“Now, it’s become a problem I’m gonna fucking fix.”
_______________
I get out from underneath Austin’s arms—she passed out about an hour ago—and pull my jeans on and nothing else. I make my way out of her room and down the stairs. The rain pours on the house and lightning fills the dark halls. It’s late. Has to be past midnight.
I walk into the formal dining room to find Celeste sitting at the table. Her back to me. She’s on her phone. “Yeah,” she whispers. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you,” she says and then hangs up. When she stands and turns around, she startles, placing her hands on her chest. “Cole!” she squeals. “What are you doing here?”
My eyes go to her phone in her hand and then back to hers. “I’m gonna take a guess and say that was Kellan.” She glares at me. “Love already, huh?” I run my fingers along the wood of the china cabinet. “That was fast.”
Her eyes narrow. “Like you’re one to talk. Everyone can see how obsessed you are with Austin.”
“Funny you should mention her.” I take a step forward. “You’re trying to fuck up what’s mine.”
“She told you?”
“No,” I lie, and she snorts in disbelief. I close the small space and cup her cheek. She stiffens. “I have a way of making people talk, Celeste. Am I gonna have to make you talk?”
Her bottom lip trembles. “It was his idea …”
“She heard your voice. Not his.”
She lets out a long breath. “He said you’re falling for her. That you won’t let her go. That she needs to go, and since you won’t step away, she needs to.”
“She’s not going anywhere,” I say firmly.
“Cole …” she whispers. “Please … he made me …”
I bring my hand and wrap it around her throat but don’t take away her air. She inhales sharply. I can feel her pulse race, and I smile. “Am I the one you think of when he fucks you?”
She shudders.
I pull away. “’Cause if that’s what you want …” I run my fingers across her collarbone.
“Cole … please …” she begs, and her body shakes with nervousness.
She should be afraid of me. “I’ve got insurance, Celeste.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “Last week when you met him at the hotel. Last month when you met him outside of town at that log cabin. We had a deal. Are you going back on it?” She shakes her head quickly.
“Good. Now leave what’s mine alone or …” I lean down to whisper in her ear. “You will be screaming my name. But it won’t be from pleasure.” I pull back. “Understand?”
She nods.
“Say I understand, Cole.”
“I understand, Cole.” She swallows.
“Good girl.” Then I turn around and walk back up the stairs.
I enter Austin’s room, shutting the door and locking it behind me. Removing my jeans, I crawl onto the bed and straddle her hips. She lies on her back with her head turned to the side. She’s completely naked.
I lean down, kissing her neck. She still smells like sex. Like me. And I love it. “Sweetheart.”
“Hmm?” She moans, turning her head more to allow me better access.
“Wake up, baby.” I slide a hand between our bodies and run it over her shaved pussy.
“No …” She breathes. “I’m too sore.”
I chuckle. “Want me to kiss it?”
“God.” She sighs.
I trail kisses down her bare chest as I slide a finger into her. She whimpers.
Sitting up, I position myself between her legs. I lift her right leg and place it over my shoulder and then lean into it, softly kissing it. She lifts her hips up off the bed. Needing more. “Tell me you want me.”
“I want you, Cole.” Her hips buck again. “Please.”
I smile and then bite her inner thigh. She screams out my name as my teeth sink into her flawless skin.
When I set her leg down, she’s panting. I run my finger over the bruise that’s already forming. “I’m gonna mark you from head to toe, sweetheart.” And she’s going to be the only one screaming my name in this house from now on.
AUSTIN
The next week went by faster than ever. Things were going well between Cole and me. People still stared at us in the hall as if they were waiting for me to slap him or for him to shove me up against his locker and make out with me. He didn’t disappoint them. There was talk around the school as to why I slapped him. The rumors were far from the truth, and I didn’t have the heart to tell them that their imaginations were weak.
Friday after school, the guys had to stay later for practice because they had a swim meet coming up. I helped Cole out and took Lilly to dance and then back to his house before returning home. I had just walked up the stairs to my room when I hear his voice.
“Files?”
I stop and turn to look over the banister but don’t see anyone. But that was definitely my father. What is he doing here? I thought he was out of town for a few weeks?
“My laptop got stolen …”
My stomach drops.
“Jesus!” my father hisses. “But what about the emails?”
“They’ve been deleted. They wouldn’t be able to find them unless they searched the hard drive and knew what they were looking for.”
“Are you sure?” he asks nervously. “No one steals a laptop for no reason,” he snaps.
“I’m positive.”
I make my way quietly back down the stairs and out the front door. I jump into my car and dial Cole’s number. He doesn’t answer. I call Deke’s. Nothing.
“Shit! Come on, guys,” I say, my knees bouncing. This is not good.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
COLE
I’M SHOWERING IN the locker room, washing my hair when I hear Deke. “Cole?”
“What?”
“Get your ass out of the shower. We gotta go.”
I take my time. “Where we going?”
“Austin has called me twenty times …”
“What?” I ask, spinning around, the water causing shampoo to run into my eyes.
“I checked your phone, and she’s called you fifteen. Something’s wrong, man.”
I turn off the water, rip the towel from the wall, and quickly dry off, making my way to the lockers. Shoving guys out of my way. “She sent a text too.”
Austin: Have everyone meet me at the clubhouse. Now!
“Shane! Bennett!” Deke calls out. “Let’s go!”
“Why is her phone going straight to voicemail?” I snap, trying to call her for the twentieth time as Deke flies down the highway.
“We’re almost there,” he says.
He pulls up outside the clubhouse, and I’m out of his SUV before he can even bring it to a stop.
I barge in the door to find her pacing back and forth with her head down. “What the fuck is going on?” I demand. “I’ve been calling you.”
She comes to a stop. “I’ve been calling you too.”