The Secrets We Hide (The Four #2) - Becca Steele Page 0,17
my cock and heavy breathing in my ear?”
She pouted, a frown on her face, but I could see the smile she was trying to hide. Fuck, she was gorgeous. “Well. Just don’t, okay?”
“Keep your hands to yourself, and we won’t have a problem.” I smirked at her as she huffed crossly, shrugging off my arm and slumping back again with her arms folded.
I suddenly became aware of everyone’s eyes on us. I’d forgotten they were there, but they were all staring at us in amused silence.
“You two have issues,” Zayde muttered, shaking his head.
“How the fuck could you get a boner when there’s a severed finger staring at you?” Cassius’ voice was incredulous.
“Fingers can’t stare; they don’t have eyes.”
Cassius turned to my brother. “You know what I meant. Hey, maybe we could give this finger to Petr, to replace his missing one.” He swiped the blood-encrusted severed finger from the tray, brandishing it in the air. “Hey, Littlefin—”
“Put. It. Down. Now.” Zayde’s voice was glacial, and Cassius dropped the finger back on the tray, pulling a face.
“Sorry, mate. Got a bit carried away.”
My brother crossed to the tray and grabbed an antibacterial wipe from the packet there, throwing it to Cassius. “Use that.”
Zayde pulled on a pair of latex gloves, snapping them into place.
“Bloody hell, Zayde in rubber gloves. I’ve seen it all now.” Kinslee buried her face in Weston’s shoulder, her laugh muffled.
Z ignored everyone, fully focused on his task. He gripped the finger and picked up a scalpel, scraping carefully at the decaying flesh around the ring that was still attached. It was so tight that the flesh was bulging either side of the metal band, so the only way to remove it was to cut it off. Me, I would’ve used pliers and pulled the thing off, but I guess Z didn’t want to risk damaging it. Or maybe he just wanted to make the most of the opportunity to cut something. Hard to tell with him.
“That’s fucking gross.” Winter made a fake gagging sound but leaned closer to watch, fascinated. Zayde finished scraping away the flesh and worked the scalpel blade under the band of the ring, finally freeing it, and it fell onto the tray with a clatter.
He wiped the ring over with an antibacterial wipe, then began cleaning it using a cotton bud and jewellery cleaner.
“How do you have all this stuff?”
“Best not to ask,” I murmured to Winter. She shuffled closer to me, and I forced myself to ignore the urge to touch her, focusing on Zayde’s actions instead.
“Z. Can we get a fingerprint?” I indicated the severed digit.
He shook his head. “No prints. The boys said all his fingers were the same.”
“That’s fucking shady.” I pulled on a pair of the latex gloves and picked up the finger, examining it more closely.
“Use the magnifying glass,” Zayde suggested without looking up, still intent on cleaning up the ring.
“Can I see?”
I glanced up at Winter staring at the finger, curiosity in her blue eyes.
“C’mere, then.” I tugged her onto my lap. She made a small noise of protest, but I held my arm around her waist like a steel band—she wasn’t going anywhere. “Pick up the magnifying glass, and I’ll hold the finger.”
Obediently she took the magnifying glass from the tray, her hand shaking slightly. My girl was fighting her reaction to me—her little game of teasing me earlier had backfired, and she was back to being in denial about the way I affected her. I bit back a smug grin before she noticed; that would go down as well as a fucking lead balloon. “Good. Hold it over the top of the finger,” I instructed.
I moved my face next to hers so we could both look through the glass. “See how the tip of the finger is all smooth?” I angled my head slightly, letting my stubble graze the soft skin of her cheek.
She shuddered, swallowing hard. “Yeah. How? How did it happen?”
“My guess,” I said, moving my head again, my lips almost touching her skin, “is that they were burned off. It’s a quick and easy way to do it. See how the skin’s a different colour here?”
My stubble scraped against her cheek again as she nodded, but neither of us moved our faces away.
“Enough with the flirting, please,” my brother groaned. “Sort your shit out. It’s clear you both wanna be together. Fix whatever it is”—he glared at me—“Caiden, and we can all play happy families again.”