by Leila James
“Hey, you’re here!” His eyes shift to the open archway through which a portion of the living room is visible. My gaze follows. Bodies gyrate to the music, sweaty and hot. Nothing out of the ordinary, to be honest.
I frown and turn back to Beau, who is looking at me anxiously as he finishes with the cocktail. He looks back into the living room, his eyes widening. I look back, and that’s when I see them. Micah and Scarlett. Dancing. Together. What the fuck? Blood roars through my head. I blink once. Look back. Blink again. Nope, I’m not seeing things.
Beau drops what he’s doing, which doesn’t surprise me, as I’m about to barrel over there like a freight train, and he knows it. He grabs my arm, yanking me into a corner with him as I heave out a series of angry breaths. “First, you should know that we both apologized to her for … I don’t even fucking know what. She’s been mad at us ever since we asked her what happened between you two on Friday night. You really made a mess of things, didn’t you?”
I rub a hand over my jaw. “That I did. I have my reasons, though.”
He barks out a laugh. “Maybe you’ll share eventually because I can’t begin to fucking imagine what the hell is going on.”
“You’re right. You don’t have a clue. Have you ever known me to do things just because?” I dip my head, eyeing him in a way that I hope communicates that my motives are pure.
“Fair enough, man. You have your secrets, I have mine. Second, you told Micah to watch over her.” My eyes flick to his, and he presses his lips together. “Yes, he told me about that. And he’s actually doing you a pretty big favor right now. She showed up an hour ago with Max. Like I said, we apologized, but then she seemed worked up about something and did three shots of vodka before I could convince her it wasn’t a good idea. Now she’s pissed at me all over again because I tried to stop her.”
I close my eyes.
“That left Micah and Max to take care of her.” He gestures toward the other room. “She got it into her head that she wanted to dance. Once she wore Max out, Micah took over.”
In through the nose, out through the mouth. Breathe. I still feel pissed off, but Beau is right. I did ask Micah to make sure she was okay. And I trust my boys. I would rather have her dancing with one of them than with anyone else.
“She’s drunk, dude. Something’s going on with her.” He lets out a huge guffaw. “Hell, it probably has to do with you, so maybe you should go relieve Micah of his duties.”
I give a short nod, my jaw locked tight with tension. Slightly more calmly than I’d been two minutes before, I stride into the other room. My gaze catches Micah’s, and he gives me a grim look, ever so slightly shaking his head. Scarlett’s swaying to the beat, one of Micah’s legs between hers. He’s got one hand on each of her hips, and after a second glance, I realize he’s basically holding her up so she doesn’t fall. She raises her arms over her head as she dances, completely lost in the music.
I find a place against a wall to lean while the song finishes out. Scarlett’s skinny jeans seem to be molded to her ass and legs, and her pretty green top swings as she moves, a small slice of her midriff exposed with her arms up in the air. The sight has heat flowing through me like lava.
She swivels around, putting her back to his front. I’m grinding my teeth so hard I won’t have any molars left by the end of the song if she doesn’t stop pushing her ass into his crotch like that. I force myself to take a fortifying breath. I don’t know how much more of this I can handle. Jesus.
Micah shoots me an apologetic look when she reaches back and grabs his hips to hold on to as they move together to the beat, then throws her head back against his chest when she really gets into the song. Her eyes are shut. I don’t think she realizes I’m watching her yet.
And how fucked up is it that my dick is stirring to life watching her grind on my buddy? I groan and cross my arms.
Finally, the damn song comes to an end, and Micah leans down and whispers something in her ear. Her eyes pop open and bore right into me.
She huffs, crossing the room, Micah following the whole way. His brows go up which I interpret as You good, man? I nod yes, and wave him off with one hand, catching her as she stumbles into me with the other.
Scarlett looks up at me, her eyes wet.
Whoa. Where’d that come from? Her lip trembles. “Tell me why you’re so hot for me one minute, then you ignore me the next. Tell me why you pull me in only to push me away.” She huffs out a breath. “And then it starts over again. I feel like I’m a yo-yo, your silly plaything that you yank around”—her arms flail wildly as she confronts me—“according to your whims.” Her voice rose as she talked and people have started to stare. I want to tell them all to go fuck themselves but instead I take her hand in mine and move toward the patio. We pass Aria on our way out, and she gives me a definite uh-oh face, eyes wide and a tight smile. I told her last night I wasn’t sure what to do about telling Scarlett. I’m still not sure. And now I’ve got Beau up my ass, too. Fuck.
Once we pass the firepit, I veer off toward the pool house, taking us around the corner where I can talk to her alone. When I stop, I spin her to face me before I lean back against the building. We stare at each other for several quiet seconds, both of us catching our breath.
“You’re not my plaything. I really want to be with you, Red, but there are some things I need to figure out first, none of which are your fault.” I reach out a hand to her, needing her close to me. She allows me to settle her body against mine. I take her head between my palms, skimming my thumbs over my cheeks.
“I know, Xander.” Her voice is so soft, I almost think I’m hearing things.
“Know what?”
She shakes her head, looking disappointed in my response. She closes her eyes for a second. When they pop back open, her lips crash against mine. I’m stunned at first, but her mouth moves in a frenzy, revving me up and pushing me into action. My tongue massages hers, our kiss full of desire. The taste of her is like a lightning strike down my spine and blood rushes to my dick, making my jeans incredibly tight. I nip at her lower lip before my mouth grazes over her jaw and down her neck to her cleavage. I bite on a spot at the top of her left breast, and she gasps in shock. I soothe the sting with my tongue, running it over the mark I just left. “Mine.”
“Am I still yours?” Her question is barely a whisper.
“Always, Red. And you fucking own me, too.” I pull her top up far enough to get to her nipple. I suck at the puckered skin through her lace bra, and she makes the most amazing little noises as my mouth completely wets her bra and the skin underneath. I suck her nipple into my mouth, pulling it in deep, then nip at it with my teeth before I let it go.
“Let me show you. I need to show you how you own me.” My hands go to her jeans, popping the button and pulling the zipper down. I slide my fingers over the globes of her ass, pushing the jeans down along with her panties. She kicks off her flats, and I help her get one leg out of her jeans, then spin her around and back her up to the wall that I’d been leaning against.
“Xander.” She whispers my name as I drop to my knees in front of her. She looks down at me, surprised. “What are you doing?”
“You own me, Scarlett. You fucking own me.” It’s become like a mantra now. She owns me. I lift her leg, putting it over my shoulder. My lips worship every inch of the skin of her inner thigh that rests near my head before I sweep my tongue along the tendon leading to the juncture of her legs. I nudge her clit with my nose and inhale her scent. It fills my head with foggy lust. I may not be drunk like she is, but I’m definitely drunk on her. My mouth covers the hood of her sex, and she cries out when I suck, using my lips and tongue on her. I groan. “You taste so good. So fucking good.” I delve my tongue into her tight, wet core and almost weep with the pleasure of it, the taste, the texture of her skin.
She sways a bit, and I move my hands to each of her thighs, pinning her to the building at the same time I hold her open for my mouth to devour. The more my t
ongue flutters over all of her sensitive pink skin, the harder it is for her to remain quiet. She looks fucking amazing—red hair flowing around her shoulders, moonlit pale skin, jeans hanging off one leg, pussy fully exposed to the night air. Fuck.
“Xander.” Her hands clutch my hair, and her breath has become harsher in the last thirty seconds. She watches my every movement, a fire burning bright in her blue eyes. “I can’t. I can’t.” Her every word is punctuated by a gasp. She begins to quake, her pelvis rocking toward my face. Raw and raspy, her words tear from her mouth. “Oh God, Xander. I’m coming. Coming so hard.”
For a while longer, I continue to lick, my tongue sliding over her, and every few seconds she shudders, almost like an aftershock. I finally stand, gathering her body to mine, dipping my tongue into her mouth in a kiss so hot, so wild, I think we might be on fire.
“I could eat your pussy all night long.” I rub my straining cock in my jeans against her wet center. “Was it good, baby?”
“Yes.” Her leg wraps tightly around my hip, pulling me in. “But I need—”
My heart hammers behind my rib cage. “Right here?”
She nods. “Now. Please, before I change my mind.” Her voice sounds a little funny, but I chalk it up to anticipation.
I fumble into my pocket for a condom and tear the package open as her hands dive for my jeans. Once unfastened, she shoves everything down just far enough for my cock to spring out of my boxer briefs, hard and ready.
My head buzzes with the idea of sex against the side of the pool house. There are people sitting around the firepit no more than twenty feet from where we’re about to fuck. I can hear the crackling of the fire, the conversation, shouting, and the laughter. I roll the condom on as quickly as I can, and Scarlett is half climbing me in an effort to impale herself on my erection. “I’ve got you.” I lift her, and her legs coil around me, her wetness meeting my lower abdomen.
She presses her lips to mine, hungrily shoving her tongue into my mouth as she begins to grind her pelvis against me. “I need you inside me. Now.”
I shift back, align myself with her opening, and thrust deep. She cries out, and I swallow it with my kiss. I’m barely holding myself together. She’s so tiny, we have an incredibly tight fit. This feels so fucking good, if I didn’t know better I’d say the top of my head was about to pop off. My hands find her ass cheeks, and I hold on to her as I plunge in and out as quickly as I can. This isn’t the time for lovemaking. This is straight up horny, desperate banging.
And God, it’s so fucking good. She’s blowing my mind with the way she’s working her pelvis against me, meeting me stroke for stroke, grinding her clit on my pubic bone. I drive into her, sliding my tongue along her neck and sucking on her earlobe. My voice is low and husky as I whisper, “I will never get enough of you, Red. Never.”
She comes apart right in my arms, and I swallow her moans as she clamps down over and over again on my cock. I slide in and out, savoring her release until my balls tighten, and I can’t stop the orgasm from ripping through me.
As our breathing returns to normal, I notice she won’t look me in the eye. She reaches down, grabs her clothes and jams her bare leg through the leg hole of her panties, into the jeans, and yanks everything up over her ass.
“Hey.”
“Not now, Xander. I have to go.” She buttons her jeans and looks down to make sure her clothes are straight and slides her feet into her shoes.
“What? Where are you going?”
“Home. You aren’t good for me, and until you can tell me what the hell you’re keeping from me, I have nothing else to say to you.”
“You planned this.” I work my jaw back and forth, exasperated, my eyes squinting at her. “Look, there are things you don’t know, and I wish I could tell you but—” I lift my arms in a shrug, then drop them.
She glances over her shoulder, steely determination in her eyes. “I’d tell you to get the fuck out, so you know exactly how I felt that night, but I don’t live here and neither do you. So, I’ll just say fuck off and leave it at that.”
As I watch her departing figure, I lift my hands to my face to run them over it. They’re shaking.
She’s given me a taste of my own medicine. I could be mad about it, but hell, maybe it’s for the best. Ever since I realized who she was, I’d thought it would be best if she stayed far away from me and my family. And now she’s doing the job for me.
I don’t want my mom to know what Sebastian may have done. To ruin her life again, in a new and different way than how Dad had ruined her. Is Sebastian capable of what I’m worried about? I thought I knew him. At the very least, he has a child that he hasn’t told his wife about. At worst? I don’t want to think about what the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy may have been.
I wish I had a better way to protect all of them—my mother, Scarlett, Janie. For now, keeping the secret buried is the best I can do.
Chapter 17
Scarlett
I’m never drinking again. Holy shit, this hangover is gonna kill me. And if it doesn’t kill me, Coach Lance might. From the way he’s run beside me at different points of the cross-country 5K course at the meet this morning, his face red and blustering, I assume he’s pissed as hell at me. I’ve never seen him coach like this in the last five weeks, so this is either his meet-day face or I’ve royally fucked myself over. I may have put my scholarship in jeopardy all to get back at Xander, the asshat. I never could have done what I did last night while sober though, so it is what it is.
Shoving all thoughts of Xander out of my head, I focus on running my race. I feel mostly like crap, a little pukey, and a whole lot dehydrated. A mile and a half in, I finally start to feel better, opening up my stride and relaxing into a faster pace. I pass no fewer than ten runners along the way, both male and female, including Kari. I can sense the finish line isn’t far out—about a quarter mile, if I’m not mistaken—and turn up my speed, powering toward it. My breathing actually steadies, knowing I’m almost done. Two guys from our team are out in front of me, and I chase them down, knowing their times are usually pretty competitive.
They give little sputters of dismay when I fly past them. There’s some cheering from the crowd gathered at the finish line, and I smile, looking up to see if I can find Max and Daphne or my aunt and uncle.
All four are standing together waving at me, so I wave back with a tired grin.
That grins drops right off my face when I see Xander, Beau, and Micah. I don’t know why they are here, but surely it can’t be for me, not after I told Xander off last night. The look on his face had been priceless. Like, What?
I pace around for a minute or so, hands on my hips, and Coach Lance brings me a bottle of water. “Don’t drink this too fast.”
I nod, swallow some, and dump a bunch over my head. I shake it like a wet dog. “What was my time?”
“Appears you figured things out once you got going. You kind of looked like shit the first half.” He chuckles. “You still managed a first-place finish for the girls and third overall. Seventeen minutes, forty-five seconds. And I know you could have done better.”
I nod. “I can. I will next time.”
The other runners come in over the next few minutes. Once everyone is accounted for, the coaches review and compare times recorded for each runner, and then they hand out some medals to the top three male runners and top three female runners. I’m pleased with how I did, all things considered, but know I’ll do far better next time.
I stop back by Coach Lance again when he waves me over. “Good job. Now, go hit the showers. Looks like you have a bunch of fans waiting for you.”
Biting my lip, I glance back to where everyone is standing. Xander seems fine but Uncle David is shooting daggers at him and Aunt Liz doesn’t look super happy, either. Yikes. Okay, I’d better hurry before they come to blows.
I drink the rest of my water on the way back to the locker room. I’d seen a lot of the other female runners circled up
talking, so I have the place to myself for a little bit. I grab a towel and toss it over my shower stall as I’m now prone to do. I turn the valve, wait for it to warm, then step under the spray and groan out my pleasure. The hot water feels good on my tired, aching muscles. I wash and condition my hair, then soap up quickly. The door to the locker room slams open. I think nothing of it until a cold shiver zips down my spine. I blink open my eyes to find someone standing outside my shower stall.
This time, I’m more pissed than scared and my jaw goes rigid. “Whoever you are, you totally suck, you creeper. You’re not supposed to be in here, so get the hell out.” This is like déjà vu. My heart pounds. Only, this is not déjà vu because this is not the same short, light-haired person as before. This person, this man, is well over six feet tall, and I can make out his dark hair and broad shoulders through the textured glass. I suck in a breath, waiting for whatever he will do next. Because once again, I’m trapped in here unless I want to go out in a towel. Speaking of …
Right in front of my eyes, my towel starts to slide over the stall door. I make a grab at it, holding on tight. I grit my teeth and wrench it in my direction as hard as I can while shouting, “Give me my towel!” My voice echoes off the walls of the locker room, and whoever is standing there hurries away.
I wrap my towel around my wet body as quickly as I can and burst out of my shower stall just in time to see Kari and a few other girls walk into the locker room and go directly to their lockers. Gasping for air, I ask, “Did you see someone run out of here?”
They exchange confused glances, and Kari responds, “No. Are you okay? You look flustered.”
I huff. “I’d be better if people would stop messing with me. Some jackass tried to steal my towel from over the shower door.
One of the other girls whispers, “Well, that’s not freaky at all.”
“I know. You’ve been warned. Someone obviously thinks it’s funny to scare people. I swear to you there was a dude in here just now. I hold my hand up to the height. “About this tall, dark-haired.”
