by C. Morgan
“I fantasized about this earlier,” he admitted, closing the distance between us and wrapping his arms around me again. “I got hard in the shower thinking about you in green underwear. You did get it for me, right?”
Pretending to be startled, I glanced around the room. “Oh, you mean it’s just going to be us in here for this? I thought there was going to be a whole group of us.”
“Ha ha,” he retorted darkly, dropping his head to the crook of my neck to start planting kisses there. “I know you got it for me. Even if you really wanted a whole group of people in here, I’d rip out the eyes of any other person who saw you in that.”
“Possessive, are we?” I murmured, my head dropping back to give him better access as my hands stroked through his hair.
He fingers flexed on my hips and he nipped at my collarbone. “When it comes to you, absolutely.”
My heart skipped a beat when I processed his words. He didn’t give me time to overthink it, though. The next thing I knew, his knee was on the mattress beside my hip and he was gently leaning me down onto the bed.
Once I was on my back, he dropped to his knees and made a show of removing my shoes before pressing kisses to the insides of my ankles. Grinning up at me from between my legs, he wrapped his hands around my calves and pulled me closer to the edge of the mattress.
“Let’s see if I can convince you it was worth coming to the party tonight,” he said, rolling my panties off and dropping them on the floor. “Then I’ll show you the benefits of letting me be possessive of you.”
I lowered my back to the bed and dug my hands into the comforter. “Or I’ll show you how much I liked you being possessive of me. Let’s make some memories in this room then, huh?”
Instead of replying, he put his mouth on me and made me scream twice before I finally got to undress him. Later, when he opened his nightstand drawer to get a condom, I vaguely registered that the box had still been sealed and smiled when I realized it probably meant he’d been telling the truth.
He looked into my eyes when he sank into me, a smile of his own gracing his lips before he kissed me again. We stayed in his room for most of the night, but I didn’t regret missing the party. I couldn’t regret anything if it meant having him to myself, and especially not when it felt so good to be with him like this.
Chapter 21
DAXTON
By the time Haddie and I got back to the party, it was clear that the alcohol had been doing its job. Most people were wasted, the makeshift dance floor was packed, and everybody was laughing and having a good time, but I wasn’t even jealous of all the obvious fun I’d missed out on.
In fact, I had half a mind to drag Haddie back to my bedroom to continue our party for two, but that was only until I saw Thomas and Finn squaring off with one of the assholes from the fight the other night. The guy hadn’t been invited, but he was trying to push his way in with some of his buddies behind him.
My muscles tensed and I dropped Hadley’s hand as I braced for another altercation with them. A few of my brothers had also noticed what was going on near the door, and though some of them looked unsteady, they all moved toward the entrance hall.
Ryker appeared beside me out of nowhere, a scowl on his face as he glared at the intruders. “I can’t believe they actually came here looking for it. How fucking stupid are they? Our whole house is here tonight. It’s going to be a brawl.”
“We’re ready for them,” I replied, not taking my eyes off the Tau Pi’s trying to get farther into the house.
My friend glanced at Haddie, who was half a step behind me, and then shook his head. He kept his voice down so she wouldn’t overhear him, but it was obvious that he was referring to her when he spoke.
“I don’t think she’s ready for it, bro,” he said. “You might want to think about that.”
Without waiting for me to say anything, he took off toward the others. Everything in me wanted to go after him. I was ready for it, but then I turned to look at Haddie and instantly realized what he’d been talking about.
It was clear that she was scared. A fight broke out behind me. I heard the roar that went along with the first punch being thrown, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her. Something about the way she was staring at whatever was going on in the entrance hall pulled at me.
I’d invited her here, and she obviously wasn’t feeling safe where she was at the moment. Not that I could blame her. There was a horde of drunk people in the house and more of the Tau Pi’s would be arriving as backup soon. There was no doubt about that. They wouldn’t have sent only a few of their own over here to stir shit without anyone around to have their backs.
Threading my fingers through hers, I squeezed her hand lightly to get her attention before I started pulling her toward the back door. “Let’s go this way. We can sneak out through the gate in the garden. It should be quiet out there.”
She nodded, finally managing to stop staring at the fight for long enough to look up at me. “Thanks. I’d really appreciate that.”
“No worries, babe. You come first.” A part of me wanted to make a joke about how many times she’d come first tonight, but considering the circumstances, I held back.
I knew the guys were going to give me flak for sneaking out when I got back, but maybe if I made it back before the fight ended, I could still join in. Either way, I was going to have to take the shit coming my way if anyone saw me disappearing into the garden with a chick instead of going to help my brothers.
As I’d expected, most of the crowd had moved inside when the action had begun. There were still a few stragglers outside, but those who were there didn’t even seem to realize there was anything happening inside.
Keeping a firm hold on Haddie’s hand, I walked slightly behind her to use my body to protect her in case anyone fell into us. We padded soundlessly over the grass until we reached the gate. The latch was still undone from when we’d been offloading the booze earlier, and I swung it open to check that the coast was clear.
When I saw there were no Tau Pi’s hovering around on this side of the house, I stepped out onto the sidewalk and tugged her with me. “There we go. We’re all good. If there’s more of them waiting around, they’re probably doing it out front near the main entrance.”
She breathed out an audible sigh of relief, adjusting her grip on my hand as we walked down the street. It was dimly lit, but there were no sounds that warranted worry as we made our way toward her dorm.
“Thanks for getting me out of there,” she said. “I could’ve just gone back up to wait in your room, but I didn’t really want you getting involved either. Is that bad?”
Fuck yes, it’s bad. Those are my brothers back there who are dealing with our rivals while I snuck out the back like a pussy. That was what I should’ve thought, but it wasn’t the first thing that crossed my mind at all.
The first thing I thought was that it wasn’t bad at all. That I understood why she didn’t want me to put myself in a position where I might get hurt because I’d fucking hate to have to watch her do the same thing.
Deciding to compromise between the two thoughts, I shrugged before letting go of her hand to sling my arm over her shoulders. “It’s not bad, Hadley. I get it. I’m sorry that happened while you there, but I can’t promise that I wouldn’t have jumped in if you weren’t.”
“I don’t expect you to promise me anything,” she said, and I suddenly got the feeling we weren’t only talking about the fight anymore. “Thank you for making me feel safe with you.”
“That was pretty scary,” she added a few seconds later, almost as an afterthought.
I pulled her into my side, lowering my head to drop a kiss on top of her hair. “You’ll always be safe with me.”
It wasn’t like what I was planning to do would put her in any actual danger. I’d never do anything like that.
Resting her head against my arm, she smiled up at me. The moonlight caught her face again, hitting her skin in that way that made her lo
ok like something ethereal. Jesus. I really need this to be over with so I can stop thinking words like ethereal.
I couldn’t help it, though. Words like that just kept slipping into my thoughts. Much like the girl they were about actually.
“How would you like to come watch my rowing practice tomorrow?” I asked before I could think about the offer.
She lifted a brow at me, searching my eyes for a moment before she nodded. “Are you sure?”
“Of course.” Breathe out. Breathe in. “It’s going to be a beautiful day. You can study on the lawn while I row. It’ll be nice to look up and see you there.”
With the way she lit up and cuddled into my side after I said it, I knew I was saying all the right things. Which was great. If only I knew why I was doing it. Or rather, if only I was doing it just to get her eating out of the palm of my hand.
“I’d love to,” she said. “I’m surprised that you asked, but it’ll be nice to get some of my assignments done and be able to see you at the same time.”
We talked a bit more about the Rowing Team until we got to Edgewater Halls. When we reached the top of the steps, I released her shoulders and stepped in front of her.
“Thanks for coming with me tonight,” I said, “and for being such a good sport about wearing green. I still can’t believe you went out and bought green underwear.”
She flashed me a teasing smile. “I never do anything halfway.”
“Fair enough.” I reached up and slid one hand around her neck while cupping her jaw in the other. Leaning forward, I pressed a sweet kiss to her lips before pulling away. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Haddie. Sleep tight.”
She pushed up on her toes to kiss me again, then waved before turning to go inside. On the walk back to the house, I was in my head a bit more than usual. How cruel is too cruel? Am I crossing a line with her?
For all the arguments I kept making about why I wasn’t crossing a line, I just wasn’t sure anymore. When we were together, I did everything I did because it felt right. Couldn’t stop myself from doing it, even when I was aware that I probably shouldn’t be.
But I was also getting more confused every time we spent time together. Like maybe I was letting things go too far.
An image of her from back in high school flashed into my mind. It was one I’d called up a few times over the last couple of weeks in order to convince myself to stay on this mission of mine.
On the day that the news broke about my father’s arrest after the garden party, every outlet in the county reported on it. Everything I’d known had been slipping through my fingers. It was before she’d told me to stay away from her, but the way she’d looked at me had already changed.
It was that memory that reaffirmed my resolve once more. The memory of her looking at me like being near me might get her dirty somehow. He’d only just been arrested and there had been so much confusion about what was going on, but she’d already made up her mind.
She’d already abandoned me to a large extent. And she hadn’t even talked to me about it before she did it. She hadn’t asked any questions or waited for any evidence. She simply checked out on me, and for that, I could never fully forgive her. Not until she knew exactly what it felt like.
Chapter 22
HADLEY
Watching Daxton’s practice was a lot more enjoyable than I’d thought it would be. He’d been right when he’d said it was going to be a beautiful day. The sun was out and warming my back where I sat on the bank closest to the river with a textbook open on my lap.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and not a breath of wind. I’d brought my assignments with me, but I was having trouble concentrating when there was a hot, strong, shirtless guy gliding through the water not too far away from me.
Sure, there were a whole lot of them actually. It wasn’t just Dax on the boat but might as well have been for all the attention I paid to the rest of them.
My heart got all fluttery whenever I thought back to him inviting me last night. It’d seemed like there was something on his mind off and on all night, but when he’d asked me to come, it was like he’d needed me to be here.
The way he’d looked at me when he’d asked had nearly made my knees weak. I wouldn’t have been able to say no to him when he looked at me like that, but I also hadn’t wanted to. It made me feel like I was someone to him, being the girl he invited to his practice.
While he was mostly focused on what needed to be done, I caught him looking up the bank at me every so often. Whenever he did, our eyes met and he’d grin at me. I’d smile back at him, and then we’d both go back to what we were doing.
It didn’t feel like the first time I was here to watch him. In fact, it was reminiscent of what it used to be like back when I’d watched his football practices and there had been a real relationship between us.
It had been mostly a friendship with some flirtation to it, but it had been real and it had been ours. What was brewing between us now felt like much more, but I was still hesitant about reading too much into it.
Ruby had grilled me for details when I’d gotten back last night, and she’d made sure to remind me not to do anything stupid with him. I’d promised her—again—that I was guarding my heart, but I hadn’t been able to deny that he was slowly crawling into a small corner of it.
After she’d thoroughly berated me for that admission, she’d hugged me and told me that she would be happy for me for as long as I was happy. I was happy with him, though. With things being just the way they were between us.
My phone ringing interrupted my attempts at studying in between bouts of just staring at him, and I smiled when I saw my parents’ landline number on my screen. Picking it up immediately, I pressed the phone to my ear.
“Hey, Dad,” I said, knowing who I would be speaking to first. It was always the same order. Dad, Mom, and then Julio. “How are you guys doing?”
“We’re doing fine, angel girl,” my father’s warm voice came over the line. “How are you? Have you gotten a little more used to the workload yet?”
I glanced down at the gibberish in the textbook in my lap and scrunched up my nose. “I’m getting there. The work sure is challenging, but it’s interesting too.”
“That’s the spirit,” he said encouragingly. “Don’t let it get you down, baby. You’ll get settled in soon enough.”
Dax grinned at me again, and my heart skipped yet another beat. “Settling in is actually going much better than I thought it would. I’ve made some friends in my classes, my roommate and I are really bonding, and I’ve run into a friendly face.”
“Really?” It sounded like I’d piqued his curiosity. “I thought you said you didn’t know anyone else who’d gotten in there.”
“I didn’t,” I said, then explained myself. “Do you remember Daxton Breyer? I haven’t spoken to him since they moved, but he’s here and we’ve really hit it off again.”
Dad was quiet for a minute, his voice more subdued when he spoke again. “Dave Breyer’s son?”
“Yep,” I said cheerfully, watching the muscles in Dax’s back ripple as he pulled on the oars. “The very same. It turns out that Mr. Breyer used to go here too. It’s a small world.”
“It is,” he agreed, but there was caution in his tone. “Be careful with that boy, Hadley. I know the two of you used to be friends, but Daxton isn’t a good man. He didn’t even say goodbye to you before he left.”
Which had been my own fault, but Dad knew the story. I didn’t need to remind him. It didn’t matter to him what I’d done. Dad was all about protecting us. He held us accountable in his own way and in the privacy of our home. To the outside world, we were a united force.
“I’m being careful, Daddy. I promise, but all those allegations about his family turned out to be untrue. We thought his father wasn’t a good man, but even if he isn’t, it doesn’t mean that Dax isn’t.”
“They just up and disappeared after the trial, baby,” he said gently. “He’s probably not the same boy
you used to know.”
“No, he’s not. He and his family had to move away because of the misunderstanding and the hate was so out of control. Obviously, the experience would’ve changed them but I think they’re still good people.”
He hesitated, but eventually, he just sighed. I could imagine him running his hand through his thinning gray hair and nodding slowly while I spoke. “I trust your judgment, darling. Just promise me you’ll be careful with him, okay? Even if he is a good man and the experience hasn’t left him bitter, he’s still a nineteen-year-old boy. Take it from me since I used to be one, nineteen-year-old boys aren’t always the most logical, trustworthy beings.”
I laughed, tipping my head back to let the sun warm my face while enjoying the sound of my father’s voice in my ear. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, Dad. How are you guys really doing?”
“We’re fine,” he said. “Things are a bit tight, but we’re surviving. Don’t worry about us.”
Regardless of what he said, I couldn’t help but worry about them. If things were tight and he was admitting it, it meant they were struggling even if he was playing it off like they were just fine.
“I could probably get a job in town,” I offered. “I might not be able to put in enough hours to make a ton, but I could still send something home.”
“Don’t even think about it,” he warned. “You need to be focused on school and getting that fancy degree. We’ll be okay, honey. I’ve got to go, but here’s your mother.”
“Okay, Daddy. Love you,” I said, but I didn’t even know if he’d heard me since my mom was on the line not a second later.
Although she also hinted that things weren’t going as well as they were pretending they were, she kept her voice cheerful. They’d never tell me that they were struggling or that they were missing even the few extra dollars I’d managed to bring into the household. She updated me on what they’d been up to before handing me over to my little brother.
