Page 95 of Insatiable

“I’m going to ask you again. Are you on—”

I abruptly stand from the table. “I’m not fucking doing this,” I snap as I walk towards the exit.

Dad yells something at me, but I block him out and gesture to the doorman to let me out.

He knows I’m on something, which means my mum will soon know. And then my plan of staying under their radar is fucked.

24

STACEY

Ilove Luciella, but with the number of dress shops she dragged me into before we headed back to the hotel, I contemplated pushing her in front of a speeding car.

Apparently, the club we’re going to is fancy and expensive, so she wants us to mix in with the glamourous girls by wearing the skimpiest goddamn dresses I’ve ever seen.

You’d think she was trying to get me naked with the scraps of material she’s picked out. She’s never been one for flaunting her body, so why tonight?

I said no to every dress she threw at me, settling on the one with the most material.

I’m not in the mood tonight. Spending hours with Base while he listed all the reasons Luciella and him should get married has given me a headache.

And I don’t want to spend any time with Kade. Even seeing his face annoys me.

He had another argument with his dad earlier, and Lu told me he stormed out. It was the first time they’d seen each other in two years. They’ve talked on the phone briefly, but Tobias apparently wasn’t happy when he saw his son.

I lie on the bed reading while Luciella takes hours in the bathroom. I message back and forth with Tylar, tell Kyle that I’m having fun and might need picked up at Glasgow when I land, and delete the usual texts from Chris and his half a dozen numbers.

I received two an hour ago, and I refuse to respond.

Kade: You out your mood yet?

Kade: I take that as a fucking no.

The guy can get fucked. He literally told me to forget what happened between us, and now he’s annoyed I’m ignoring him?

The door clicks open, and I quickly come off the messages as my best friend walks out with a grin. She’s wearing a navy dress that contours every curve on her body, accentuating her chest, her blonde hair curled and pinned back. She looks beautiful. Even though she and Kade are twins, they aren’t identical – she’s taken after her mother, and Kade – obviously – took his looks and personality from Tobias.

Luciella’s smile falls to a frown, her hands now on her hips. “Why aren’t you ready?”

“I need to shower.”

She groans dramatically. “You could have showered in my mum’s or Kade’s room.”

I’ll pass on the latter.

By the time I’m washed and ready, Lu stares at me like she hasn’t seen me dressed up millions of times. “Damn, you look sexy. We need to wingwoman each other tonight.”

“That would’ve been possible if you didn’t agree to us going out with your twin and Base.”

She harrumphs. “It was in the moment.”

The black silk of my dress glides against my smooth legs as I walk to the mirror. There’s a slit right up the leg to the hip, and the dress dips into a deep V at the front so my cleavage is on display. The mesh detail and my breasts pressing together thankfully hide the scar there.

The dragon wrapping around my leg is like word art. From my knee to the apex of my thigh, the tattoo is made up of quotes from my favourite books, movies, lyrics, and stupid phrases Kade and I used to pass back and forth. They’re small enough that you’d think they were just lines and shading – unless you looked closely – so it took five sittings to finish.

Kade designed it for me.

The “From Now On” lyrics fromThe Greatest Showmanare my most cherished. We watched the movie together the first time I came to his room, and it quickly became our favourite – more like a paired obsession.

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