In truth, I’m the one in danger of forgetting.
“Who is that?” Gloria asks, gaping over my shoulder. “I think my dreams just came true. It’s another version of you who might not be such a dick.”
“He’s married,” I say flatly.
“Oh my god, I have to meet him,” she says, grabbing Harper’s arm again. “The mysterious brother in New York. Come on.”
Harper shoots me a challenging look, like she’s daring me to stop them. She wants me to stake my claim again, to show her I care. Not fucking happening. She can go fuck my brother if that’s what she wants. I ball my hands into fists so I won’t reach out and stop them as they walk away. I don’t know why it pisses me off so much to think about them talking to King. They all know too much about me, each of them holding different cards I’ve shown, and I don’t need that shit pooled together in one place.
When I turn, having changed my mind, Harper’s right in front of me. I don’t even want to think about the way my chest opens up when I see that she’s not off digging for dirt from my brother. I glance at him and then back to her. “I thought you were wet for my brother,” I say.
She gives me a look. “I don’t get wet for anyone who doesn’t work for it.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m friends with Lo,” she says, shrugging and looking away, obviously lying.
I smirk down at her, stepping in closer and letting my hands come to rest on her tiny waist, the one part of her that feels delicate, like I could snap her in two. “Liar,” I say, leaning down and brushing my lips against her ear. “You’re here hoping I’ll pound that pussy again tonight.”
“Maybe,” she says, smiling slyly up at me with those red lips. “Let’s go dance.”
“Dance?” I ask, almost laughing at the ridiculousness. There’s a dance floor and plenty of people dancing, but that’s the furthest thing from my scene.
“Or just sway,” she says. “It’s the only place we can be close like this without people staring.”
“I don’t dance,” I say. “But I’ll stand there with you.”
She’s right, and I’m not sure if it pisses me off or flatters me that she knows how much I hate the stares, the whispers, the attention. She’s thinking about my comfort level, and that means she cares about me. I should want that. After all, how can I destroy her if she doesn’t give a fuck about me? But there’s no sense of triumph in me as we make our way into the crowd of dancers to park ourselves and sway, where no one will pay much attention because they’re all too busy dancing. I don’t mind destroying Harper’s life, her future, her mind. But the thought of hurting her this way turns my stomach.
“Are you okay?” she asks, sliding her hands around the back of my neck. She’s so short her arms barely reach higher. I hold her around the waist, my hands at the small of her back, cradling her small body as it arches against mine.
“Fine,” I say.
“Do you want to go to the river later?” she asks, her blue eyes full of questions but still guarded as they search mine. “I know it’s a hard night for you, so if you don’t, and you want to go vandalize a train, or destroy shit, or whatever, I’m down for it. If you want me to be there, I’m there.”
If I was the kind of asshole who cried, I’d fucking do it on this night more than any other. But I never have been, and I’m not about to start now. I’m not sitting at home like a bitch sobbing my heart out or eating ice cream and wallowing the way Crystal used to. Life goes on.
“You know that was tonight?” I ask, but of course she fucking does. Everyone knows that. That’s the real reason she’s here. I don’t know if I’m more annoyed at Gloria for bringing her or at her for wanting to be here with me on a day when she thinks I’ll be vulnerable.
Her fingers tease the hair at the back of my neck. “Yeah,” she says, but her voice is drowned by the music, and I only read her red lips. I lean closer, pulling her in, wishing I could be inside her right now, not think about anything but the wet heat of her cunt and how I have to hold myself back so I don’t cum the second I hear her helplessly panting my name.
She skims her lips over my ear, making me even harder. “Or if you want to do shit with your brothers, I’ll be your getaway driver or make myself scarce. Whatever you want, I’m down for it, Royal. For tonight.”
“Anything I want?” I ask, raising my brows. “That’s a pretty big promise, Jailbird.”
“Losing your sister is a pretty big hurt to forget.”
“What if I want to watch my brothers run a train on you?” I say, then add slowly, “All three of them.”
She swallows, her blue eyes searching again, as if she can find the answers in my eyes. “Is that something you like to watch?”
I shrug. “Sometimes.”
“That sounds like a lot of dick,” she says. “And your big brother is a little creepy, no offense. But if you really wanted it, and you told me it would help you forget… I mean, the twins are hot, and I’ve never been with two guys at once.”
Her words make me want to twist her head around until her neck snaps, but I don’t react. I know by the smirk on her lips she’s just fucking with me, trying to goad me the way she does. “What if I wanted to fuck Gloria in front of you?” I ask, giving her a taste of her own medicine. “Would you watch?”
“That would be… Difficult,” she admits. “Is that what you want? And is everything you want going to be sexual?”