“Because—” Ash grinned. “—nobody’s seen it, and it’s a classic. Besides, Tank’s a movie buff and completely convinced us that we needed something dark and twisted with a bit of a love triangle thrown in for good measure.”
My breath heaved out of my lungs. “Great.”
“Great.” Junior hissed next to me.
Did they notice how we stood?
Did they care?
Did they know that every part of my body was pulsing with need, dying a slow death every second Junior didn’t touch me?
Shit, I should have never agreed to this cease-fire.
I quickly joined the girls and took a seat.
Not even forty minutes into the movie, and I was already losing my mind. It was sexual. It was hot. It was everything I so did not need to watch with Junior mere feet away from me.
“Gotta pee.” I stood.
“Should we pause it?” Tank asked, giving me a look of genuine concern. Poor guy, I would eat him alive. Then again, he might just enjoy it with the way he was staring at me.
“No, go ahead.” I gave him a genuine smile that had him smiling back at me like he wanted to get to know me better, which I knew Junior would shut down like he always did.
Sigh.
I marched out of the room while everyone went back to watching and quickly darted toward the kitchen. I poured a glass of cold water and chugged the entire thing then wiped my face with the back of my hand before gripping the countertop.
“This isn’t the bathroom.” Junior’s voice floated toward me like a caress.
I lifted my gaze.
I could see the reflection of him in the kitchen window as he slowly moved behind me, then without saying anything, grabbed my hips and slowly ran his thumbs over the exposed skin above my joggers.
Trembling, I leaned forward so I wouldn’t lean back against him, so I wouldn’t feel him—my body fought me though because it remembered how his mouth tasted. Since we were friends now, I shouldn’t be focused on the way he kissed or the way he tasted, and yet that was what my brain was doing, creating this bonus reel of all the times he bit my lip, all the times he thrust into me, all the times he whispered his love, swore his fealty.
The giant grandfather clock in the living room continued to tell time, and yet the world felt like it had stopped, or maybe we were both moving in slow motion.
“Can we talk?” Junior rasped.
“D-do you think that’s a good idea? Us talking?”
He sighed. “Probably not, but I think we should.”
“Does this talk include words or is this just your way of getting into my pants?” I tried teasing.
He gripped the band of my sweatpants and gave a little tug. “It would be way too easy, Serena, and you know it.”
“Bastard,” I hissed.
“You’re angry. Good.”
“I’m always angry.”
“Don’t lie.”
I lifted my head and stared him down through our reflections. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Tank. He likes you.”
I froze. “What?”
“He watches you,” he continued. “Like a hawk.”
My lips trembled while my heart raced. “So, you wanted to talk to me about Tank?”
He didn’t answer just shrugged and continued to touch me like he had a right to. “If he knows anything, he’ll crack. I think you should give him more attention and see what happens.”
If a heart could break multiple times, mine just had, I swear I felt it crash to the ground, I saw myself fall to my knees in a bloodied frantic mess as I hurried to put the pieces back together before he noticed. But it was Junior. He didn’t have to see; he felt it in the way I tensed; he tasted it in the air around us. He knew he’d just hurt me, and I’d shown him yet again that while I was searching for all the vulnerable pieces of my heart—he still owned the ones that mattered.
And I would hate him forever for it.
“So…” I let out a heavy sigh. “You want me to give him more attention, flirt with him, learn his secrets, and what if he’s just some normal guy going to college?”
Junior’s head rested against the back of mine. “Then, at least we know.”
“Right.” I was going to murder him in his sleep—Junior, not Tank. “And that’s more important than anything, isn’t it?”
He stilled his movements. “Keeping the Family safe—keeping you safe is the most important thing right now, Serena, you know that.”
“I’ll do it.” I found my voice.
“Good.” I could feel him tensing behind me.
“Great,” I added and then tried to walk away only to have Junior grab me by the arm and drag me toward the pantry.
He didn’t even flick on the light as he pushed me against the shelves and molded his mouth to mine, invading with his tongue, pillaging more like it. His kiss was full of rage—full of pain as heat exploded between our mouths, he grabbed my hair in his fist and tugged, jerking me forward, his teeth grazing my skin as he placed a bite beneath my ear, only to work his way back up and hold me prisoner beneath his rock hard body. I reached for him, tried to respond, but he pulled back before I could. His eyes were wild as he hissed, “There, now you look primed.”