Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“There weren’t six different clubs at the other parties,” Cian said slowly, staring at me like I had two heads. “Every other party you’ve been to has been mostly just club members.”
“And?” I muttered.
“And?” he asked in disbelief.
“I was on club grounds,” I blurted. “I should’ve been safe.”
“What planet are you fuckin’ livin’ on?” he asked with a defeated sigh. “Jesus Christ, Myla. You’re actin’ like you didn’t grow up in the life.”
“Am I wrong?”
“A couple of those clubs?” Cian shook his head. “You don’t wanna know what they’re into. But they brought their women, so we brought our women—show of good faith while we were discussin’ boundaries and a bunch of other shit you don’t need to know. What woulda happened if that motherfucker had succeeded and raped you, Myla? Huh?”
I just stared at him.
“I woulda fuckin’ killed him,” he answered for me. “Then I woulda had a target on my back—and a target on my back is a target on every single Ace. Negotiations over. Truce is fuckin’ gone. All because you couldn’t keep your fuckin’ head straight and read a goddamn room.”
“It’s not like I gave him any indication—”
“You’re single, and you were dancin’ on every fuckin’ surface at the club.”
“And whose fault is that?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“You implyin’ it’s my fault that you were drunk and shakin’ your ass?” he asked dubiously.
“No,” I ground out. “I’m implying that it’s your fault I’m single.”
His head jerked back like I’d slapped him. Like he was surprised. Like it hadn’t even occurred to him.
“If you would’ve claimed me years ago,” I said, my voice shaking. “Instead of acting like a fucking coward, that guy would’ve never followed me outside.”
“We’re friends, Myla,” Cian murmured with a grimace.
The words hit with the force of a hurricane, and I nearly stumbled backward. Until the party a few weeks before, Cian and I had seen each other almost every day. We spoke all day long, even when we were at work. We’d partied together, slept in the same bed more times than I could count, and talked about all the shit we didn’t share with anyone else. We’d even fooled around a few times, though it hadn’t gotten very far.
Cian knew me better than anyone, even my best friends. He was my person.
“Right,” I croaked. My entire body felt like it had been filled with lead. My feet were too heavy to lift. My hands were numb.
“Myla, come on—”
“This shit isn’t entertaining anymore,” Frankie said flatly, getting to her feet. “It’s time for you to go.”
“Myla,” Cian said quietly, ignoring her. “You know I care about you.”
I let out a choked noise, but I didn’t know if it was from pain or the sheer disbelief that he’d actually spoken the cliché words.
“And,” Lou sang out, her voice laced with irritation. “Now I’m telling you. Leave, Cian.”
“This is between me and Myla,” he argued.
“Huh,” Lou said, stomping toward us. “And here I thought there was no you and Myla.”
“I’ll see you around,” I said, watching as he looked from one face to the next, his brows pulled together in confusion. “Let’s just forget the party, yeah? Thanks for taking care of that guy for me. I had it handled, but your way was…a lot more efficient.”
“Don’t leave it like this,” Cian said quietly as I turned toward my room.
“We’re good,” I assured him, waving over my shoulder. “I’ll text you.”
Lou and Frankie laid into him the minute I reached the hallway, but I blocked it out. I was too focused on breathing and walking calmly away from the entire situation.
The humiliation was intense, but I’d been humiliated before, and it wasn’t like Cian would tell anyone. The disbelief was pretty overwhelming, too, but again, I’d been shocked before—it wasn’t as if I wouldn’t get over it.
It was the disappointment that had me closing my bedroom door and stumbling toward the bed, my legs like jelly. I’d spent years assuming that Cian and I would eventually end up together. Years of building a relationship with him, hanging on his every word, adoring him.
I’d gone along with the status quo, figuring that at some point he’d make the first move toward something more. It wasn’t as if the attraction wasn’t there—Cian and I had so much chemistry I could taste it. There was something that kept us just this side of taking the plunge, and I never really knew what it was, but I hadn’t been willing to risk everything.
That instinct had clearly been the right one.
If I hadn’t said anything, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up on my bed, staring blankly at the wall, wondering what the hell I’d just done.
Chapter 4
Cian
“Fuck,” I hissed, climbing off my bike. I wasn’t sure how things had gone so incredibly sideways.
I clenched and relaxed my fists as I walked toward the back door. It was way past the little girls’ bedtime so the house was quiet and dark, but when I stepped inside, the low drone of the TV in the living room warned me that I wasn’t going to be able to lick my wounds in private.