Page 77 of Reaper and Ruin

I had one arm on the center console and steered with the other.

Levi also rested his arm in the middle, our pinky fingers brushing with each bump of the road.

I wanted to link my finger around his. To hold his hand.

But I couldn’t make myself move.

I’d kissed him. Sucked his cock. Had him inside me. And yet, why did I feel like I couldn’t just hold my finger around his? Why was that so much harder than anything else?

“You okay?” Levi asked quietly.

I glanced over at him. “Yeah, fine.”

“You want me to drive for a bit?”

I shook my head. “I’m good.” I swallowed. “Sorry about what I said before.”

He frowned. “What did you say?”

I shrugged. “You know, about having someone else to take care of my…needs.”

Understanding washed over Levi’s face. “Oh. That. It’s fine.”

“It was presumptuous. We aren’t in a relationship…”

I wanted to swear as soon as the words were out. What the fuck was I doing? It felt a lot like testing him, hoping he’d disagree with me.

Which was just a surefire way to hurt my own damn feelings.

A blush rose up Levi’s neck. “Yeah, right. Of course. No need to make a big deal out of it and tell everyone our business.”

He pulled his hand away and turned to stare out his window, clearly not wanting to talk about it anymore.

I put my hand back on the steering wheel, clenching it with all ten fingers and cursing myself for saying anything. I didn’t need Levi to publicly acknowledge what we were doing behind closed doors, both with and without Violet. He was right, it wasn’t anyone else’s business.

I knew better than anyone that sex was just sex. It didn’t have to have meaning behind it. It didn’t have to come with the sort of relationship where you held hands across the center console.

Levi was hot. My dick liked him. It didn’t have to be more complicated than that.

Then why did I feel so fucking hurt and disappointed?

Iknew we’d found the right place before the GPS told us.

The house was huge—wide, white, and symmetrical, with black window frames and a front door that probably weighed more than Levi’s bike. A gardener in a beige jumpsuit trimmed rosebushes outside the imposing gates that probably cost more than my entire house and kept out any uninvited guests.

Like the four of us, peering out the windows of the car.

“Holy shit,” X muttered. “Are we here to find Nyah or apply to be adopted? This place is massive.”

Dax had decided to drive himself, the only other option being the space in the middle back seat between X and Violet. I rolled down my window when he stopped beside us.

He dropped his passenger-side window so we could talk. “This is it?”

I nodded. “According to the records X’s brother found, this is their last known address.”

Dax nodded, gung-ho determination in his dark-brown eyes. “Let’s go then.”

I raised a hand. “Let us go first, okay? You follow.”