I tucked myself into a tighter ball, hiding further beneath his shirt.
Stan cleared his throat. “Son, what you do on your own time is your business, but if you’re going to fuck a girl, at least have the decency to do it in your own damned bedroom. What if one of the alumni had seen? That’s not the sort of reputation you want to have. You’re a Davenport, damn it.”
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry. Things got out of hand.”
“Make sure it doesn’t happen again.” He slapped Killian on the back, and I shrank into myself, willing the ground to open up and swallow me whole.
“Of course not, sir. Never.”
A thought occurred to me, one I’d never considered before: Killian wasafraidof his stepfather.
He never showed fear when he spoke about him, but just now, there was no mistaking the panic in his voice. A voice that, at one point, I’d known just as well as my own.
I heard the dread.
I hazarded a peek between Killian’s legs to the expensive designer shoes. The soft leather soles spun around, scraping the brick pavers with each step until they finally fell away.
A beat of silence.
I heaved in a shuddering breath.
“Fuck,” Killian hissed as soon as the patio door slammed shut. He sank down beside me and dragged his hand through his mess of tangled locks.
His eyes darted to mine, brows furrowing, and a flash of pity streaked through his expressive eyes.
“Don’t,” I hissed. A tremor raced up my spine, my shoulders trembling as I fought like hell to hold myself together.
“Don’t what?” His voice was unnervingly soft. And I hated it.
“Look at me with pity. You never believed me back then, so why would you now?”
“I never said I believed you,” he snapped.
“Then stop staring.” I pivoted my gaze, glancing out into the lush garden and the strung-up lights surrounding a picture-perfect gazebo.
“Damn it, Lexi, you’re impossible. Do you have any idea what would’ve happened if he’d recognized you?”
“I’m sorry, you’re blaming this on me? You’re the one that wanted me to—” Nausea crawled up my throat, and my stomach heaved. “I hate you.”
“Fuck you, Lexi.” Killian pushed himself to his feet and trudged to the door, still shirtless.
“Not in this lifetime, Kill,” I shouted behind him. “And if you think I’ll ever let you touch me again, you’re delusional.”
He spun back with one hand on the antique knob, and a wicked grin curled the corner of his lips. “That’s where you’re wrong, Lexi, because the deal was that I’d release you from your duties if you got me off. But you didn’t. You’re the only one that came tonight, onmyfucking fingers. So technically, you still owe me.”
“You’re such an asshole!”
His eyes narrowed as he regarded me, a mixture of pleasure and pain racing through the blazing emerald hue. “And just so we’re clear, if you let anyone else touch you, I’ll rip their balls off and force them to watch while I fuck you. That goes for Micah, too. You need to stay the hell away from him.” That devilish smile felt like death’s fingers crawling up my spine.
“You. Are. Mine, Lexi Vega. Mine to tease, mine to torture, and mine to ruin. And don’t you ever forget it.”
CHAPTER 23
SHE’S NOTHING TO ME
Killian
An invisible hammer pounded against my skull, and sand filled my mouth. My eyelids felt like weights had been glued to them as they slowly opened to the dark walls of my room, the sun pouring in through the arched windows.
