Twisted Palace by Erin Watt Read Free Book Online Page B

sending shivers through me. I stare into his blue eyes, full of wicked promise, and decide, okay, maybe he can kiss the worry out of me.
    I move a few strands of his silky hair away from his face, wishing we were alone and he could turn his unspoken promises into a reality. His hands tug me forward so he can kiss me again. This time, I open my mouth and let his tongue sweep inside.
    “Not while I’m eating,” Easton groans. “You’re ruining my appetite.”
    “I don’t think that’s remotely possible,” Val says.
    I smile against Reed’s mouth and then settle back in my seat.
    “Well, I’m getting turned on. Anyone want to make a trip to the bathroom with me?” Wade asks cheerfully.
    Val’s mouth stays firmly shut.
    “Everything’s going to be fine,” Reed tells me. “Except Easton’s stomach maybe. He might need medical attention after inhaling all those carbs.” He gestures to the mountain of pasta on Easton’s plate.
    “I’m a nervous eater,” his brother replies.
    I make an attempt to follow Reed’s lead and lighten the mood. “What was your excuse last week when you ate an entire batch of cookies?”
    “That was just me being hungry. Besides, they were cookies. Who needs an excuse to eat cookies?”
    “I feel like that’s a sexual question,” Wade chimes in. “And the correct answer is, no one ever needs an excuse to eat cookies.”
    “You do need permission, though,” Val says tersely, focusing her gaze on Wade for the first time since he sat down. “And if your mouth is all over someone else’s cookies, then other bakers aren’t going to be interested in offering you their cookies.”
    Then she gets up from the table and stomps off.
    “Hey!” Wade shouts after her. “I only had those other cookies that one time and only because the baker I wanted to get the cookies from was closed!”
    He shoots up from his seat and hustles after Val, leaving Easton, Reed, and me staring after them.
    “I have a feeling they aren’t talking about cookies,” Easton remarks.
    No kidding. And as much as I hate seeing Val upset, I can’t help but envy her problems.
    Relationship issues are a lot easier to manage when you’re not worrying that your boyfriend might go to prison.

7
Reed
    T he moment I walk through the front door, my dad pokes his head into the parlor and jerks a finger in my direction. “I need you in my study. Now.”
    Ella and I exchange a wary look. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that word of my fight with Richmond got back to Dad. Damn it. I was hoping to tell him myself.
    “Should I come with you?” Ella asks with a grimace.
    After a beat, I shake my head. “Nah. Go upstairs and do some homework or something. This won’t be fun.” When she hesitates, I give her a gentle nudge. “Go. I’ll be up soon.”
    I wait in the parlor until she disappears upstairs, then release the unhappy sigh that’s been jammed in my chest all day long. School sucked ass today, and not just because I broke a teammate’s nose. The whispers and stares got to me. Normally I don’t give a crap what my classmates think of me, but today the tension in the air was almost suffocating.
    Everyone wonders if I killed Brooke. Most believe it. Even some of my own teammates. Hell, sometimes I think Ella might believe it, too. She hasn’t said that, but at lunch I caught her staring at me when she thought I wasn’t looking. She had this expression on her face. I can’t even describe it. Not quite doubt, but apprehension maybe. A flicker of sadness, too.
    I told myself that she was just freaked out about everything, but a part of me wonders if she wonders. If she keeps looking at me like that because she’s trying to figure out if she’s dating a killer or some shit.
    “Reed.”
    Dad’s sharp voice spurs me to motion. I march down the hall to his study, and my mood sinks even lower when I spot Grier behind the commanding desk. Dad is sitting on the nearby armchair.
    “What’s