= 27

t offici

ancisco (Palac

charity

– En

e are

ng for the best, but expecting the worst. I've learned in the past week

going to detour me through the madhouse to

Stop doi

for! For the last time, get it into that robotic sk

back, but the line goe

ai

g confirmation that she actually did that. The call log glows

slowly in my head ... to 20 ― this time, 10 just

e this hanging-up-on-me shit,

he truth bites down hard - for some reason, I have a strange urge to know where she is at all

just to anchor myself - when headlights flare and the limo glides around the corn

g to capture the best moments, and get the story out there first (even if it's not the truth). The first sharp clicks of shutters s

hammering harder than it should. The noise is a blur, flashes stinging my eyes even before the car rolls to

door and silently pray once more, hoping for everything to be okay.

est, I force my hand steady an

arly skin, I want to lick - maybe even nibble on. She straightens up, an

ing-lutely stunning! I can't tell you much about the little red number clinging to her curves, except

more. And the only issue I have with those slim legs in the scarlet heels,

g down her neck. The subtle touch of makeup enhances her fairy-lik

Like a feli

eras. I'm not even aware

ate amount of time, before I drop my gaze to her plump, cherry li

ad down into a kiss. Slowly.

. Her scent-sweet and ripe like summer peaches - floods my senses, dizzying, intoxicating, so potent it's almost unbearable. Ecstasy coils through me, and something raw and u

ide eyes meeting mine, vulnerable, questioning - be

wkwardly fixate on the mass around us. The paparazzi press forward in a frenzy, each flash scorching white across my vis

my body offers. Her hair brushes against my jaw, soft and ticklish, an

c. You won't find a single photo of me locking

prouting a full-on mountie with a slew of cameras aimed

free from the waistband and letting it drape loose. It's a pathetic disguise, but it's all I've got. My s

ation - served together

pounding, my thoughts spiraling in a blur of curses. What the hell am I doing? Why did I drag this girl into my chaos? And w

voices pelting me f

o catch you?" "Are you getting married?" "Is it true tha

ire in the air. Flashes blind me, turning the night into a strobe-lit n

hearsed, but now the answers tumble out of me

. But inside, I'm raw and restless. It is times like today that I wish I had the luxury to give t

oses ranks tighte

he back. The truth is out now - no point dodging what's already been c

ted about the baby. I, for one, can't wait for it to be b

es me flinch. I glance down, and her eyes are huge - round, furious, st

he?" "Have you tho

l would I think of names for my niece or nephew? Isn't that Damion's battl

names

mall frame brimming with iron strength, dragging

Chandeliers drip with light, casting diamonds across gowns and tuxedos. The room hums with laughter pitched too hi

th the gold-leaf finish. It's all pretense - plastic masks of joy pasted over hollow stares. A sham, but one I've maste

and loads of attitude ― it all

impostor. And it's all because of that kiss. It

cause of a stupid kiss.

inner confusion - towards her. My dick is only semi-deflated, and it

I mean, I've kissed plenty of girls before ― PLENTY

caught me by surpris

into my head at the time," she says, sounding annoyed. And she has no

ng that came into your head?

being in the spotlight ...

eed to get away ― from HER. I need to gather

corner table and

eaning with my arms on the counter, valiantly fighting to regain my composure. My lips tighten, and my m

h a room filled with models and actresses, it's saying something. Suddenly, against her, the rest look

came? Is it who

betraying me in the most inconvenient way possible. If I'm still breathing after tonight, there will be plenty of ti

around my neck. I grit my teeth, square my should

ack from Argentina. Dean told me that at least Damion would be here. He could not get

e go and leans onto the counter, h

horny?" Spasms of irri

the

lso untucked. The cheek. Sometimes I detest this over

," I

And why would he be? I'm not Jackson. I don't hit things

histles softly, giving me a stern look. I only drink JWB

rder, and Damion asks for a

w up your bubb

ing our table. Mel joined Aria, and they are laughing about someth

ving you insane?" Exactly. He hits it on the

he back, sympathetically, as if to soothingly console me. But I'm not feeling uplif

o divebombed straight into the asylum." I'm officially

Your sister drives me batshit-crazy almost every minute of every fucking day," he snickers. His eyes are on the girls

e becom

cond, I see the flicker of fear lingering in his eyes. "I won't survive that." The fear instilled in al

u know she'

world lights up whenever she steps into sight. And I can't imagine a life worth living without her in it. She's my everythi

and those green irises regain their previous mischievous vigor. "Like mag

disgusted, "Dude, it's my sister you're talking about."

ber to use protection." His eyebrows rise with his smile. No, fuck. Sometimes I wish I had my twin's temperament. My soon-to-be broth

out about the baby?" I ask j

his tracks. Perhaps, in an attempt to gather his

my head. No, I haven't. Been a little distra

m. Wet lips connect with my cheek.

in-the-butt, and occasional hook-up. I step back to get away from her,

htly turn me on ― she is a Victoria's Secret model turned actress after all ― but

something. I'm feeling rather feverish lately. All co

y to do a thoro

ut of reach of Amanda's slutty little hands. So, she threads her arm possessively through mi

n for yourself," Amanda greets my sister without letting me go, sounding very insincere

looking at that unwanted hand on my

you to my real sister-in-law-to-be, Aria." Hearing her name in Mel's overswee

le helper? And then it hits me. Pullin

ding her the cocktail. I put my arm around her shoulder, pull her close, and reci

moment of locking lips, before I l

allow me whole. The weight of dread presses upon my

e? Damion's words flash thro

is girl must be

ck is pressed flush against my chest. The fit is too perfect - like her spine was made to curve into me. My arms sli

s half-growl, half-promise. It takes every shred of willpower not to taste her th

ls like she's trying to match my own erratic rhythm. I can feel the weight of her breasts pressing against my forearms, soft cu

g drawn too tight. The defiance is there, but so is the crack in her armor. She's not unaffect

undone as I am - then she's getting wet. The idea detonates inside my skull, sending a spike of heat low in my body

fake over-friendliness. She flaps her hand through the air, tossing her hair

h him." She emphasizes the 'you' just enough to

lf, but I'm able to hear since I'm resting my chin on he

e and then leaves with somebody - usually me." She's not wrong. But she's not exactly right, either.

r a second, I genuinely worry those falsies might fus

g bitch makes it sound a lot worse than it is. Yes, I always leave

rl who leaves with me," I w

to dissect my previous sexual relationships. And to put Amanda in her place, I conti

ie. I want her to always be with me. And tha

r a moment, she actually looks pissed - but then her fak

one of them. Mel gives her glass of ginger ale a slow, contemplative look, like it ju

her gaze to the

etly. "It's called

a dramatic spit take, and I inhale so hard it

You should ask f

ther to clean it or to stop herself from laughing.

NOW, before you and I s

Amanda ask

o function. Can someone actually

a's arm and tows her along, knocking Amanda asid

" Mel

kson ... or she's fully embraced her inner bitch. Or mayb

forty alligators in a garden pond. She's convin

t. But there's n

alliance waiting to happen. The little hot-headed minx I'm related to has a lon

nally-cautious girlfriend straight in

minedly toward the bathroom, arms linked like Thelma and Louis

he alligators," Aria says.

cleanup," Mel sm

hey're planning Amanda's de

who died?" Amanda

phalon," D

e and click my tongue at him - the univ

ds, w

a pouts, then struts away li

Rid

shoulder. He leans forward, elbows on the table, gaze fixed on my

" he says, voice flat. "But th

the door. "More like soul-s

silence, both lost in thought, eyes glued

mion mutters with a

ation. And why should I feel bad for him? He knew exac

indication, your girl's just as much of a beautiful, r

ight out of me. What the

from the desperate man trying to climb over the fence, getting

into his hairline, the kind of permanently skeptical expression that makes y

d last night. I was sulking for a whole laundry

s getting bolder, more desperate. Enough to climb over an electric

unatic, even though she was go

calm when I'm a ra

- soft, oblivious breaths torturing me with each rise and fall of her chest. And by the time dawn rolls around, I'm horny, cranky, and full of homicidal tho

de. Her safety system. She stacks them like sandbags between us

maybe I am.

the grace of a toddler throwing a

not that twists in my stomach confirms th

one afternoon with my s

upright. Every muscle on edge. I fol

t there - smiling, talking to our girls like th

E. ACTUA