Loving War

by C. M. Owens

  Kode Sterling is here. The man I’ve avoided all week is in my living room, looking like he just stepped out of a photo shoot for the world’s sexiest men, and he’s licking his lips as he takes long, slow strides toward me.

  “Tria.” He says my name in a deep voice that sounds like it’s wrapped in velvet, and I shiver. Yes. I’m so damn weak, that just my name from his lips has me ready to drop into a puddle.

  “What… When… Um…”

  He smiles when I stammer and find myself unable to speak. His sexy blonde hair is in its usual messy style that has me wanting to put my fingers through it before pulling him against me.

  “Your roommate let me in,” he says softly. “I didn’t come to scare you or to make you uneasy.” His eyes drop to the towel again, and he shifts as though he’s trying to hold himself back. “But I wanted to come talk to you since you won’t take my calls.”

  My body sways to the music of his voice. It’s amazing how a week without it has made me even weaker instead of stronger.

  “I can’t… I’m sorry. I’ve said all I could,” I murmur while dropping my eyes from his silver gaze. It’s just too damn hard to look at him.

  A warm hand cups my chin, and my breaths stop as he tilts my face up so that our eyes meet again. That smirk on his face looks better than his sad eyes.

  “I haven’t said all I could. I’m in love with you, Tria. I wish I had said that sooner, but there never seemed to be the perfect time.”

  My heart breaks, and my tears start falling like he controls my body. I try to back up, but he goes with me, moving me until I’m backed against the wall with nothing but a few inches and my towel barring his hands from my body.

  But he doesn’t touch me anywhere but on my chin that he’s still holding. Instead, he leans down and puts his face close with mine—so close his breath bathes my lips. Like a hungry fool, I soak in the closeness without letting him see it.

  “And I’m going to prove it. You’ll come back to me, Tria. Or I’ll keep chasing you for the rest of my life.”

  That has my eyes snapping wide, but before I can say anything, he’s kissing me. It takes a minute for my mind to decide if I’m dreaming or if it’s real, and when I realize this is definitely real, he’s pulling away.

  “I’ll see you soon.”

  He winks at me before turning and heading for the door, and I sink to the floor as the door shuts behind him. My fingers slide up to my lips, and then my tongue runs along my bottom lip that he had pulled into his mouth.

  Thank God I brushed my teeth today. And showered.

  Scrambling to get up, I grab my phone, and I send a quick text to Leo, cursing him for not giving me any warning and for stealing my clothes. He sends one back almost immediately.

  Leo: You should be fucking him instead of texting me. You sure he’s not gay? I can take a go at him to be sure.

  I roll my eyes, but a text on my phone draws my attention. It’s Rain asking me to come to Maverick’s house tonight. A party.

  Five minutes ago, I wouldn’t have been ready for a party, but now I want to risk running into Kode again.

  Yeah. I’m pathetic.

  My eyes trail over to the bar, and I see the familiar envelope setting there. With a trembling hand, I pick it up and hold it. Rain went crazy when she read the words our father spoke from the grave.

  Why did Kode bring this? I’m not ready to read it yet. Then again, I did break up with him, so maybe he doesn’t feel comfortable holding it.

  With a sigh, I shove it into the kitchen drawer—one I never use—and shake my head while staring at nothing. I don’t have the strength to be broken again right now, especially at the hands of my dead father.

  ***

  TRIA

  “I can’t believe you really came,” Rain says, beaming as she makes her way toward me.

  The bomb she dropped on me earlier shocked me, but I’m so damn happy for her and Dane.

  “I’m here. How’s Dane doing with Carrie?”

  She grins bigger. “He and Elizabeth are a force. We’ll have Carrie living with us by next weekend. Elizabeth knows everyone who is anyone, and Dane has the money to get this rushed. He wants to be the savior for Carrie that Elizabeth was for him. It’s really so amazing.”

  “I think so, too,” Britt—Dane’s sister—says as she joins us.

  Her long red locks are a little wild tonight. I smile down at her Wonder Woman shirt and tilt my head.

  “You look… different.”

  She smiles and nods. “I found Comic Con. Dane took me. It’s so awesome, and he bought me a ton of comic books that have female superheroes.”

  The delight in her voice is so new. Normally she’s so robotic. Now she’s standing here looking like the cutest, happiest girl she can be.

  “And he bought her every article of clothing that had her favorite heroines on it,” a familiar voice says from close behind me, seconds before a hard body is flush against my back.

  I go stiff immediately, and Rain bites back a grin. I came here because of Kode, but now that he’s so close, I’m freaking the hell out.

  “Hey, Britt, Rain.” They both greet him as he leans down to my ear, and in an entirely different, deeper, and sexier tone, he gets against my ear and says, “Tria. You look incredible.”

  Breathing… How do I breathe? The air goes where?

  I don’t move—mostly because I can’t—and Kode continues talking to Britt who is animatedly recapping the Comic Con experience. His body stays pressed closely to mine until I don’t have the strength to endure it anymore.

  “I need a drink,” I say while quickly walking away.

  Rain jogs to catch up with me, and she loops her arm through mine. Her cheeky grin doesn’t go with the angry snarl she had a week ago.

  “Kode is completely sober and all over you. I love it,” she sighs.

  I love it and hate it. I suppose that statement is a testament to our entire relationship.

  I don’t bother commenting, and I fight hard to not look in Kode’s direction. The last time we were at a party, he spent the night trying to make me jealous. If he resorts to those tactics, I’ll have to leave. I’m not ready to see something like that.

  I should have stayed home.

  After tossing back a few drinks, my eyes finally do the unthinkable and shift toward the man I love. To my surprise, his eyes are burning against mine, and he winks at me, causing my stupid heart to do painful things.

  “Tria,” Raya says, drawing my attention.

  Rain and I both turn to face her, and I look around to see if Kade is anywhere around.

  “No Kade?” Rain asks, frowning.

  Raya shrugs, trying not to express anything. “He’s still at the vineyard.”

  “Is he okay?” I ask.

  “He’s… Well, I hope he will be okay. This has been rough for him. He loved Thomas so much.”

  She fidgets as though she feels uncomfortable with this topic, so Rain shifts it, telling Raya about Carrie. The way Rain’s face lights up when she talks… I’ve never been so happy for her. Maybe sometimes there’s something good at the end of a major fuck-up.

  The party has grown, and now there are twice as many women as there are men.

  “You can tell this is Maverick’s party,” Raya remarks dryly, taking in all the sexy, flashy women Sterling Shore has to offer.

  The men here seem to be enjoying themselves. Considering the fact I have no control over my urges, I turn to look at Kode. He’s talking to Corbin, not paying any attention to the girl who is touching him.

  I grimace when I see her press against him, but then he says something to her I can’t hear, and she gasps before stomping away angrily. Corbin doubles over in laughter, and a small smile graces my lips.

  Ash Masters walks up, forcing me to peel my eyes away from Kode as Tag joins him. But before my eyes fully escape, he catches me looking, and he winks at me before giving me that smile that he only ever gives me.

  Swallow
ing hard, I devote all my attention to Ash with strained focus.

  “You seem to be the talk of the night,” she drawls, grinning like she has a secret.

  I look at Rain and Raya, but they’re both looking at me, too.

  “Me?” I squeak, quickly clearing my throat from the embarrassing sound.

  Ash snickers while nodding. “Apparently Kode is telling every girl in here that he’s not on the market because he’s in love with you. You don’t even want to know what he’s telling the few girls that don’t take the hint.”

  My heart leaps into my throat, and I might possibly stagger a little. Raya steadies me, her eyes brighter now that she has something else to focus on other than Kade’s dark period.

  “Oh,” Ash adds, her grin only growing, “and he’s telling the guys here that if they like their faces where they’re at, then they’d better not even look at you.”

  Ah, hell. I’m smiling. I’m smiling like a damn fool.

  “Well I’ll be damned,” Raya says while crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re in love with him, too.”

  That destroys my smile, and Rain’s eyes lose their momentary excitement.

  “What’s wrong?” Ash asks, her eyes shifting from me to Rain. “Why do you look like someone just kicked you in the stomach?”

  Forcing a smile that I don’t feel, I shrug. “Because I love him. Too much. Which is why I’m not willing to put my heart through a grinder again. He only thinks he loves me because he can’t have the girl he really wants.”

  Rain curses while running a hand through her hair, and she begins arguing. She just doesn’t get it. She’d understand completely if Dane had been in love with me for eleven years before finally noticing she even existed.

  ***

  KODE

  “So you’ve talked to her?” Tag asks, still reeling over the fact that I’m confessing my love for Tria to anyone here that will listen.

  Yeah, I’m making a bitch out of myself, but I’m determined to prove to Tria that she’s the one. The only one.

  “Went to her house today,” I say, letting my eyes once again trail over to my girl. She’s frowning. Why does she look upset? Hell, why does everyone around her look so damn sad?

  Resisting the overwhelming urge to go to her, I swallow back the disappointment. I was sure she’d be happier once she started hearing what was circulating tonight.

  “And?” Tag prompts.

  Reluctantly, I stop trying to read lips and return my attention to talk to Tag.

  “And her fucking business partner opened the door in his boxers. She was in the shower, and he went in there. I had to get out of there before I punched a hole through the wall. I wanted to beat the fuck out of him, but I knew that would only piss Tria off, and I’m trying to get her back. So I played it cool, and left her in a way that would only inspire the right thoughts.”

  Tag smirks. I hate that jackass smirk.

  “You forgot to mention that part,” Corbin says, his eyebrow raising. “Were they—”

  “Don’t finish that if you want to keep your balls attached,” I growl, already on the edge of losing my damn mind. Doesn’t he know better than to push me?

  Corbin holds his hands up, surrendering, but he’s grinning like he just won a prize. Fucker.

  Maverick walks up, and he hands me a drink. “You need this, Pretty Boy. That ugly scowl is going to mess up your reconciliation scheme otherwise.”

  It’s hard to plot murder and force a smile for Tria’s sake.

  Tria glances down at her phone, and I watch as she types in a message. Whoever has just lit up her screen has also lit up her smile. It’d better not be that beast that was at her place.

  “Dude, you’re still scowling. You’re going to freak her out if you look pissed,” Maverick says, grinning like the dick he is.

  This is torture. I only came here because Rain sent a text saying that Tria was coming. For some stupid reason, I thought spreading the word that I loved her would do the trick. Should have known I’d done more damage than that could fix.

  “Tria doesn’t freak out when I look pissed,” I mumble.

  It’s one of the many things I love about her.

  “She used to,” Dale says as he joins us, his smile also too fucking big.

  “That was before she started trusting me.”

  And I shredded that trust with one mistake after another.

  Deciding I need to loosen up, I chug the drink in my hand, and Tag goes to grab me another. I think they’re all trying to keep me in place so that I don’t go drop to my knees in front of Tria and beg like a motherfucking baby for her to take me back.

  As soon as Tag returns with a new glass full of amber relief, a sight catches my eyes that has me grinding my teeth. That beast is here, and he’s scanning the crowd. That’s who sent her a text. He probably wanted to know where she was.

  “Might want to hold him back,” Tag says, laughing. “Before he kills the guy he’s eyeing.”

  I start to move, but Corbin really does start holding me back. Then Jamie Burton walks out onto the patio, joining Leo at his side. A few spurts of mocking laughter come in from behind me as I watch the duo slowly make their way toward my girl.

  “Dude, you just went postal over a guy who really isn’t looking at Tria in that way,” Tag jokes.

  “Narrow-minded dumbass. They’re probably just friends.”

  I refuse to hope that Leo is on a date with Jamie. It just seems too good to be true, and with the luck I’ve had lately, I don’t see that happening.

  Tria hugs Leo in greeting, and Corbin tightens his hold on me when I try moving again. She backs away to shake Jamie’s hand, and he laughs as they talk. Then Jamie leans over to Leo to say something in his ear, and I almost do a fucking cartwheel when he bites Leo’s earlobe like a lover’s nip. When Leo smiles like a fool with a crush, my anger flees to make room for relief.

  “Fuck yes,” I breathe, sagging back into a relaxed state.

  Riotous laughter breaches the air when the guys around me watch in fascination. Yeah. I’m fucking crazy.

  Leo tugs at Jamie’s arm, and he nods in my direction, apparently noticing the fact I’ve been burning a hole through them for the twenty minutes they’ve been here. His mouth tilts up on one side, as if he knew I hated him for a little while. I almost wonder if that’s why he showed up. At least I can take him off my people-to-kill list.

  Tria looks over at me as Leo walks away, and I give her a real smile because I can’t help myself. My feet are moving before I can stop them, and Corbin sidles up to my side as I reduce the distance between myself and Tria.

  Her eyes get wide in her head, but it’s as though she’s trapped and unable to look away. I don’t stop walking until I’m right beside her, angling my body so that her side is touching my front.

  “Kode Sterling. We thought you had died. Haven’t seen you around in a while,” Courtney Hughes says.

  I hadn’t even noticed her over here.

  “I’ve been too busy trying to get my girl to talk to me,” I say, watching the blush rise up Tria’s neck. It’s a good color on her.

  Corbin snickers while moving closer to Rain and dropping his arm around her shoulders.

  Courtney’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard when she continues. “Oh. Really? You two? I had heard the rumors, but I thought that was impossible.”

  I still haven’t looked at her, because my eyes are glued on the brunette who isn’t moving away from me. Old habits die hard, and my hand moves to her back, stroking it and almost feeling the static between our touch.

  She stiffens at first, but almost as quickly, she relaxes as though she’s relishing the feel of my body so close to hers as much as I am. It feels so damn good to be touching her.

  “Nope. Not impossible,” I finally say to Courtney, still keeping my eyes on Tria who is wearing the sexiest red dress I’ve ever seen.

  It stops just below her ass, and the top part is strapless, giving me a view of
the upper swells of her perfect tits.

  Fuck. Seven days suddenly feels like ten years.

  “You look beautiful,” I tell her, not giving a damn when several of the guys make heckling sounds.

  Tria smiles up at me, and I brush my thumb across her cheek.

  “Thank you. I should probably go.”

  Shit. I pushed too fast. She was letting me touch her, and I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

  “Don’t,” Rain says, trying to help me out apparently.

  Tria turns her attention to her sister, and her body starts to separate from mine. “I need to. I’ve got an early conference call to make. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Tomorrow?

  Rain pouts, but sighs, “Fine. Tomorrow. At least you’re giving me that.”

  Making a mental note to grill Rain in a minute, I put my hand back on Tria’s waist. “I’ll walk you out.”

  Her breathing hitches, and she looks back up to meet my eyes.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she almost whispers, as though her voice is lost.

  “Why?” My voice is low, the way she likes it to be when I seduce her.

  I know exactly why she doesn’t want me to walk her out. She’s weak right now. I’ve weakened her with my touch, and she’s on the verge of giving in.

  “I’ll walk with you,” Courtney says, glaring at us when I scowl at her. “I forgot my phone in my car.”

  Bitch.

  But the phone gives me an idea. I pull up my contacts as Tria bids everyone goodnight, and I hand Tria my phone as she turns back toward me.

  “What’s this?” she asks, her eyes slowly taking in what I’m showing her. When she sucks in a sharp breath, I can’t help but smile.

  On the screen, she sees the picture of her with her head resting in my lap, smiling happily as she watches TV. The name I had her under has been changed to The Girl I Love. Tears water up in her eyes, and she takes a deep breath.

  Reaching over to her hands, I scroll to another contact, and show her a different name. It’s Rain, but now it says Dane’s Girl. And the picture is one of her with Tria.