Page 54 of Reaper's Claim

“Please, you two had a whole evening of poker and drinking planned.” I crossed my arms. “Don’t lie; you followed me.”

“Whatever,” Kade walked off, and I turned to look back at Drake, who was nowhere near as good at lying as his brother.

“Well?”

Drake groaned, “It wasn’t like that, Abby, promise.” He decided instead of continuing a conversation, he would walk off and follow in the steps of his brother.

“You aren’t getting out of it that easy.” I followed him into the lounge. “You nearly ruined everything tonight, and you!” I pointed at Kade, “have no right to speak to me like that in front of people! Seriously, what the fuck was with that comment?”

Kade just shrugged his shoulders and turned his back on me.

I may have been mildly angry a few minutes ago, but his non-caring attitude made my temper rise to boiling in an instant. I grabbed his shoulder and pulled on it, forcing him to look at me.

“You’re disgusting, you know that?”

His eyes hardened. “Well, my opinion of you isn’t that high, either.”

“Would you two cut it the fuck out?” Drake yelled at us “You are both doing my head in!”

“Not my fault she is a fucking walking hormone attack. Just got to look at her and she goes for the kill,” Kade scoffed in my face while talking to Drake.

I clenched my fists at my side. “And what, you’re better, are you? You and your disgusting comments! Not to mention, you seem to just breathe fire on me when I walk into the room, and I am warning you now,” I pointed a finger at his chest while glaring up at him. “If you call me a whore one more time, I won’t be responsible for how I act.”

“THAT’S IT! I’m going out!” Drake roared and stormed out of the room.

Kade and I were too busy glaring each other off to watch him leave, but we knew he was gone when the door slammed.

“Now look what you’ve done, you’ve made my brother leave his own house.” Kade’s eyes were scorching. “Good one, Abby.”

“Oh fuck you, Kade! You are a selfish prick, and I don’t know what I saw in you.”

His eyes rolled with humor, “Come on, babe, you saw what every teenage girl sees, a man she shouldn’t have. You only wanted me to piss your old man off.”

My mouth fell open. “Do you really believe that?”

He nodded his head with determination in his eyes. “Come on, Abby, admit it to yourself! No one is here, just me, and fuck, I already know it, so go on and admit it.” He was towering over me, those eyes staring into mine.

“No.”

“Ashamed?”

“NO!”

“Then what the fuck is stopping you?” he roared down at me. For a split second, I think I saw hurt within his black-gray orbs, but that was until he threw his glass across the room.

I jumped at the sound of it shattering against the wall. His eyes were painted in rage while his face remained unreadable. “You never gave a shit, Abby, you just wanted to fuck me, to fuck off your old man, and ya did.”

All this time, this was what he thought? This was all he thought of me?

A lot of women would back down in this type of situation. Hell, the rage in his eyes would have men running, but me, well, I’m stubborn. I grabbed his arm, forcing his tee shirt sleeve up. “Would I have drawn this if you meant nothing to me?” My eyes glanced at the picture I drew him all those years ago. “You want the truth, Kade? You want me to admit it?” If he wanted to hear it, fine. What did I have to lose? I lost my pride a long time ago and my self-respect the morning I woke up alone.

“Ever since I was sixteen, I loved you. I fell for the one thing I knew I should never want. You think I used you?” I tilted my head up at him. My heart was burning just touching him, and yet I couldn’t pull my hand away. “I couldn’t breathe when you weren’t around and when you did show up, everything stopped, and all that mattered was you were there, and for those few days, everything felt right.” Hearing myself admit it only dug the hurt deeper. I was so stupid.

“I woke up alone in that motel, and it nearly killed me knowing that the one person I trusted that I loved, left.” My body was blanketed by the memory. “You didn’t break my heart, Kade.” My eyes swelled with tears. “You destroyed it.”

The anger I felt for him was nothing compared to the pain I carried because of him. The hours I had lost crying over him.

“Do you know the most depressing thing?” My eyes stared into his. “I would do it all again.” And that truly scared me.