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Thrilled when Tanner said they were leaving for the night, I’d jumped up from the couch and crossed the room, my feet stumbling over themselves to hear the twins say they were staying, as well as Gabriel.
I refused to turn back to where the twins were standing. Not that I had to. Shane was doing a good enough job glaring at me from where he stood in front of me.
It’s obvious Shane is not happy about me being around the twins, but it’s not my fault. I didn’t demand these six weeks. I didn’t ask foranyof this situation.
Wincing at the expression on his face, I wrapped my arms around my middle and stayed quiet when Ezra tossed him the keys to the Jeep so he could drive it home.
The only saving grace was Ivy picking up on something being wrong. She was quick to ask me to sleep in her bed, which meant I wouldn’t be stuck with the twins all night.
Not that I’m getting any sleep beside her. Not only is she a cover hog, she kicks a lot, and the few times I almost drifted off, her foot slammed into my leg, bringing me right back to full consciousness.
After staring at the ceiling for what feels like hours, I finally give up and crawl out of bed.
Going downstairs, I head into the kitchen to get a drink, the house quiet and dark except for the chorus of night creatures outside the windows.
I grab a bottle of water from the fridge, twist the top off and take a sip just as movement catches my eyes, and I turn to see Ezra sitting at the small kitchenette, a bottle of whiskey in hand and his eyes locked on me.
Swallowing the water down rather than spitting it out in shock, I set the bottle on the kitchen island between us, hoping that the island will keep us separate. Especially with the way his hard gaze traps me in place, something unreadable behind amber eyes flecked with green.
“Sorry. I didn’t see you in here. I’ll be leaving in a sec-“
“Why were you at my father’s house?”
He could have shot me, the bullet ricocheting through my chest to damage every vital organ, and it would have been less lethal a blow than that question.
Utter shock washes through me first, a wave so cold that I shiver beneath it, every muscle in pain from its tight hold, my blood thick and sluggish.
But then panic sweeps in like a raging fire, my skin tingling beneath its force, my pulse now a jackrabbit slamming its feet within my veins in a frightened bid to escape.
Ezra’s only response to my silence is a slow blink of his eyes, the thick frame of his dark lashes brushing his skin, the hazy focus of his amber eyes curious and liquid when he opens them again.
Even in shadow, he is the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. And that’s not easy to say when he has an identical twin. But it’s not always physical features that lend to a person’s presence.
Many times, it’s who they are beneath the surface that gives them their special edge.
Enthralled.
It’s the only word I have to describe what he does to me, this man who seduces me while hurting me all the same.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I saw you at his house the other day. He kissed your hand when you left. Don’t lie to me, killer. Not anymore. And not about this.”
Sparse light flickers off the whiskey bottle when he tips it to his lips, his eyes still zeroed in on me as if to hold me in place.
I’m not sure what’s more terrifying: the fact he knows I’ve been to his father’s house, or the oddly calm tone of his voice to call me out on what most would assume is a blatant betrayal.
Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time I betrayed him, and the glimmer in his eyes now is reminding me of what I’ve done in the past.
Setting the bottle down on the kitchenette table with exaggerated care, Ezra stands from his seat, the chair legs lightly scraping the tile floor, a warning for me to run if I’ve ever heard one.
Instead, I stand in place, watching the predatory prowl of the way he moves. I’m partly fascinated, but mostly cornered.
He knows it.
I know it.
Even if I were to run, I’d have to get past him to reach the door, and I know how fast Ezra is when he strikes out.