Page 28 of Tainted Deception

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I was curledup on the couch, pretending to watch the movie I’d randomly chosen once Gage and I got back from meeting with Ellie. Gage had been distant ever since he came back to campus with the Riot Crew. Not so much physically because he hadn’t let me leave my dorm without him, but he’d barely spoken to me about anything personal.

And right now? He was pissed about something. He’d been stalking around the apartment with a scowl on his face ever since…my stomach dropped when it finally clicked. Since he and Jace talked in the parking lot this afternoon. Whatever they argued about was the reason Gage was acting like this. I bit my lip as I stared at Gage while he slammed the fridge shut. Jace wouldn’t have told Gage what happened in the woods—fuck, yes, he would. He would shove it down Gage’s throat, knowing it would hit all the right buttons.

I nervously flipped my hair off my shoulder as I cleared my throat. “What’s going on?”

Gage’s eyes snapped to mine. “I don’t know, Rynn. Why don’t you tell me?”

I frowned, untangling myself from the throw blanket, and straightened my spine, reminding myself that I didn’t owe Gage anything. We weren’t a couple. He wasn’t my boyfriend. We cared enough for each other to make sure we stayed alive. And even if I thought there was something more, he hadn’t acted on it after that kiss in the shower.

“You’re the one stomping around here like you have a stick up your ass,” I stated as I stood from the couch and crossed my arms.

He flipped his tongue ring, his stare not leaving me. My eyes widened in surprise when he swiftly crossed the room until he was right in front of me.

“Did Kian and Jace fuck you while they were holding you prisoner?” he asked bluntly, his voice laced with danger.

I was lost for words for a few moments, because when he phrased it like that, it sounded much worse. My stomach churned. What was worse? That was exactly what happened.

“Let me rephrase that,” he murmured when I stayed silent. “Did you willingly fuck them while Ellie and I were worried as shit that they were hurting you?”

Guilt and anger surged through me, and I refused to back up when he got in my face. “Alicia saw me, and you were in contact with her. You knew they weren’t hurting me.”

“That’s not what I asked, Rynn.” He reached up and grasped my jaw, tilting my face up. “I want an answer. And you really don’t want to lie to me right now.”

“It was how I got away from them,” I gritted out. “They had sex on their minds, and it gave me the chance to slip away and get to Alicia’s room.”

“That’s the only reason you did it?”

“Yes.”

His grip on my face tightened. “I told you not to lie to me.”

I scowled. “Let go of me, Gage.”

He did the exact opposite by backing me into the wall, letting go of my chin only to catch my wrists when I moved to escape his hold. My arms slammed against the wall above my head, and he held my wrists with one hand while gripping my hip to keep me in place with the other. My struggles did nothing as he pressed his body against me, and my breath hitched when his lips brushed mine for a split second before he pulled his head back.

“Jace’s words are on repeat in my fucking head,” he muttered gruffly. “The thought of them touching you…It makes it easy to imagine it since I’ve seen both of them up close and personal with your pussy.”

“Careful, Gage,” I purred, resisting the urge to get angrier. “You’re acting jealous over a girl who doesn’t fucking belong to you.”

“Do you belong to them?” he shot back. “Is that why you let them between your legs anytime they want?”

“I don’t belong to anyone. Which means I can fuck whoever I want.”

“Of all the guys to choose from, you pick the two who would literally kill us if we didn’t have someone backing us.”

“They wouldn’t kill me—”

The words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself, and Gage’s eyes darkened instantly. He let out a laugh of disbelief, his fingers tightening more around my wrists as he spoke again.

“You think they care about you.”

His statement brought on emotions I’d purposely been keeping buried.

“I think you might be right,” he mused, looking torn by that. “At first, I thought it was just about sex. But they’re still keeping your secret about that summer. They kept you on campus instead of bringing you to Pacific Point. But you’re forgetting who they are, Rynn.”

“I know who they are,” I snapped.

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