Page 96 of Bitter Truths

“Fucking nuisance,” I say, stepping from the bed and grabbing my pants.

Her cute giggle brings my head around, my pulse wild at the sound, and when I do, I find her watching me with wide eyes.

Grinning, I rasp, “We can stay here?”

My dick slowly stiffens under her gaze, and I groan when she sits up, letting the covers fall from her tits with a mischievous smile. I can’t help but zero in on them because they’re fucking perfect, round, and perky, with dusky pink nipples.

Dropping my pants, I take a single step forward, but she holds up her hand, and I moan. Fuck me.

“No time,” she says huskily.

“I’m gonna fuck you so bad after,” I vow.

She smiles sassily, and my dick bobs. “I hope so.”

Quirking a brow, I step forward and grab her cheeks for a heated kiss, pleased when she pulls back with a glazed look in her eyes.

“That’s a promise,” I say before grabbing up my pants again and silently sighing into the universe.

When will it just be us without the fucking drama?

When we emerge, dressed but still mussed, I grab her hand and lead her into the living room. Aaron is standing by the entertainment center, and he smiles widely. I admit I was, and am, jealous of his relationship with Halsey because he got to be the one who saw her every day for a while there. He was the one who wrapped her up and comforted her when I was banned.

But knowing Halsey had that person kept me from beating the shit out of him. That and I sense he doesn’t have a romantic interest in her.

Max shifts in his seat, drawing my gaze, and I spy his smile too, although it’s with a tinge of sadness. Ignoring the look because I don’t fucking feel bad about his fucking feelings, I pull Halsey down beside me on the couch, sandwiching her tightly to me and creating a barrier between her and Max.

Her mouth curves in a small smile, and my dick twitches. Pulling her close, I wonder what she’s thinking as she places her hand casually on my leg.

My jaw clenches at her absent caress, and I pray to a fucking god I don’t believe in that nothing goes wrong again. Everything feels right for the first time in years, and I just hope it stays that way.

When it comes to this fucked-up trio, though, this new circumstance feels tenuous at best, but I won’t fucking let this go again. Ever. And if Max gets in my way, he’ll get my wrath.

He doesn’t realize it, none of them do, but I’ve held off from kicking the shit out of him because of Halsey. If he fucks this up for me, all bets are off.

Curling my fingers around hers, I hold her in place because her touch is something I crave, no matter how small.

“Thanks for coming,” Halsey says.

Max nods and shoots Aaron a furtive look. “Hals, you need to stay out of this.”

“No,” she says, and I huff because, at least in this, Max and I can agree.

This isn’t a game. This isn’t even about Max and his stupid lies. These guys are dangerous, and the one with greedy eyes worries me.

When Max glances at Aaron again, Aaron cocks his head to the side and, in his quiet way, says, “Do you want me to leave?”

Max hesitates but smiles uneasily. “Naw, bro, you might as well hear this.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Max says on a heavy exhale.

“Okay, so what do we do?” Halsey asks.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to say, “Nothing” because this isn’t her fucking problem, but I bite back the word because I can see how worried she is in the tight set of her shoulders.

Fuck me, but this is another fucking mess, and I’m tired of it all.

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