“Hey, Brother.” Cassian smiles at me when I stalk toward the tables that are set up with red cups and jugs of alcohol. “You still looking for Nesrin? Seems our little sister has made some friends.”
“I don’t want her with those fucking girls,” I tell him, as I pick up one of the cups. I fill it to the brim and swallow down a mouthful before I have time to reconsider drinking this shit. I shouldn’t be drinking tonight, but I can’t calm down after my encounter with Nesrin.
“What the fuck is up your ass?” Cass questions, shoving me in the shoulder, playfully. But when he takes note of my expression, he stills.
“I kissed her. I touched her, more than I should as her stepbrother,” I tell him. “I shouldn’t have fucking gone there with her, but I couldn’t help myself.” Cassian understands the darkness that I fight daily. He saw how much control I’d lost when I was a Knight. Even he walked out after the first few times.
The games.
The burning roses.
And the thorns.
“And?” He nudges, knowing I won’t just offer up information if he doesn’t want it. That’s how we’ve always been—keep things to ourselves, until we need an outlet. Mine being rather violent compared to my brothers, but they’re just as dangerous as I am.
“I don’t know. This isn’t going to go anywhere. I mean, as soon as Dad gets back, I’m heading out to the offices in London. He won’t allow me to keep Nesrin for my own. No matter how I feel,” I tell him.
“What about her finding out about The Black Knights? She could be one of the girls they toy with.” He’s right, but I never wanted to consider it. Even though we had a run out in the forest, she’s not ready to hear about my past.
“Creed will not have her.” My tone is adamant, but even so, I know what my former best friend is like. Since Brody and Keirin have joined the ranks, they’ve only gotten worse. It doesn’t help that our neighboring town’s students keep coming through here. Each semester, new girls pop up, and each year, more roses are scorched.
“Will you tell her the truth about…?” Cassian knows it’s not an option. Not right now, anyway. She needs time, and that’s something I’ll happily give her, but that doesn’t mean I can’t toy with her.
“Soon,” I tell him, and swallow down another mouthful of his secret concoction. “Right now, I need to party.” I leave my brother and move deeper into the crowd. The song playing is loud, echoing through the woods. The water is silver under the moon’s light, and I take a path deeper into the forest to find myself alone. No doubt Gen will find me, she always does, but for now, I can breathe, as the alcohol courses through my veins.
From here, I can see Creed with Brody and Keirin. They’re laughing, smoking, and hanging on every word some pretty blonde tells them.
Girls are squealing from behind me, and when I turn to look at them, my chest tightens, when I see my wild rose walking with Mali, and they’re headed right for Creed and his pack. She doesn’t see me, at first, it takes a second for her eyes to lock on mine, and it’s as if time stops.
I lift my cup, tipping it toward her. My eyes don’t leave hers for a long moment. I can feel her glare on me, which makes me smile. I’m not here to encroach on her, but I’ll be watching.
“Hey, handsome,” a gentle whisper comes from beside me, and I turn to find the bottle blonde that I haven’t seen in a few months. She’s one of those curvy girls with pouty lips that look good wrapped around my dick.
“What’s up, Brittany?” I ask, but keep my gaze on the dark-haired beauty who’s now shooting bullets at me with those pretty golden eyes.
“I missed you.” Brittany grins happily, and her eyes spark with desire like I knew they would. All these women are the same; they see a Thorne, and they drop their fucking panties, lightning-fast. “I didn’t think you’d be here,” she tells me.
“Why not?”
She steps up to me, her body flush with mine, when she leans up to my ear and whispers, “Because you’re a lone wolf.” Her words bring back a memory of the night I fucked her in the woods. It was so dark. It was also dangerous, which is why she’s back for more.
She was one of my first burnt roses. One of the first girls I took into the woods as part of my initiation. And even though it was just high school games, at the time, she thought it was love.
I didn’t think Brittany saw it the way I did. She was too young for me to toy with her, and I made that mistake far too many times to count. Girls became a distraction from the bullshit I had to deal with at home.