“Austin—”
“No, Cole!” I interrupt him. “What you did back there was completely unacceptable!”
“I—”
“You were out of line!” I shout, fisting my hands down by my sides. “You don’t own me. And you can’t just decide to offer me up to one of your buddies.” I give him my back, planning on locking myself in my bathroom to get away from him.
He grabs my shoulder and yanks me back to face him. “I can do whatever I want.”
My skin is boiling; I’m so mad. “No! You can’t. This is my life!” I scream.
“Need a reminder?”
“No!” I jerk away from him. I wasn’t expecting him to let me go, and I stumble backward but manage not to fall. He smirks. “I don’t need you to remind me that you are a man who doesn’t care if he hurts a woman,” I snap.
His eyes narrow on me. “Don’t push me, Austin.”
“Push you?” I ask and snort. Spreading my arms out wide, I say, “Do your worst, Cole.” What else could this bastard do to me that he hasn’t already?
“You don’t mean that, sweetheart.” He takes a step toward me; his eyes look me up and down, and he licks his lips.
“Not only did you offer me up to Kellan, but you have also humiliated me at school,” I growl. “You recorded us …”
“You begged me for it. The video proved it.”
My mouth falls open at his words. He knew he was coming to the party, and that we were going to have sex. And he knew he was going to have Deke record it.
I stand there speechless as he closes the small space between us. His right hand comes up, and he slides his fingers into my hair. I stare up at him at a complete loss while his eyes roam my face.
“You knew what you were doing, Austin. And I told you, you were going to hate me in the morning, but you didn’t seem to care one bit.”
“I didn’t know you were going to record it,” I say as angry tears start to sting my eyes. My body shakes, and my throat begins to close up.
He lowers his mouth to my ear. “It’s not my fault you spread your legs for the devil, sweetheart. That’s all on you.”
“You set me up.” I choke on the words.
He chuckles. “I did no such thing. You went to a party. You got drunk, and then you dared me.” He pulls back, and his eyes stare into mine. I refuse to blink, to let the tears fall. I’m stronger than this. “You dared me to hurt you.” He runs his busted knuckles over my cheek. He lowers his face to where his lips almost touch mine. “And I did.”
I swallow the lump in my throat, trying not to show him just how much. “You had no right …”
“Even if I hadn’t had Deke record it, everyone there still heard you, sweetheart.”
I swallow the knot in my throat and look away. I hate that he’s right. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have dared him. I shouldn’t have played into his little fucking game. I’ve been pushing back just as much as he has, but I’m the one who seems to lose every time. He has help. He’s got a team on his side. I have no one.
“And it’s not like you didn’t enjoy it.”
I whimper at his words and whisper, “Go to hell, Cole.”
His hand grips my hair, and he moves my head, forcing me to look up at him. His blue eyes search mine. They shine. He lowers his lips and smiles against mine. I don’t dare move. “Sweetheart, I am hell.”
I hate how right he is. “Please go.” I swallow what pride I have left and beg him to leave.
He releases my hair, and his hand moves to cup my face. I try to swallow the knot in my throat. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He leans down, kisses my forehead, and then walks out. I throw myself onto my bed and scream into my pillow.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
COLE
I STAND OUTSIDE her door as I hear her muffled scream. She’s breaking. Every day, I’m dragging her closer to the edge of no return. But in order to get her to fall, I’m going to have to drag her. I won’t be able to save myself, and we’re both going to hit fucking bottom.
Minutes later, I walk into my father’s house and go straight up to Lilly’s room. Her pink kitty lamp is on next to her bed, and she is sound asleep. I turn it off, and the only light comes from her nightlight.
Leaning down, I kiss her forehead and then walk out, leaving her door cracked open. I head to my bedroom, strip out of my clothes, and slide on my board shorts, then make my way down to the pool.
I dive in and the cold night air burns my skin when I come up for a breath.
Kellan is becoming a bigger problem every day that goes by. And I don’t know what to do about it or what he has planned. He knows about our final dare. The one we have planned for graduation night. I wonder how much he has told Celeste about what we do. People in this town know we destroy shit. We’ve been daring each other to do stupid shit since we were little kids. But when I was sixteen, Eli dared me to steal my father’s car and run it into the creek. I did it three hours later. I hated that car, and he fucking loved it. It was his baby. His beloved. Nothing mattered other than that car.
He never found out it was me. He was in a pissy mood for months, and I loved it.
The dares just snowballed from there. We got a system down, and it worked for us. Eight boys whose parents had money and could get away with anything. We did it all. Well, not murder. We just progressed to that recently.
I go back underwater and do a lap. Then another. I’m tired and exhausted when I finally get out. The time on my phone reads 1:05 a.m. I dry off, and thoughts of Austin enter my mind.
I need more from her.
I smile when I think of why I’m doing this to her. Because I can. It’s that fucking simple. It’s like she forgets she has no one. Except me.
_______________
The following morning, I pull up to her house, and she’s already sitting on the front steps. Her backpack at her feet and phone in her hands. She stands when she sees my car and walks toward it. I find it odd but don’t question it.
She wears a pair of holey jeans with her black Chucks and a simple black t-shirt. Her hair is down and in big curls. A pair of black sunglasses cover her green eyes, and red lipstick highlights her lips. She looks fucking delicious.
She gets in, not saying a word, and sits back in the seat. I take off, trying to ignore the erection in my pants. I can’t think straight whenever she is around me. All I want to do is bury myself in her.
After dropping Lilly off, we pull up to the school, and she still hasn’t spoken a word. Not unusual for us, but it has me on alert. We walk inside and go to our lockers. She takes her time, and I watch her. She hasn’t removed her sunglasses, nor has she smiled.
She’s still pissed. And I find it sexy as fuck!
The bell rings, and I grab her hand, expecting her to pull away, but she doesn’t. I walk her to class, and as we step inside her room, she turns to face me. And before I can do anything, she lifts on her tiptoes and kisses me. Which is unusual. I always initiate it.
She moans into my mouth, and I tangle my hands in her hair. She kisses me like she’s desperate for me. Her body presses into mine, and I deepen the kiss. As if we are alone in my room and I’m about to rip her fucking clothes off.