I had been turned on in a wicked, unnatural way. In that moment I would have let Deke Marlow do whatever he wanted to me.
Winston had be the catalyst that turned Deke’s toying and teasing into a battle of wills. The switch had been flipped and the Deke Marlow that was staring me down in the hallway after the fight was the real Deke Marlow. I suspected his friends knew it too, and that’s why they had followed. They wanted to make sure he didn’t kill me.
I wasn’t going to lie to Ava when I was asking for her advice and help. “Yes,” I confessed.
I thought she’d get giddy or sly, maybe joke about it. But, instead, she looked sorry for me. Like she knew I was going swimming with the sharks with my leg bleeding and no one would be able to save me. “You guys are probably going to crash and burn, you know that, right?”
“I’m terrified, Ava,” I admitted, “but not enough to stop this.” She nodded her head sadly. “This morning when I slapped him, I meant that. I wanted nothing to do with him, but now…now, I don’t know how not to want him.”
“That’s because he’s done the one thing no one has ever done for you, Delaney,” she replied. “He fought for you. He made you feel like you matter, and that’s a dangerous drug for girls like us.”
Again, she wasn’t wrong.
Chapter 11
Deke~
The bag swung back and forth, but it still didn’t feel as if I was hitting it hard enough. It didn’t matter that my hands were all busted up from Reynold’s face, either. I welcomed the sting and the burn. Hell, I wanted to kick his ass all over again.
After I left school, I texted the gang to let them know I was fine, and just needed a breather. And after that, I had gone straight home and to our home gym. Well, my home gym. My parents were never home, and when they were, they sure as hell weren’t working out in here.
I was still feeling unhinged, and rage was still coursing through my blood. I needed an outlet before I killed Winston or attacked Delaney, because, Christ, that need was still simmering underneath the surface of my moral line. Not killing Winston. Nope. I was perfectly fine with that.
The need to attack Delaney; that dark, visceral need was still with me and I wouldn’t go anywhere near her until I got it under control.
I had every intention on commanding her body and ruling her pleasure. I had every intention of taking her brutally; virgin or not. I had every intention of destroying her.
But she had to be willing.
That was not negotiable. I might want to dance on the line of moral propriety with her, but I didn’t want to cross over into immoral responsibility. And the way I was feeling now, I’d take her just to prove she belonged to me and not Winston, and that’s not how I wanted us to get down. I wanted no one else in that bedroom with us, figuratively or literally.
When Delaney and I finally do come together, it’s going to be because she wants it-she wants me. But before that happens, she’ll know and understand that, after she gives me full consent to own her body, she will never be able to take it back. She’ll have to know that, and dissect what that means, before I get her under me. I planned on taking her farther than I’ve ever taken anyone else. I planned on letting her see the monster, and I could only pray that she’ll stay afterwards.
The ringing of my phone cut through the music blasting through the gym, and I knew I had to answer it or else it’d never stop ringing.
I turned from the punching bag and walked towards the speaker system that commanded the surround sound. Turning it off, I grabbed my phone from the wall table and swiped to answer. “What?”
“Seriously, Deke?” my father replied. “A fight?”
I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. My breaths were deep and rapid from my workout, but that didn’t stop me from letting out a huff. “Since when do you give a fuck if I get in a fight or not?” This was probably the tenth conversation I’ve had with my father since I hit my teen years; I wasn’t confused about whether the man gave a shit about me or not. He let my mother deal with me, if needed, and her form of concern and affection was usually a massive deposit into my bank account.
“Since you’re now a senior in high school and you’ll be going out into the real world soon,” he barked. “Real men don’t get into fistfights to solve their issues, Deke.”
“No,” I agreed. “They just bribe other men to look the other way.”
“Watch how you talk to me, son,” he hissed. “I’m your father and I’m the one who makes your lifestyle possible. Don’t forget that.”
What my father failed to realize was that I was very aware of the fact that he needed me more than I needed him. Thanks to Ramsey’s foresight, me, Ram, and Liam didn’t need any of our parents at this stage of the game. “Fine,” I dared. “Cut me off and kick me out. I don’t give a fuck, Dad.”
There was a couple of seconds of silence, and I knew he knew who won this round. “Over a girl, Deke?” he said, ignoring my dare. “Why on earth would you get into a fight over a fucking girl when there are millions of them available to you?”
“How do you even know I got into a fight?” Lord knows I didn’t update him with what went on in my life.
“The school called because they had to,” he informed me. “Apparently, the other boy had to be taken to the hospital because you broke his nose and fractured one of his cheekbones.”
I snorted. “So, that’s why you called? Because you need confirmation on how bad it was in case his family sues?” The phone call made sense now.
“No,” he barked into the phone again. “I called to tell you to get your shit together. People don’t solve their issues with their fists in the real world, Deke. I am not going to have you destroy everything I’ve built because you can’t keep a civil head.”
“You mean everything your grandfather built,” I reminded him. “You may have brought more to the table during your reign, Dad, but that table was already there when you sat down to dinner.”
“You’re missing the point, Deke!”
I couldn’t stop the growl that emitted from my soul. For eighteen years this man has done nothing to raise me, and he thinks he can call me now and play the role of father…fuck, too. “I sent that boy to the hospital because he had the balls to come to me and tell me my girl belonged to him, Dad,” I snapped. “He’s lucky he’s not dead!”
“It’s just pussy, Deke!” my father roared over the phone. “Let him have the bitch and pick a girl who doesn’t need to be fucked by a bunch of different guys!”
Had my father been standing in front of me while saying that, I would have killed him.
I took a deep breath, and counted to five, before clearing things up for my dad. “Listen to me, Dad, and listen well. I don’t give a flying fuck what you say or threaten. I am not giving up this girl for anyone, least of all you. And if you ever talk about her like that again, you’ll regret it.”
“I will not have you fucking everything up for a girl, Deke,” he repeated.
“I’m not,” I replied. “But, even if I were, I don’t answer to you, Dad.” And I didn’t. At this point in my life, I had more respect for the people who really raised me and took care of me. I’d listen to the maid, gardener, housekeeper, and cook before I’d listen to either of my fucked-up parents.
“Watch it, Deke,” he threatened again.
I smirked. “You watch it, Dad,” I threw back. “You keep sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, I’ll be sending out an announcement introducing you to your new pregnant daughter-in-law by the end of the week. Do. Not. Fuck. With. Me.”
My quick reminder that I was now, legally, an adult shot down his bravado. “Just…stay out of trouble, Deke,” he grumbled. “You think you can manage that?”
I rolled my eyes again. “I’ll see what I can do,” I deadpanned before hanging up on him.
I wasn’t a fucking idiot. I knew grown folks shouldn’t solve their issues with their fists. However, I also knew the justice system was super corrup
t. I just happened to be one of the fortunate people who could buy my way out of trouble. Everyone had a price; some were just higher than others. And if someone couldn’t be bought, well, they could be threatened or blackmailed. If I couldn’t buy my way out of trouble, I knew Ramsey would have no problem helping me blackmail my way out of it. That was Ramsey’s specialty. He knew the dirtiest dirt on the entire town of Sands Cove and almost everyone who has ever done business with his father. I didn’t fear landing in jail because between me, Ram, and Liam, there wasn’t anything we couldn’t get out of.
My phone rang in my hand, and I answered it willingly this time. “What’s up?”
“Just making sure you’re not off pillaging an innocent village somewhere,” Liam joked.
I smiled for the first time since lunch at school. “Nope,” I answered. “I’m at home working out in the gym.” I grabbed the bottle of water and took a swig before asking, “How is she?”
“Traumatized, I think,” he huffed out. “Seriously, though, she seemed…quiet.”
“Christ, Lee, she was already a quiet wallflower,” I pointed out, “how much more quiet could she have been?”
He let out a deep sigh. “She looked sad, man,” he finally admitted.
I ignored the pang in my chest and told him, “Sampson called to scold me about the fight.”
Liam laughed. “Are you serious?” I went on to recite the conversation, and by the time I was finished, Liam was cracking up. “What a fucking fool.”
“I should get Delaney pregnant,” I said seriously. “It’d solve all my problems if I did.”
Liam’s laugh dwindled to a chuckle. “I wish my moral compass was pure enough to tell you that getting Delaney pregnant at 18-years-old is a bad idea, but it’s not, and I can’t. If Roz told me tomorrow she was pregnant, I’d be ecstatic as hell.”
“Linnie would be an awesome mom,” I laughed, encouraging Liam’s madness.
“So, if I knock her up, I can blame you?” he asked, a smile in his voice.
“Sure,” I quipped. “Just let me and Ram know so we can get to work. There’s no way our children aren’t going to grow up together.”
Liam’s laugh was cut short with a real solid thought. “Christ, Deke,” he breathed. “Ramsey’s already out of his mind when it comes to Emerson. Could you imagine his level of insanity if he got her pregnant?”
I laughed. “I got a hundred that she’d kill him before the second trimester.”
Liam laughed. “I got a grand that says before the first month is up.”
Chapter 12
Delaney~
It was Wednesday afternoon and Deke was absent again. He hadn’t shown up for school yesterday and I hadn’t seen him this morning either. I hadn’t seen him in second period, and when he was still missing during third period, I knew he wasn’t at school again. Winston was a no show also, but that was to be expected.
I also couldn’t deny the pang in my chest at Deke’s sudden silence. In addition to him not being at school, he hasn’t called or texted or anything. When third period started without him, I had finally been forced to accept the effect he now had on my life. It was strange to know that it’s only been a few days since that party, but in these few short days, Deke’s impacted my life in a way I never thought anyone could.
Instead of doing homework last night, I had spent the entire evening reevaluating my current state in life. When mine and Winston’s parents as arranged our marriage at the age of ten, I hadn’t a clue what it had meant. Winston had been my friend, and at 10-years-old, the idea of spending forever with my friend sounded just fine to me.
As the years passed, I began to realize my personality was more solitary than outgoing, and I used our arrangement as a crutch to not have to get to know anyone beyond superficial acknowledgement. Ava had come into my life when we were both thirteen, and she hadn’t let me be shy with her. She had fascinated me with her loud personality and ballsy attitude. I’d never been anyone’s pushover, but I wasn’t sparkly like Ava. I cared what people thought of me. I cared if I did well in school. I cared if I was kind to people. I cared, period.
Earlier this year, when Ramsey had gone balls out and tried to humiliate Emerson in front of the entire school, I remember feeling sick for her. But then I remember how everyone had been struck speechless when she had walked out of Windsor without a backward glance with her head held high. I remember feeling envy at that kind of strength. Because, let me tell you, there is an impenetrable strength in not giving a shit what other people thought of you. It set you free in a way that nothing else could.
Even when she had returned and Ramsey had dropped to his knees for her in front of everyone, he hadn’t given a shit what anyone thought. His only thought was that of Emerson and her forgiveness, and I had been one of the girly-girls who had cried and clapped when she forgave him.
I saw it again when Liam had lost his mind over Roselyn. He fell in love with her and he hadn’t cared who knew or what his pursuit of her made him look like. When the rumors had started flying about Roselyn dating both Liam and Deke, he had shut that shit down like a tsunami taking out a small village. No one really knew if she dated both of them or not but, even if she had, no one would say a word. Besides, if anyone did, it would be because they were jealous. I might be a virgin, but even I knew being bedded by both Liam and Deke at the same time would be an experience most girls would kill for.
The other reason no one could pinpoint if the rumors were true or not was because if you look at all of them, Deke and Roselyn showed no signs of anything other than friendship. And Liam and Deke were as close as they ever were. There wasn’t a hint of jealousy or awkwardness anywhere amongst them.
“I feel like it’s the calm before the storm,” Ava mumbled as she leaned against the locker next to mine. We had just left fourth period and were putting our stuff away before heading to lunch.
I opened my locker and stuffed my backpack inside. “I know,” I agreed. “It’s like…I feel like I’m trapped waiting for…something. I don’t know…”
Ava hugged her books to her chest. “You do know that you’re going to have to make a decision about Winston when Deke does finally come back to school, right?”
I knew she was right. I let this arrangement go on for so long because I had been fine with it. I had been fine with marrying a man I got along with because I’ve never been a passionate person. I didn’t need a love of a lifetime. I was used to my parents’ marriage, and that marriage lacked love like ninety percent of Sands Cove’s marriages. But Deke inspired that passion, and I wasn’t going to pretend like he didn’t any longer.
“I think-”
“Delaney?” I whipped around at the sound of my name, and I saw Emerson Andrews and Roselyn Bell walking towards me.
What. The. Hell?
I shut my locker closed and glanced at Ava. She looked wary but that could be for any number of reasons. It wasn’t a secret that she’s slept with both Liam and Ramsey at one point in her life. I could see how Emerson and Roselyn approaching us might make things awkward.
I waited until both girls were standing in front of us before saying, “Hey, Emerson. Roselyn.” They were such pretty girls, it was hard not to be intimidated a bit. Emerson had gorgeous brown hair with hypnotic grey eyes and a body built like a woman’s, whereas, Roselyn was dainty with rainbow-colored hair, big blue eyes, and a tiny nose ring.
Roselyn smiled, while Emerson’s eyes darted towards Ava, and I was immediately flooded with anxiety. Ava wasn’t weak, and she wasn’t the type to back down, but even after all these months, Emerson was still an unknown. She came to Sands Cove because her father had killed her mother and her aunt had taken her in because, at the time, she had still been a minor. But nowadays, she lived with Ramsey. The thing was, any girl brave, strong, or crazy enough to go up against Ramsey Reed had to be packing a powerful punch.
Emerson Andrews was a goddamn legend.
Emerson’s eyes bounced back and forth bet
ween me and Ava before finally settling on Ava. “Can I be frank about something?” Ava and I just nodded silently. “I don’t care that you’ve slept with Ramsey, Ava,” she said, shocking the shit out of both of us. “If I worried about every girl Ramsey’s ever slept with, I wouldn’t be able to live in this town, much less go to this school. I don’t care what he did before I came along, I really don’t.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Besides, it’d be an insult to Ramsey if I let the girls he’s slept with bother me. It would mean I didn’t believe the things he tells me, and that’s just not the case. I know Ramsey loves me. I know he’d give his life for me. And I definitely know he’d never cheat on me. It doesn’t bother me, Ava, if it doesn’t bother you.”
I glanced over at Roselyn and she threw her hands up in a surrender motion. “Don’t look at me,” she laughed. “I’m the last person to judge anyone on their past and the shit they’ve done.” She put her hands down and smiled. “I’m with Emer on this. The last thing I’m worried about is Liam’s past.”
I looked over at Ava since this wasn’t my conversation and she looked…humbled. “I…I know I…I know what my reputation is,” she stated. “And I’ve earned most of what anyone has ever said about me, but whatever anyone has ever heard of me, they’ve never heard that I sleep with guys who are taken, because I don’t.” It was hard for me not to get teary-eyed at Ava owning her shit. She was such an awesome person underneath her actions, and I hated how so many people would never know that. “Ramsey and Liam were so long ago, I honestly haven’t given them so much as a thought in years.”
Emerson smiled, and it felt like a stamp of approval. “Well, I felt like we needed to clear that up since you’re Delaney’s best friend and she belongs to Deke now.”
She said it so casually factual it took a second for the words to register. “Whoa, what?”
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