Page 246 of The First Taste

Crossing my arms, I shoot him a glare. "It’s nice that you care about us enough to explain anything, Clive. But we’re not fools. We know exactly who Remy is."

Burn snorts but does not say anything. He just turns, looking for Daisy. She comes tripping down the hall, a greedy smile on her face. She throws herself into Burn’s arms.

I feel my own arms tensing. Not that long ago, I was the recipient of Daisy’s attention. Now I am just another bystander, sentenced to watch her fawn all over my twin. A sick feeling pervades my stomach, making me disgusted by everything I see.

Burn doesn’t even notice that I am watching. Instead, he grabs Daisy and swings her around, making the kind of eye contact that makes the rest of the world fade away. There are only Burn and Daisy in their happy little bubble.

"So? What was the meeting about?" Daisy asks, her voice excited.

"The old man declared that whichever of his grandsons marries and has a baby first gets the entire business. Since we're already engaged, that means that I’m going to run the company.” He gives her waist a squeeze. “You hear that? I’m going to run the company, baby."

She is less excited now, but still lets Burn hug her.

I notice that Burn doesn’t say any of the stuff about dead prostitutes in shipping containers to Daisy. Then again, if I were in his position, I wouldn’t either. I’m not even sure if Remy’s story is true.

He could just be playing us against each other, seeing who would do his bidding the fastest.

Daisy makes a kissy face and Burn leans in to kiss her, seemingly already lost in Daisy charms.

"You two idiots," I snarl. They turn and look at me, their eyebrows both rising in surprise. It’s like they really forgot that they were in front of an audience.

Daisy rolls her eyes delicately. "Dare…"

"You’re going to lose, Burn.”

Burn scowls at me, his neck heating slightly. "It sounds like you’re scared, Dare."

He kisses Daisy on the lips again, looking deep into her eyes once more. "Do not listen to his lunacy. He’s just a lone man, howling angrily into the wind."

She glances at me, then slides her eyes back to him. She grins and kisses his lips, smacking them passionately in a way that is overboard and disgustingly sugary. She hugs him, burying her face in his jacket. As soon as she is not looking, Burn looks dead at me and draws a finger across his throat, imitating a knife.

I shake my head, not interested in inflicting their happiness upon myself anymore. I leave the estate, huffing all the while, more determined than ever that I will destroy their relationship. I will get Talia on tape, describing the sex with Burn. Then I will show it to Daisy and sit back as Daisy rejects Burn.

Then I’ll figure out if any of this dead prostitutes business even happened and decide what to do about it from there.

I leave the house and get into my Porsche, gunning the engine and heading towards town.

Twelve

Talia

Aweek later, Dare tracks me down. I’ve already not been feeling well all day. Hot, cold, cranky, tearful... I just need a day to myself. Maybe a little rest to get over this cold or flu thing. But instead, I have pulled several all-nighters at Hope House, filling in for last-minute call-outs of employees. On top of that, I have been working both my bookstore job and my side job as a hostess, trying desperately to pull in any extra money possible.

I didn’t have what I considered to be an easy life before this. But ever since I found out that Aunt Minnie owes money to her loan sharks, I have been living in my own personal hell.

I step out of the bookstore with my head down, wondering what I have to do to get myself, Minnie, and Hope House out of this terrible situation that we are in. I’m not really looking where I’m going, so when I barrel straight into a wall of black wool, I look up. An apology is already on my lips.

"I’m sorry…"

Dare looks down at me, smirking, his blue-green gaze seeming to penetrate right through me. My stomach flips over, like I might be a little bit nauseous. He reaches out and steadies me, his thick arms going around my waist. I look up at his handsome face, feeling a hum of attraction.

God, I almost forgot how handsome he is. But in the next second, he reminds me that he’s still a rich prick.

"There you are, darling girl. I’ve been looking for you." He flashes me a knowing smirk. I have to resist the urge to slap that expression off his face.

I jerk my chin up, looking at him defiantly. "Yeah, I’ve been avoiding you. It’s easy enough. I just have to stay clear of the Raven’s Head Club."

His lips twitch. "You’re confusing me with Burn. I don’t frequent the Raven’s Head Club very often. But nonetheless, I have been looking for you."