My chest tightens for Cole and the loss of his mother, and tears sting my eyes. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose a parent. Even if I don’t like mine most of the time, I’d hate to have to live without them.
“We sat here with him in silence until the sun went down. And then without saying a word, he turned and walked down to the Lowes estate.”
“Why?” I ask curiously.
“That’s where Lilly was. Celeste always watches her for him.”
I don’t like her. There’s just something about Celeste and Bruce Lowes that I don’t trust.
“Deke turned and left as well, but I walked over here and sat down.” He smiles, looking out over the calm water. “And that’s when I heard them.”
“Heard what?” I whisper.
He turns to look at me, his left hand coming up to cup my face. “Just listen.”
I stop breathing. My heart pounds wildly at his warm hand on my cheek. I feel a blush creep up my face, and I’m thankful it’s not daytime. “Kiss me,” I say without thought.
His eyes drop to my lips, and he licks his. “Demi, I can’t …”
“Please,” I beg him.
He sighs heavily. “Listen to me, Demi.” His other hand comes up to hold my face as well.
The world starts to spin.
“You’re too good to be someone’s secret. And we both know that’s exactly what you would have to be if we got together.”
I know he’s right. He’s the oldest of the GWS. He’ll be turning eighteen this coming summer, and I’ll still be sixteen. “I don’t care,” I whisper. My mouth going dry suddenly.
He frowns. “You deserve to be someone’s fucking world, Demi Holt. Don’t ever think anything less of yourself.”
“I wanna be your world,” I say, feeling dizzy. I blink a few times, but it doesn’t stop. I fall backward, and he catches me.
“Whoa.” He gets to his feet and helps me move away from the edge of the cliff. He tries to get me to stand, but I stumble over my feet. “How much did you drink?” he asks.
“I …” I blink. “Not much.”
He grabs the drink from my hand and looks down at it.
“I think … I’m gonna get sick …”
He brings the cup to his lips and takes a sip. Then he’s spitting it out. “What the fuck? Who gave you this drink?”
I try to think back. Who was it? My mind is foggy and … “Becky.” I slur.
“You sure?”
I nod and almost lose my balance again. “Yeeeaaahhh.”
He pours the drink out and shoves the now empty cup into the pocket of his hoodie.
“I ... I don’t feel well,” I slur, leaning over and placing my hands on my knees.
“I know.” He places an arm under my legs and the other across my back to pick me up.
Looking up at him, I blink as he carries me through the cemetery and down the hill. I watch his sharp jaw and a muscle tic in his neck. He’s angry with me.
“I’m sorry. I don’t …” My eyes close. “Drink.”
Then everything goes dark. When I open my eyes next, he’s placing me in the passenger seat of his car. He reaches across me and buckles my seat belt. My arms feel heavy, my mind sluggish. Then his hand cups my face. I lean into him.
“This isn’t your fault, Demi.” His narrowed eyes search mine before he growls. “Your sister drugged you.”
Present
“Ready To Die,” by TheUnder pumps through the speakers of my mother’s house. I stand in the kitchen sipping away on a rum and Coke. It’s my third one. I’ve come a long way since I had my first drink out of Deke’s bottle that night on the beach. I learned several important lessons that night that I’ll never forget.
“What are you thinking?” Lauren asks, coming to stand beside me.
She’s the only friend I have here. But I’m not like Becky; I choose to have a very small circle. Most people don’t like my sister, but it’s the opposite with me. I don’t like most of them. They lie. You can’t trust anyone.
She pours herself a drink. She’s pretty much the only one here from our high school. Most of the people have been invited by Seth from the University of Texas. And hardly anyone dressed up in costume. They’re all too old for that shit. There are a few girls who remind me of my sister and are half-dressed begging for attention from the men, but for the most part, the partygoers are just here to get drunk and have a good time. I didn’t even put up any decorations. And my mother doesn’t bother herself with such pointless shit. Her words.
“Nothing.”
“Liar.” She giggles. “Where’s Seth?” She looks around the packed kitchen. The guy to female ratio is laughable. There are probably five guys to every one girl. Seth plays football for UT, so he’s popular with all the athletes at the college. He spread the word well.
“Somewhere.”
“What is up with you?” She shoves my shoulder.
When I don’t respond, her eyes follow my line of sight across the open kitchen to see Deke and Cole standing in the formal dining room, leaning up against the forest green wall. They came. Just as I knew they would. Deke can’t pass up a party. They’re talking to a couple of guys who Seth knows from UT. I watched them walk in an hour ago. Neither one of them has said a word to me. Cole hasn’t even looked my way, but I’ve caught Deke staring several times.
“Damn. Who the fuck are they?” she asks.
“Taken,” I say.
She snorts. “As in married?”
“The one on the right is engaged.” Cole might as well be married.
I finally finished Austin’s journal. And to say I was surprised to read about their love story is an understatement. They went through so much. He tortured her in such a way that it made me rethink what I’m going to do tonight. He is pure evil in the prettiest form, and I bet Deke could match him on any given day.
I’m going to find out either way.
“Then he’s available.” She winks over at me.
I turn to face her fully. She’s just like my sister. When she sees a pretty face, she wants to spread her legs, even if that means cheating on Billy. “He will eat you up and spit you out. And if he doesn’t kill you, his fiancée will.” Her green eyes widen at my words. I lean in and whisper, “Then she’ll burn your body and take a hammer to what’s left. Stay the hell away from him,” I warn.
She swallows nervously but chuckles.
I aspire to be a mini Austin—badass and untouchable. That’s why I decided to continue with my plan for tonight. It has to be done. It’s time. I’ve been holding onto something for too long that means so very little. Not to me. My sister tried to take it before, and now I’m going to throw it away.
For revenge. And it’s going to be so fucking sweet.
I pour two shots of vodka and hand her one. “Drink up,” I order. She clinks her glass to mine, and I look over the rim, throwing it back to see Deke’s blue eyes on me. I smile to myself.
The song changes to “Left Alone” by Zero just as Seth enters the room. I give him a smile when his eyes lock on mine. “Hey, babe,” He grips my upper arm and yanks me from the counter, causing my drink to fall over. “Ow …”
“You did not do what I think you did!” he snaps so loudly that it causes people to look our way.
My eyes widen. “I don’t know what—”
“Don’t fucking lie to me, Demi,” he shouts.
I look around nervously, and I don’t miss seeing Cole and Deke looking right at us now. I quickly look away and back at Seth. “Can we talk about this somewhere else?”
“Fine!”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
DEKE
I PUSH OFF the wall the same time that Cole does, and we make our way out of the formal dining room, through the kitchen, and to the grand foyer. I watch Seth drag Demi up the stairs like a rag doll. My fists clench when I see how hard his fingers are digging into her upper arm.
“You’re hurting me.” Her small voice travels down the
stairs.
“And you’re being a slut! Just like your sister,” he snaps.
“Seth?” I call out, already taking the stairs two at a time.
He looks down at me, then at Cole who I notice is following close. “Walk away, guys, this doesn’t concern you.”
“Actually, it does.” Cole crosses his arms over his chest as we hit the landing. “Let her go.”
The upper floor of the house is quiet because it’s off-limits to guests tonight. And I know that’s why he brought her up here. To be alone with her. The only sound is the song playing through the speakers.
He releases her, and she immediately cradles her arm to her chest.
“Fine.” He looks down at her with disgust. “You can have her.” He turns and storms back down the stairs, shoving a guy into a wall.
“Demi …” I reach down to look at her arm, but she pulls away and turns, running over to her bedroom door.
“Go,” Cole says, but I’m already moving.
“Demi?” I call out, but she ignores me.
I reach her before she can open the door and spin her around. She looks up at me with tears in her beautiful eyes. “You okay?” I ask, clearing my throat. I’ve had quite a bit to drink tonight, knowing that Cole was going to be my DD. He doesn’t drink much anymore after the night of the car wreck. And if he does, it’s at his house.
She sniffs and looks away from me. I step into her, grip her chin, and force her to look up at me. “I asked if you’re okay.”
Her wet lips part, and she takes in a deep breath. “Fine.” She gives a clipped answer.
“Let me see your arm,” I order. Surprisingly, she holds it out for me.
Bruises are already forming, and I clench my teeth at the thought of him hurting her. “Does he do this often?”
She drops her eyes to the floor again.
“Demi?”
“No,” she whispers. “He’s never done that before.”
I run a hand through my hair. “What happened?” Not that whatever happened excuses what he did. I’m just being nosy.
She sniffs. “He found out about us.”
“Us?” I frown.
She nods. “I was texting my best friend about what we did at Silence … and he read it.”
“Fuck,” I hiss.
She looks up at me, and the first tear runs down her cheek. “He thinks we had sex.”
I have. Fuck, I have fucked her in so many different ways in my head. Each one more sinful than the last. She cried, she screamed, and she came so fucking hard. But I know the real thing could never live up to my imagination.
Stepping into her, I reach up and run my knuckles through the single tear, smearing it across her cheek.
Her hands come up and grip my shirt. “Deke.” She whispers my name, and it goes straight to my dick.
The alcohol swirling around in my head tells me to kiss her, but another part says back away and leave. I’ve watched her since the moment I walked through her mother’s front door. I attempted to follow pointless conversations with kids from school, but nothing kept my interest. Nothing but her. No matter how hard I’ve tried, she is there. In my mind, she’s naked and begging me to fuck her. “You’re with Seth.” I find myself saying out loud as if I’m trying to talk myself out of it.
Don’t touch her!
Her bright blue eyes meet mine. “He already thinks I’ve betrayed him.” She licks her lips. “Might as well give him a reason to put his hands on me.”
“Don’t say that.” I growl, stepping into her. I know there’s a darker side to Demi. I watched her the first night I snuck into her mother’s house. She sat on her bed watching that fucking documentary on YouTube about the serial killer. She’s curious, and that isn’t a good thing. She can push the wrong man to do something very bad to her. And my anger rises at that thought. If any man is going to put his hands on her, it’ll be me.
She tilts her head back, licking her plump nude-colored lips. “It’ll be worth it.”
I slide my right hand into her hair, and her eyes close as she lets out a moan. Her hands go to my jeans, and she pulls my hips into hers. My hard cock aches as it rubs against the fabric of my boxers. Fuck, this can’t be happening. Someone needs to interrupt us …
“Kiss me, Deke.”
“I won’t stop,” I admit. I want to hurt you, Demi. I want to show you what I can do as much as you want to see it. It won’t end well for her. But she may like it …
Don’t do it. Walk away, Deke.
Her lashes flutter open, showing me those gorgeous blue eyes once again, and I’m fucking done. I’m about to do something I’ll regret, and she knows it. She reaches back, turns the knob on the door, and pulls me inside the dark bedroom.
I rip her shirt up and over her head, and I allow her to remove mine. She is fumbling with my jeans, and I’ve already got her jeans down to her ankles. “Light …”
“Leave it off.”
I yank her to a stop with my hands on her hips. I dig my fingers into them, holding her in place. “Are you shy, Demi?”
I can hear her panting, and I want nothing more than to see her bare chest. “Kinda.”
I smirk. “There’s nothing to be shy of, baby. I’ve already had my fingers inside you.”
She whimpers. “Please,” she begs, and it does things to me that I can’t quite explain.
She reaches inside my unbuttoned jeans and grabs my dick. I jump when her soft hand makes contact. “Fuck.” I groan, pumping my hips into her hand.
“Yes, please …”
My lips find hers in the dark, and we stumble backward. I dig into my back pocket and grab my wallet; I remove the condom and then shove my jeans down my legs along with my boxers. Somehow, we find the bed, or she leads me to it. I don’t know.
“I Don’t Even Care About You” by MISSIO blares through the speakers as I crawl on top of her and slide my cock into her. No time for foreplay. No need for it. She’s soaking wet, and I’m fucking hard and have been waiting for it for what feels like forever. My teeth clench, and my breath catches at how tight she is. “Fuck, Demi!” I groan in pleasure. “God, you feel …” I push my hips forward, going in deeper, feeling her squeeze me to the point it’s almost painful. In the best fucking way.
“Deke ...” She gasps, her nails digging into my back.
“Incredible.”
Things begin to get blurry. In the darkness, all I can do is feel her. And I do. Every fucking inch of her tight cunt. She’s screaming my name. My hands are in her hair. My lips on her warm skin. The room is hot, almost suffocating. She’s coming once, then a second time. And I throw her legs over my shoulders as I fuck her with so much force, I can taste the salty tears that run down her cheeks when I kiss her.
I don’t know how long I’m inside her; all I know is that it’s not long enough. And then I’m coming.
Her body shakes uncontrollably. We’re both covered in sweat and trying to catch our breath. We lie silently next to one another as what we just did hits us with full force. And I fist my hands at the weakness I showed.
I just fucked Demi Holt!
Fuck!
The sad thing? I’m ready for round two. I wrap my arms around her small body and pull her back into my chest. I’ll do her from behind this time. But I pause because she’s shaking uncontrollably. “You okay?” I ask. Kissing her shoulder, I feel pieces of her hair stick to my lips.
“Just go, Deke,” she whispers.
“What?” I ask, pulling away from her.
“I’m tired. Go.”
I get out of the bed and begin to feel around the floor for my clothes. I find my jeans and shirt but can’t find my boxers. Fuck ’em! Once dressed, I stand in the darkness and just listen. A softer song plays in the house so it’s easy for me to make out her even breaths. She’s passed out.
I exit the room and come face to face with Cole standing on the balcony leaning up against the railing. His eyes meet mine, and he frowns. They dart across the balcony t
o the other door and then back to the one I just exited.
“What?” I snap. I’m fucking pissed at myself, on one hand for doing what I did and on the other for wanting to go back in there and do it again.
“Nothing.” He shakes his head. “Ready to go?”
I don’t answer. Instead, I turn and run down the stairs and out of the fucking house. Once outside, the cool air hits my sweaty skin, making me shiver. I inhale the fresh air and close my eyes.
What the fuck did I do?
You just fucked Demi, and she was right. It was better than Becky.
DEMI
Sophomore year
“You’re okay.” I hear Eli’s soothing voice as he rubs my back.
I’m on my knees hugging his toilet, puking my guts up. I can’t stop my body from shaking, and my eyes are so heavy. I’ve lost count of how many times I pass out and come to.
“Here.” He hands me the cup of water, and I wash my mouth out with it and spit it into the toilet.
I push myself off and lie down on the tile. The cool floor feels good on my warm face.
“Come on, baby,” he says, bending down and picking me up off his bathroom floor. Then he’s laying me on his bed.
“Where is your phone?” he asks.
“Pocket,” I barely manage to mumble. “David’s … 1234 …” My eyes close.
Seconds tick by, and then I feel the bed dip next to me. I open my heavy eyes to see him lying next to me. “Eli …”
“I’m not gonna do anything, Demi. I promise.” His jaw clenches. “But I am gonna sleep next to you in case you get sick again.” He reaches out and pushes some hair behind my ear. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.
And before I can ask why he’s sorry, my heavy eyes betray me once again and close.
Present
I stand in the kitchen, getting ready to leave for school Monday morning. It’s been two days since my Halloween party. I threw it on Saturday night, knowing that Halloween was on Friday night. I knew that Austin had plans to take Lilly trick-or-treating, and that if Cole didn’t come to my party, Deke might not either. So I had to plan my party accordingly. I was a tad worried that Cole would bring Austin, but I was hoping she would stay home with Lilly. Thank God, I was right.
If You Dare (Dare Series Book 3) Page 18