Damn, this boy can kiss but I refuse to get carried away. I’m not starting something with Charlie that I won’t be finishing. I pull back, keeping my lips hovered right over his. “Colton’s right,” I whisper. “I’m not down for anything except to fuck you over.”
His eyes blaze with need. “Please fuck me over.”
Colton’s scoff has my eyes shooting back up to see raging jealousy that seems to disappear the second my eyes land on his. Confusion sweeps through me but Spencer quickly steals my attention. “Come on, man,” he says. “You’re all fucking talk. Look at her, she needs a fucking man to keep her satisfied. You’ve seen the guys she’s used to hanging out with. You couldn’t cut it.”
Wait. When did Charlie see my boys?
Charlie looks back at his friend and flips him the bird before stepping out of my legs and sitting up on the counter beside me, still keeping his hand on my thigh, though it doesn't go unnoticed that Colton can’t stop staring at it. “Trust me,” Charlie says with a cocky grin, looking at Spencer. He squeezes his hand on my thigh and trails it a little higher, making a desperate thrill sweep through me. When was the last time I got laid? “I can give her exactly what she needs.”
“Please,” Spencer scoffs, meeting my eyes. “You ever want a real man to show you what’s up, all you have to do is call.”
I raise a brow as tension seems to roll off Charlie in waves. I didn’t take him as the possessive type but then I guess I don’t really know these guys. What I do know is that Charlie thinks that he has some kind of claim on me and that shit is not about to fly.
I keep my gaze pinned on Spencer and gently lower my finger to my thigh. I watch as he zones in on it then I slowly begin sliding it up toward the promised land. I feel Colton’s heated gaze, just as heavily focused on my thigh as his friends but I don't dare look away from Spencer. This game is too much fun. “You think you can handle me?” I murmur, my voice low and full of seduction.
Spencer licks his dry lips as his eyes become hooded. “I know I can,” he says. “You won’t be able to walk after I'm through with you.”
I bite my bottom lip just to be a tease then open my legs wider. “Then what are you waiting for?” I whisper, knowing damn well these three boys can hear me perfectly well. They’re desperate for my every word. “Come and get it.”
Spencer’s eyes go wide as his brows shoot up. Hesitation filters through his features and I laugh under my breath. Charlie’s hand tightens again while Colton’s eyes seem to darken even more.
I scoot to the edge of the counter which has Charlie’s hand falling off my thigh then jump down. I cross to the other side and walk straight into Spencer’s open legs. His hands instinctively fall to my waist and I grin up at him. “Your hesitation tells me everything I need to know,” I taunt. “You're all talk, but what’s more is how easily affected you are. I didn’t even touch you and I had you eating out of the palm of my hand. You're weak, Spencer. Charlie might be willing to make a fool of himself and get screwed over in the process but at least he went for it. He didn’t hesitate.”
Charlie howls with laughter as Spencer's eyes darken in rage. He likes showing himself up. He likes being the guy who can do no wrong but being called out for his bullshit … no, that doesn’t sit well.
“Watch it,” he growls deeply.
I shake my head. “No, you watch it. The next time you come promising a girl that you have what it takes to make her scream, make sure you can follow through with the goods. There's nothing worse than getting into bed with a guy to find out he has absolutely no idea what he’s doing and I’m sorry to tell you, Spencer, but you just proved in less than two seconds that you’re exactly that guy.”
I give him a sweet smile then push up onto my tippy toes and press a feather-soft kiss on his cheek before he has a chance to tell me to fuck off. “You’re sweet though, so there’s that.”
With that, I turn and walk away but not before stopping at Colton and resting my hand against his chest. “Same goes for you, big guy,” I murmur, capturing his deep gaze and holding it hostage. “All talk.”
Something flashes in his eyes but I don’t hang around to find out what because there’s no doubt in my mind that given the chance, he’ll be the one to follow through and if he did, it would destroy me.
Chapter 22
Colton’s thick fingers push up into me, making me groan deeply and hold onto him with everything I have, desperately needing more. They plunge deep, reaching me in places I never even knew about.
In. Out. In. Out. It’s the best kind of torture.
Why have I waited so long for this? I should have just let him have me that first time in my room.
My hand curls up around his back until my fingers are knotted in his messy hair. His thumb presses against my clit and starts making slow, painful circles that have my orgasm creeping up on me. He’s barely touched me. How is it possible to be so close to the edge already?
Colton’s hand grabs the base of my neck and tightens. I suck in a breath and meet his heated gaze. Hazel pools of desire look back at me and I want to drown in them, swim in their depths until he completely claims me.
Yes. Fuck. This is everything.
My chest presses up against his and he stretches out his fingers against my neck, his thumb pushing up against my jaw and forcing my head aside. His full lips instantly take advantage, kissing me below my ear and turning every nerve ending into a writhing mess of elation.
His tongue starts working over my sensitive skin as his fingers pick up their pace. He adds a third finger and a loud, guttural groan is pulled from deep within me.
“Colton,” I pant. “Yes.”
My orgasm creeps closer. I feel it there, so desperate to let it go. It builds higher and higher and every touch has me needing more. It’s torture. Sweet, sweet torture.
Freezing water begins to pool around me and my eyes fly open only to find myself staring up at the starry sky. What the actual fuck. I go to start looking around and find my mattress completely soaked and quickly sinking into the pool.
A loud gasp tears out of me and I throw myself to my feet on top of the mattress. The cool air of the night quickly hits my skin and freezes my wet body. I have to jump. I’m right in the fucking middle, but more importantly, how the fuck did I get here? I might have drunk way too much at that party but I can guarantee that I didn’t drag my mattress out here and decide to sleep in the middle of the fucking pool.
Laughter catches my attention and my head snaps up.
My fucking question is answered.
The four fucking douchebags of Bellevue Springs sit around the pool with a fire burning watching my struggle. Without a doubt, I know that they snuck into the pool house and somehow lifted my mattress off my bed with me sleeping on top of it.
Fucking pricks.
Chills sweep through my body. I hadn’t minded so much when it was Colton sneaking into my room while I slept. Yeah, I was vulnerable but for some stupid reason, I trusted him not to hurt me. Spencer and Jude in my room while I sleep? Yeah, that’s different.
“Were you having a sex dream?” Charlie yells out, laughing and making the others snicker even more.
Fuck. Please don’t tell me I said anything in my sleep that I'm going to regret.
I look at Colton and from the smug look in his eyes, it’s damn clear that I had and they know exactly who I was dreaming about. Shit, I might as well own it. I look back at Charlie with a cocky grin. “So, what if I was? It’s not like it was about you.”
His face falls and just as I go to celebrate my win, the mattress completely submerges and I fall deep into the cold water.
Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck. It’s freezing in here. What the hell happened to it being a heated pool? Where’s the fucking hot water when you need it?
I break the surface and suck in a deep breath. The party-goers are well and truly gone and seeing as though it’s not completely pitch dark out here, I’m going to assume that it's creeping up to six in
the morning.
I trudge out of the pool and glare at each of them. “I fucking hate you pricks.”
“Don’t worry, Jade,” Jude spits, using Colton’s name for me and somehow making it sound like degrading trash in the process, but judging by the scowl on Colton’s face, he doesn’t appreciate it. “We don’t like you either.”
“Speak for yourself,” Charlie mutters, getting up and meeting me with a towel in hand.
I take it from him without so much as a thank you and quickly wrap it around my freezing body. Desperately needing to warm up and not wanting to wake mom, I huddle around the boys' fire. Soon enough, I find myself being pulled down beside Charlie, who doesn’t seem too put out by the fact that my sex dream wasn’t about him.
It’s not as though I’ll be able to get back to sleep after that, even if I did have a bed to sleep in. I swear, Colton better have it replaced by tonight otherwise I’ll be taking his bed and he can sleep on the mattress at the bottom of the pool.
The boys talk among themselves almost as if I’m not here and a strange comfort takes over me. It’s kind of like being back home and chilling out with my crew. For the first time I don’t want to hate these guys, though every time a drop of water falls from my hair and splashes against my knee, the anger rises back up.
I hate that I feel so comfortable here. I should be tearing my hair out, desperate to get as far as possible, but the thought of getting up and leaving doesn’t sit well with me. There are a million other options I could have taken to dry up and get warm. I could have gone inside and stood under a hot shower, I could have cranked up the heating, yet here I am, sitting out in the cool early morning with a bunch of dudes who have all declared their mutual dislike for me.
What the fuck is wrong with me? Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment. I can’t deny the way Colton has me all pent up after every time he tries to humiliate me. Every time his harsh words hit my chest, I’m left in a puddle of desire. Every time his sharp glare turns my way, I need to touch him. Whenever he looks down at me, I’m desperate to show him what he’s missing. There’s got to be something wrong with me because that shit isn’t normal.
That dream though … that felt so damn real. I wonder what the real thing is like?
Charlie knocks his knee against mine, distracting me from my torturous thoughts and making me realize that I’ve been subconsciously staring at the guy sitting across from me. “You okay?”
I raise a brow and look up at him. “You actually care?”
“Of course I do,” he murmurs, keeping our conversation private. “I may be a flirt and enjoy watching you get your ass handed to you, but I’m not a complete dick. I have a heart buried inside here somewhere.”
“Could have fooled me,” I laugh.
“Ah huh,” he grins. “So my plan is working.”
I roll my eyes and nudge him with my shoulder. “You’re such an idiot,” I tell him before pausing a moment. “Why are you so nice to me? These other guys are pricks and go out of their way to make life hell, but you … I don’t know. You’re different.”
Charlie considers my question for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “What can I say? I like to be unpredictable.” I give him a blank stare, not pleased with his bullshit response. He lets out a sigh and starts over. “I don’t get off on hurting beautiful women like they do. It’s as simple as that. I’m all about love, not war and right now, the bullshit between you and the boys is creeping dangerously close to war.”
“I think it’s already there.”
He shakes his head. “No, it’s not,” he says, glancing up and looking at Colton who hasn’t taken his eyes off us since I first sat down. “Things are … changing.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know,” he murmurs, deep in thought. “Colton isn’t hurting you for the sake of being a dick. There’s something there and it’s thrown him off his game, and when Colton is off, the whole of Bellevue Springs is off.”
“What kind of bullshit explanation is that? I’m more confused now than before you said anything.” Charlie grins wide and his smile blows me away so I move along before I do something stupid. “What about the other two? Why do they need to be pricks? Are they that far up Colton’s ass that they need to impress him with their douchey skills?”
Charlie barks out a sharp laugh that has Jude and Spencer looking our way, but they're a little too far away to hear what’s being said. “No,” he says. “That’s just them. Jude is just a fucking prick. I would have warned you to stay away from him but he tried his usual bullshit on you before I got the chance. Unfortunately, I think you learned that lesson the hard way and Spencer … Spence is just your usual brand of arrogance. He likes getting the upper hand and the fact that you shut him down so epicly during the party is a big part of why you’re still sitting here and not being burned at a stake. I don’t know how but what you said has somehow earned his respect.”
“Bullshit. Really?”
Charlie shrugs his shoulders again. “It seems that way. Had it been me, it would have just pissed me off, but Spencer finds respect in people who demand it.”
“And how am I meant to earn Colton’s?”
“Baby, you got that the second you showed up.”
My eyes narrow as my brows pinch in confusion. Surely this guy is talking shit because there’s no way I have Colton Carrington’s respect. It’s just not possible but the way Charlie is looking at me with honesty in his eyes, he’s telling his truth.
“Come on,” he says when I don’t respond. “Enough of this heavy bullshit. Let’s go inside. I’ll make you a coffee to warm you up.”
I nod and allow him to pull me along while feeling the heat of Colton’s gaze on my back.
This whole thing is confusing me. One minute Colton hates me and the next he’s protecting me from his father. He sat with me while I scrubbed the wall, opened up to me in his room, he gave me insight into his life, and even let me steal his credit card to fix my hair when my heart was crushed. What’s happening here? There’s an intense sexual tension between us and every time another guy even looks my way, he looks jealous as hell. So, why does he act the way he does? Why tear me down? Why stand above the school pool and watch me below the water, testing my limits? Why call me the help and make me feel small?
I’m not too daft to realize that he’s interested. That’s just common sense, though it’s probably just my body he’s interested in. Is it his precious reputation he’s trying to protect? Will his world come crashing down in burning flames if people were to realize that he was nice to the help?
I don’t understand this world, but more importantly, I don’t want to. To understand it would mean to be one of them and that’s something that’ll never happen. My roots are back home and that’s where I belong, even if it makes me trash.
Charlie leads me into the kitchen and instantly grabs my waist to hoist me up onto the counter. He silently works around me, setting up the fancy as fuck coffee machine that I’ve been avoiding since being here. It’s far too complicated for me but Charlie handles it like a pro.
“You’re really not a bad guy, are you?” I question, watching him work.
He shakes his head and looks back at me with a sparkle hitting his eye. “Nope. I just like to pretend. You know I heard girls are into bad boys.”
I laugh and gently kick out my leg, hitting his hip. “Girls love a bad boy, but you’re not one of them.”
“So, I don't have you fooled?”
I laugh, finding him more endearing than I should. “Not in the least.”
“Damn,” he mutters, pulling the coffee mug free and handing it over.
I take it eagerly and groan as the heat from the mug seeps through to my cold hands. Damn, that feels good. Unable to help myself, I raise the mug to my lips and take a quick sip, closing my eyes as the satisfaction rocks through me. I let out a soft sigh. “Shit, that’s good,” I murmur, opening my eyes to find Charlie standing right in
front of me, his eyes heated as he watches the elation on my face.
“Fuck, I didn’t realize that I could get hard over coffee.”
Charlie steps into me and I feel him pressing up against my core, sending my mind into overdrive. My legs curl around him, holding him there as he stares into my eyes. The coffee mug is plucked from between my hands and placed down on the counter beside me.
He grinds against me and we both groan. The need within me spikes and turns into a desperate desire. It’s been over six months since I was with someone, and the last few times I’ve tried to get off I’ve been rudely interrupted.
Charlie slides a hand dangerously high on my thigh and I let out a breathy pant. If only he would touch me just to take the edge off. His lips drop to my collar bone and start pressing tortuous kisses up toward my ear. “I want you,” he says, his voice low and gravelly, filled with all sorts of need and desire.
I curl my hands around his back and slip them up his shirt, feeling the tight muscles beneath his skin. He’s so warm and inviting. I want to feel his body all over me, inside of me.
“If you don’t want this, you need to tell me now,” he warns.
I groan and tighten my legs around his waist, pressing him harder against my center. “Don’t stop.”
“Fuck, baby. I want to fuck you so bad.”
It’s like music to my ears.
“Only if you promise to be rough.”
A low guttural growl pulls from deep within his chest as his hands find my ass. He picks me up off the counter as though I’m as light as a feather, not once taking his lips from my neck. Charlie starts walking and right now, I don't even care where he takes me. Hell, if the guys weren’t sitting right outside the door with a perfect view of the kitchen, I would have demanded he fuck me right there on the counter.
At the thought of the guys, I can't help but raise my eyes over Charlie’s shoulder. Colton watches us with a raging fire burning brightly behind his hazel eyes. If looks could kill, Charlie would be dead but he can’t do anything about it. If he treated me well, this might have been him. I would have happily rode him all night long. I would have blown his shallow little mind, but he wants to play games and because of that, I’m about to fuck one of his best friends and I’m going to enjoy it.
Tough Sh*t: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rejects Paradise Book 1) Page 24