Just as I’m about to swoop my coat up from the floor, Eli reaches forward from behind me, his finger running down my slit and dipping between my folds again. I bite down on my lip to stop from moaning, but when he withdraws, my eyes flare open. I’m about to shove him down to the floor to continue what he started when he walks toward where Kyrin is sitting and brings that same finger that he dipped inside of me to Kyrin’s still parted lips.
Kyrin and Eli both stare up at me, Eli with a smirk and Kyrin with a kind of determination as his tongue snakes out and slides over Eli’s finger.
My thighs clench together. Holy. Fuck.
My phone vibrates on my bedside table when I come back in after my shower the next day. After the show last night, I skipped the after-party and hit the gym before going straight to bed. Usually I stay up and fuck around a bit, but after Lilith and Eli, I couldn’t find the want or more importantly, the need. I would otherwise assume that they both stuck around to party, too, but it wasn’t long after I hit the bed that I heard both their doors close.
I swipe my phone to answer. “Yeah?”
“So hear me out…” Cartier says on the other end and I sigh, falling back onto my bed while tightening the towel around my waist. I run my fingers through the damp strands of my hair, resting my elbow on my thigh—Lilith’s lilac eyes flutter up at me and I quickly change position.
“You’ve got thirty seconds.”
“So Mom and Dad are forcing me to come to Midnight Mayhem and I need you to tell them that I don’t want to.”
I fly up to my feet, squeezing my phone in my hand. “What?”
“I know! They are sending me there to get me away from Zac!”
I start making my way to the kitchen downstairs. No one is awake yet, unsurprising since I’m always the first to wake.
“They don’t want me with him anymore, Ky, and this is what they’re doing to make sure that happens.”
I open the fridge and take out a carton of milk. “Cartier, the last shit I need is seeing you fuck someone on stage. Fucking anyone in general makes me do things. You remember what happened to the last guy who touched you, right? Do we want a redo of that?”
“Ky, that’s not fair. This isn’t my idea!”
My eyes narrow at the small clock that’s ticking on the kitchen counter. I know my sister better than I know anyone, and I know when she’s lying.
She sighs. “Look, I thought I’d give you a heads-up because I’m about to call Perse to offer up what I can bring to Mayhem.”
“Your linage. You can join without her permission.”
I swallow a chug of milk and swipe my mouth with the back of my hand. Someone enters behind me and I turn to face Keaton, who’s rubbing sleep from his eyes. When he sees me on the phone, he nudges his head to ask who it is. I ignore him, scooping up the carton of milk and falling onto one of the dining chairs.
“You’re a fucking headache. I don’t want you here.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Keaton pause during his search for ingredients, blender in hand. I don’t question that pause, because Cartier has been running circles around Keaton since she took her first breath in this world. He won’t want her here as much as I don’t.
“It’s not up to you, and anyway, it might be good for me.”
I grunt in response, running my fingers through the strands of my hair. It’s not even six a.m. and my little sister is stressing me right the fuck out.
“Ky… I don’t have to ride if you don’t want me to. I have something else that I’m going to proposition to Perse.”
“Cartier, riding a bike isn’t the issue, and you damn well know it.”
“I won’t take part in the final act. I’ll strictly do my thing and then leave the rest for you.”
I reach for an apple in the fruit bowl and sink my teeth into the flesh. After swallowing, I open my mouth. “No final act, you stay in the RV with Rose and Kenan, and, Cartier, you’re going on a bike.”
She squeals so loud I have to pull my phone away from my ear. I bring it back, rolling my eyes.
“Okay, you won’t regret it.”
I hang up my phone and toss it across the table, stretching my legs wide and resting my head on top of the chair.
Keaton takes a seat opposite me. “You didn’t…”
“I did.” My throat constricts around the juice of the apple, eyes fixed on the ceiling. “To get her away from that fucker Zac.” I finally sit up properly, snatching his shake off him and taking a swig. “I should have just killed him.”