“Oh my God,” I murmur. I launch myself forward and grab Callan, hugging his arm. “Thank you, thank you!” Instantly, I feel the warmth emanating from his body. I hate how comforting it is.
Shit, I almost ended it all and I didn’t even need to. So what if I have friends, I still have my spot at the university. I still have a chance to prove to my parents that I can be more than a party princess.
He clears his throat. “Now that you know that, are you still pissed that I saved your ass?”
“No. I’m…very grateful. Thank you, truly.”
His eyes lock with mine as he grabs me by the throat, pulling me in. His eyes darken as our I stop only inches away from his lips. “Never do that again. Do you understand me?”
Nodding quickly, I glance away, but he squeezes so tightly, I know he wants me to keep looking at him. His grip loosens only slightly. “Say it. I need to hear it, Wil. You scared the shit out of me. I was at the far end of the lake when I saw you run off the dock.”
“I won’t,” I say, in a raspy tone.
He lets go and something flashes in his eyes and then his lips are on mine, for the first time since the basement.
They’re soft and threatening at the same time. Threatening to consume everything in me as his tongue dives past my lips. As our tongues move together, heat pools between my legs and I moan softly at the sudden need I feel.
Every time he touched me, this is what was missing. His lips on mine. I hate that I need this from him.
Suddenly, the warmth of his lips and tongue are gone. His eyes darken as he presses my forehead to his. “Stay here with me so I can keep an eye on you. Just until break is over.”
“Aren’t you going to have Thanksgiving with your family?”
“No,” he says in a firm tone. “It won't feel right without Heath.”
Like the cold water of the lake, bringing Heath up changes him. His gaze is cold as he backs up and takes off his still wet shirt and pants.
The rest of the night, we eat pizza in silence as he flips through the channels on his eighty inch TV mounted on the wall. After a while, it sounds so far away, I know I’m tired. His silk sheets are identical to the ones at home so I fall asleep the moment I cover myself with it.
Faintly, it must be in my dreams, I feel a pair of lips press against my forehead and a whisper of my name. “Wilhelmera.”
Chapter Fourteen
Callan
I wake up to the sound of a deafening cough in my ear.
Blinking slowly, I peer over to find a moving lump under the covers.
I rub my hand over my face and clear the sleepiness from my throat. “What’re you doing princess?”
Her voice is muffled when she responds so I yank the covers off of her.
“No!” she screams, trying to grab the sheets and blanket to pull back over her. I keep a firm enough grip that she isn’t able to do so.
“What’s the big…” I start and notice her face. Puffy red eyes, snot leaking from her nose, and her normally pink lips are pale. “Are you sick?”
She sniffles. “Yes, and I look like a train wreck.” Her hands go up to her hair as she goes to fix the messy bun from last night.
“You just look absolutely fucking miserable, actually. But that’s what happens when you decide to go swimming in cold lake water on a chilly overcast day. Learned your lesson yet, princess?”
She groans and sniffles. “Just shut up and point me in the direction of the medicine cabinet.”
“Just stay put, okay? It’ll be faster if I go get it.” I lean over to my night stand and toss her the box of tissues. “Blow your nose. That sniffling is driving me nuts.”
She glares and sniffles once, twice, three times on purpose with a grin.
I grab the box of tissues from her hands, take a tissue and shove it in her left nostril. “Blow.”
She frowns and finally does, making her nose turn a deep shade of red.
“Thank you,” I say, getting up and trudging to the bathroom. The medicine cabinet upstairs is to the right of the mirror. I grab the cold med box and cough syrup and bring them back.
On my way back to the bed, I go in the mini fridge and grab a bottle of water. I’m glad I keep this thing stocked.
I toss them on her lap, to which she snatches them up. Right after she gulps everything down, with a swig of water, she glances at me out of the corner of her eye. “You don’t have to babysit me, you know, if you have stuff to do.”
“I don’t. It’s Thanksgiving break.” I lie back on my bed, parallel to her.
Her eyes move down from my face. “Are you going to put on a shirt?” She blinks quickly and her hands snap out and grab a tissue as she sneezes.
“Why should I? I’m in my own house. And it’s nothing you haven’t seen. Now just rest and…here.” I toss her the remote from my nightstand. “Watch whatever you want.”
A look of surprise flashes on her face, but she grabs the remote regardless and goes straight for Netflix.
She emits a squeal of joy when she finds that popular vampire show about two brothers in love with the same girl. “I’m starting from the beginning because I’m assuming you haven’t seen this.”
“Do I look like I want to watch the love story between a girl and a vampire?”
She looks from me to the screen. “No, but you might surprise yourself.”
And surprise myself I do, because hours later we’re halfway through the season I’m glued to my fucking bed. “There’s something about the bad brother that makes me think she belongs with him.”
She laughs in a nasally voice. “What makes you think so?”
“Well, she’s good right? And he’s bad, so together they even themselves out. Plus he’s just a hell of a lot more interesting. Don’t lie and tell me you like the other brother better.”
A sly smile spreads across her face. “Maybe I do. You’ll have to wait and see.”
Before she starts the next episode, I glance at the clock on the wall to see how many more we can fit in to find it’s already almost time for dinner. Somehow we skipped lunch.
“Why don’t we eat first before watching more?”
She nods. “Yeah, I just don’t think I can eat anything heavy.” Her hand goes to her throat and she moves her fingers slowly, massaging it. Her voice has gotten raspier as the day has gone on.
“We’ll just order from the cafe down the street. Chicken noodle soup, okay?”
She nods, coughing hard into her elbow. “I can pay for my own food this time.”
Not this again. Last night it took forever to order because she kept insisting she’d pay for her own. “Like I said last night, my dad has plenty of money. Stop worrying and rest.”
I order a bowl of chicken noodle soup for her and a turkey sandwich and chips for myself.
She taps me on my arm, her cold finger making me jump as I set my phone down.
“What is it?”
She hikes the covers up her face. “I just want to say, I’m sorry for yesterday and getting mad at you for saving me. If you hadn’t…I would have…”
“Just stop,” I say firmly.
She tucks her bottom lip into her mouth and sighs. “It must have been difficult to save someone you hate so much.” Her tone is so low, I can barely hear her.
But those words make my blood run cold.
Do I hate her? Would I have laughed and enjoyed her company all day if I did? When was the last time I absolutely despised her?
She smiles wanly. “Want to watch another episode while we wait?”
I don’t respond, staring into her eyes. The intensity of my stare makes her falter a bit as she goes to reach for the remote between us. Before she can grab it, I pick it up and sit it on my nightstand.
“I don’t hate you.” The words leave my mouth so quickly, so effortlessly, I didn’t even stop to think before saying them. And it shows on her face.
An ‘O’ forms on her lips and she shakes her head. “But Heath.”
/> I press a finger to her lips. “Don’t talk about him.”
Every single time I think about her, and then him, I get this murky feeling in my gut.
And I still don’t know for sure if she has anything to do with his disappearance. Months ago I was positive, but that’s slowly been weathered away. Sitting here right now, I’m more convinced that if she was around when something happened to him that she would have done everything to prevent it.
But that’s not even the first thing that pops into my head anymore. The only thing I can think of is how betrayed my brother would feel by how badly I want to fuck his girlfriend. Maybe subconsciously I pushed it off for that exact reason.
Having her in my bed, sleeping next to me, is a whole new level of control I’m doing my damndest to maintain. Not to mention hearing her shower this morning and I couldn’t even watch. I could only picture the rivulets of water cascading down her body.
I wish just fucking someone else would help. I had a girl right in my arms, about to plunge myself into her yesterday morning when I heard Wil’s voice in my head instead of the girl’s. When I looked down at the girl beneath me, I didn’t see her, I saw Wil’s lust filled eyes and her plump breasts, her flared hips. It wasn’t the same.
I was on my way to her when I followed her to the lake and saw her jump in.
“I don’t hate you either,” she says, interrupting my thoughts.
Moving my hands down quickly, I hide my growing erection. “Glad we’re on the same page.” But even if we weren’t, I’d fuck the hate away until the only thing left is her begging for my cock.
I grab the remote and start the next episode. Halfway through, I get a notification about a visitor and okay it to the security guards. I go downstairs to grab the order and get crackers from the kitchen before going back up.
Her eyes brighten as I toss the crackers to her. “Thanks! How’d you know I can’t eat soup without them?”
“You can’t or you won’t?”
She smiles. “I won’t.”
Spoiled. Right.
“And if I didn’t have any?” I ask, shoving my sandwich in my mouth.
“I would have ordered some, with my own money.”
Of course she could try. She doesn’t know how much I like to blow my dad’s money on everything. It’s my favorite thing to do.
I don’t tell her though. Instead, I finish my sandwich and watch her slurp down her broth after eating the chicken and veggie parts out.
When we’re both done, we continue watching the show, and the further we get, the easier I can see how much she loves the bad brother. Even when he’s intolerable to the main character, she smiles.
But we don’t reach the end, not even when it’s midnight.
She sniffles and blows her nose. “I’m sleepy. I think I need sleep.”
“Go to sleep then. I won’t stop you.”
She nods, blinking sleepily. “I’ll just use the bathroom first.” Instead of that long shirt she was wearing last night, she’s been wearing this clingy pink tank top since she got out of the shower with lacy underwear. My eyes stay glued to her ass as it jiggles while she stumbles to the bathroom.
My dick starts to come alive in my pants again and I quickly adjust myself, finishing just as the toilet flushes and she washes her hands. “I think I might have a fever. Mind if I find the thermometer?”
“Sure, go ahead,” I call. “Just look in the third drawer.”
I hope to hell it’s there. I don’t pay enough attention to my housekeeper when she tells me where she arranges things.
“I don’t see it. Mind if I look around some more?” she barely gets out before she starts coughing.
I pause before answering. I’ve never let a girl go through my stuff before. Never slept in the same bed with one either. “Go ahead.”
The sound of the drawers opening seems to echo throughout the room. She sniffles. “I can’t find it.” She comes back, looking pale and exhausted as she covers her mouth and makes a low sound in her throat as if she’s holding something in.
“If you need to cough, just cough.” I move off the bed and collect her in my arms, holding her to my chest as I lay on the bed. “You don’t need a thermometer. I can already feel how hot your body is. I’ll get you a cold water.”
Nodding, she moves off of my lap and I curse myself for not putting that mini fridge closer to my bed. But I get her the water, turn off the lights and lay down next to her. She sips it so quietly, I would’ve thought she was using it as an ice pack if I wasn’t facing her. But I guess she decides to, because she holds it to her chest.
“Night,” she murmurs, turning her back to me. Last night she was so far away, almost to the edge of the bed. But tonight, she didn’t scoot away. He stayed in place, her head planted in the middle of the pillow, no covers on her.
I know I should turn over and go to sleep, but I’m not tired. I’m wide awake. She’s so close I can smell the shampoo in her hair from her shower this morning. I sniff the air, breathing deeply.
Wil might think she looks completely unattractive. The truth is she still looks just as gorgeous. Her smile might’ve lost a bit of its enthusiasm. Her hair might’ve looked wild. Her eyes swollen and her nose red from sniffling and blowing it so much. But my erection is still here, reminding me of the fact that my attraction to her isn’t something that will disappear.
It’s more than her body, and that thought scares the shit out of me.
I trail my fingers down the straps of her tank top as she snores away. Not softly either, but super fucking loud snoring just like last night. I thought it might’ve been a fluke but this is her normal volume.
When my fingers reach her hips, I stretch my hand out and grab it firmly.
“Mmm,” she mumbles in her sleep. Scooting back and forth restlessly, I watch her stop with her ass barely an inch away from mine.
I’m sick. I know I am. She’s sick and here I am wanting to fuck her so bad she won’t be able to get out of bed in the morning. She’s so close. And I’ve kept myself under control this whole time. Just a little. I need just a little to stave off this hunger. I move my hand off her hip to pull my sweatpants down, revealing my fully erect cock.
I grip her hip tightly and edge closer, moving my cock against her ass, still covered by her underwear. Gritting my teeth, I find the material of her underwear to be very fucking annoying against my cock.
I’ll just be quick. She won’t wake up.
I pull her underwear down, completely off her ass and thrust my cock upward between her cheeks. It’s like heaven is cupping my cock, but fuck…her pussy is only an inch away. One shove in the right direction and I’ll be inside her.
The thought makes me rub against her ass faster, earning a low groan from my throat.
A sweaty hand touches mine and I freeze when I realize I don’t hear her snoring anymore.
There’s only the barest hint of her breathing.
“Callan.” Her voice comes out short and breathy. Shit, maybe she’s feeling worse.
I could lie and tell her that I thought I was dreaming or come up with some shitty excuse, but I think the truth is better.
“You’re too fucking tempting Wil.”
That sweaty hand clutches mine tightly, squeezing. “Don’t stop what you’re doing. Keep going. Though, I’d prefer if you were between my thighs again.”
Lust surges through me at her words, and I instantly oblige, thrusting myself between her thighs and rubbing against her clit.
She lets out a low moan. “Feels so good,” she murmurs, moving her hips to keep pace with me.
Fuck. It does.
The wetness leaking between her thighs and the tight clasp of them coupled with her moans don’t help me last long as I pull back, fisting my cock and finishing on her ass.
She’s so quiet, I touch her arm. “Are you okay, Wil?”
But she’s already fast asleep again.
I clean her up quickly with a hand towel from the
bathroom and lie back down.
How am I going to survive sleeping in this bed with her for the next four nights without fucking her?
Chapter Fifteen
Mera
I never thought I’d say it but Callan isn’t so bad. I thought by now he would’ve let me go back home, but he’s accepted me into his space as if I’ve always been here. The whole time I was sick he took care of me. We finished the show this afternoon and I cried all over again. It turns out he loves shows like that one as much as I do since he isn’t fighting with me about watching the spinoff show.
He still tries to control a lot of things though. I haven’t paid for a meal since I’ve been here and he refused to let me help make Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe I could’ve saved the disaster of a meal that came out of it. Actually, scratch that, I haven’t made a meal for myself in my life. It would’ve come out worse. But at least I would’ve had something to do instead of watching him make it all day. He also disagreed with me ignoring my parents’ calls. He thought they’d fly out here after not hearing from me, but surprise surprise, social media says otherwise. They were pictured on their way to the southern castle since it’s getting cold there. Their calls aren’t the only ones I ignored though. But I don’t want to face any of them yet. Not until I have to.
I never thought I’d feel better somewhere alone with Callan than in my own bed at the sorority. Everyone at school will probably show up tomorrow to get ready for their Monday morning classes. Callan will probably take me back tomorrow afternoon so tonight is the last night I’ll share a bed with him.
It’s the last night and he still hasn’t done what he did that second night. Waking up to feeling his cock against my ass was a surprise I didn’t know I wanted. My only regret is I was at my sickest that day and I couldn’t even enjoy it.
God, I’m crazy. I should want him to respect me while I’m sleeping. All I want is to feel the high I get when he touches me.
“I got it, Coach. Practice at dawn on Monday.” While he’s talking on the phone sitting at the edge of the bed, I walk to the sink and brush my teeth.
The Princess and the Bully (Goldsworthy University Book 1) Page 18