Page 134 of Dark Little Game
It turns me the fuck on, because every time Hunter puts his hand on me I respond like an addict to his touch.
But I can alsofeelWeston’s eyes burning into me.
He’d just said the first friendly thing to me in days, and now he’s glaring daggers at both of us.
“Let’s go grab a drink,” I tell Hunter.
“No,” Hunter protests. “It seems like my brother still has something he wants to say to us.”
“Oh, this is your brother?” the girl on Weston’s arm says.
Wes nods. “Caroline, this is Hunter. Hunter, Caroline.”
“Pleasure,” Hunter says, reaching out to shake her hand. Hunter smiles for the first time all night, and Weston seems to retaliate, drawing Caroline closer to him.
“We were just saying it might be nice to go on a hiking date tomorrow,” Wes says. “After the snow melts away.”
“It’s going to be so beautiful,” she says with a nod.
“Weston loves hiking. Always used to be his favorite part when our father would take us camping.”
I know that’s a lie.
On the one camping trip where their father letmecome along, Weston refused to ever go on hikes. He preferred swimming in the river with me.
And Hunter, as always, was off on his own. He chopped firewood for hours, wielding the axe with precision, then, at night, he went out with a flashlight in the woods,tryingto find a bear.
“Caroline!” another girl shouts from the front door, and they run toward another.
The moment Caroline’s gone, all of the false pretenses between Weston and Hunter drop away in an instant.
“Stay the fuck away from me,” Wes says.
“If I end up needing to save your life, that isn’t what you’ll be saying.”
The way Weston looks at Hunter makes me pause.
I’ve never realizedhowstrong Wes actually has gotten,over the past few years. None of us are weaklings, but there’s no doubt that if Hunter didn’t have a knife, Weston could probably take him in a fight.
He postures like he knows how strong he is, too. He takes a step forward, nearly getting in Hunter’s face.
“Dad called me earlier, by the way,” Wes continues. “He says you have to actually show up this year for Christmas.”
“Dad can call me and tell me that himself.”
“Hunter, come on. Let’s go grab that drink,” I say, feeling like I’m stuck between a viper and a bear. “I’m sorry, Wes.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t need your apology. Just know that my brother is manipulating you, Royal. I’ll be here to pick up the pieces when he hurts you.”
Hearing Wes talk like that is almost worse than if he was still mad at me.
I grab Hunter’s hand and tug him toward the kitchen, and finally, he relents and comes along after me.
The party is more crowded in the hall and in the Double Daggers house kitchen. I’ve always liked Onyx House better, but the Daggers guys renovated their kitchen a couple of years ago and it looks good, at least, with gleaming marble countertops and a fancy stainless steel stove.
“Wow. Their fridge is the size of a small country,” I tell Hunter, trying to make small talk.
He ignores it, frowning. “I’m so fucking tired of people who can’t accept help.”
