Page 159 of Wallflower

But Kyle likes to play with fire, and I know what he’s going to say before it’s even out of his mouth. It’s all a ruse to get a rise out of Ripley anyway.

“You first, Rose.”

“If I win, you have to be my slave for a week.”

Shantel scoffs from the corner, drawing my attention for a fraction of a second as Ripley tenses against me. The cinnamon bun sits untouched on the plate in her lap.

Eat up, cunt.

“Sounds spicy, I’m in.” Kyle’s eyes flick to Ripley, calm and relaxed in the chair beneath me. “And if I win, I get a kiss.”

The entire room holds its breath.

Kyle’s words finally register in Rip’s brain, and he launches to his feet with his arm banded around me like an anaconda, tethering me to him.

“I’ll cut your lips from your face before they get anywhere near her,” Ripley snarls as my pussy leaks a steady flow, feet dangling off the ground.

“There he is,” Bucky coos. “You had us worried for a minute, Rip.”

Kyle scoots away slowly. “Yeah, you big fuck, calm down. It was just a joke.”

“Death. To all of you.” Ripley says to no one in particular, settling us back into the comfy spinning seat.

“Can we get on with this?” Bucky says. “My cinnamon roll is turning blue.”

I hand Rip a bun with a green candle, keeping a pink one for myself, and offering the remaining purple one to Reid, who lingers over by the door. Seems he wants to be included but is clearly hesitant.

That’s fine by me. He didn’t set off my alarm bells before…but now? I’m unsettled by the very look glazing over his eyes.

I guess I’ll be taking care of two problems today. Not just the grating woman in the corner, but also the new living embodiment of Bleakcrest’s previous owner.

“Make a wish and blow out the candles, Papa,” I say to Bucky. He ponders for a moment, eyes darting around the room. Silently he nods to himself, then blows out his candle. We all follow suit, picking the candle out and pulling off the melted wax.

Shantel pulls out her purple candle, sliding it in between her lips to suck off all the gooey icing and cinnamon goodness, and I bloom internally.

“So,” Bucky says, grabbing my attention, “has he asked you what your favourite dinosaur is yet?”

I groan theatrically. “Only a hundred times.”

“Must be serious then,” Kyle chimes in.

I smile, malice aforethought thrumming through my veins. “As a heart attack.”

It’s been hours with no word from anyone. I can’t imagine they’d keep Ripley out of the loop for so long if Shantel dropped dead.

Could they suspect I had a hand in it and that’s why they’re staying away? I am the newest addition to their little group. I’d understand their accusation. However, Reid is back, and all of Maximus’s men who joined Rip’s team should be on thePerson of Interestlist as well.

Rain pelts against the window pane as my mind wanders. Maybe I didn’t give her enough. I went light on the powder, not wanting anything to be traced back to me if Bucky demanded a toxicity screen on the body.

The wind howls, bending the trees until they are liable to snap, drowning out the alien movie playing on the TV.

Ripley’s head rests against my thigh as he dozes, having fallen victim to the gentle calming sensation of my fingers running through his hair.

I fight the way my leg wants to bounce, the nervous energy making me antsy. I need to get up and do something. We should have heard about her downfall within the hour. To be honest, I’m surprised she even made it out of the building. With the way she was seething, her blood would have been thundering through her veins. I must have made a miscalculation.

My fingers find their way to my mouth. The anxiety driven trait I’ve long worked to ignore taking over. Maybe she’s passed out in the bathroom. Curled around the toilet sleeping after she hurled up her guts. Could she have known it was I that made her sick? Or did the champagne just make her stomach turn for the worse. My teeth whittle away the nail of my ring finger as my mind strays down a dangerous path.

Will she come after me? What if she tells Ripley? He would undoubtedly believe her if she accused me of poisoning her. He knows I’ve done it before, but never with the intention of putting someone six feet deep.