The Core Four Series

by Stacy Borel

  I sat back again, completely confused and unable to respond. Did Camden like me? I wasn’t so sure. But I could tell a difference in how he was with me up in my room. His words were sincere. I mattered to him. Maybe he was ready to finally be friends. That had to be it. Maybe Camden had never been close with a girl before, been friends, because he’s never trusted them. I was feeling like I was onto something when Macie interrupted my thoughts.

  “So what are you going to do about Luke?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, how are you going to let him down easy?”

  I shook my head in confusion. “Let him down? I’m not walking away from Luke. He’s good to me, and we’ve already made plans for the Halloween party.”

  She tilted her head. “But we’ve just established that you and Cam-″

  “No, you’ve got a theory. I’m not walking away from something that could be the best thing that’s happened to me in years, Mace. I think Camden just wants a friendship with me. Luke doesn’t play games, and I enjoy being around him. I’m not walking away from that.”

  “Even if the sex is mediocre?”

  I scoffed. “Sex isn’t everything.”

  The waitress had come by and given us our bill, and I pulled out a twenty to leave on the table.

  “Oh young one, I have a lot to teach you.”

  Standing up I grabbed my purse. “Alright Yoda, you can tell me all about it in the car. Let’s go before I order some ice cream to go with that cake you just hoovered.” We both laughed as we walked out of the restaurant.

  ***

  I’d kept myself busy by going to the mall and browsing around. Then I stopped by the house to visit with Sarah and my mom for a bit. When things had gotten too tense, and mom and I were on the verge of an argument, I’d gotten up and left. I’d been avoiding coming home for most of the day because I wasn’t ready to face Camden just yet. When I unlocked the door and started to push it open, I saw the light from the television glowing in the darkened space. As I came inside I set my keys down on the counter and slipped off my flats. My heart sped up when Camden came out of the downstairs bathroom, shutting off the light behind him.

  “Hey, you’re home.” He greeted me with his usual deep voice.

  “Yeah, I went to meet up with Macie and stopped at my mom’s for a bit. I’m pretty tired though, so I think I’m going to go crash.” I was covering my mouth to stifle a yawn.

  He seemed to be watching my every move, and it was unnerving me. “Okay, have a good night.”

  “Yeah, you too.” I paused for a second, trying to consider what that look on his face meant.

  I was too tired for any more mind games, so I turned and trudged up the steps. When I got to my door, I stopped. The knob was different. There wasn’t a lock on the outside, and it looked like it had been changed out for this new one. Tentatively I grabbed the handle and twisted, pushing the door open and switching on the light on the wall. As soon as my space was illuminated I gasped.

  What. The. Hell. Was. This?

  My room wasn’t how I’d left it. Freshly painted walls invaded my senses, and I took in every inch that was now different. There was a soft yellow that now colored the walls. It brightened the space even more than plain white did. But I didn’t get a chance to enjoy it. My eyes landed on the other offending objects in the room. Up against the wall, where my air mattress used to be, now stood an espresso-colored sleigh bed with two matching night stands on either side. Their sleek glossy finish reflected the light from the ceiling fan. Directly across from the bed was a matching dresser. On the floor was a grey rug that looked so plush you’d lose sight of your toes if you stepped on it barefoot. What in the hell was all of this? I took a few steps into the room and slowly approached the bed. Running my fingers across the polished wood, it felt soft to the touch. I felt my blood boil more with every step I took. I tipped my head back and forth, popping the bones in my neck.

  I couldn’t believe he did this. That was why he was looking at me so weird. This was my room, and Camden came in and completely invaded it. I plopped down on the bed and considered what I was going to do. It wasn’t that I didn’t love the furniture, it was that I didn’t ask for it. With every passing moment, my anger was turning to pure unadulterated rage. How dare he! I bet the bastard was sitting downstairs all smug thinking he’d helped the poor roommate that couldn’t afford anything. I couldn’t sit still. Standing up I began pacing. This was going too far. I could handle nice gestures, but coming into my room and giving me things that I didn’t ask for was taking it too far. I wanted it out. I wanted it all out.

  Now!

  Marching downstairs, I was a girl on a mission. When I reached the bottom step, Camden turned around to look at me. Sure enough, there was that smug, satisfied little grin. I bet he was expecting a thank you for his diluted sense of generosity. Oh boy, was he in for a treat. I smiled back at him, but I had a feeling it didn’t look quite right. I was certain I had a crazed look in my eyes, and at this point, I didn’t care. My crazy was about to be hanging out all over the place. Now where in the hell was it? My eyes drifted to the corner of the dining room. Up against the wall was a Louisville Slugger, just what I was looking for. I casually walked over to it and picked it up. I knew Camden’s eyes were tracking me. The grin on his mouth had slipped, and now he just looked confused. I held the bat in my hand, testing its weight and deciphering my next move.

  “What are you doing?” Camden asked.

  I looked up at him, sending daggers at him through my eyes. “Practicing my swing.”

  His confusion deepened. When I saw his eyebrows raise, I knew realization hit him. “Now Keegan, don’t go doing something you’re going to regret.”

  The laugh that came from my mouth was pure evil. It sounded bizarre, even to me. “Oh Camden, I’m not going to regret this. I’m going to enjoy it very much.” With that I turned on my heels and raced up the stairs. But not before I heard him say, “Shit,” and hurdle the couch coming after me.

  I made it up to my room before he did. I took a brief moment to breathe in through my nose and back out through my mouth. I was centering myself for my grand swing. Standing before the beautiful bed he had no business buying me, I brought the bat up high and was about to bring it down as hard as I could, when it stopped mid-air. Twisting my head around, I locked eyes with wild deep brown ones.

  “Don’t you dare,” he growled, inches from my face.

  Chapter Nine

  HIS TONE ONLY SERVED TO HEIGHTEN the wildness flowing through me. Sticking out my chin I seethed, “Or you’ll what?”

  Camden licked his lips, my eyes following its path. “You either drop this bat and step away from the bed, or so help me, I will put you over my knee.”

  I barked a laugh. “Oh really, I’d like to see you try. I’m so fucking furious with you right now, the moment you let that bat go, I’m going to town and giving everything in this room a facelift. I just might even start with you.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t test me, Blue.”

  “Stop calling me that!” I shouted in his face.

  “No, I think I’ll keep it. If it gets you riled up at me like this every time, I’d say it’s worth it,” Camden taunted.

  “Let the bat go.” I spoke through gritted teeth.

  “No.”

  I tried giving it a tug, but it wouldn’t move. It was still partially in the air, but Camden had such a tight grip on it, I knew it wasn’t going anywhere. Something had to give here, and there was no way I was backing down from this. I felt violated, and the only place I could direct the emotions welling up in me was at the man standing in front of me. He had no business doing this without asking. Instead he plowed in here in typical Camden fashion and did whatever in the hell he wanted. I was sure he thought he was doing a good thing, but he knew nothing about me. I didn’t even consider us friends, and yet he decorated my room without any input from me. Did I love it? Yes. Was it exactly what I would have pi
cked out? Yes, but that was beside the point.

  “I swear to God, I know you have more bats in this house, and I will go find them. I suggest you let this one go.”

  Our chests were heaving despite not having exerted ourselves. Camden’s eyes were so fierce, so lethal, I couldn’t help the dampness that was forming between my legs. The man was damn sexy when he was pissed. I liked it even more, because it was directed at me. The depth of his deep brown irises seared through my soul as I watched them bounce back and forth between my eyes. When I caught him glancing down at my mouth, I tilted my head ever so slightly. What was he doing? Before I even had a chance to register the movement, he yanked the bat out of my hand and chunked it to the side. I heard it hit the wall with a thud, and I glared at him. The damn bully. I mentally calculated whether or not I could dart to the side and grab it faster than he could get a hold of me, but I knew the odds were against me. Watching him watching me caused a shiver to break out over my skin. Camden was challenging me.

  He slowly shook his head back and forth, never taking his eyes away from mine. “You just can’t fucking let it go can you? I practically see the wheels turning in your head.” He leaned in even closer. If I moved a few inches in, our mouths would touch. “You’ll never make it.” The smirk that was plastered on his face made me want to hit him.

  “I hate you,” I said with as much venom as I could muster.

  He gave me a full blown brilliant smile that nearly made me weak. “No you don’t.”

  “Oh yes I do, I hate you more than—”

  He cut me off. His hands moved incredibly fast and dove into my hair behind my neck. He pulled me forward so hard that I had no choice but to crash into him. His mouth came down onto mine with such intensity that I moaned with unrequited desire. His tongue pushed against my closed lips, demanding entrance. I didn’t even try to deny him. There was nothing about this kiss that was soft and sweet. This was balls-to-the-wall intense. He was taking what he wanted from me, and I didn’t care that he hadn’t asked. Which was strange since I was furious at him for doing that very thing to my room. When I opened my mouth, he dove in. His tongue was soft and yet forceful. He was leading this kiss with every thrust, every push. One of his hands buried in my hair moved forward a few inches to rest on my cheek. He tilted my head slightly with his thumb and got a deeper angle. The way his mouth moved over mine was possessive. He was branding me. I openly welcomed any mark he was willing to leave. My hands were grasping the front of his shirt, and I didn’t realize he had been walking me backwards until my back hit the wall. With the length of his body pressed into mine, I could feel what I was doing to him. In this moment, I felt powerful. I was turning Camden on, and he wanted me. There was a heady concoction of lust and desire swirling through me. I had no self-control with his lips on mine, and yet I felt like I could weld him to do whatever I wanted.

  When his hands came down my back and rested on my butt, I lifted my leg slightly. He took hold of it and lifted me effortlessly. As I wrapped myself around him, I heard him growl his approval into my mouth. His erection was now resting right where I wanted him to be. Pushing against the strained hardness of his pants, I felt the pool of desire at my center. All that was separating us was a few articles of clothing. I wanted them gone, I needed them gone. Lifting at his shirt, I tugged it up and over his head, briefly breaking the torturous kiss he was consuming me with. We stilled for a beat, looking at each other, gauging what the other would do next. When I allowed my eyes to drift down his chest, I admired every sculpted curve. Tentatively I placed a finger in the center of his chest and traced the bulging of his pecs, moving down to his abs. He was watching me with a guarded fascination but didn’t stop my perusal. I wanted to memorize every inch of this bare skin under my fingertips. The way that my touch was causing his muscles to twitch as I ghosted it over his skin, the way that he held his breath as though he were afraid of me, or that I’d end this. And I did need to end this. I had no idea what I was even doing letting him hold me against this wall, even though he was fulfilling my darkest desires. All I knew was that I was going to take this moment and file it away later when everything went back to normal between us. When Camden remembered that he couldn’t stand the sight of me. I’d think back to this, and know that I held the power for a few brief moments, that I was capable of bringing this man to the edge and made him desire me. One of his hands that was between my back and the wall came forward and stilled my hand on his chest, just over his heart.

  “Enough,” he said so coarsely that I thought he was going to put me down, that he had come to his senses. Instead he came forward again and used his tongue to trace the seam of my lips. I parted them slightly, so that he might push further. A sound of approval rumbled through his throat as he ground his pelvis into me. I couldn’t help the shocked gasp that came from my mouth. I felt his mouth tip up into a grin. “Feel good, Blue? I can make you feel so much better.” Oh I knew he could. That was never the question. But my brain was warring between stopping this and telling him to get the fuck out and mind his own business, or letting him take me to whatever ecstasy he had in mind. Both choices weren’t good. Both would lead us back to the same boat we were in before he decided to kiss me. He was going to regret this, deep down I knew he would.

  He carried me over to the bed that I both loved and hated and set me down on my feet. His rough hands snaked their way under my shirt, lifting it until it was right under my breasts. My skin pebbled under his touch. My legs shook from the weakness he made me feel, and I squeezed his shoulder to hold myself up.

  “Lie down,” he demanded.

  “Wha—?” I didn’t even get to finish.

  “Lie down, or I will put you across this bed myself.”

  I gulped, my heart was in my throat. Did I really want to do this? Hesitantly, I sat on the edge of the bed and pushed myself back with my arms. When I’d scooted far enough that I could lie down without my feet dangling off the edge, I looked at him. What I saw in his russet depths held no reservations. He wanted this. There was an edge that screamed he was going to take me, and I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Did that even bother me? There was no time to think about it because one of his eyebrows lifted, daring me to defy him. Sinking back onto the bed, I was lying completely flat. My body was humming with an energy I’d never felt before. It was like being on a rollercoaster ride. I was on the tracks, making my way to the top. The moment that you were ever so slightly teetering, before the free fall and your stomach was in your throat…that was how I was feeling. It was invigorating and terrifying all at the same time. I stared at the ceiling, knowing he was standing next to the bed, watching me, calculating his next move. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The anticipation was making me crazy. Squeezing my eyes shut, I waited, counting my breaths while he decided his next move. I heard the quiet rustling of clothing and something falling to the floor. Oh my gosh, was he getting naked? All of a sudden I wasn’t ready for this. We weren’t even friends, and yet I was splayed out across my bed, waiting for him. I had to stop this before anything happened.

  I shifted slightly, making out as if I were going to get up, when I felt the weight of the bed dip next to me. His hand came to my shoulder opposite of where he was sitting and gently pushed me back down. My eyes opened and darted to his. Camden shook his head, telling me I wasn’t going anywhere. Mine narrowed back in return, and I saw a flicker of a challenge cross his features. His head tipped to the side, silently daring me to try and move. When his gaze broke from mine, and traveled down my body, I noted that his pants were no longer resting on his hips. That must’ve been what I heard.

  “I’m not having sex with you!” I blurted in a moment of panic.

  All motion from him stopped, and he brought those beautiful brown eyes back to mine. “Who said we were having sex?”

  “Well, I thought…and you kissed me, you…you took your pants off so I assumed….” I was stuttering, my cheeks flaming.

  He gave
me a half smirk, as though he were privy to some private joke I didn’t know. “I’m lying next to you tonight to make sure you don’t destroy your new furniture, Blue. Settle down.”

  He what? “So wait…you’re not sleeping with me?” I questioned, now slightly confused.

  Chuckling he said, “Do you want me to sleep with you?”

  “No!” I said, my voice squeaked.

  “Riiight.” He leaned in so he was looking down at me. “Don’t think I don’t know what you were feeling a few seconds ago. It’s okay that you want me.”

  “You self-righteous son of a—”

  “Are we resorting to name calling? Cause if that’s the case, I have a few in mind for you; Vixen, Feisty Kitten, Crazy Bat Lady…the list could go on.”

  “I don’t understand you,” I snidely retorted.

  “Good, I don’t want you to understand me.”

  “Well, I don’t.” He had leaned back, and I crossed my arms over my chest like a pouting child. My emotions were all over the place.

  “So did you expect me to walk out of here and trust that you wouldn’t find something else to beat the shit out of all this?” His arm went out, as if to show the display of furniture. “Nah…I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  “You can’t just stay in here without my permission.”

  “The hell I can’t. And I’m pretty sure it’d be entertaining to watch you try and kick me out.” He climbed into the bed and laid back, pushing his legs under the comforter and placing his hands behind his head. His body was wedged right against mine. Well, more like the bed was so plush that I had no choice but to roll into the side of him.

  I was speechless. How did I go from being so furious and wanting to commit murder, to feeling so much lust that I thought I would explode from it? Now I was utterly confused. Unfortunately he was right, I would never be able to move him. My efforts would be futile. “This is unacceptable. Tomorrow morning I’m calling some people and having them remove all this stu—”