Page 30 of Temptation
I was the weak one, and I was about to break all my goddamn rules.
My eyes opened wide, my mind with only one thought, with only one goal. I started getting up from the couch, my body leading me naturally toward where the two of them exited, but strong hands descended on my shoulders and pushed me down onto the couch.
A growl tore from my throat and I turned around, ready to attack the person stopping me from going after them, when my eyes connected with Rowan’s.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I asked.
“Stopping you from being an idiot,” Kane said as he plopped down on the couch. “Or from killing yourself. I don’t know, something along those lines. You looked quite murderous just a couple of minutes ago, and we still need Dylan and his pretty head.”
“I wasn’t going to—”
“Kill him,” Rowan answered and sat on the sofa chair opposite of us.
“Maim him?” Kane asked and bit into the apple in his hand.
“Torture him,” Rowan continued.
“Stab him.”
“Kidnap Skylar.”
“Punch him.” Kane grinned, chewing the apple.
“Strangle hi—”
“Stop!” I bellowed, breathing heavily. “I wasn’t… I wasn’t going to do any of those things.”
Rowan leaned down, putting his elbows on his knees, and looked at me. “Then why did you look like you were going to get up and murder both of them?”
“I didn’t…” I trailed off. “I wasn’t going to kill anyone. I was just thinking.”
“Thinking about killing somebody?” Kane asked. I looked to my right where he sat, wanting to erase the smug grin he was sporting.
“No, smartass. I was literally thinking about the insanity that happened here last night. And you…” I poked him in his chest. “You seemed awfully comfortable here, considering that you were the one telling me to get Skylar out of here.”
Out of nowhere, his hand pressed against my mouth. His eyes narrowed, breaths coming out faster, and he started looking around the room, frazzled with fear prominent in his eyes. “Not here, you idiot.”
“You really need to learn how to keep your mouth shut, Ash,” Rowan said, exhaling slowly. “That mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days, and we won’t be there to save you.”
I pushed Kane’s hand off of me and moved a couple of inches away from him. “I don’t need your help,” I gritted out. “I was fine on my own.”
“Oh, were you now?” Rowan cackled. “I’m sorry, but if we weren’t there last night, you would’ve marched up to that altar and you would’ve ended up dead. If it wasn’t for us, we wouldn’t be sitting here, discussing things. We would probably be burying you somewhere deep inside the forest.”
“If you were so fine on your own,” Kane interrupted, “why did you text me last night? Why did you tell me where you were going? Out of all the people, you texted me. It’s not like we’re besties or anything, so why me?”
I gritted my teeth, staring at the coffee table in front of me. The crunching of an apple as Kane continued eating was grating on my nerves, but they were right. They were so fucking right, but I was too stubborn to admit that I needed help. I was too fucking stubborn to admit that I had no idea what I was doing.
When I came to the town for the first time, I thought I had it all figured out. Maps, plans, history of the town and of the Order, I thought I was so smart, but I was so fucking wrong.
And that pissed me off.
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do know. You just don’t want to admit it to us. Maybe we didn’t grow up together like the rest of the guys and I did, but you’re as stubborn as we are,” Kane said. “You’re so fucking stubborn, Ash Crowell.” My eyes widened at the usage of my real last name. “Yeah, I know your last name. I told you already, I know everything about you. This town has more secrets than inhabitants, and you thought you’re a special one with your secrets?” Kane scoffed. “Think again, Golden Boy. We all have secrets. We all have done things we regret, but at least we’re not pretending to be something we’re not.”
“I’m not pretending,” I mumbled.
“You’re not?” Rowan scowled. “Could’ve fooled me.” He leaned back and rested against the back of the sofa chair, crossing one leg over the other.
