I gulp. The boy has a hot body, I’ll give him that.
His hair is damp, and his friends are dressed similarly. They must’ve gone for a late-night swim.
I’m sure they’re not supposed to do that, considering that they’re completely unsupervised. Plus, there’s no lifeguard on duty.
“Ava Callahan, what the hell are you doing out here, girl?” Eli whistles low, his gaze still running over me slowly, making my skin grow warm the longer his eyes linger.
I take a step back, fear racing through me. My lips fall open like I’m about to say something, but nothing comes out.
Instead, I turn around.
And run.
Five
Eli
What the hell? Did Ava just run away from us?
From me?
“Go get her!” Brenden yells, making the other guys with us start laughing.
I toss my wet, heavy towel at him and take off in a full run, my feet eating up the space between Ava and I within seconds, even wearing the slides. I can see her blonde hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, wobbling back and forth. Those shorts she has on are so short, I can almost see her ass cheeks.
Damn.
It’s too easy, how fast I catch up with her. She’s panting, and I’m barely breaking a sweat. Reaching out, I grab hold of her hood and give it a gentle tug, pulling her toward me. She stumbles, loses her footing, but before she can hit the ground I’ve got my arms around her middle, keeping her in place. Her back is to my front, her fragrant hair right at chin level, and I can smell her floral shampoo.
It smells nice.
“Let me go,” she says, struggling against my hold. I’ve barely got a grip on her, and she almost gets away from me.
“I don’t think so,” I tell her, clamping my arms tightly around her waist, holding her in place. Her ass is pressed against my junk, and she keeps squirming and moving. Fuck.
She’s driving me crazy. The good and bad kind.
“I’m going to scream,” she tells me, her voice full of indignation and fire. The hoodie she’s wearing is soft and warm, and it’s almost as if it burns against my bare skin. “If you don’t let go of me, I’m going to yell my head off. When my dad comes out here and sees you holding me like this? He’s going to murder you.”
“You want to cause a big scene the first night you’re here?” My voice is full of doubt, because I don’t believe her. Nope. She won’t do that. She’s a perfect Callahan—perhaps the most perfect one of them all. She won’t want her image tarnished. Everyone who lives in our community knows the Callahans shine bright, brighter than most people. It’s one of their best—and most annoying, if you ask me—qualities. “I’ll tell whoever comes out here to rescue you that you planned this.”
She goes completely still. “Planned what?”
“That you wanted to meet me.” I tilt my head toward hers, my mouth close to her ear. “For a little midnight rendezvous.”
She shivers. I feel it. From fear? No way. She’s not scared of me.
I don’t think this girl is scared much of anything.
“Oh come on. You would never say that,” she practically growls, which makes me laugh.
“Go ahead then. Scream. Test me.” I press my cheek to hers and breathe deep. She smells unbelievable. Like sunshine. She’s soft as sin and just about the prettiest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on. “See what I’ll say when they all come running.”
Ava’s quiet. So am I. But I don’t move. I continue to hold her, my head nestled close to hers. A shuddery breath leaves her. I readjust my arms, my fingers brushing against the front pocket on her hoodie, and I can feel something inside it.
“What do you got here?” I ask, reaching into her pocket to yank out a crumpled bag.
“That’s not yours!” she whispers harshly, leaning her head away from mine so she can turn and glare at me. This close, I can see just how green her eyes are. Her pert nose. Those plump pink lips.
Ignoring her and how tempting she is, I shake open the bag with one hand and peer inside. “Firecrackers?” I meet her gaze. Can’t miss that it’s blazing with anger. I bet she hates my guts. “It’s a little early for the 4th of July, don’t you think?”
“Give them back,” she says, her teeth clenched.
“You were up to no good with these, huh? Who were you really meeting outside?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.
That and an annoying dose of jealousy.
“No one.” She struggles against my hold once more, so aggressively, the bag slips from my fingers and drops to the ground. Doesn’t matter. Like I’m going to do anything with firecrackers.
This entire forest is like a giant tinderbox, ready and waiting to go up in flames with one lit match.
“I don’t believe you. I think little miss Ava has a secret,” I say, teasing her instead of interrogating her, which is what I really want to do. “Sneaking out late at night to meet your secret boyfriend? Let me guess, he’s the biggest rebel on the team, and your father hates him. But that’s what makes him so attractive, right? That’s why you want the bad boy. So you can fuck him all night long, knowing how mad that would make your daddy when he finds out.”
I don’t even know what compels me to say that shit, but it feels good to get it out. Perfect people annoy me. When everything looks so good on the outside, you know there’s some damage behind the walls. There has to be.
Is she as perfect as she looks? Doubtful. Is she as snotty as she acts?
I’m guessing no.
Oh, and she’s really struggling now. My arms are getting a good workout, as I do my best to restrain her. Shit, so is my dick. I can barely stand her thrashing about, that perfect ass of hers rubbing against me, making me rise to the occasion. If she doesn’t watch it, she’s gonna find out exactly how she’s affecting me in about a minute.
“You’re such a prick,” she bites out.
“Please, like you don’t think about the many ways you could get back at your dad by secretly messing around with all the assholes on his team,” I tell her, loosening my hold just the slightest bit.
Once again, she stops struggling, her breathing heavy. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
Yeah right. She’s too hot not to have someone hitting that on the regular. “Not even a secret one?”
“Not even a secret one,” she repeats, her voice all of a sudden calm.
Too calm.
“Who were you waiting for then?” I ask yet again. I’m dying to know. I give her a little shake with my arms. “Huh?”
“I told you. No one.” She goes completely still. I swear it’s like she’s barely breathing. “Why do you even care?”
Yeah. Good question. “I don’t.”
“Uh huh.” I feel like she’s trying to turn the tables on me. My hold loosens on her, but she doesn’t run away. Nope, she stays right in my arms, and I realize she fits almost…
Perfectly in them.
“No secret boyfriend then, hmm?” I ask, trying to get back on task. That is, trying to find out more info about her.
“Why are you so concerned with my love life?” she asks.
“Supposedly you don’t have one.” I duck my head again and nuzzle her ear with my nose. She tries to block me, her shoulders rising, but I press my face against her soft neck and whisper into her skin, “Meet me tomorrow night and we can work on that.”
“What did you just say?” Her voice is like ice.
Wouldn’t it just drive her brother crazy if he knew I was planning secret meetings with his sister? Jake would lose his shit. Hell, so would her daddy, but he won’t ever find out. Neither will Jake.
Or should Jake find out? He’d be so pissed. I get great satisfaction from burrowing under Jake’s skin. He hates me. He’s hated me since the day we met, for no apparent reason. Now I just give him reasons to hate me on purpose.
It’s more fun that way.
“You heard me.” Deciding I’ve got nothing to lose, I slowly lick
her neck. A strangled whimper sounds deep in her throat, filling me with satisfaction. “Meet me right here tomorrow night. Midnight. You don’t show up, I’ll tell everyone you agreed to be my homecoming date. At my school.”
Lame, but can you imagine? Me bringing Jake Callahan’s sister to my school dance? People would shit themselves.
“You wouldn’t dare.” She sounds downright scandalized.
“Don’t try me.” I bite her ear. Another shiver steals over her.
I think she likes it.
“My brother will kick your ass,” she threatens.
I scoff. “Callahan doesn’t scare me.”
“I’ll sic all his friends on you too. They’ll destroy you.” There’s a note of satisfaction in her otherwise sweet voice, like she’s getting off on the idea of me getting my face pummeled in.
Who knew she’d fight back so easily? The girls I know, they always give in. Give me whatever I want. They offer it without me having to ask, and that’s…boring.
I want a challenge. I need one. Ava Callahan is…
Perfect.
“Bring it on.” My lips brush her ear once. Twice. “I’ll gladly go to war over you, Ava. And I’ll win every fuckin’ battle. Watch me,” I whisper.
More heavy breathing comes from her, her tits rising and falling with her every breath. She hangs her head, staring at the ground and I shift my torso away from her so I can look at her pretty face.
Big mistake.
It’s like it happens in slow motion. One second she’s perfectly calm and barely moving. The next, she’s lifting her leg, her knee rising up.
And then she’s stomping her white Nike shoe directly on my flip flop wearing foot with all her weight. Which isn’t much, but still.
The heel of her shoe makes direct contact with my big toe.
“Shit!” The word falls out of me, loud as hell as my arms spring open. Ava darts forward, bending down to grab the stupid bag of firecrackers before she takes off in a full run, heading right toward the cabin her family is staying in.
My toe is throbbing. I can feel the pulsating throughout my entire body. My friends appear out of nowhere, all of them running toward me with frantic expressions on their faces. Yet I’m somehow laughing. I’m not even mad, despite the pain radiating through me. “See ya tomorrow night!” I call after her.
“Burn in hell!” she tosses over her shoulder.
I throw my head back and laugh, shaking my foot to try and get rid of the pain, though I know that won’t work. Fuck, this girl.
I think I’m in love.
Six
Ava
Eli Bennett is the devil. The spawn of Satan. Lucifer incarnate.
Whatever you want to call him, he’s bad.
Awful.
He held me against my will.
He dared me to scream bloody murder.
He kept brushing his hands against my chest, like he was trying to feel me up.
He demanded that I meet him again, and if I don’t comply, he plans on telling everyone we’re dating. Please.
Like seriously, who does that? What kind of person is he?
A terrible one, that’s for sure.
I’m steaming for the entire day. The. Entire. Day. I keep reliving what he said to me. What he did to me. How he licked my neck. Bit my ear.
I don’t like to think about how he made me feel when he did those things. When he held me so close. Little shivers racing all over my skin. My heart pounding extra fast. I wanted to die when I felt his tongue on my flesh. Worse, I wanted to…I don’t know.
Make a noise? Moan? Tell him how good it felt?
I push those disturbing thoughts firmly out of my mind.
When his teeth sunk into my earlobe, it was just hard enough to make it hurt. A barely there sting. This foreign pulsing sensation throbbed between my legs, and I may not have much experience, but I know what it was.
Desire.
Thank God, those moments were fleeting. A mistake. My body’s automatic reaction to a boy—a very attractive, extremely rude and terrible boy—touching me in a sexual manner. I sound so logical, I can almost believe myself.
Truthfully? I’m just mad. I could barely sleep. An unfamiliar bed plus complete and utter disgust left me tossing and turning all night. I kept punching my pillow, imagining it was Eli’s smug face.
God, I really, really hate him.
Jake found me at breakfast, apologizing profusely for not being there when I accused him of ditching me. He and his friends chickened out, he explained. They couldn’t sneak out of the cabin without getting caught, so they gave up.
Leaving me out there all alone, so I could meet up with the boys who were brave enough to sneak out. Like Eli and his asshole friends.
None of those friends ran to my defense, though I suppose they probably never would, considering who I’m related to. Still, they suck.
Eli sucks.
Everyone sucks.
I spend the majority of my day with Mom and Beck. There are a few staff members on hand for the coaches’ families’ entertainment. We went on a morning hike, which was beautiful and serene but didn’t much ease my annoyance. After lunch, they take us out on a huge boat, which thrills Beck to death. He fishes and even catches a few, and Mom can’t stop snapping photos the whole afternoon, like it’s a major life event.
Me? I spend the entire boat ride stretched out on a bench in my bikini top and shorts and soak up the sun, going over what happened last night again and again. It’s so warm outside, and the boat bobs up and down in the water, lulling me to sleep. By the time we’re headed back to the dock, I’ve got a slight headache and a sunburn, despite my liberal application of sunscreen.
This weekend just keeps getting better and better.
Once we’re back at the cabin, I take a cool shower, wincing every time the water hits a sensitive spot on my body. My head is killing me. I blame lack of sleep and possibly my clenched jaw due to immense anger.
Clearly, I have issues. Maybe I’m more like my brother than I ever realized.
By the time dinner rolls around, I’m doing my best to beg off having to go.
“I don’t feel good,” I tell Mom for the tenth time as I follow her around the kitchen. “Please. I just want to go to bed early.”
And forget this day—this entire trip—ever happened.
Mom whirls around to face me, concern written all over her face. “What’s wrong? Do you feel ill?” She rests her hand across my forehead, and I duck away from her touch. “Maybe you got too much sun.”
“That’s definitely it,” I tell her with a firm nod. “Plus, my head hurts. I don’t want to have to deal with those loud boys in the dining hall.”
One in particular who I’m trying to avoid.
“You should take some ibuprofen,” she suggests.
“Already done.” I popped three and chugged an entire bottle of water the moment we entered the cabin.
Mom watches me for a moment, her brows lowered, her green eyes seeing everything.
Well.
Not everything.
Thank God.
If she knew what Eli did to me, she’d be pissed. She’d tell Dad. And then Dad would go talk to Eli and his coach and get his ass in trouble. No thanks. I won’t be responsible for that.
I don’t want to cause any trouble between the two teams. The rivalry is bad enough as it is. If keeping my mouth shut protects Eli, then lucky him.
This is why I plan on keeping what happened between us last night to myself.
“Fine. You can stay here. But don’t go anywhere, okay?” She wags her finger at me, and I throw my arms up.
“Where am I going to go? I’m totally stuck here,” I say irritably.
Mom says nothing. She doesn’t have to. I think she can feel my frustration. She just doesn’t have any idea what—more like who—is the cause of it.
And I’m not going to tell her either.
I haven’t seen Eli at all today. Not even a glimpse.
I’m so glad, I could practically scream with joy. I want to avoid him as much as possible. From what I can see, the teams are being kept extremely busy. Doing drills, exercises, special games—crap I don’t know. I don’t pay attention to football. That was more Autumn’s job. She and Dad bonded over the game, and I never showed much interest.
Now that I’m going to be on the cheer team, I guess I’ll need to start figuring it out.
Mom and Beck eventually take off to dinner, leaving me behind. I head upstairs to my room and collapse on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It’s warm. The cabins don’t have air conditioning and despite the window being open and a pleasant breeze wafting in, it’s still hot. The sun is blazing against the window. Heat rises, so the second floor is…bad.
Irritated, I sit up and pull off my T-shirt, then kick off my shorts. I lay there in my black bralette and undies on top of the comforter, but I’m still too hot.
Climbing off the bed, I pull off all the bedding. The comforter, the thin blanket, the top sheet—I let it all pile on the floor at the foot of the bed. I lay back down on the cool sheets and just lay there with my arms stretched out. I control my breathing. My eyes fall closed…
“Mom, let’s watch a movie!”
I startle awake at the sound of my brother’s voice, my gaze going to the ceiling. Sitting up quickly, I look around, pushing my hair out of my face. It’s dark now. The sun is long gone, though it’s still light outside. Grabbing my phone, I check the time. It’s past eight-thirty.
Thank God I was actually able to take a nap.
Bored, I decide to take another shower, grabbing some clothes to change into before I open the bedroom door. I find my mom in the hallway, stopping short when she sees me.
“I was just coming to check on you.”
“I feel better,” I tell her, which is the truth. “My headache is gone.”
Addicted To Him Page 4