
“I shouldn’t be nice, you fucking Judas,” I told him as he finally took the cup and sank down into one of my rickety kitchen chairs.
He winced but didn’t try to defend himself, which was…something. Taking a sip, he sighed and cleared his throat. When he spoke, more of his voice came through. That was gutting because I remembered a little too well the way he sounded when he was growling filthy nothings into my ear. “Thank you.”
“What are you doing here?” I finally asked after forcing myself back to the present. I didn’t want to think about that night. I was not interrogating him with a half-hard cock.
He took a few more sips of tea, then shrugged. “I had nowhere to go, and my car was stolen.”
My eyes widened. “Hold the fuck up. Ghost car is your car?”
His brows dipped. “Ghost car?”
“Uhg. Yes. I thought there was a ghost—you know what, never mind. The white car. That fancy-ass car with the sheets in the windows?” I froze. Oh my God, that meant he was living in the car.Killianwas living inthatcar.
What the hell was going on?
His cheeks and ears reddened, and he looked away. “Yeah.”
I took a beat, then walked around the counter and dropped down into the chair opposite him, laying my forearms on the table. “Where’s your wife? You know, Tucker’s ex? The one you stole and fucked and married while he was in the hospital.”
Killian took a very slow breath, took one more long pull of tea, then set the mug down. “Delia and I are getting divorced. She found someone she liked better.”
I almost laughed. “Oh. Quelle surprise!” He blinked at me, and I rolled my eyes. “What? I know some French. I’m not a total dumbass.”
“I didn’t…that was…” He shook his head. “I don’t think you are.”
“Yeah, well, you must have thought I was goddamn something when you fucked me. Which I guess is fair since I didn’t recognize my best friend’s identical twin brother.”
He met my gaze. “You nearly did.”
I felt my hands begin to shake. “Did you know? The whole time, did you know Tucker and I?—”
“No.” He shook his head and stared down at the table. “I realized you knew him after we started…you know.”
Right. There had been that weird moment where he panicked and tried to leave, and I didn’t let him. That was all on me.
“I didn’t confirm it until I left town. There was a photo of you and Tucker and your other friend from the Paralympics. And an old photo of you on Tucker’s Facebook page.”
Tucker was never on socials, so that photo must have been old as fuck. I didn’t know what to say to that. I couldn’t ask him why he didn’t stop me because he tried, but I was a horny, stubborn little bastard that night.
And I couldn’t accuse him of doing something nefarious because he didn’t know exactly who I was until it was over and he was gone.
“Were you stalking me? Is that why you kept parking your car here?”
He wheezed a laugh and shook his head. Fuck, he was so pretty. Even though it was clear he was miserable, somehow, his entire face lit up. “No. I don’t even know what the hell the universe was trying to do when it sentyouinto the club that night. I parked here because it was the only place that didn’t call a tow truck on me.”
“But you recognized me at the club, didn’t you?”
“As the guy who keeps peering into my windows?” he asked, and I blushed. “Yeah. I recognized you for that.”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what tothink. My anger for what he did to Tuck was righteous, but everything coming out of his mouth sounded so honest. God help me, but if he were to tell me right then that he was sorry for what he’d done, I’d believe him.
“What do you want from me?” I finally asked. It seemed like the only safe question.
