The Moth and the Flame (When Rivals Play #2) - B.B. Reid Page 0,50

you should come back.” I was staring at the floor when I said that, so I didn’t see his reaction, but I felt it. His shock, his anger, his confusion…it was all the things I felt but more. This wasn’t our first fight or even our worse, but it was the one that hurt the most. He wasn’t even the one to blame. It was my jealousy that caused this.

I should have just let him fuck her.

It wasn’t as if I truly believed he’d fall for her or anything. I just couldn’t bear the thought of knowing she could have him in ways that I couldn’t.

“What the hell are you talking about, Lou?”

“Don’t come back, Wren. I swear you better not come back.”

“Or what?” he challenged. He’d taken a threatening step forward, and when I met his gaze, I could see that he wasn’t going to back down. It shouldn’t have surprised me. Wren had always given me what I wanted except space.

“Or nothing. I just won’t talk to you.”

He chuckled with disbelief and a little genuine humor. “Silent treatment? You’re threatening me with the silent treatment?”

I twisted my lips with a shrug. What could I really do? Wren had my foster parents under his thumb, and whenever I ran away, he always managed to find me and bring me back. Short of killing him, I was stuck with him.

Unless I could convince him.

“Come back…and I’ll fuck Miles.”

“What?” Time stood utterly still as we both waited for the other’s submission. “What the fuck did you just say, Louchana?”

I was about to speak when I heard the unmistakable sound of the front door opening and closing.

The Hendersons had returned from Bible study, and I knew it meant I had won this round—for now.

“You better go,” I taunted and nodded toward his only exit.

Wren looked at the window, and then with a smirk, made an about-face. Before I could stop him, he was jogging down the stairs. I could hear the Hendersons startled surprise when he cheerfully greeted them. A moment later, the front door opened and closed.

“Lou?” Mr. Henderson called up the stairs.

My voice shook when I answered him. “Yes?”

“Could you come down here, please?”

I started down the stairs until I remembered that I only wore a towel. Shit! After hurriedly dressing, I rushed downstairs to receive my punishment.

I was grounded for a month.

While the Hendersons tolerated Wren, they had strict rules about entertaining him alone in their home. I wouldn’t be seeing anyone for a long time, not Wren and certainly not Miles.

Well played, asshole.

After spending nearly half an hour assuring them that nothing inappropriate happened, I excused myself upstairs and wearily slid into bed.

It didn’t take long for the tears to come, and once I started, I couldn’t stop. I never thought I could hate and love someone equally, but with Wren Harlan, anything was possible.

My next sob was caught in my throat when I heard the window being shoved open. My back was to it, but I didn’t need to see. It could only be Wren. I hurriedly wiped away my tears even though I knew he couldn’t see them.

Thankfully, the carpet muffled the sound of his feet touching the floor. I had a feeling the Hendersons would ground me for life or worse—send me back to the group home—if they caught Wren in my room twice in one night. I listened as he removed his jacket and then his shoes and shirt before my bed dipped under his weight. I then sucked in a breath when I felt strong arms slide around my waist and pull me against a wall that was hard, hot, and familiar.

Trying my best to sound unaffected, I released the air I was holding and said, “I told you not to come back.”

His arms tightened around me as if he were afraid I’d run. “I never left.”

Too tired but mostly too relieved to fight, I sighed and snuggled deeper inside his arms. “Stalker.”

His chest shook from laughing, and I felt myself smiling.

“Lou?”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t lose you, too.”

My heart nearly burst from my chest at the vulnerability in his voice. “You won’t. Best friends for life.”

The next morning, I delivered the news that I was grounded and kicked him out of my room. He then recited an address—Miles’s address—before gently kissing my forehead and climbing from my window.

As I watched him go with a frown, I wondered if he meant what I thought he meant. Just as I began to think I was wrong, he