BooksBarbecue
Back No Save Point
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

Haven doesn’t either. For a full, stretched-out moment, we just sit there, completely still, completely silent, completely drowning in whatever the fuck that was. And because my body still hasn’t caught up with my brain, because I don’t know what else to do, because I am actively malfunctioning in real time, I drop back onto the couch beside Haven, my elbows resting on my knees, my fingers raking through my hair. And, completely breathless, completely wrecked, completely unable to wrap my head around any of it, I finally say the only thing I can manage. “What the actual fuck just happened?”

Haven doesn’t answer. Because I don’t think she knows either.

19

Haven

I can’t fucking think straight. Tate’s words are still ringing in my ears, crawling under my skin, settling in places I don’t want them to be. Because he knows. He’s always known.

The way to get inside my head, the way to push my buttons, the way to toy with me like I’m a game he’s already beaten a hundred times.

Now, he’s done it again.My stomach is still tight, my breath still catching in ways I can’t control, and it’s not just because of Tate. It’s because of Carter, too. Who’s sitting next to me, still trying to process whatever the hell just happened, still too caught up in his own thoughts to realize I’m already making a decision.

Because if Tate wants to play games? Fine. Let him. I’m not playing his game, I’m playing Carter’s. And right now, he needs me. I scoot toward him, watching the way his body reacts before he even registers what I’m doing, the way his shoulders tense, the way his fingers flex against his knees, the way his breath stutters when I bring one knee over his thigh and settle onto his lap again.

He blinks, wide-eyed, barely keeping it together. “Haven—”

I don’t let him overthink it. I slide my hands up his chest, feel the rapid beat of his heart beneath my palms, feel the way his entire body is locked up. But I do. And then, just to see what he does, just to test, just to confirm what I already know, I shift. I settle lower, pressing down fully, my weight fully on him now.

Fuck. I freeze. Because holy shit, he’s thick. Carter makes a sound, low and desperate, like he’s just now realizing I can feel it, like he doesn’t know what the hell to do with the fact that I’m not ignoring it.

I pull back, just slightly, just enough to look him in the eyes, just enough to watch the moment he completely loses his ability to function. “Fuck, Carter.”