“Maybe.” I play coy, running the tip of my tongue over my lips.
“What about your boyfriend?” His eyes flit over my head, and I follow his gaze. Brad is standing with his arms folded, looking directly at me with a furious look on his face. “I don’t want to invade Brad’s territory. Bro code and all that.”
Ignoring his blatant sexist remark, I lean in closer, inhaling his woodsy all-male smell. “He’s not my boyfriend anymore.”
He grins. “It looked like you were arguing, but I wasn’t sure.” His hands hold me closer at the waist.
“You were watching me?” I flutter my eyelashes in a deliberate provocative gesture. I don’t quite know what’s gotten into me tonight, but I’m going to indulge this new persona and throw caution to the wind.
“Baby”—he caresses my cheek—“every guy in this room is watching you.”
“Well, then”—I run my thumb across his lower lip, smiling when his body thrusts against mine—“I guess this is your lucky night.” I eye his full lips with obvious intent. “I need to be kissed. Right. Now.”
He barks out an amused laugh. “I like a girl who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to ask for it.”
“So?” I tilt my head to the side. “What are you waiting for?”
He chuckles as his large hand slides to the back of my neck. He pulls me flush to his body, grinding his arousal against me. When he smashes his lips to mine, he devours my mouth without apology. He plunders my mouth greedily, groaning as our tongues mesh together. He tastes like beer and smoke, and while his technique could use some work, I’m not going to complain because he’s making me forget, and that’s exactly what I signed up for. His muscular arms wrap firmly around me, and he lifts me clear off the floor, which is no easy feat, but he holds me aloft as if I weigh nothing. Angling his head, he extends the kiss, and I move my mouth against his, enjoying the hard thrusting of our mouths and our bodies.
“Get your filthy hands off her, Edwards,” Brad demands as a second pair of hands lands on my waist.
“Get lost, McConaughey.” He removes his lips from mine and places my feet back on the floor. “She’s a free agent.” He hasn’t relinquished hold of me, and I’m hemmed in on both sides.
“Faye.” Brad’s voice contains clear concern. “Come on, please.”
I shuck out of Edwards embrace and turn to face Brad. “Have you changed your mind?”
He reaches his hand out to me. “Please, come home with me now.”
“That’s a no, then.” I slide my arm around Edwards’ waist as a shout echoes around the room.
“Fight!”
Our attention is instantly diverted. The crowd surges forward, and there’s a mass exodus from the room. Keaton appears at our side. His cheeks are flushed, and there’s a worried expression on his face. “Brad, Ky needs your help to break up with a fight. Kal and some asshole are kicking the shit out of one another.”
Brad lets loose a string of colorful obscenities. “Okay.” Brad eyeballs me. “Stay right here. We’re leaving when I come back and that’s final.” He jabs a finger in Edwards’ chest. “Don’t try anything or you’ll have me and the entire Kennedy clan on your ass.”
Edwards shows him the middle finger.
“Wait. I’m coming too.” I grab hold of Brad’s arm. “He’s my cousin.” And I had promised I’d support him, but instead, I got lost in my own drama and left him to his own devices. I’m a pathetic excuse for a cousin.
“No.” Brad shakes his head sternly. “I don’t want you getting caught up in the middle of this. It could get messy. Stay here and I’ll be back.”
He races off behind Keaton. Edwards winks at me, running his finger along the edge of my mouth. “You sure you and him are done? Didn’t much sound like it.”
“I’m not with Brad, and he doesn’t dictate what I do or don’t do.”
Edwards fuses his mouth to mine without warning. “Prove it,” he whispers against my lips, straightening up and taking my hand. I let him lead me out through the kitchen and into the back corridor where the bedrooms are. One part of me knows this is a bad idea, but another part of me, that illusive alien part of me, propels my legs forward in encouragement.
He opens a door and steps aside to let me enter. The room is bathed in complete darkness, but I can make out the wrinkled double bed resting alongside a heavily curtained window. Edwards stalks toward me, pulling my body against his. His eyes smolder with a lustful gleam that is unmistakable. “You want to have some fun, babe?”
He rocks his hips into mine so there’s no misconstruing the intent. I shouldn’t do this. It’s not my usual M.O., but I can think of no better way to scrub Ky from my body and my mind. I run my hands up his impressive chest. “I’m game.”
He sends me a devilish smile, and then his mouth is crashing against mine as he walks us back to the bed. I fall back on the downy mattress and his body covers mine. His hands entangle in my hair, and he moans when I roll my hips up to meet the bulge in his jeans. His teeth graze the skin on my neck, and he nips and bites his way down to my chest. I writhe underneath him, deliberately blocking all conscious thought. I want to lose myself in the moment, in the feel of this stranger’s lips and body moving against mine. His hand slips under the band of my corset top. As he roughly kneads my breast, I moan out loud.
“That is so fucking sexy,” he murmurs. “No wonder McConaughey was trying to keep you all to himself.” He slides down my body, pulling my shoes and leggings off in a few swift well-practiced moves. Cool air washes over my exposed skin, and before I have time to reconsider, his calloused hands are creeping up my legs. His eyes shimmer with potent need as he cups my sensitive place. Heat rushes through me, and my back bows off the bed. His mouth seals to mine again, and his tongue is frantically exploring my mouth while his hand slips into my knickers. I claw at his back, trying to drown out the noisy protests in my head and the sudden unease trickling through me. I should just stick with the program, see this through, but I can’t. This isn’t who I am, and no matter how badly I wish to replace the memory of Ky’s touch, all this is doing is highlighting how much I miss him. Edwards isn’t Ky. Isn’t even close to him, and now I want to get as far away from him as I can. What the heck am I doing? What was I thinking?
My head is a jumbled mess, and the alcoholic buzz isn’t helping either.
His finger slides inside me, and I shudder in disgust. This is wrong. I don’t want to do this with him or anyone who isn’t the boy I love. Sleeping with someone else won’t repair the hole in my heart or make me forget everything that Ky means to me. This will only make me feel even more used.
Just as I’ve decided to call a halt to this, a hulking form drifts out of the shadows in the corner of the room, and I scream in fright. Edwards clamps a hand over my mouth. “Chill, sweetheart. It’s okay.”
My entire body trembles as adrenaline surges through my veins. My eyes blink furiously as light drenches the room in a sudden burst of luminosity. “That’s much better,” a familiar masculine voice says. “I want to see every inch of your glorious body as he fucks you.”
Bile floods my mouth as I open my eyes and glower at Jeremy. “Excuse me?” I remove Edwards’ hand from my knickers and shove him away.
“Don’t go all shy now, Faye.” Jeremy grips my chin, pulling my face up so I’ve no choice but to look him in the eye. “I’ve been watching you, dirty girl. You want him inside you. You’re practically begging for it.” He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a bunch of foil packets and tosses them on the bed. “I’ll show you if you like?” he smirks, waving his cell at me. “You’ve already given me quite the show.” He presses a few buttons on his phone and holds it out to me.
My eyes dart wide in panic as I realize what he’s done. A rush of nausea assaults me as I watch myself moaning and writhing on the recording. No! This isn’t happening to me again! “Give m
e that!” I make a grab for the phone, but he holds it out of reach.
“I’ll make you a deal.” He licks his lips as his eyes zone in on my chest. “Let us both do you, and we’ll give you back the recording, and we can all walk away having had a good time. What do you say, Ireland? You up for a threesome?”
I stand up, unfurling to my full height. I may be only at chin-level with him, but he’s not going to intimidate me or blackmail me. “In your dreams, asshole.” My heart is slamming against my ribcage as I hold out my hand. “Give me your phone. Now.”
He shakes his head, sending me an amused look. “No.” My hand quivers with almost uncontrollable rage. “My cell. My property. My content, and I’ll do whatever the hell I want with it. The guys on the team are gonna go crazy for this.”
I push him. “Listen, jerkface. If you do anything with that recording, I’ll sue your sleazy blackmailing ass.”
This time it’s Edwards who laughs. Approaching from behind, he wraps his strong arm around my waist, pressing his mouth to my neck. “You’re getting all worked up for the wrong reasons. The three of us can have a good time, and then you can watch while we delete the recording.”
“How stupid do you think I am? And get off me!” I try to wrestle out of his arms, but his hold doesn’t budge.
“Come on, Faye. We were having a good time. Loosen up and go with the flow.”
“I said GET. OFF. ME!” I yell, shoving my elbow into his ribs. He jerks back and I reach around, digging my nails into his groin. Edwards emits a guttural roar, clutching himself between the legs as he stumbles backward with tears leaking out of his eyes. He crashes into a dresser, knocking it on its side with an almighty thud.
“You really shouldn’t have done that,” Jeremy warns, dangling his phone in front of me like a predator luring a child with chocolate.
I make a lunge for him. I bring my leg up to kick him in the junk, but he intercepts my move, grabbing my foot, and I lose my balance. I fall to the ground on my back, pulling him down with me. His large body flattens me to the floor, and his face thwacks against mine. The phone flies out of his hand, skating along the floor and under the bed. Edwards is shouting obscenities at me, and Jeremy is moaning on top of me. Stars distort my vision, and an instantaneous throbbing pain takes up residence in my skull. A fluid substance trickles over my face, and the room spins as the door flies open.
The weight pressing down on me is gone as Jeremy is lifted off me. “Oh my God, Faye.” Ky’s tone and look is horrified as he takes in the sight of me. The left strap of my dress has snapped, exposing the upper half of my breast, and blood is leaching out of my nose. Bending down, he swoops me up into his arms. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” he asks in an almost whisper. “What did they do to you?”
I clutch my head in my hands, groaning as I try to focus my vision. “The phone,” I mumble. Ky steps out into the corridor and places me gently on the ground.
“What?” He peers into my eyes as I lift my head up noticing Brad for the first time. He’s standing in the doorway, fury seeping out of his pores like fog spreading soundlessly and swiftly across the land. He removes his shirt, leaving him in only a white tank top, and hands it to me. “Put this on.” His kind tone is at odds with his fierce expression. Ky helps me into the shirt, buttoning it all the way up to my chin. There’s a look of absolute terror and rage etched on his face.
“I warned you, Edwards. I fucking told you to leave her alone,” Brad yells. “You’re fucking dead!” With that, he charges into the room with a roar.
“Wait!” I try to get up, but a burst of dizziness keeps me rooted to the spot.
“Don’t move,” Ky says. “Stay right here. We’ll deal with them.”
I open my mouth to explain, but Ky has already raced into the room with his fists raised. Oh crap. Things are about to turn to utter shite.
I have a front row seat from where I’m positioned, and I watch as Ky throws himself into the fight alongside Brad with gusto. I know I should get in there and tell them that they have the wrong idea, but my legs won’t work, and every time I try to climb to my feet, I end up collapsing onto the floor. Ky yanks Jeremy off Brad’s back, pummeling him repeatedly in the face. Jeremy doesn’t stand a chance. Ky has him pinned to the floor as he rains savage blows on his face and upper torso. Brad has a similar advantage on Edwards until more rallying cries ring out, and a surge of bodies hurtles down the corridor and into the room.
It’s a virtual blood bath. There’s got to be at least twenty boys crowded into the bedroom, exchanging punches. Bodies move like lightning, darting up and down, heads thrusting back, and spatters of blood soaring through the air. Furniture screeches and slides across the floor as bodies are flung around the space. Roars and shouts are commonplace as I stare numbly at the chaos in front of me. Tucking my bare legs up to my chest, I tremble underneath Brad’s shirt, hyperconscious of my half-naked state. Someone comes flying out of the room, and I have to scoot sideways to avoid being trampled.
The shrill sound of steel-toed heels approaching captures my attention. I turn and watch Addison stalking toward me with venom in her eyes. Her nostrils flare up in a most unattractive fashion. She stalls in front of me, observing the scene in the room before turning around to face me. With considerable effort, I hoist myself to my feet, clinging to the wall for support. Her eyes scan me from head to toe with a look of utter disdain. “Slut,” she hisses.
“Takes one to know one,” I bite back.
She takes a step toward me. “I will only say this one more time. Kyler is mine. Do not stand in my way or you’ll be sorry.”
I glare at her. “I know you’re blackmailing him into this. There’s no way he’s with you of his own free will.”
Her lips turn into a snarl. “You’ve hit your head, and you’re delusional. It’s time you faced facts, Ireland.” She prods a bony finger in my chest, and I thrust it away. “He is my boyfriend, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Or ever.” She straightens up and a sly smile creeps over her mouth. “Why do you care who your cousin dates anyway?” Her eyes narrow to slits as a loud crash from inside the room reminds me the fight it still ongoing.
Even with what I suspect is a minor concussion, I know not to fall into a trap when I hear one. “Because Kyler deserves to be with someone decent. Not some cheating tramp who has worked her way through the entire football team!” I yell.
Grabbing my wrist, she twists it hard, and I cry out. “Careful now. You’re playing in the big league, and you’re completely out of your depth.” She drops my hand, smirking as she takes a step back. “You know, you sound almost jealous. You wouldn’t be crushing on your cousin, now would you?” Her eyes glisten with malice. “Because that would make you a total sicko.” She glances over her shoulder as another loud thud emanates from the room. When she turns around again, there’s a calculating expression on her face. “I can ruin you. Just like that!” She clicks her fingers. “Stay out of my way. I won’t warn you again.” I flip her the bird as she walks away, and her gleeful cackles are still piercing my ear drums when the sounds of sirens ring out in proximity.
There’s a crazed stampede in the main room outside if the shrieks, shouts, and urgent trumping of feet is any indication. “Cops!” someone yells into the corridor, and it’s almost comical how speedily the fight breaks up.
Boys stream out of the room, covered in cuts and bruises, and I watch as a couple of others jump out the bedroom window. Brad reaches down, scooping me up in his arms as Ky hurtles out of the room. “Fuck! We need to find my brothers and get the hell out of here!”
I cling to Brad’s neck, burying my face in his shoulder as he races down the corridor and out into the main room, the heavy thread of pounding footsteps following behind us.
“Stop right there!” a gruff voice commands. “You are all under arrest.”
Chapter Sixteen
I
shiver profusely in the cold, stark cell. The blanket the kind police lady gave me is threadbare, and although it covers my exposed legs and feet, it doesn’t provide any warmth. My teeth chatter relentlessly as icy tremors rock my body.
“Jeez, Faye, you’re freezing,” Keaton confirms, dropping onto the bench alongside me. He hauls me into his side, and I cling to him, desperate to siphon some of his body heat.
“You should try keeping your clothes on next time,” Jeremy snipes from the holding cell next door. I have zero energy to enter into a battle of wills at this Godforsaken hour, so I count to ten in my head and bite back my snarky retort.
“You’re lucky there’s a steel bar separating us, Roberts,” Ky snaps. He’s sitting on the opposite side of our cell alongside Brad and a few other boys from the party. Edwards and Jeremy are in the cell behind us with the rest of the boys who were arrested. To borrow Kaden’s phrase, it’s a clusterfuck of epic proportions.
We were all interviewed separately, and I’ve already given my statement so I don’t know why I’m still locked up. I wasn’t engaged in the fighting, and as far as I’m aware, they have no grounds to detain me. None of us have seen Kal since we were brought in, and I can only imagine the world of trouble he’s in.
The sound of approaching footfalls halt the flow of conversation and everyone perks up. The surly looking male police officer from earlier appears with James and Kaden at his rear. Some of my pent-up stress releases at the sight of my uncle and cousin.
“Kennedys, Donovan, and McConaughey,” the police officer shouts. “Come with me.” He unlocks the cell, stepping aside to allow us to pass.
“What about us?” Edwards demands. The sound of his voice twists and turns in my gut. I can’t believe I was so idiotic. I let stupid pride and alcohol override common sense, in a feeble attempt to ignore my aching heart. I nearly slept with that douche because I was doing everything to avoid actually feeling the pain of Ky’s rejection, and if I’m being brutally honest, because I wanted to hurt Kyler like he hurt me.
Losing Kyler (The Kennedy Boys Book 2) Page 15