Resurrecting the Enemy

by M. E. Clayton

  Plus, was he so goddamn entitled that he could just say shit like that to a girl and down her panties would go? I mean, I wasn’t a prude, and I wanted to experience desire just as much as the next girl, but that didn’t mean my first time was going to be at the whim of a goddamn lunatic, no matter how gorgeous he was.

  “Is that how it works?” I choked out, not even caring where he was taking me. “You tell a girl you want her, and she just, what? Lays back and spreads them for you?” I flung the obnoxious folders at him, not the least surprised that he’d had them, and he didn’t even try to deflect the rainfall of papers and pictures. “Is that it? Ramsey Reed Jr. wants, so Ramsey Reed Jr. gets?”

  There was a dark edge to his voice when he replied, “Did I say I only wanted to fuck you?”

  The crudeness of his words heightened what my body already felt for him, and that just pissed me off further. “What else could you have possibly meant?”

  He didn’t reply right away. I sat seething in his car as he pulled up to a clearing with such beautiful landscape, we had to be behind the golden gates of Sands Cove. We didn’t have this kind of scenery in town. There were rumors of these clearings all over Sands Cove, the nicest being the one with the ocean’s inlet, but like I said, we never ventured past where we’d been stationed.

  Turning the car off, Ramsey twisted in his seat until he was directly facing me. “As a matter of fact, that’s exactly how it works,” he finally replied, his voice tight and raspy. “If I want something, it’s mine.”

  “I’m not a something,” I replied coolly.

  “No, you’re not,” he agreed. “But it works the same way.”

  This bastard.

  “Maybe it does for all those gold-digging sluts at Windsor, but-”

  His laugh was grating and condescending. “Windsor girls already have their own gold,” he coldly pointed out. “They don’t need mine.” Ramsey lifted his chin, and the arrogance poured off him in waves. “Those girls are willing to ride my dick for a lot of other reasons, besides money.”

  “Then what am I doing here?” I seethed.

  “Because I don’t want them!” he roared, his cool demeanor gone. His calm act a farce. “I want you!”

  “You can’t have me!” I yelled back.

  “You sure about that?” he asked, his voice back to its cool tenor.

  This was insane. It made no sense. I was nothing remarkable. There was no reason I should have captured Ramsey’s interest. And I refused to put any significance into how I was unwisely attracted to him. “Look, Reed-” I let out a sharp cry as his hand shot out and fisted in my hair.

  “Call me Reed one more time, and I swear to God, I will make your life a living hell,” he spat.

  “What difference does it make what I call you?” I cried out.

  “Because I want to hear Ramsey coming out of your mouth when I finally get you underneath me,” he snarled. “Not Reed.”

  Oh, Sweet Jesus.

  “Let me go,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “You don’t just get to put your hands on me.”

  Ramsey let me go, but not before calling me out on my shit. “You didn’t mind my hands or lips on you when your boyfriend was getting an eyeful,” he scoffed.

  “I didn’t want to cause a scene,” I semi-lied. “What did you expect me to do?”

  “I expected you to fight me,” he said. “If you truly didn’t like my hands on you.”

  I couldn’t stop the shiver that raced down my spine at his words. They sounded seductive and dangerous. Seductive because his hands and lips on me had felt divine. Dangerous because I knew better than to get tangled up with anyone from Windsor Academy. And trouble didn’t come any bigger than the guy glowering at me right now.

  I let out a deep breath. This arguing back and forth wasn’t going to solve anything, and it wasn’t going to get me any answers. Ramsey was playing a game, and I needed to make it clear that I wasn’t interested in playing it with him.

  “Look, you saw for yourself I didn’t have any pictures of what you were doing Sunday night,” I started. “And you got the photos you wanted. What’s this really about?” I eyed him. “I already told you I didn’t see anything.”

  “And I already told you I think you’re lying,” he countered. “So, let’s just agree to disagree on that one.”

  I was starting to feel confined in his car, and I just wanted to go home. “What do you want, Ramsey?”

  He drew back and straighten. “I already told you what I wanted,” he replied. “I want you.”

  “I don’t believe you.” He just shrugged a shoulder, like it wasn’t his problem. “Why?”

  “It doesn’t matter why,” he smirked. “All that matters is that I do.”

  I shook my head. “That’s not good enough.”

  “Tell me about Curt,” he said, switching topics.

  “What about him?”

  “I want the details.”

  “The details are none of your business,” I retorted.

  “Those papers scattered around my car are not for show,” he countered smoothly, and I hated him just a little more for it.

  “We dated for about six months. He cheated on me. We broke up. End of story.”

  “You still in love?”

  I shot him a look. “I was never in love,” I corrected him. “But that didn’t mean I hadn’t taken our relationship seriously.”

  “Did he beg forgiveness?”

  “Yes,” I answered, hating the topic and hating that I was giving in. “But I didn’t care, and still don’t.” I shrugged a shoulder. “Even if I can’t really blame him.”

  Ramsey reared back in surprise. “Oh, really? And why’s that?”

  I wasn’t being catty when I asked, “Have you seen Erica Chambers?” I let out a soft laugh. “She’s beautiful. She’s the prettiest girl at SC,” I went on. “While I expected Curt to be faithful, I can hardly blame him when she came on to him.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” he snapped, sounding outraged, but I couldn’t understand why. He wasn’t the one who was cheated on.

  “You wouldn’t be surprised if you met her,” I argued.

  “I’ve seen pictures of her,” he said, surprising me. Gesturing towards the papers all around, he said, “She made an appearance in Curt’s folder.”

  “Well, then, you know she’s beautiful.”

  His hand reached out and grabbed me by my chin. “What I know is that a girl doesn’t go after another girl’s man unless she feels threatened or inferior.”

  I snorted. “That last thing Erica Chambers feels from any of us other girls is threatened or inferior.” Ramsey let go of my chin but didn’t comment.

  I sat, looking at him, as he turned to face the front of the car. He stared out the windshield and didn’t say anything for a long while. We kind of just sat in his car, quietly, as thoughts ran through my head and his. I wasn’t privy to his thoughts, but I knew mine were all chaotic.

  This guy was dangerous.

  This guy was out of my league.

  This guy was not supposed to know me.

  “Stay away from Metcalf,” he finally said.

  “Rams-”

  He turned back to face me, and the look on his face was the single most menacing thing I’d ever seen. “I want you, Lake,” he said. “And, one way or the other, I’m going to have you.” I started shaking my head. “You think of fucking around on me, I’ll make it the biggest regret of your life.”

  “Fuck around on you?” I gasped. “We’re not together, Ramsey.”

  “Keep telling yourself that,” he replied as he started up the car and pulled out of the clearing.

  What. In. The. Hell?

  Chapter 9

  Ramsey~

  Lake was silent the entire drive back to her house, but I didn’t press her. It didn’t matter what she wanted. I wanted her and that was the end of it. And she could protest all she wanted, but I felt and saw the shivers that ran down her body when I’d sa
y or do something. The girl was attracted to me, even if she didn’t want to be. And I wasn’t above using that to my advantage.

  After dropping her off and walking her to her door, I’d gotten back in my car and had headed home. I wasn’t sure where Mad was, but the house was silent when I walked in. But the second I entered my bedroom, my phone chimed with an incoming text.

  Dash: Family bbq Sat at r house

  Our families tried to do this once a month, but sometimes life got in the way. It’s been two months since our last get-together, and I was looking forward to it.

  Me: I’ll b there

  Just then, another text came in, but this was from Maddox.

  Mad: Party n town Friday @ Keri McDonald’s. SC kids

  I smirked. My brother knew me well. Having read everything he’d gathered on Lake, he knew I’d want to know this.

  Me: Wanna go 2 a party Friday night?

  Mad: Thought u’d never ask

  I quickly shot a text off to Dash.

  Me: Feel like coming 2 a party Friday?

  Dash: Sure

  Me: N town with SC High

  Dash: Even better

  After all that shit had gone down on Sunday night, I had talked to Chance and Maddox and had told them all about my encounter with Lake. The only thing I had left out was how I had blackmailed her for those photos. I had told them about confronting her and checking her phone and camera and how she had claimed not to have seen anything.

  I had also told them that she got my dick hard, and I was staking my claim.

  Once I had explained everything to them, I had called Dash and had given him a rundown of what had happened and where my mind was. And all three of them has supported me, no questions asked.

  After Dash’s confirmation, I shot a text off to Chance.

  Me: Party Friday night n town. SC High

  Chance: Get ur dick under control

  I laughed at that. Chance had room to talk. Now, while he didn’t stick his cock in everything that moved, but the guy was allergic to monogamy. While I didn’t keep tabs on where everyone stuck their dicks, and I prayed D.J. was still a virgin, Chance was the least discrete out of us older kids, though responsible as hell about it. We all were. Condoms were a must.

  However, the guy wasn’t wrong. Lake was the only reason I’d consider going to a town party. It wasn’t that I really thought we were better than them, because I didn’t. Mom hadn’t come from money. Mom had been raised in a trailer park with a loving but weak mother, and an abusive father. And for all that my father was, he’d been born into a life a privilege, Mom hadn’t been. So, in my eyes, I found Mom to be a lot stronger than Dad. Dad was power, whereas, Mom was strength.

  And with that, she had raised me and Maddox not to look down on people with less. Aunt Roselyn was the same way. Her mother had married into a wealthy family, bringing Aunt Roselyn to Sands Cove and Windsor Academy. And between Uncle Ace and Aunt Ava, Uncle Ace had been the one raised in normal, so their kids had a good balance, too. We all did. We might be rich pricks, but we weren’t cruel to the less fortunate for the sake of being cruel. Mom would fucking kill us all.

  I sent Chance a text back.

  Me: U got room 2 talk

  Chance: My dick isn’t emotional

  Me: (middle finger emoji)

  Throwing my phone on the bed, I pulled up my laptop up, and started with my homework. While I was smart with numbers, I still needed to work on everything else. Like Maddox had said, better a smart rich fuck than a dumb one. Besides, my parents didn’t fuck around. It didn’t matter that we all had jobs lined up at RMM if we weren’t inclined to go out on our own. We were expected to take our education seriously and graduate when the time came. And, yeah, I realized how ridiculous that was when they weren’t overly concerned about our possible criminal activities.

  An hour later, I’d made some pretty good progress, but my mind was too busy on a certain brunette who hated me.

  Me: I meant what I said

  Lake: Who’s this?

  Me: Who do u think?

  Lake: Does privacy mean nothing 2 u?

  Me: Not urs

  I could lie and ease her into it, but why bother? She might as well get the full dose of what she was dealing with.

  Lake: Why r u texting me?

  Me: Do u got Eden under control?

  That wasn’t why I was texting, but I knew better than to put shit in writing that might come back to haunt me later. And telling her I was obsessed with her, and that there was no fucking way I was ever letting her get away, wasn’t something that needed to be in writing.

  Lake: Everything is fine

  Me: Keep it that way

  Lake: Screw you

  I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face.

  Chapter 10

  Lake~

  I tossed my phone on my bed, fell back, closed my eyes, and let out a deep breath.

  What the fuck was going on?

  A part of me wanted to laugh because, of course, Ramsey had my phone number, but another part of me wanted to just crawl into a hole and never come out.

  When Ramsey had dropped me off, and walked me to my freakin’ door, Mom had been in the kitchen getting ready to prepare dinner. I had walked over to let her know I was home, and after the smiles and ‘how was your day’, she’d asked who had dropped me off. With all the shit going on in my head, I had forgotten there was a clear view to the street from one of our kitchen windows.

  I had lied.

  I had told her a new kid at school had been kind enough to give me and Eden a ride home because he was part of the drama club and liked Eden. She believed me and thank God. There was no way I could tell her the truth. If I told my parents Ramsey Reed Jr. had given me a ride home, they’d sell the house and move us to Istanbul.

  And I wouldn’t blame them.

  The Reed Family was like fire. They were beautiful, intriguing, and fascinating to look at. But anyone with any kind of common sense knew that you stayed away from fire. You admired it from afar. You didn’t go near it. You stayed away from it because, while it was entrancing, it was also unpredictable. And that beauty could turn into an unimaginable force of destruction in a blink of an eye.

  That was the Reed Family. And Ramsey Reed Jr. was every bit the destructive fire that could and would burn you to ashes if you crossed him.

  No fucking thanks.

  Only, how did I get rid of him?

  I could admit I wasn’t sure how much longer l could fight the good fight. I was stupid beyond stupid to be attracted to him, but I hadn’t been too worried about it when I thought this had all been an intimidation tactic regarding Sunday night. But now that he’s made his intentions clear, I honestly wasn’t sure I was strong enough to keep saying no to him. If ever there was a guy to lose your virginity to, Ramsey Reed would probably turn reality into a steamy romance novel. Ramsey was the type of guy who made you believe those sex scenes in movies like 365 Days and Fifty Shades of Grey were real. But at the cost of my soul? Hell to the no.

  As much as it annoyed me that he’d text me, I still had to call Eden. While I had texted Ramsey that everything was fine, I hadn’t called Eden yet. I was biding my time, trying to figure out what to tell her when I wasn’t even sure what was going on, but I knew my time was up.

  She answered on the first ring, and I felt like crap. Eden had been waiting by the phone, and I had been hiding out like a coward.

  “Oh, thank God,” she exhaled dramatically, and I chuckled. “I thought I was going to have to gather the villagers and storm the castle.”

  “Watching Game of Thrones again?”

  Eden snorted. “Tell me my analogy is wrong?” she challenged.

  “It’s not,” I admitted dryly. “He is a prince, after all.”

  “The crown prince,” she corrected.

  “The crown prince,” I agreed.

  “So,” she said, her voice serious, “are you going to tell me what’s going on?”


  “I’m not sure I know,” I replied. “But I can tell you what’s happened.”

  “Hit me with it,” she said, and I could totally see her straightening her back and shoulders and preparing herself for what was to come. Eden was loyal like that.

  “Soooooooooooo…” I went on to tell her everything that’s happened from Sunday night until when Ramsey had dropped me off earlier. I left out witnessing Ramsey beating up Ashton Childress, and the only reason I had known it was Ashton Childress was because rumors had spread like wildfire that he was in the hospital because he’d been ‘mugged’. Apparently, Ramsey had beaten him so badly, the story had been easily believed. No one could believe that just one person could have done that much damage, but I guess not many people have been on the receiving end of Ramsey Reed Jr.’s angry hands.

  I told her about the photos. I told her about his claims. I told her about the threats. And I even told her about how I found myself attracted to him.

  Her reaction was no less than I had expected. “Holy crap, Lake,” she whispered, stunned.

  “Yep,” I agreed. “Holy crap.”