She pushed at my chest and yelled, “Stop it!”
Though I pulled her behind a shed, we weren’t exactly hidden from view. Keri’s backyard was big, and people were everywhere. More so, when it had gotten around that me, Chance, Dash, and Mad had shown up. People had started filling up the backyard, and anyone could see us fighting if they were paying attention.
Looking down at Lake, she was wearing a simple green blouse that was untucked over a pair of dark jeans and pair of flat sandals. It was nothing fancy, but I thought she looked beautiful. Her dark brown hair was hanging loose over her shoulders and down to the middle of her back. And I was pussy-whipped enough to note that she must have straightened it because the other two times that I’ve seen her, and in most of her social media pictures, her hair usually had a light curl to it.
But taking in her outfit, luck was on my side. While, normally, I’d love to see her in a skirt for easy access, her wearing jeans was just what I needed for what I did next. No one else was ever going to see what was underneath her clothes ever again. Only me.
Reaching down, I hooked my arm around thighs and tossed her over my shoulder, her drink cup gone. Lake started screaming like a banshee as she rained her fists on my back. “Oh, God! Put me down!” I could feel eyes on us, and good. This would definitely get the point across that Lake was mine. “Ramsey! Put me down! Ramsey!” And the fact that she was calling me Ramsey as she screamed the party down was telling, too. No one outside my family called me Ramsey, and everyone knew it.
I opened the door to the shed and when I secured it shut behind us, I finally let her down. The shed was made out of metal, so I knew our fight would echo through the thin sheet walls, but I didn’t care. The people outside might hear us fighting, but our words would be muffled enough to keep this between us private.
Lake stared up at me, fire in those blue eyes of her. “Have you lost your fucking mind?!”
My left hand shot out, grabbed her by the neck, and shoved her against the worktable in the middle of the shed. As far as sheds went, this one was big enough to house a worktable and work bench, along with the basics like a lawn mower, weed eater, and crap like that. That was another reason sound could be reached outside. The shed was spacious enough to cause an echo.
Lake’s hands wrapped around my forearm, but we both knew she was no match for my strength. There was no way my hand was coming off her throat unless I removed it.
Willingly.
I took my right hand and ran it from her shoulder, down over her left tit-and I made sure to give it a good squeeze-before moving it down and over her waist, until it was planted on her ass, squeezing again, before pulling her phone from her back pocket.
Sure, I knew her phone hadn’t been in her bra or under her blouse, but I was done denying myself. I had Lake in my hold, and I couldn’t not touch her as violating as that might seem. However, I knew she was attracted to me, so I didn’t feel too badly about it.
I let go of her neck but kept her prisoner against the worktable with the rest of my body. I stuck her phone in her face. “Un-fucking-block me now.”
She looked positively livid, but she did as she was told. I watched like a hawk as she entered her passcode and unblocked me. Sure, I could have had Maddox do it for me. But I was making a point here. She needed to realize that she couldn’t win. She needed to see what she was up against and letting Maddox do it the easy was wasn’t working.
“There,” she snarled. “You’re unblocked. Now let me go back to the party and leave me the hell alone, Ramsey.”
“Yeah,” I scoffed. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Lake pushed at my chest. “I’m not a fucking game!” she yelled. “I’m not…I’m not here for your goddamn entertainment!” She turned to make a break for the door, but I grabbed her by the back of her neck and yanked her back.
Trapped against the worktable again, my lips were touching hers as I said, “No, you’re not.” And with that, I crushed my lips to hers and her shocked outrage allowed for my tongue to sweep inside her mouth. And my first thought was that I couldn’t wait to make out with her pussy, and that’s when I knew it was all over for me. I’d already suspected it, but the desire to experience everything with her pretty much cemented what I’d already known.
I was going to marry this fucking girl.
I didn’t care that it’s only been a week and that she hated me. I was going to marry Lake Warren, no matter what she wanted.
The kiss lasted all of a few seconds before she was pulling her face away. “Stop it,” she cried out. “Just…oh, God…”
My fingers squeezed her jaw so hard, I could feel it threatening to pop underneath my grip. “Don’t fucking tell me you don’t feel that, Lake,” I hissed in her face. “I can feel your heart beating just as out of control as mine. I can fucking feel you, Lake.” And I could. If Lake was pissed, it was because she hated being attracted to me. “You want my dick just as badly as I want to give it to you. And I’d bet my fucking car that if I stuck my hands down your pants, right now, your pussy would be soaking wet.” She let out a low moan, and I knew I had her. My other hand came up and took her tit in a warm hold. “Is that what you want, Lake? Do you need me to take it from you, so you don’t feel guilty and weak in the morning?”
Her eyes flashed as she pushed at me again. “Get off me, Ramsey,” she demanded. “You…” She shook her head. “Quit fucking playing with me!”
“I’m not playing with you,” I fired back. “I already told you what I wanted.”
“You’re lying!” she accused, and that pissed me off more than I already was.
“I’m not lying!” I roared. “You’re just scared and being a fucking coward!”
“I’m not scared of you,” she denied.
“Then why are you pretending you don’t feel anything for me?” I challenged.
“I don’t,” she stubbornly insisted, and I’d had enough of her bullshit.
I let her go and took a step back, giving her some space. “Well, then, if that’s true, I guess I’ll just go back out to the party and go find out what Erica Chambers has that you don’t.”
I didn’t see the slap coming.
It was hard, loud, and so full of hate, that my head snapped sideways.
Before the full impact of pain could radiate over my face, Lake raced out of the shed. It was only three seconds before I was hot on her heels, chasing her through Keri’s backyard. I could hear someone call her name, and it could only be Eden, but that didn’t stop me.
I chased Lake through the yard and into the house, through a throng of people, drinking, dancing, partying, and just being in my fucking way. I didn’t lose sight of the flash of green racing through the house, looking for safety, even when I knew I was in the wrong.
I never should have told her something like that. I never should have thrown another girl in her face. It was wrong and inexcusable, but I had to push her somehow. I had to force her to acknowledge what she felt for me because I had hated hearing her say she felt nothing.
But that slap wasn’t nothing.
All that slap did was prove that she did feel something for me, because then why get upset enough to slap me if she didn’t?
I caught her opening a door and rushing inside, but when I finally reached the door, she’d had enough time to lock it.
My fist came down hard and loud. “Open this fucking door!” I didn’t care about damages. I could pay for them, no problem. “Open this door or I’ll break it the fuck down, Lake!” I also didn’t care about an audience, but soon, Eden was standing next to me, pounding on the door.
“Lake!” she yelled through the wood. “It’s me! Open up!”
“R.J.?” I looked over at Dash, and he had his hands up in a ‘what’s up’ gesture.
I told him the truth. “I fucked up.”
“Lake!” Eden yelled again. “Open up! Please!” The doorknob finally turned and as soon as the door cracked open, Eden was rushing inside.
And me and Dash were right behind her.
Chapter 18
Lake~
Eden’s voice and the sick feeling of ruining Keri’s home were the only reasons I opened the door. Coming from a normal family with normal parents, my stomach turned at the thought of Keri’s parents coming home to find one of their bedroom doors destroyed. A good clean up would help Keri keep this party a secret, but a broken door? Yeah, not so much.
And as cowardly as it sounded, I felt braver letting them in, knowing Eden would be with me. I turned the knob and stepped back in time not to get knocked down by a worried Eden, an enraged Ramsey, and a stoic-looking Dash.
Eden’s hands immediately latched onto my shoulders as she looked me up and down. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I’m fine,” I lied. I could still feel myself shaking from the adrenaline of slapping Ramsey, and I knew she could feel it, too, with her hands on my shoulders.
Her green eyes searched mine. “Let’s go,” she said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“You guys aren’t leaving,” Ramsey announced as if he could stop us.
My eyes flew to his. He was standing near the bed, a few feet behind Eden, with Dash standing behind him. Ramsey looked furious and you could make out the faint redness on his cheek.
I slapped Ramsey Reed Jr.
And for what?
Because his words had been hitting too close to home? Because I was attracted to him and he was calling me out on it? Because I had gotten jealous when he mentioned Erica?
Eden head snapped back around. “The hell we aren’t,” she replied. “I don’t know what’s going on, but we are leaving.”
“Let’s go,” I said. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stand here, wrestling with my emotions, and not cave.
Ramsey shook his head at me. “You’re not fucking leaving,” he repeated.
I lifted my chin. “Are you going to stop me?” I challenged.
He took a step forward before Dash’s hand reached out and grabbed his arm. “You think I can’t?”
With more bravery than I felt, I said, “I think we’re done here, is what I think.”
You could hear the rumble of his growl all throughout the silence in the room. “We’ll never be done,” he threatened. “I’m not letting you go that easily.”
I stared at this beautiful, powerful, wealthy, enraged boy and knew I was in over my head. I also knew I didn’t have the weapons necessary to fight him. I was right when I said Ramsey Reed Jr. would chew me up and spit me out if I gave him half the chance, and that’s what he was doing. He knew what mentioning Erica would do to me, and he did it anyway, because that’s what the Reed Family did.
They fought to win.
“Screw, this shit,” Eden muttered as she grabbed my hand. “Let’s go, Lake.” She started walking off, with me behind her, when Dash stepped in her way.
“Not so fast,” he said, but Eden was beyond self-preservation right now.
She looked up at him and said, “Get out of my way, Dash. Just because your hand was up my shirt ten minutes ago doesn’t mean you matter enough to tell me what to do.”
Oh, well, hell.
So much information that I didn’t need or want to know.
Dash crowded her. “Be careful who you talk to like that, baby girl,” he warned darkly. “Especially, when we both know it was a lot more than just my hand up your shirt.”
I was done with this.
I turned back towards Ramsey. “Let us leave, or I swear to God, I’ll start screaming loud enough to bring the police.”
Ramsey stomped his way into my face. Looming down on me, he called my bluff. “Do it, then.”
Because none of us had thought to lock the door, noise and laughter came barging inside the room in the form of a tipsy Becker Hamill and Susie Cameron, all over each other.
“Oh, hey,” Becker laughed. “We didn’t know this room was taken.”
“Are you guys done with the room?” Susie giggled drunkenly.
However, I didn’t care about them, and their little distraction was just what Eden and I needed to make a break for it. We quickly dashed out of the room, not bothering to look back.
Cutting through the sea of partygoers, Eden and I damn near raced through the house until we came upon the front door, through there, and out into the front yard.
Because neither of us had a car, we had Uber’d our way to the party, but I couldn’t really care less about the ten-block walk back to Eden’s. I was upset and confused enough to need the fresh, cool October air. And since neither of were wearing heels, we could do this.
“What happened back there, Lake?” Eden finally asked. “You were shaking earlier.”
We were already half a block away, striding down the sidewalk. “I slapped Ramsey.”
She lost her footing, but quickly got back in her rhythm. “Holy shit, are you serious?”
I nodded, staring straight ahead, hoping her house would magically appear. “We were arguing in the shed and…”
“And?”
“I told him I didn’t have feelings for him, and…” I let out deep, painful breath. “…and he told me he was just going to go ahead and go back to the party and find out what Erica had that I didn’t.”
Eden stopped dead in her tracks.
I had to stop a few steps ahead of her and turn around. “What?”
I’d never seen that look on Eden’s face before. When I thought of Eden, I thought of light. I thought of an easy happiness. Eden was the optimistic one out of us both.
However, Eden did not look optimistic right now.
She looked pissed.
“Are you freakin’ kidding me?” she hissed. “Did he really say that to you?”
I grabbed her hand and started pulling her with me. “He did,” I confirmed, but I couldn’t let Ramsey go down for this without telling her the entire truth. “He knew I was lying. He knew I was lying about having feelings for him, so he pushed.”
We started back down the street when she reluctantly muttered, “That still doesn’t make it right, Lake.” But before I could comment one way or the other, a familiar black Range Rover pulled up and parked a few feet ahead of us.
Ramsey got out of the driver’s side and slammed the door as Dash got out of the passenger side. Both guys looked like they were ready for battle, but I was too far gone in my confused feelings to recognize the danger for what it was.
They both came to stand in front of us, and Ramsey’s voice sounded like dark smoke still hot from the flames. “I need you to get in the car, Lake,” he rumbled. “I need you to get in the car before I really lose my fucking shit.” His brown gaze was burning bright with emotion. “If you think you’ve seen me at my worst, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
“Ram-”
“Get in the fucking car before I burn this entire town to the fucking ground!” he roared like a thunder cloud. His hand shot out and was around my neck as Dash rushed in to grab Eden from interfering. “And don’t think I won’t do it, Lake.”
My eyes burned, and I hated that. I hated how he could see them gloss over. I hated how confused I was. How could I want someone I didn’t like? Why did his high-handed ways turn me on when I despised being bullied?
The first tear trailed down my face, and the second it did, Ramsey let go of my neck and stepped back.
I closed my eyes as I took in a deep breath, and that forced another tear to escape. The idea was so loathsome, I quickly wiped the offending tears away.
I glanced over at Eden, and she looked heartbroken for me. I gave her a small nod and conceded defeat as I made my way over to Ramsey’s car. Ramsey opened the passenger side door for me while Dash did the same for Eden with the back passenger side door. Once we were on our way, not a word was said the entire way to Eden’s house.
When Ramsey pulled up in front of her house, Eden made it out of the car without any fanfare, but when I reached for the door handle, Ramsey’s voice stopped me.
“This isn’t over.”
I turned my head, not looking back, but letting him know I heard him, and said, “Do me a favor Ramsey. There’s still time to go back to the party and find out what Erica Chambers has that I don’t.” I steeled my voice. “Go back to the party, and just leave me the hell alone.”
“Never,” he replied quietly, but forcefully.
I got out of the car and didn’t look back once.
Chapter 19
Ramsey~
Dash sat in the recliner, a drink in his hand, not saying a word. In fact, he hasn’t uttered a word the entire ride back to Chance’s house. We could have gone back to my house, but with Mom and Dad there, I knew we couldn’t raid the liquor cabinet, and I needed to raid a liquor cabinet. What a fucking disaster tonight turned out to be.
As the entire night played over in my mind, the one thing that stood out the most, more so than that fucking slap, were the tears.
Those goddamn tears.
I had pushed hard enough that her rage had spilled out in the form of tears, and I’d never been good around female tears. From random chick, that shit didn’t faze me, but from someone I cared about? Yeah, that shit sat very uncomfortably. I remember when D.J. had first cried over a boy. It had been brutal, and we’d all been ready to murder him until we’d found out that the poor bastard hadn’t even know D.J. liked him when he had asked another girl to go out with him.
I also couldn’t stop my mind from going dark. What if she went to Metcalf as revenge for my fucked-up comment? I’d kill him, of course, but that wouldn’t change what happened between them before I killed him.
“Alright,” Chance announced as he and Maddox walked into the game room. “We’re here.” He stopped in the middle of the room and glanced back and forth between me and Dash “What in the fuck happened back there?”
Maddox didn’t say anything. He just walked over to the sub-zero refrigerator, grabbed a beer, and sat in the recliner opposite Dash. But the kid was eyeing me the entire time. He knew me best, and he knew I was barely holding on by a thread.
Dash jerked his head my way. “Let him tell you,” he said. “I was waiting for you guys to show up, so he wouldn’t have to repeat it.”
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