Page 41 of Cruel Crypts
“Put it on unless you want everyone to know what we were doing out here. I certainly don’t want anyone to know that I was fucking someone likeyou.” My lip curled as I threw the words out, designed to be cruel and cutting.
She visibly flinched, but then she gathered herself, glaring at me. Yanking the jacket out of my hands, she thrust her arms into it, then did up the single button.
It would do. She was covered enough that no one would notice the state of her dress underneath. Except…her hair…
Reaching out, I slid my fingers through the silky soft strands. “Hold still,” I murmured, hating the way my voice betrayed me, coming out almost gentle. When I’d finished smoothing out her hair as best I could, I took a step back, then another, needing to create some distance between us. “We should go.”
When I opened the door, she followed me inside in silence. The room was busier than it had been earlier, and when I glanced at the time, I saw that it was close to midnight. The party would probably wind down in around an hour or two, but I had zero desire to stay until the end.
Pressing a hand to the small of Elena’s back, steering her through the room, my mouth opened, and I couldn’t fucking believe the words that came out of it.
“We said tonight. Only tonight. It isn’t midnight yet. Let’s go home.”
Her eyes widened. She stopped dead in the middle of the room and stared at me for a long moment. Then she nodded.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
What the fuck was I doing? What werewedoing? We couldn’t stand each other, couldn’t trust each other, and yet, here we were, exiting this dinner event like we were a fucking couple or something.
We were almost at the door when I heard my mother’s voice from behind us. We both spun around, and I locked down my expression fast, affecting my usual blank look.
“Knox. Elena.” She eyed us with one delicately raised brow, and as I met her gaze, I was suddenly aware of the fact that she wasn’t alone. My dad was there with her too, smirking at us both.
Fuck my parents.
“Are you going home?” My mother smiled, and it was way too shark-like.
“I’m tired,” Elena volunteered, and somehow, she managed to sound genuine. Maybe she actually was tired.
Fuck. Maybe she was expecting that we’d go our separate ways when we arrived back at the house.
Something inside me rebelled at that thought, but I kept it on lockdown.
“Elena’s tired, and so am I,” I said brusquely, not wanting to prolong the conversation any further than necessary. “Enjoy the rest of the evening.”
“Oh, we will.” My dad leered at me as he slipped his arm around my mum’s waist, and I almost gagged. At least his attention had been diverted, and consequently, so had my mother’s. We made our way past them and outside without any more comments, and in less than three minutes, the car that Elena had arrived here in was in front of us. Gareth eyed me with amusement from the front seat—he was my parents’ preferred driver for events, and it was more or less guaranteed that he knew everything about us, although he wouldn’t ever share anything, thanks to the NDA he’d signed when my dad had first employed his services.
The ride home was silent, and after I’d said a muttered goodbye to Gareth, Elena and I were alone.
It took a minute for me to invite her to my room.
Another minute to divest her of her clothes and jewellery.
And under a minute for me to press her into my mattress and sink my cock inside her.
When we were finished, long after I’d got rid of the condom and pulled her into my arms, I spoke. “This is nothing.”
She curled into me, her palm stroking over my chest, where my heart was beating way too hard. “I know. It’s nothing. I hate you, and you hate me.”
“Yeah.” Fuck my voice for going all husky. “Glad you realise that this means fuck all.”
“It means nothing.” She yawned against my chest. “We hate each other.”
“Yeah, we do.”
Despite everything, despite the fact that Elena was right here when she should be in her own room, far away from mine, somehow, I fell asleep.
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