Control You

by Snyder, Jennifer

  “Thanks, Tim Burton is a genius.”

  “So, where’s your bathroom?” Lauren asked.

  “Down that way.” I pointed her in the right direction, and then headed into the dining room, anxious to see what Paige had come dressed as.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  PAIGE

  As Jason effortlessly made his shot, I adjusted the top of my pirate girl dress and tried to keep from laughing. There was nothing funnier than seeing a giant tooth playing beer pong. The more he drank tonight, the funnier it would become to me.

  “I cannot hold this thing all night!” Blaire whined as she waved her wand around. She’d dressed up as the tooth fairy and looked stunning.

  “Shove it down your top, then you don’t have to hold it anymore, but you won’t lose it either,” I suggested.

  She shifted to meet my stare. “Good thinking!”

  “Yeah, good thinking,” someone said from behind me. I knew who it was without having to turn and see—Cameron.

  “Oh my God, I love your costume!” I shouted, unable to control myself. “That is my favorite Halloween movie of all time! Well, besides Hocus Pocus, of course. ”

  “I’ve heard that a lot tonight. I’m shocked there are so many Tim Burton fans here.” He grinned.

  “Wish I had known what you were going as, I would have attempted to be your Sally.” The words were out of my mouth before I could run them through my head and search for any sense of embarrassment they might inflict on my behalf.

  His eyes flashed. “That would have been nice.”

  A guy dressed as a cowboy brushed past me, bumping me with his body in the process, and I stumbled into Cameron. His hand reached out to steady me, gripping my upper arm.

  “Jeez, there are a crap ton of people here.” The words were hollow and meaningless, because all I could think about was his hand wrapped around my arm. It was warm and gentle against my skin. Something Craig’s grip had never been.

  “Yeah, there are.” Cameron’s eyes were narrowed at the guy who’d bumped me when I glanced up. As soon as they flickered to find mine, he released my arm and took a step back.

  I finished off the last of my drink, my throat suddenly feeling parched, and turned to Blaire. “I’m going to get another, you wanna come?”

  Her eyes shifted from me to Cameron, and then her lips twisted into a wicked grin. “Nope, I’m good.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right back, then.”

  “No rush.” She winked.

  My face burned from her obviousness. I cleared my throat and tucked my arms in at my sides, ready to push my way through the crowd. My heart kicked up a notch when Cameron’s warm hand pressed against my lower back, and steered me through the thickness of people.

  “I’ll come with you,” he insisted in a low whisper against my ear. The tingles that had been flickering through my system at his touch turned into spasms, which congregated in my lower region. God, his voice was sexy when he wanted it to be.

  We passed Lauren on our journey to the kitchen. She was talking with some guy dressed as a vampire, leaning against a wall. I counted five other vampires and six witches along our walk. Suddenly, I was glad Lauren had mentioned needing to go costume shopping when she had, because otherwise I’d be blending in on a night when you were supposed to wear something that would make you stand out.

  “What were you drinking?” Cameron leaned in close, his lips grazed my ear for the briefest of moments, and I felt my insides tremor.

  My mind went blank. What the hell had I been drinking? “Umm, tequila and ginger ale.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You sure? You seemed to think about that for a minute.”

  The flush that tinted my cheeks moments before crept down my neck. “I think so. Lauren made it.” That wasn’t true, but he didn’t need to know that.

  “Right.” Cameron smirked. He took my cup from my fingers and pushed through the people blocking him from the counter of liquor.

  Remaining where I stood, I folded my arms across my chest. Rocking on my heels, I glanced around the large kitchen, smiled at a few people, and then resorted to chipping away at my black nail polish. A hand reached out and grabbed hold of mine, startling me. The sudden movement threw me off balance, and I stumbled over my feet.

  Cameron wrapped his arm around my waist and chuckled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just didn’t want you standing there alone any longer.”

  His close proximity, mixed with the little bit of alcohol swirling through my system, made a soft moan nearly burst free from my lips.

  “It’s fine,” I managed to breathe.

  Cameron held my stare for a moment before he released me and reached for a bottle of tequila. “How strong do you want it?”

  My mind was in a dirty place, thinking of how I wanted to be pressed against him again and wrapped up in his arms. Someone nudged me from behind in his or her effort to weave through the people congregating in the kitchen. This was what brought me out of my thoughts. “Not too strong.”

  I watched his steady hand pour the liquid gold into my cup. “Is that enough?”

  There was only about a half an inch in the bottom of my cup, but with the way I’d been thinking and feeling around him tonight, that little bit would be all I needed to allow my inhibitions to fly out the window. There was no way I could allow myself to get smashed, because then something would for sure happen between us. While I wasn’t with Craig anymore, it still didn’t make it right for me to—one week after breaking it off with him—sleep with the guy he’d thought I’d been screwing around with behind his back. Seemed like confirmation in some twisted way.

  “Yeah, that’s good. Thanks.” I tucked a strand of hair that had come loose from my bun behind my ear.

  “All right, tell me the ratio to ginger ale you want.” His hazel eyes locked with mine. The dark circles he’d smeared around them and the white face paint made them appear much brighter than I remembered them.

  “About halfway full.”

  He nodded and some of the white paint he’d sprayed in his hair fell to the counter like snow. “Got it.” He reached for a lime green stir stick and mixed the concoction together before handing it to me.

  I smiled and took it from him. “Thanks.”

  Someone bumped into me from behind again, nearly causing me to spill my drink, and Cameron placed his hands on my hips to steady me. While warm flickers of electricity slipped along my insides from his touch, I decided I needed to find a spot against a wall to stand so I didn’t get bumped again. Enough was enough.

  “I knew there was something going on between the two of you. You’re such a fucking lying whore!” Craig’s voice boomed from behind me.

  I turned and came face-to-face with him. He was the epitome of pure evil as he glared down at me with dark eyes. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides as his eyes trailed down my body, taking in my pirate costume.

  “What are you doing here?” The words fumbled from my lips as my heart hammered inside my chest. A tremor slid through my body, but it was nothing like the one I’d felt slip through me from Cameron’s touch. “How did you know I’d be here?”

  “I’ve been waiting for you to come by here. I have to admit, you did take a little longer to shack up with him than I thought you would,” Craig sneered. I noticed he wasn’t dressed in a costume. The dark circles underneath his eyes weren’t made up; they were his own.

  My shoulders grew tight as adrenaline crashed through my system at a nauseating pace. Cameron moved from behind me, as though the sight of Craig’s derailed frame didn’t faze him in the slightest. He positioned himself directly beside me and stared, while taking a swig from his newly created drink.

  “First off, no one’s shacking up with anyone, and second, she asked you some questions. Ones I’d like to hear the answers to myself,” Cameron bit out.

  People had realized something was about to go down. They were parting, giving the three of us room, and listening intently. C
raig rolled his head along his neck, and then chuckled. It was low and demonic sounding, something fitting for a Halloween party, something I would definitely be hearing in my nightmares later.

  “I’ve been tracking you, Paige, since we first got back together, waiting for you to mess up and give me some sort of proof that you’d been sleeping around on me with him.” Specks of spit flew from Craig’s mouth as he spoke, and a vein I’d seen from time to time in his forehead became prominent as it throbbed.

  Tracking me? How? As though he could see the confusion swelling in my eyes, Craig took another step closer to me and flashed me a devilish grin.

  “I put a tracking app on your phone, Paige. It allowed me to know your whereabouts at all times, read your text messages as they came through to you, and even listen in on your conversations if I chose to.” There was a sour stench to his breath, and I wondered for a moment if he was drunk. “Technology can be a great thing.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, but didn’t get the chance because Craig’s fist came soaring toward my face. All I could think to do was close my eyes, and attempt to block the blow. Something connected with my cheek, just below my right eye, but it felt bony and sharp, nothing like what I expected his fist to feel like. Loud grunts and a shuffling of people filled my ears as I tumbled backward into the kitchen counter.

  My eyes popped open as I steadied myself. Cameron and Craig were going at it, again, only this time Cameron didn’t appear to be holding back like I’d seen him do before—when Craig had held me too tight inside my shop. His fist connected with Craig’s jaw in rapid succession, unrelenting in its force and power. I couldn’t breathe. The rage that was rippling off Cameron nearly suffocated me. Craig didn’t have a chance to fight back; there was no room between Cameron’s blows for him to get a hit in edgewise, not even to block the next one.

  “Cameron! Enough!” a female voice shouted. A girl dressed in a shiny black Catwoman costume rushed to where he pounded Craig’s face. “I said enough! You’ve made your point, damn it!”

  Eva. That was who Catwoman was. I rushed to her side to help pull Cameron off. We were no match for him. He was determined in his blows, lost in his rage. Jason swooped in, and with the help of another guy, was able to peel the two apart.

  “What the hell happened?” Blaire stared at the bloody mess that used to be Craig’s face. “Is that Craig? How did he know where you were?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. He said he’s been tracking me with some app.” My voice sounded all wrong—strangled and weak, on the verge of tears. Maybe this was what shock felt like.

  “That’s sick.” Eva crossed her arms. “I say you call the cops on his ass this time. Obviously, these ass beatings Cam keeps giving him aren’t enough.”

  “Wait a minute, what ass beatings?” Blaire glared at me.

  My stomach sank. I would have to tell her everything. Dear God, she was going to be so pissed at me for keeping it from her. Not only that, but I knew she’d be hurt too.

  “Craig wasn’t really a great guy, but you already knew that. You had him pegged from the beginning, and I’m sorry I didn’t trust your judgment,” I admitted. The words felt like sandpaper scraping across my tongue on the way out.

  “Well, no shit,” Blaire started, but Lauren cut her off.

  “Stop. Don’t say another word,” Lauren demanded, waving a hand in front of our faces. She was smashed and could hardly stand. “Paige knows what an asshat he is now, and she didn’t really get hurt—well, if you don’t count that shiner building on her eye—so we should all be grateful for that and move on. Right?”

  “I know.” Blaire sighed, staring at Lauren. “Even when you’re sloshed you’re still knowledgeable.”

  Shiner? I pressed my fingertips to my eye and felt a stabbing pain. “Ouch.”

  “Here, maybe we should get you some ice for that.” Eva squeezed through the people standing around, watching the aftermath of the showdown, and disappeared.

  Blaire held out her arms and I slouched into her for a hug. My eyes trailed over to where Craig lay, stretched out on the tiled floor. His jaw was swollen and his nose gushed blood. Cameron was nowhere to be seen. My stomach seized at this realization. Where was he? Was he okay? The top of his white, powdery hair caught my attention near the refrigerator, and my muscles loosened.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CAMERON

  Eva crept up onto the countertop in her high-heeled boots, nearly giving me a heart attack. She situated herself, and then placed her hands on her hips. “All right, everyone, get the hell outta here. Party’s over, and you can thank that piece of shit right there”—she pointed to where I knew I’d left Craig, lying in a puddle of his blood—“for it ending early. Thank you all for coming and have a safe ride home. Happy Halloween, y’all!”

  There were a few hoots and whistles as she descended from the counter. The smile on her face let me know she enjoyed every one of them directed her way. I folded a few cubes of ice into a dishtowel for Paige, and hurried to find her in the dispersing crowd. She stood beside Blaire and Lauren, leaning her head on Blaire’s shoulder.

  “Hey, I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t think I was that close to you. My only thought was to intercept his punch, and then beat the shit out of him,” I admitted as I handed her the towel with ice. “Damn, my elbow really gave you one hell of a shiner!”

  Her lips twisted into a small smile and she waved my words off. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Really.” She took the ice and pressed it to her cheek, but winced and pulled it away.

  “No, you’re not,” I insisted. “Come over here and let me play doctor.” Damn that sounded kinky, and so something I would love to play in that sense with her.

  Paige’s brown eyes flashed, and for a second, I wondered if she might have been having the same thoughts as me. I grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the counter. “Climb up and have a seat.” I reached for the ice I’d just handed her and watched as she hoisted herself onto my counter, her little pirate skirt hiking up and exposing more of her smooth thighs.

  “Okay,” she breathed. There was a slight sense of confusion muffling her tone.

  “I think we’re all going to make sure everyone has left and let you two ice up,” Eva muttered as she and everyone else left the kitchen.

  “Here.” I carefully pushed her thighs apart and positioned myself between them, taking note to how her breathing picked up pace and her cheeks tinted to a shade of pink. I felt myself harden at the sight of her inner thighs and forced my gaze up to meet with hers. “Let me help you hold that in place so the swelling goes down.”

  “Shouldn’t you be holding ice on your hand to help your own swelling go down?” she asked.

  My eyes never left hers. I hadn’t even attempted to look at my hand. All I cared about was her at the moment. “Nah, it can wait.”

  She bit her bottom lip in an effort to suppress a smile.

  “What?” I cocked an eyebrow and grinned. “What are you smiling about?”

  “Nothing, it’s just that I’ve never been taken care of by Jack the Pumpkin King before. This is definitely a once in a lifetime thing.” She chuckled.

  “That it is.” I laughed. “I’ve never iced a pirate’s cheek before so we’re even.”

  A moan sounded from behind us, and I turned to see Craig coming to. His face was pulverized. The sight of it sickened me. I didn’t enjoy beating the shit out of him like some would think. I didn’t enjoy beating the shit out of anyone, ever.

  Craig coughed and blood sputtered from his mouth. Another moan escaped his swollen lips, and his hand came up to rest on his forehead. He needed a doctor—that much was for sure. I shifted my gaze away from him and glanced at Paige. Her face was drawn into a look of complete horror.

  “What do you want to do about him?” I asked her.

  Her eyes snapped to mine as though the sound of my voice had scared her. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you want me to call the co
ps and have him arrested for stalking, or should I call his dad to fill him in on this whole incident and see if he’ll agree to get him some help this time?”

  She didn’t respond right away. I could see her weighing each option carefully. It made me think that much more of her as a person. She wasn’t out for revenge; she was still thinking of his best interest, even after all he had put her through tonight.

  “I think you should call his dad. He really needs to get some help, like anger management classes or something.”

  I nodded. “I agree. That’s what I suggested to his dad last time.”

  Pulling out my cell from in my back pocket, I dialed Scott as I continued to hold the ice to Paige’s cheek, and filled him in on everything that had happened.

  “He’ll be here in about ten minutes to pick him up,” I said after I hung up.

  “Is he going to get him some help?”

  I readjusted the ice pack on her cheek. When she winced, I let up on the pressure a bit. “Yeah. He knows Craig has an issue. Now he can’t stay buried in his work and ignore it. Things are getting out of hand. When we were younger, Craig would do stupid shit like punch walls and bullshit like that to get attention. I guess this is what the monster they never dealt with properly growing up turned into.”

  Her eyes went back to Craig. “I can see how someone could end up like that, especially with parents who never seem to care.”

  We lapsed into a tiny moment of silence, and I pulled the ice away from her cheek. “Better?”

  “Yeah.” She nodded. “Thanks. Now let’s get you cleaned up.”

  I looked down at my hand and realized my knuckles were covered in blood. It was unclear if it was Craig’s or mine. My costume had been speckled by blood as well, making me look scarier than I was sure Jack ever did in the movie.

  Paige slipped off the counter and walked to the sink. She grabbed a paper towel and got it wet. “Here, let me see.”

  I let her take my hand in hers, and she dabbed at my knuckles. When she got most of the blood wiped away, all that was left was a few tiny slices around my knuckles, and one large gash above my middle knuckle.