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I tried not to look at Cayden as my dad stood and pulled me into a hug, but I couldn’t stop my eyes from colliding with his. The darkly satisfied flicker in his gaze chilled me to the bone.
He got up, his fit body moving lithely out of the low chair. He came around to hug my mom, whose laugh had a girlish edge, and my father slapped him on the shoulder, the two of them sharing a pleased grin.
As he reached me, I shrank back, fighting the urge to run away.
“No hug for your new brother?” he goaded me.
I crossed my arms over my chest stiffly as he leaned in and gave me a one-handed hug.
“You can do better than that, Lillian. Smile for your parents, we wouldn’t want them to think you’re upset.” He spoke just low enough for my parents not to hear.
“I hate you. You’re a psycho, and soon enough I’m sure everyone will see it,” I ground out around a fake smile.
“No, I don’t think they will. Most people aren’t that smart…I think it’ll be your cross to bear, and you don’t hate me yet. Not even close.” He leaned away and gave me a lopsided, handsome smile that would have stopped my heart if we’d never met before. Then he spoiled it. “And soon, you will.”
Cayden
The Williams householdwent to bed early. That suited me fine. I lay in the spare room, staring at the ceiling, and waited. No, not the spare room, not anymore.My room.It was a plain little room, nothing fancy, and yet it was nice in a way I’d never known. An unstained carpet covered the floor, and the furniture was all smooth and unmarked by cigarette burns or scratches. Real living plants dotted the odd surface, and framed photographs of the family hung on the wall. It was the nicest place I’d ever slept in.
Being fostered was a flimsy excuse to get me on the team, but considering my background, it would hold up. I was enough of a charity case to stop anyone from talking shit about the situation, in case they looked like the bad guy.
Eric Williams had no idea he’d let the real bad guy into his house, given him a key, and was letting him sleep right next to his daughter. Ambition was a dangerous thing. Williams wanted that job at the world-famous HHU, and that had made him blind to the threat I posed to Lillian. Little, untouched Lillian. I was willing to bet her hesitant touch on her sweet-smelling cunt was the only one she’d ever felt. The guys on the team would never go against Coach’s wishes and try anything with her, adorable as she was.
I was under no such restriction.
Hell, he was practically begging me to have her, leaving her defenseless and so very close. And Lily herself? She was asking for it, too, with her smart little mouth and mesmerizing eyes.
I tensed when I remembered her eyes on me earlier, seeing every pitiful mark and scar on my wretched body. Had she read the word? I wasn’t sure. She probably had. Whether she had or not, one thing was clear… it was time to show her who held the power in our relationship. It was time to put her in her place, preferably at my feet. Little Lily would look awfully pretty kneeling before me, her big, green eyes wide, her freckled skin flushed as I pushed between her plump lips.
I shifted on the bed, getting hard at the thought. I didn’t know what the fuck was wrong with me. I didn’t get distracted by girls. They threw themselves at me and the rest of the hockey team with embarrassing abandon. Teasing smiles and provocative touches didn’t do a thing for me. In fact, they turned my stomach.
I didn’t like to be touched. I couldn’t stand it, in fact.
The thought of being touched by some blonde with bleached teeth and faux coyness repulsed me. More than anything, it was a serious turnoff. I wasn’t the kind of guy who had to worry about getting a hard-on at inappropriate times, watching the girls at lunch licking lollipops like wannabe porn stars or pretending to drop something in class, casting a teasing look over their shoulders while they bent at the waist to showcase their asses. None of that did it for me.
But the thought of Lillian Williams, untouched bookworm, with her glasses, freckles and librarian energy, lying in bed with her hand down her own cotton panties – that had me feeling all kinds of heat.
In my work for my uncle, I’d had women suggest countless filthy things to pay off their debt. Desperate, wretched things offered in the darkness. I’d turned down every single one. Jack had laughed at me, calling me all kinds of names. The words he threw at me when he was drunk-and at his most honest-were the ones that stayed with me.
“You’re too fucked up for normal women, golden boy. First your hooking mama and then that couple she stuck you with and the weird things they liked to do to you… nah, you’ll never be normal now. That ship has sailed.”
I’d never admit it to him, but he was right. I’d never be normal, and I’d given up trying.
I got out of bed and went to the door, cracking it open and listening for a while. It was silent in the rest of the house. A clock ticked somewhere up the landing, but nothing moved from the direction of Lily’s room. I left mine and headed for hers.
The handle turned easily under my touch. No locked doors in this house, luckily, not that I couldn’t have picked them. This was faster. I stepped inside and soundlessly closed the door behind me.
The smell hit me first. It was caramel and vanilla, with an edge of salt and pines. It was Lily. Every single time I got close to her, starting at Beckett’s party, that scent flooded my senses. It smelled clean in a way I couldn’t get enough of.Pure.It had my mouth watering.
I stood still for a long moment, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness, and then I moved. First, I approached the bed. Lily was a small shape under the covers. I couldn’t make out much. She seemed to be asleep, however, so I went to her desk. Slowly, as silently as possible, I started my search. Lillian Williams might be a very good girl, but I was willing to bet she had something to hide.
I needed leverage over her to even the playing field and feel safe around her. I wouldn’t stop until I had it, even if that meant I had to make it myself.
I checked all the drawers in her desk first. Straight-A student, indeed; I’d never seen so many extra reading books or A+-marked assignments. I found plenty of drawings of bug–she liked to doodle–and notes to her friend, Eve, though they held nothing of interest. Next, I searched her backpack, also coming up empty. I made my way to the bed and quietly dropped to my knees, peering beneath. An old stuffed toy and what looked like running shorts had been kicked under. Nothing else. I sat back on my heels and contemplated the girl sleeping innocently in the bed before me.
If I really wanted leverage, I could pull the covers back, work her oversized T-shirt up, and take photos of her body, then use them to keep her quiet. It was an idea, and one I wasn’t above using, but it didn’t feel satisfactory. It wasn’t real, and I wanted something real. I wanted to know what this girl hid from the world. No one was this clean and perfect. No one.
I put a hand on the mattress and leaned in, bending my head to take a deep inhale of the perfume of her neck. Her hair spread across the pillow like satin ribbons and I stroked it. It was the silkiest thing I’d ever felt. Her scent filled my nose.
