Page 47 of Wicked Games (Silvercrest U #1)

I toss a glance at Killian. I don’t know why my first instinct is to look to him or why I feel like I need permission to touch Jace, but his pleased smile and the little nod he gives me make my insides go warm with more of those annoying, gooey feelings.

Still feeling a bit off-kilter, I step closer to Jace and run the backs of my fingers over his cheek. His skin is butter-soft and as smooth as glass while also having a springy and firm texture that half the girls I know would kill for.

“Jesus,” I mutter. “That is a close shave. Let me guess, you don’t even have a skincare routine, and this is all natural.”

He grins and leans back against the couch. “Does washing my face and wearing sunscreen count as a routine?”

“How about we get back to what went down with William?” Killian says. “And we can trade beauty secrets later.”

I shoot Killian an apologetic look, but he just pats the cushion of the settee next to him.

“The thing with Natalie was going on for almost six weeks,” Jax says as I sit next to Killian.

He puts the thermos, bottle, and one of the muffins in front of me, his attention on the twins. “Six weeks?”

Jace nods.

“And we found this over his door.” Jax holds up a tiny camera that’s no bigger than a pencil eraser. “Like he said last night, he was using it to keep track of when you were home so he could sneak Goldfucker Barbie in and out of his room.”

Killian’s expression is stony, but he’s not nearly as pissed off as I would have expected after hearing that.

One thing about Killian is that he can quite literally flip his feelings for someone off and never look back. When he’s done with someone, he’s done with them. They couldn’t be more dead to him if they actually died, and his lack of an emotional response shows just how over Natalie he is.

Still feeling like I’m about to get yelled at, I carefully unscrew the top of the thermos and peer inside. It’s filled with bone broth, and the savory scent helps settle more of my nerves as I take a sip.

Again I have to remind myself to not read into the gesture. Them bringing me this is the same thing as them bringing Killian a coffee. It means nothing beyond them being observant as fuck and knowing my preferences.

“That’s how he was able to recognize Felix at the party. He saw him come out of your room and what mask he was wearing.” Jax puts the camera on the table.

“I was wondering about that,” I say and drink down some of the warm broth. “How he was able to pick me out like that when I never took my mask off or anything.”

“We also learned that he had his phone on him, and that’s how he knew about you leaving the room. So that’s another rule he broke. And he took a video of you,” Jace says, giving me a pointed look as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a butterfly knife.

The casual way he snaps it open and flips it around his fingers is as impressive as it is scary, and I can’t help wondering how many times he cut himself while he was learning how to do it.

“What?” Killian asks flatly. “A video?”

“Yup,” Jax says. “He took it as proof so he could show his side bitch. He thought it would be a good idea to fuck him up so he could go brag to her about how he’s a big baddie and can protect her or whatever the fuck he was babbling about when we questioned him.”

“What was the video?” I ask.

“It wasn’t bad,” Jax assures me. “It was just you sitting against the wall while they were kicking in.”

“We deleted it before anyone else saw it,” Jace adds. “Dumbass hid his phone after he left you alone in there, but we got him to tell us exactly where it was and took care of it.”

“Thanks,” I say with a small smile.

“Did you learn anything else?” Killian tips his head back and drinks down the rest of his coffee.

I watch his Adam’s apple bob and his throat muscles work as he swallows.

A memory of Killian sucking me off and swallowing my load this morning hits out of nowhere, and my body tightens uncomfortably as my dick goes half-hard.

Being as subtle as possible, I squeeze my thighs together and try to will my dick to deflate before anyone notices that I’m getting hard just from watching Killian drink his coffee.

“Nothing helpful,” Jax says.

“And it looks like the whole dosing Felix thing really was his intrusive thoughts winning,” Jace adds. “He had the mix in his pocket for later, saw Felix, and carped the diem, as one does when they’re a giant pussy whipped manbaby with fewer IQ points than the dump I took this morning.”

I snicker into my thermos.

Jace shoots me a quick grin.

“Did you tell him about the recordings we have?” Killian asked.

They both shake their heads.

“Recordings?” I ask, looking between them.

“Of their library fuck fests,” Jax explains. “They were smart enough to use a blind spot when it came to the security cams but too dumb to realize they were being filmed from the next aisle over.”

“Drink that.” Jace points to the bottle as I screw the top back on the thermos. “It’ll help with the comedown later.”

Dutifully, I pick up the bottle and uncap it so I can take a sip. It tastes like the last hangover cure they gave me, but there’s a sweet undertone that makes it easier to drink.

“So all of this was just William trying to be a big hero and get laid.” Killian peels the wrapping off one of the muffins and tosses it on the coffee table.

The twins nod.

“We’ll let my dad handle this one.” He tears his muffin in half and wordlessly hands me the top. “Anything new on the other front?”

I look between him and the muffin half in my hands as Killian takes a bite of his. It’s one of the banana ones from the dining hall. I haven’t tried one yet, and I take a tiny bite.

I expected it to be overly sweet and have the same texture as cake, but it’s dense and savory with a cinnamon base. Pleasantly surprised, I take a bigger bite, only then noticing how hungry I am.

“Nothing so far.” Jace opens and closes his switchblade a few times, his movements jerky and sharp but no less skilled. “I’m getting close to nailing this guy. I can feel it. But nothing yet.”

“How long until we have to leave?” Killian asks.

Jax pulls his phone out of his pocket and checks the screen. “Another hour.”

“Can I ask you guys something?” I say to the twins.

“Sure,” Jace says at the same time Jax nods.

“How are you so chipper this morning? Do you just not get hangovers?”

“We get them,” Jace says.

“Especially this one.” Jax hooks his thumb at his brother.

“But you’re not hungover this morning?”

“Nope.” Jace grins. “Because we stayed sober.”

“Really?” I look between them.

Jax nods. “Yup. We always stay sober when we’re in groups or crowds.”

“Parties are fun, but we don’t get fucked up around people we don’t know or implicitly trust,” Jace adds.

“What?” I look between them again. “I’ve seen you guys fucked up before.”

“Where did you see that?” Jace asks knowingly.

“At the house…”

“Exactly. We were somewhere we knew and with people we trust,” Jax says.

“But I was there,” I shoot Killian a confused look.

He chuckles and rubs my thigh. “Come on, kitten. You’re smart. You can figure this one out.”

“You trust me?” I ask the twins, half convinced they’re going to laugh and tell me that of course they don’t trust me. I just happened to be there, and they didn’t factor me into their plans.

“Ding ding ding.” Jace pretends to ring a bell.

I’m about to ask how that’s possible when they didn’t even like me back then when there’s a sharp knock on our door.

“Killian?” a female voice shouts from the hall.

Killian’s eyes go dark with anger. It doesn’t take three guesses to know who that is.

“Killian,” Natalie shouts again. “Open the door. I need to talk to you.”

Killian starts to stand, but I stop him by putting my hand on his arm. “Let me answer it.”

His scowl melts into a grin, and he settles back on the settee.

“Oh, fuck yeah.” Jace grabs Jax’s phone out of his hand and taps on the screen a few times. “Here, put this in your pocket.” He extends it to me. The screen is lit up, and I can see that he’s turned the voice recorder on.

“I know you’re in there,” Natalie shouts and knocks on the door again.

“One second,” Killian shouts back as I take the phone and slip it into my pocket.

All three men are grinning as I stride over to the door and pull it open. “Can I help you?” I ask in my most prim and proper voice.

Natalie’s face twists up in anger. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“This is my room,” I point out and step into the hall with her, pulling the door until it’s almost closed behind me. Hopefully that’s enough for the guys to overhear us. “Where else am I going to be?”

She puts her hands on her hips and glares at me. “Where’s Killian?”

“In bed,” I lie. “What do you want?”

“I want to speak to my boyfriend,” she says hotly.

“ Ex -boyfriend,” I correct. “And he doesn’t want to talk to you.”

Her eyes narrow in a glare. “Get out of my way.”

“No.” I cross my arms.

She tries to grab the doorknob, but I step in front of it, so all she manages to do is smack me in the stomach. She snatches her hand back and cradles it against her chest like an injured bird.

“Are you about done with your tantrum?” I ask, keeping my tone even and my expression blank. “Because in case you haven’t gotten the hint, he’s done with you. So all of this begging and denial is just embarrassing.”

“I know it was you,” she hisses, still holding her hand like I tried to set it on fire and she didn’t just knock it against my abs. “I know you’re the reason he broke up with me.”

“And here I thought it was because you were fucking around on him.” I add a hint of humor to my tone just to piss her off.

Her face twists up in a sneer. “Kind of like how you were fucking your stepbrother while he was dating me ?”

“Is that what you think happened?” I ask in that mildly amused tone I know is driving her crazy.

“Are you denying it?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes widen in surprise. She obviously wasn’t expecting that answer.