Page 63 of Made in Malice

“I’m going to go to the beach with some friends,” I tell him, offering up some truth.

“Which beach? Are you going to the mainland?” he questions.

“I’m not sure, but possibly. It’s kind of spur of the moment.”

“You’ll be with other students from school?”

“Yeah.” That’s not a lie.

“Okay. I could send someone from the security team,” he offers with a hopeful lilt.

“Please no. I have my phone and my own car. I promise to call if anything happens.”

“If you insist, but please be safe.”

“I will,” I promise, then dash away before he has a chance to change his mind or possibly send someone to follow me.

“Sorry I took so long,” I pant after climbing back into the driver’s seat.

“It’s okay, I might need a shoulder rub after this though. I’m getting a cramp.”

I ignore his flirty tone and tell him, “Rory caught me when I got there and wanted to know if I wanted someone from security to come with me,” I divulge. “Do you think I should leave, then come back in a few minutes to take you home?”

“I doubt he’ll be watching the cameras. We should be good.”

If I thought my heart was beating fast when my gate opened, it’s thumping even harder now as I pull toward his. Nox finally sits up and leans through the front seat, right past me to push in a code into the box. His chest is touching mine, and I think I forget to breathe.

I’m pushed back as far in the seat as I can go, but it’s no use, because I don’t even gain an inch. When he turns his head to look at me, our eyes lock, and every bit of oxygen is sucked out of the car. Nox is gorgeous. He has the same light eyes as Lucian, but there’s a softness to him, even with all the tattoos and piercings.

His eyes drop to my lips, and I lick them in response, which could be embarrassing, but he’s watching my mouth as if he wants to taste me. He starts to lean in, and static cracks through the speaker, causing us both to jump.

Nox pulls himself away from me and drops back into the rear seat with a huff. I have the urge to apologize, but I don’t know what for, so I just keep my mouth shut and drive slowly up the road to the house. In the back of my mind, I’m wondering if Lucian is responsible for the interruption, and I don’t know if I should be grateful or angry.

“Are you coming?” Nox asks, opening the rear door.

“I can wait for you here,” I offer, not wanting to see Lucian just in case. I can just imagine what he would have to say about the almost kiss.

He opens my door from the outside. “I’m not taking no for an answer. Come on, Nova.” It’s not lost on me that this is something his brother would say and do, but the delivery is so very different.

I hit the button to turn off my car and exit with Nox. We go through the same door Lucian took me through and follow the same path up the stairs.

“Is Lucian home?” I ask softly.

“Not sure. Let’s find out.”

“No,” I say hurriedly, but Nox is already pushing a door open to reveal his brother standing in the middle of a dim room, shirtless and damp. I can confirm that I was correct about the nipple piercings, and those tattoos don’t seem to end at all. My mouth goes dry. I wish I could find him as unattractive as his attitude, but I don’t, so I avert my eyes down to my feet.

“What are you doing?” Nox casually asks as he strolls into the room. I’m not sure I could ever get used to seeing them together. It’s like my brain can’t compute that there are two of them.

I want to inspect his room, see the things he keeps next to his bed, and find out if he has an altar to the devil in there, but I linger in the hallway so I don’t draw too much attention to myself.

At least I can hope it wasn’t him who interrupted us on the speaker. It looks like he might have just gotten out of the shower, which is an image I wish I could get out of my head.

“Nothing. What are you doing?” Lucian’s voice is tight. He might be aggravated at his brother for bringing me here and leaving the door open, or he could just be being his normal dickish self.

“I’m going to take Nova to the beach.”

“Not planning on inviting me?” Lucian asks deceptively softly. I peek over to see his rigid figure still standing in the center of his room, but he’s facing his brother. There’s a massive skull on his back that makes me feel like he’s watching me, even with his back turned, so I drop my eyes again.

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