Page 145 of Their Cruel Play
She doesn’t say anything, but I can see the look she gives the camera on my laptop. She rolls her eyes and focuses on her paper. His smirk softens. He’s falling for her.
She has a soft spot for him.
For all of us really, but I can’t tell if she’s actually falling for us. Before she wanted out of this, now she’s accepting it. Maybe that will be enough to make her open her heart.
I don’t need her heart to keep her with me. There’s a part of me that can’t imagine anyone choosing to fall in love with me. It’s a hard ask.
So I focus on what I can control. She likes what I do to her body. We get along.
Jack knocks on the open door. “It’s ready. Want me to walk you through it?”
Harper stands and walks over to take his hand. Jack is easy to love. My guess is she’ll fall in love with him first. His family and his little sister adore him in a way my family can’t love me.
I let Jack and Harper go by themselves. He’ll make sure she knows all about the system. He might not tell her about the video cameras. But then again, he might. There’s the whole trustthing we’re all trying with her. Probably should tell her about the cameras.
“I can sleep here tonight.” Luke’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
“She’ll sleep better if you’re nearby.” I shrug. “She worries about us.”
He nods and brushes his hand through his hair. “I don’t feel comfortable here.”
I know what he means. My house isn’t a home. Not like Harper’s is. Mine is a place where I sleep. It’s better with her and the others there, but it’s still not home. Luke’s is a prison. Mine is lonely. Eli’s is tense. Jack’s is loving, but there’s stress there. Just like there is here.
I glance at Nico. I don’t know how his home life is. He wasn’t wrong. He’s not quite one of us, but he is at the same time. We need to solidify his hold here.
“We should hang out at my place on Friday.” I stretch. “No party. Just get some pizza and play some video games.”
Nico looks up from his homework. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
It gives us all a chance to reconnect. And then we can all fuck Harper until she passes out. She comes into the bedroom and arches an eyebrow at my smirk.
“What are you thinking?” She comes close to the edge of the bed, and I set my laptop off to the side.
“That you look fucking hot when you’re passed out from being worked over.” I drag her down onto the bed with me, so that she straddles my lap.
She glances over her shoulder at her laptop on the desk. The webcam is still on, and the guys are watching, with the exception of Jack.
“Jack just left to go home.” She settles on my lap and plucks at my t-shirt, staring at that spot. Her voice is soft when she says, “We should talk, Caden.”
“We should.” I cradle the back of her head and touch my forehead to hers. “I can’t stand the thought of something happening to you.”
“What can happen to me during class at school?” She presses her hands on my chest and my heartbeat races beneath them. Something almost did happen to her in that locker room. But this is about Tanner.
“I don’t want to lose you, Harper.” I meet her eyes to show her how sincere I’m being. “You mean everything to me. We didn’t come at you in a normal way, but you’re ours. You’re mine. He hurt my sister in a way I can’t even comprehend someone doing to a girl that young.
“I wanted to destroy him after that. But it was a cold rage because I know she fell for it. She wanted him. He didn’t force himself on her.” I cup her jaw. Tears swim in her eyes. I remember Ava’s tears when she came to me. Rejected, pregnant, scared, helpless.
“I’m glad she had you to help put her back together.” Harper’s fingers dig into my shirt lightly.
“I took things away from him. I took his status. I took football. I took everything I could. Because he used my sister as a tool to get back at me.” Lifting my gaze, I search her eyes. She’s not like Ava. She’s not like us. She’s this pure soul we’ve latched on to like a fucking lifeline.
“I need you to know if he hurts you, I won’t stop at taking things from him.” I let her see the rage that boils inside me.
“Caden.” She puts her cool hands on my jaw and rests her forehead against mine. “I won’t let him hurt you.”
Something cracks inside me at those soft words.Shewon’t let him hurtme.
I glance at the screen over her shoulder, knowing they’re hearing everything, including Jack at his desk. But it doesn’t matter. They’re part of me. They know my damage.
