Page 62 of Bleed the Shadows

“To the men who take their medicine on the chin,” she said.

We clinked glasses and all my gentlemanly intentions went out the window as I watched her drink from the red wine in her glass. I’d seen those lips wrapped around Remy’s dick, had watched Poe’s tongue dip between them to taste her mouth.

Now I wanted to lick the wine from her lips myself. Taste her for myself.

I cursed myself for not kissing her when I’d had the chance.

“You really do look beautiful.” I said it because it was true, and because when Cassie had given me advice about the date with Maeve — if that was what I wanted to call it, and I did because it was less embarrassing than calling it an apology tour — she’d told me to stop thinking so hard, to just tell Maeve how I really felt, what I was really thinking.

Of course, Cassie didn’t know that at least half the time what I was really thinking when it came to Maeve was that I wanted to fuck her until she screamed because Cassie was my sister and that would be weird.

So I was trying to focus on the other half of the time, when I thought about how pretty Maeve was and shit.

She smiled. “Thanks. And thanks for the clothes, although I really didn’t need three dresses, two pairs of shoes, and two bags.”

“My little sister said it would be presumptuous to assume to know what you’d like.”

“You have a little sister?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I guess I just never considered it.”

“Fair. I guess I don’t talk about her much.”

“How come?” Maeve asked.

I thought about it. “I’ve gotten used to keeping Cassie from the rest of my life for her own protection.”

“Wait…” Maeve’s forehead crinkled. “Is… is your sister Cassie from Cassie’s Cuppa?”

I nodded. “I thought you knew.”

“I went to private school. You probably already know that from the background check you did on me.” I was relieved there was no bitterness in her voice. The background had been necessary.

I nodded.

“I didn’t realize how out of touch it made me until recently. Like I didn’t even really understand the scope of the missing girls around town, not because I didn’t care but because I was kind of insulated without even realizing it. Does your sister have red hair?”

“Yeah, got it from my mom. I got my dad’s dark hair. Why?”

She looked at her lap and smiled, then shook her head.

“What?”

“I thought Cassie was someone you were dating,” she said. “When I saw you at the coffee shop, I mean. I thought…”

“You thought I was ignoring you because I was with another girl?”

She nodded.

“It doesn’t make it okay because Cassie’s my sister.” I realized how true it was as I said it. There was no excuse for the way I’d treated Maeve.

“I know. It’s just… different,” she said. “Are you close?”

“Very, but I try to keep her away from my business. That’s why I bought her the shop.”

She looked surprised. “You bought her the coffee shop?”