Needing to pee, I get up and make my way around the boat to find Colton lounged back on a couch with a girl dancing over him. Her bikini top is nowhere to be found and up until I walked around here, she had his full attention.
His eyes snap to mine and as I walk across the back of the boat to the stairs, that’s exactly where they stay. As the girl dances on him, he watches me and it’s as though he’s waiting for some kind of reaction.
He's right to wait too. He knows it bothers me yet neither of us can understand why. For some damn reason, he has my attention and I have his but I’m sure as hell not about to break. Without taking my eyes from his, I find my way to the stairs and start walking down.
I’ll be damned if Colton Carrington ever gets the best of me again.
Chapter 15
Colton’s Veneno comes to a stop in the massive garage and I gawk as I glance around. I’ve never been in here before but it’s just as I was hoping. It’s piled high with collector cars. It’s like a fucking showroom in here. Absolutely insane.
Dad would be in heaven, though he already is.
I get out of the car and seeing as though there’s no other door out of his garage, I have no choice but to cut through the house to get out to the pool house and unfortunately for me, that probably means running into Harrison. I didn't see him this morning but I’d be smart to assume that he’s still not moved past my little tantrum last night.
Mom though, I don’t know how she’s going to feel about this. She’s not one to hold a grudge and had said her piece last night, but this is a different world and we have more at stake now. I promised her that I’d be on my best behavior and in one easy go, I snapped that promise like a twig. Besides, while she’ll never admit that she likes her job as a housekeeper for some rich guys, I know she really loves it here. She feels important in her role, needed, and appreciated. It’s not a feeling that comes around often in Breakers Flats.
I follow Colton out of the garage and just like everywhere else we’ve gone today, it’s done in absolute silence. “Where the hell have you been?” Charles roars the second we step out of the foyer, making me wonder if he’d been sitting here waiting all day when in reality he probably just had Harrison notify him when the Veneno came through the front gates.
Colton spins around and I stand in the opening of the foyer as awkwardly as possible. “Took the boat out,” Colton says factually.
Charles raises a brow and a vein appears at his temple, the only sign that he’s about to blow. “You did what?” he roars. “You knew what today was. Do you have any idea how incompetent you made yourself and this family look?”
Colton scoffs. “Fuck this family and your goddamn board. I don’t want to take over your stupid business and I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about your fucked up business meetings. Leave me the fuck out of them.”
Charles looks taken back but it’s clear this isn’t a new argument. “When I schedule you a meeting with the board, I expect you to be there. I don’t care what you want in life. You will take over the business and you’ll do it with a fucking smile on your face.”
I gape at the man who, up until now, has always seemed so incredibly nice. He's always been hospitable, caring, and welcoming, but right now, I’m seeing a completely different person. It’s as though the Charles I met during the week, the one who helped me with the stupid sexist school doesn’t even exist. Was it all an act? Because this man right here, this is the real Charles Carrington, the arrogant rich asshole I was expecting him to be all along. So why the act? Why try and get mom and me on board with the Mr. Wonderful routine?
Colton scoffs and goes to walk away but when Charles steps toward him, Colton flinches and my back straightens. What the fuck was that about?
As if remembering that he’s bigger than Charles, Colton raises his chin and narrows his eyes. “Find someone else to take over your precious business.”
“Keep talking like that and you’ll be finding some other rich bastard to fund your luxurious lifestyle.”
Colton narrows his eyes at his father but it doesn’t last long as Charles' rage turns on me. “Is this your doing?”
“My doing?” I question, throwing my hands up in innocence.
“Your little outing with my son,” he demands, stepping toward me. “Don’t think I didn’t notice your scandalous behavior at last night’s event. Dancing with that Rinaldi boy all night and then trying to make a fool of my son by pouring drinks all over him and causing a scene. Don’t act like I don’t know about those boys you have coming and going from the pool house all the time.”
“I…”
“ANSWER ME?” he roars.
Colton steps in front of me, stealing his father's attention and saving me from his scrutiny. “She had nothing to do with it. I took her because I knew you were going to be like this.”
All I can do is gape at him as the fear runs down my spine. Who the fuck is this man? Who the fuck are both of them? But more importantly, did Colton just protect me from his father? I don’t understand it. Ever since I’ve gotten here he’s tried to intimidate me, bully me, threaten some bullshit war, but when it comes down to it, he does this? If anything, he should be throwing me to the wolves, but one thing is for sure, Colton’s ‘had no choice,’ comment from earlier is starting to make sense
“You had no right,” Charles demands.
“No right?” Colton scoffs. “No right to do what? Take the girl on the boat? She’s not your property, father.”
“Isn’t she?” he asks, his eyes flicking over his son’s shoulder to take me in. “She lives in my home rent-free, I pay for her schooling, she eats my food. It certainly sounds like she’s my property.”
“The fuck?” I demand, going to step around Colton. I’m no one’s property. I don't care what the circumstances are, I don’t care how fucked up things are no one claims me as their own. Only I get to do that.
Colton’s strong arm snaps out and slams against my chest, leaving me breathless. I don't get another step before he forces me back behind him once again, promptly shutting me up. “It’s that kind of bullshit you used to say to mom and the girls that made them leave. You’re a fucking arrogant asshole, dad, and you’re running everyone out of your life. You think the people who have stayed are here because they like you?”
Charles steps into Colton and the gun in my bag starts feeling incredibly heavy. “You watch your tone, boy.”
“What are you going to do about it? Hit me? I dare you. You know you haven’t been able to land one on me for years.”
Charles’ eyes flare with the challenge but he’s not stupid, he knows Colton is right and from the look of it, it seems like that theory has been tried and tested. He pokes a finger hard into Colton’s chest. “This isn’t over,” he demands. “I’ll be rescheduling that meeting and you’ll be showing up with a fucking smile on your face even if I have to get you there myself.”
The threat sits heavy in the air as Charles walks away and I’m left standing behind Colton’s wide frame staring after him in shock.
“What the fuck just happened?”
Colton looks back at me, his eyes narrowed but not glaring like he usually does, they just look … deflated.
He lets out a breath and without another word, starts walking away. I stare after him. Like father like son, I guess, only that’s not right. Colton just spent the last ten minutes practically arguing against that very point and for some reason, I want to believe him.
I need answers and I need them now.
Not waiting another second, I race after Colton.
I get to the stairs and look up to find him lost at the top. “Hey,” I call out though it comes out as more of an order than a subtle suggestion to get his ass back down here. Colton glances back and scoffs before continuing to the top and grating on my nerves.
That fucker.
I sprint up the stairs, taking two at a time and as I reach the top, I find Colton halfway down the hall, just passing the room I used t
he first few days I stayed here, the very room where the douche watched me almost get myself off, the same room where I rubbed my body all over him and felt him come alive beneath my fingers. Don’t get me wrong here, I hated living that close to him but at the same time, I kind of miss it. How fucking wrong is that?
I reach Colton just as he pushes the door open of his bedroom and I sneak in behind just in time for it to slam behind me.
He lets out a frustrated groan and turns on me but before he can tell me to get out of his room, I demand my answers. “What the hell was that?”
“None of your fucking business,” he snaps, reaching for the door.
I throw myself in front of it, blocking his way. “No. It is my business. I live here too and if I’m going to have some psycho maniac screaming at me that I’m his fucking property, then yeah, it is my fucking business and I deserve answers.”
Colton just stares and I clench my jaw. “I will stand here for the rest of the day if I have to, and I swear to you, you won’t enjoy it.”
He backs me up right against the door and in a flash, slams his hands down on either side of my face. “I said it’s none of your fucking business.”
I raise my chin to meet his eyes. “You don’t scare me, Colton,” I say, lowering my voice. “Where I come from, you’re nothing but an arrogant prick with a chip on your shoulder just like your daddy. If you wanted to hurt me, you would have done it already and if you really wanted to go to war, you would have made a move. You’re chicken shit, Colton Carrington.”
Fury blazes behind his eyes and he hesitates for just a moment before pressing into me and crushing his lips against mine. He kisses me deeply. Not rushed and forceful like the two times before and my body instantly wakes up.
My hands fall to his chest and slide up behind his neck, tangling in his hair as his drop to my ass. He lifts me and uses his body to keep me pinned against the door as my legs wrap around his waist.
What is this? Why does it always set my body on fire?
Colton grinds against me and a moan slips from between my lips. The sound is like a drug to him and his kisses become more hungry, needier, but I'm already there meeting him with that same desire.
My hands become a tangled mess in his hair and I want nothing more than for him to strip me bare and pound into me, giving us both what we’ve been craving since that very first touch, but I can’t. Despite the fact that I made a point that it will never happen, this is Colton Carrington, the biggest douchebag I’ve ever met. He could get any girl he wanted. In fact, I don’t doubt he has them lined up just waiting for him to give them a chance. So, what is he doing with me?
He’s playing me like a puppet and every single time, I fall into his trap. Hook, line, and sinker and it won’t be long until I give him exactly what he wants. Who’d be the fool then?
Fuck.
The thought is like having a bucket of ice water thrown over my head on the coldest day of the year.
My hand tightens in his hair and I tear him away from me. “No,” I tell him. “You can’t keep doing this to avoid talking.”
His eyes narrow on mine and he dips his face dangerously low and even though his lips were just on mine, something seems so much worse now, so much darker. “If you don’t want to fuck, Jade, then leave.”
“No.”
Colton moves back just an inch and it gives me space to move, but it also means I’m no longer pinned to the door and I fall back against it, hastily unwrapping my legs to catch my fall. I keep myself pressed to the door. “Nowhere to run, Colton,” I taunt, knowing that whenever he kisses me, he flies straight out the door. “You can’t keep doing this.”
“Doing what?” he questions, moving to his bed and flopping down as though he’s not raging on the inside that I currently have him trapped.
“Playing dumb doesn’t suit you, Carrington,” I snap, knowing that one would sting.
“Yeah?” he questions. “Well playing the victim doesn’t suit you.”
“When have I ever played the victim?”
He raises a brow. “When haven’t you? Running to Dad when you couldn’t handle people at school, running your mouth to your boyfriend every time Jude even looks your way. There’s a whole fucking list of things. Though, speaking of your boyfriend, I wonder how he’s going to feel to learn that you can’t keep your fucking hands off me.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I laugh. “First off, you’ve kissed me every single time, and second, he’s not my boyfriend. I’m free to do whatever the fuck I want to do.” He scoffs and I get him back on track. “Just tell me what the fuck that bullshit downstairs was with your dad and I’ll happily leave you the hell alone.”
Colton groans and sits up but I see no signs of him giving in. “He used to hit you didn’t he?” I ask, watching him closely. His elbows rest against his knees and he drops his chin against his hands, slicing his eyes across to me, silently warning me that this topic is not up for discussion, but his silence is confirmation enough.
“Did he put his hands on your mom?”
“How is that any of your business?”
“It’s why she left, isn’t it? And she took your sisters because he was hurting them too.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“But I do. I saw it in the way you flinched when he stepped toward you. It’s like you were a defenseless kid again before you remembered that you tower over him now.”
Colton’s gaze falls back to the carpet of his room and I take his silence as another confirmation. Growing a pair of balls, I walk across the room and take his chin between my fingers and lift until his eyes are on mine. “Why did she leave you behind?”
Something changes behind his eyes that catches me off guard. It’s like a waterfall of emotions. Sad, happy, hurt, pain, and sorrow. It’s as though they soften while hardening all at the same time. “She didn’t,” he tells me, briefly making me wonder why the hell he’s allowing me to do this, even more so why he’s answering. “He hunted us down and took me back. He doesn’t care about them. They’re all there for show and every time he proved it, it gutted my sisters. Dad married solely for the reason of having a son to continue the family business the traditional way. Mom was never supposed to fall pregnant with the twins.”
“And me?” I question. “Downstairs before you blocked him. Would he have hit me?”
His brow flinches. “He thought about it but once he realized you had my protection, he wasn’t willing to see it through.”
“Why did you do that?”
He shakes his head. “Next question, Jade.”
I let out a sigh. There’s so much I could ask and I should be hitting him with it but one more wrong question and I’ll be sent out of here without another answer. I need to tread carefully. Something tells me he’s only letting his walls down because of the bullshit with his dad. Any other time and I’d have been kicked out of here before I got to taste his lips on mine.
“Why has your dad been putting on the nice guy act for me and my mom?”
Colton shakes his head again but this time it’s not because he doesn’t want to answer, it’s because he’s just as clueless as I am. “I don’t know,” he says, his eyes going far away as his hand moves to my waist. He pulls me in between his knees and it’s almost as though he hasn’t even realized he’s doing it.
Our eyes are at the same level but he doesn’t look at me, he just keeps staring off out his bedroom window, deep in thought. My hand falls to his shoulder and on instinct, slides up around the back of his neck and it’s like his body calls to me.
“Why are you friends with Jude? You realize he’s a dick, right? I mean, you’re a dick, but he’s like on a whole different level of dick. You belong as some domineering, arrogant CEO in a boardroom, swimming in pools of cash while he belongs behind bars, convicted on rape charges.”
Colton presses his lips into a tight line and while he’s not agreeing, he’s also not disagreeing and that speaks vo
lumes.
Silence falls between us and for once, it’s peaceful. It’s not the awkward, irritated silence from this morning or the frustrated and confused silence from the ride back home. It’s just kind of nice … it’s right, that is until he looks back at me and stands. “You should go.”
It’s like flipping a switch and for a moment I wonder if both he and his dad suffer from bipolar disorder. I stumble back a step and in doing that, both our hands fall to our sides, killing anything that was lingering in the air between us.
I meet his eyes for a short moment. Neither of us say a word, it’s just silence until I turn and walk straight out his door, my heart, body, and soul a complete mess.
Chapter 16
I walk into my math class just in time to hear Mr. Weathers’ sarcastic booming voice. “Alright, guys. Congratulations. Your disastrous behavior last week has earned you all a seating chart. Check the chart and take your seats. These will be your designated spots until the end of your senior year. Learn it, love it, live it.”
The fuck? No.
Everyone looks horrified as Mr. Weathers stands at the front looking as proud as punch. We all look around at one another, wondering if we take a stand what kind of action would be taken against us. There are too many personalities within this classroom, all of which don’t mix well.
Knowing better than to try and fight the system a second time so soon after the first, I reluctantly make my way over to the whiteboard and begin searching for my name.
“Get a move on, guys. We’ve got a lot to get through today,” Mr. Weathers says, earning a loud groan from the students. He smirks to himself before saying in a singsong tone, far too pleased with himself. “If you were going to be salty, then you should have brought the tequila.”
I smother a laugh. Despite how much I’m cursing the guy for giving us a seating chart, I also think he’s kind of awesome. It’s only the first day of my second week and I haven’t really had a chance to get to know him as a teacher, but so far, he’s made a good impression. His tequila comment goes a long way in helping me forgive him for the seating chart. Who knows, he might have seated me with Milo.
Tough Sh*t: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 1) Page 17