A Dose of Pretty Poison (Pretty Poison Trilogy #1)

by Kelsey Clayton

The fire burns hot in front of me—the level of heat where it turns a light shade of blue—and all I can think of is throwing her into it.

Feisty 😏

“Oh my God,” she gasps. “Do you have a crush on my brother?” “No,” I answer, at the exact same time Mali answers with, “Yes.” My head whips toward my almost former best friend, and I glare at her. “Dude, did I do something to piss you off or did you just wake up and choose violence this morning?” She rolls her eyes. “Oh please. She figured it out.”

Until I hear the sound of Hayes’s tailgate closing right outside the open kitchen window.

“Don’t be a sore loser,” Cam tells her. “It’s not my fault you’re predictable.” Her eyes narrow as she takes her phone out from her pocket and throws it at him—hitting him directly in the balls. “Did you predict that?” As Cam falls to the ground, Laiken throws her hands in the air. “Now where was that aim while we were playing beer pong?” I look down at Cam and chuckle as he groans in pain. And to think he has a thing for that girl.

wait wait wait so its a brothers bestfriend crush kinda book but also a bestfriends brother crush

THE NIGHT STARTS TO wind down, all of us having sobered up enough to drive home.

yeah thats not how that works

I can already feel my sister’s eyes on me—judging, suspicious eyes. I put the truck into drive and focus on the road to avoid looking in her direction. “I really hope you know what you’re doing,” she tells me. You and me both.

I knock on the skylight, smirking when Laiken shrieks. I grin broadly and wiggle my fingers at her, instantly pissing her off. She glares at me and grabs the closest throw blanket to cover herself, but if she doesn’t remove that thing soon, I won’t apologize for what I do next.

“Shh,” I say, slowly shaking my head. “Relax. Stop trying to rush it. Close your eyes and just enjoy the climb.”

ooooookay we went from zero to 100 awfully fast

I move the stick just slightly, but it takes me getting a little closer so I can see exactly where she’s aiming. And that’s when her ass grinds against me. It’s a slick move, I’m not going to lie. If I was drunk or hadn’t spent the last week and a half beating myself up over what happened, it may have worked. But it won’t. Not tonight anyway. A breathy laugh leaves my mouth as I drop my head against her shoulder. “I’m playing right into your hand, aren’t I?” “A little bit. Yeah,” she answers proudly.

“…you to go home.” All the air leaves her lungs as I press a kiss to her forehead and force myself to back away.

As if I was just playing someone else entirely, she lines up and aims the ball like a fucking professional before taking her shot—sinking three balls at once.

“Fucking hell,” he whispers. “I don’t stand a chance when it comes to you, do I?”

“You heard me that night when I was in the kitchen with Mali and Devin. You heard the conversation and then played it off like you didn’t.” His eyes fall closed as he sighs. “I told Devin not to tell you that.” “She didn’t. You just did.”

“I want you, okay? When you’re around, I can’t seem to keep my eyes off you. And when we’re alone together, I lack even the most basic fundamentals of self-control.” He takes a step closer and puts his hands on the counter in front of me. “But no matter how crazy you make me, at the end of the day, you’re still my best friend’s little sister. We can’t cross that line.”

“No. You’re not excused,” I sneer. “You can take your moral compass and your shitty excuses and shove them up your ass because that line you claim we can’t cross? You obliterated it the moment you sucked my cum off your fingers.”

My hand moves before I can think it through, and Laiken stops when she feels my fingers lightly grabbing her hand. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” I ask, hating the way she actually manages to make me nervous. Glancing down at our hands, she looks like she might agree, but then she pulls herself out of my grasp. “No.” My hand falls to my side as she takes a step back. “The time to talk was around the same time you ignored me and made me feel like I was just a game to you. It’s too late for that now.”

“No. Absolutely not. You’re not staking a claim on me or whatever it is you’re trying to do. Go get me one of Cam’s.” Yeah, that’s not happening. “It’s that or the bra, and you may be ballsy, but you’re not the type for self-humiliation.” She gives me a look that rivals the one she had in surf shop. “You’re an asshole, you know that?” “Yep,” I answer. “And I’m glad you’ve figured that out. Now, hate me all you want, but take off his fucking jersey.” There’s no chance for her to argue it further as I walk away and get back on the ice. And when I glance over at her again, she may be pissed off, but she’s doing it while sporting my number on her back.

I turn around to do just that, but before I can reach the door, he pulls me back. His thumb rubs against my cheek as he kisses me once more—softly this time. “You’re going to be the death of me,” he all but whispers.

My head stays rested on his shoulder as the two of us try to regain our breathing. All the windows are fogged up, like something you see out of a movie, and I smile as I lift my hand up and put it on the window, sliding it down until I reach the door. Hayes snickers as he watches me. “Titanic, really?” “What?” I argue. “It’s a classic.” He may act like I’m ridiculous, but the grin on his face says otherwise—as do the circles he’s mindlessly rubbing against my back.

Fuck it. Why do we need twelve plates anyway? There’s only three of us. One won’t be missed. Tossing it into the trash can, along with the fork I used, I close the lid and walk away. Problem solved.

Nope

Coming out of the bathroom, he holds out a tin. “Mint?” I cross my arms over my chest. “Are you saying my morning breath smells?” Instead of thinking I’m actually offended like I had hoped, he rolls his eyes and grabs the back of my neck, pulling me in and kissing me deeply.

“Not so fast. Let me see your ID.” He nods toward me. “You too, son.” I pull my wallet out of my back pocket and hand over my license, while Laiken puts her hands on her hips. “Look at me. What makes you think I have my ID on me?” Smirking, my eyes rake over her, and I realize she has a point. The girl is in a crop top and a pair of tiny shorts. Unless he thought she was hiding it in her bra, it’s clear the only thing on her is her phone. “Ma’am, the attitude is unnecessary.” “You interrupting my orgasm was unnecessary, sir,” she spits back.

what the fuck. no. no one would say things like that to the cops

“Come on,” I say hopelessly. “What did you want me to say? Sorry, don’t touch me because my secret girlfriend is right there mentally burning you alive?” She tries to hold onto her bad mood, but it quickly dissipates as she smirks. It’s such a fast shift that it threatens to give me whiplash. And the way she looks at me has me questioning what the hell changed in the last three seconds. “What?” I ask. Taking her bottom lip between her teeth, she can’t seem to contain herself. “You just called me your girlfriend.” Of course she caught that.

I am yours. I hope you know that. – H.

Because there she is, sitting in the stands with Mali by her side, and she’s wearing my jersey.

Because you were drinking, and I might not know exactly how important I was to you, but you and what we had together mean more to me than a drunken mistake you’d regret in the morning.

I ignore her, pulling the switchblade from my pocket as I walk through the door. Cam looks up at me as I spin the blade around, so the handle is toward him. “You’re going to need this,” I tell him just as Laiken reaches the doorway. His brows furrow as he takes it from me. “What? Why?” “Because I’m falling in love with your sister.”