Page 94 of Beautiful Sinners

“We’d use ropes.” Hendrix swirls the tip of a strawberry over my nipple. I’ll never look at fruit the same way again. “Do you know what a butt plug is?”

My nose wrinkles. Just the name sounds unappealing. “No.”

He waggles his eyebrows. “You will.”

Hearing him talk about sex toys has my mouth running before I can stop it. “I ran into Serena on campus. Lovely as always.”

At the mention of his ex-lover, fucktoy, whatever the hell she was to him, Hendrix’s mood shifts from playful to agitated in mere seconds.

“What did she say to you?” he asks in a terse tone, his blue eyes glacial.

I can feel the tension radiating off all three of them. This isn’t going to be a pleasant conversation. I really need to learn to keep my damn mouth shut.

“Nothing important.”

He’s quick to argue. “We both know that’s not true.”

Seeing as I started it, I relent. “She said she was looking for you.” I peer over at Tristan. “And she wanted me to tell you that Katalina wants to talk to you. She’s staying with Serena the rest of the week.”

My stomach knots itself into a pretzel as Tristan’s scowl takes over his face.

“Jesus fucking Christ.”

“Who’s Katalina?” I ask.

“She’s no one.”

Hendrix tenses when I softly utter, “That sounds familiar.”

“Aoife, don’t go there. I swear Katalina is no one you need to worry about. She’s not an ex or someone I was remotely interested in. My father wanted me to pursue her for a fucking business arrangement. I didn’t.”

I teethe my bottom lip and nod my head, relieved. “Okay.”

“Is that all Serena said?” Con asks.

It’s scary how well he can read me.

“I have a new nickname. Burn girl.”

Saying it out loud hurts just as much as hearing that bitch shriek it for everyone on campus to hear.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Tristan shouts.

“God, firefly. I’m so fucking sorry.” Hendrix lets out a slow breath before pulling me close and wrapping me in his arms. “I’ll take care of it. She won’t bother you again.”

“I can take care of her on my own.” She got a free pass because I was preoccupied and didn’t want to deal with her skanky ass. “You really have shitty taste in women.”

He grips the back of my neck and forces me to look at him. “I love you, which makes me pretty damn smart.”

My heart stops. Literally stops.Oh my fucking god. He said it. The biggest smile breaks free and lights up my entire face.

“I love you, too.”

Hendrix’s eyes close when he touches his forehead to mine. “That’s the best fucking thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I told you before.”

“When?”

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