What I do know is that I got to witness the second the illegitimate half-sister bullshit rumor caught up to Colton, and it was amazing. His response from across the room was enough to confirm what I already knew—we’re definitely not related. What it also did was prove just how much my being here is affecting him. I’ve taken over his home and now his school. Nothing is safe.
My phone rings from somewhere and I grab the first shirt I see and a pair of sweatpants before rushing around my room trying to find it.
I end up back in the bathroom, scrambling through the dirty washing hamper for my school skirt and manage to pull my phone out just moments before the call rings out. I see Nic’s name across the screen and my day starts getting better again.
I press accept and hold the phone to my ear as I try to dress with one hand. “Hey,” I say with a heavy sigh.
“Hey to you too. Where the hell have you been? I was expecting your call ages ago.”
“Sorry. It’s been a shitty day. I’m only just now getting a second to myself. What’s going on? Been busy?”
Nic goes silent and I can imagine his face scrunching up. He does this every time he’s been working for his dad. This is his desperate attempt to try and shield me from the horrors of his day. I can only imagine, but right now I’m wondering if those horrors seem half as bad as mine. “Yeah, been busy,” he finally says in a short, factual tone, not wanting to elaborate. “How’s your fancy new school? Did they have you filling out college applications and putting you through etiquette classes.”
“Screw you,” I laugh, falling back onto my bed and looking up at the ceiling. “If anyone needs etiquette classes, it’s you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone with worse table manners.”
“What happened?” Nic questions, his voice taking on a no-bullshit tone. “Why are you avoiding my question?”
“I’m not avoiding it.”
“Ocean. Quit bullshitting. What happened at that school?”
I let out a heavy groan and smoosh my face into the too soft pillow. “It’s a boys school. He enrolled me in an all-boys school.”
“The fuck?” Nic roars.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought. It’s fucking humiliating. The guys all leer at me as though they’ve never seen a set of tits in their life, but I guess for some of them they haven’t. Not to mention Colton and his friends are absolute dickwads. I just had one of his friends try something in my room. Luckily Colton walked by and put an end to it.”
“What’s the fucker’s name?”
“Chill, Nic. You’re not coming to Bellevue Springs to fucking kill the guy. Your father would fuck you up if he knew you were getting involved in this rich kid bullshit.”
“Fucking watch me, O. I don’t give a shit what my dad says or does. Did he put his hands on you?”
“No. I’m fine. Really. Stop worrying about it. I just need to be more careful. You know, lock my doors and shit. It'll be fine now that I know who to look out for.”
“Babe …”
“No. Don’t start with me, Dominic. I already feel shitty enough being away from home, you’re just going to make it worse. Besides, I might have met a friend today so it’s looking up. I mean, it can’t get much worse, right?”
“What friend?”
“A guy at school.”
“What’s his name?”
“For fuck’s sake, Nic. His name is Milo and he’s more inclined to climb into bed with you than me.”
I hear a soft exhale through the phone and I shake my head at his moronic ways. My four boys will never change. They’re always so protective of me. Sometimes I love it and other times … well, other times it makes me want to strangle them and dismember their corpses.
Okay, that might have been a little far but my point has been made. I couldn’t live without them though. They’re as much my family as mom is.
“So … this Milo guy? He’s alright?”
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, I only met him today but he seemed okay. He stayed with me so I wasn’t left to fend off the wolves by myself. He’s kind of nerdy and he’s a teacher’s aid. I guess it doesn’t get much better than that. He won’t hurt me. He even offered to drive me to and from school so I don't have to ride with Colton.”
Nic goes silent for a moment and I know he’s deep in thought. He doesn’t like this whole trying to protect me from far away thing, but reminding him that I don’t need his protection isn’t exactly going to go down well. He finally scoffs but it comes out as more of a breathy chuckle. “Milo is a stupid name anyway.”
“Are you serious?” I laugh. “You have the maturity level of a doorknob.”
“Like you’re one to talk,” he says with a smile in his tone before everything suddenly turns serious. “I miss you.”
My chest starts to ache. “Miss you too, Nic.”
“I don’t mean because you are far away and living with those rich pricks. I miss us. You and me together. We were so good.”
“I know that’s what you mean but I can’t do it again. You crushed me.” I let out a heavy sigh, feeling the weight pressing down on my chest. “I don’t know if maybe I just need more time to forgive and forget or if I’ll never be able to try again. I don’t know but every time I even think about the idea of you and me, all I see is the image of Carmen riding your dick and it hurts so damn bad. I just … I’m sorry. I don’t think I can get past it. At least, not yet.”
“You’re my girl, Ocean,” he tells me in that same no-bullshit tone. “You know it’s going to be me and you. We’re meant to be together. I know you feel how right it is.”
“There’s a difference between it feeling right and actually being right.”
“Babe, come on. I’ll try harder. I swear. I saw how much the Carmen bullshit hurt you. I could never do that to you again.”
My voice falls to barely a whisper as I struggle to get the words past the lump building in my throat. “You see, that’s just the thing Nic. When you’re with the love of your life and you’ve found the woman of your dreams, you shouldn’t have to try. The need to cheat wouldn’t be there, not even the temptation because I would be all that you need.”
“You are,” he murmurs.
“I’m not, Nic.”
“You know I would go back and change it if I could. I hate that I hurt you.”
“I know you would.”
There’s a comfortable silence between us as the heaviness of our conversation sinks in and with every passing second, it becomes easier to breathe. It was six months ago, yet it still hurts so bad. It was a betrayal that I wasn’t prepared for. I hadn’t even considered it especially from someone who loved me the way Nic had. I thought he was my end game.
“Alright, girl. Dad’s calling. I gotta go. I love you.”
“K. Love you too,” I say before ending the call and letting the phone drop to my chest.
I miss him so much already. I didn’t think it would hurt this bad. I miss them all. The boys finished high school a few years ago but every afternoon they were there, unless Kian had them on a job. They would either pick me up from school or show up at my now non-existent home. My afternoons were always full, but right now, I’ve never felt so alone.
As if on cue, the text messages start rolling in.
Sebastian - Wanna fuck? ;)
Kairo - What’s the fucker’s name?
Elijah - How tall is this guy? Stocky or skinny? Just working out what size rock I’m going to need to sink his body to the bottom of the ocean.
It all becomes clear. Nic didn’t have his dad calling. He needed to call the boys to start research on Jude and in doing that, explained what’s been going down this afternoon. That fucker. The boys are going to be relentless now and if I don’t start responding, it’s only going to end up with them on the Carrington’s doorstep. I can only imagine the look on Harrison’s face when he opens the door to find my boys. Fucking priceless.
With a heavy sigh, I get busy replying to Sebastian.
Ocea
n - Hell yeah. Only if you hit it hard and fast. You know I like it rough!
Next up, Kai.
Ocean - Figure it out yourself. I’m not helping you guys. Tell Nic to back off. I’ve got this.
Then finally, Elijah.
Ocean - When you work it out, minus the weight of his dick. That’ll be gone by the time you guys get to him.
Their responses start rolling in and suddenly the heaviness of Nic’s phone call starts easing off my chest.
Sebastian - Wait. What? Are you for real?
Kairo - Come on, pretty girl. Just let me hurt him a little.
Elijah - That’s my girl.
I spent the rest of my afternoon starting on the shitload of work my teachers gave me to catch me up to the rest of my class while texting with my boys. I know this was all Nic. After instructing them to find out what information they could on Jude, he would have told them to blow up my phone so I couldn't think about it. Though, considering I didn’t say which of Colton’s friends barged into my room, I'd be smart to assume that Nic now has background files on Spencer, Jude, and Charlie. It shouldn’t be hard for him to figure out which friend it was.
At some point, mom shows up at my door and after unlocking it, she just stands there, watching me with my pile of books. I can’t say it’s something she’s ever seen from me before but at the same time, I have this weird need to prove myself at this school. To them, women are nothing, just a hole to stick their dicks in each night. Right now, I’m proving them right.
I need to stand up for all womankind at this school and show them that we’re a force to be reckoned with. I won’t be failing my exams, I won’t be behind the guys, and I sure as hell won’t shy away.
It’s after 9 pm by the time I come falling back through my bedroom door. Mom wanted to stay down in the staff kitchen, learning every aspect of her role so it was just me at dinner with Colton and Charles. Awkward as fuck doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Dinner was dangerously silent. I felt that if I had said a single word, they would have ended my life on the spot. So instead, we just ate, not without the casual scowl from Colton of course.
Not wanting to head back to my room so soon, I stayed down in the kitchen and helped mom a bit. It probably didn’t do me any favors with my ‘the help’ image, but fuck Colton. I’m not going to allow his insults to stop me from being a decent human being just because he insists on being a lousy one. I even think I might have scored a few brownie points with Harrison, but with the extra help, the job was done quicker than I’d hoped and I was sent back upstairs to finish off my reading for English.
With Colton’s friends well and truly gone for the night, I don’t bother going to the lengths of slamming the door and locking it behind me, instead, I settle in front of the TV. It doesn't take long for me to realize my mistake as my door swings open.
A pissed off Colton Carrington stands in my doorway, looking all sorts of lethal. “What the fuck are you doing in here?” he demands, his eyes narrowed and making me realize that maybe I was being a little louder than necessary.
“What do you care?”
“I care because your insufferable ranting and thumping is making it impossible to even hear myself think.”
“Think? Really? Wow. I didn't know you were capable. Congratulations.”
Fire burns in his eyes and my back stiffens as he welcomes himself into my room. “What’s your fucking problem?” he asks, walking right up to me, his eyes like lasers burning holes into my skin.
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“Look at you,” he says, running his finger over my shoulder, lightly tracing over my tattoo before slipping his fingers beneath the thin spaghetti strap of my cotton pajama top. “You’re nothing, and yet you think you have the ability to fly.” His chest presses up against my back and my breath catches in my throat as his fingers trail down my arm, leaving a rush of goosebumps in their wake. His fingers on my skin are like burning torches, leaving behind only destruction. I have to get him out of here.
“You need to leave.”
“No, Jade. This is my home. You need to leave.” His voice is like velvet whispered against my ear, his breath brushing across my skin like butterfly wings. “Go back to the shithole you came from and leave mine alone.”
“I didn’t ask for this.”
“Then leaving shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
His other hand comes up and trails down the side of my body until he stops at my waist, squeezing gently and making me jump. “I know you want me, Oceania,” he murmurs, using my full name.
I scoff. “In your dreams, asshole.”
He continues as if I hadn’t said a single word. “I see the way you watch me when you think I’m not looking, I feel your eyes on me. I can feel your desperation. You want to feel me all over you. You want to taste me, feel me pushing inside of you.” His words have me falling into a trance and I find myself pressing my ass back into his crotch, his very hard crotch, but his next words are like having a bucket of ice-cold water tipped over my head. “You want me to make you scream so you can forget your pathetic existence. But guess what? I’ll never touch you. You’ll never be good enough for me, for my friends, for my town. You’re nothing.”
I turn in his arms, looking up into his deadly hazel eyes. He keeps his hands on my body as though he thinks his touch is some sort of torture. “You’ve got it all wrong,” I say, sliding my hand down his stomach and over the front of his pants until I feel his hard length against my fingers. He sucks in a tight breath and I resist jumping up and down in victory. “I couldn’t give a shit about getting in your pants because you have nothing to offer a woman except money bags and a big cock, apart from that you’re nothing. Women see you as a one fuck and leave type. A playboy with nothing to offer. No woman would ever stick around for more with you. In fact, I doubt you would even recognize a real woman when you saw one.”
Colton’s eyes narrow and I curl my fingers more securely around his cock, slowly working my way up and down his hard length despite his pants being in the way. He might act like nothing gets to him and that I'm a nobody he wouldn't even consider touching, but the truth of the matter is that I have him by the balls and he hasn’t stopped touching me since he stepped into my room.
“You are right about one thing, Carrington. I will never sleep with you. Not because I’m not woman enough for you but because you’re not man enough for me. You live off Daddy’s good fortune and wouldn’t know anything about living in the real world and making something of yourself. I wonder where you’d be if you didn’t have Daddy to bail you out every time.”
“You know nothing about me.”
“On the contrary, I know far too much.”
My grin finally starts to spread across my face and I give his cock a light squeeze. I raise up onto my tippy-toes, feeling his fingers tighten on my waist, steadying me. My lips hover by his ear and I nip the bottom of his lobe feeling victory with how he caves under my touch. “I win, Colton. You keep coming at me, over and over again and each time, I’ll keep biting back harder. You can’t go to war against someone who has nothing to lose.”
His eyes come to mine and our lips are a breath away. His arm curls around my back and with a hard tug, he pulls my body in flush against his. “If it’s a war you want, Jade, don’t be fooled, you’ll fucking get one and I can guarantee that you’ll lose.”
My lips brush against his, not as a kiss, but just because we’re that close. “Do your worst, Carrington.”
Without warning, his lips crush against mine and I swallow a gasp, unable to pull myself back. His tongue dives into my mouth and I find myself kissing him back until suddenly he’s gone and my door is slammed behind him.
What in the ever-loving fuck was that?
I’m left standing in my room, my breath coming in hard, sharp pants as my lips swell from his kiss. I fucking hate Colton Carrington but at the same time, I’ve never been so excite
d. Bringing him down is going to be the best thing I ever do.
Chapter 8
“Holy shit,” Milo howls with laughter, grabbing my arm and pulling me to a stop. He spins me around and points out the parking space beside Colton’s to reveal none other than Jude Carter with two black eyes, a broken nose, and his arm bandaged.
“Oh, no,” I groan. They found him.
“What?” Milo questions. “Who found him?”
My eyes bug out. Crap, I didn’t realize I’d said that out loud. “Uhh ... no one,” I rush out.
As if hearing my voice from all the way across the lot, Jude spins around, his eyes zoning in on mine and getting darker by the second. He starts storming toward me and my heart rate picks up.
“The fuck is his problem?” Milo grunts, gripping my arm tightly and stepping his large body protectively in front of me as though I need his help. I haven’t told him what happened last night, and I doubt I ever will. Maybe I should let him in on one little secret; I’m not some little bitch who can’t handle her own problems. Hell, maybe that’s a little something I need to remind Nic of as well.
To Milo’s horror, I step out from behind him. “Let him come,” I tell Milo as he gawks at me. “I can handle my shit.”
“Do I even want to know what happened to him?”
“Trust me, it’s better if you don’t.”
Jude is only a few car spaces away when Charlie and Spencer rush in and step in front of him. Jude starts swinging punches, but in his state, he doesn’t land a single blow. ‘“Get the fuck off me,” he spits at his friends.
Tough Sh*t: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 1) Page 8