Page 7

The way he glares at me is criminal. I scan his eyes, looking for any hint of lies or dishonesty, but all I see is the brutal truth reflected back at me. This isn’t just an attempt to appease Mitch, as I initially thought. Ian Summers wants to destroy me, and I’m pretty sure I want to let him.

I can't deny how my heart races at the thought of being devoured by both of them at once, but I shake my head in selfishness. Wasn’t I so hung up on not wanting a competition? What kind of person would I be to allow the script to be flipped just because I would be the one receiving it all?

“Please, tell me you want me too,” he begs.

“It’s not about whether or not I want you,” I gasp between the slow and languishing pressure of his fingers running up and down my inner thighs. “I have my own insecurities and trauma that I don’t expect you to understand.”

“You don’t think I understand trauma?” he asks, sounding slightly offended, and I regress into myself as he pulls his hands from my body.

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck. Why do I always have to fuck things up?

“You think I was born this optimistic?”

I press my thighs together and slide off the hood of my car, pulling my skirt down to cover my shame.

“I think you were raised with parents who love each other very much, and they smothered you with that love,” I say, choosing my words carefully.

His lips flip into an upside-down smile as he looks off into the distance as if remembering all the family dinners and holidays he spent being loved and cherished. Lucky bastard.

“Yeah, my family is pretty awesome.” His smile grows wide and carefree, but it falters as he continues, “But my rose-colored glasses were meticulously crafted over years of abuse, torture, and relentless fucking bullying. I went to an all-boys Christian school. Everyone around me seemed to know I wasn’t entirely straight before I did. The only thing that saved me was Mitch.”

“He tends to have that effect on people,” I say softly, feeling like a complete ass. “Sometimes I want to slap him for being so fucking stupid and careless, but most of the time, I want to burn the world down for him, me included.”

His eyes scan my face, and I can’t help but wonder what he must be thinking.

Ian runs his thumb along my jaw, down to my chin, tilting me up to meet his eyes.

“It’s so unfair that you have to walk through life not knowing…if you could see you the way I see you…the way Mitch sees you…”

I lick my lips, and he tracks the movement with his eyes. I can’t help but feel self-conscious under his gaze, but there is something about how he looks at me now. The way those eyes watched me with indifference and even annoyance at times are now unfiltered and filled with desire and want.

“I have to admit, I am curious,” he whispers seductively.

“Curious about what?” I ask as his eyes devour my body.

“If Mitch was just talking you up or if you can actually handle me.”

“Is that a challenge?” I breathe.

“God, I fucking hope so.” He laughs.

“Well, I’m not known to back down from a challenge,” I tease, and just like that, the wind is knocked out of my lungs as Ian throws me over his shoulder and marches us back to Mitch’s apartment.

My skirt rides up my ass, and I feel the cool air on my soaked panties that are just shy of being exposed. A giggle escapes my throat despite the buzzing in my chest and a flutter of anticipation low in my groin.

A wave of cautious excitement overcomes me as we cross the parking lot and climb the stairs to reenter Mitch’s apartment. My stomach swirls with nervous energy, and my heart feels like it’s about to pound right out of my chest. The surge of anticipation of what’s to come is intoxicating and nerve-wracking, making it difficult to focus on my surroundings. I grip onto Ian like a lifeline, and his arm tightens around my thighs, almost as if he’s trying to give me some of his courage as we stop to look over the crowd for Mitch.

I spot him at the other end of the kitchen, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, looking around the room like he’s trying to keep his shit together but on the brink of losing control. My chest tightens, seeing him in such an anxious state. Worried that I’m the cause of it.

“He’s in the kitchen,” I yell over the music.

Ian whips me around, and I crane my neck to see Mitch’s eyes light up when he spots us approaching. He pushes off the wall, quickly closing the distance between us. A slow, perverted smile spreads across his face.

Mitch looks up at us like a kid at Christmas, and I can’t help the goofy ass smile that threatens my hardened features. Ian doesn’t stop his momentum as he passes by Mitch, grabbing his shirt and jerking him to follow along toward the bedroom.

Lord, beer me strength.