With that, I finally turn around and walk away, and this time, she doesn’t follow.
But the image of her quivering bottom lip is etched onto my brain now, and I know it will be even harder to fall asleep tonight.
3
Parker
Painting eyes is a motherfucking bitch.
I've struggled with it for years. A gaze can hold so many emotions, and I struggle to catch them all with my paintbrush. But still, I try.
My favorite way to practice is to draw myself and my brother. Two identical faces stare at me from the canvas with blank white spaces where the eyes should be. It's time to tackle the hardest part.
Picking up a paintbrush, I mix the perfect shade of gray that's the same color as our irises. I take a deep breath and get to work.
Hours must pass, because next thing I know, Kade's calling me downstairs for dinner.
I leave the makeshift studio my brother created for me beneath the roof of the apartment. I don't even look at the finished painting, unable to be critical of my own work. I tell myself I'll show it to Kade later. He’s always honest in a kind way.
We sit down to a dinner of the takeout I ordered earlier, and I tell my brother all I've been up to, but he's stubbornly quiet and pissed off again tonight. Every night lately has been like this. Since we lost June, Kade has retreated into the abyss of his mind. Usually, he'd at least let me in, but this time, the door is shut, bolted, and locked twice.
"I'm going out tonight." Kade clears the table and starts doing the dishes.
"Again?"
"Got a problem?" he asks over his shoulder.
I don't answer, throwing my legs on the table where we've just eaten. My brother's pissing me off, so why wouldn't I get to piss him off, too?
The moment he turns around and sees my feet up, he grunts for me to take them off.
"I'm coming with you," I tell him resolutely, but he just laughs in return. "I'm serious, Kade, I want to get out of this fucking place."
"I don't think that's a good idea." He grabs his leather jacket and puts it on. I guess by going out tonight, he meant going out right the fuck now. Like the jerk can't stand to be in my company for five fucking minutes. Anger boils inside me, and I have to bite my lip, so I don't tell Kade what I really think about his stupid games.
"I painted today," I tell him.
"Oh, yeah?" His face lights up. Hope is such a wonderful thing. "Can I see?"
I guide him into my makeshift atelier where the portrait of us is still drying. I wait until Kade joins me, then flip on the light switch. Our mirror images on the canvas stare back at us, so similar yet so vastly different.
The eyes... The eyes came out perfectly this time. Kade's gaze is serious, holding back on the viewer as though he doesn't want his secrets revealed. Mine is open, mischievous, and dark at the same time. So very alike yet like two completely different people.
"What do you think?" I ask after a long silence.
"Looks great." Kade claps me on the back. "Great job, kid."
I hate it when he calls me that. Forever fucking reminding me that I'm younger than him, as if I could ever forget.
"Tell me honestly." I know I'm digging a grave for my own confidence, but I need this. "Please, man. I worked really hard on it."
"Well..." Kade inspects the painting up close. "It's a great work of art... I just don't think we look like ourselves at all."
"You don't?"
He shakes his head. "Something's off for me. Maybe the eyes. You don't look like that in real life."
"Like what?"
"That... serious." He chuckles. "I'm the serious one, remember?"
It's interesting that he can differentiate us even in the portrait. I hide the smile from my face and nod. "Thanks for the honesty. See you tomorrow."
He waves and heads back downstairs, closing the door behind him as he leaves the apartment. I start mixing a vibrant, dark, and rich shade of red and carefully dip my biggest paintbrush in the bloody color. Then I splatter the paint over the portrait.
Red splotches bloom across the painting. I'm not careful. I decorate the canvas with those red stains until the eyes are all that remain, staring accusingly at me. Happy with my accomplishment, I leave the studio and pour myself a generous glass of cheap wine from the deli down the street.
The buzzer sounds minutes later, and I pick myself up with a groan to answer the bell.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Kara." The voice is nervous, young. A girl.
"Who?"
"Um, Kara." I can practically see her fidgeting. "I was here a few days ago... We met at the club?"
I remember the redhead then. Grinning, I buzz her through, and a moment later, she appears on the doorstep of our apartment, holding a wet umbrella and hiding her mascara-smudged face from me.
"I'm so sorry I just dropped by," she mutters, kicking off her ankle boots and heading straight for the couch. I groan inwardly. I had no intention of entertaining one of my brother's ex-conquests, but it looks as if I have no choice. I join the redhead on our couch, and she smiles weakly at me. "I should have called first."
"Probably." I shrug. "So, what's up?"
"My boyfriend just broke up with me," she whispers. "I'm sorry. I know I should've told you I was with someone when we met, but... yeah." Her eyes are as big as saucers as they meet mine, begging for forgiveness. "I'm really sorry, Kade."
Oh, she thinks I'm my brother.
I'm about to set her straight, but something keeps my mouth shut. I'm wondering how I can play this to my advantage. How I can manipulate Kara into doing something for me.
"What are you doing here, Kara?" I finally ask, my eyes scanning her face for a sign of weakness I can exploit. "How do I fit into all of this?"
"I... I didn't know where else to go." She starts crying, quiet little sobs wracking her body. I pick myself up from the couch and bring her a glass of water. She gulps it down gratefully before speaking again. "I'm so sorry. I know I shouldn't have come here, but I didn't know where else to go."
"It's okay."
"No, it's not." She puts the glass down, and some water sloshes over the rim. I watch the ring forming on the coffee table as she sobs softly. "I'll go. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," I repeat. "You can stay for a while. What would make you feel better?"
The sobs stop as if on cue. She wipes her eyes with the sleeve of her black sweater and raises them to meet mine. There's not a hint of sadness in her gaze now. No, she stares at me with pure, unfiltered lust. So that's why she came here. Guess Kade's dick worked its magic on her. And my thoughts are confirmed when the redhead speaks up again.
"Fuck me." The words are loud in the quiet room, the only other sound the hum of the TV I left on. "Fuck me like you did last time, Kade."
I smirk, laughing at her. "I thought you liked my brother better."
"No way." She laughs out loud, and my hands form fists in my lap. I want to fucking hurt her. "He's a kid. Nothing like you."
"You know we're identical twins, right? I'm older than him by, like, a minute."
"A minute is all it takes." She scoots closer to me on the couch. Trembling fingers touch my hand and electricity sparks between us. Kara's fucking hot, and the desire to hurt her mixes with my primal lust, creating an intoxicating cocktail that pumps through my veins, demanding I feed the beast in my head. "You're totally different than him, Kade. You're the real alpha out of the two of you..."
She leans in closer, running her fingertips over my paint-streaked white T-shirt. I smirk at her, grabbing her hand by the wrist. Her surprised eyes find mine, and she smiles shyly. I get up, still holding onto her hand, and force her to her knees in front of the couch. I twist her arm just painfully enough that she obeys. Lust overshadows her judgment, and she complies.
"Take my cock out." I barely recognize my own voice. I really am Kade in this fantasy. The bad seed. "Fucking now."
Kara's hands shake as she undoes my zipper and pulls my
jeans and boxers down. My cock springs free of its prison. I take deep, dark satisfaction in the little gasp that escapes Kara's lips. She glances at me, and a flash of disbelief crosses her face. But I don't let those doubts take over. Instead, I force the tip of my cock between her lips.
"What the fuck," she breathes, and I take the opportunity to push into her mouth next. She sputters and coughs around my cock as her accusing eyes stare deep into mine. I laugh at her. The instant transition of rage into pure submission amuses me, and my cock grows in her throat. Kara's eyes roll back, and she relaxes her throat, allowing me to slip deeper and deeper inside her.
"That's right," I growl. "Just shut up and take it. That's what you came here for, isn't it?"
She attempts to nod, but I don't give her the chance. I allow one arm to fall behind me, grabbing the redhead's forehead with the other. I start to fuck her mouth like that, feeling her dribble all over herself and my throbbing thickness.
"Look at me while you choke on my cock." Her eyes open again, and she does her best to stare at me like I've told her to. She's pretty like this, prettier than she was before. All girls should be kept like this—desperate, needy, and wanting. "That's right, come on, fucking suck it."
Gripping my shirt at the back of my neck, I get it off over my head.
I pull her head back, and she takes deep breaths for a few seconds before I start fucking her mouth again. I’m getting close. Kara's breathy little moans are getting me fucking right on the edge, and I don't want to hold back any longer. After all, she's nothing to me. Just a little toy to play with.
"Lean your head back."
She does as she's told, and I step over her, allowing her to swallow most of my cock. She panics, hands going to my thighs, but I'm too strong for her. I pinch her nostrils between my fingers and jerk off into her throat with the other. Kara's helpless with no one to save her. Not unless...
I groan just as I hear the key turning in the door. Unloading my heavy balls into Kara's mouth, I lock eyes with my twin who's just entered our apartment.
He takes me in with disbelief, standing in front of some bitch behind him. A flush colors my cheeks. Busted by my own brother. But something stops me from hiding what I'm doing. Instead, I glare at Kade, shaking my cock off on Kara's face and smirking at my twin.
"Jesus fucking Christ." Kade pulls the girl who's with him inside and slams the front door behind them. "Are you fucking serious right now, Parker? You can't even go to a different goddamn room? You have to fuck some random bitch in the fucking living room?"
"Parker?" I turn to face Kara, whose face is covered in drops of my cum.
"Yeah?" I laugh in her face.
"Kara?" Kade hisses.
"Kade?"
"Oh, this is a fun game.” I laugh, zipping up my pants. I wipe my hands on my jeans and approach the blonde who's watching all this from behind my brother. "I'm Parker. And you are...?"
"Fuck off." Kade steps forward, shoving me against the wall. So much for the happy-family-bullshit we had going on for a few weeks since the last time this happened. We never change, my brother and me. We're alike, yet we're opposites. Because one of us fights his dark side... and the other embraces it.
"Oh man, here we go." I snicker. "Finally grown the balls to tell me off, Kade?" He doesn't say a word, just stands right in front of me without touching me at all. But I'm not done fucking with him. I'm going to show him who's the goddamn boss here.
"You ever touch what I touched first again," Kade speaks up calmly. "You're fucking dead. Got that, Parker?"
"Ask her which one of us she enjoyed more." I smirk at him. "Come over here, Kara. Tell brother dearest which one your favorite dick was."
"Fuck you, you little piece of shit." Kade swings, but before his fist can hit me, he pulls himself back. "You're not worth this."
"Just like fucking always. Too much of a goddamn pansy to handle me." I spit at him. He's so shocked he just stares me down. "Until you learn how to please one of your one-night-stand bitches, I'll be the one giving them what they really want." I grab my crotch and smirk at the blonde. "You know where to find me when you want to taste the better seed."
Ignoring the fact that I'm not wearing a shirt, I shrug on Kade's leather jacket and pull out a cigarette from the box in his pocket. I light it and wink at the crestfallen trio before walking out and slamming the front door in their faces.
4
Kade
"Get your clothes and get the fuck out of my place."
"Kade, I..."
"Spare me the bullshit." I point at the door, glancing at her with disgust as she attempts to wipe her cheating lips. "By the way, your boyfriend? Met him out tonight. Nice guy. Sorry about the fucking shiner I put on him. Neither of us knew what a cheating little whore his girlfriend is."
"Fuck you, Kade." She flushes deeply, for some reason thrusting Parker's shirt into my hands before storming out the door. If it keeps getting slammed so much, we're going to end up fucking breaking it.
"So," I sigh, nodding at the blonde. "Too much crazy for you? Or are you brave enough to stay?"
Her horrified expression tells me everything I need to know. And again, the door slams. This time, I wince in tune with it. Once the blonde whose name I've already forgotten is gone, I open the fridge and pull out a bottle of vodka. Fuck tonight, fuck June, and fuck Parker. Since my brother chased off my pocket pussy, I'm going to have to make do with a bottle of Smirnoff tonight.
I settle on the couch and take deep gulps of the burning liquid. My thoughts are swimming, but the booze dulls them and numbs the pain in my chest. The TV blares at me, but I'm not following. My mind is somewhere else.
I can't bring myself to think about Parker, so I focus on her instead.
June. Pretty, innocent little June Wildfox.
Fucking bunch of bullshit.
June Wildfox is nothing but a thief.
She didn’t do it intentionally. She didn’t ask to inherit all that money, money that should have rightfully belonged to all of us—me, Parker, and her. But she got it all anyway.
Our mother died in a tragic car accident months after we were born. We never mourned her because we were too young when she passed. And our father did his best so we wouldn't miss her. He was a good man, and he gave us everything he could. We never wanted for much. The small things we wished for as kids were always given, bought for us. I knew Dad had big dreams, but he never had time for it with both of us on his hands.
Then he met her. Rachel Wildfox was beautiful, younger than him, and a single mother.
They hid it from us for a long time, only telling the two of us when we were ten years old. My dad sat us down and told us we would soon meet a nice lady and her little girl, who was six at the time. We were hesitant, but as soon as Rachel and June walked through our door, everything was forgotten, and an instant friendship was born.
From then on, us kids would beg to be together as much as possible. Our parents didn’t mind at all because it gave them an excuse to be together.
It was a good childhood. We loved each other, and our parents treated us all the same even though we weren’t related by blood.
And because there were two of them raising us, they had more time to talk about their ambitions. My father was a coder like me, and he had some ideas that were way ahead of his time. Rachel proved to be irreplaceable when it came to marketing my father’s ideas.
And so, it happened that they built a small company, right out of my dad’s garage in our house. And then that company exploded overnight.
Suddenly, we were moving into a bigger house, getting better cars, and hiring housekeepers. We moved to a beautiful building in a rich neighborhood. Our family flourished.
I always thought of June as a sister. At least until the day when everything changed… But up until then, June Wildfox was just a silly kid with a gap between her teeth and muddy knees. She was closest to Parker, though—they were inseparable. I guess we were close too, but it was neve
r like her relationship with my brother. We didn’t do stuff together or make plans with just the two of us. And there was always something there... Something underlying between us, a dark spark that I rarely acknowledged. It made me push June away more than I cared to admit.
She'd accused me of hating her before, but it was about as far from the truth as it could have been.
I had a full-blown lustful crush on June, and it was unacceptable for so many reasons.
I stayed quiet and kept away from her. I looked away when she tried to find my gaze, ignored her attempts to reconnect, and distanced myself from the entire family. I knew it would hurt our parents if something happened between us, so I lurked in the shadows, watching the happy family as an outsider. A lurker. A stalker.
When we turned twenty-three, our father died.
He was a big man, and we knew he had some health issues, but we were shocked when he dropped like a stone. He was gone, just like that—just a body before the ambulance even arrived. This time, we didn't get the chance to mourn.
My father left everything he owned to Rachel, the woman who showed him love again after our mother died. And it was never thought to be an issue—we were Rachel’s children as well, and she would take care of us.
During a meeting at the firm, Rachel collapsed while discussing her new position as head of the company. June was terrified after what happened with our father, but we kept telling her it would be okay.
Rachel was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.
She was gone in less than a month, like a flame someone had blown out.
I had three parents, and they’re all buried now. I’ve had two siblings, yet I now only have one. Because after what happened, I couldn't bring myself to let June fucking Wildfox in my bed.
When Rachel died, we were forgotten. The only person who mattered to the lawyers was June, the clumsy girl who had blossomed from a girl with muddy knees into a stunning young woman. She was Rachel’s blood relative, and Parker and I… we were nothing. Rachel didn’t legally adopt us. In the eyes of the law, June was worth millions, and my brother and I were collateral damage.
Tyrant Twins: A Dark Twin Romance Page 3