Lies We Tell (Thistle Cove 3)

“I’m accepting reality.”

Her hands settle on her hips. “And exactly what is that?”

It’s painful to look at her

, but I know what I’ve got to do. I need to pick a corner and rip this off like a Band-Aid. “To stop playing this game. With you. With my dad. With everyone in this godforsaken town. I’ve been acting the nice guy for a few months, but after…after learning the truth, I figure what’s the point?”

“Ezra, I know this has been hard—”

“You don’t know anything, Kenley. Even though my dad is a grade-A asshole, I thought maybe underneath it all he actually cared about me. That he came back home to be a fucking parent instead of a pussy-hungry womanizer. But now we know that my dad never cared about me. That was just about the legacy and covering his ass after his underage girlfriend went missing.”

“Yeah, your dad is not a good guy, Ezra, but I don’t understand what that has to do with you flirting with other girls and being a dick to me.”

“Because I’ve been thinking about it, and this little arrangement between us needs to end.”

Her face pales. “What are you talking about?”

I look around and see the closed door a few feet away. I open it up and see that it’s a small, empty room. I grab Kenley’s arm and pull her inside.

“I spent the last few months turning my shit around. Some of it was for my dad, but a whole lot of it was for you.” My heart races in my chest—warning me I can stop now before I go too far. “My family is corrupt, KK. Dirty, through and through.”

“So what? You don’t have to be like your father.”

“What if it’s not an option? Maybe it’s genetic? Maybe those years of rebellion weren’t that—a rebellion—but me coming into my own.”

“That’s ridiculous.” But her expression is scared. Worried.

I rake my eyes over her, head to toe. She’s in a skirt that shows off the length of her toned, strong legs and a sweater one size too small, leaving very little to my imagination. “Really? Because the things I want to do to you can’t be normal. I think I’m just as depraved as him.”

Her breath catches, and her question comes out in a low whisper, “What kind of things?”

I can tell she wants to know, and it’s on the tip of my tongue to reveal my fantasies. How I dream of bending her over the desk in AP Lit every damn morning, and how I think about her lips wrapped around my cock day and night. How even now, in the middle of this, all I want is to press her against the wall, yank up that skirt, and bury myself, my pain, my insecurities inside of her.

But what I learned this week about my father is that he’s a greedy son-of-a-bitch. He wants what belongs to someone else. Even his best friend’s daughter. Even his best friend’s lover.

And Kenley?

If my father is BD, and it sure looks like he is, it’s possible he’s already made his move on her—not because she’s nosing around—but because she’s mine.

Ezra Baxter, Senior, knows no fucking boundaries. Even with his son.

I put her in danger and didn’t even realize it. That’s why I have to let this girl go, she’s too willing, too game, too ready to jump into trouble on her own. I’m trying to scare her off and she’s begging for more.

“It’s over, Kenley. I’m sure Finn and Ozzy are more than capable of taking care of you.”

“Ezra, let’s talk about this when you’re not so upset and thinking clearly."

“That’s the problem, I am thinking clearly, maybe for the first time in my life.” I take a step forward and touch her chin, tilting it upward. “Be careful, Kenley Keene, there are some dangerous men out there. I’m trying my hardest not to be one of them.” I brush my lips across hers, forcing myself to keep it brief, not to smell her, feel her, taste her. If I do, I know I’m a goner.

I push a strand of her hair back over her ear and walk out of the room.

It’s the right, and only thing to do.

19

Kenley

I stare at the door, stunned, trying to process what just happened, but no matter how many times I go over it, I still have no fucking clue.