by JB Salsbury
Her breath catches so sharply it swells her chest, and the tips of her breasts brush against me. A low growl of satisfaction rumbles in my throat, and I flex my fingers against the wall to keep from shoving them into her hair and kissing her.
She hasn’t answered my question, but her breathing has sped up.
“I need to hear you say it.”
She shoves me back, her head turned to the side, and when I follow her gaze, I see Brynn pushing through the crowd toward us. Fuckin’ hell.
I run a hand through my hair, trying to calm my racing pulse, and I’m thankful it’s dark so no one can see my raging hard-on.
“Oh hey.” Brynn pushes up next to me, her smile aimed at Axelle. “I didn’t know you’d be here. Axelle, right?”
“Hi, yeah.” Axelle shifts on her feet and takes a sip of her warm beer. “I like your dress.”
“Thanks.” Brynn turns toward me, her eyes questioning. “Did you grab our drinks?”
“No, the line was too long. I’ll try again in a bit.”
Her hand slips into mine, and my muscles tense when I see Axelle’s eyes following Brynn’s every move. “Dance with me?” She starts to pull me into the thick of the crowd where people are jumping and swaying to music.
“I don’t dance.” I catch a quick glimpse of Ax, and my chest crushes at the sad defeat I see reflected in her expression.
Brynn stops and presses the front of her body to mine, her arms reaching up high to grab my shoulders. She grinds her body against me and bites her lip when she comes in contact with my dick. I check on Axelle, hoping she’s not watching, but she’s gone. Fuck.
I scan the area, grateful I’m a head taller than the majority of the people here, and see a quick flash of dark hair weaving through the room.
I take a step back from Brynn and look her dead in the eyes. “I’m so sorry, but there’s someone really important to me, and she needs me tonight. I know this is an asshole move and I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me, but—”
“It’s Axelle, isn’t it.”
And here I thought I was keeping my feelings for Ax well hidden. “Yes.”
“Do I need to find a ride home?”
“No, of course not. I’ll take you home, just…” Shit, Axelle’s gone. “Let me track her down, and then I’ll take you home.”
“You guys, you and her, you’re just friends, right?”
“Yes.” For now.
She exhales in what seems like relief and then nods. “I’ll meet you by the door.”
I pull her in for a hug and drop a quick kiss to the top of her head. “Thank you.”
I release her and move like my feet are on fire to search for Axelle. Ryder’s in a corner with his date, his hand sliding up her skirt. “Hey, have you seen Ax?”
His expression sobers and he stands up straighter. “No, why? Is she okay?”
“I don’t think so. She was here, but now I can’t find her.”
“I’ll check to see if her car is still here.” His date scowls at me, and Ryder ignores her whines for him to stay. He moves through the house while I check the kitchen and backyard.
We meet back up in the dining room where a heated game of beer pong is being played.
“Wherever she is, she’s on foot. Her car is blocked in by four others.” Ryder glances around. “I’ll check the bedrooms.”
“I’ll check the bathrooms.”
We split up, and I head straight to the bathroom in the hallway where a line of people are waiting. “Excuse me.” I push through them.
“Hey, there’s a line!”
“I swear I will piss in this hallway!”
I ignore the protests and bang on the door. There’s no answer, and when I twist the handle it’s locked. I bang again. “Axelle, you in there?”
Nothing.
Shit.
Ryder comes stomping down the hallway, and when we make eye contact, he shakes his head.
I bang on the door again. “Axelle, are you in there? Open up.”
I press my ear to the door and hear a toilet flush then a mumbled, “Go away, Killian.”
Thank fuck!
“Open the door, Ax, or I swear to God I’ll bust this shit down.”
“I said go away!”
“Stand back. I’m coming in!”
The handle wiggles frantically before the door swings open to reveal a stunned-faced Axelle. “You can’t just kick a door down!”
“The fuck I can’t!”
“Are you insane?”
For you, always. “Come on.” I grab for her, but she backs up into the bathroom.
“No.”
I step inside with her and slam the door behind me. “What the hell is going on with you?”
“Me?”
Anger rips through me, making my muscles tense. “Don’t play dumb. You felt it too. I know you did. Then you take off and lock yourself in the bathroom? I burst in here, and you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I step closer, and in the light, I notice she really doesn’t look well. Her eyes are bloodshot, her soft skin is coated with a sheen of sweat, and her lips are dry. “Hey”—I cup her jaw and swipe my thumb along her cheek—“you’re sick.”
She nods into my hold. “I think it’s just the day. I don’t know.”
“I’m taking you home.”
“I already told you I can’t go home. I promised Min—”
“With me. I’m taking you home with me.”
She blinks up at me, relief flooding her eyes with tears. “What about your date?”
“I’m going to drop her off now.”
“Killian—”
I press my thumb to her lips. “Don’t argue with me. I’m going to leave you here with Ryder until I get back. Promise me you won’t leave his side.”
She closes her eyes and nods.
“Finally something she won’t fight about,” I mumble.
“I’m tired of fighting.” The soft confession heavy with meaning falls from her lips and curls around my heart.
“Me too.”
She leans in and I catch her against my chest, wrapping her up so tight I have to be conscious not to crush her. This is all I’ve ever wanted, and tonight I’m going to finally make her mine.
Banging on the door snaps me from the warmth of our embrace. “No sex in the bathroom! Some of us have to pee!”
Axelle chuckles, and the sound knocks off some of the tension in my shoulders. I grab her hand, and the way hers grips mine back sends chills racing up my arm.
I open the door to a group of scowling girls, but by the time their eyes trace up my torso to my face, they’re smiling.
“We’re sorry.” I motion to the bathroom. “It’s all yours.”
I pull Axelle out behind me and find Ryder waiting at the end of the hallway with his date. She has her arms crossed and looks less than happy.
“Ry—”
“Thank fuck.” He exhales hard. “You found her.”
“I’m taking Brynn home. I need you to stay with Ax until I get back.”
Axelle presses in close. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Like fuck you don’t, woman!” Ryder snags her arm and pulls her in. “You’re a regular Houdini.” He grins at me. “I got her, dude. I’ll sit on her if I have to.”
“Alright.” I pull Axelle to me and press a kiss to her forehead before meeting her eyes. “Stay put. I’ll be right back.”
Ryder’s date glares at me so hard I can feel it, not that I blame her. She’s Brynn’s friend, and it’s only right that she’d be pissed on Brynn’s behalf. It’s time to straighten things out with my date.
I find her waiting at the door when I get there. “You ready?”
“Yeah.” She sounds disappointed, and I feel like shit about that.
Again, I should’ve listened to Ryder and laid out things before they got this far.
We head out to the Jeep and then to her place in silence. I’m formulating the gentlest way to let her down and coming up
with nothing I’m proud of.
It’s not you; it’s me.
I’m in love with someone else.
I never even wanted to go out with you in the first place.
Yeah, we kissed, but I was thinking about someone else the whole time, so it doesn’t count.
It isn’t until we pull up to her complex and I move to get out to walk her to her door that she stops me with a warm hand on my forearm. “Don’t.”
I release the handle on my door and sit back. “Brynn, I’m gonna walk you to your door.”
She shakes her head and smiles sadly. “No, please don’t. That’ll just make me want you more than I already do, and I think it’s pretty clear that you’re not where I’m at.”
I stare out the windshield, and after a few seconds, I’m not able to come up with any excuse that won’t hurt her. I simply nod. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You were forced into this. I should’ve seen it coming.”
“I kissed you; that was…misleading.”
She shrugs one shoulder. “Maybe. But it was the kiss that gave you away. All that desperation? I can see now you’d been holding onto that kiss for someone else.”
“I don’t know what to say.” I’m an ass.
“No need. I’m just glad I know now rather than months from now, ya know?”
“For what it’s worth, I think you’re a great girl.”
She laughs. “Thank you. I’m pretty sure those are the exact words my grandpa uses when complimenting me.”
“Shit, I’m so bad at this.” I rub my forehead.
“It’s okay. No hard feelings.” She opens the door and slides out. “I’ll see you at school.”
“Yeah, see ya.”
“And Killian? Just in case you don’t already know this, she’s into you too.”
My jaw falls loose and questions roar in my head, but she slams the door before I can pull myself together enough to ask.
Could she be right?
Is Axelle just as crazy about me as I am her?
I throw the Jeep in gear and peel out of the parking lot.
Only one way to find out.
Thirteen
Axelle
“I think your date hates me.”
Ryder slides a lazy gaze between me and his date, who’s stewing with a girlfriend across the room. “Eh…she’ll get over it.”
“Ouch. Remind me to warn the female population of your sensitivity.”
He shrugs and shoves his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. “What’s going on with you and Killian?”
“You don’t tiptoe around issues, do you?”
He lifts his eyebrows by way of reply.
“I love Killian.”
His eyebrows pop impossibly higher.
“Always have.”
“You think that might be something you should share with the guy? Put him out of his misery?”
“It’s not like that with us.”
“Yeah?” He looks skeptical. “And why’s that?”
“He’s…too good.” For me.
“Can’t argue that.”
I backhand his bicep. “Seriously, Ry, sensitivity. Work on it.”
“What? He is. He’s smart, funny, decent-looking, and—according to my dad—he’s in line to become one of the best UFL fighters in history. He doesn’t drink much, never touches drugs. He’s a…a…” He purses his lips. “Let’s just say the guy is as pure as they come.”
“He’s a virgin. I know.”
He scrunches up his face. “Hard to believe, right?”
“Not really. He’s never seemed very interested in girls. He’s always been about studying and working hard to become a fighter. I don’t think girls were ever really on his radar—”
Ryder bursts out laughing, the sound irritating because I get the impression I’m the joke.
“What’s so funny?”
He wipes his eyes, and his bellowed laughter slows to a chuckle. “Wow, you’re fucking clueless.”
“You know what? If you don’t learn to use your filter, I’m not—” I jump as a firm grip clamps down hard on my ass. I whirl around to a slit-eyed and sloppy-mouthed Clifford. “Don’t touch me.”
His hands fly up and he laughs low and throaty. “Whoa, what crawled up your ass?”
Ryder steps between us, his back facing me. “Clifford, you’re fucked up. Why don’t you go sleep it off and you and Axelle can talk in the morning?”
I sidestep Ry and meet eyes with my ex. “Don’t bother. I’m so over you.”
He stumbles back and forth then steadies himself. “You’re over me? Funny, didn’t feel like you were over me when you were suckling like a starving puppy from my dick.”
I launch toward him, but am caught up by Ryder’s shoulder as he wraps an arm behind him to hold me back. “That wasn’t me suckling, that was me looking for it, you limp-dick pussy!”
His jaw ticks and he lurches forward. “Not so limp when I was buried deep in your cunt, bitch.”
Embarrassment engulfs me in flames, because our war of words is riddled with truths. Truths I’d rather forget.
“You’re the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”
“Wish I could say the same, but all the side pussy and free meals made every second fucking you worth it.”
Tears spring to my eyes and track down my cheeks. I’m so pissed at him and even more pissed that I’m letting him make me cry that I lean forward again to claw his fucking eyes out.
Ryder’s arms grab me around the waist from behind. “Fuck, you’re strong.”
Just as the words leave his mouth, the room fills with tension. People who’ve circled around us part to a demanding presence, and I don’t have to see him to know he’s here.
And furious.
“Killian, man…” Ryder’s voice is pleading but unwavering. “Breathe through it, brother.”
I wrench my head around to find Killian standing behind us, his shoulders bunched so tightly beneath his pale blue dress shirt that it strains the seams. The edges of his jaw are sharp with tension, and his eyes are pinned to his target.
“Oh great, Mr. Wonderful’s here to rescue his girl, huh?” Clifford motions to me with a drunken flip of his wrist. “Take her, dude. Won’t see me puttin’ up a fight.”
“Ryder,” Killian growls. “Get her to the Jeep.”
“No.” I pull free from Ryder’s hold and he releases me. “I’m not leaving you. Let’s go together.”
He doesn’t spare me a glance. “I’ll be there soon, Ax. Just go.”
“Yes, please”—Clifford motions with a dramatic sweep to his front door—“get the fuck out.”
I grab Killian’s forearm, but he rips it from me, and it’s then I notice his hands are shaking.
Ryder must notice it too because he leans in close. “Killian, seriously, don’t do this.”
“He disrespected her.”
“They’re just words, Kill,” I say. “I can take it.”
A flash of sorrow softens his expression, nearly taking my breath away.
“But you shouldn’t have to.” He pushes past Ryder and me and directly into Clifford’s face. “I could destroy you, right here, at your own party, in your own motherfucking living room, but you’re not worth the stain you’d leave on your carpet.”
“Thank God.” Ryder exhales beside me and guides me away and toward the door.
“Whatever, man, just get out.” Clifford tries to sound tough, but his voice wavers.
“We’re gone.” Killian turns to leave, but pauses and turns back. “Eh, I changed my mind.”
Faster than my eyes can track, he throws a punch that knocks Clifford to his back.
The room erupts in gasps, and Killian eyeballs a few stoner guys, inviting them to be next. They sink back into the crowd, and with that, Killian turns, grabs my arm, and drags me out the door.
He’s like a bull as he moves through the party, pushing people who don’t move quickly enough out of his way. Ryde
r’s on our heels, and when we get to the Jeep, Killian picks me up by the waist and puts me in it. “Where’s your shit?”
“In my car.”
He holds his hand out, and I drop my keys into his palm. “Stay with her.” Ryder nods and Killian pulls my purse from my car, hitting the lock and alarm before stomping back.
He tosses me my purse and keys and mumbles a quick “thanks” to Ryder before climbing into the driver’s side.
I share a quick look of apology with Ry. He smiles too big for my comfort just as Killian pulls away.
~*~
Killian
I snapped.
I felt the second it happened, and now that it’s done, I can’t pull myself back together again.
By the time I hit the front door of the house, I heard him. He’d called her a bitch, made disgusting comments about her body. What a fucking fool! To think he’d been honored with having the gates of heaven opened to him and he spat on the floor and walked away.
My muscles twitch with the fall of adrenaline. It took every ounce of my training and every sliver of my will to keep from pulverizing that douchebag. I wanted to laugh maniacally in his face and wear his gray matter on my fists like a badge of honor—oh fuck. I need to lay off the Stephen King books.
“Killian, please don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not mad at you, but I fucking hate that guy. Promise me you’re done with him.”
“I am. I never want to see him again.”
“Good. I’ll go pick up your car in the morning.
“You don’t have to do that.” She picks at her nails. “I can pick it up myself.”
“Not now, Ax. Don’t do your tough-girl thing with me when I’m barely holding on to the last inch of my patience. I’ll get your fucking car.”
“Fine,” she whispers. “Thank you.” A few seconds pass and she fidgets in her seat. “Did you kiss her?”
I flex my hands on the steering wheel and contemplate lying. “Yes.” I keep my eyes to the road.
“And…how was it?”
“It was…” not you. “Different.”
“Hm.” She shifts in her seat, and I can see in my peripheral vision that she’s looking at me. “Do you like her?”