Page 73 of Ace of All Hearts

She mumbles a low ‘fuck you’ we can barely hear.

“What was that?” he teases her.

“Nothin’.” Her gaze is on the pancakes now, and she swallows them in less than five huge bites.

I’m halfway through my nachos when she addresses me in a small voice. “Okay, I’m done. Let’s go.” She nudges my shoulder, but I don’t move.

“I’m not finished,” I taunt her, unable to stop my lips from tipping up.

“Come on,” she pleads. Her gaze flips from me to Lik, Sam, then back to me. “I’m not wearing any underwear, and he didn’t let me…wipe.”

“I know that,” I tell her. “It was my idea.”

Her mouth drops open, her eyes shining with a certain pride. It quickly turns into a glare. “Sunshine…everyone is going to see. Please, let’s go.”

“We’ll go when I’m done eating,” I tell her sternly. I want to giggle at how good it feels to order her around. “Better keep those legs tightly shut.”

The excitement coursing through my body when she silently settles back against her seat and crosses her arms in the only act of rebellion she can do right now, is addictive. I could get used to this.

My gaze crosses Sam, and we smile discreetly at each other. This could really work…this whole thing.

My phone beeps loudly, and I recognize the specific alarm I set up. My eyes widen as fear grips my stomach. I grab my phone and open the tracking and screen mirroring app I use to keep an eye on my fiancé.

“Conor’s on the move,” I panic. “I need to leave.”

It’s terribly sudden how our bubble of happiness and kinkiness pops before I can do anything about it.

“We’ll drop you off at home,” Sam says before putting his cup back on the table. His demeanor is calm, no urgency hurrying him. But he knows. He drops a few bills on the table and looks at me. “Let’s go.”

15

RACHEL

She Thinks of Me- Landon Tewers

It’s too quick; how fast we get to my house. How they drop me off. How I turn around, and they’re all gone. Rose was positively fuming and refusing to let me go back. So I had to be honest with her. Tell her that this has been going on for much longer than she knows, and the fact that she doesn’t like it won’t change anything. I will be taking this at my own pace.

I force myself through my front door, run the steps two at a time, and shower.

I’m on the sofa in a robe when he comes home. He walks into the living room wearing the same suit as yesterday, and the aura of violence permeates the air, seeping into my skin. It’s ten a.m., and yesterday was our engagement party. He honestly doesn’t care whether I know he’s cheating on me or not.

“Hi, baby,” he says, stepping up behind the sofa and dropping a kiss on the top of my head. My heart skips a beat. Not because of him, but because I keep thinking I’m going to get caught.

What if I still smell like sex?

What if I have hickeys or other marks Rose could have left on me without me realizing it?

What if he saw me?

He would kill me.

“What have you been up to?” His hands come to massage my shoulders, making me tense in the process.

“Not much, just chilling.” I realize the TV is off and I’m not even near a book. “Woke up not too long ago. What about you? You didn’t come home last night.”

I never know if it’s better to pretend I care or simply ignore the fact that he’s fucking Beth behind my back.

I’m always scared it’s a trap. That if I don’t pretend and ask where he’s been, he’ll know I genuinely don’t give a shit about him or that I’m seeing Rose.

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