Hidden River Three (Hidden River Academy Book 3)
Page 6
He groaned, and kissed me without waiting.
“Want you,” he muttered into my ear, and for the second time that night, a guy rolled his hips into mine, his hard cock obvious and present. Except with Reid I wasn’t all that sure.
With Colt…
My fingers slicked through his hair, and I kissed him.
“You’re drunk,” I whispered, chasing the taste of alcohol with the back of my hand off my lips. He rocked his head from side to side.
“Lubricated,” he said, and then his loose smile went evil. “Like you, babe? You… saw you dancing. It was so hot. Reid’s an ass, but… damn, fuck, his hands on you? So hot.” He was rambling, kissing the side of my face in between his words, but his hands were steady on my hips, fingers drawing my dress up my legs.
“Is it bad I just wanna, like, fuck you right here, right where I walk by all the damn time, so I can look at this spot and just think, fuck yeah, that’s where I fucked Mia Quinn.”
A flare of sadness inside of me twined with the heat that bloomed at his words.
“Not a conquest, I’m not… I’m not like, a thing to be won,” I breathed, pushing at his chest. His fingers stilled on my hips and the look he gave me was one of regret.
“No, that’s not, no, shit, not what I meant.” He swallowed hard. “Fuck, no I just… I’m so fucking bad with words, I just think you’re the best thing ever, and if I could spend every day seeing the very first place I ever made you come on my cock, that’d be… life goals. Bucket list. I could remember the look on your face, the way your scent was all around me.” His eyes closed and he sighed. “I just never want to forget it. Ever.”
The intensity of his emotions was overwhelming, and I leaned back against the side of the building to get some space.
“You can’t say stuff like that,” I whispered. Colt closed his eyes and groaned.
“I know, I’m stupid, but…”
“It makes me think that you’re way more serious than I can handle right now,” I said, because it was true. Being with him was like stepping into the sunlight when my skin was already burnt.
“You’re right, god I’m sorry, you’re right. I’ll be… I’l go slow. Slow is good.” He gave me an intense look. “Can I… slow kiss you?”
Heat fluttered in my cheeks.
“Yeah,” I whispered, tilting my head up for him. His mouth was warm on mine, gentle. I could still smell the alcohol, but he was careful to just hold me by the waist, and kiss me sweetly, almost chaste-like.
“That okay?” He asked. “I don’t… you deserve that. The best of me. It’s not much, but I’m giving it all I got.”
“Just this is fine,” I said, finally catching my breath. The night had been too much. I felt wild, and sexy, but also trembling and scared at the same time. “I should get home.”
I touched his lips with my fingers as he gazed at me, a relaxed contentment in his eyes as his arms rested, slung around my waist.
“Just promise me this,” I said. “Don’t talk to anyone. Get to your room and brush your teeth, you smell like booze.”
He winced.
“Ah, fuck, yeah, okay,” he said, grumbling. “One more kiss for the road?” He asked, eyebrow popping up hopefully. With a roll of my eyes, I obliged him, kissing him on the cheek.
My panties were wet, and I still wasn’t quite sure what had happened between me and Reid on the dance floor. I needed to puzzle that out.
And Buck. Buck coming for Reid like that. I frowned as I walked with Colt to the pick-up spot, and called my uncle to come get me.
Maybe it was time I talked to Buck. He didn’t have a right to follow me around events and punch guys that I got close to. If he had to hear it from me, then he would.
“You thinking hard?” Colt asked, his arm wrapped around me, his chin resting on the top of my head.
“Yeah,” I said softly.
“Don’t,” Colt said. “Bad for your brain. It’s still all concussioroni.”
“That’s not a word,” I teased him, with a smile. Colt grinned.
“Anything can be a word if you try hard enough,” he argued. My uncle pulled up, and Colt patted me on the ass once as he stepped away. “See you tomorrow?”
“If we both don’t have headaches,” I said. He rolled his eyes.
“I’m not that drunk,” he said, although I could still hear the slight slur in his words.
The night was a lot to think about. I climbed into the front seat of my uncle’s car and strapped in.
“Had fun?” He asked me as we pulled away from the school.
“I think so,” I said, not able to look at him. “Buck punched a guy I was dancing with.”
My uncle groaned.
“Fuck, I need to talk to that kid. He’s struggling.”
“Unfortunate,” I said, and my uncle glanced at me even if I didn’t return it. I could just feel the heaviness of his stare on my skin.
“You need the closure? You should talk to him, but this prickly act you’ve been putting on lately is making you hard, Mia. Life’s tough, but you can’t let it make you hard.” His words hit home and I sighed, my shoulders slumping.
“Can we talk about it tomorrow?” I asked. “My head hurts.”
“Sure thing sweetheart,” Uncle Matt said, reaching over to pat my hand. “You rest. All big problems are smaller in the daylight anyway.”
I didn’t argue with him, but deep down I knew he was wrong, just this once. Reid and Buck’s blowout at the dance was going to have consequences; my gut was screaming it at me. I closed my eyes. I couldn’t do anything about it right then, though, and I took a deep breath to relax myself. There was no point in borrowing trouble, my mother would say, especially because trouble would come to you, borrowed or not. Hopefully I could escape the trouble that was coming at me from all directions. Buck had just made it all that much harder, and Reid…
My cheeks were still burning over what he’d said to me. At least I had something… sexy, to think about when I got into bed, to help me forget the bad. Too bad it was about Reid of all people. I flushed harder and looked out the window into the darkness.
It was fine. I’d… get it out of my system and forget about him. He was a one-off. He’d lose interest now that he’d gotten what he wanted, grinding up against me in the middle of the dance floor.
It wouldn’t happen again. Ever.
Five
Paige’s laugh tinkled in the air of the school cafeteria.
“Well I guess you’re used to hand-me-downs, Colt,” she said. My skin on the back of my neck prickled, and an angry, hot feeling expanded in my chest. I glanced at Colt. He raised an eyebrow at me and looked over my shoulder, past me, to where Paige stood. Paige was back to her usual place with the cheer girls, so I’d stuck to Colt’s table.
Apparently she’d heard about him and me at the dance together. I hope she hadn’t heard about Reid. I had a feeling that she’d lose her shit if she did. Why did she think she owned every single guy in the goddamn school?
“Aren’t you a little tired of this rich bitch routine?” Colt drawled, pushing his tray aside, and standing slowly.
“It’s not worth it, Colt,” I whispered under my breath.
“It’s not worth it, Colt,” Paige mocked, “god, she makes me sick. Playing innocent while she fucks her way through her grade and mine-”
Colt made a rumbling noise of warning, and I spun, getting to my feet to stop him.
“Paige, fuck off,” I said, not caring that my voice was edging on panic. She needed to stop needling Colt. I knew that he couldn’t take it. His temper was too fast for people he didn’t like, and the top slot on his Shit List was occupied by Paige. “You’re really not worth it.” I grabbed my tray and glanced at Colt. “Let’s go.”
Paige’s eyes tracked Colt’s movement, and I was kind of internally smug to see she was a little apprehensive. Good. She always acted like no one could touch her, like she was invincible. It was about time that she figured out
that she couldn’t run her mouth without someone taking issue with it. I wasn’t going to be the one to teach her that lesson, but at some point someone wasn’t going to give two fucks how much money she had and they were going to arrange a meeting between her face and the pavement.
It was a nice daydream, but wrangling Colt was more important.
“You’re right, Mia,” Colt said, coming around the lunch table. He moved close to me, and I felt the fidgety energy in him, like he wanted to touch me but wasn’t sure if I’d be okay with it.
I reached out and laced my fingers with his, squeezing them gently. His warmth and touch strengthened me. Paige stared at us, the small pocket in our corner of the cafeteria quiet. Eyes were floating in our direction, other students picking up on the tense showdown between us and Paige.
Colt laughed, the sound too-loud and abrupt.
“I don’t get my hands dirty by touching trash, and neither should you, Mia,” he said, smiling down at me. My heart thumped in my chest. “You’re too good for that,” his voice dropped low, and maybe for the first time ever, I felt… cherished. The way he was looking at me? It was so intense. It’s like Paige didn’t even exist.
“Let’s go,” I said, the fluttering, shuddery feeling in my belly begging me to get away where we could just be the two of us, without people watching. He led me around Paige, not even looking at her once, toward the main doors to outside. My pulse was racing, slamming in my veins as the cold, gray sky had chilly air falling down on us.
“Here,” he said, gently, taking his jacket from where it was crammed into the back of his backpack. He settled it on my shoulders, the warmth enveloping me.
“How’d you know?” I asked. He laughed and we started walking, wandering away down one of the paths that bordered HRA’s fields. It felt good to be away from everyone. I bumped my arm into his.
“You’re always cold,” he said. “I noticed.” The fact he had made me feel the very opposite of chilly. I stuck my hand into his pocket, finding where his fingers were jammed in there, and curled my hand around his.
“Thanks,” I said, leaning into him.
“I’m wanna kiss you,” he said, his eyes half-closed, “unless you’re not-”
I silenced him with a kiss, lifting up on my toes, my own eyes sliding shut. He didn’t wear heavy cologne like some of the idiots in our classes, but there was a soft hint of something spicy on his skin that filled my lungs when I inhaled and made me want to res closer to him.
“I keep thinking of the dance, after,” he said when I pulled away an inch, still hovering close but needing the space to breathe. His jacket was heavy on my shoulders, weighing me down and surrounding me in the scent and warmth of him.
“The dance?” I asked.
“Yeah.” His fingers were hovering on my shoulder and I tilted my head to the side. He sighed, his fingers slipping up the side of my neck, and then sinking into my hair. “I just wanted to do this, over and over, but shit, Mia, you don’t deserve this. You need someone to respect you need space right now.”
“I want both,” I said, trying not to be irrational. “I want… want everything.”
“Sounds like someone is doing a good Veruca Salt impression,” he teased, his smile easy and gentle. I could’ve gotten lost in his eyes, just looking up at him like I was. “But whatever you want, I’ll give it to you,” he said. I swallowed.
“I can’t just be about what I want,” I replied.
“Yeah, it can,” he leaned down as he spoke, kissing me, soft, small repeatable kisses between each word. “I can be selfish and needy later. How about right now is just… all about you?”
I wanted that, at least part of me did. I pulled back with reluctance.
“I think I want to do this different,” I said, taking a heavy breath. “I don’t know much on how to be in a relationship without being swallowed up by the other person.”
Colt nodded, sighing and shifting his weight so he moved away too, giving me space. He adjusted the way his jacket sat around my shoulders as I spoke.
“This isn’t a relationship,” he said. “We’re just friends.”
I rolled my eyes at him. We didn’t have a word for what we were, not yet. Somewhere between good friends and something much more. But Buck and Shawn had left me too raw. Colt knew that, and he also knew better than to try to push me.
He respected me too much for that.
It was a good feeling, like sinking into a hot bath, or curling up under a dryer-warmed blanket. I could get what I needed from him, the physical closeness, and he’d let me take the lead and set the pace.
“I just don’t want you to get bitter because I’m not where you are,” I said and he laughed.
“Are you saying you’re worried that I’ll fall head over heels in love with you and you’ll still not be sure?” He swallowed, his eyes trailing on my face. “A little late for that,” he finished, and my breath caught. “But I can wait. Or not. You can tell me to fuck off right now, and I will. I’m not going to be one of those guys who waits for you like a creep. Being your friend, if that’s all I ever am, is good enough for me.”
I knew he meant it, even though from the way his hands lingered on my shoulders, and slid down my arms to take my hands into his, I knew he wanted me. I wanted to feel safe enough to want him back. Time might give me that. Time, and that counseling my uncle had suggested.
“Is it okay if I kiss you?” I asked this time, and he gave me a crooked grin.
“We’re so fucked up,” he muttered, reaching for me. My tongue found his, his lips parted for me before we closed the gap between us. I needed his heat, the frantic energy of his hands as he tugged my fingers to wrap around his hips. “Didn’t we just talk about taking this slow?”
“I don’t even know,” I replied, feeling dizzy and not from the concussion. That was pretty much gone. “I don’t even fucking know.”
This wasn’t like the frantic, intense arousal I’d felt at the dance. This was a slow smolder, burning away inside of me and promising to take me down the moment I turned my back on it.
But I didn’t want to turn away. Something about Colt made me want to run to him, not from him.
“Are we really doing this?” I asked.
“What?” He kissed me again, and nearly knocked his jacket off my shoulders when he lifted me up, his arms solid around my waist. “C’mon, let’s go someplace really private,” he said.
I blushed.
“We have class this afternoon,” I protested. He shot me a heated look.
“Fuck class,” he said, pulling me along. “Rather be fuckin’ you.”
My mouth was dry, as he tugged me toward the dorms, where the boarding students stayed. There weren’t a lot of them, so it was a co-ed place, with alternating gender floors. There were video cameras on the entrance though, so going inside seemed like a bad idea-
To my surprise, Colt tugged me around the side of the building, and I blinked when I saw it.
“What’s that?”
“The old assembly hall,” he said. There, attached to the back of the dorm, was an old wing of the building, it’s windows boarded up. He grinned. “It’s Tuesday, so the entrance fee is waived,” he said with a snicker. I groaned at his bad joke and followed him as he pushed aside a plywood board that had been nailed shut over the door. We slipped inside, and the scent of old wood, candles, dusty fabric, and long-abandoned space overwhelmed me.
“There’s this thing over here,” he said, taking my hand. I followed him through the thin, gray light.
“This place looks haunted,” I said. He laughed.
“Oh probably. A lot of us boarding students come down here. It’s a good place to drink or…” His eyes swept down my body. “Do other stuff without getting caught.”
“You drink down here?” I asked. He grinned as we reached the stage. A pile of old velvet curtains were mounded on one side of it. I mounted the steps after him, dropping my backpack at the edge, near where he left his.
“Yeah,” he said, his tongue wetting his lower lip as he looked at me, shifting onto the fabric beside me. My pulse quickened as he reached for me, and my fingers went to the back of his neck right when he kissed me, pressing me down.
He groaned as I pulled him close, my breath speeding up, an ache between my thighs before he’d entirely closed the distance between us.
“Fuck, in your uniform and everything,” he said between kisses, one of his hands landing on the curve of my thigh through my skirt.
“Tell me more about this drinking you do here,” I teased. “Sounds like you’re into breaking the rules.”
“All of them,” he said with seriousness, “there’s not a rule created that I haven’t broken. Especially the ones where I’m not supposed to bring girls back to my dorm, or trespass with them, or-” His gaze lowered to where his hand sat, heavy on my leg. He skimmed his fingers down to the hem of pleated skirt, dragging them back up and moving the fabric at the same time.
I held my breath, my exposed skin glowing in the dim light. Up, up the tips of his fingers traveled, and he let out a low groan at the first hint of my panties.
“White? Is there anything about you that isn’t the sexiest, walking cliche?” He asked. His eyelashes fluttered shut as I rolled my hips up to meet his hand. He cupped me through my underwear and I couldn’t help it, I needed him-
“Colt,” I begged quietly.
“Shouldn’t be doing any of this,” he muttered. “Whatever happened to taking it-you’re so warm, shit.” He’d slipped two fingers into my panties, his touch light and teasing over me.
His eyes almost glowed in the light when he opened them, an intense expression on his face. He kept touching me, soft, little light strokes that made me squirm and roll my hips again, a silent plea for more.
He didn’t give me more though. He kissed me instead, sliding his whole hand into my panties, just wrapping his fingers over my pussy and leaving it there.