by C. M. Owens
I flip him off, but he just laughs at my back. Tria apparently wants to play, so let the games begin. Our old war was always a little one-sided, since she was too scared to ever retaliate. I guess she has found a set of brass balls. Well, I’m about to break them.
***
TRIA
The mixture of terror and excitement collide as I shake with conflicting spurts of adrenaline. My smile hurts. Rye looks down at me, clearly amused as Wren and Ethan talk about boring work stuff.
“So you started that rumor?” he asks, clearly smarter than I ever gave him credit for being.
I shrug noncommittally, and he actually laughs, which still surprises me. Rye always seems angrier than Kode.
There’s nothing wrong with a good-natured feud amongst lovers. Right? He’ll have to forgive me and forgo any sort of retribution if he wants to get me back in bed. So I’m playing with the upper hand right now.
Why do I not feel totally confident with that thought? Oh. Yeah. Because it’s Kode Sterling I’m talking about.
The party seems to be gravitating outside, where I know Kode is. Whispers of what he said to Sylvia Pratt find me, and I burst out laughing. Rye is also grinning—a look that works for him—while shaking his head.
“Man, you’re in so much trouble,” Ethan says from beside me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say with as much innocence as I can muster, following the crowd out to the patio with Rye at my side and Ethan and Wren walking close behind.
“Puh-lease. It’s not like he didn’t have it coming, considering the hell he used to put you through, but you’re playing with fire.”
I’m not playing with fire; I’m playing with an atomic bomb.
At least Ethan hasn’t figured out that Kode and I are together. Apparently Wren hasn’t either, because he looks truly terrified for me.
We make it outside, and Rye tries to walk away. Hell no. I need someone with a lot of muscle nearby just in case I’ve pushed Kode too far. There’s a pool out here, after all.
“Uh-uh,” Rye says as I scurry up beside him, putting my side against his for protection.
“Uh-uh what?” I ask idly, my eyes scanning the crowd for the man who is surely plotting something vicious.
“I’m not going to be your jealousy date or your buffer. Too much drama for me,” he says while cutting toward a girl with a chest that doesn’t look safe. She could tilt over with those things.
“Please,” I whisper pleadingly.
He stands closer to the girl while raising a brow at me. Just as the girl starts to speak, he shakes his head at me.
“Nope. Not my style. Drama-free zone right here.” He motions up and down his body to punctuate his point.
I scowl at him, and he gives me a wink before turning to offer his attention to the girl who is talking to him about his garage. Apparently she knows him.
Damn. I just lost my one line of defense. Ethan is the kind of guy to help Kode toss me into the pool. And Wren will just step aside with a shit-eating grin if Kode comes for me.
Rain walks out, her face drawn up in agonizing boredom, and I rush over to her without actually running. Kode won’t hurt me with her around. She’s too small to inflict any damage on the wall of steel, but she has a hold on all the Sterlings that makes them behave.
“Hey,” she says, groaning as she loops an arm through mine. “Remind to never again be neighborly.”
I have no idea what that means, but I latch on to the arm she has given me like it’s a lifeline.
“Sure. No problem,” I say distractedly, still looking around for the man who is missing.
“Have you seen any of the boys?” she asks. “Including Dane? He abandoned me when the conversations turned to appropriate dinner parties and how to plan them. Kill me now.”
I just laugh, but then Dane Sterling swoops in to acquire the scowling blonde.
“You totally left me hanging,” she scolds.
“Baby, you invited the neighborhood. Not me. It’s every man or woman for themselves at this point.”
He smiles that lopsided grin that has her wobbling beside me. Lost in his thrall, she forgets she’s even mad and pulls him down for a very socially unacceptable show of affection. I start feeling weird standing next to them when the heated kiss leads to sounds of wanting more.
Cursing her silently, I walk away with no armor to shield me from the stormy wrath of Kode. Corbin. Hell yes. Corbin knows what’s going on, and he’s keeping it quiet. Plus, he has very handy muscles.
Never thought I’d see the day where I was intentionally going to see a Sterling for help. Then again, I never thought I’d be spending hours upon hours in Kode Sterling’s bed.
Corbin grins widely the second he sees me coming to him. He apparently knows what’s going on.
“You think I can protect you?” he asks, his eyes glistening with flakes of humor.
“I was kind of hoping.”
He laughs while shaking his head. “I’ll do what I can, but no promises. Kode has more determination than me.”
Crap.
“How mad is he?” I ask quietly, still unable to find the blonde hair of the devil himself.
“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him since the rumor mill went wild inside the party. But he has had some fairly attractive offers. I know that much. Jamie gave him his number.”
Laughter escapes me before I can help it. Jamie Burton is one of the most gorgeous men in Sterling Shore, but he’s also very much dedicated to men.
“Tria,” Olivia Preston says, an odd look in her eyes that seems like concern, or disappointment, maybe. Does she know, too?
“Mrs. Preston,” I say with my ingrained greeting manners.
Why are so many older socialites here?
“I’m not usually so forward, and I know it’s not any of my business, but after all your poor mother went through with Edward, I expected so much better from you.”
The blood drains from my face. What has he told them?
“I feel as though I should apologize, but I have no idea as to why, Mrs. Preston. Could you explain exactly what I’ve done to encourage you to be so forward?”
Forced eloquence is my specialty. Years of training have me resisting the urge to shake her and make her spit it out when she takes much too long to answer. Finally, she sighs and spikes my blood with ice.
“Rygan Clanton is a good man. He has horrible choices in women, but I would have assumed you’d treat him better than the others.”
Corbin chokes on a laugh, but quickly clears his throat to recover. His eyes look anywhere but at me, as though he has caught on. But I’m lost.
Rygan is Rye’s father—a hermit who rarely leaves his home since his wife’s death years and years ago. Somehow he manages to snag very young women—usually younger than his son—but they always cheat on him, and they often do it without discretion. Most of them openly chase after Rye, but he never messes with them. That would be so gross.
But what the hell does it have to do with me?
“Um… I’m sorry, Mrs. Preston, but what’s going on?”
She tsks me as though she’s disappointed in my denial. “Sweetie, Rygan has had numerous women go after the younger version of himself. Most of them are gold-diggers, but you… Why on earth would you be so cruel to such a gentle man?”
It’s then the dots connect, and my anger slowly begins to boil. That bastard!
I’ve been following Rye around the party, playing directly into Kode’s hand, underestimating the evil genius he is. Now I look like all the opportunists who go after the senior Clanton and then try to take on the sexier junior Clanton.
In my moment of silent outrage, I’m left open to another attack from her. “Rye never sleeps with the women who chase him and bed his father. He has too much self-respect and class for that. I realize he looks like a rough brute, but he’s a very attractive man with plenty of untainted offers.”
Sickness roils in my stomach.
This is crossing a line.
Corbin is doing all he can not to burst out in a fit of laughter, while steam figuratively rolls out of my ears.
“Mrs. Preston, I’ve never dated Rygan Clanton. In fact, I’ve never dated a man my father’s age or older. Ever. Not that I’m opposed to age gaps in relationships, but only if they are truly in that said relationship for the right reasons—unlike you. I don’t need to climb the social ladder by marrying a man twice my age just because of his wallet size. And I don’t screw the gardener behind his back, either, like you and every cliché there is,” I bite out, earning a shocked and indignant gasp from her.
She rattles something off while I stalk away, ignoring Corbin’s eruption of laughter that he can no longer contain. Then I see the devil.
Most people envision a pitchfork, pointy ears, black eyes, and a wicked tail. No. The devil wears a designer suit, sexy blonde hair that always looks purposely bedroom-messy, eyes that are almost silver, and a grin that could slay multitudes.
He stares at me from across the pool, that grin only growing as I glare at him. He winks at me and raises his glass in a silent toast, mocking my victorious actions from earlier.
He’s fighting dirty. Well, that’s just fine. He’ll tell everyone the truth or he’ll never get me again.
Charging through the crowd and ignoring the judgmental eyes on my back, I make it to the bar that has been set up outside. I don’t let the bartender ask for my order. Instead, I grab the bottle of chilled vodka and pour it directly into a glass.
He doesn’t stop me, but merely watches with amusement as I turn the glass up and chug the contents without any regard for my churning stomach. It almost comes back up, but I manage to keep it down by sheer willpower alone.
“You look pissed,” Rain says while coming up beside me.
After pouring another glass, I nod. “I’m furious.”
She exhales loudly, her eyes looking around. “What’d he do?”
It’s sad that she already suspects him. But she has no idea what’s going on here.
“Nothing I won’t punish him for.”
Her eyes go wide in fear. “Tria, you can’t play this game with Kode. He doesn’t fold. Ever.”
We’ll see about that.
His back is turned now, his attention on Courtney Hughes as she runs her finger up his chest. Rain calls my name as I walk away, my heels whining as I pound them into the hard surface on my way to the man I hate in this moment.
Rye says something to me, but I deliberately ignore him, knowing damn well that will only fuel the chatter around me. He never sees me coming, so he doesn’t know to brace for impact. With one hard, unexpected shove from my small hands, Kode stumbles, losing his balance, and yelps before crashing into the pool.
I glare at him under the surface as the water splashes up to hit innocent bystanders in their expensive apparel. Stunned silence descends upon the crowd while Kode pushes up to the top, surfacing with murderous eyes that immediately find me.
“Mistake, Tria. Big mistake,” he threatens.
I dust my hands, proving I’m not scared of him, and I salute him with my middle finger on my way back into the house. Dane’s driver is out front, and he quickly runs around to the passenger side door to open it for me when I ask him to take me home. I’ll grab a cab from there.
I climb in, ignoring the laughter that is now booming from the backside of the house. This is going to be a dirty war, and there’s only one way to win. It’s not like I can go head-to-head in a battle of cruel attacks with him. I’m no match.
But there’s one game I can win.
***
KODE
She’s asleep. In my bed. Naked. Does she really think it’s going to be that easy to get out of this?
I flip on the light before I begin stripping out of the dry clothes I borrowed from Dane. Tria stirs just barely, but she doesn’t open her eyes.
“Feel better now that you’ve thoroughly pissed me off?” I ask the girl who I know isn’t really asleep.
“Much,” she says in a clipped tone.
I don’t know whether to fuck her or grab her up and toss her into the ocean right now. Ignoring my cock’s input, I move to her side of the bed to glare down at her.
“I think we need to talk about what the hell happened tonight.”
She smiles up at me sweetly, her eyes fluttering open, and she shifts up onto her elbows so that the sheet slides down and reveals her perfect tits. How dare she look like every fucking wet dream I’ve ever had when I’m trying to be pissed.
“You mean you’re ready to apologize to me?”
My mouth falls open in shocked disbelief.
“Me? Apologize to you? Tria, you started this. I just reacted. You owe me the apology.”
She yawns as though I’m boring her and lies back down while pulling the sheet back over her bare chest. I almost demand for her to remove the sheet again while we discuss this, but it’s probably better that she doesn’t distract me.
“You started it, Kode. I was the one who reacted. You spent most of the night flirting with one girl who has fucked you, and another who clearly wants to. When you want to apologize, just let me know.”
She closes her eyes again, acting as though her conscience is clear enough to sleep.
“Tria, you’re the one who refused to tell anyone we’re together, and you told me to treat you like I used to in front of everyone.”
Her eyes open again, and they narrow at me. “I didn’t tell you to let to girls paw all over you.”
Okay, so she has me there. “I was trying to make you jealous,” I admit.
“You succeeded. It also means you’re admitting that you started this.”
Her eyes close again, and she shifts so that she’s on her stomach, letting the sheet travel down her bare back. It’s times like these that I hate the fact she loves to sleep in the nude.
Deciding it’s not worth the effort to keep arguing with her, I move to climb in on the other side of the bed. I’d rather be fucking her than arguing anyway.
Wearing nothing but my boxer-briefs, I slide in behind her and wrap my arms around her waist before assaulting her neck with a rough trail of kisses.
“Uh… what are you doing?” she asks, but she only angles her head to give me better access.
“Do you really need me to spell it out for you?” I ask while running my hand down her hip, slowly working my way toward her—
“Ow!” I yelp, drawing back the hand she just pinched the fuck out of. “What the hell was that for?”
She sighs as though she’s annoyed. She’s annoyed? She’s not the one with a wounded hand and a rapidly swelling whelp.
“You can’t have me again until you apologize.”
She has to be kidding. The only other alternative explanation is that she has suddenly started living in another universe where unicorns and pixies really do exist.
“I’m not apologizing, Tria.”
“You’ll apologize, Kode. Every man has a breaking point.”
She kicks the sheet off, forcing me to bite back a groan as she uses her body like a weapon against my hungry eyes. Deciding not to show her she has me on the ropes, I move to turn the tables.
Putting my body just inches from hers, I lean down to her ear to whisper, “If anyone caves, Tria, it’ll be you. I don’t play fair.”
Goose bumps visibly rise on her skin, and I smile with a hint of triumph.
“Good thing I don’t plan to play fair, either,” she says with a daring tone that has me cursing myself for celebrating too soon.
Still feigning confidence, I ask, “Care to place a wager on this? Who caves first?”
One thing I’ve learned about Tria is that she loves having sex with me. It’s what we do better than anything else. She can’t hold out for long.
Ah, hell. Why is she grinning? That has me admittedly a little worried.
“Sure. If I win, you have to announce to everyone in Sterling Shore that you’re a
n asshole and that you made up all that shit about Rygan Clanton and me.”
My laughter comes out in a harsh breath, but I quickly smother it with my hand in an effort to keep her from getting even more pissed. I needed to keep her away from that fucking tattooed prick that seems to be around more and more. Now I’ve accomplished that while also getting a little revenge.
I’m so fucking brilliant.
“Fine. If I win, you have to admit to everyone that I’m the greatest lover you’ve ever had. In public. A few details of my awesomeness wouldn’t be discouraged.”
She grins, but quickly banishes it.
“Fine,” she says in echo to my own answer. “And we have rules.”
“What rules are those?” I muse, staying as close as I can without touching her.
“Nothing public, nothing too malicious, and no cheating.”
My teeth grind together. “By cheating, I assume you mean other people. If you so much as—”
“By cheating, I mean no self-gratification to take the edge off. It’s a given that there won’t be anyone else, or this relationship is over.”
I breathe out in relief and in pained arousal at once. I can’t take things in hand? This is going to be hard.
“Agreed. So this is a battle of seduction. Got it. Personally, I think I’m going to enjoy this little war.”
She shivers a little, much to my delight. No. She won’t make it at all.
“No more vicious rumors,” she says. “This is a sexy game, not an evil contest.”
“That goes for you, too,” I growl, scowling at her. “My mother already caught wind of this one, and now she feels guilty for not being more supportive of me. Fifteen calls from her, Tria. All of them promising me that she’ll love me no matter what my sexual preference.”
She snickers quietly while nodding. “No more rumors.”
“Then let the games begin,” I say, forcing myself to turn over and not curse my painful erection that won’t be getting any relief for a while.
Chapter 15