BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (48)
  1. Foreword
  2. Preface
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. About the Author
  45. About the Author
  46. Also by S.L Gray
  47. Off the Record
  48. Book 2 in Co-op Corrupted Duet

Tate’s grin sharpens, his eyes flashing with something dangerous, something entertained, something I don’t trust. “Not invited?” he repeats, tilting his head like he’s genuinely confused, like the very concept of boundaries is foreign to him. “Pretty girl, if I waited for an invitation, I’d miss all the fun.”

I groan internally, pressing my fingers into my temple, because I already know where this is going.

“Besides,” he adds, his voice dripping with amusement as he shifts his weight, arms still crossed over his chest, looking so fucking at ease while I am barely holding onto my sanity. “From what I heard, Carter could probably use a few pointers. Maybe a little…” His grin widens. “Guidance.”

Oh. My. Fucking. God. My stomach plummets so hard I swear I feel it hit the floor, heat climbing up my neck, through my ears, straight into my brain until I feel like I’m actively overheating. I don’t dare look at Haven.

I know she’s either laughing, or looking at me with those sharp brown eyes like she’s waiting to see what I’ll do, and I cannot deal with any of that right now. I shift, dragging a hand down my face, my entire body a stiff, uncomfortable mess of nerves and awkwardness, because I don’t know how the fuck I got here, but I need to get out of it. Haven is quiet for a second too long, which means she’s thinking, which means she’s about to say something that’s going to make this worse. I am about to combust.

17

Haven

My brain is short-circuiting, completely spiraling into a place I don’t want it to go, a place it absolutely should not be going.

Because what the actual fuck did Tate just say? More importantly, why did my stomach just flip at the sound of it?

I press my knees together, my entire body warming in a way that has nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with something I refuse to acknowledge, something I need to get the fuck out of my head right now. This is wrong. It has to be. There’s no way in hell I should be thinking about this, about them, like that.

But now that Tate’s put the thought in my head, it’s stuck there, lingering, twisting, making my skin feel too hot, making my breath feel too shallow, making me press my knees together like that’s going to help.

Carter. Completely, utterly lost. He’s still sitting beside me, looking like he’s desperately trying to find an escape hatch, looking like he wants the ground to open up and swallow him whole.