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And then there’s me.
How could I ever tell my brothers that I might not want to join them down this path? That I might not want to become a hitman. That I couldn’t stand the thought that this was going to be my life whether I wanted it or not.
I didn’t want them to see me as weak. I didn’t want them to see me as a failure. As someone unworthy of being their brother. Of being one of them.
So that’s why I didn’t tell them.
But how could I ever explain that to them now?
Clearing my throat, I push to my feet and do my best to give them all a casual smile. “I’m just going to grab something to drink.”
They watch me in silence, but they say nothing. And they don’t try to stop me as I walk back through the living room and towards Kaden and Alina’s kitchen.
And I fucking love them for that. I love them for not pushing me. For not forcing me.
Maybe one day I will tell them, but not today.
Not right now.
Because right now, I need to keep myself together firmly enough to survive this semester of guarding Kayla. Nothing is going to stop me. No matter what, I am going to make it to the end of the semester. Because I need to have the choice to decide my own future. I need it more than anything.
11
KAYLA
Quickly climbing out of bed, I sneak over to my dresser and open the top drawer. Through my closed bedroom door, I can finally hear Jace walking out of his room and into the kitchen. He always gets up before me and is ready and waiting by the time I leave my room. But not today. Today, I plan to surprise him.
Since he is apparently completely unfazed by all the annoying things I do to make his life miserable, I’m going to switch tactics and try something else. Instead of subjecting him to what are essentially irritating pranks, I’m going to make him uncomfortable. I’m going to make him squirm in his seat and nervously glance over his shoulder as he worries about someone seeing him. Seeing me. Seeing us.
After stripping out of my sleep shorts and top, I search through my underwear drawer until I find the sexiest lingerie that I own. They’re made of black lace, and they perfectly accentuate my curves.
On the other side of the door, I can hear faint clinks and thuds from where Jace is moving around in the kitchen.
Once I’m finished getting changed, I brush my hair and let it flow down my back. Then I put on some makeup too.
By the time I’m done, the noise from the kitchen has stopped. A chair scrapes lightly over the floor as Jace no doubt sits down at the table.
I check my appearance in the mirror. A wicked smirk spreads across my lips as I draw my hands over my hips and then turn to look at myself from all angles. In only a pair of black lace panties and a bra in the same material, I look like any man’s dream. And Jace’s nightmare.
A silent laugh rolls from my chest. Let’s see him sweat now as he worries about how my father will react if he finds out that Jace has seen me dressed like this.
With a sultry sway of my hips, I at last walk out of my bedroom and into the combined kitchen and living room.
Jace is seated at the table, eating breakfast. He is fully dressed in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that contrasts against his slightly tan skin. His brown hair is, as always, effortlessly messy in a way that makes me want to run my hands through it. The muscles in his forearms flex as he cuts into his food.
Surprise flickers through me, and I lose that swaggering in my step for a second, when my gaze lands on the plate in front of him. Or rather plates. There is one plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon, another one that contains something that looks like a panini, and a third one is piled high with fruit.
I’ve known that he eats breakfast, of course, since I’ve sometimes heard him in the kitchen when I’ve woken up early. But I’ve always just assumed that he eats hardboiled eggs or something similarly boring like most health freaks. Not this.
My gaze darts between his face and the little feast he has made for himself. There’s a sparkle in his eyes and a small smile on his mouth as he eats. As if he truly savors the food.
It surprises me so much that I forget what I’m doing for a moment.
Jace starts looking up from his plate.
I lurch into motion again. With that seductive sway in my hips, I saunter across the floor and towards the table where he is seated.
He turns towards me as he catches the movement in the corner of his eye, and opens his mouth as if to say something.
