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He grabs my chin and forces me to look at him. “Is this about your fishing lesson?”
My stomach tightens. He knows… He fucking knows.
I shake my head. “I don’t know what you mean?”
He runs his hand through his hair, trying to tame the wild strands that keep falling into his eyes. “I know Micah didn’t catch that fish. He told everyone you did, so I assumed you were with him.”
He’s watching me, waiting for my reaction. His eyes darken with resurfacing feelings, and now I question what that dark look really means. This is the first time I have ever imagined Maison causing harm to Olivia. It was Micah who sowed that idea in my mind, and it took root like a weed. His words were so malicious that they made my ears burn just hearing it.
Maison embraces me tightly, enveloping me with his muscular arms. His body feels just like Micah’s, every muscle hard and firm. Even now, my body still tingles from the two intense orgasms Micah brought me using just his fingers. In Maison’s arms, I feel tense and on edge, my whole body coiled.
He looks down at me, his lips pursed at my clear discomfort. “What did he say to you, London? I know he said something. You wouldn’t be this upset if he didn’t.”
I swallow a pit in my throat and grab his hand. “Maison,” I whisper, taking in a deep breath, “I like you.”
He leans down and kisses me, and a tidal wave of guilt washes through me, knowing where my lips just were. “I know,” he whispers back.
I sigh. “I like you a lot.”
He squeezes my hand and leans into me, pressing his forehead against mine. “I know, baby,” he says again. “I like you, too. What has you so upset? What happened with Micah? Because if he said something that hurt you, I’ll kill him.”
I press my lips together. “He didn’t.” The lie rolls off my tongue easier than it should, and I have no idea why I’m protecting Micah right now. I should tell Maison and make him face the consequences.
He joins me as I keep walking, and we walk together through the twisted forest. The sound of our footsteps echo as we crunch through the fallen leaves beneath us.
He doesn’t allow me to go far before he pulls me back. “Then what is it, London? Talk to me, baby.”
I loosen out a breath. “Micah killed a girl, Maison, and no one seems to talk about it. Yet, somehow, I’m supposed to put all my trust in him.”
His eyes flicker, and he opens his mouth to say something, but I stop him by placing my fingers on his mouth. “Please tell me about her. Help me understand him better.”
“It was a car accident, London. It was all an accident. He didn’t mean to kill her.” He turns his head from me—so many more words lingering on the tip of his tongue.
I bristle. “Why was he with her to begin with, Maison?” I say louder than I should. So loud, it slices through the vast forest around us, cutting through the trees and rippling the leaves. “I thought she was your girlfriend.”
I watch as he freezes in his tracks, slowly turning toward me with a deadly look in his eyes. His head cocks and he stares at something behind me. “London, come here,” he hisses.
The rustle…
I turn to face the sound, and what has Maison’s eyes so wide. Yellow eyes and gray fur stare back at me—a cat of some sort that has my body frozen in place. It blends in so well, only its eyes really give it away. Maison walks up slowly, grabbing my hand and pulling me back as I stand frozen in place.
“Step back with me, baby,” he says in a quiet, alert voice. “Just walk slow.”
I take a trembling step backward, keeping my gaze locked on the feline. It takes a step forward toward us, its muscles gleaming, its dark fur shining in the dim light. Maison’s grip on me tightens as a small cat, weighing only twenty pounds, approaches us. The feline inspects us curiously, its yellow eyes fixated on us as it blinks and sniffs, almost as if it’s considering us as a potential snack. “Don’t move,” Maison whispers, as though he’s aware of my desire to flee.
The creature stares us down for a few tense seconds, its yellow eyes dancing in the dusky light before it carries on, disappearing back into the woods, and I can breathe again.
“What was that?” I ask Maison as he hugs me, and in an instant, he feels safe to me again.
“I think that was a lynx,” he whispers. “Super rare to see them. We should go back and tell the others it’s close and make sure we clean up after ourselves tonight. We need to leave, in case it returns.”
I grab his hand before he can start walking and slide my fingers through his. “Maison, why won’t you talk about her?”
A slight squeeze of his fingers and a pause. “It’s the past, baby. I just want her to stay there.”
It’s not the past… whatever past tensions between these brothers linger. It’s clear all over their faces, every interaction, every dark look Maison gets when she gets brought up. Olivia’s ghost hovers around him constantly.
I flex my jaw. “I don’t know what kind of history you and Micah have with girls, but I am not like that. I am with you and you only, so please keep Micah away from me.”
