Page 91 of Rule the Night

My breath was shallow as I watched, my dick so hard it was painful, and for a minute I let myself believe I was Poe, buried in her pussy, that she was swallowing my come instead of Remy’s.

It was as close as I would ever let myself get to her. As close as I would ever get to admitting how much I wanted her.

And even that was dangerous as fuck.

57

MAEVE

It was Friday night,and the Mill was packed when Bailey and I got there even though it was just after 9 p.m.

It was a cozy place with dark-paneled walls and white lights that reflected off the old tin ceiling in one of Blackwell’s historic buildings. We wound our way through the crowd, looking for a table, jostled every step of the way by a crowd of rowdy guys who looked like they were probably from Aventine.

Bailey turned to roll her eyes at me and I knew exactly what she was thinking: just what we needed, a bunch of rich college kids out on the town.

We were about to give up and head for the bar when a group near the back got up to leave. Bailey practically lunged for their table, no small feat in the sky-high heels she’d paired with a white bodycon dress that showed off every one of her banging curves.

“Huckleberry Twists?” Bailey shouted over the music after we’d gotten settled.

It was a signature drink in Blackwell Falls thanks to the huckleberries that grew wild in the mountains, and I was more than ready for a little liquid amnesia.

“Definitely, but I can go!”

She laughed. “It’s your birthday! Be right back.”

It wasn’t technically my birthday until tomorrow, but it was sweet that she wanted to take me out to celebrate, and it felt good to be out on the town with my bestie for the first time in weeks.

I hadn’t had an opportunity to dress up since I’d moved in with the Butchers, and I’d paired a white cropped T-shirt with a plunging neckline with my red leather miniskirt and heeled boots.

Poe’s eyes had just about popped out of his head when I’d come downstairs to leave, and Remy had let his video-game guy die without batting an eyelash as he’d stared.

Bram hadn’t even looked up.

Because of course he hadn’t.

I hadn’t bothered telling them it was my birthday tomorrow. What would be the point? It wasn’t like we were friends.

We hadn’t spoken about what had happened at the apple orchard, something I’d taken to thinking of as simplythe incident, because I didn’t know what else to call the total lapse in judgement that had caused me to fuck one of the Butchers outside in broad daylight and give another one a blow job while the third watched.

I was dying to tell Bailey, but the truth was, I had no idea what she’d say, or worse, what she’d think but not say. I was in unchartered waters and I wasn’t even sure I wanted a compass.

I touched the gold collar, grateful it passed for a choker with my outfit. Bailey hadn’t been happy to see me still wearing it, but at least she hadn’t said anything.

I was bopping to a song that made me think of high school when some random guy dropped into the seat next to me.

He leaned in. “Hey!”

He was cute, with short dark hair and dimples that made him look a little boyish. He wore dark jeans and a fitted button-down. Gold chains shimmered around his neck, and he was exactly the kind of guy I would have been attracted to before I’d moved in with three tattooed, muscled monsters who looked like they could tear him apart with their bare hands.

“Hey.” I gave him a mild smile, not wanting to encourage the attention. I had more than enough men in my life at the moment.

“You look like you need a drink,” he yelled over the music.

“I’m good.”

He lifted his eyebrows. “What was that?”

I leaned in so he could hear me. “I’m good. My friend’s at the bar.”