Stealing Her (Covet 1)

“Poison,” she said in a deadpan voice. “It’s quicker.”

“Good to know, Nurse Ratched, good to know!”

She glared.

I glared right back.

And then because I had already lost my mind, I slammed my mouth against hers in a punishing kiss then pulled away.

She shoved me back and touched her hand to her lips. “Please don’t kiss me, not now, not like that.”

“I’ve been wanting to do more than kiss you for the past month.” I shook my head. “Believe me, I should be sainted for my self-control.”

“You’re a lunatic!” She spread her arms wide. “Do you even hear yourself? Sainted for your self-control? For not kissing your brother’s fiancée—”

“Ex,” I pointed out. “Ex-fiancée.”

She immediately looked away, but I continued. “I wasn’t the only one lying, so don’t pretend for one second you didn’t go along with this because things felt different. My father told me about Amy overhearing you breaking things off, and Kelsey indicated that things weren’t right between you and Julian.”

“I hate you right now.”

“Good, that makes two of us.” I rubbed my hands down my face. “Now, can we please go back to the living room, away from the guns hidden in the safe?” I eyed the safe in the corner. “And closer to the alcohol so if I have to get mind-numbingly drunk in the next hour it’s close by?”

She swallowed and then nodded her head. “Yes.”

“Thank God.”

And since all pretenses were gone, I chose that exact moment to completely strip out of the idiot penguin suit I was wearing while she gawked at me like she wasn’t sure if she was invited to watch or should turn away.

I grabbed a pair of joggers and a hoodie and then sighed in relief. “Better.”

“Is it, though?” She eyed me up and down and then gave me a cheeky grin.

I may have given her the finger with both hands.

Which only made her laugh through her tears.

I loved that sound.

“What do you even do for a living?” she asked as she followed me into the living room.

“I torture people,” I said with a shrug.

I could hear her soft intake of breath.

With a grin, I looked over my shoulder. “Tabata ring a bell?”

Her eyes narrowed.

“I’m a personal trainer, Izzy.”

“Ohhh, so that’s why—” And then rage replaced curiosity. “You asshole! I showered with you!”

I couldn’t wipe the grin from my face. “Oh, believe me, I’m well aware.”

“You sick bastard!”

“If I’m so sick why are you still smiling?”

“I’m not.” She looked down and wrung her hands nervously. “I was just . . . in shock.”

“Uh-huh.” I took a focused step toward her and tilted her chin up with my fingertip. “For the record, you have a fantastic ass.” With that, I slapped it with my left hand, grabbed the bottle of whiskey on the table, and then sat on the couch. “Time for a story.”

“It can’t get any more unbelievable than this.”

I let out a chuckle. “Strap in, Izzy, strap the hell in.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

BRIDGE

I took a deep breath, then I took two shots and handed her the bottle.

She sipped from it, wiped her pretty mouth with the back of her hand, and gave me a look of disgust. “I prefer wine.”

“I know you do.”

“Now you’re going to pretend to know everything about me?”

I wanted to touch her, to tell her I knew everything worth knowing, to tell her my feelings were real, but she didn’t trust me, and she had good reason not to.

“The truth is, I know more about you than I should, not because I was given a manual on Izzy Cunningham but because from the minute I walked into this apartment, I was fascinated with everything about you, from the way you’d flinch and treat me like you hated me one minute to when it seemed like you loved me the next. I’m confused as hell as to what kind of relationship you had with my brother, and at the same time, I want to strangle him for hurting you. That’s the truth.”

Her expression softened. “Yeah, well, it’s complicated.”

“Want me to go first?”

She nodded. “Please.”

I took a deep breath. “Julian and I were best friends.” I sighed. “Until the divorce. Mom got me, and my dad got Julian. So I went from having the best of everything, private school, tons of money, friends, a best friend in my brother, to living in Jersey going to public school, and then my mom got sick with a disease that didn’t have a cure.”

Izzy put her hand on my bicep and kept it there.

I drew strength from her touch and went on. “I swore to Julian I’d protect him, and up until the divorce I did. I shielded him as much as I could from our dad, from his evil, controlling side. I’d put on music when our parents fought, I’d let him borrow my shit just to see him smile.” My voice cracked. “I always promised to take care of him and then my hands were tied. We had email, but part of me thinks that my dad controlled that too. When we lost touch, I blamed Julian, thought he just didn’t care.”