I hate how gorgeous he is. How my body wants him even though I know I shouldn’t.
Deke reaches us first, and he picks Becky off her feet and kisses her. She giggles like a schoolgirl, and then he slaps her ass. Cole finally comes up to us and pops his trunk. He throws his bag in the back, picks mine up, and tosses it in there as well and then lifts his chin to Deke. “I’ll call you later,” he tells him and then gets in his car.
I fall into the passenger seat and buckle my seat belt. My hands fist in my lap as I think of what Becky said a minute ago. He’s making me the laughing stock of school. If she sees how he treats me, then so does everyone else. It’s just some game to him. “I’m driving myself tomorrow.”
“No, you’re not,” he says, still staring down at his phone. I yank it out of his hand and throw it behind him. “Hey—”
“Why are we doing this, Cole?” I demand. “Huh? Why am I here?”
His defined jaw sharpens, showing me his annoyance.
Too bad.
“Why don’t you just stop? Let me walk away? I haven’t gone to the police about anything. And I’m not going to.” I’m too far in. I know too much. They would hang my ass with them. And I refuse to let that happen.
“No,” he growls. “You’re not going anywhere.”
I unbuckle my seat belt, shove open the door, and jump out. Deke and Becky have already left, so I start walking, not even caring about my bag being in his trunk.
“Austin!” I hear him yell my name and then his car door slam shut.
“I’m walking home, Cole.” I shout, not bothering to look back at him.
“Why do you do this?” He yanks on my shoulder, spinning me around. “Why do you piss me off?”
“Me piss you off?” I hold up my right arm. “Look what you’ve done to me. You sliced my arm, and I had to get fifteen stitches. And let’s not forget you almost got me arrested.”
“Please.” He rolls his eyes. “I knew what I was doing when I stole that car. You weren’t going to get arrested.”
“You may have, but I didn’t! I’m not a criminal, Cole.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“What does that mean?” I snap.
“I heard you were doing drugs. Got in trouble with the police. That you were too much for your mother and her boyfriend, so they sent you to live with Bruce.”
I want to demand who told him that, but I already know. Celeste. No one else here knows anything about me.
“You’re right,” I say, and he frowns as if he wanted a fight. “I got in trouble. And was shipped here.” I spread my arms out wide. “To my dad’s because she wants me to send her his money.” Not a total lie. “But I don’t have to put up with you, Cole. You and your bullshit games.”
I throw my hands up. “I’m done.” My voice shakes. “You take whatever video you want of me and show the police, show the school.” My throat tightens with emotion. “Show whoever the fuck you want. I’m done, Cole.”
I turn my back to him and walk away. The first tear runs down my face and then another one. I’m not that girl who gets all emotional. But I cry when I get angry. And I’m so mad right now. At my mother. At my father. And at my life.
A hand fists in my hair, and I cry out when my back is pinned to a hard chest. “I’m not letting you walk away,” Cole growls into my ear, making me shiver.
“You don’t get to choose …”
He spins me around, looking down at me and lifts his hand to my cheek. He runs his thumb through my tears. “Beautiful,” he whispers.
“Please stop.” I hate that I’m begging, but I’ve got nothing left. I’m treading water, but the water’s too deep, and he’s circling me. He smells the blood and is just waiting to strike. Waiting to pull me under into the darkness where he’ll eat me alive. He’s a shark, after all.
He smirks down at me. “You think no one wants you, Austin, but I do.” Another tear runs down my face. “Why do you think I keep you so close? Why do you think I want everyone to know you belong to me?” I don’t answer. “It’s because I want you. And no matter how much you fight it, I know you like being mine.”
“I don’t belong to you,” I say, fisting my hands.
He chuckles. “Are you wet right now, sweetheart?”
“Fuck you, Cole.” My voice is breathless.
“That’s exactly what I wanna do to you.” His hand cups my face and tilts it back. I don’t fight him. He lowers his lips to mine, and I open without thought.
This man has power over me. And it’s scary. My body just reacts to him, no matter how hard I try to fight it.
His tongue slips between my lips, and my arms wrap around his neck. I taste my tears, and I know he can too. He presses his body into mine, and his hardness presses against my lower stomach. I moan.
Cole deepens the kiss, and it takes my breath away. When he bites my lip, I nip at his. Then he pulls away, panting. “Now. I’m gonna take you home. And I’m gonna fuck you.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
COLE
I SHIFT MY car as I fly down the highway. My cock hard and needing her. I’ve tried to play it cool since Friday night in the bathroom at the party. I’ve tried to act like I did Austin Lowes a favor by fucking her, but I want her. And then when I saw her tears, I lost it. They turned me on so much. And the taste of them when I kissed her … They were amazing.
We pull up to the house, and we barge through the front door, my lips on hers. I grip her ass and start carrying her up the stairs.
“Celeste?” she asks against my lips.
I had spoken to her earlier when she messaged me that she couldn’t pick up Lilly from school today. I had to get Blanche to do it. “At the airport …” Kiss. “Picking up Bruce …” Kiss. “We’ve got an hour …”
We enter her room, and I slam the door shut before I toss her onto the bed. She sits up immediately and removes her shirt and bra. I rip my shirt off as she goes for her jeans. She lifts her hips and kicks them off at the same time I toss mine to the side.
Then I crawl onto the bed and straddle her hips. My fingers run over her tattoo on her ribcage even a white rose has a black shadow.
“I’m not going to use protection,” I tell her. She never did mention that last time, but we need to clear that up.
“I’m on the shot.”
Perfect.
She looks up at me as her hands go to my chest, and she drags her nails down my bare skin. I hiss in a breath at the pain. It reminds me of that first night in the cemetery. It had turned me on then just as much as it does now.
I grab her hands and pin them above her head. She arches her back and lets out a moan. “What’s wrong, Cole? Thought you liked a little pain with your pleasure?” She arches a brow in challenge.
I smile and let go of her wrists. “I do.”
“Then ...” She does it again. This time a little slower and harder. Red marks cover my chest and abs, and my cock stands at attention. She looks at it, licking her lips. Then her eyes meet mine. “What are you waiting for, Cole?”