Page 196 of Rogue Riders Duet

I try for sarcasm, but it comes out as more of a panting plea. “No biting?”

Luc huffs a laugh close to my ear. “I thought you didn’t like it.”

Oh, I like it. Way too much.

“Aren’t you mad at me?”

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” he says seriously, and my insides twist with dread. “But no, ma Petite,” he adds, softer now. “I’m not mad.”

His gaze dips to my chest, and that cocky smirk that should come with a public warning comes back with a vengeance. “I could never be mad about them.”

A startled laugh bursts from me, and I shove at his face. He catches my wrist mid-motion and presses a kiss to the inside of it before stepping back, giving us both a moment to breathe.

I feel a little better, but it won’t last because he still doesn’t know everything.

“I slept with Finn.” The words fly out like they’re on fire, and I have to throw them somewhere before they burn me from the inside out.

Way to be careful about the delivery, Crews.

Luc freezes. No blink. No breath. Just buffering.

“Okay,” he finally says slowly. “When?”

“Just before the race.”

His brow furrows, the beginnings of storm clouds in his eyes. “Is he the reason you crashed?”

I hesitate, because technically, yes. Probably. But I shake my head. “No.”

Unsurprisingly, he’s not convinced. “I swear, I’m gonna⁠—”

“You’re going to do nothing,” I cut in quickly. “If you’re hurt or pissed, which you have every right to be, then be pissed at me, Luc. Not him.”

His eyes search mine, tired, confused, and holding a flicker of hurt. “I’m not pissed. I’m just… I don’t understand. Are you together now?”

“No.” The word leaves me on a sigh. “He thinks it was a mistake.”

Luc’s face darkens. “He what?”

“Yeah.” My voice is smaller now, shame curling up inside me alongside the hurt. “I’ve had a crush on Finn since I was thirteen, and when he’s around, my brain just short-circuits, and I do stupid shit.”

Luc lets out something close to a laugh, but there’s no joy in it. “I know that feeling.” Then he blinks. “Wait. Since you were thirteen? He was twenty-three then. Did he⁠—”

I shake my head fast. “No. He never saw me as anything but Dane’s kid sister. I think he still somehow sees me that way. Everything that happened, it was me. I pushed. I was stupid and…”

“You’re not stupid.” He cups my cheek, his thumb brushing just below my eye. “Even if the heart makes us that way sometimes. I’m stupid for you, Petite. Maybe one day, you can be stupid for me.”

I swallow around the lump in my throat. “I am stupid for you. I’m just still stupid for him too. Can you understand that?”

Luc drops his gaze, his jaw working, like he’s thinking of something or someone. I hold my breath, but he’s silent long enough that I have to let it out in stuttering exhales. But then he presses a soft, steady kiss to my lips.

“I guess I can.”

I don’t know what I expected him to say, but his answer sinks into my chest. Something eases in me, like maybe I haven’t ruined everything, even as a little spike of jealousy rises too.

Who did he just think of?

The air between us hums with all the things we haven’t said, but the vulnerability is heavy, so I take a step back, and his hand falls away. I clear my throat and tighten my grip on the towel.