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4
GRIFF
I watchClaire walk out the door with a trail of ice following her. She’s got her shields back up at my rejection. It’s better this way. I know how she operates. Her cold shell will thicken back up and hide her burning, passionate heart from me.
I let myself think about how amusing it was to watch her poke at me in order to get a reaction. How fucking intoxicating it was to watch her internal battle with wanting to obey me and wanting to throw me the finger. I generally want submission to come freely, but having to work for it from her might be fun.
She felt exactly how I remembered under my hands tonight, maybe better. How soft her skin is on the small of her back. Her adorable as fuck freckle right above her left ass cheek. The whimpers she makes when I pinch her nipples.
Fuck.
I pour myself another shot of whiskey and stand at the window. My forehead leans against the cool glass, looking down the streets seven hundred feet below me. I wonder how she’s getting home. She said she gave Marco the night off. I start to worry about her when I remember she was still wearing the camera.
I pull out my phone and hesitate on the app linked to the camera. It’s an invasion of privacy. It’s unethical. It’s a bit psycho. My thumb hovers for a second, but, fuck it, I’m already in too deep. Might as well jump off the deep end. I activate the camera.
My phone fills the view of the back of a cab. The driver is talking on the phone in another language, and Claire is texting with Con. She shifts, and her hair covers the camera.
I close out the app. Now that I know she’s safe in a cab and on her way home, I let out a sigh. I’m really wishing I had someone to talk to about this right now. For obvious reasons, Con is out, and I don’t want to put Lilith in a compromising position by opening up about it with her. Levi can’t keep a secret to save his soul.
My head snaps up when I hear a knock on my door. Gwen pokes her head in and smiles at me.
“Why am I not surprised you are here late on a Friday night?” she asks as she walks over to my desk and sits down in one of the chairs in front of it.
“I actually wasn’t working.” I weigh whether I should confide in her and how much to divulge if I do. She and I are the closest in age among all our siblings, and I trust her completely.
“Oh?” Her brow creases as she notices the way I’m gripping my glass. “Whoa. Sit your ass down and spill it.”
“I had dinner with Claire.”
Almost had her for dinner, actually.
“I see.” She waits for me to continue.
“I’m helping with her something, and we came back afterward, so I could give her something to help with it.”
“That’s,” she narrows her eyes, “incredibly vague.”
“Yes.” I communicate everything I need to with that one word answer.
Gwen nods, understanding immediately that I won’t be divulging Claire’s secrets. “Fair enough.”
“Don’t judge me.” My need to make my family proud and not disappoint them comes to the surface.
“As your big sister, it is my job to judge you,” she says with a smile, “but I’ll love you regardless.”
“I kissed her.”
Her eyes widen in surprise, and I decide to go all in.
“We slept together the night of Con and Lilith’s wedding.”
She pulls out her phone and starts texting something, her lips rolled into her teeth.
“What are you doing?” I ask, annoyed.
“Googling caskets.” She looks up at me barely holding her laughter back. “Because when Connor finds out, he’s gonna kill you.”
I glare at her, but at the same time, she’s not wrong.
