Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“I guess you’re right.”
I am right. There’s more to why they want to keep me around.
“Maybe Caius just really likes you,” he offers.
The laugh that bubbles out of me is bordering on hysterical.
“I’m going to stick around until I make sure she’s going to be okay,” I admit, though I hate doing it. “And then, when I decide to leave, I expect you to help me. Do I have your word?”
He doesn’t respond, so I turn to force him to look me in the eye. His eyebrows are pinched together and pain is etched in his features.
“Theo,” I murmur. “Promise me.”
Instead of a promise, he leans in and gives me something I didn’t ask for.
A kiss.
A wet, desperate, open-mouthed kiss.
Caius
I don’t expect to see them kissing.
It’s unlike what I’d witnessed with Gareth when he raped her. There was crying and fighting. She resisted every second of him.
This is different.
Though she is pushing Theo away from her, she’s doing it gently. As if to let him down easy. A flare of satisfaction makes its way through me. Whenever I’ve kissed her, she’s eagerly let me devour her pouty lips with no hesitation whatsoever.
I hear Theo’s murmured apology and then Romy’s soft assurances.
It’s fine. It was just a kiss. I’m not mad.
She may not be…
“Theo. A word. Alone.” My voice, though low, slices through the air, cutting into both of them.
Theo damn near falls off the sofa in his effort to scramble away from her. I stand just inside the doorway, having let myself in moments ago. Romy shoots daggers of warning at me. I read it loud and clear. Don’t kill him like you killed your other brother.
I ignore her warnings as I fling open the door and step into the hallway. Theo joins me seconds later. I lean my back against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest, and watch as my little brother with splotchy red cheeks paces the floor in front of me.
“It’s not what it looked like,” he explains, voice shaky with nerves. “It was my fault. I just… I just wanted to make her feel better.”
He glances over at me, eyes pleading for me to understand. And while I do understand because I know Theo’s desperation to be loved, it doesn’t make it okay.
“She’s my girlfriend,” I state in a blistery tone. “Not yours.”
“Fuck, Cai. I know, okay? I said I’m sorry.”
I crack my neck, which has him withering in response. As much as I like to keep my emotions in check, I know I have my tells, this being one of them. It’s quite a feat to get my shoulders to relax, but I manage it. Barely.
“Did she kiss you back?” Now I feel like I’m a stupid teenager all over again.
He looks down at his feet. “Nah, man.”
I don’t know if it’s a lie or what, but the relief I feel that she didn’t is enough to satisfy me.
“Do you really like her?” Theo asks, turning his gaze up to meet mine. “Because if you don’t, you should just break it off. Fake or not—”
“She. Is. Mine.” I step away from the wall, letting my arms fall to my sides as I approach him. “Do I have to fuck her in front of you to make that clear?”
Theo’s face twists into one of unmasked fury. A vein in his forehead pops out. I’m almost convinced he’ll hit me, but shockingly, he reins in the impulse.
“Don’t be a dick. I might deserve it, but she doesn’t.”
It’s true. Romy is just as innocent in all this as Kaitlyn. But she’s in the thick of it whether she likes it or not. I can’t let her go now. Not when I’m finally getting leads that matter—leads that didn’t happen before she walked into my life.
“Take Kaitlyn shopping or to see the Statue of Liberty. Be back by five for dinner.”
Theo frowns at my dismissal. “Where will you go?”
“I’m going to spend some time with Romy. Alone. Got a problem with that?”
The small tick of a muscle in his neck says that he does.
“Don’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to do,” Theo bites out. “You’re not Gareth.”
We both know what Gareth did to Emma. Learned that by accident. But does he know more? About what Gareth did to Romy? Did she tell him?
“Trust me,” I say coolly. “She’ll love everything I do to her.”
I have no plans to do anything sexual with Romy, but I like riling up my baby brother, whom clearly is in love with the girl.
“I fucking hate you,” he growls.
Liar.
As soon as the door clicks shut, signaling the departure of Theo and Kaitlyn, I make my way into the bedroom. I can hear the shower shut off, so I settle on the edge of the bed, waiting for Romy to come out. Moments later, she emerges in nothing but a towel wrapped around her body and one twisted in her hair. She squeaks out in surprise at seeing me sitting here.