Page 124 of The Cruelest Chaos

Ella knows, and she didn’t run. She didn’t leave. Ella knows the worst thing I ever did was born from love and ended in death.

She knows how this could end, and she still didn’t leave.

I grit my teeth, unable to look away from the tapestry.

And then I hear a voice.

“Maverick.”

My skin crawls. No. It can’t be.

“Maverick,” Sid says again, her voice a throaty whisper. I turn my head, cast my eyes around the dark room. But no one is here.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t real.

“Maverick, why won’t you look at me?” There’s a desperate whine to her voice and I close my eyes tight.

She’s at home. She’s with Ella.

They’re...safe.

Aren’t they?

Someone’s soft fingers circle around my wrists.

My eyes snap open, my breath coming out in a rush.

Sid.

Her silver eyes are big and sad. She’s kneeling against me, her fingers gripping me just above the rope. “Maverick, do you love me?”

She’s not here. She wouldn’t do this. She wouldn’t.

But she’s going to do so much worse.

My eyes dip down despite myself, and I see she’s wearing a black tank top, tight against her small frame. Her nipples are tented against the sheer fabric, and she has short black shorts on.

She lets go of one wrist, brings her hand to her thigh, sliding the silky material of her shorts up. Higher. And higher.

I can’t look away.

I can smell her.

Lavender.

I can nearly taste her as she pulls back her shorts, revealing the dark lace of her panties.

“Maverick, do you miss me?”

I don’t answer. I close my eyes.

I feel her grind against my fingers. She moans my name, pressing harder. And then I feel her against me, her slick, wet....

“Stop.”

She thrusts herself harder against my hand, her fingers digging into my wrist on one hand, the other presumably holding back the fabric of her underwear.