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Fender didn’t seem to hear me because his entire focus was on the woman walking toward him. He gently patted his thigh, and she came to his lap like a well-trained animal. He pulled her legs across his thighs and kissed her.
I stared at the pool.
Melanie helped herself to the cheese board and drank from his glass of wine.
I knew the conversation was over.
Melanie lifted her gaze and looked at me as she ate. “Is Raven okay? You two left abruptly.”
“She’s fine.”
She drank from the wineglass, her eyes on me. “You’re lying. You and Fender make the same face when you do that.”
“I’m not lying. She’s fine.”
“Maybe now she’s fine, but she wasn’t.”
Fender stepped in. “She wasn’t feeling well. Supposedly.”
Melanie set down the glass and ignored the gourmet food in front of her. Every glass of wine she had was from a vintage bottle, and the butler took care of every single need she had, she swam in a big pool in a mansion and sat in the lap of a man who adored her. Why would she jeopardize any of that? She wasn’t like Raven whatsoever. She was superficial, dull, and weak. “Please tell me.”
It was hard for me to deny her when I knew she genuinely cared about her sister’s well-being. She couldn’t just call and ask her herself. It might be months before they saw each other again. “One of my old lovers said something to her.”
“What?” Melanie asked.
I shrugged. “That she doesn’t understand why I left her for someone much less attractive, basically.” It was untrue. Stasia had fake tits, plastic surgery, skipped breakfast, and only ate a hard-boiled egg for lunch every single day. She was worse than Melanie. “Which is completely untrue. She just said it to start shit.”
Melanie erupted like a volcano, dormant one moment then explosive the next. “I’m gonna knock that bitch out! Who the fuck is this skank?”
Fender chuckled at her anger. “Come on, she’s right. Stasia is sexy, and your sister is a swine.”
Melanie turned to him and gave him a vicious stare. She was still for a second before she pushed off him and got to her feet. Then she stared down at him, so furious she didn’t know what to do. Her palm slapped across his face so hard that an audible smack echoed over the grounds. “Don’t talk about my sister like that, asshole.”
My eyes were wide because I couldn’t believe that just happened.
Melanie marched back to the house, her legs moving quickly because she wanted to get away from Fender as quickly as possible.
Fender turned to watch her go, but he didn’t go after her. His hand moved to his cheek, and he rubbed the inflamed skin before he grabbed his wine and took a drink like nothing happened. “Kinda liked it.” He looked across the grounds and swirled his glass absentmindedly.
I’d never really liked Melanie because she was so submissive and stupid. Respect was difficult to earn from me, and it took courage and guts to get my admiration. But she’d earned a little bit tonight.
I didn’t return to the apartment until two.
I had other shit to do after leaving Fender’s place. I had to drop in on my distributors to make sure they were following the guidelines they agreed to once we signed them on. My job was all about accountability, both in and out of the camp.
I left my wallet and keys downstairs because I didn’t lock up anything around Raven. There were guns stowed in every room of the apartment, and I had no doubt she’d uncovered at least one at some point in time. But I’d dropped my guard around her the way I did with one other person—my brother.
I walked upstairs and noticed the light coming from the bedroom. One of the lamps was on. I stepped inside and found her sitting up in bed, reading a book by the light of the lamp. She must have been at a really good part because she didn’t look up at me right away. Her eyes trailed from left to right as she finished the page. Then she looked up at me. “Glad you’re home.”
I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor. My shoes and jeans were left in the same spot on the floor. “Why are you still awake?” She was usually up early, going for a walk and getting a coffee and muffin.
“It’s just too hard to sleep without you now.” She set the book on the nightstand then turned off the lamp.
I got into bed beside her and turned on my side to look at her.
She scooted right up next to me, so our bodies were close, her face just inches from mine. One hand slid under the sheets and moved to my chest so her fingers could feel the warm skin over my abs. “How’d it go?”
