CW Boys- The Complete Series Box Set

by C. Shell

  “Addy!” The sound of my name combined with the harsh tone that it’s spoken in pulls me back from my subconscious.

  I blink my tired eyes open, feeling the wetness that coats my lashes. I shiver and refrain from hugging myself, not that I really could with the way Dex’s arms are wrapped tightly around my shoulders. It’s like being hugged by a large boa constrictor.

  I pat his arm and give him what I hope is a reassuring smile. Judging by the frown lines marring his face, I missed the mark on that one. My throat is raw and sore as I speak. “I’m okay. It was just a bad dream.”

  “I thought the bad dreams were gone.” Dex pulls back and the heated look he gives me has me wanting to crawl back under the covers and never come out. “You told me they were over.”

  I don’t answer. With my throat burning and tears threatening to unleash at any second, I can’t get any words out.

  Dex’s gaze never wavers from mine and beyond the anger and fury I see staring back at me, there is a hurtful glint that I’m responsible for.

  “I told you what you needed to hear. My nightmares have lessened immensely, but no, they aren’t completely gone. If I had told you the truth, you would’ve kept pushing for me to go see that counselor my mom keeps harping about.”

  “And what is wrong with that?” The fierceness in his tone startles me.

  “Everything.” I press a hand to Dex’s chest, needing something to hold on to, something to give me the strength I needed to get through this conversation. “I don’t want to be medicated and I sure as hell don’t want to talk to a stranger about what happened to me. I’m doing the best I can to move forward, and yes, it’s a slow process, but one of us has to do it, and it sure as hell isn’t you.”

  Dex leans back, putting more distance between us than needed. I frown knowing my words were a low blow. Why does everything always have to be so hard? The trip was great and we were happy, then the moment we get back home, everything falls apart again. I hate the constant back and forth.

  “Dex.” My voice softens and I move forward as I eat up the space he just vacated. “I love you. That is never going to change, but I need you to be on the same page as me. Let the courts get the justice we deserve.” I hold his gaze, letting the little space that separated us dissolve into nothing. “Let’s not let what they did bleed into who we are now.”

  I watch as Dex’s face contorts from disbelief to outright anger, then settles into something close to acceptance. “I can’t promise you an overnight miracle, but I’ll see what I can do.”

  It isn’t an outright agreement, but it’s still music to my ears. His finger trails up my arm, and I groan in response. With the nightmare still fresh in my mind, I’m ready for a distraction, something good to replace the lingering fear they always leave behind.

  We share a look then I’m linking my arms around his neck and pulling him down on top of me. Dex gazes down at me, his eyes darkened with lust. “You sure this is what you want right now?

  “Yes,” I rasp out. “This is exactly what I need.”

  The corner of his mouth tugs into a predatory grin. Needing him inside me, I wrap my legs around his waist and hooking the toes from my uninjured foot under the waistband of his sweatpants, I use my feet to shove them down. Shifting me to the side, I wait as Dex slips a condom over his erection, then as if a starting gun has gone off, we are a swirl of motion.

  What little clothes are left are pushed aside. My mind clears of all thoughts as he pushes inside me. There is no control with our movements, just raw emotion, and pure sensation. His hard body moves over mine and my thighs clench his sides. Our lovemaking is frantic and real, no pretenses are needed as we both give and take what we need.

  I shift my leg up, and he presses in deeper, hitting a spot that has my eyes rolling into the back of my head. He stares down at me, his tempo slowing, as he mouths the words,” I love you.” His lips explore mine, the touch soft and soothing. It’s nice, but not what I need right now. I kiss him harder, needing more.

  My body is on overload. My sex clenches and I’m close to falling over the edge. Dex must have felt the change in me, because he starts hammering away, reaching new depths, and places that are only his to explore.

  I’m panting so much it’s hard to speak. “I love you,” I gasp, using what little voice I have left.

  His tongue sweeps over me, claiming every inch of my exposed flesh, and then we are both coming. Sagging in exhaustion, I realize that I never want this moment to end. For good or bad, Dex is mine, and I vow to fight to do whatever it takes to keep it that way.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “You’re almost out of wrapping paper. We’re going to need to make a trip to the store tonight before they close.”

  I peer at the pile of Christmas gifts in my arms and survey the room looking to see if Cammy’s being serious. Noticing the empty rolls of wrapping paper, I huff in irritation.

  “I gave you three brand new rolls when you started. How in the hell did you go through that much paper? I don’t have many gifts that need wrapping.”

  Cammy’s head shoots up and her eyes flare. “Don’t go blaming me for using up all your precious wrapping paper.” She points to a small pile of presents already adorned with her signature wrapping style. “These babies were not easy to cover up. Only one of them was in a box shape, the others were either circle or cylinder. It took me a few tries to get it right.”

  I give her five wrapped gifts a bemused look before staring back up at her in disbelief. “You’ve been at this for three hours now and this is all you have to show for your hard work?”

  “Did you not see the bows and cute little hand printed tags they all have? That took major skill to pull off. I don’t even think a major department store could produce anything half as pretty as what I’ve done for you.”

  I know my face is creased into a frown. I’m not trying to be rude, but her level of perfection is a bit on the crazy side. They are very nicely wrapped presents, but if I’m being honest, it’s all for nothing. The guys rip into gifts the way a shark does a fresh piece of meat. They will be so hyped on seeing what I bought them that they won’t take the time to appreciate Cammy’s hard work to make them pretty.

  I can’t tell her that. Not only will she be crushed, but she might not finish wrapping the rest of my packages. I’m not giving her any chance or reason to renege on our deal. Yes, I think her packages are over the top in the decorating department, but mine would be the complete opposite and might be passed up altogether. The last time I was in charge of gift wrapping, Jimmie accused me of having Freddy Krueger wrap them. I’m not going through that again.

  “I get what you’re saying, Cammy. If you need more rolls of paper, then let’s go get them.”

  “And bows,” she adds with a toothy smile.

  “Okay.” I punctuate the word with a sharp nod. “Get your shoes on so we can go. I’ve still got to fill up the stockings before bedtime.”

  “And maybe some more tape and silver ribbon.” Her head tilts to the side as if she’s thinking really hard. “Do you think silver or gold would look better with the green. I personally love silver, but maybe gold would stand out better.” She stops and gives me a serious look. “What do you think?”

  I can’t tell her what I really think because she might kill me. I love Christmas, but I don’t put that much thought into color schemes. I’m a traditional girl through and through. I like the colors red and green together, along with opening presents early in the morning, colorful Christmas lights strung along the roof, popcorn and cranberries hung around a tree, and enjoying a big glass of eggnog while sitting around the fireplace. Cammy, on the other hand, loves pushing the envelope.

  With my hands planted on my hips, I give her my fakest enthusiastic smile-to-date. “Let’s do silver. It’s classy and timeless. No reason to go too wild this year.”

  Cammy’s eyes light up. “Good point.” She slips on her flip-flops and gives my shoulder a poke on her way down th
e stairs. “I knew you would eventually come around. This is going to be an awesome Christmas. You just wait and see,” she sing-songs. “It’s going to epic.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” I mutter under my breath.

  Grabbing up my purse and keys, I follow her out the door with a sense of doom hovering about my head. I’m not a superstitious person; I mean, a black cat to me is just a black cat. That being said, for some weird reason, it feels as if Cam just jinxed the hell out of us.

  ***

  I thought the trip to the store would be a quick and painless one. I was so wrong!

  Two days before Christmas and I swear half of our town is here grabbing every present available to fulfill their shopping list. This is why I never wait until the last minute to buy presents.

  I passed one man who asked me if I thought a woman would enjoy getting a toaster for Christmas. I know I looked at him funny, but what woman in her right mind wants her husband buying her a toaster. On a scale of what kitchen appliances I would ever want gifted to me, a toaster would rate around a negative fifty. I explained this to him in my nicest tone. I also told him that unless he wanted to sleep on the couch for the next year, he might want to aim a lot higher than a stupid toaster.

  Cam looks back at the guy I just spoke to then back at me. “This place is complete chaos. I’ve never been so thankful in my life, not to be working in retail.”

  “Right there with you on that one.” I take in the long checkout lines and bite back a curse on the tip of my tongue. “Can we please find the few things you need and get the hell out of here?”

  “Yeah, sure. Everything we need should be on the back aisle. Follow me.”

  I do my best to keep up with Cam, keeping the top of her ponytail in view as I push my way through the crowds, but somewhere between the television and the computer aisle, I lose sight of her. Customers are bunched together as they fight over a new 3D television on sale, making it hard for me to see three feet in front of me. I’ve never been pushed and shoved around more in my life.

  I yell out Cam’s name, but with the amount of noise around us, I might as well be whispering for as far as my voice carries. A sense of dread begins to fill my veins. Everyone around me pays me no mind, each focused on working to retrieve something from a shelf or talking with someone next to them. I’m a ghost in this crowd of last minute shoppers.

  Remembering that Cammy said she was headed to the back aisles, I turn on my heel and begin to backtrack to more familiar ground, so I can figure out an easier way to get there. Besides not being in this particular store very often, I do well navigating my way to the holiday section, where I find it filled with a swarm of people, their carts filled with every color decoration, ribbon, and ornament imaginable.

  What I don’t find is Cam.

  “I’m not playing hide-n-go-seek with you, Cam,” I mumble to myself. Yanking my phone from my purse I start dialing her number.

  “When you’re done with Cammy, why don’t you and I play a little game.”

  I keep quiet as I turn and look over my shoulder, praying that my mind is playing tricks on me and the voice I just heard was a figment of my imagination. But it’s not. Leaning against the rack behind me, as if she doesn’t have a care in the world, is my living nightmare.

  Tilting my head to the side, I give Lacey a once over as I take in the sight of her. Her hair is longer than I remember it being and it looks as if she’s lost some weight, not that her skinny ass needed it. Her nails are recently painted, and her makeup is fresh and nicely done. All-in-all, Lacey looks about the same as before the incident. The sneer on her face is a memory I could do without.

  My nostrils flare as the rage builds inside me. It’s not fair that my life has been turned upside down, and yet, the bitch of the world stands here looking as if today is no different than it was a few months ago.

  “Sorry. I’ve made it a rule not to play games with psychos.”

  Lacey laughs softly. “Aw, who would’ve thought you had any bite left in you. From the way Nicholas talked, you were nothing but a scared little tease.

  I stand up a little straighter. “Shut the hell up, Lacey.”

  I know she’s trying to goad me into a fight, something that would look bad on both our parts and with her appointment with the judge around the corner, I need to be on my best behavior. I bite my bottom lip to help keep my composure intact. I can’t let her get to me.

  “You shouldn’t be here There is a restraining order in place that says you can’t be near me.” I glance around the store wishing I had picked a busier aisle to go down. It’s not that I’m exactly scared of Lacey, but I not stupid either. The girl is a whack job. I don’t believe in coincidences, and running into Lacey tonight, after I lost Cam, reeks of a setup.

  “That only works if it can be proven. This shopping center is owned by my daddy. There are no working cameras here, and if you haven’t noticed, it’s busy tonight. No one is giving us a second look.”

  “Cammy’s here,” I challenge. “She can vouch for me.” My voice cracks at the end and I want to kick myself in the ass for showing any weakness. My eyes narrow to slits and I regroup, putting my best bitch face on. Fake it, till you make it.

  “That might be, but your little friend is being detained at this very moment. Another shopper thinks she saw her try to steal something. Security is busy making sure she didn’t. They can’t keep her forever, since she didn’t do it, but she’s out of our hair for now. You’re all alone. She can’t help you.”

  Common sense is screaming at me to run and go find Cammy. I don’t listen. Nope, instead, I choose to stand my ground and battle it out with the big pile of crazy in front of me. “As fun as it is to swap verbal insults with you, it’s almost Christmas and I’ve got things to do. Get to the point of your intrusion.”

  Lacey leans forward, her voice so soft I almost don’t hear her next words. Almost being the key word, because what she does say sends me into a blind rage. “Nicholas liked you. He told me you were a fun little toy to wind up.”

  Gritting my teeth, I stop thinking and lunge forward. My hand clamps down on a thick chunk of auburn hair and then I’m swinging her around. I manage to wrap her mane around my hand giving me more leverage than I started with. I’m not sure how many times I twirl her around, but I am pretty sure I would still be going on if the shelving unit hadn’t stopped her momentum.

  Lacey ‘s body makes a loud thump as it collides with the metal shelves, then she’s falling to her knees, one hand still clinging to the ledge of the shelf as if using it to steady herself. As she lands on the floor, she looks up at me, triumph showing on her face. That’s when I realize my mistake.

  Oh shit. I screwed up.

  Lacey smiles at me and my stomach plummets. “Did you get all that, Devon?”

  I knew her cornering me wasn’t a coincidence. Instead of following my gut, and leaving when I had the chance, I let her push me past my limit. I just gave Lacey all the ammunition she needed against me on a silver platter.

  I stand back and watch with trepidation as Devon Schmidt, a cheerleader at our school and one of Lacey’s close friends, walks out from behind a display at the end of the aisle with her phone in hand.

  “Got it.” The smirk on her face sickens me.

  I want to scratch her eyes out, but unlike last time, I’m able to restrain myself. Just barely. I look at Devon as if seeing her for the first time. Although we’re not exactly friends, I’ve never had any beef with Devon. If anything, we’ve always been pleasant to each other in the hallways. “I get that you two are friends, but why in the hell would you help her when you know she’s guilty?” I tilt my head to the side. “What are you getting out of this?”

  “I’m dating Nicholas and you’re trying to hurt him. I can’t let that happen. This tape won’t directly exonerate him, but it will make you look bad. That might be enough to help his case.”

  You would think I was going up against the mob with the way these peop
le work. I’ve never felt more betrayed or defeated in my life. How can I win when they’ve got people in high places in their pocket? There is no such thing as an even playing field against the likes of Lacey and her family. I’m doomed to lose.

  Devon walks to where Lacey is sitting and offers her a hand up. “Thanks, Dev. Let’s get out of here before anyone discovers us. I told my dad we wouldn’t be out late.”

  I should stop them, and maybe I would if I wasn’t in shock. I have no clue how long I stand there in that aisle staring ahead, yet not seeing anything around me. When I feel a tug on my shoulder I about jump out of my skin.

  “It’s just me,” Cammy says, her voice a soothing balm over my frazzled nerves. “Sorry to desert you, but the craziest thing happened,” she huffs. “I was detained by some silly security guy who tries to blame me for stealing a blow-up Candy Cane. I had to sit in his dingy office while he read me the riot act for over ten minutes. Then out of the blue, he told me he was sorry, must have had the wrong person and let me go.”

  I hold up my hands to stop her from going on. “I already know about the fake theft,” I tell her.

  “How could you know that?” Her face pales. Cam lowers her voice and leans in as if to tell me a secret. “They didn’t announce that shit over the intercom, did they?”

  I shake my head and place my hand on her shoulder, steering her back to the front of the store. “No, but I got a visit from Lacey while you were gone.”

  Cammy glances back at me. “You are shitting me, right?”

  I give her a tight smile. “I wish.” Cammy tries to turn toward me, no doubt wanting to hear the details of my night from hell, but I’m not having it. With a palm, flat against her shoulder blades, I keep her walking until we’re outside and shuffling back into her little red car.

  “Please drive. I just want to get the hell out of here and get back home.”

  She twists in her seat and gives me a stare I thought only my momma was only capable of achieving. “Spill,” she demands. “I’m not driving this car anywhere until you tell me what the hell just happened in there.”