Not in Golden Oaks.
Not at GOU.
And especially nowhere near me.
She’s fucked with my head enough, and I’m not going to have her here, on my turf, doing it again. Bullshit. Don’t give a good goddamn why she’s back here. Golden Oaks is no longer her home. It’s mine, and I always protect what’s mine.
Cass starts to stand, grabbing her purse. “I’ll come with—”
I cut her off with a look. “I believe I’m a big enough goddamn boy to do it myself, Cass.”
She purses her lips in obvious annoyance. Fire spits from her eyes when they land on mine, narrowing. “You are not going to ta—”
I snap down toward her so fast, she barely has time to lean back in her seat before I’m right there in her face, growling, “You presume to think you own me.” I tilt my head to the side, my teeth clench in irritation. “I belong to no one, so get fucked if you think that.”
She licks her lips, and her eyes dart between mine. “We have an agr—”
I bare my teeth, my hands clenching around the top of her seat to keep from wringing her neck. “Fuck your agreement. You are only here to get my dick wet. Do you understand?”
This has always been the issue with Cass. She thinks just because I’m dipping my cock into her puss that she has some weird hold over me.
Yeah, no. That doesn’t work for me. No one has a hold over me. No one is important enough in my life, family included, that I’d toss my shit away and become some lovesick puppet for them.
Sorry, not going to happen.
A person must have a living soul for that soul to flourish and allow others inside. I don’t. My heart is as cold as ice, and my soul—well, let’s just say it’s dark and cold inside.
It has been since the day I found out the truth about my little con. Finding that out messed with my head for weeks. While I’d still visit her, I’d find myself looking at her, wondering how she could do such a thing to me. How she could have been so heartless and careless to fuck with my emotions.
Harloe Rose was my everything, and when she deceived me, she left me with nothing.
“You can’t talk to me like this, Hunt. I did nothing wrong.” She grits her teeth so hard I hear them grinding against each other.
Leaning toward her, I put my face flush with hers, whispering into her ear, “You’re pissing on territory that was never yours to claim.”
Then, without another word, I head off in the direction of the doors. Right now, I could really use a smoke. Even with needing to keep in tip-top shape for baseball, I can’t bring myself to quit the habit. They’re my clutch—the only thing of mine no one can take away from me.
The guys know better than to follow me. Instead, Zeke, Easton, and Leo will stay behind and make sure that Cass doesn’t. That bitch … I’ve been meaning to drop her for the past few years. She’s too clingy. Acts like I’m hers, and if any girl gets close, her claws come out, and it gets ugly.
For a while, in high school, that was okay with me. I didn’t want anyone to get close. All I wanted to do is sink my dick in the pussy and forget it all. Forget Harloe. Forget what she did. Forget my familial responsibility.
For once, I wanted to be Hunter Maverick Prince. Second heir to the wealthiest family in Golden Oaks, and one-third of the siblings who will one day take over the business from our dad.
Nothing else mattered.
I couldn’t allow there to be anything else.
So, I let it slide by for the past three years. Cass was easy and right there. Her body helped me work through a shit ton of things I needed to. But as of late, she’s been getting too invested, too enthusiastic over us.
Just to be clear, there is no us. Never has been, never will be. She’s known that since day one. Day fucking one. I didn’t lie to her and promise her forever. I told her point-blank that I was not going to use her for anything other than what she can provide physically.
She. Jumped. On. It.
Not my fault if she wants more. That’s not the agreement that she likes to throw up all the time. Years, she’s been breaking said agreement, and I haven’t said shit. But the moment—no, the second—her only competition comes back into the picture, she turns into a nut case thinking this is something it’s not.
Yeah, not happening.
Pushing through the doors, I retrieve my pack out of my pocket. Tapping one out, I make my way toward the doors. People recognize me, tilting their heads in greeting, but I can’t be fucked to give one in return. My lungs burn from the need to inhale the sweet smoke. A joint would be better, but they do random drug tests within their sports teams here.
Walking right outside, I flick my lighter and blaze the tip. Inhaling deeply, I’m hit instantly with the thick, pungent smoke—my anxiety falling to almost nothing. Isn’t it crazy how something so small can make such an impact on your life? A cigarette, while it may be nicknamed a cancer stick, has many effects.
It can make you not homicidal.
It can loosen you up and make everything bearable.
A cigarette costs a lot less than a one hundred dollar an hour therapy session.
So, while it may be deadly, I’ll gladly take this over getting screwed up the ass by some head doctor.
Taking another puff, I run my fingers through my hair and think about what I’m going to do. There’s absolutely no way she can be here. It’s taken me this long just to get over her. And the moment I finally feel a small fissure of normal slip back into my life, she pops up again like a pesky zit.
I pace off to the side of the building, lost in thought. Inadvertently, I settle behind this huge bush for a little peace within the chaos of campus life. I’m halfway through sucking down my cigarette when I hear her voice.
Goddammit, she’s already everywhere! There’s no way I’ll be able to do this.
Growling under my breath, I stomp out the cigarette and force my way through the branches of the bush closest to the side of the building. When I step through, I see her there, back turned toward me, as she whispers hurriedly in her phone like she’s afraid people will hear her.
“I miss you, too, baby. Only a little while longer, I promise.”
My brows slant. Who the fuck is she calling baby? More importantly … why does the sound of those words falling from her lips piss me off so much?
Anger, like no other, fuses my bones to the flesh. My hands clench and unclench by my sides. Where’s a punching bag when you need one?
Continuing to stare at her back, I notice the way her shoulders are hunched in like she’s in pain. Pain from missing someone back from wherever she came from? Oh, not on my turf. No way will my—she do what she did and think she can move on so easily. I’ll be goddamned.
So, I do the only thing I’m proficient at—I decide to be the biggest asshole I can be. Last time I acted that way toward her, she ran off, crying her little eyes out. This time will be no different. Harloe is not a tough cookie. Never has been.
I know her weaknesses.
Coming up behind her, I note the moment she knows I’m here. Her shoulders stiffen with tension, and her back shoots up ramrod straight. “Baby, I gotta go. All my love.”
Quickly, she ends the call and turns to face me. Her eyes shine with a defiance I’m not used to seeing in her, but it’s nothing I haven’t been up against before.