Page 102 of Dark Little Game

But I know if I do, I’ll just be pulled right in.

For Hunter, this is all just a game. We both know how good it feels when we’re together, but wealsoknow that none of this is real.

He wants to be alone.

None of it can last.

And none of it can ever be public knowledge.

But I fucking felt something when I looked down at you.

Even after I came.

For you, everything’s just physical. A fight. A fuck. Whatever it is.

Yet I felt so, so much.

Part Two

Crimson Fire

18

Hunter

I watch as Weston’s arm lands across Rayne’s shoulders, both of them laughing as Noah snaps a photo.

All around me, Crimson fall lantern fair is in full swing.

The quad is lit up by dozens and dozens of hanging paper lanterns that are strung up in the trees, transforming the quad into a glowing maze full of rows and rows of fair games.

Rayne and Wes are in front of the ticket booth, because the rest of the Onyx boys just arrived.

I’ve been sitting here for an hour already.

Scoping out the place.

Because a campus fair isexactlythe kind of place that somebody could attack Rayne, and I’m not going to let that happen.

I’ve been scanning the quad for anything that looks out of place the entire time I’ve been here, but it turns out that the only fucked up thing I’ve witnessed tonight is happening insideme.

Right now.

Because my blood’s fucking boiling as I watch thecasual way Wes drapes his arm over the man that fucked me senseless, just a week ago.

My brother keeps his arm over Rayne’s shoulders for a while, even after Noah’s done taking the picture.

Roman and Oliver aren’t far ahead of the other guys, and with their tickets in hand, they’re starting to walk out into the fair and look at the games, food, and prize booths ahead.

And there’s Wes.

Still touching him.

And it’s a strange thing, feeling jealous of my brother for the first time in our lives.

It’s always been the opposite.

Ihave the upper hand. Always have.