Page 70 of Into the Woods

But if this was what she wanted… Fine. I’d been an idiot for thinking we could actually, what? Be happy together? Just be together?

I pulled my shoulders back and let out a heavy breath. “You know what? Do whatever you want, brother. As far as I’m concerned, she’s fair fucking game. I’ve always felt a little protective of her because she was like a little sister, but she isn’t. She isn’t anything to me.”

The sharp inhale at my back made me die a little inside, but turning to see Becca standing behind me broke what was left of my cold, dead heart.

Her hazel eyes swam with tears, the slender column of her neck working as she tried to swallow around the emotions.

I forced a cold smile. “Have fun tonight, sweetheart, but make sure he wraps it up. I know how concerned you are about numbers and all that shit, and Bishop’s count might be higher than mine.”

She stumbled back a step, looking at me like I was a stranger.

Good. As soon as this was done, I wouldn’t see her again. And it would be easier for her to move on if she hated me.

I looked over my shoulder at Rook, who looked pissed. “I have an errand to run for Ash. I’ll be back tonight unless you need me here sooner.”

He wordlessly shook his head.

“Perfect.” I grabbed my wallet from the side table near the door, brushing past Bishop.

“You’re making a mistake,” he warned me, too quiet for Becca to hear.

I paused. “No, I’m not. This is what's best for everyone.”

“Idiot,” he muttered at my back as I yanked open the door and slammed it shut behind me.

On that we could agree: I was absolutely an idiot.

Becca could never be mine. I’d been a damn fool for thinking we could ever move beyond our past.

CHAPTER 21

BEX

Court’s words haunted me the rest of the day. They played on an endless loop, slowly driving me insane.

She isn’t anything to me.

Part of me wanted to call Maddie, talk to my best friend about how much Court had hurt me—yes, again—but there was a quieter, darker part of me that couldn’t do it. That couldn’t bear to hear the pity in her voice, the apology on her lips.

It was humiliating.

You’d have thought that, by now, I’d be used to Court Woods humiliating me, but it seemed there was never actually a rock bottom. Each time I thought I’d hit it, it turned out there were another twenty levels or so of my pride left that he could shred.

What did it say about me that I kept giving him chances to hurt me? That I kept showing up at his feet like some deranged puppy that could be kicked a million times but was still looking for a little bit of affection? A glimpse of love…

Disgusted with myself, I opted for distraction. I pulled out my Kindle and flopped down on the plush mattress, tugged the sheets and comforter up to my chin, and dove back into a fictional world where the alphaholes ended up head over heels in love with the main character.

Yes, multiple alphaholes, because sometimes a girl needs her own harem.

I finished one book and started the next without a pause. My stomach gave a slight rumble, and when I checked the clock, it looked like it was almost time for my date.

As if I’d conjured him with my thoughts, Bishop knocked at the door. “Bex?”

Clearing my throat, I sat up and ran a hand through my rumpled hair. “Yeah. You can come in.”

The door cracked open, and he stuck his dark head in a minute later. He flashed me a tight smile. “You okay, gorgeous?”

I gave a half-hearted snort because I was pretty sure I looked the antithesis of gorgeous. Unlike Bishop, who somehow looked like a combination of a dashing rake from a Regency romance and an MC biker. The mix of devilish gentleman with more than a hint of danger was enough to send most hearts—male and female alike—into palpitations.

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