*** ~~SLOANE~~ *** As soon as the door shuts behind Knox, I realize how cold the weather actually is. The air nips at my bare skin, prickling goosebumps across my arms and legs, raising every fine hair in protest. Knox had been my heat—his body, his mouth, his hands, his presence. Now that he’s gone, he’s taken all of it with him. Shivering, I get up from the chair and walk stiffly toward the heap of clothes tossed over the other seat. There’s a wetness between my legs that makes my steps stickier than they should be. I reach down and tug my ruined panties from where they’re bunched against my inner thigh. Wrapping the lace and the vibrator in a tissue, I shove them deep into my purse. My fingers brush against my phone, and I pull it out. The screen lights up. Missed calls. So many of them. And texts. Finn. I bite my lip and scroll through the list. ‘Where are you?’ ‘Sloane, please answer.’ ‘Tell me you’re okay.’ ‘I’m calling the police if I don’t hear from you in five
*** ~~FINN~~ *** To be honest, the words sounded a lot better in my head when I formed them. There’s a difference between planning the perfect conversation and actually speaking it out loud. Sloane’s eyes are locked on me now, narrowed. I’d been searching for the cleanest way to honor Knox’s deal, because I know my brother—he’s unhinged, and he meant every word he said. So I have to do this. Let Sloane go. Even if it’s just for now. Knox’s obsessions don’t last long. They burn bright and fast, and then they’re gone. He’ll move on. I’ll get Sloane back. And Delilah—Delilah will be mine once again. That’s how this plays out. That’s how it’s supposed to play out. But I can’t do it. I can’t. The moment I picture Sloane not speaking to me, not sitting beside me, not texting me to tell me how stupid I am, not looking at me like I’m still some kind of good—it’s like the air’s been sucked out of the car. My chest tightens. My breath shortens. She’s been my only real friend for years. T
*** ~~KNOX~~ *** I can hear Hunter retching his guts out in the bathroom, each heave a reminder that last night did its job. That’s how you know the bachelor party was a success—when the groom wakes up barely human, hungover, and halfway questioning every decision that led to this moment. We both got back late. Way after the rehearsal dinner ended. The after-party spiraled into something else entirely—shots of things I couldn’t name, groomsmen and strangers dragging us into different corners of the bar, music too loud to remember what it meant to have coherent thoughts. I have a strong stomach. Always have. But even I pushed my limit last night. Now I’m sprawled across Hunter's hotel room’s couch, one leg hanging off the edge, half-covered with a throw blanket I don’t remember grabbing. The air conditioner hums too cold. The light filtering through the curtains is too bright. My head doesn’t hurt, but it’s heavy. The bathroom door creaks open. Hunter emerges, pale and damp
*** ~~SLOANE~~ *** I don't think I can see beyond the cloud of rage in front of my eyes. I stand still, arms folded over my chest, watching the two of them—Knox and Hunter—staring each other down like opponents in a ring. Knox’s face, as always, is unreadable. Hunter, on the other hand, looks… tired and confused. Today isn't turning out as I expected it to. It's coming with a lot of anger. It started the moment I opened my eyes to find someone beneath me. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. But when I turned, ready to fight, ready to scream or hit or run, I saw Finn. Lying on my bed like he belonged there. Said he couldn’t sleep. Said he needed to talk. That was when he told me. That Knox had asked him to end our friendship. Because Knox wanted me. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Just grabbed whatever clothes I could find, yanked them on, and demanded one thing: tell me where Hunter is staying. Finn knew. Delilah had mentioned it while her tongue was apparently halfwa
His hand moves quickly to my shorts, unzipping them and pushing his hand inside through my pants until he finds my heat. He draws moisture from there to my clit and begins circling. I'm panting and moaning now, my body moving to the rhythm of his touch. "Our bet?" I manage to gasp out. "Have you forgotten so soon? We made a bet. Wedding doesn't happen, you become mine." I shake my head, trying to clear the fog of lust that's clouding my thoughts. "Those were not the terms. You said you'd chase me." "Same difference.” “I have to go talk to him. To Hunter. He can't stop the wedding." "I think you've done enough talking today, Kitten," he says, his fingers no longer torturing my clit but pushing inside me. I can feel my body responding, my hips pressing back against him, seeking more of his touch. "You came here to call me a terrible person for wanting to destroy my friend's wedding, a wedding with a woman who doesn't deserve him. But you're insisting the wedding must happen,
I stare at him. Knox is sitting at the edge of the bed, his dick hard and glistening, his eyes fixed on me. I know what he wants me to do. I know what I want too—my body still aches with the emptiness he left in me, a slow, smoldering burn where his fingers and length had been. “Can we talk about this afterwards?” I ask, trying to bargain the only way my faltering senses allow. He smiles. “No.” Then he bends and starts peeling his shoes off, letting each fall with a dull thud against the hardwood floor. His socks follow. His fingers go to his pants next, sliding them down, taking his boxers with them, never once standing. For the first time, I catch a glimpse of his thighs. Muscular, with veins mapping their way down to his calves. Once the pants and boxers are on the floor, he pinches the condom, takes it off, ties it, and tosses it to the floor beside the heap of clothes. I don't once look away. My eyes are stuck to the thick length between his legs, the way it twitches. The v
I climb up after him, swing a leg over his face, and plant my knees on either side of his head. Then I go down a little. “When I say sit, you fucking smother me. Do you understand?” “Yes,” I whisper. I start to lower myself again, hesitating just enough that my center brushes his nose. “You’re not listening,” he growls. Then he grips my hips and pulls me all the way down. The first swipe of his tongue makes my thighs tremble. I grind against him without thinking, moaning as his mouth devours me. He doesn’t lick. He feasts. Tongue flat and firm, then pointed and teasing. My hips start moving on their own, rubbing me deeper into his face. He groans into me, and I nearly collapse. Lifting me up a little, he says, “Put my dick in your mouth, Sloane.” I lean forward, reach between us, and take him back in my mouth. And just like that, I’m riding his tongue while sucking him, pleasure coursing through me in every direction. He starts fucking me with his tongue, deep and slow, the
Almost an hour later, I’m in Knox's car, staring at the imposing building of his parents’ house. I’m supposed to walk in and end what’s left of my friendship with Finn. But I don’t move. Back at the hotel, I’d been so comfortable enjoying the back and forth between me and Knox. It had been easy to pretend the world didn’t exist when it was just us, tangled in bedsheets and breathless moans—Knox, it seems, only needs a few minutes to regain his erection after blowing a load, which had been exhaustingly pleasurable. But at some point, he announced that his chartered jet was leaving for New York in two hours. And just like that, reality sank in. No more denial. No more playful distractions. The time had come. I haven’t been able to say much since the beginning of the drive here. Not since he turned the key and started the engine. My mind’s been a mess of noise and silence, one crashing against the other until all I could do was stare out the window. I have to do this. End things
Just like that, the desire drains from Knox's face. “Hard?” he says. “He’s clearly not doing well with me leaving. And it's understandable. I’ve been the only constant in his life for years. He hardly goes home. He doesn’t have you. He doesn’t have friends. Just me. And Delilah, of course. Who knows what he’ll do next? He could get himself incarcerated or worse. He needs help, Knox. Not threats. Not more trauma.” His jaw flexes. “What are you saying exactly?” “I’m saying let me get him the help he needs. There's no rule that states I can't date one brother and help the other.” “Sloane—” “Come on. I won't be able to live with myself if he does something he can't come back from. He's crazy. I should have known he'd not take this well. He doesn’t cope well with abandonment. I just need to make sure he gets therapy.” “You mean get institutionalized?” “Please?” Knox sighs and looks away, muttering something I don’t catch. But when he turns back, I know it already. He’s not going
*** ~~SLOANE~~ *** I walk into the room slowly, my feet soft on the linoleum. My eyes are fixed on Knox’s hand as it releases Finn’s casted arm. Neither of them answers my question. Not with words. But the silence is loud enough to fill the space between them. Finn’s perched on the very edge of the bed now, his body angled like he was trying to get away. His uninjured hand clutches the edge of the mattress. Knox is standing above him, jaw set, eyes unreadable, his hand just now slipping back into his pocket like nothing happened. But I know what I saw. Knox had been bent forward when I walked in, squeezing Finn's injured arm. At some point, one of them will have to spill what history lies between them. Because this—whatever it is—doesn't seem like it has anything to do with Finn taking Delilah from Knox, which had been my initial guess. You can feel it—that one of them hurt the other a long time ago, and they’ve both been carrying it ever since. But whatever it was, it wasn’
“Bunny,” I breathe, crossing the distance in a few long strides and pulling her straight to my chest. She melts into me. Just folds into my body like she belongs there. No hesitation. I kiss her forehead, bending slightly because she’s always smaller without her heels. “It’s not your fault,” I murmur. “Shit happens.” “I left him,” she whispers. “I knew how psychotic he can get when he feels abandoned. Yet I left.” “You had to. People meet, and they part ways.” She pulls back, eyes red-rimmed but clear. “I’m going to make sure he gets help.” I brush her bangs out of her face, fingers lingering on her temple. “Of course. He’ll get all the help he needs. I’ll see to that.” She nods. Her eyes search mine like she’s looking for something final in them. Some reassurance. “Should we call your parents?” she asks. “He broke an arm, right?” “Yes. And he’s concussed.” “Can he talk?” “Yeah.” “Can he move?” “Yes.” “He’ll survive. Just wait down the hall for me, alright? I gotta ch
I exhale. “Just our usual problems. You know how it is.” She's still skeptical but nods. “Alright. So who do I need to call? Your mom? Your dad?” I shake my head. “No. Don’t. My family’s far away. There’s no need to make them panic and hop on a plane. You’re my only friend here.” I meet her eyes. “You’re enough.” She hesitates. Her gaze drops to the floor, then back to me. “I’ll call Knox.” “No!” Too fast. “I have to let someone know,” she says. “Just relax, Finn. Lay back.” I watch her pull out her phone and walk toward the hallway. My stomach sinks. This isn’t going as planned. She’s supposed to sit here. Feed me jello. Fluff my pillow. Cry a little maybe. Re-forge the bond I’ve been trying to drag back together since the wedding fell apart. But instead, she’s dialing him. And just before she walks out of earshot, I hear her say: “Hey, babe. So, um, your brother got in an accident and—” I close my eyes. Shit. Knox is going to come. He’ll hear Sloane’s voice. Hear tha
*** ~~FINN~~ *** Delilah hasn’t stopped glaring at me. She’s sitting to my left in the only visitor chair in the room, arms crossed so tightly across her chest I’m half-convinced she’s trying to fold herself in half. Her legs are angled away from me, but her eyes—they haven’t moved. Not once. Not since the doctor gave her visitation clearance. “Could you stop with the looks, please?” I grumble, adjusting myself on the hospital bed. My arm is immobilized in a heavy-duty sling, wrapped and elevated with what feels like ten pounds of gauze and Velcro. “I’m already in pain as it stands. I don’t need you breathing down my neck.” Delilah only glares harder. “I could go to jail for what I did,” she says. “No, you won’t. I asked you to do it. It was my decision.” She looks away for the first time, fingers threading through her hair as she rubs her temple. Her voice comes quieter. Tighter. “Still doesn’t change the fact that I stupidly agreed to break your arm with a hammer and
I set my bag down on the couch and sink into the seat.Mom turns sideways. Her eyes are soft but expectant. Waiting for something.An answer.A promise.A miracle, maybe.‘Meet someone new.’Like it’s that simple.Like I’ll just show up to this magical barbecue, beam a dazzling smile at some guy, and he’ll be The One.A perfect suburban fantasy.God.The worst part is…I know she’s not completely wrong.Being with Knox might be dangerous. The man himself is a danger. I can feel it every time he looks at me with those eyes—heavy-lidded and full of promises that don’t look anything like good intentions. He’s into something dark; that's for sure. I can feel it in my bones.Something he won’t talk about.And I’ve seen enough movies to know how this goes.It’s always the girlfriend who ends up kidnapped by the main character’s rival, drowned in a bathtub, or shot through the heart in a drive-by—because she loved the wrong man.But Knox never pretended he was good.Not once.And I…I accep
*** ~~SLOANE~~ *** Today turned out to be more productive than I anticipated. I wish I could say this renewed vigor for work has anything to do with Knox screwing me against a closet earlier today. No. As far as I know, thinking about Knox being inside me is my biggest source of distraction. Not my proudest moment, but I spent half the day quietly plotting how I might steal Knox’s phone and hack into it. Funny, isn’t it? How picturing yourself stealing your boyfriend’s phone—and actively contemplating breaking about a hundred cybersecurity ethics to hack into it—can light a fire under your ass. Normal people would just ask their boyfriends about the things they wanted to know. Normal boyfriends would actually answer. But no. Knox Hartley is about as tight-lipped as a CIA agent under torture. And the inquisitive part of me? Yeah, she’s not resting until she cracks him open. As I drive back toward my apartment, I run through the possibilities like I’m prepping a heist: —
I pull into a discreet driveway tucked between two abandoned buildings and kill the engine. Inside, I nod once at the receptionist—part security, part front-desk illusion—and head for the private elevator at the back. Swipe my black access card across the scanner. The elevator hums to life and carries me down. The second the doors slide open, the air changes. Denser. Warmer. The basement is packed, even in the middle of a weekday. People lean against dark wood-paneled walls, sipping drinks that cost more than most people’s rent. Some wear masks. Others don’t bother. Laughter spills from private rooms—throaty, dark laughter punctuated by the occasional sharp slap of skin against skin. There’s a constant low thrum of music, more vibration than sound, designed to stir the blood without distracting from the real show. I move through it without blinking. A man is on his knees in a glass room to the right, hands cuffed behind his back, while a woman in leather heels circles him
I stare at Knox, impatiently awaiting an answer. My heart thuds too fast for how casual I’m trying to look. He keeps his gaze ahead, fingers flexing once against the steering wheel before settling again. “Because I’m certified to carry it,” he says. I frown, not satisfied. “Okay. But why do you have it in your car?” “Where else should it be?” “Hidden at home? You know. Somewhere people can’t just… see it?” He finally turns his head to look at me, that unreadable expression back in place. The one that makes me feel like he’s dissecting me, deciding whether I’m someone who deserves answers or just another person he’ll keep at arm’s length. “You stole my keys to get into my glove box,” he says. “You think I let people sit in my car by themselves?” I feel my cheeks heat, guilt pooling low in my gut. Touché, Knox. I turn my head away, facing the window. Fine. I might have crossed a line. But he’s still the one walking around with a weapon like we’re in an action movie. A part