Insatiable (The Edge of Darkness, #1)(11)

But I know he hates it when someone plays with his hair or presses a palm to his chest the way she is. It took ages for him to be comfortable with my touch. He’s either fighting the urge to not cringe away, or he truly has changed .

Have they had sex before? Or is it more? Does he talk to her about… everything?

Tylar tilts her head at me. “I don’t think Base could keep up with this one.” Her elbow digs into me. “She’s had a lot of practice lately.”

I slap her knee. “Hey!”

She winces and apologises with a kiss on my cheek.

Base – a taller, more muscular version of Dez – responds with chocolate brown eyes and a grin. “I’m up for the challenge if you are, Rhodes.”

Oh God. Shitting shit.

He would tear me in half.

And I’m not about to fuck one of Kade’s friends, no matter how much we hate each other.

Kade glares at me when I look at him – if it were possible, I’d be on fire from how angry he appears. Which is stupid, considering Abbie is whispering something in his ear and stroking her hand up his bicep, and he’s allowing her.

I shrug as our eyes clash a little longer, unbothered as Base nods in agreement.

I’ll play along with this for a minute, just to see Kade’s reaction, then I’ll go to bed before anything happens.

Would he even care? Doubtful, since he has Abbie trying to draw his mouth to hers. He isn’t kissing her. He isn’t even looking in her direction.

He’s looking at me.

“How do we play?” one of the guys asks, completely interested.

Dez’s eyes are on Tylar as he explains the rules. “Choose a partner – or partners – and fuck until you can’t. ”

Abbie, perched on Kade’s lap, lets out another flirtatious giggle, leaning back to whisper something into his ear again. His eyes move to her, and his brows furrow.

“Stacey, there’s someone at the gate asking for you,” a voice says from the doorway of the sitting area. One of the guys who was waiting on an Uber. “He’s pretty fucked up.”

Shit.

“Is it the guy from earlier?” Ty asks me, a smile on her lips, and everyone around us is listening. “The one you were seconds from screwing in the studio? You could invite him in. Sorry, Base, but he was hot.”

I grimace, and so does Dez. “We weren’t going to—” I stop, sighing as I place my drink on the coffee table in front of us. “Start without me.”

“He’s pretty mad,” he tells me. “He’s shouting for you to get out there.”

Kade’s cigarette freezes halfway to his mouth.

Ty abruptly stands, but I tell her it’s fine and ask her to stay where she is, telling Base and Dez the same when they, too, get to their feet.

“You sure?” Dez asks, concerned as he fists his hands. “I’m happy to tell him to get to fuck.”

Base nods in agreement.

“Yeah, I’m sure. It’ll be fine.”

Standing and smoothing over my dress, I ignore Kade’s eyes following me as I walk out of the room.

When I reach the gates, hugging myself with how cold it is, I huff out a foggy breath. “Really, Chris? Why are you here? ”

My stepbrother’s eyes are bloodshot, as if he’s had far too many drinks before coming here. “You weren’t answering me.”

His words are slurred, and saliva slips from the corner of his mouth.

“Are you high?”

“Will it make you come home with me if I say yes?” he asks, fingers curling on the rods of the metal gate I refuse to unlock with the code.

I shake my head, gritting my teeth in annoyance when he staggers to the left. “You look cold, little sister. You know I can heat you up.”

My stomach twists. “Go home.”

“You’re my home,” he replies with a hiccup. “Don’t make me mad. I don’t like being mad with you. Come with me. We’ll go back to the house and I’ll… I’ll make love to you.”

He loses his balance, tumbling to his side. I groan, taking a few steps and reaching my hand out to try to help him to his feet. Every single time he gets this messed up, I need to help him, even though I don’t want to. It’ll be worse for me if I leave him like this, and I’d rather not meet those consequences.

But this time, when I try to help him, he grabs my wrists and yanks me to him, slamming my body into the metal separating us.

A flash of pain momentarily seizes me as my face hits the hard surface between us.

“Let go of me,” I snap, tasting blood from a cut on the inside of my lip.

“Who are you fucking in there?” His thumb runs along my lips as he stares at them, his eyes wholly black from all the drugs he’s consumed. “Whose cock has been in this mouth?”

He lowers his hand to grab between my legs, and I flinch from his unwanted touch before he can make contact.

He smirks, catlike and evil. “This is all mine. Every inch of your body belongs to me.”

I manage to shove myself away from his grasp as he tries to kiss me, falling back a few steps and catching my breath. I’m thankful the cobble path to the gate is far from the manor as I begin to raise my voice. “You need to stop! You’re sick. You can’t do this with me!”