Chapter six

Claire’s POV

The brunch at Mom’s house felt like walking through a minefield. Every laugh, every casual glance between us sisters carried extra weight now. Evelyn’s questions in the backyard still burned in my ears. Is there something going on I should know about? I’d barely managed to deflect her before Lila dropped her little bomb about having a new boyfriend. Lila. Sweet, reckless Lila. If she only knew how complicated “boyfriends” could get in this family.

I left Mom’s place as soon as I could politely escape, my mind replaying the storage room from the night before—Marcus’s hands on my body, the way he filled me so completely, the raw need that refused to die no matter how many times I told myself it was wrong. My thighs still ached faintly from how hard he’d taken me.

My phone buzzed as I climbed into my car. Marcus.

Marcus: Need to see you. Tonight. Usual place.

I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. Sophie’s warning from the parking lot echoed in my head. End it tonight or I’ll tell Evelyn everything. But the thought of walking away from Marcus felt impossible. He was the only thing that made me feel alive in this suffocating family dynamic.

I texted back a single word: Okay.

Hours later, I found myself back at the country club after dark. The place was quieter now, most members gone. Marcus waited for me in the same dimly lit storage room, door locked behind us the second I stepped inside. He didn’t waste time with words. He pushed me against the wall, mouth crashing into mine in a hungry kiss. His hands roamed greedily under my sundress, finding me already wet for him.

     “Couldn’t stop thinking about you all day,” he growled, shoving my dress up to my waist. 

He dropped to his knees, spreading my legs and burying his face between them. His tongue licked broad stripes over my pussy before focusing on my clit, sucking hard. I moaned, fingers tangling in his hair as my hips bucked against his mouth.

      “Marcus… fuck…” 

The pleasure was sharp and immediate. He devoured me like a starving man, two fingers sliding deep inside me, curling to hit that spot that made my knees weak. I came fast and hard, biting my lip to stifle my cries. He stood, spinning me around to face the wall. I heard his zipper, then felt the thick head of his cock pressing against my entrance. He thrust in hard, burying himself to the hilt in one stroke. I gasped at the stretch, the fullness. He fucked me relentlessly, one hand over my mouth, the other gripping my hip as he pounded into me.

      “This pussy is mine,” he rasped against my ear with every deep thrust. “Say it.”

     “It’s yours,” I whimpered, pushing back to meet him. 

The sound of skin slapping skin filled the small room. He reached around to rub my clit again, driving me toward another orgasm. We came together this time—him groaning as he spilled deep inside me, me trembling and clenching around his cock. For a few moments, the only sound was our heavy breathing. But as he pulled out and I felt his cum drip down my leg, reality crashed back harder than ever.

     “We need to be more careful,” I whispered, fixing my dress with shaky hands. “Sophie knows. She confronted me last night. She has proof.”

Marcus’s face darkened. He ran a hand through his hair. 

     “Fuck. That bitch. What did she want?”

     “To end it. Or she’ll tell Evelyn.”

He pulled me close again, kissing me slower this time. 

     “We’ll handle her. I’m not losing you, Claire. Not over this.”

His words should have scared me. Instead, they sent a twisted thrill through my chest. I was in too deep. We both were.

As I left the club through the side exit, heart still racing, I spotted a familiar car parked across the street. Evelyn’s car. The driver’s side window was down, and even from a distance I could see her silhouette. She was watching the club entrance. My blood turned to ice. How long had she been there? Did she see me leave? I ducked back into the shadows, pulse hammering. The perfect sister was starting to crack—and I was terrified of what she might uncover if she kept digging.