It was only two nights ago and his betrayal stings.
“You hate me, don’t you?” he murmurs, dropping down at the dining table beside me as Shay and Ben watch us suspiciously from the kitchen counter.
“Don’t,” I warn him. “I’m not ready to talk about this. Not here, not now.”
“I fucked up.”
“You sure as hell did.”
Blake lets out a strained groan, hating himself for betraying me to the world. “I’m sorry,” he starts when a knock at the door has me flying out of my seat.
I hurry out of the kitchen faster than lightning, desperate to avoid this shit. I tear the front door open and find none other than Slade Cruz standing before me, his eyes blazing with fury as he stares down at me.
Well, shit.
Chapter 2
Guilt pours through me as I stare at the man whose bed I just snuck out of. My morning didn’t exactly go as planned. Discovering Slade's mom was Daniella Pierce, the woman who was raped years ago by the same man I was defiled by was one thing, but also learning that Maria Valentine knew my mom all along and hated her has left me with way too many questions.
I thought that was all I was going to get out of speaking with Daniella but then she had to go and drop the biggest bomb yet; Slade is Lucien’s son. He got Daniella pregnant when he raped her and now, he knows. At least, she thinks he knows. Though one thing is for sure, Slade certainly doesn’t.
How am I supposed to face him now knowing this? I can’t lie to him about something so important but it isn’t my place. Daniella needs to find the strength to come clean about the rape to her family and be the one to talk to Slade. All I know is that she needs to do it fast because secrets like this have a way of coming out at the worst possible times.
Learning that Lucien is his father would absolutely kill Slade. I know I haven’t known him long, but I like to think that I know him enough. He would hate finding out that he shares the same DNA as a man like that. He’d question himself, question who he is, his morals, his goodness. Everything about him would become a lie and I’d hate to see him go through that because no matter what anyone says, no matter what I’ve said, Slade is good people. He has the ability to be absolutely brutal yet despite that, he has a kind heart.
Slade raises a pissed off brow and despite not even taking a single step, he seems to loom over me. “What the hell did you think you were doing sneaking out of my bed first thing this morning?”
I gape at Slade as he stands, glaring in my doorway. Damn him, why does he have to look like that first thing in the morning? He’s so tall that I have to crane my neck to see his dark, blazing eyes. His hair is perfectly ruffled from sleep which I don’t really understand as his hair is so shortly cropped that I could hardly grab hold of it last night. But it’s the way he looms over me with that cocky stance that drips with confidence that has my breath catching and the butterflies swarming in my stomach.
I’m in real trouble here. Real fucking trouble.
I hate that I want him so bad and even after finally being with him last night, I’m left wanting so much more. Hell, I’m even positive that I might have admitted to being his but that could have been a post-sex fog error of judgment.
I try to ignore the fact that just looking at him has my body coming alive and focus on the matter at hand. “Would you be quiet?” I hiss, glancing around to make sure Shay, Ben, and Blake haven’t come to investigate, but after that awkwardness with Blake, I’m sure they’re down for giving me a bit of space. “What are you even doing here?”
“I had plans for today,” he tells me, that glare beginning to seep out of his gaze and being replaced with something a little more devilish, something a little darker, wild, and needy.
I shake my head. “Nope. Not happening. I’m not your little groupie. You can’t just show up here whenever you want and start demanding things from me. That isn’t how this works.”
“Really?” his lips pull up into a sly grin and without warning, he reaches over the threshold of the door and pulls me out into the chilly morning. My body is pressed up against the brick wall of my home and within moments, Slade’s warm inviting body is pushing up against mine, crowding my space with every delicious piece of him.
He leans in so close that his breath tickles my neck and causes all sorts of havoc south of my border. “Please, enlighten me on how this is supposed to work then?” He grips my waist with his strong fingers, making me suck in a tight breath. “Because your body sure seems to want that from me.”
I find my head tilting, offering my neck up to him like a buffet and just as I had desperately hoped, he takes the bait. Slade’s fingers trail up from my waist to my shoulder and gently pushes my tank out of the way. His lips drop to my shoulder and like a caress, they move along to the base of my neck, sending shivers all over my skin.
He kisses me there and I find myself succumbing to his wishes and moaning like a hussy on my front doorstep. I place my hands up against his wide chest, preparing myself to push him away but instead of following through, my hands end up roaming over his chest, one finding purchase over his heart while the other creeps up around his neck and pulls him in closer.
I turn my face into him and he instantly trades my neck for my lips, devouring me like the sweetest treat. “We can’t,” I pant between breaths.
“To hell with that, Virago,” he says. “We can and I bet that sweet ass of yours that we will.”
I kiss him again, deepening it as my need starts to control my actions. My hand comes up from his chest, gliding over his throat and to his chin. I force my fingers between our mouths until they’re completely covering his lips and cutting him off.
“No,” I tell him. “You need to go.”
“No way in hell,” he says. “If I leave right now, you’re going to start reminding yourself of all the bullshit reasons why we shouldn’t do this. I want you, Skylah and despite everything that you keep telling yourself, you want this too. You belong with me, just as I do with you.”
I shake my head. I know I’m feeling exactly what he is, but I can’t. The fear grips me. If I give in to this, what do I do when the pain comes back? How am I going to survive when he leaves and I have no one to take away the images in my head? It’s all good now, but what about later?
“This will never work,” I say, meeting his eyes. “You and me…we’re too different. I’m too stubborn and you’re too much of an ass. One fight and one of us will end up either dead or in prison.”
He grins wide, his eyes glistening with excitement. “I know, isn’t it exciting?”
“No,” I scoff. “It’s terrifying.”
Slade watches me for a second and I see something softening in his eyes and it makes me feel like I have the world at my feet. His lips gently brush over mine in the sweetest caress. “Come on,” he tells me. “Give this a chance. You can’t deny it, you know it’s going to be good. We can start slow if you want.”
“Slow?” I laugh. “You already got me in bed before you were able to get me to admit anything. I don’t think things go any faster than that.”
He grins wide, proud of last night’s achievement. “Just imagine all the other things I could get you to do.”
“Exactly my point. You’re dangerous, Slade Cruz.”
“Seriously?” he groans. “You’re still on that bullshit? Our little rivalry is over. I’m not going to hurt you anymore. I told you that.”
“That’s not what I mean,” I tell him. “You might not be down for spray painting a dick on my locker or kicking out the leg of my chair during class, but now you have the ability to hurt me in a much deeper way and I don’t know if I can afford to risk that. I’ve already been through enough bullshit, and with the threat of Lucien hovering over our heads, I don’t really think it’d be wise to spend our time shacking up in bed.”
“We don’t have to do it in bed,” he shrugs. “Right here against the house suits me just fine.”
“You’re not about to sca
r my neighbors with your naked ass. Mrs. Johnson across the street would have a heart attack.”
“Really?” he grumbles, glancing over his shoulder at her home to see the nosey woman in question peering through her curtains. “I think she’d probably want to join. You know, Mr. Johnson isn’t as young as he used to be and I think she’d be a fox in the sack.”
“Oh good, then why don’t you go over there and screw her instead?”
He leans in real close, sending those familiar shivers over my skin once again. “Because I bet she’s not as flexible as you are, at least, not anymore.”
Damn it.
My head falls back against the house and his lips instantly return to my neck. “Fine,” I groan, hating how easy I must appear. “We can start slow, but one sign of your asshole ways or bullshit and I’m out. I’m not looking to get hurt.”
“Good,” he murmurs, kissing me again. “But for the record, your bullshit is just as bad as mine, if not worse.”
“So, you admit it then? I would have won our petty war?”
“Oh, hell no, Virago,” he laughs. “I was going easy on your ass. Turning me blue and hitching a ride in the back of my Dodge are nothing.”
My eyes bug out. “You knew we were in there?”
He grins wide. “Why do you think I was going over those speed bumps so fast. Damian though, he fucking copped it for helping you two get away.”
I bite down on my bottom lip, looking up at him through my lashes, loving the way he makes my heart race with need and so much more. This connection between us has become everything to me and to lose it would be devastating, but to see it through only to get my heart broken later on…well, I don’t know if I’d survive.
“You really need to sort Damian out. I’m starting to think he likes me more than you.”
Slade’s eyes narrow as his hands wind down my arms until his fingers are lacing through mine. “I know,” he mutters darkly. “Believe me, that dick won’t be getting away with it, not if I have anything to do with it.”
“Don’t be too hard on him. I quite enjoy having someone around to help get me off when you can’t quite do the job by yourself.”
His jaw drops and presses into me again, his eyes becoming impossibly darker. “Take that back.” I shake my head and he looks at me completely horrified. “Trust me, babe. Had he not been there that night, this thing between you and me would have started days ago.”
“I’m not your ‘babe,” I remind him. “And believe me, had he not been there, I would have run out of there like my ass was on fire.”
“You are my ‘babe’ and might I remind you that you did run out of there like your ass was on fire.”
“Yeah, because I found out that you’re a shady asshole.”
Slade rolls his eyes, clearly having nothing to throw back at me, declaring me the winner of this mini-war. “Come on,” he tells me, grabbing my waist and throwing me over his shoulder. He spanks my ass and my insides clench. “Let this shady asshole take you out.”
“What? No,” I laugh as he welcomes himself into my home and past the kitchen, making Shay, Ben, and Blake all gape in surprise. “Put me down.”
“No way. If I put you down, you’ll run.”
I roll my eyes and go along for the ride. He walks down to my room as though he has my home completely mapped out inside his head when it occurs to me that he actually does. He’s no stranger to my home and he made that known the night he snuck in here and dragged me out of bed.
He pushes through to my room and throws me down on my bed before having a good look around. Last time it was the middle of the night so I was able to keep some parts of my home life to myself, until now.
His eyes come back to me as I sit on my bed, not moving. “What are you doing? Get dressed. I want to go out.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. We’ll work it out when we get there.”
I groan and pull myself off my bed then head over to my closet. I pull open my underwear drawer and start pulling things out. With a nice pair of panties and a new bra between my fingers, I go to close the drawer when Slade’s hand comes down, stopping me. “What’s this?” he questions, making my eyes bug out of my head.
How could I have been so stupid?
His hand dives down into my underwear drawer and anyone else would assume he’s some kind of pervert wanting to get a look at my panties, but I know what he’s really here for.
He finds the stack of drawings hidden under my bras and tears them out, gawking as he realizes they’re mostly all of him.
I scram, more than ready to avoid this topic of conversation that he’s no doubt going to question me about. “I have to shower,” I yell, racing out of my room and leaving him with the drawings that have kept me company every moment since starting at Aston Creek High.
I glance back over my shoulder as I break through the door to see that he hardly heard me speak as he’s too busy flipping through the drawings. There was one of him with Damian from my first day of school making their way down the corridor toward me. There’s one of him that same night out in the darkness as he told me to leave. One of his body tinged with my blue calligraphy ink, and one of him holding me tight against the wall of this very room with my knife held firmly against his throat.
The drawings go on, some completed and some only just started, but judging by the sheer number of drawings compared to the few weeks I’ve been here, it’s damn clear what’s been on my mind. Hell, I don’t doubt that come tonight, after I finish drawing the memory of his mother telling me that Slade is Lucien’s son, I’ll be drawing something from our night together, making sure to capture the intensity of his eyes as he looked at me, something I don’t ever want to forget because I know that in my lifetime, I’ll never have a man look at me like that again.
Not being able to handle the emotions rushing through my body, I scram for the bathroom.
I stand under a hot shower, scrubbing my nightly activities away, though realizing that it’s probably pointless, something tells me that I’ll be doing it all over again today.
I wash my hair, wasting time as I try to gather my thoughts and when the water begins to run cold, I realize that it’s time to face the music.
Slade and I are doing this. It might take a little while to get used to and it might just be the scariest thing that I’ll ever do, but from here on out, I’m his girl.
After quickly getting dressed, I run the hairbrush through my hair and get my makeup sorted. I hate leaving the house without it. Not because I have any self-esteem issues or something to cover up, but simply because I like it. I like the way it makes me feel, I like the way it makes me look, and I love the way that to me, it’s another form of art that I get to indulge in.
Making my way out of the bathroom, I duck into my room to throw my clothes in my laundry hamper only to find my room empty and the sound of a basketball bouncing against the driveway out front.
I turn on my heel and as I stalk out of my room, I find the drawings on my desk, each of them displayed proudly instead of being hidden in my underwear drawer. It also doesn’t go unnoticed that each of them has been placed into chronological order, making me grin like an absolute fool. He was paying close attention, proving that I wasn’t just a nobody to him. All along, I meant something more and that thought thrills me.
I make my way out to the front door, passing a very smug Shay and a very grouchy Ben. I do my best to ignore them and make my way out front, sliding my phone into the back pocket of my jeans, realizing that I probably won’t be home until late tonight.
Slade launches the ball high above his head as Blake does his best to block him. The ball sails in a perfect arc towards the hoop and despite how good Blake is, he’s still got a bit to learn, all of which he can learn from Slade. The ball drops through the hoop and Blake stretches out his long arm to collect it.
The ball is propped on his hip as both boys turn to look at me. Devastation, regret, and guilt play in Blake’s whil
e there’s nothing but excitement in Slade’s. “Catch ya ‘round, man,” Slade says, striding toward me with the devil in his eyes.
He takes hold of my waist and pulls me into his side, being respectable enough not to kiss me in front of my brother despite my gut telling me that he’s desperate to lay one on me.
“Figured out what we’re doing yet?” I grumble as Blake stares at us in confusion, wondering why I’m allowing his hands on my body and why we’re not at each other’s throat.
“Nope,” he says, turning his face into my neck. “But I know where we’re going to end up.”
My cheeks flame and I try to control my need to throw myself at him by heading for his truck, only there’s nothing parked out front. “How are we going to go anywhere without your truck?”
“Chill out, it’s at my place. We just have to go and get it.”
I gape at him. “You walked here?”
A smug grin crosses his face as he pulls me along. “Yeah, well someone subtly accused me of being a lazy ass by offering to drive her home last night.”
The memory from last night comes shooting back to where I teased him about hitting the jackpot for having a man who would go to such extraordinary lengths to drive me twenty seconds up the street. “Well that someone would be right,” I laugh. “After all, you only live a few houses up the street.”
“Fifteen, Skylah. Fifteen houses. I counted this morning.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be some super-fit basketball star? A two-minute walk is hardly going to kill you.”
He shakes his head, trying his hardest not to laugh. “Jesus,” he murmurs under his breath, pulling me in closer. “You and me…this is going to be interesting.”
Chapter 3
I sit beside Damian as we wait for Mr. Carver to get started on today’s biology lesson. We’re so close to the end of the day. We just have to get through an hour of biology and then I have an hour of history and it’s all done.
Lost Girl: Aston Creek High (Book 2) Page 2