Page 9 of Ly to Me (Devils of Alliston Springs #1)
Carver
The Note
“ N ext time you cook, I’d try cleaning up after. Or, I don’t know, eating it.” Jamie tossed my pan of eggs into the sink, then leaned against the counter, eyeing me down. “Somethin’s going on with you.”
“Yeah. You brought a friend into my house.”
“Our house,” he corrected. “I pay half of everything.” As he turned to rummage through the fridge, he added, “My entertainment hasn’t bothered you a lick before.”
“Most leave the next day,” I said through gritted teeth.
He straightened, a sly smirk lifting his lips before I took a seat on the couch facing away from the kitchen and reached for the rolling tray. I wasn’t the least bit shocked to find the entire grinder emptied. “You want to fuck her, don’t you?”
Reaching for the box hidden beneath the couch, I cursed again and scrubbed a palm down my face when I felt how light it was. That little—
Jamie chuckled. “She seems to hate the hell out of you already, so good luck with that idea.” He popped the cap off a beer. Early—especially for him. “I bet she wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole.”
He could take that bet and shove it right up his ass. I clutched the emptied box, picturing what it would look like if I smashed it into his head. “When is she coming back?”
As I turned my head over my shoulder, Jamie shrugged. “Later, I guess. I don’t know. Aubrey started texting me while I was working.”
“Hmmm.”
“I know Lyra said she has her morals, but maybe I could convince her to have a threesome since dating her is a waste of time.” He smacked his teeth. “Aubrey likes women, too. She’d love it.” His bottle angled toward me. “Don’t look so pissed, you can join, or swap after like we’ve done before.”
“Not. Interested.”
Jamie continued over my words. “You know, I might settle for Lyra, though. A petite body like that, and that ass? And to hear she’s inexperienced.” I stood and turned for the hall, the tin box denting in my hands.
“Poker tonight—don’t forget!” Jamie called out right before I slammed my bedroom door shut.
Tousling my damp hair, I secured a towel around my waist with my other hand and went into my bedroom. My steps faltered as I glanced through the window—still, no Crown Vic.
Interesting.
Maybe she’d skipped town, but I saw the look she gave me when my cock was inches from her lips—she had no plans of backing out. Not that easily. She’d be back.
In front of my desk, my entire body froze, my eyes narrowing on what lay on the surface. On top of the dark-stained wood was what remained of a blunt—one I hadn’t rolled. The note situated directly under it piqued my interest more—
Image of a note, which reads: Carver, Stay the fuck back and I won’t burn your facility to the ground. XO Lyra 3
The signature stuck true to her nature—a heart with a burn mark scorched through it.
I smiled, tucking the paper into the drawer before bringing the blunt to my lips and sparking it with the lighter that had been left right beside the note.
The threat . Little Ly was in my house, under my fucking roof, and had the nerve to not only steal from my personal supply but also threaten to rid me of my livelihood.
The drawer refused to shut as I nudged it with my hip, the documents inside almost as useless as that cute little note was. She deserved more than what I’d done to her. I refrained from shoving my cock into that lying mouth of hers earlier, but now—now, there was no holding back.
Something rattled to the floor right as a glint caught in the corner of my vision.
I bent down and reached for it with little thought, then jolted my hand back.
Sliding the chair from the desk with my now-bloody hand, more shards of curved glass fell to the floor, a faint lipstick stain smudged on what would have been the rim.
That sneaky bitch.
Lyra had never been good at giving in. If someone told her to do something, she’d fight it tooth-and-nail. I used to find it endearing—now, it just pissed me the fuck off. It was clear what path she’d chosen from our discussion in the kitchen, and neither were the options I gave.
My phone lit up with a message, the words, ‘FRAUD PREVENTION’ being the only reason why I spared it a second glance. My fingers curled in, the blood winding its way around my knuckles as I noticed my wallet sitting all-too-neatly on top of my dresser.
With my unharmed hand, I ripped the drawer back open and sifted the papers out, my smile twisting with a new thought—a way to kill two birds with one stone.
I shuffled her note back out and flipped it over, then pulled out a pen.
As I scribbled, I mouthed the words I was writing in anger, causing the blunt to bounce up and down between my lips.
This would either be the stupidest fucking thing I’d ever done, or the most brilliant. And it had been there, staring me in the face like a sign from my dear, dead parents.
If Lyra Thomas thought my roommate or any outside factor would protect her from me, she had another thing coming.