Page 1 of Branded Betrayal

Prologue

Savannah

Perfect moments are dangerous. They make you believe you’re safe right before the entire world shatters around you.

My heart thrashes in my chest, body tingling with aftershocks from our secret sexcapade out here at Lover’s Bluff. I shiver and pull the thick blanket up to my chin. Blaze pulls me close, and I lay my leg on top of his, resting my head against his thick, muscled chest.

“That was incredible,” I murmur, nuzzling his neck.

“Yeah,” he finally says after way too long a minute.

I crack open an eye to find him staring up at the ink black sky. “Don’t sound too enthusiastic,” I say, a little stung by his seeming indifference. I mean, the sex was otherworldly.

As usual.

I guess that’s the thing about forbidden fruit, though. It’s supposed to taste the sweetest, but you’re not allowed to actually eat it.

Well, I’ve eaten it. Thoroughly enjoyed it too. And feeling this amazing is absolutely worth the risk of my older brother finding out that I’ve been sleeping with his best friend for the past six months.

Not that he ever will. We are beyond careful about covering our tracks. Nobody knows about this secret affair, not even Mom, my best friend in the world, and I tell her . . . almost . . . everything.

“What’s up? You’re distracted tonight,” I say, tracing a finger over the cuts of muscle on his chest. He squirms a little because he’s ticklish, but he barely smiles. “Did something happen at home?”

I know there’s been some static between him and his dad lately. He doesn’t ever bring it up, but I’ve heard a few things here and there from Mom. My parents were always close with the Hartman family, and they still spend a lot of time together, even though Blaze’s mom passed away years ago.

“Just got a lot of things on my mind,” he says, his attention still focused on the bright stars above.

“Anything you want to talk about?” I gently graze his pec with my lips. “Or can I interest you in a distraction from—?”

He suddenly leans up on his elbows, forcing me to roll onto my side. “Stay with me tonight. Don’t go home.”

I roll my eyes. “I can’t stay. You know that. We have to be careful, Blaze.”

“I know, I just . . .” He rakes a hand through his dark hair. “I want you to come home with me.”

“You’re insane. That would cause absolute chaos if Nash ever caught wind of me sneaking in or out of your house.” I trace the outline of his lips with my finger. “You’re just going to have to pine for me until our next tryst,” I say in what I hope sounds like a playfully seductive tone.

After Nash saw me and Blaze flirting at a party one night, he made me swear to stay away from Blaze, telling me that he’s too much of a playboy to commit and that I deserve better. So even though I’m eighteen years old and perfectly capable of making my own decisions, I told him that I’d never get involved with his best friend.

That lie has gnawed at my heart ever since, but I can’t seem to help myself when it comes to Blaze Hartman.

He snakes an arm around my waist and tugs me near, the blanket pooling around my waist. My skin sizzles under his demanding fingertips.

“Let’s get back to that ‘distraction,’” he says, his lips trailing a determined path down the slope of my neck. “I can’t let you go yet.”

My nipples peak between his hungry lips, fingers tangling in his hair, tugging it hard as he slides his fingers inside of me. I gasp at the delicious intrusion, arching my back, beckoning him to delve deeper. He crooks his fingers, reaching me on a level that makes my mouth sing and my heart swell.

My God, I am so in love with him. So in love and so screwed because if my brother ever found out . . . if he ever even suspected—

Blaze’s ringtone pierces the air. But he doesn’t answer it. Instead, his mouth captures mine, his tongue pushing through my lips like a raging coil of desire. I buck my hips, riding his hand, my skin prickled with sweat when the ringtone slices through the air again.

“Shit,” he mutters, pulling away to grab the phone. My heart stutters when Nash’s name flashes across the screen. I immediately grab my shirt and pull it over my head as he stabs the Accept button.

“Where the fuck are you?”

I whip my head around at the sound of Nash’s panicked voice, so loud it’s almost as if Blaze put him on speaker. I drop my sweatpants, my pulse jumping into my throat.

“What’s wrong?” Blaze asks in a low voice. “I told you I’d be over later—”