Regret Came Too Late

Yancey was mortified. His throat tightened as if a hand had wrapped around it, and a wave of frustration hit him like a punch.

There was no denying it. Those were hickeys. Grace had been at Ethan's villa all night, and now this? It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.

He should be furious, but right now, all he could feel was panic. His lips trembled, and his breathing became shallow and erratic.

Grace pressed a hand to her neck, her voice flat. "They're just mosquito bites. Why are you freaking out over nothing?"

She looked genuinely confused as if she had no idea what was setting him off.

"Oh, come on! Who the hell do you think you're fooling?" Yancey snapped, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

He could've bought her story if he had never been with a woman. But did she honestly think he wouldn't recognize hickeys after all the times he had slept with Alice? The marks were still faintly pink, meaning the guy had not even kissed that hard!

snapped his head toward Ethan, shooting him a glare, but Ethan just sat there, as calm as ever. The sight made Yancey's

up, his face

teeth pressing down on his lip. He couldn't bring himself to confront Ethan. Instead, he turned to Grace. "You've got

you out of your mind? What is wrong with you? I told you—they're just mosquito bites! A perverted mind sees filth

thought she and Ethan had hooked

then, a soft chuckle sliced through the tension. It was light but somehow

froze, realizing it was Ethan. He was usually serious, but now, his eyes were slightly squinted

"Yeah. You're right. A perverted mind

her gaze met Ethan's and she caught the faint hint of amusement in his eyes. The awkwardness quickly spiraled into mortification as

until the door clicked shut

over the way the two had looked at each