The Confession

“Mean to fuck my brains out, sneak out of my bed without even telling me your name, then vanish into thin air?”

As a rush of red climbed her chest and stained her cheeks, Jasmine pressed her lips into a thin, angry line. “Thank you so much for telling everyone here that we slept together.”

“Oh, we didn’t sleep, sweetheart,” River scoffed. “We fucked. For hours. In every way imaginable. After you milked me dry and I passed out, you took off. No name. No number. No note. No nothing.”

“Shut up, big brother,” Raine snapped, still clasped between Hammer and Liam. “It would serve you right if she kneed your balls straight to your sinuses. Maybe you could try being nice?”

Beck was still grimacing when a feral growl rolled from the hallway behind him. “River? Get your fucking hands off my sister.” He turned his furious gaze to the redhead. His face softened with concern. “You okay, Miri?”

River turned his scowl on Dean. “Miri? No, this is Jasmine. The Jasmine I keep telling you about.”

“No, that’s my sister, Miri. Wait…” His scowl turned deadly as he charged into the room and passed Beck. “This is the woman you spent the night with? You fucked my sister?”

Dean’s bellow was deafening. In the wake of his demand, a terrible silence prevailed.

Liam broke it with a soft whisper. “Didn’t see that coming now, did you?”

Beck hadn’t, but shit was about to get real. No one said a word. They were probably trying to process their shock, just like he was.

Pike ambled into the room, the sounds of the toilet running faint in the background, and frowned. “What the… Jasmine is your sister?” Pike leaned against the wall near the kitchen and howled with laughter. “Oh, my god, this is epic.”

It was epic, all right—an epic disaster. Ugly was written all over it.

“Why does everyone keep calling her Jasmine, for fuck’s sake?” Dean tossed up his hands.

“That’s how she introduced herself,” Pike shot back, then he turned to her. “That’s not your name?”

“That’s the name I prefer.” Jasmine sent her brother a withering glare. “I’ve told you that.”

Dean winced. “You’ve always been Miri to me.”

“I’m not a kid anymore,” she snapped, then struggled against River’s hold again. “I told you to let me go.”

He held firm. “You’re really Dean’s sister?”

“Yes,” Dean growled. “Now get your hands off her, cocksucker, before I kill you.”

River didn’t flinch—or obey. He simply seared Jasmine with a dissecting stare. “Are you?”

“Yes,” she hissed, jerking free from his grasp and wriggling from beneath his body.

Heavenly lunged toward her, clearly wanting to comfort her friend. He and Seth held her back.

“Stay here, angel.” She didn’t belong in the middle of the drama, not when the air sizzled with fury and retribution.

“How? Why?” River mumbled, his stunned stare still bouncing between the siblings. A split second later, his confusion morphed into anger. “And what is your real goddamn name?”

“It’s Miracle,” Dean spat. “Jasmine is her middle name—something I’ve never called her in my life!”

“All my friends call me Jasmine,” she cut in.

They both ignored her.

“How the hell was I supposed to know that?” River asked.

“Now that you do, back the fuck off! You don’t touch her, talk to her, or look at her again. In fact, you don’t even think about her.”

“Like hell!” River challenged. “You know how long I spent trying to find her.”