Liars and Liaisons (Monsters & Muses, #6)

by Sav R. Miller

The James family boasts a long line of exemplary musical talent—singers, musicians, and composers alike. Our name backs some of the greatest acts, dating back centuries, and we were each born with the intention of continuing that legacy of excellence.

I find myself enthralled by my brother’s attachment, given his propensity for avoiding them, with one exception. Maybe my coming here will be of use if it means driving a wedge between Nathaniel and his little companion. It is, after all, what he deserves for killing mine.

When she looks at him, the stars are no longer in the sky above us. They’re in her eyes, and they burn bright for him. The love that bleeds from her pores is palpable, and it almost relieves the pinprick of guilt I feel in my gut for not letting him in, for not letting him be a part of my family.

“Are you suddenly hard of hearing, or just being deliberately obtuse?” “Deliberately obtuse,” I echo, then smack my hand over my mouth. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

She’s wrong anyway. I don’t blame myself for what happened to Sydney, my once-star pupil, whose life was cut far too short—the way starlets’ lives are so often snuffed out during their primes. I don’t blame myself at all. I blame my brothers. My father. Everyone she came into contact with during our time together at the university, who warped her sense of self and twisted it for their own gain.

I’m not totally sure I should do this, but I’m in no shape to deny her anything. If she asked me to drop to my knees and crawl to her, in this very second, I would.

Since I’ve met the oldest James heir, Harrison, I can only assume this is Grayson, the youngest, and supposedly, the least sane of the three.

I find a tattooed man lounging on the pullout sofa, plucking at a black Viper guitar, fingers covered in silver rings. His brown hair curls slightly around his ears and droops onto his forehead, even as he stares up at the skylights in the ceiling with silver eyes, humming softly to himself.

“This coming from a man who once tried to evade all of New York City just to take some girl on a date.” “I did evade the public, actually.

Aiden chuckles, cradling the guitar in his lap as he pushes into a sitting position. He twists toward me, and I note the black hoodie he has on, a photo of the girl in question plastered across the entirety of his torso, her rose-pink hair and blue eyes on display.

“Lack of privacy isn’t always such a bad thing.” He points at the photo. “Worked out pretty well, if you ask me.”

Riley usually doesn’t until I get back because she likes to make me work for the attention.” My eyes narrow. Is he blushing? Just at the thought of his little girlfriend?

“When you’ve got an asset that makes as much money as you do for your father,” mine starts, finally deigning to look up from his phone, “you’ll understand why very little else matters, boy.”

Not just because my estranged half-brother would follow, the way he’s followed me around my entire life. My mother still doesn’t know about him, and I certainly don’t want those worlds colliding anytime soon.

“You tell me what I can do for fifty, and I’m gonna fucking do it, because I’m not a good guy. I’m not helping you out of the kindness of my heart, and I don’t care that you’re holding a torch for my brother. I’ll blow the flame out and leave you in complete darkness if you let me.”

“Extra space is nice when you hate your family.”

“There are plenty, but you know what they say.” I wiggle my eyebrows at him. “There’s no substitute for experience. Older men have lived so much, you know?”

“Either you’re all talk, Professor, or you don’t mind the idea of inexperience.” I bat my eyelashes, reaching for the door handle. “Is that it, sir? Would you like to teach me how to be bad for you?”

“You are…” I trail off, searching for words as music crescendos in my bloodstream, excited by her proximity. “Exquisite. They write songs about women like you.”

She frowns, smacking my hand away. “Next time, ask nicer. You’d be surprised what people are willing to do when you say please.” The notion makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight, but I swallow, reaching up to smooth them back down. “I doubt you’ll hear that word from me.”

They veer to a new topic, something about a hockey team whose owner was recently murdered, and I tune them out, because sports don’t interest me in the slightest.

What are you hinting at sav?

The longer I sit there, comparing the two, I realize it’s possible they aren’t all that different. That the darkness inside of Grayson is the same type inside of Kal, and maybe… maybe there’s more to them than just the abyss. Maybe, if a person is capable of kindness, it doesn’t matter what color their soul is. Or if they have one at all.

She already occupies my every waking thought. Even the hour or two I manage to exhaust myself into slumber, she’s there, waiting with open arms and legs and not remotely interested in my brother.

I refrain from rolling my eyes at the absolute predictability of the scene, at how easily we James men destroy our lives for such frivolous, temporary whims.

“Oh, yeah? What about the pathetic professor who had a breakdown because he couldn’t write a decent score anymore? The one who ran to the goddamn mountains after the pupil he spent so much effort on wound up dead, all because he’d pushed her too far?”

“Leave now,” I say, keeping my voice purposely low so the others don’t hear. “Or I’ll shove those pills down your throat and watch your heart give out in front of everyone. Then, I’ll roofie every single guest, just so they’ll have no recollection of what happened to you.” I flick the collar of his shirt as we come face-to-face, mask-to-mask. “Just like you did to Sydney.”

“I hope you find whatever it is you’re searching for, before the corpses in your yard become too plentiful to bury.”

Choice is a myth concocted by people who want to manipulate you without your knowledge.”

You can pretend. It’s just like dancing in the dark; nothing ever feels the same in the light.”

“Perhaps,” he whispers. “But do you really want nice and polite? Someone who will take you to dinner, hold doors open, and make you feel listened to, even though he’s probably imagining being anywhere else while you drone on about your family back home?” His lips are hot on my ear as he bends down. “Or do you want the red-hot passion you felt a few moments ago? The thrill and excitement of something new, something uncharted? Nice guys do finish last, Little Echo, and where you’re concerned, I couldn’t give a shit if Nathaniel no longer got to finish at all. You deserve more than nice. More than him.”

“And if I catch you,” he says, stepping closer, gaze burning hot, “I keep you. Forever. Think very carefully about what you want your future to look like, Little Echo, because I’m the one with the power to make it so. Either take off your clothes and earn your next paycheck, or don’t. Run. You’ll find very quickly how dangerous I can actually be.”

“If I asked you for a million dollars right now, would you give it to me?” “In this very moment, I would give you whatever you desired.” He moves closer, reaching for one of the thin straps of my bra, and slips it down my shoulder. “I might even beg.” “Just to taste me?” “For the privilege.”

“Don’t worry about Aiden,” she says. “Honestly, in terms of the James family members currently up at that mansion, he’s probably the best-case scenario.” “You’re such a sweet-talker,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, this is sort of my first rodeo,” he says, running a hand through his brown hair. “Not all of us grew up around cold-blooded killers.” “Violet’s not cold-blooded.”

“The universe created you with me in mind,” he says in a low, thick voice. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were sent by the stars themselves. Plucked from the constellations and tossed into the path of someone needing guidance.”

“Oh God.” A pause. Then, “I don’t think he can hear you yet.”

His bones were boiled into a broth, then crushed into a fine powder and sprinkled into the lake. The broth was added to the soup served to my family at dinner last night, since they insisted on returning to the estate to check up on me.

“You know what happens if you fail?” “You feed us to the goats.” “I feed you to the goats.” Nodding, I smack the wooden surface of the desk. “Normally, they’re picky little things, but I’ve found that if you get flesh to be just the right consistency for their teeth, they’ll eat whatever you put in front of them. Particularly if they’re hungry enough.”

Goddamn it. Next time I fly to New York, Aiden James Santiago is a dead man.

He’s watching himself eat, the only company a man like him needs.

Frowning, I glance at him over my shoulder. “What’s pathetic about falling in love?” “Nothing, as long as you sign a prenup.” I give him a flat look, and he sits up in his chair, laughing. “Oh, come on, babe. It was a joke.” “Jokes are supposed to be funny.”

You wouldn’t go that far with me, wouldn’t even let me touch you, but I’m betting Grayson’s had his dick in you so many times, your pussy’s probably gaping by now.”

Instead, I reach into my pocket and pull out my own phone, sending Aiden’s girlfriend a quick command via text. I can practically hear the pink-haired girl’s eyes roll with the request.

“Look at me,” he snaps, and I shake my head to clear it. “I don’t want you thinking of anyone else while my dick is inside you, got it? Not my brother, not God, not your fake masked fantasy. It’s just you and me.”

“On second thought, I don’t care. I’m gonna come inside my dirty girl’s sweet pussy, and I hope you get pregnant. Let Nathaniel try to claim you again when you’ve got my baby in your belly. I’d peel the skin from his bones and use them as toothpicks.”

My brows lift at that. “I thought you said you wouldn’t beg.” “That was before I knew I’d grow addicted to the way you come.”

“I have never in my life had the pleasure of tasting something so sweet, so delectable. I want to spend the rest of my night devouring you.”

“God, Little Echo, I was so fucking angry with you, but only because I want you, have wanted you from the moment I saw you, and I hated knowing he was still winning out.”

“I wasn’t prepared for the sort of addiction you’d be.”

I might be an addiction, but it’s very clear this is his preferred drug.