My blood was boiling, I was all riled up from the dog fighting, and the alcohol was kicking in. I wanted to pick a fight.
I stormed over to Caiden, ripping the joint from his mouth and taking a deep drag, then throwing it into the ashtray on the side table next to the sofa. “What exactly is your fucking problem?” I stood right in front of him, hands on my hips, glaring right back at him.
He blinked slowly. “What the fuck? Did you just take my joint?”
Ignoring his question, I stepped closer, leaning down and prodding a finger into his hard chest, so angry I wasn’t thinking straight.
I was sick of this. Sick of his hostility towards me; the way he treated me 90 percent of the time; the way he clearly thought I was beneath him.
I directed all of my wrath at him as our eyes met, and his darkened, his brows pulling together. “What. Is. Your. Pro—”
His arms shot out, and he yanked me onto his lap. Before I could process what the actual fuck was happening, I was straddling him, he had one arm tightly around my back, the other gripping the back of my head, and his lips were on mine, hard and furious.
It was like fireworks.
Explosions of sensation that I felt all over my body as his mouth attacked mine. I kissed him back just as savagely, channelling all my rage into the kiss, biting his bottom lip, hard. I tasted blood and my tongue darted out to swipe at his lip.
He growled low in his throat, pulling me closer.
I never wanted this kiss to end.
His tongue swiped at mine, and I opened my mouth for him, the kiss turning from savage and punishing, to more… Fuck. I couldn’t even describe it. I shifted against him, freeing my arms from where they’d been trapped between us when he pulled me onto him, winding them around his strong shoulders, stroking my hands over the short hairs at the back of his neck.
He shivered and bit my lower lip, more gently than I’d bitten his, and I moaned, moving my hands up to thread my fingers through his hair. He responded by sliding his tongue into my mouth, sending shock waves of pleasure through me, and I lost myself in his kiss.
“About fucking time.” The amused voice came from behind me, and Caiden and I broke apart, dazed, the mixture of lust and confusion whirling through me reflected in his eyes. What the fuck had just happened?
I brought a trembling hand to my lips, staring at him, wide-eyed. His eyes were heavy-lidded, his lashes sweeping down to hide his expression from me as I studied him. My mind was scrambled, I was buzzed from the alcohol and the weed, and now, after that mind-blowing kiss, I was horny as fuck. For him.
Choosing to ignore Cassius, I rolled my hips, moving against Caiden. Fuck, he was hard.
This felt so good. I needed more. I rolled my hips again, and he groaned, moving his hands to cup my waist, his head falling back against the sofa.
“Get a room.”
This time round, Cassius’ voice seemed to snap Caiden out of the lust-induced bubble we’d been in. “No.” He shook his head. “No,” he repeated, lifting me off him and depositing me on the sofa. He staggered to his feet and stormed out of the door, slightly unsteady.
“What just happened? And why did you have to ruin it?” I looked over at Cassius, who, in the time I’d been…occupied…with Caiden, had managed to lose the girl he’d been sitting with, and he was reclining against the sofa, every now and then lifting the bottle to his lips and taking a swig.
“C’mere, babe.” He patted the sofa next to him. Obediently I stumbled over to him and collapsed onto the seat, scrubbing my hand over my face.
“What’s going on, Cass?”
“Drink.” He handed me the bottle, and I took a large swig, coughing and spluttering as the vodka went down my throat. The next swig went down more smoothly, and I sighed, leaning into his arm.
“Smoke?”
I took the joint from his outstretched fingers.
We sat there for a while, passing the bottle and the joint between us until I was pleasantly numb, my big plan to investigate my mother completely foiled by vodka and weed.
“Here’s the thing, babe,” Cassius finally said, his words slurred from the effects of the drink. “It’s obvious Cade thinks you’re sexy as fuck, yeah? But he kind of hates you, y’know. Seeing you looking like that tonight—” He waved a hand lazily in my direction. “—and with the drinks, and the weed, and his jealous thing with Granville…think he just gave in to his urges. He’ll be kicking himself tomorrow.”
Through my drunken haze, I tried to make sense of what he was saying. “I don’t get why he hates me.”
He lowered his voice. “You look like your mother. He hates her. You remind him of her.” Swallowing hard, he mumbled, “And he doesn’t trust you, does he. Thinks you might be working with her.”
“Huh?” I tried to get my addled brain in order. “Working with her? What do you mean?”
“She’s up to something. Bad. We’ve been keeping tabs on her. And you.”
He stared down at me, dawning horror in his eyes as he realised what he’d said. “Fuck, shouldn’t have told you that. I’m too wasted for this. Don’t ask me anything else.”
This was a conversation I needed to have with all the boys, and sober. I had to get one thing straight, though. Maybe the alcohol and weed had lowered my inhibitions or whatever, but I felt like I could trust Cassius.
“Cass.” I waited until he looked at me, his eyes glazing over. “Cass.”
He blinked a few times. “What?”
I carefully climbed onto my knees on the sofa, using Cassius’ arm to steady myself, and leaned in so I could whisper in his ear. Somehow, I managed to get the garbled words out. “I came to Alstone to investigate my mother. I think she may have had a hand in my father’s death.”
“What?” His stunned inhalation echoed loudly in the room.
“Yeah. Talk about it tomorrow, hmm?”
Shock at my words warred with the drunken stupor he was falling into. “Yeah. Tomorrow.” He yawned widely and slid down, arranging himself so he was lying lengthways, his head propped up on a cushion which leaned on the arm of the sofa. He tugged me down so I was lying with my back against his front and draped his arm over me.
“Closing my eyes for a few.” He yawned again.
“Don’t get any ideas,” I warned him as he smoothed down my hair so it wasn’t in his face.
“Cade would kill me.”
Then he was asleep, and seconds later, my eyes drifted shut, and I was lost to my dreams.
THIRTEEN
“Something you want to tell me?”
I slowly peeled my eyes open at the disapproving voice, wincing as I did so. Everything hurt, and my mouth tasted disgusting, as dry and arid as the desert. I licked my cracked lips and swallowed, my parched throat begging for some liquid.
“Need. Water,” I groaned, my voice hoarse. I tried to sit up, but I was weighed down by a muscular, tattooed arm.
Oh, yeah.
Last night came back to me. That epic kiss with Caiden, and getting wasted and high with Cassius afterwards, then falling asleep with him. I blinked rapidly, trying to get my eyes to focus.
“What time is it?”
“Nine.” Cassius spoke in my ear, his own voice husky from sleep. He tightened his arm around me. “Need more sleep.”