Only, it wasn’t a daydream, and it was with my mortal enemy.
I settled back into the covers, breathing shallowly. I flip-flopped with fear, hope, and anger. If KitewasKestrel, what did that mean? Why had he been so cruel to me yet considerate in the dining room? Why had he messaged me a month ago?
The text.
It was never a wrong number.
My hands fisted around my phone. Could I have been manipulated?
Angry tears shot up my spine. All my life, everyone I’d ever known had manipulated me behind the scenes, moving me around at their whim, tugging my skirts until I stood in the right place, while I smiled stupidly and so damn naïve.
I wanted to scream.
You’re making something out of nothing.
It could very well be a wrong number and nothing sinister at all.
My anger was too hot—I couldn’t reason with myself.
Kite007:Fuck, that sounds hot. Did you come?
I stared at the message with fire burning in my soul. I wanted to confront him. I needed to know the truth.
Needle&Thread:Did you come after you licked me yesterday? Did you jerk off to the thought of me being tormented by your family, you sick bastard?
My finger hovered on the send key, my breathing harsh in the silent room.
If I asked and I was right—what then? Where did that leave me? Was it better to play them at their own rules? Hide my tentative conclusion and finally learn how to play this secretive, devious game?
I deleted the message.
Needle&Thread:No, but I made you come. You shot your release so deep down my throat, I can still taste you.
I grinned, feeling a little psychotic.
If Kite was an innocent party in all of this, then he could continue to be my escape. Meanwhile, Jethro would give me answers that I hadn’t had before. Such as granting me knowledge to Kite’s previous question.What do I taste like?
If he tasted anything like Jethro, it was an overpowering mix of no taste at all and too much taste all at once. An oyster mixed with caviar infused with the strongest shot of vodka. Not entirely pleasant, but not disgusting either.
I had experience now. Experience garnered by blowing a man who may or may not be related to my tormentor.
You might have it totally wrong. You’re jumping to conclusions.
I paused, fingers stroking the screen. It was entirely possible I was clutching at straws, looking for connections to make sense of this catastrophe. But I couldn’t ignore the tug inside—the sixth sense burning stronger with every second.
My lips twisted at how disgusting all of this was. How the unsaid lies made me endlessly suspicious.
Kite007:Fuck, do you hear yourself? Something’s changed. Again. I can’t believe I’m asking this, but spill. I need to know how you’ve gone from shy little nun to confident tease.
He wanted to know. As if he didn’t know. As if the entire Hawk family weren’t laughing behind my back.
You don’t know it’s him!
I knew I should calm down, seek out clues, and formulate the truth before tearing into the most-likely innocent Kite. But after being through a transformation from meek to fierce, I couldn’t bottle myself up. I refused to corset my emotions any longer.
I would take back control message by message.
Needle&Thread:You want to know? You want to hear personal details of my life? What happened to you, Kite? Someone drop you on your head?
