If You Dare (Dare #3) — Chapter no 6

CHAPTER SIX

DEKE

“HAVE A NICE night.” I nod to the guy who sits in the guard shack.

He looks up from his phone and smiles at us. “Have a good night, boys.

Cole, tell Austin I said hello.”

“Will do.” Cole pulls onto the road and hits the gas, shifting gears in his M4. I sit back in my seat and readjust my hard cock inside my jeans.

“She’s gonna be pissed you left her wrists tied.” Cole breaks the silence, but I hear the amusement in his voice.

“I know, but she’ll figure out how to get herself out of it.” I turn and throw my black bag into the back seat that I had dropped by her front door when we entered her house. I thought about using my handcuffs but then decided against it. I’d have to relieve her of those, and I had no desire to leave Demi Holt how I found her—free.

If she wants to be a little bitch, then I’ll give her a reason to. It wasn’t hard to find out what I needed to know. A look online showed me that her mother and stepdad were in New York for business reasons. The pic that graced social media had them dining at an expensive hotel a few hours ago.

And a look at Becky’s Facebook assured me she was not at home—she was back in Collins. She may have deleted me as a friend, but she keeps all her shit public. It’s like she wants me to get jealous that she allows men to hang all over her. Like I fucking care who she spreads her legs for. That time has passed.

“You know I’ve always got your back,” Cole starts, “but I’m curious.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish by playing with her?”

“I don’t know,” I say honestly, running a hand down my face. “Just wanna let her know where she stands.” Demi needed to be thrown off her high horse she rides with a smug smile. I think leaving her pussy wet and her wrists restrained in her bed is a good start.

I liked the way her voice shook when she thought I was there to hurt her.

The fear I heard when she asked what I wanted. It matched the same fear

Becky had when she found out I knew all her secrets. I held all the cards

and had all the power.

She needs to remember that I do.

She thought I was Seth at first, and that pissed me off. Knowing that she had allowed me to touch her when she was clearly unavailable makes her just like her cheating, lying sister. But still, I can’t help but wonder, is that how they do it? He dresses up as a burglar and sneaks into her room before taking advantage of her? She plays the role of victim, fighting him off, but she eventually gives up and lets him win?

I could totally get into that.

Fuck!

Don’t think that way. She is off-limits. Untouchable. I just wanted to scare her. I wasn’t going to force myself on her because I’m not a rapist.

But I wanted her to know that I was the one who made that decision, not her. I had told myself it was nothing sexual. To get in, scare the shit out of her, and get the fuck out. But shit, she got turned on. More so than when she was at Silence last night. I wasn’t even planning on touching her in any way, but when she moaned, I went hard. Then she lifted her hips, silently begging me for more. I fingered her again—as though she belonged to me

—when I had no right to touch her.

Why didn’t she stop me?

She’s messing with my mind more than Becky ever has. Why am I allowing her to do this? I’m supposed to be the one in charge, but am I playing her game? Or is she playing mine?

Something tells me that Demi is a much better player than Becky could ever be. And that thought turns me on even more.

“You okay?” Cole asks, giving me a glance before looking back at the road.

I grunt. “Yep.” She got my warning. She’ll stay away, and I’ll go back to my plan of seducing Becky. She has to fall in love with me all over again so I can break her fucking black heart. Demi can’t get in the way of that. I won’t let her.

________________

“Where did you guys go last night?” Austin asks, stepping out on the patio with Lilly. She sheds her little towel with fairy wings on it to showcase a

pink bathing suit.

I have come to find I like the Texas weather much more than Oregon. It’s the middle of October and still nice enough to swim. Even though the pool is heated, it’s not needed yet. The temp doesn’t drop until the sun goes down.

“Uncle Deke,” she screeches when she sees I’m already in the pool and runs, jumping in. I pull her head up from under the water and put her on my shoulders. Her little feet kick water up in my face as she splashes.

“We had to take care of something,” I answer Austin.

She pulls her shirt up and over her head, her green eyes glaring down at me. “What did you need to take care of?”

My eyes fall to her scar from where Kellan shot her, but I don’t answer.

She looks at Cole who sits on the third step staring up at her. He’s leaned back, his elbows resting on the second step. His blue eyes run up her body slowly as if he’d rather have her naked and alone at the moment.

“Cole?” she urges.

His eyes make their way up to hers, but he says nothing.

She looks at me when she realizes he’s not saying shit. “What did you guys do?”

“We just had a little fun,” I decide to say in answer.

She looks back and forth between Cole and me for a second. “And?”

“We were just playing. Harmless fun,” I tell her.

She rolls her eyes. “Oh God, not this again.”

“What?” I feign innocence while Lilly pounds her little hands into my cheeks excitedly, her feet still splashing me.

“You know what?” she snaps and then bends over to remove her shorts.

“I know what your definition of play is, and it’s not fun.”

Yeah, Austin was once something Cole played with. The moment he laid

eyes on her, she became his prey.

Nine months ago I stand in an abandoned cemetery over the bloody dead guy who my friends and I just killed. He was our revenge. Cole wanted him to pay, and we all played our part in making sure he got it.

A phone ringing slices through the silent night. “Hello?” Kellan answers. “Yeah.” He nods to himself. “Be there soon.” Hanging up, he pockets his cell. “I gotta go.”

What the fuck? Where in the hell does he have to go that is so important right now? He’s been acting fishy for days. More than he usually does. He didn’t even want to be a part of this tonight. But I think Bennett talked him into it at the last minute.

“Get out of here,” I tell him, trying not to show my frustration toward him at the moment. “Cole and I will wrap this up.” Where did he go anyway? We heard a noise, and he went to check it out. It was probably some wild animal. No one comes up here anymore.

“Let us know when it’s done,” Bennett tells me, turning on his flashlight to light the way back to his car.

“Will do.” I nod, and they turn and begin to walk down the hill to where we parked our cars. I wait a few seconds before I call out his name.

“Cole?”

“Over here,” he answers. His voice doesn’t sound far away from me.

I pull out my flashlight, making my way down the hill so I don’t trip over any tree limbs. I see him down on his knees, straddling someone dressed in

a pair of jeans and a black hoodie.

“You sorry son of a …”

“What did you find?” I ask, cutting off the girl as I come up next to them.

My light shines down on her. A pretty brunette lies on the wet ground. Cole straddles her hips, pinning her arms under his legs. “Oh, a toy. Where did she come from?” What the hell is she doing in this abandoned cemetery this

time of night?

“Not sure,” he answers.

“Are there more?” I ask, taking a quick look around but don’t see

anything. He has one; I want one too.

“Fuck you,” she spits out.

I laugh. “I like when they have a dirty mouth.”

She arches her back, letting out a scream of frustration that rings out in the dark, rainy night.

“No one can hear you out here,” he tells her, his free hand coming up and wrapping around her throat. The blood from the guy we just killed on his hand covering her sun-kissed skin. “There’s no one to come save you.”

She whimpers.

“I love it when they scream. Go ahead, sweetheart,” I say softly.

“Scream for me.” I kneel next to them. Reaching out, I wrap her brown hair around my bloody hand, and I jerk her head to the side to face me. She

bares her perfect teeth, sucking in a breath, but she doesn’t cry out from my force. Both of our lights stay on her face, and she squints her pretty green eyes, trying to see.

In the distance, I hear an engine roar as Shane, Kellan, and Bennett leave. “What were you doing out here all alone?” I ask her.

“Watching you murder someone,” she snaps.

I throw my head back, laughing at the fucking bitch. I find her truth refreshing. “Like to watch, do you?”

She bucks her hips, trying to throw Cole off, but no such luck. He’s twice her size, so she’s not going anywhere.

“What a coincidence. So do I,” I continue with a dark laugh.

She stiffens, and I look at my best friend. “Go ahead, Cole. Give me a show. I earned it. We gave her one, after all.”

“Don’t,” she whispers as her lips part, and she sucks in a ragged breath.

Cole smiles down at her, his hand loosening around her neck to run along her collarbone, pulling down her oversized hoodie in the process. His bloody hand leaves a trail. The sound of her ragged breathing fills the cold night.

“You know how much I love to perform,” he tells me, fucking with her.

“Please,” she pleads while his finger runs over her shoulder, pushing her black bra strap off and watching it disappear into the sleeve of her hoodie.

I slap Cole on the back. “She’s begging you already, Cole. Fuck! That’s some kind of record, right?” I whistle. But not really. All the women beg to get in his pants. Every girl wants a piece of a GWS.

The wind picks up and tosses her hair around her face, causing it to stick to the blood along her neck and chest. “Red is your color,” he tells her.

“Orange is gonna be yours,” she growls, lifting her chin.

He smiles at her words.

I laugh it off, then have a thought. How much did she see? What the hell is she even doing here? I’ve never seen this girl before. Does she know who we are? Is she related to Jeff, the guy we just killed? As far as I know, he only had one relative—Jerrold. And that fucker is next on our list. “She may have recorded it.”

Cole sighs. “That would be very stupid of you,” he tells her.

He drops the flashlight beside her head. Letting go of her shirt, he sits up, freeing her arms, and she begins to fight him. Her hands slap at his

body, and her nails dig into his naked chest before he pins her hands above her head. “Check her pockets,” he orders me.

She screams as she tries to fight him. Her hips buck, and she kicks her legs out, but I pat her pockets and find a cell phone. Fuck! “It’s locked.”

“What’s the passcode?” he demands.

She clamps her mouth shut, and her pretty green eyes narrow. “Either you give me the passcode, or I take it from you. What’s it gonna be,

sweetheart?” he threatens.

“I didn’t …”

This bitch isn’t gonna play this game with us. Not tonight. “That’s not the only thing we’re gonna take,” I say, cutting her off. I bend down and unbutton her jeans, then lower her zipper. Knowing her biggest fear and using it to my advantage.

“No!” she cries out. “It’s retina … it’s a retina scanner,” she says in a rush.

“Fucking technology,” I growl. “What happened to the good ole days where you just flipped the phone open, and it fucking worked?” Why would this chick need a retina scanner? I highly doubt she has anything important on her phone that she doesn’t want others to see.

I hold the damn phone up to her face, Cole’s flashlight lies on the ground next to them, shining on her face. It unlocks the phone, and the first place I go to is her photos. They’re the typical girl selfies with the duck face. I go to her videos, and she has none. Strange, but also smart for not recording us.

But who the fuck is she? And why the hell is she hanging out in a cemetery in the middle of the night? On New Year’s of all nights? She should be at a party. Drunk or high. I exit out of her videos and go to her Facebook app. I stare at her name for a few seconds, then frown and squint.

This can’t be right … I exit out and then open it back, thinking it will

change. It doesn’t.

Shit! I grunt.

“What is it?” he asks, clearly hearing me.

“No videos or pictures, but there is something interesting.” I may not know this girl, but I know my best friend. And she is about to become as fucking dead as Jeff is.

“I tried to tell you. I didn’t record it,” she says, panting.

“What did you find?” he asks, ignoring her.

I take in a long breath and say two words. “Austin Lowes.”

“As in Bruce Lowes?” he asks her.

Silence follows.

He chuckles. “Well, well, well, I didn’t know he had a daughter.”

“We don’t have time for this,” I growl. She’s useless to me at this point.

We could have had some fun with her but not anymore. She’s the daughter of the man who raped Cole’s mother and got her pregnant. He’s wanted to make that bastard pay for years, so he’ll make her pay. Not only because of who her dad is, but because of what she saw. I stand and pull my gun out of the back of my pants. “Let’s just kill her.” She’s already dead anyway. He won’t let her walk away. Not after what she saw.

“Put the gun away,” he orders.

He can’t be serious. “But …”

“Now.”

I tuck it back into my pants, biting back a growl. “Let’s take her with us. I don’t trust her not to call the police afterward.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she snaps.

“You’ll do whatever the fuck we say,” I reply flatly.

“She won’t call them,” he tells me as if he knows what this bitch will and

won’t do. “Will you?”

She clamps her mouth shut.

I snort. “You don’t fucking know that.”

“No one will believe her,” he says. “She’s covered in his blood. It’s underneath her fingernails from where she scratched my chest. It’s on her clothes. In her hair. As far as they’re concerned, she will be an accessory to

murder.”

“You fucking bastard—”

“What did you guys do with the body?” he interrupts her, asking me.

“Kellan got a call and had to leave; he rode with Bennett, so they all left.

I told them we would take care of it.”

“Perfect. Call my phone with hers.”

I all but roll my eyes. What is he up to? “What? Cole, we don’t have time …”

“Call my phone with hers, Deke,” he snaps.

I let out a huff but look down at her phone and see it’s still unlocked. I type in his number, and seconds later, it starts ringing in his pocket, but he

doesn’t answer it.

I don’t expect him to explain himself.

He stands up, and she takes the opportunity to try to scramble away, but he grips her hoodie and yanks her to her feet. Wrapping his hand around the back of her neck, he starts shoving her forward up the hill. She twists in his grip, and his hand slips, allowing her to get a few steps ahead of him.

What the fuck is he doing?

He runs after her, fisting her hair to pull her back against his front.

Wrapping his free hand around her waist, he says, “We’re not done,

sweetheart.”

“Where are we going?” she demands.

He doesn’t answer her, and I don’t say shit ’cause I have no fucking clue what he’s doing. Maybe he plans on burying her with Jeff’s body. Anything is possible when it comes to Cole.

He walks her over to where he knows we had Jeff. And I shine my flashlight on the body. She shows no sign of fear as she stares at the dead man. She saw everything we fucking did. How did she know where we were? How long had she been following us? The Lowes estate is just down at the bottom of the hill, but it’s over a hundred yards away. There’s no way she heard us.

“Hold her,” he demands, shoving her into my arms.

“Let me go, you son of a bitch!” she screams as she bumps into me.

Her small fist makes contact with my face. “Fuck,” I hiss. “She punched me,” I say, irritated with this turn of events. She’s like a fly I want to flatten under my hand.

I grip her hair with one hand, dropping my flashlight, and wrap my now free hand around her neck. I choke her, taking away her air. I’m not gonna go easy on this bitch. I don’t care what Cole plans on doing with her. She tries to fight me, but just like when Cole held her, she has no chance.

I hear him digging into our black bag, and he pulls out the knife. “Pin her to the ground. Face down.”

I smile and shove her to her knees with my hand in her hair. She grunts and cusses me as I force her to her stomach with my knee in her lower back.

Cole grabs his flashlight and shines it down on her. I straddle her ass, her hands pinned in mine against her back.

He kneels beside us and yanks her sleeve up. “What are you doing?” she asks in a rush.

“Insurance,” he replies and then drags the blade against her forearm.

She cries out in the cemetery as the skin gives and blood starts to pour from the wound. He then takes the knife and stabs Jeff in the chest. “Now your DNA is in him with the murder weapon.”

I chuckle. This bastard … “You go to the cops. They dig him up and investigate his murder, and you

go down with us.”

“Fucking …”

“And you called me. More proof that we were communicating the night of the murder. Around the time of death.”

Her body lies stiff under mine, and her breathing is labored.

“Return her phone and let her go so we can bury this body,” he tells me.

I release her, and then I stand up, hovering over her. She crawls away from me, and I toss her phone to the wet ground. She stands up on shaky legs, holding her arm where he cut it. We both shine our lights on her.

“Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind,” he growls.

She turns and runs.

“We should have killed her,” I say, not really knowing what the fuck he’s doing with her. She could still talk.

“That wasn’t part of the plan,” he argues.

I fist my hands. “I don’t fucking care about the plan. What I care about is not going to prison. We should, at the very least, have taken her with us.”

Even I knew that wasn’t a possibility, but what other choice did we have other than killing her? Bruce Lowes is a fucking evil bastard. How do we know his daughter isn’t just like him?

“Did you want to take her home?” He arches a brow. “Keep her as a pet?” Then he shakes his head. “She won’t say anything.”

“She will …”

“She won’t. She’s Bruce Lowes’ daughter. We kill her, and they start looking for a missing girl. Then that brings questions.”

“They’d never find her body, and you know it,” I add. It may be the first time we’ve ever committed murder, but we know what we’re doing. Our fathers have trained us for times like this. We were raised to be fucking sharks. Just like them.

“I wasn’t worried about them finding her body.”

“Then why not let me shoot her?” I growl, confused by what the hell he

is doing. “Two birds with one stone.”

“Not yet,” he responds.

I run a hand through my hair, finally understanding his intentions. “You want to fuck with her.” I chuckle. He wants a toy. “This will be fun.”

He smiles.

Oh, Austin Lowes, he’s gonna make you wish he would have just killed you.

That night was the beginning of her torment and our fun. One thing after another, he put her through hell. Who knew she would survive it? Or that Cole would fall in love with her? I sure as hell didn’t see that coming, but even I can’t deny that they were made for one another.

“Ah, come on, baby.” She glares at me. She hates it when I call her baby, but I don’t care. “You had fun. It’s okay to admit it.”

“Cole.” She growls his name.

He gets out of the water and walks over to her. Placing his hands on her hips, he remains silent. “Did you hurt her?” she asks him, knowing exactly what I meant by had some fun.

He shakes his head. “I didn’t do anything. Just stood there.”

“You didn’t try to stop him?” Her mouth falls open.

He doesn’t respond because he already answered her once.

She sighs. “Do I know her?”

“No.” We both lie in unison.

She pulls away from him. “You said you were done.”

“I am.” He nods.

“But now you’re playing some sick game with someone.”

“It’s not what you think,” he argues.

She places her hands on her hips. “Then explain it to me.”

“Not my place.”

She looks at me, and I give her a big smile. “I’m a rock, baby.” I’m not telling her anything. Can’t take the chance she’ll run off and tell Becky. I don’t want to have to deal with her more than I already do. I want to fuck her, not listen to her bitch. And I think my warning was very clear. Demi will keep her mouth shut, and she’ll stay the hell away from me.

Austin leans over to pick up her clothes and then storms off into the house.

Cole turns and looks at me over his shoulder. “You got her?”

I nod. “We’ll be fine. Won’t we, Lilly?”

She giggles. “Let’s dive for rings.”

He turns back to the house and goes in after her. I have no doubt they’ll be fighting it out with her on her back and him between her legs.

________________

An hour later, I’m in the shower washing away the chlorine water when I hear a knock on my bathroom door. “What?” I ask.

Cole clears his throat, and I pop my head out of the frosted door to look at him. “You have a visitor.”

My jaw tightens. It’d better not be my father. I’m still avoiding that fucker, but I don’t put it past him to show up here in Texas to make me talk to him. “Who?”

He gives me that Cole Reynolds smile that I know all too well. His previous argument with Austin forgotten, so I know he told her. He didn’t have to say it, and I didn’t ask. Austin can be relentless when it comes to wanting to know what’s going on. It’s better for her to know than to bother me twenty-four seven. “She’s downstairs in the living room waiting on you.” He slaps the bathroom door. “We’re on our way out. You have the house to yourself for at least three hours. Make them count.”

DEMI

I sit on Cole and Austin’s couch scrolling through Facebook on my phone.

I’ve been waiting for over twenty minutes in silence. Cole and Austin left with Lilly. Austin looked at me strangely when she answered the door and I asked if Deke was here, but she didn’t question me. At first, I thought it was pity and then confusion. I didn’t want to get into it with her. I would prefer her to not tell my sister that I was here. Maybe she thinks my visit involves Becky. That I’m here to save her from the big bad wolf. Maybe I’m here to

tell Deke to leave Becky alone.

If only.

“Well, well, well. I must say I’m surprised to see you here.” Deke enters the living room dressed in nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants. I look away as my face heats. I hate that after he left me lying on my bed last night, horny as hell, I finished what he had started. “Come to play some more?” He plops down across from me in a white leather recliner.

I take a chance to look at him, and he has his muscular arms crossed over his smooth and defined bare chest. His skin tan from spending so much time out in the pool over the summer. His dark hair is wet and pushed back off his forehead. His baby blue eyes twinkle as they look me up and down.

My legs tighten, and my breathing hitches when he stops on my chest. I remember his lips … my eyes drop lower, scanning over his defined abs.

I’ve never seen a boy look so much like a man. It’s hard to believe he’s only eighteen and a fucking bastard.

His eyes move to my bruised wrists. “I’m a little disappointed.” Then they return to mine. “I’d hoped your hands were still tied behind your back.”

My heart begins to race at his words, and my body heat rises. God, it’s like I just walked into a sauna. Sweat breaks out across my forehead, and I rub my hands against my denim-clad thighs. “I came to call a truce.” The words burn my throat as if I just downed a shot of acid.

He tilts his head to the side. “Truce?”

“Don’t act stupid, Deke. We both know you’re not.” I roll my eyes, ignoring the throbbing between my legs.

I’m testing him. And myself. I’ve always been a competitive person by nature. I have to win. And that is exactly why I’m going to take Deke away from my sister. He doesn’t know it yet, but she wants him back. They’re playing this little cat and mouse game right now, but she has no idea she’s got competition. Neither one of them will ever see me coming. Not until it’s too late.

He smirks and stands. My head falls back to rest on the cushion in order to look up at him, towering over me. His stomach muscles flex when he lifts his hands, running them through his wet hair. A smirk plays on his lips while he watches me take him all in. My eyes drop to his sweatpants and the fabric leaves nothing to the imagination—the outline of his impressive dick clearly visible—and he’s not even hard. My mouth begins to salivate.

He steps forward, placing his hands on both armrests. Leaning into me, he lowers his face until it’s inches from mine. The smell of his masculine body wash hits me, and I bite my inner cheek to keep from moaning.

“You’re right.” He lowers his voice and licks his lips. “I’m not stupid.

And neither are you. I knew you’d fold. I don’t call you Becky for nothing.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” I demand. My hands itch to slap him across his pretty, perfect face to see what he’d do. Instead, I clasp them

together. Don’t show all your crazy at once, Demi. You’ve got to leave a little surprise.

His blue eyes drop to my chest. I suck in a breath when they linger. Is he thinking what I am? Did he like what he felt last night as much as I did? My boobs aren’t small, but they’re not as big as my sister’s. Did he like mine more or less?

He smirks to himself before pushing off the chair and walking out of the living room and down the hall, ignoring me. His back muscles on full display. I stay transfixed on the way they ripple at his movements. His gray sweatpants sit low on his hips, and my mouth waters at the way the fabric pulls against his round ass. I know he came down here to see me only half- dressed on purpose. He knows how to play the game. It’s also the same reason I dressed up for him. He dated Becky, after all. He likes girls who look a certain way. Even if it’s not the real me, I can pretend.

“Deke?”

“I’m guessing you can see yourself out,” he calls over his shoulder before he turns and walks up the stairs.

“Deke?” I growl, only to hear the door to his room slam, and my fists tighten. Don’t follow him. That’s what he wants you to do.

That’s what Becky would do, and you’re not Becky.

But that’s why I’m doing this. That’s why I allowed him to touch me in the first place. To make him look like a fool. Walking out the front door means he wins, and I’m not about to give in.

“Nature of The Beast” by My Darkest Days begins to play loudly from upstairs, and I grind my teeth at his choice of song.

I take the stairs two at a time and open the first door to my left. A black wooden framed king-size bed sits up against the wall with a deep red comforter. Black glittery pillows decorate the bed along with a couple of others that match the bedding. A large picture of Cole and Austin hangs above the headboard. She’s wearing a beautiful red dress, and he’s dressed in a black tux with a bow tie that matches her. Nope. Definitely not Deke’s room. The moment I open the next door, I don’t even get a chance to look around because I’m yanked inside, and my back is slammed into a wall.

“Curiosity killed the cat.” Deke chuckles.

He was expecting me. “Are you gonna kill me?” I almost smile.

He tilts his head to the side and bites his bottom lip as he contemplates that idea. My body heat rises like it seems to do when I’m around him. “Is

that what you want?” he asks, reaching out and taking a lock of my hair. He rubs it between his fingers. “Want me to hurt you, Demi?” I swallow nervously because I know this man would do exactly that. I’d have to give him a reason, but once I pushed him to that limit, he wouldn’t think twice.

“Is that why you keep coming around me?” He chuckles, and I don’t miss the innuendo.

“No.” My answer is nothing more than a whisper. Not true, but not totally wrong.

I come around you because I hate you. And I want my sister to smell my perfume on you. I want her to know I’ve been near you. Touched you. I want to watch her go crazy knowing I have taken something from her.

Something she was so sure would be there when she decided to quit being a fucking whore and come back.

The corners of his lips turn up. “Liar.” My heart begins to pound, and he leans forward, his lips now inches from mine. “You’re more fucked up than I originally thought,” he whispers.

“Excuse me?” This coming from a monster. We’re more alike than you could ever imagine, Deke.

“I stood outside your room while you watched that documentary. Into murder, are you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about …”

“You lie as bad as your sister does.”

I hate that—the way he compares us—more than anything.

“Is that why I turn you on?” he asks, and his eyes leave mine to admire

my lips.

“You don’t—”

He chuckles, cutting me off. “Another lie. I bet you’re wet right now, baby.” His knee pushes between my legs, easily spreading them apart. I’m panting at his closeness. His free hand comes up and cups the side of my face. His touch so soft, it has to be fake. There’s nothing tender about this man. I know he’s fucking with me, but my body isn’t getting the memo. I lean into him, wanting more. Wetness pools between my legs when he lowers his lips to my neck and kisses the sensitive skin there, sending a shiver up my spine. But I feel it’s a threat. He’s pretending to be gentle just to get close to me. He can strike easier from here. Rip my throat out with his teeth. Too bad I don’t care.

I reach out and grip the waistband of his sweatpants as his lips trail up my neck to my ear. He laughs when I moan.

My hands fist the material. My knuckles skimming the smoothness of his defined V. I have a thought of pulling them down just to see what he’ll do from there. I doubt he’ll be laughing then. “You are such a fucking …”

My words are cut short when his lips slam on mine. He doesn’t ask for permission, and I don’t push him away. His hands hold my face in place as his tongue enters my mouth. He tastes just as good as the other night at Silence. Like sin and cinnamon. It stirs something in my stomach, and I pull him closer to me. A moan escapes me as I open my lips, wanting him to take my breath away.

But he draws back and runs his knuckles over my cheek. His blue eyes hold a hint of amusement, reminding me this is just a game to him. I’m

panting and so goddamn wet. And losing.

“Go home, Becky.”

My teeth grind and I snap. “Quit fucking calling me that!”

He laughs. “That’s what you want, right? To be like her?” His hands grab mine, ripping them from his sweatpants, and before I can stop him, he pins them above my head to the wall. He presses his body into mine once again.

Fuck, he’s hard. My body begins to shake with need, but he ignores it. “You want me to want you like I wanted her.”

“Deke,” I warn, but my knees threaten to buckle. Every time I’m around

him, he overpowers me in some way.

I like it.

Throw me on the bed, rip off my clothes, and pin me down. I’ll be your good little whore.

That’s obviously what he’s into— a girl who’s easy and stupid.

“You want me to fuck you like I did her?” His brows pull together as if he can’t quite understand the thought of that. Allowing himself to want me would be beneath him. He thinks she’s so much better than me.

And fuck, I can’t understand it either. I hate him as much as I do her, yet here I am, panting and wet all because he is touching me. Silently begging him to fuck me. “Stop,” I growl as though it’s his fault I came here. What the hell did I expect? Deke Biggs is ready and willing to play. He made that crystal clear when he showed up at my mother’s house last night. And I couldn’t stay away. I’m literally using myself as bait. And men like him, the GWS, don’t ever pass up a chance to draw blood—to eat you alive.

He lowers his head to the crook of my neck, and he kisses me softly just like before. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up at his tenderness. It’s another trap. He has figured out that’s my spot—my weakness—so why am I falling for it?

I moan loudly and then bite my lip to keep from begging for more.

“You want me to treat you how I do her?” he whispers.

I fight to free my hands from his hold, but it doesn’t work. I know he still sees her. He proved that when he thought I was her at Silence.

“Tell me, baby. Did it turn you on when I ordered her to her knees so I

could fuck her mouth?”

My breath hitches.

“Did you listen to her suck my cock like the desperate woman she was?”

he asks amused.

“Yes,” I answer shamelessly.

I thought she was as weak and pathetic as he did. Now I understand why she so willingly fell to her knees to try to convince him to stay. But unlike my sister, I know, no matter how much time you spend staying on your knees, you don’t win Deke Biggs over. There are too many other girls out there willing to do the same thing.

His lips trail over my collarbone, and he bites it through my shirt. I whimper as the feel of his teeth makes my pussy throb.

“Do you want to be useful to me?” he asks. “Take her place?”

“Stop!” I growl, getting pissy. “I’m nothing like her.” I want you to want me for me. Fuck Becky and what he felt for her!

He steps back and drops my arms. They fall to my sides like dead weight, and I hate the distance he’s put between us now.

“You’re exactly like her.” He looks me up and down, his blue eyes full of hatred, his lips pulled back with disgust.

For the first time, I see how much he truly hates her. How much I must remind him of her. We both have blond hair and blue eyes, but I’m smaller than her in height and overall size. Becky has always been runway ready with her long legs, but I prefer an oversized T-shirt, no makeup, and a pint of ice cream in my lap while I stay home watching some frightening shit on Netflix. She likes to go out, get drunk or high, and show off everything she has in a tiny skintight dress with heels.

We may look alike, but our similarities stop there. He’ll never believe me, though. And I’m not about to try to make him understand.

But if he hates her so much, then why did he do what he did to me at Silence, thinking I was her? My only guess is a power trip. He thought she wanted him, and he was going to take advantage of the situation. Then he realized it was me, and he was disgusted. He may hate my sister, but I’m nothing to him. Insignificant. And that’s a hard pill for me to swallow.

The fact that I hate Deke is no longer an issue because my hatred for my sister is far greater. So I’m going to do what I watched her do all those years and use what God gave me.

“Get the hell out of here.” He nods to the closed bedroom door.