Unthinkable: (Unstoppable - Book 2) (The Unstoppable Series)

by Danielle Hill

  The amusement in his tone had me turning to face him. Mirth danced his gaze, lips twitching as he fought a grin. I glanced away, because it wasn’t the oven I needed to steer clear of.

  “Hardy fucking har, Bradshaw,” I muttered. “Going by the amount of product in your hair, I’d say there’s more danger of you going up in flames than me melting.”

  “Just playing, Snow Queen,” he murmured with a quick wink, his blues bolting to mine as he took a step closer.

  His eyes flashed, never wavering from mine, as he leaned forward and reached around me to snag a cupcake. My lungs suspended, and I leaned back as far as the counter would allow, the hard edge biting into my back as the clean, fresh smell of him drifted up through my nostrils. I gripped the edges of the counter to stop myself from reaching out and touching him.

  “Um, I thought you said he wasn’t your boyfriend?”

  Leon smirked down at me before stuffing a whole cupcake into his mouth and chewing. Shaking my head with an indrawn breath, I twisted to look at Bella.

  “Did you sit on these?” she asked.

  “What?”

  Bella squinted up at me. “They look weird. What did you do to them?”

  I scowled, huffing air out through my nostrils. I’d fucking cook her if she didn’t give up.

  “They’re fine,” I muttered with a scowl. “You won’t even be able to notice what they look like once they’re covered with frosting, anyway.”

  She stared at them a beat longer, before giving her head a firm shake. “I’m not taking those. Mom’s are way better. Mom makes them exactly like the ones in the window of the cake shop in town. Why can’t she just do them?”

  My eyes flickered to where Leon stood, watching. “You know why,” I grated, trying to lower my voice, even though he was less than two feet away from me and he would hear no matter how quietly I spoke.

  “I’m not taking them,” Bella repeated. And her wide eyes welled. “I want Mom to make them.”

  It was the tremble of her dimpled chin that got me. Yeah, she was an asshole, but this time, I understood why she was acting out. It wasn’t about the cupcakes. And I couldn’t bear the sight of her upset. She acted so tough that sometimes I forgot she was still just a kid and had so much to deal with.

  I sighed and crouched down in front of her, resting a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll make some more. I’ll keep making them until they look like Mom’s, ‘kay? I’ll make the best cupcakes you’ve ever seen.”

  Bella nodded her head with a small smile. Then her gaze jerked up, and she glanced around with a start, as if she’d just realized she’d lowered the veil and exposed the little girl still lurking inside of her. She stomped from the kitchen with a muted growl.

  Blowing out a long breath, I straightened, running my fingers through my hair as I let my head fall back on my shoulders. God, my head was pounding, and the thought of baking yet another batch of cupcakes was enough to make me want to stick it in the oven. But I’d do it.

  As I lowered my head, my gaze connected with Leon’s, and I froze at the expression on his face. Soft, blue eyes watched me with quiet consideration, a tenderness that sucked the air from my lungs.

  Without looking away, he murmured quietly, “Not quite as heartless as you’d like everyone to believe, are you, Snow Queen?”

  With my heart punching my ribs, I choked on my next breath and shook my head. “Don’t look too hard, Bradshaw—you’ll start seeing things that aren’t really there.”

  His head slowly drifted side to side, eyes never leaving mine. “Maybe I’ll just find all the things you’re trying to hide.”

  I swallowed, a thick rope of emotion closing around my throat.

  Without waiting for a response, he offered the briefest of smiles, his voice gruff when he said, “You or your mom need anything, you know where I am.”

  As liquid warmth flooded my chest, I couldn’t unglue my feet from the floor when he turned and let himself out the front door.

  I couldn’t do anything but stare after him, my heart racing, as I realized he was making me reconsider everything I thought I knew about him.

  TWENTY-THREE

  LISS

  I parked up outside of Beat’s and shouldered my way through the throng of bodies lining the sidewalk. Good ol’ Beatty had lifted the ban he’d imposed on school kids and agreed to let the unruly youth of Claremont back in his diner over the summer. Place was heaving. Sitting in a booth window, in what was clearly the perfect location for her to sit and watch me coming, was Riley Mason.

  The burgers wouldn’t be the only thing getting grilled this afternoon. Great.

  Her light eyebrows were already pitched halfway up her head before my ass hit the padded booth seat, questions lit in her vibrant green eyes.

  “Finally came up for air, did you?” I muttered, a lame attempt at deflection I knew wouldn’t fly. I grabbed a laminated menu and held it open in front of my face.

  Riley snatched it away less than a second later.

  “Oh no, you frickin’ don’t, lady!” Ri muttered, placing it down and aiming a pointed look at me from across the table. “You had sex with Leon Bradshaw?”

  “Uh… yeah, that.”

  Her head shook. “Yeah… that. Best friends for almost ten years and you don’t tell me when you have sex for the first time! And with Leon! What the hell gives, Alissa Gertrude?”

  My mouth fell open. She middle-fucking-named me?

  “You didn’t!”

  She nodded, eyes wide. “Oh, yeah, I did. I went there, Gert. You deserve it and you know it!”

  Tipping my head to the side, I tossed my hands out then let them fall back into my lap with a shrug. “I’m sorry?”

  “Yeah? Well, don’t be. Just start talking and fill me in on what the hell happened! You slept with Leon Bradshaw? When? How?”

  I pursed my lips and hiked up a shoulder. “Same way everyone does it, I assume. Insert tab a into slot b—”

  She dropped her head to the side and folded her arms.

  Fucking fine.

  “Can I at least order first?” I asked, glancing around the room.

  She blinked, her brows pulling together, before she picked up the menu again and tapped it across my shoulder. “No, you can’t order!”

  “Ow,” I murmured. “Jesus. Thought this would be a safe location to talk, but you’ll turn fucking anything into a weapon.”

  She sucked in her cheeks to hold back a grin. “Talk!”

  “Fucking fine. I got wasted on New Year’s, wound up on my back in a field with Jackson Bateman of all people. Fucker’s wandering hands took a wrong turn right up my shirt, and instead of letting me handle my shit, Bradshaw fucking stormed the field like some modern-day knight in black armor and smacked him in the jaw. One thing led to another, yada, yada, yada… next thing I’m slinking out of his house at five am with sex hair, no shoes, and a lace bra stuffed in the waistband of my leggings.”

  “Jackson Bateman?” Ri frowned. “How the hell did that happen?”

  “It was—” I broke off, looking up. Jackson Bateman had been a direct consequence of my mom’s revelation that night. The one Riley didn’t know about. The one I still couldn’t bring myself to talk about. “It was something stupid. Can’t even remember now.”

  She didn’t look convinced; her curious eyes stayed on my face a good thirty seconds longer, only breaking off when a server wearing a red and white striped skirt and matching headscarf appeared at the table holding a circular tray aloft in one hand, and a checkered plate in the other.

  “Beat’s big burger?”

  Riley glanced up, then pointed to me. “I ordered before you got here. Got your favorite.”

  “Thank god. I’m starving.” Smiling my thanks at the waitress, I unwrapped the cutlery and spread the napkin over my thighs, then glanced over to Ri.

  Riley thanked the server when she positioned a tall cotton candy shake down on the table in front of her, then strode away. Lifting her wrap from
the plate, Riley took a small bite, eyeing me while she chewed. “So, why'd you slink out of Leon’s trailer at the crack of dawn?”

  Pausing mid-bite, I arched a brow and mumbled, “What should I have done?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know. Stayed? Talked to him?”

  I scoffed. “Yeah, because that wouldn't have been awkward as fuck. And don’t talk to me about stealing away from a hookup in the middle of the night.” I aimed a pointed look her way. She ignored it.

  “You like him.”

  I busied myself with picking at the edge of the bun. “Whether I do or don’t is irrelevant.”

  “Why?” she murmured, head tilted. “Why not see where it goes?”

  A wry laugh broke from me. Placing the burger back on the plate, I ran my hands over my thighs. “Look... you know me. You know Leon. He's not boyfriend material, and I'm so far from girlfriend material it's not even funny. It was sex. One night and done. Just leave it at that.”

  Ri’s eyes narrowed. “I really want to hit both of you around the head.”

  I curved a brow. “You should really see someone about your anger management issues.”

  She stuck her tongue out at me before wrapping her lips around her straw and taking a long sip from the shake. “Danny's place is basically a free house for the next two weeks. You’re coming tonight, right?”

  I shook my head, muttering, “Nope.”

  Riley lowered her drink to the table and placed both palms down flat. “Sorry, that was my bad. The way I phrased that made it sound like you had a choice. You don't. I’ve hardly seen you for the past year. Danny's place. Tonight. Nine work for you?”

  Swallowing the last of my burger, I hit her with a stare. “I liked you better in Atlanta.”

  She grinned as she stood up and tossed a crumpled napkin down on her plate. “Cry to someone else, Gert. Don't be late.”

  My head shook as she dropped some bills down on the table before taking off for the door.

  A light snort broke from me as I watched her car bunny hop three times before she eased it into the flow of traffic, narrowly missing a parked car.

  Girl still couldn’t drive for shit.

  I placed some cash down on top of Riley’s, then walked out and made my way to the car. Less than ten minutes—that’s how long the drive from Beat’s to my place was. I drove the entire way on autopilot, since my brain had its priorities severely mixed up.

  Leon. Party. Outfit… and then let’s fucking focus on not crashing and dying. Jesus christ.

  “Hey, I'm ba—” I stopped mid-sentence as I strolled through the kitchen doorway, my eyebrows sinking at the sight of the three rectangular boxes of cupcakes lining the counter. “What the hell? Where did these come from?” I frowned as I spun around the empty room. Bree was a fucking snake!

  I stalked down the hall, peering into the living room as I passed by, and finding it empty.

  “Hey?” I yelled up the stairs. “Where'd these cupcakes come from? I said I was doing them!”

  Bella popped her head over the railing, her blonde hair fastened in a high pony a la Ariana Grande, and rested her chin on her folded arms. “Your BF—who totally is your BF, btw—dropped them off.”

  “What?” I blinked up the stairs, eyes shooting open.

  “Yeah.” She nodded, her pony bouncing. “He brought them when you were out.”

  “Leon did?”

  “Got more boyfriends?”

  My nostrils flared as I glared up at her. “Not my boyfriend, Bella. I don't have a boyfriend.”

  Her head cocked. “Why would he do that if he wasn't your boyfriend?”

  My lips parted, then clamped shut just as quick.

  Good question.

  Why would he do that?

  Bella's hair swung around her head like a whip as she spun away, adding a touch of dramatic flair to her exit. Turning, I lowered myself down on the stairs slowly and rubbed my hands over my eyes.

  “I'm not taking those either, btw,” Bella yelled.

  “What?” I fell back against the steps and angled my head up to see her hanging over the railing again.

  Those blue eyes gleamed as she grinned down at me. “I’m not taking them. It's cheating. They're store bought.”

  That little asshole. My teeth clashed, and I stabbed a finger up in her direction. “Oh, you're taking them, you snot-nosed little brat! You’re taking them and you’ll tell everyone I baked them!”

  “You’re telling me to lie?”

  The sly glint in her eyes told me she had me by the balls.

  Goddammit with this kid.

  “You’re taking them!”

  She laughed as she whirled away and I exhaled, the edge of the step digging into my lower back as I redirected my gaze up to the ceiling and tried to process what Leon had done, and why he'd done it.

  Because now, I had to figure out how the fuck I was going to bring myself to say thank you.

  Not to mention… he might just have bought a piece of my soul for the cost of thirty-six cupcakes.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  LISS

  I hated being beholden to anyone. Leon was worse than anyone. Because when the guy you were trying to keep out kept finding new ways to sneak beneath your defenses, it highlighted just how inadequate they really were.

  I ran my tongue over my lips as I walked into Danny’s kitchen and my eyes scanned over the crowded room. When a shot glass appeared in my line of sight, I reached for it, taking the proffered drink, and throwing it down the hatch without tasting it.

  “Keep 'em coming,” I muttered, passing the empty glass back to Riley.

  Riley shook her head with a little smile, but another drink appeared like magic.

  And then my gaze landed on Leon standing by the dining table just through the doorway. I sucked in a deep breath, fist closing tight around the empty shot glass in my hand.

  Shit.

  Thank you.

  That's it. Two words... that's all you need to say.

  But I had to do it while trying not to spontaneously combust at the sight of him, too.

  “You going over there? Or are you just going to think grateful thoughts in his direction?”

  Twisting my neck to glare at Riley, I muttered, “You’re an asshole.”

  “Here,” she said with a grin, swapping out my empty glass for a full one. When I’d told her on the drive over what Leon had done, she’d practically swooned.

  “Be back in a sec,” I muttered, jaw tight, drink in hand.

  Faded jeans that wrapped around his muscled thighs, a bright, white tee that accentuated his bronzed skin and molded to his sculpted back, and that mussed, sun-streaked dirty blonde hair.

  A boy band really did throw up on him.

  And god fucking help me if I didn’t want to fan girl all over him.

  With dogged steps and gritted teeth, I drew up behind him, perching a hip against the table. “Bradshaw?”

  He spun immediately, blue eyes fastening on my face before flickering quickly over my body. I felt naked as his gaze sparked, incinerating my clothes. His lips stretched into a slow grin as he cocked his head. “Snow Queen.”

  This was why he’d done it. This right here.

  He fucking knew I’d have to say thank you. And he knew how much he’d enjoy seeing me squirm.

  I rolled my eyes, chest heaving with the weight of my indrawn breath. The words refused to leave my mouth.

  “Aw, come on, Lissa.” He grinned wider. “You can say it...”

  Swiping my tongue over my teeth before catching the tip between them, I gave it a little nip and rested my eyes on his. “Why did you do it?”

  He leaned back, crossing his bulky arms, and planting his ass down on the edge of the table. “Do what?”

  My nostrils flared. “How much do I owe you?”

  “I don’t want your money, Snow Queen.”

  “What do you want then?”

  His eyes softened as he cocked his head, locking me in h
is stare. “Still trying to figure that out.”

  My chest pinched. “Leon—”

  The smile wiped cleaned off his face, replaced by a look I couldn't decipher. But his eyes blazed, fire leaping from them; bright orange flames that licked at my skin and sent my temperature soaring.

  Big hands clamped down on my hips, and he tugged. Caught unawares, he managed to position my pliant body between his spread thighs before I could even think to protest.

  My mouth dropped open, my free hand landing on his jean clad leg. I stared down at it. “What are you doing?”

  “You did it again,” he murmured, voice rough.

  I frowned, struggling to catch a decent breath as his fingers sank into my flesh. “What?”

  “You called me Leon.”

  My head came up. I raised the glass to my lips and took a deep swallow. “I call you Leon all the time in my head.”

  His lips pulled up on one side. “Good to know. Figured you’d call me asshole, or worse.”

  Shrugging, I glanced away and said, “I do.”

  He gave a light chuckle, those eyes burning a hole into the side of my face, the weight like the pull of a magnet, yanking my gaze back.

  My mouth opened and words spilled out without permission. “How come you didn’t tell anyone about what happened between us?” I knew he hadn’t. I’d have heard about it before now if he did.

  His head furrowed. “New Year’s?”

  I nodded, wondering why the hell I’d brought it up when he still hadn’t.

  He cocked his head. “Who would I tell, Snow Queen?”

  I scoffed. “Everyone. Surprised you didn’t want to brag about your conquest.”

  He gave a light snort, shifting on the table as he lifted a brow. “And what would I have told them, exactly? That we had sex, then you ran out on me in the middle of the night? That you blew me off and ignored every call or text for the past five months? Pretty interesting take on the word conquest.”

  I fought the urge to snap my lids shut and escape the intensity of his stare; unyielding, unwavering, and way more perceptive than I could have prepared myself for. But it was the flicker of hurt in his eyes that threw me, that gripped something inside, and twisted.