“Rowen,” I snarled, my chest already burning from his presence.
His brown hair was in the same fake-casual style as always, like he thought the carefully ruined hair made him edgy when really all it did was make me want to punch his stupid face. His scruffy, neatly trimmed beard sharpened his jawline, making him look more mature than he really was. It wasn’t rugged—it was controlled, smug, just like him.
He wore a dark green T-shirt and jeans that fit snugly around his thighs. His arms were full of ink, all sorts of stuff, like skulls and snakes. I didn’t have much time to document them all by the time he spoke.
“Avery…” he dragged out in a deep, annoying tone before swiping his tongue across his lips.
I didn’t like how he said my name, and Ireallydidn’t like how he watched me, like he was interested in me.
The last thing I wanted was to be interesting to him.
“You’re home.” My mom poked her head out of the kitchen, wiping her hands with a towel. “I made lunch if you want some.”
She didn’t even care to tell me the leech was back to suck the life out of us.
“What thefuckis he doing here?” I asked, pointing at the waste of space.
He chuckled like I’d just told a funny joke, his eyes still glued to me.
Her lips pressed together, and she gave me a stern look. “Be nice, Avery. Your brother’s apartment building is being remodeled, so he’s staying here until it’s finished. He’ll be sleeping in the guest room.”
The guest room?Fuck me. Of course, we’d have to share a wall when he came back. His old room, the one on the other side of our parents', was being used as an office, leaving the guest room as the only option.
“Brother?” I asked, my lips curling like the word was disgusting.
Mom’s eyes held defeat as she looked at me. “Avery. Please. Can we not do this right now? I have to finish some work. I’ll order pizza for dinner if that’s alright with everyone. Lunch is on the stove. Grab a plate if you want some.”
She disappeared without waiting for our response, leaving us alone again.
I narrowed my eyes on my stepbrother. “You don’t belong here.”
“Yet, here I am.” He spread his arms out like he was the hottest shit in the room.
“You’renotmy brother,” I reiterated, in case my mom’s comment put anything in his head.
“I had no idea,” he said sarcastically, looking too amused. “Glad we cleared that up,sis.”
I rolled my eyes and walked toward the hall, which unfortunately meant toward Rowen.
“You alright there?” he asked curiously. “You look like you’re limping a bit.”
My cheeks grew hot, hating that he noticed I was hurt, especially since the reason was so personal.
“I’m fine.” I shoved past him, not daring to turn around and engage further.
But even after slamming my bedroom door behind me, I still felt like I couldn’t breathe.
Fuck you, Rowen.
Isat with my back against the wall, knowing Avery was in her room on the other side.
It had been a few days since she found me at the house, steam nearly coming out of her ears when she discovered I’d be staying for a while. Satisfaction filled me when she limped past me, and I almost felt bad for the pain I’d caused, enough to give her a couple more days to heal before fucking her again.
My cock ached as I imagined being in her room with her, shoving her face into the pillow as I drove into her over and over, just like in the maze, preferably with the tears and screaming too.
I will have you soon, little kitty.
Dark energy settled over me when I caught sight of my balaclava from the other night hanging out of my bag, the one she stared at as I fucked her like a madman.
