by Holly Renee
His mere presence all-consuming.
“Hey, man. You slumming it on the beach today?” Will chuckled, but I had no doubt that Beck rarely spent his spare time hanging out on the beach with the Clermont High students.
“Something like that.” I could feel him staring at my back, but I didn’t care. I took another long drink from my cup, and I could barely taste it. I was too aware of him. Too anxious with him standing behind me. “I see you met Vos’s sister.”
I winced as he said my last name. I looked up at Will, and I could tell hearing my last name made things different for him. I didn’t know what it was. My dad’s money or that he knew my stepbrother, but there was an instant difference to him. Just like there had been with Beck.
But Will didn’t hate me.
“I didn’t realize you were Lucas’s sister.”
“Step,” I clarified quickly, but Beck scoffed.
I finally looked up at him, and I instantly wanted to slap that small smirk off his face. He looked so at ease, so at peace with his hate for me, and I had no fucking clue what his problem was.
“It’s nice to see you again, Vos.” He looked me over, not hiding one moment of him perusing my body, not from me and definitely not from Will.
“Don’t call me that.” I shifted on my feet and his eyes stayed glued to my thighs at the movement.
Under all that hate, there was the edge of lust in his gaze. Just that small look made me feel crazy. It made the memories of the other night come crashing back into me.
It didn’t matter how much I had tried to bury them.
“Will?” Beck ignored me and looked up at Will. “Do you mind giving me and Vos a moment alone?”
Will looked between the two of us as if he was missing something, as if I had lied about not really knowing him. “Sure.” He smiled at me again, and I wanted to tell him not to leave. Instead, I wanted to tell Beck to go to hell, but I didn’t do either.
I watched Will walk away, back toward the bonfire, then I stared daggers at Beck.
Those flutters in my stomach became a hurricane, and it shook through every part of me.
“What’s your problem?” My tone was sharp.
There was a spark in his eyes, something that told me I shouldn’t fuck with him, or maybe that no one ever had, but I didn’t care. He didn’t even know me.
“My problem?” he asked with a false calmness to his voice, but there was nothing calm about his eyes. The hazel looked as golden as the fire that danced next to him. He looked every bit the king that these people thought he was. He looked every bit the devil. “What’s your problem?”
The rational part of me was long gone. I didn’t know what it was about him, but he infuriated me.
“You’re my problem.” I stepped closer to him, and his eyes flicked to my mouth. “I don’t know what your problem with Lucas is, but I’m not him. You don’t even know me.”
He looked back up at my eyes, and he looked hungry.
It was like whatever I had just said only seemed to fuel him.
“I know you, princess.” He reached his hand out, and I held my breath as he moved a piece of hair out of my face. My heart was hammering in my chest. I should have slapped his hand away. I should have shoved him or screamed or told him not to touch me, but I didn’t do any of those things.
I just watched his eyes as his skin grazed against my own, and my blood boiled at the way my body reacted. My body remembered every filthy word he had sent me the other night.
It remembered every illicit touch he had provoked.
“You’re a Vos.”
“And you’re a Clermont,” I snapped with as much venom as he had.
He cocked his head to the side and watched me. I squirmed under his scrutiny. I hated the way his eyes were studying me. I hated the way a simple look could make me feel so much.
“If you know so much about us Clermonts, then you know we don’t fuck around. I told you to quit the country club.”
“And I told you to fire me.”
I didn’t know why I was pushing so hard against him. I could have just backed down and laid low, but I refused to take shit from anyone.
If he expected a doormat, he came for the wrong girl.
He stepped closer to me, and I willed myself not to move backward even though the urge was overwhelming. As harmless as Beck seemed to everyone else, I could see the fury he hid behind his eyes. It was dark and unending, and I knew it would be relentless if he unleashed it on me.
I only had a taste.
But I didn’t care.
Fear would only go where I allowed it, and I had no room for it here. Not when he would use it against me.
His chest brushed against mine and the hurricane in my stomach felt like it was falling lower and lower. I had no interest in whatever game he was playing, but I refused to back down. I stared up at him, a good foot over me when he was standing this close, and I prayed he could see my own fury staring back at him.
I hoped he could see that I wasn’t one of these people who was going to roll over just because he deemed it so.
But he wasn’t looking at my eyes.
He was staring at my mouth, and he suddenly looked like a different guy standing in front of me. The fury was still there, but it was clouded by something else. Something that reminded me of an animal that could eat me alive.
This was neither the guy on the beach nor the guy who wanted to destroy me.
“You smell good.” He pushed another piece of hair out of my face, but this time his thumb trailed down my neck and I knew he could feel my racing pulse.
I felt like I had whiplash from his change of pace, but I refused to let my guard down around him. That was exactly what he wanted.
“You don’t.” It was a lie. The intoxicating smell of him was deceptive. It put me at ease, like a clear night sky when all you could see was the stars. It was just another thing about him that was meant to trap you. To make you forget about the danger that hid just beyond your view.
But even knowing that, I couldn’t stop myself from breathing him in. He was so close, and even though I knew he was dangerous, I just wanted a glimpse.
Beck Clermont was nothing but cruel, but he was thrilling.
“You wound me.” He placed his hand over his heart, and I saw a sliver of his tattoo peek out from the edge of his t-shirt. The urge to find out what it was, was overwhelming. “Most girls tell me how much they love the way I smell.”
He was so cocky, so sure of himself, and I was sure that most girls did. But I wasn’t most girls.
“I’m sure they tell you lots of things you want to hear.” I straightened my spine and looked around. Almost everyone was near the fire, leaving Beck and me alone, and I hated that an ounce of fear ran through me. Beck was powerful when it came to Clermont Bay, and I didn’t want to know how far that power went. I didn’t want to know what he was capable of.
The malice he had already shown me was enough.
“But not you.” His chest rose and fell against mine, and I was sure that anyone who was watching us would think we were the opposite of what we were.
“Not me.”
I held my breath as he lifted his hand toward my face, and I could feel my knees shake as he ran his thumb over my bottom lip with a roughness that I felt all the way to my core.
Every time I had seen him, even through his cruelty, he had always been so obsessed with my lips. He was constantly looking at them and touching them when he had the chance.
I should have been repulsed.
What I shouldn’t have been doing was having the sudden urge for him to kiss me. It was crazy. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew exactly what kind of guy Beck was, but I still wanted him to kiss me.
My body pushed farther into his, and I swear I didn’t know how it happened. One moment I wanted nothing to do with him, and the next I felt like I would die if he didn’t do something. I squeezed my thighs together, begging them to stop the ache that pulsed between them, and I
stared up at the guy who hated me.
And I could have sworn he wanted to kiss me too. Even with my lack of experience, I knew a guy didn’t look at a girl like he was looking at me if the only thing he wanted from her was for her to leave.
His hand touched my waist, half on my shirt, half on bare skin, and I didn’t dare look down. His fingers dug into me as if he was trying to hold me away from him while simultaneously wanting to pull me closer.
The arrogance in his gaze was gone, slipped away without his approval, and what was left behind was someone I felt desperate for. For a guy so confident in who he was, he looked lost, and it fueled me to think that I could have been the one thing to do that to him. That I could make him lose himself in a world that was built to satiate his every need.
I ran my tongue over my suddenly dry lips, and he watched the movement as his hand tightened against my waist. There was an edge of pain in his touch, and I knew I should have wanted it to end. But I didn’t.
“You’re fucking trouble.” He spoke as if he wasn’t even talking to me, as if he was simply thinking out loud, and I wanted him to say more.
“I’m nothing.” I shook my head. I was nothing to him, and I didn’t know if I was trying to convince myself or him. Whatever this was, it was nothing.
“You are.” His hand held me even tighter. The pain of Beck’s fingers like a brand on my skin. “You’re the same trash as your brother.”
He let me go, his hand acting like my center of gravity at my waist, and when his skin left mine, I felt like I was going to fall.
He stepped back from me, the lost boy from moments before buried beneath the guy he was now, the guy he always was.
He stared down at me with clear disgust on his face, and I didn’t know if he was revolted by himself or by me. But I knew with certainty that the moment where he looked like he could possibly want more from me was gone.
He didn’t say another word as he turned from me and made his way back to where his friends still stood. They were watching us, they probably had been the whole time, and I suddenly wondered if they hated me too.
Allie had told me that the three of them were more like brothers than friends, and I could tell by the way they still had their eyes on me as they laughed at something someone said that they didn’t trust me.
But I didn’t trust them either.
I didn’t trust anyone who could allow their friend to be so cruel while they simply sat back and watched.
I lifted the shitty beer to my mouth, and I swallowed every drop as I stared back at them. I didn’t care that Clermont Bay was their kingdom. I refused to play by the rules of a few privileged boys who thought they ran everything.
They were madness, and I refused to be a pawn in their game. Whatever it was that they wanted from me, they would have to get it from somewhere else.
I could already feel the one beer buzzing through me, or maybe it was still the effect of having Beck so close, but I knew that it was a feeling I didn’t want to let go of. Not yet. I poured another beer from the keg, and I downed half of it before I managed to move my feet back to where Allie stood.
She was still talking cheerfully with some of her classmates, and she grinned as soon as I made my way to her side.
“What was that about?” She bumped my shoulder, and I knew she meant Beck. She was as shocked as I was by his behavior at the country club, but for some reason, I didn’t want to tell her the truth. At least not all of it.
Not the part where I stood there like a fool while I half-expected him to kiss me.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head and took another sip of the beer. “I think he might be insane.”
She laughed and crashed her cup into mine. A bit of beer spilled over the side, and I tried to relax. I could avoid Beck and his friends for the rest of the night. I was here to enjoy my night with Allie, and I was determined to do so.
Even if I could still feel him looking at me from across the bonfire.
“Here.” Allie handed me a small flask. “This will help you forget all about him.”
It was like she was reading my mind. I took a small sip from the flask, and I coughed as the rich liquor burned my throat.
It tasted worse than the beer. Allie grinned and patted my back.
I could feel the alcohol buzzing through me as the night went on, but I didn’t stop. Beck tracked my every movement, but I didn’t care. I laughed with Allie and made lots of new friends, even though I couldn’t remember their names, and I was pretty sure I barely even looked over at him or the girls who were vying for his attention.
I barely noticed the smirk on his face when he saw me watching him or the way that damn smirk made my stomach feel so tight that I couldn’t clear him from my thoughts.
I had no idea what time it was by the time Allie grabbed my arm in hers and giggled. It was beyond clear that the two of us would be Ubering home.
“Beck is looking at you again.” She rested her arms on my shoulders and looked behind me to where I knew he still stood.
“He can keep looking.” I actually sounded like I meant it.
“He looks like he wants to eat you alive.” She swayed slightly, and I barely managed to hold us both up as my thighs tightened. “It’s kind of hot.”
“It’s not hot.” I lied to both of us. “It’s neurotic.”
“Uh-huh.” She sounded like she didn’t believe me at all, and I didn’t blame her. I didn’t even sound believable to my own ears.
“Do you just want to stay the night at my place?” I didn’t want to go home alone tonight. I wasn’t sure if Lucas was even there, and I didn’t want to sit in my room and dissect every single moment I had with Beck.
“Sure. Your parents won’t care?”
My heart cracked open at her words. My mom would have cared. She would have given me a speech about responsibility while simultaneously trying to get any juicy details out of me about my night.
“No.” I shook my head and finished my beer. “My dad probably won’t even be there.”
“We need to call an Uber.” She poked the tip of my nose, and even though I wasn’t used to having such a close relationship with another girl, I felt so comfortable with Allie so quickly.
“I’ll give you all a ride.” I turned my head to the left, where Will stood now covered in a t-shirt. He had barely spoken to me since Beck interrupted us earlier, and he hadn’t looked at me the same.
I hated Beck even more for that.
“Thank you.” I had barely managed to speak the words before I felt him at my back.
“Allie, me and the boys will give you all a ride home.”
Allie smiled up at Beck as he spoke, and I tried to catch her eye. Tell him no.
But Allie wasn’t looking at me. She was staring up at him like he had just offered her the moon.
“Thanks, Beck. That would be amazing.”
I dared to glance over my shoulder, and he was still smiling at Allie. He glanced from her to me, and I knew from the spark in his eyes that I shouldn’t go anywhere with him. Whether I was drunk or not, I didn’t trust Beck Clermont.
“Will actually already offered to take us.” I turned so I was facing Beck more, and Allie snickered in my ear.
“Will’s been drinking.” Beck tucked his hands in his pockets, and he looked so damn smug.
“Only a couple.” Will shrugged, and I knew I wouldn’t be riding home with him tonight. Even if I absolutely despised the idea of Beck being my ride home, I wasn’t stupid enough to get in the car with some guy I had just met who had been drinking.
I wasn’t that reckless.
“I haven’t had any.” Beck shrugged his shoulders with a cocky smile, and I wanted to knock that damn smug look right off his face.
“I think we’ll take our chances with the Uber.” I tightened my grip on Allie, and I couldn’t stop smiling as she laughed.
“Or I could call your dad.” Beck pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I think he’d much prefer it be me
to get you home safely than some college student trying to make an extra buck.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, but I didn’t doubt he’d do it. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me, Vos.” He tapped his thumb against his phone.
“There’s no need for that.” Allie linked her fingers in mine and squeezed them before she spoke. “We’ll ride with you, Beck.”
He didn’t look at her though. He stared down at me, and I swear he wanted me to challenge him. There was a dare in his eyes. “You good with that?”
I wanted to say no. It was on the tip of my tongue, but Allie squeezed my hand tightly in hers and I took a deep breath as I stared at him. “Perfect.”
Chapter Eight
Beck
Josie looked pissed as hell as she climbed into the back seat with Allie.
I couldn’t stop smiling as I shut the door behind her.
“What the hell are we doing?” Olly was standing near the hood of my SUV, and I knew he thought I was crazy.
I didn’t give a shit though.
There was something about her that made me crave being near her. I wanted to crush her, but I wanted to do it where I could see. I wanted to do it where I had a front-row view.
“Taking two drunk girls home safely.” I tossed my keys in the air and caught them back into my hand.
“You know that’s not what I mean.” He looked between me and Carson, but Carson knew as much as he did.
They were my best friends, more like brothers, really, and while I knew they hated Lucas Vos as much as I did, it wasn’t the same.
They were close to Frankie, but she wasn’t their baby sister. They didn’t have to watch her helplessly as she cried like I hadn’t seen since she was a little girl. They could see how she’s changed since that day, but I could feel it.
I felt every second of it, and it burned in my blood.
