Page 20 of Make You Mine

Sometimes, all I need is my journal and my imagination.

“Girl, I said it once, and I’ll say it again. You need to get some real action in your life. Involve more than yourself in that tango. Besides, I’m just talking. I’m not going to jump, Kayden. Don’t worry.” She pauses. “Unless he wants me to, and then I can’t be held accountable for my actions.”

“Trust me, you can do better,” I say, my jaw tightening with my words.

I’m not jealous. I’m not. Kayden is trouble, and I know it firsthand. I’m just looking out for a friend.

Hannah and I end up moving on from Kayden and talking for another thirty minutes before she leaves. I never tell her about my missing journal. My mind has been zigzagging with possible locations of where I might’ve left it. A sliver of doubt wonders if Kayden took it. But there’s no way I’ll ask him that.

Once my thoughts divert to my annoying stepbrother, the devil himself walks out of his room and into the kitchen.

I’m doing the dishes when he comes in.

“I left dinner for you in the fridge. You can heat it in the microwave,” I say over the running water.

Kayden drags his feet around the room and scoffs.

“What is it now?” I turned, half-facing him.

He’s standing by the fridge door, shirtless again. Plaid pajama pants hide what’s under the trail of hair dancing down his belly button.

The view makes me bite my tongue. I hate that he’s this attractive.

“Don’t bring guests home again without consulting me first. I had to starve myself in my room until it was clear.”

I close the water tap and fold my arms. “Are you serious?”

“Absolutely.” He picks the plate from the fridge and closes the door, balancing it in one hand as he focuses on me.

“Why?”

“If we’re sharing a space, I should be able to roam freely.”

“Really? I don’t remember you ever asking me for permission before bringing girls to do you favors in your Porsche, even though we’ve shared it multiple times before.”

The flashback of finding Kayden in a compromising position with a girl in college makes my blood recoil.

Trauma for life. The first thing I did when I got the car from Lucas was have it deep cleaned.

“That’s different. A car is a car. I was your driver. We didn’t live in it.”

“Then, how about all the times you snuck girls into your room at home? Did you ever ask?”

That’s a stretch. I never actually caught him with anyone. But I wouldn’t put it past him.

“Did you want me to ask, Madelyn?”

Kayden smirks, getting dangerously close to me. Placing the plate on the kitchen counter behind me, he pins me against it, locking me between his arms.

“Were you jealous?”

My pulse fastens. Why is he this close?

“W-why would I be jealous?”

“Because you’re not getting any.” He’s confident in his words. “And don’t even attempt to deny it because I heard you say it.”

Shit. He heard Hannah and me.