AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The last time I was with her, she said I make her nervous, but this feels like something more. Like something she doesn’t have any control over.
I’m not sure why she called me tonight, but when I remember how defeated she looked when I showed up at her house, how completely lost she seemed, I can’t help but want to soothe that wound for her. Help her gain something from this night, something that puts the fire back in her eyes.
I pull out a few cloves of garlic, a knife, and a cutting board, gesturing for her to have at it. She tilts her head to one side, then looks at the garlic and moves over to take my place, dicing with speed and precision I’m not capable of.
We stand in silence as she continues cooking, and when it’s finished and plated we eat in silence, too, our mouths too full to do anything but chew. After setting our plates in the sink, I give her the grand tour, starting in the living room with its brown suede sofa bed and the flat screen television hanging above the fireplace, and ending with my bedroom and its king-size bed and single dresser.
I don’t mention the detached garage or the studio apartment that sits above it, firm in my belief that no one but me steps in there. The things that follow you on the way out aren’t demons I’d wish on anyone.
Not even LeeAnn.
Pulling an electric sherpa blanket from the linen closet, I plug it in and let it warm up while I unfold the sofa bed, stretching a sheet over the mattress and testing its strength. I don’t take her to my bed upstairs because I’m afraid of how far I’ll go with her in it, so the sofa is the next safest thing.
Fiona stands off to the side, looking at a picture hanging by the front window of me and Riley on her first day of kindergarten.
It’s the only picture I have with her, period.
“Do... you have a kid?” Fiona asks.
A strangled laugh bubbles up out of my throat. “Jesus, no. That’s Riley.”
“And Riley is...”
Sighing, I spread the blanket out on the bed and sit down on the edge, facing her. She folds her arms over her chest, waiting. “Riley is my... biological sister.”
Fiona’s head jerks back in surprise. “You have a sister?”
“Siblings aren’t that uncommon.”
“Well, no, obviously.” Her face turns the prettiest shade of pink, and she comes over, sitting on the bed beside me. Our knees brush, electricity flaring at the slightest touch, and the need to claim her rears its ugly head again. “But I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention anyone you’re related to. Although, now that I’m thinking about it, you do fit the older sibling identity far better than the only child one.”
I smirk. “Putting that psych major to use. Think you’ve got me pegged, huh?”
Her blush deepens, and she averts her gaze to the swirls in the hardwood floor. “I would never claim that. You’re too much of a mystery, and we only just started doing... this.”
“Hm,” I hum, shifting so she has to scramble backward. She pulls her knees to her chest, leaning against the back of the couch, and narrows her eyes as I move closer, planting my palms on either side of her. “And what exactly is this we’re doing?”
She licks her lips, wetting the pouty flesh like she knows I want a taste. “I don’t know,” she whispers, dropping her gaze to my mouth. Her pupils dilate, eyes darkening with lust I feel down to my fucking toes, and my fingers dig into the mattress as I continue resisting.
“Why’d you text me tonight?” I ask, reaching out and tracing my index finger over the curve of her knee. Tracking the movement with her molten gaze, she doesn’t say anything, distracted. Hooking that same finger beneath her chin, I tip her head up and spread my palm along her jaw, keeping her trapped there. “What happened earlier?”
As I hold her in place, my grip harsher than it should be considering how new this all is, she never breaks from my gaze, staring straight back as if she can see into my soul. See the things hidden in the shadows.
“Why did you ask me to dinner?” she shoots back, raising a delicate brow.
“Because I wanted to.” With my free hand, I tangle my fingers around the ends of her fiery hair, tugging slightly. She’s deflecting, replacing one worry with another, but I figure I should take what I can get when it comes to her. “What’re you really asking?”
“When I was out with Nico that one afternoon, you basically called me a whore.”
“I’m an asshole. That’s nothing new.” I stroke her bottom lip with my thumb, reveling in the smoothness of it. “Did it piss you off when I called you that?”
Jerking her chin, she tries to escape my grasp, but I only increase the pressure. I feel my nails biting into her skin, but I don’t stop or pull back. I’m in control right now.
Her eyes flare, jaw flexing beneath my grasp, and the raw fury radiating off her in waves makes me want to cover her mouth with my own and rob her of every breath she has.
“Let go of me,” she snaps, her hand coming up to clamp down around my wrist.
“Tell me how me calling you a whore made you feel, and maybe I will,” I say, dipping my head so we’re only a whisper apart. So close, I can practically taste her fucking arousal.
