What if he had brought another girl? Because Nick and Chance were here?
Don’t vomit.
I tore my gaze away; I didn’t want to know. My cup rattled as I set it down on the table with shaky hands.
“Wait, Ally… Is that…” Jessa had noticed Emmett and I couldn’t stop my head from turning back.
He had brought someone with him. A blonde. With broad shoulders and a Rip Curl shirt on…
“Oh my God!” I screamed. “Tyler!!!”
The next thing I knew I was wrapped in my cousin’s arms as he picked me up and spun me around.
The scene drew spectators. I didn’t care. I could have cried I was so happy. Wait, was I crying?
“Happy birthday, munchkin!” He squeezed me tightly before setting me down.
I was speechless, floundering for words amidst a sea of emotions. “W-what are you doing here? H-how?”
He nodded to Emmett who was still standing next to him. The way Emmett was watching me was… like my happiness could cure his cancer—or whatever it was that was eating away at him.
“And Channing.”
“Surprise!” Jessa squealed hugging me from behind; Tammy trailed over, looking a little worse for the wear.
“Did you know about this?” I turned to her.
“Of course, we did.” She rolled her eyes. “Channing had to let us in on the plan so that we made sure to get you here.”
I looked back to Tyler. “Was this my sister’s idea?”
“No, it was all King of the Ginger’s plan. She just facilitated,” Jessa clarified.
I shook my head, my vision fuzzy. “I can’t believe this; I can’t believe that you’re here.” I hugged him again.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Tyler. I’ve heard nothing but great things from Al, here.”
Smooth, Ally. I quickly introduced everyone, watching as Tyler and Jess fell into an easy conversation that kept even Tammy entertained.
“How did you…” My heart beat louder than the music as I looked at Emmett.
“Easy. Called your sister, asked her for his number, told him the plan, and booked his flight.” Oh, no big deal.
“You paid for his flight?” His eyes answered me. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“I shouldn’t do a lot of things, gorgeous, but that rarely seems to stop me.”
My teeth sunk into my lip before I murmured, “Thank you.” I couldn’t stop myself—and he couldn’t stop me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my lips skating across his, quickly concealed by our hug.
It was two seconds. Maybe. If that. But I let myself feel every inch of him. Hard. Hot. Cold. Caring.
“Tyler?” I heard Chance’s shocked question and pulled back from Emmett. “What the hell are you doing here?”
I watched the two embrace, laughing and smacking each other on the back.
“I couldn’t miss the little one’s birthday.”
“No fucking shit.” He introduced Nick and pulled Tyler away towards the bar for a drink. “You in on this King?”
“Yeah.” He walked towards Chance and didn’t look back to me. “Channing’s idea. Feeling guilty or whatever.”
My brother wrapped his arms around both of them as they walked to the bar, leaving us girls back together again.
“Should we go back and sit before someone takes our table?”
“Yeah,” I paused, “Tammy, are you ok?”
She looked green compared to the tight, deep red dress that she was wearing.
“Yeah.” Totally not true. “I just think I should sit,” she said with a strained voice.
“Ally, take her. I’ll grab some water.”
She returned a few minutes later with three cups of ice water. “And here, I thought that Al was going to be the first to go down. I clearly have not done my job.”
“For the birthday girl,” Tyler wrapped his arm around me and set another Dark ‘n’ Stormy on the table in front of me. “Chance insists that I tell you it’s from him, but I’m saying that it’s from the both of us.”
“I still cannot believe you are here. How are you? How is Delray?” I took a sip of the drink that went down far too easily. “I just talked to my mom the other day. It sounded like all our parents had a great time in Europe.”
“Oh, they did. I’ve heard of nothing else.” Rather him than me was all I could think. “How have you been?”
His gaze dropped from mine down to the hand that was holding my drink—the hand that was still wearing Dylan’s Claddagh ring. Out of habit, the glass went down and my finger began to spin the piece of jewelry.
“Alright. There are good and bad days.” I shrugged, unable to look at him. “I’ve been learning how to snowboard.”
“No shit!” He laughed. “How’s that going? Is your sister teaching you?” I’d told him about Chance’s injury. And when we realized that he left, I called Tyler that night and he stayed on the phone with me while I cried.
“Ahh… no, actually. She doesn’t know yet. I just started. Emmett is teaching me.”
“Mmm,” he murmured.
“What?” I don’t know why I gave him that answer. It was just the two of us talking. Jessa was trying to distract Tammy until the water started to kick in.
“I know who he is to your siblings, but who is he to you?” he asked, staring me down.
He was an enigma. He was the King of the Mountain who had knelt to me, who worshipped me.
I swallowed. “He is the glue that’s holding all of my pieces back together.”
Ty’s smile was pure hope and happiness. I was afraid he might be angry. Dylan was his friend. Was it too soon? Too soon to move on? I would never forget about him. I didn’t want Ty to think that…
“That’s what I want for you, Al. And I know that’s what he would want for you.” I took a sip of my drink. He was talking about Dylan and I was trying not to cry. “Plus, looks like you might be doing the same for him—Emmett.”
At his name, I glanced over at the bar to find those dark eyes watching me intently, ignoring the woman who was trying to talk to him while her friends easily entertained my brother and Nick.
After that, Ty changed the subject, including Jessa and Tammy in the conversation. He was so good at making people feel comfortable—just like he had for me when I’d moved. The four of us fell into easy conversation, interspersed with Ty pulling me out onto the dance floor for a few classic songs like ‘Summer of ‘69’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat it.’
Emmett’s eyes were wrapped on me tighter than my dress was. Every moment I felt him and it took everything I had not to wrap myself around him. I wish I could blame the alcohol, but I was drunk on him.
Laughing hysterically, Ty led me back over to our table where I took a seat before I became too lightheaded to stand and too nauseous to keep dinner down where it belonged. Jess jumped right back in, asking about life in Florida and surfing and the beach; she’d never been. Tammy stayed relatively quiet since she still wasn’t feeling well. But Jessa and Tyler hit it off immediately which made sense to me. They were both kind, free-spirits.
At some point, Chance and the others came back over to our table in the middle of one of Tyler’s surfing stories; he had all of us laughing hysterically.
“Alright sis, we’re heading out.” He squeezed me and kissed my head. “You coming Ty?”
I didn’t realize they were taking him with them. Chance’s gaze wasn’t as friendly on our cousin and I foggily wondered if it was because he and Jessa were getting along so well.
“C’mon, man. You can stay with us at Nick’s and then we’ll give you the grand tour tomorrow.”
Tyler shrugged and stood. I knew as much as he’d come to see me and spend time with me, he probably still wanted to hang with the guys, especially as it seemed the night was winding down.
“Alright, alright.” He waved his hands in defeat. “Happy birthday, Ally. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
He hugged me—and everyone els
e in the group. What were the chances that my brother would murder his own cousin for touching Jessa?
“Is she ok?” Nick asked and nodded to Tammy.
She smiled even though it hurt. “Perfect, thank you, Mr. Frost.”
“She’s not ok,” he said. It wasn’t just a statement of fact. It was a demand. The repercussions if we didn’t keep an eye on her crystal clear in his tone.
“King!” Chance yelled, he and Tyler already a few steps towards the door. “You coming?”
I saw Emmett’s eyes darken on me. “Nah. I got shit to do tomorrow.”
“Whatever, dick.” Chance sneered and spun.
“It’s your shit, dick!” Emmett countered as the three of them—Chance, Tyler, and Nick—left. He must have been pretty toasted already to not push Emmett about his ‘stuff’ at all. Or, they had another party that he was too focused on getting to.
My burning-hot King looked like he didn’t hear a word my brother said. I kept my eyes on Chance, knowing if I looked at Emmett, I would melt into a puddle of dark and stormy desire.
Once they disappeared into the crowd, I let out a sigh of relief. Or pent up guilt. God, I told Tyler about Emmett but not my own brother. Yes, the relationships were so different in so many ways, but all I could picture was the way he treated Jessa for her betrayal. I could only imagine what he’d do to Emmett for…
Kissing me? Touching me? Devouring me? Oh, and all those things were just below the waist.
“Ally,” Jessa’s hand touched my shoulder, “I’m going to take Tammy home. She’s not doing well.”
A glance back confirmed the assessment. “I’m sorry, Ally. I feel so terrible to do this on your birthday.”
“Oh my gosh, don’t you dare apologize!” I wobbled around and gently hugged her gently. “I’ve been having a great time. I’m totally fine with leaving.”
His gaze paralyzed me. “Not with them.”
Three sets of eyes stared at him. One electric gaze stared back at me.
“You’re leaving with me.”
Gauntlet. Thrown.
My mouth was like sand; it was probably the only dry part of my body. My tongue was thick as I tried to find the words.
“If that’s what you want?” Jessa asked, stepping in front of me and raising an eyebrow. She wanted to make sure I was ok, but the slight smile she couldn’t contain meant I needed to be prepared to detail every minute of tonight to her when I saw her next.
I nodded curtly.
Her arms came around me. “It’s your birthday, babe. If he doesn’t get you off at least three times, I’m going to have to have a serious discussion with him,” she whispered in my ear.
A half-groan, half-laugh escaped me.
I wrapped my arm around Tammy’s shoulders as she walked stiffly past me. “I’ll check on you tomorrow.”
“Not if I don’t check on you first.” The fact that she was trying to joke when she felt like shit… God, I loved my girls.
Neither of us moved as Tammy and Jessa left.
His jaw ticked. “Do you want to stay?” The band still had another hour. It was one in the morning. It was officially no longer my birthday; it was officially Valentine’s Day.
Two steps and my hand was on his chest. “I want one dance.” The familiar chords of ‘Blue Ain’t Your Color’ coming over the speakers.
I wasn’t escorted to the dance floor. I was stalked. He came towards me like predator to prey and I retreated until he was right where I wanted him. And then he was flush against me. If we weren’t on the dance floor, surrounded by other couples, no one in their right mind would have looked at us and thought we were dancing.
We barely moved. And the world around us crumbled. This was the calm before our storm and I wanted to soak it in—the anticipation, knowing what was to come. I wanted to stand with him just a little longer—to stare over the cliff of what we were about to fall into. Emmett and me. On the edge. Always.
“Thank you for bringing Tyler here. I-I can’t tell you what that means to me.”
“I know.” His fingers tightened on my back. “Although, if I had known you’d be wearing that, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
“What?” I breathed. This wasn’t like our normal banter; my whole body tingled. “Too short? Too low?”
“Too hot,” he rasped.
Air rushed into my lungs and I admitted, “Well, I only bought this dress so you could take it off…”
“Now, I regret bringing the part of your gift that kept you occupied… and unavailable… for longer than I prefer to suffer,” he said hoarsely.
I’d felt his throbbing erection the second he’d pulled me against him. I breathed deep against him, his grip tightening again.
“Part of it?” I asked. What more could there be?
“You’ll get the rest tomorrow,” he promised.
My heart fell. Was he really going to take me back to my house tonight? Was this how my birthday—and Valentine’s day—was really going to end?
My arms fell as the music stopped and I demanded, “I want the rest of it tonight.” Thank you, alcohol, for your contribution to my courage.
His eyes narrowed. “What do you think I’m giving you?”
“You,” I answered softly, my eyes rising hopefully to his.
He smirked and I knew I had lost. Burning cold raced through me.
And then his face was next to mine; his lips brushed my ear.
“I don’t give a fuck if it’s your birthday, sunshine. Tonight, you are my present.”
17. I hate the way I need him. Uncontrollably. Violently. Unapologetically.
“TONIGHT, I’M GOING TO UNWRAP every inch of you and take more than it’s possible for you to give,” he rasped.
I rubbed my legs together, sitting in the front of his truck, replaying the last words he’d said to me to the tune of my humming desire as we drove away from the Pub. My hands twisted and rubbed each other in my lap. I felt naked without the Claddagh ring. I’d slipped it off and into my purse just before stepping into Emmett’s truck. The truth was I should have taken it off a long time ago. Dylan would always have a piece of my heart, but Emmett—he’d claimed every inch of my soul.
I’d kept the ring on because I was afraid of letting go. I’d kept the ring on to remind me not to let anyone in too close. That, obviously, hadn’t gone according to plan. Emmett had scrawled a giant ‘Fuck you’ on my ability to restrain my emotions.
“You look like I’m taking you to your doom,” his scratchy voice broke the silence.
“I wouldn’t put it past you.” The retort falling easily between us. “But really, where are you taking me?” The roads were becoming less paved and less known to me.
We turned on another road that definitely wasn’t paved, a metal mailbox at the end with no name or number. The truck climbed the snowy hill with relative ease. “My house.”
“Is it in a cave?” I teased.
He chuckled. Two seconds later, I saw a light up ahead. A few feet more I realized that it was a cabin, secluded on the side of the mountain. Snow-covered. Smoke coming out of the chimney. Dim, warm light emanating from the windows. It was more than picture-perfect. It was almost magical.
“This… is your house?” He hadn’t even put the truck in park before I had the door open and stepped outside.
“Jesus, woman,” he swore, his door slamming as he rushed around in front of me. I wanted to just stare at it, but he pulled me towards the door. My focus broken, I realized how freaking cold it was outside. He stopped though. He didn’t open the door. Instead, he pinched his temples before turning and piercing me with his stare.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” His voice sounded like it was being dragged over a bed of burning coals. “Because I’m telling you right fucking now, sunshine, that if you walk through this door, there is no turning back. I’m going to fuck you. And I’m going to fuck you in ways that aren’t soft or gentle or caring because that’s not who I am. I’m the asshole.” My
mouth parted, my breath escaping in a soft white plume. “I’m the asshole who’s going to fuck you until you can’t move without hurting, until you can’t breathe without screaming, and until you can’t feel anything except me inside of you.” Pure heat dripped down the insides of my thighs; underwear were officially out of commission. “I’m the asshole who’s going to fuck you like I’m trying to break you in two—because I am.”
I wanted to raise a hand and jump up and down like a child screaming, ‘Me! Pick me!’
Was it wrong to want that? To want all of it? Tonight. Now. Forever.
“Are you sure?”
I stared at him. “Are you?” I returned.
“Ally,” he laughed, “this is the only fucking thing I’ve ever been sure of in my whole goddamn miserable life.”
“Well, it’s about fucking time.” His eyes flared at my final taunt. My ‘yes’ in the way only I would give it to him—the way he would only accept it.
He unlocked the door and led me inside.
I followed him like the sun chased the night—a graceful demise; the beautifully bright colors shimmered and faded to boldly announce my descent into darkness where all those colors became one—and where I became his.
Day always turns to night. I always turned to him. I had no choice.
Whatever I was expecting, it wasn’t this.
“Oh wow…” My hand rose to cover my gaping mouth. Windows. Everywhere.
The gas fireplace in the center crackled with warmth, the soft light spewing over the dark leather couch and chair sitting in front of it. My feet carried me over to the windows where the snow outside was tumbling down in an evening frenzy. My fingers reached out and touched the stone detail of the fireplace, hanging on to the side of the mantle.
“Did you build this?” I asked, my eyes still mystified by the full moon-lit snow.
“Designed. Not built.” His voice touched my skin like the flakes falling on the ground. I wondered if the Earth got goosebumps, too.
He was in the shadows, the light barely flickering over his beautiful face, the shadows accentuating the harshly handsome lines.
“I can’t believe this is where you live. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
The Winter Games Page 61
