Page 38 of Wicked Devotion
The room is dark, apart from the little light coming from the kitchen where Charlie stands in front of the running microwave. The sound of popping popcorn is drowned out by the chattering men, and just when I want to ask why everyone is fighting over movie choices when there’s not even a TV in the room, the microwave stops, and I hear the faint humming of a projector.
I tilt my head back to look at the ceiling, and Max leans closer.
“TVs break too easily when someone starts throwing shit.”
“It happened one time, Max, and just because you wouldn’t stop cheating at fucking Uno,” Sam says, glaring at Max.
“I did not cheat, just read the damn rules. Go ask Ruby; she’ll tell you the exact same thing,” Max snaps back, and Sam takes a deep breath.
“That’s cause you both cheat.”
“I thought you don’t have the nerve for a screaming match,” Logan says, stepping in between the two men.
Sam gives him the finger and retreats back to one of the couches where Charlie just sat down with his bowl ofpopcorn. Sam steals himself a handful, and Charlie’s attempt to shield his snacks with his body only elicits an amused huff from Sam.
“Go check if Hunter got all my stuff,” Logan tells Max while he pulls me over to the free couch. “And sunshine, you know how I like my melon. Cubes, not slices, got it?”
“Yep,” Max says, slightly annoyed when he leaves me with Logan and the others.
15
LOGAN
It’s ridiculous how Max pouts whenever I order him around like he’s not sporting a half-chub as soon as I tell him he did a good job.
Another ridiculous thing is how uneasy Lily gets when she’s alone with me. And because I like to voice my complaints in groups of three: She’s wearing the wrong stuff. Too much fabric, and always at least one piece of clothing that belongs to Max.
I make her sit down on the couch with me and check if Max is still busy in the kitchen before I lean closer to whisper in her ear.
“You’re gonna help me with paperwork tomorrow, sweetheart. Need to make yourself useful while you’re staying with us.” My lips brush over the shell of Lily’s ear, and she tenses. “Not a word to Max. It’s our little secret.”
She nods and tries to appear unfazed when I start kissing her neck. I catch her fidgeting around, so I grab her right hand and put it on my thigh, only for the ungrateful little brat to try and pull it away. Every few seconds, she glances over to Samand Charlie, who are glued to their phones. And even if they weren’t, they wouldn’t help her.
But Rockwell does, unintentionally.
“Surprised to see you here, Cabrera,” he says as he enters the rec room, sitting down in his recliner with such a long, drawn-out sigh it gives me time to make my response less active-aggressive.
“I’m surprised you’re not spending the night over at the main building.” Not saying the part about him sleeping with his head deep in Sanders’ ass out loud feels like keeping a damn sneeze in.
I don’t have a problem continuing our discussion from yesterday, but for whatever reason, I don’t want to ruin the evening for the others. Being part of this task force is having an impact on me. I’m getting old; or soft. Both suck. Being considerate and looking out for others has never been on my agenda, but Max’s soft and sappy shit seems to be contagious, and I know it’s going to bite me in the ass sooner or later.
Mr. Soft and Sappy comes back with a bowl of cut up fruit in one hand, a glass of booze for me in the other and a bag of his disgusting sour gummies tucked under his arm. How they don’t etch a hole into his esophagus is beyond me.
“Thanks, sunshine,” I say with a wink.
A smile spreads across his face, and I’ll never get over how easy he is. All it takes is a softer tone of voice, efficiently placed touches, or a smile that doesn’t even have to be genuine. It’s concerningly simple to make him happy if I’m being honest.
Max hands me my bowl and my glass, and I immediately shove the bowl toward Lily, who holds it without a word of complaint.
Lifecanbe good. Not for more than five minutes, but I take what I can get.
Lily relaxes and sinks back into the cushions when Maxsits down to her left. He raises his eyebrows in a silent question, and after I nod subtly, he throws a blanket over our legs.
Sam must have informed Charlie about tonight’s movie choice because the X-files soundtrack starts playing. I hope Lily realizes what a privilege it is they let her decide. The last time I got to pick something was months ago.
Max’s fingers brush over mine as our hands trail upward on Lily’s thighs. Panic washes over her pretty features, amber eyes growing wide while her cheeks turn flaming red.
“Logan,” she whispers, as if the other hand doesn’t belong to Max. At least she understands who’s in charge.
