Deke finally broke away from me, but his breathing was labored every bit as mine was. His green eyes held me captive as he said, “That’s what it means, Delaney.” It took me a second to remember the question I had even asked him. “It means, tomorrow night, I’m coming for you and we’re going to spend the entire weekend together.”
I knew the answer even before I asked it, but I needed to hear him say the words. I wanted there to be no confusion. “Doing what?”
His thumb brushed my lower lip. “What do you think?” he replied. “I’m going to spend all weekend taking everything you have, Lamb. I’m going to spend all weekend fucking you so raw and relentlessly, you’re going to hate me by the time I’m done with you.”
My entire body broke out in shivers. His words were not the romantic words every girl dreams of. They were promises of future nightmares. “How you do you know I don’t already hate you?”
“Because if you did, I wouldn’t have your scent on my fingers or your flavor on my tongue,” he snarled, reminding me of how he licked his fingers off after bringing me to orgasm. “You’re a good girl, Delaney. You’ve always been a good girl. You’re a quiet, smart, beautiful little wallflower,” he whispered. “If you hated me, you would never have let me finger your pussy in public just now. You’re not that way.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t hate you,” I replied. “Lots of people have hate-sex.”
Then Deke did something I hadn’t anticipated. His hands fisted tighter in my hair and he had my head pulled back so far, my back bowed. He leaned down, and before I knew what he was about, Deke latched onto my neck and the bite was swift, brutal and bloody. He broke my flesh open, and I cried out in pain. He sucked and tore at my flesh and the pain was horrible. “Deke!”
His head shot up and I could see my blood on his lips. My knees threatened to buckle because the sight was overwhelming and obscene. I watched as he licked his lips and said, “I hope you do hate me, Delaney. That way my conscience won’t be bothered by all the things I’m going to do to you.”
He had a conscience?
Chapter 15
Deke~
We were all gathered in Ramsey’s father’s study, but I suppose it was more Ramsey’s study than his father’s. I mean, a person had to actually live in the house to utilize any of the rooms. I was sitting on a barstool, while Liam and Roselyn took up the left side of the couch, and Ramsey was leaning his ass up against the desk with Emerson sitting on the desk next to him.
“We only have three more months before school out,” Liam pointed out. “We gotta figure this shit out, and soon. My dad’s calling me more and more these days, and I don’t want to tell him to go get fucked without a plan in place.”
“Well, we’re all expected to go to college,” Ramsey reminded us. “The only problem is the girls.” Emerson let out a soft snort, and I had to smile. She loved Ramsey, but she didn’t seem to suffer from the same insanity he did when it came to their relationship. I believed in my heart that Emerson could walk away from Ramsey and still be capable of functioning in life; Ramsey couldn’t.
“You guys are supposed to go to Blaineview, right?” Roselyn asked. “You all three have been pre-selected and registered, right?” She shrugged a shoulder. “You guys can still go to Blaineview, while Em and I go to Columbia.”
As sexist as it sounded, all the guys and very few girls were expected to all go to Blaineview University. It was partnered with Windsor Academy and knew what it took to continue to groom us into being little robotic heirs. Most of the girls at Windsor were allowed to apply and go to whatever college they wanted because, generally, the sons of Sands Cove were the ones who took over the family empires. There are a few rare incidences where the girls took over, but it really depended on the family’s business. Oh, we were allowed to apply at whatever other colleges we wanted to also, but we were expected to go to Blaineview.
Ramsey side-eyed Linnie. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’ll be at Blaineview while Emerson is at Columbia, Roselyn.”
I glanced over at Emerson and hid a smile as she rolled her eyes at Ramsey’s statement. Once upon a time, Ramsey’s comment would have kicked off a full-blown war between the two, but these days, Emerson had Ramsey by the balls, and we all knew it. He knew it.
But before she could remark on Ramsey’s comments, Liam spoke up. “Yeah, Roz,” he started, “no way are you and Emerson going to be clear across the country. That’s not happening, baby.”
“So, what?” Emerson asked, finally speaking up. “You guys just hand over your black credit cards until Roselyn and I are drowning in mimosas, diamonds, and charity events?” Damn, the girl had spunk. “No, thank you. I need my education,” she huffed. “How else am I expected to support myself when I finally kill Ramsey and he’s unable to bring home a paycheck any longer?”
Liam and Roselyn laughed, and I smiled, but the girl wasn’t far off. As much as they loved each other, if I got a call in the middle of the night saying Emerson had killed Ramsey in a fit of rage, I wouldn’t be surprised; vice versa.
Emerson looked over at me. “And what about Delaney?” she asked. “That girl is smarter than a whip, and you’re crazy if you don’t think she wants to go to college, Deke.”
My back straightened because I knew she was right. I had no doubt Delaney’s been accepted into a number of colleges because she’s spent her entire life focusing on school, and I knew her grades were damn near perfect. But that didn’t take away from how things were going to turn out for her.
“I mean, she has a point, Deke,” Linnie chimed in. “Emerson and I might be open to a compromise, but what about Delaney?”
Ramsey snorted. “Compromise, my fucking ass,” he rumbled. “If we decide to go to Blaineview, instead of just starting a business now, Emerson’s going to go with me. End of fucking story.”
“I can’t go to Blaineview, Ramsey,” Emerson argued. “I never applied, and even if I had, I don’t have the family legacy to get in.”
We all watched as Ramsey reached out, grabbed Emerson by her arm, yanking her off the desk, and pulled her to stand in between his spread legs. “The second we clear that goddamn graduation podium in a couple of months, you’re going to be my wife, Emerson,” he hissed. “That’s all the fucking family legacy you need to get into Blaineview.”
The room was silent, but I didn’t miss the small head nod she gave Ramsey as she placed a hand on his chest to calm him down. I felt for the guy, though. Roselyn brining up Delaney had reminded me that what I felt for Delaney probably wasn’t even close to what Ramsey felt for Emerson.
“Okay,” Liam piped up, breaking the tense moment, “how about we see what we can do to get the girls into Blain-”
“What if I don’t want to go to Blaineview, Liam?” Roselyn challenged.
“Sweet Baby Jesus,” he breathed out, before channeling his inner Ramsey. “I don’t really give a fuck, Roz. You were never going to go to Columbia or wherever the fuck else you applied, anyway.”
Linnie gasped. “What does that mean?” Liam shot a glance at Ramsey, and I folded my arms across my chest, and got comfortable, waiting for the upcoming fireworks.
“Goddamn it,” Ramsey growled as Emerson stepped back and started looking back and forth between him and Liam.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Ramsey moved his head side to side, cracking his neck, before he said, “We were hoping you girls would be so madly in love with us that you’d follow us anywhere, therefore, letting you guys decide your own futures, but noooooooooooo…you guys had to go and be difficult.”
Roselyn jumped up off the couch. “Meaning?” she asked, hands planted on her hips.
Liam stood up also and I laughed as he gave up the fight. “You two she-devils are registered to attend Blaineview with us. Ramsey and I set it up a few weeks ago. We were just hoping you’d want to go willingly.”
Emerson let out a soft, defeated laugh. “You’re such a manipulating bastar
d, Ramsey,” she said shaking her head.
Ramsey eyed her and simply said, “I know. But you also know I refuse to live even one day without you, Emerson. Deep down, you always knew you would end up wherever I was going to be.”
Emerson didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and even Roselyn seemed to accept their chosen fate, before Emerson turned to me. “Delaney?”
I looked into Emerson’s rare silver eyes and told her the truth. “I registered Delaney for Blaineview the day I kicked Reynold’s ass in front of the entire school, Em.”
Roselyn’s phone rang before anyone could comment on that bombshell. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. “I don’t recognize the number,” she mumbled.
“It’s probably one of those scam calls,” Emerson predicted. “They’re so damn annoying.”
The phone went to voicemail, but then immediately started ringing again. And because Liam was just as much as a caveman as Ramsey, he grabbed Roselyn’s phone out of her hand to answer the call from the unknown number. “Hello?” he barked, and Ramsey laughed. But that all changed as soon as Liam’s back snapped straight, and he said, “Ava? Whoa, wait…yeah, okay...hold on.”
I was already off the barstool and reaching for Linnie’s phone as Liam handed it over to me. I put the phone up to my ear. “Ava?”
“Oh, thank God,” she rushed out. “I didn’t have your number or…anyone’s. I…I had to get Roselyn’s number from Cel-”
“Ava!” I barked. “What’s wrong?”
“Yeah, yeah,” she mumbled. “Sorry. Deke, it’s Delaney-”
“What’s wrong with Delaney?” Four little words, but they chilled the blood in my veins.
“I…Christ. I showed up to Trent White’s party and…and I found Delaney here, Deke. I found her here, and she’s drunk and…and I can’t…she won’t listen to me.”
I could feel the chill in my bones turn into a white-hot anger that scared me a little. What in the fuck was Delaney doing at a party drunk? What was she trying to prove? I let her get away with calling in sick today for school, but had I known what I knew now, I’d have gone to her house and held her hostage until I got my point across that she belonged to me now.
“Watch her, Ava,” I ordered. “I’m on my way.” I hung up and when I looked up, I saw the worried faces of the girls, and the pissed off faces of the guys.
“How bad?” Liam asked.
“She’s at Trent White’s party and she’s drunk,” I said, barely managing to get the words out through my clenched teeth.
“Let’s go,” Ramsey said straightening up and ready to go.
“I think I’m going to fucking kill her,” I muttered more to myself than the group.
“Hear her out, Deke,” Roselyn implored.
I shot her a look. “And if she’s with another guy?” I didn’t wait for her answer. I just turned and headed out the door praying Ava’s panic wasn’t warranted, or else, God help Delaney Martin.
Chapter 16
Delaney~
I was drunk.
I knew this.
I knew this but couldn’t muster up the sense to care.
I had never planned on coming to Trent’s party, but I had felt…restless all day long.
Like the coward I was becoming, I had called in sick to school today to avoid Deke. I had felt like I needed all the space I could get at his threat that tonight I’d be his. I was on edge, and I needed time to gather myself together. I knew Deke’s words meant he planned on having sex with me, and while I wanted to, the anticipation was killing me.
I wasn’t a femme fatal. I wasn’t a sexy come-hither kind of temptress. How excited would he be when he realized I didn’t know anything? It wasn’t even my virginity that I was worried about. I still had that simply because I couldn’t be bothered with dating. I’ve always been more interested in school and making something of myself, I really didn’t care about dating around. Plus, getting to know people was just so…daunting. I hated doing it.
And if my anxiety hadn’t already been sky high, Deke had sent me a text shortly after school had started telling me that he was granting me a pass because he knew I was nervous.
Granting me a pass.
The nerve.
At any rate, I had really planned on just staying home and throwing up from anxiousness, to the point where I’d just pass out, and Deke would have no choice but to leave me alone. However, my plans changed when Ava sent me a text that she might go to Trent’s party if I didn’t want to hang out tonight.
I had texted back that I was staying home, not ready to tell her about Deke, in case he didn’t come over. But the more I thought about Ava and Trent’s party, the more I thought the party was a great idea.
I thought it was a great idea because, if Deke couldn’t find me, well, that meant I could bide my time a little more. Deke would never think I’d be at Trent’s party, or any party for that matter, so if I could avoid him for a little while longer…
And now I was here, drunk, and wondering where Ava was. I had texted her when I got here, but I hadn’t heard from her and I couldn’t find her anywhere. And because I was a loser with no friends, I had gone straight to the liquor to drink my awkwardness away until Ava got here.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
I was hiding out in the backyard, away from the crowd, when Winston’s voice lashed out at me. I turned around to face him.
He looked awful.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I countered. “Shouldn’t you be…I don’t know. At home, resting or something?”
“My face is busted up, Delaney,” he snapped. “It’s not like my arms and legs don’t work. I’m not an invalid. And what the fuck is that on your neck?” He gestured towards Deke’s bite mark.
My brows shot up. Angry Winston was new. “I’m here to party,” I said, ignoring his question.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Since when do you party, Delaney?” He didn’t give me a chance to answer. “Oh, I get it. You’re hanging out with the cool kids now, and so, you think you need to party and get drunk to fit in. Is that it?”
I took a step back. “No,” I snapped back. “They’re not even here, you asshole. I’m here…I’m here just to have a good time. It’s about time, don’t you think?”
Winston’s eyes searched mine. “No, Delaney. I don’t think it’s about time,” he gritted through his teeth. “This isn’t you.”
“Maybe it is,” I argued. “Maybe it’s time to quit wasting my teenage years being your doormat.”
“You’ve never been my doormat,” he spat. “What the fuck has gotten into you?”
Good question.
The easy answer would be alcohol, but it wasn’t that simple.
Deke Marlow is what has gotten into me. He’s made me want new things, and it was messing up my entire identity. I was no longer the girl no one paid attention to. I was no longer the girl who was happy being in the library. I was no longer the girl who had her life mapped out for her with no worries.
I was a new Delaney Martin.
I was the Delaney Martin who wanted to be with Deke, knowing it was a bad idea.
I ignored his question and instead asked another one of my own. “Why d’you do it,” I asked, jerking my head towards his face. “You had to know it wasn’t going to end well for you, Winston. No one goes up against that group. No one.”
Whatever I was expecting him to say, the absolute truth wasn’t it. I was sure Winston would make up some bullshit reason, but instead, he held truthful. “You’re supposed to be my future, Delaney,” he said. “Whether we love or hate each other, our futures have been tied together since we were ten. I really, really depended on you to be there in the end. Deke’s threatening that.”
I was probably too drunk to have this conversation, but we needed to have it. “How do you know it’s not just some…passing fancy? Maybe Deke’s just having fun, and…his interest will fizzle out in a couple of weeks. I mean, we
still have college to get through.”
His arms dropped to his sides. “If you think Deke’s not in this for the long haul, you’re not as smart as I always thought you were,” he snorted. “Deke Marlow doesn’t chase or claim girls, Delaney. The fact that he’s done that with you means something.”
“Even if that’s true,” I conceded, “what were you hoping to accomplish by challenging him in front of everyone?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I thought maybe once he knew about us, he’d back off,” he confessed. “Deke can have any girl he wants. He doesn’t need to go after a girl who’s already taken.”
“But I was never really taken, Winston,” I pointed out. “We had an agreement. It’s not like we’re in love with each other or have ever been in an actual relationship.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he countered. “For all intents and purposes, you belong to me.”
I took a swig of the vodka bottle I was holding and said the words I never thought I’d say. I said the words that were going to change everything, once and for all. “I used to belong to you, Winston,” I said, feeling the words in my soul. “I think we both know that’s changed.”
“What happened to Deke only doing this for fun?” he challenged. “What happened to, we still have college to get through?”
“While that’s all still true, Deke’s irrelevant, Winston,” I told him. “This isn’t about him. This is about how I no longer want to wait in the wings until it’s time to give in to our parents’ demands.”
“All of the sudden?” he barked.
“Yeah, all of the sudden,” I barked back. “Even if Deke drops me tomorrow, I finally know what it feels like to be wanted and desired. I know what it feels like to want someone. There’s no way I’m going back to settling for…nothing, while you continue to go out and get your kicks.”
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