Gorgeous Nasty Luxe (Blood and Diamonds Book 2)

by L. A. Sable

  As if on cue, Jayden strides up from the far end of the dock with a heavy cooler in his arms. “Did somebody mention drinks?”

  I don’t have to guess that the drinks he’s referring to are not of the school-sanctioned variety. “You better hope Dean Felton doesn’t catch you with that.”

  “All the teachers are on the other side of the lake,” he assures me with an effervescent smile. “We just have to destroy the evidence before the end of the race.”

  Four drunk guys on a boat sounds like the beginning scene of a slasher movie, but I let it go. The most important thing right now is that I’m seen by the entire student body out on that lake. I’ll put up with practically anything, including Asher, for the opportunity. Except, I realize as I look around that our quintet is missing a member.

  “Where’s Lukas?” I ask casually, as if it barely matters.

  “Running late, I assume.” Jayden sets the cooler down on the dock and sits on it before pulling out his phone. “I know Chloe was looking for him earlier, maybe she tracked him down.”

  A streak of some dark emotion shoots through me at the thought. I recognize that I don’t have any real claim on him, but the thought of Lukas back with Chloe makes me see violent red. She doesn’t deserve to have anything she wants, least of all him. Possible reactions if she managed to claw him back run through my head and I can’t fight the disappointment at his weakness. It’s impossible for me to understand how girls like Chloe get their hooks into a guy and rob him of his sanity.

  But just as I force a fake smile on my face so the guys don’t notice the awkward silence, I notice Kai’s gaze focus on something over my shoulder. A familiar voice speaks from behind me.

  “Sorry, I’m late.”

  I turn to see Lukas standing behind me with a crooked smile on his face. The relief that washes over me is a completely foreign sensation and I struggle to keep my head above the crashing wave of it. “Hey, we weren’t sure you’d make it.”

  “I just got waylaid for a bit.” His gaze falls on the cooler that Jayden is sitting on. “Did the party start without me?”

  “Nope,” I say, turning towards the boat as he comes to stand beside me. I’m very aware of the fact that the twins are on either side of me, like I’m the meat in the world’s sexiest sandwich. I’ve never considered myself particularly fond of redheads, but the twins are like darkness and light rolled into one and I struggle to figure out where one ends and the other begins. I can’t help but wonder what they would be like together, if they could anticipate each other’s movements like a dance with two men to lead. Shaking off the totally inappropriate thoughts, I gesture at the boat nearest to us. “Is this one ours?”

  “It is now.” Asher climbs onto the small sailboat, adjusting easily as it rocks back and forth on the water with his movements. He stands for a moment on the bow and glares at the rest of us still standing on the dock. “Am I running this race by myself?”

  Jayden makes a rude sound, but picks up the cooler and shoves it onto the boat before climbing up after it. He is much less coordinated as his feet leave dry land, almost losing his balance as the boat shifts underneath him. “We’re coming, no need to be a dick about it.”

  “If I have to be up before noon on a Saturday, then I’d like to win,” Asher grouses as he unties the knots that have the sail tied down. “So get on the boat or I’m leaving you behind.”

  “You know how to sail?” I ask as the twins help me onto the boat, one of them taking each arm to help me maintain my balance. Electric tingles run down my skin as I shift away from them, the feeling shivering down my skin even once they’ve let me go.

  “He’s the only one of us who does.” Kai hops up onto the boat after me, less sure-footed than Asher but he stays upright. “Lukas and I didn’t grow up on the regatta circuit and Jayden wouldn’t be caught dead doing manual labor.”

  Jayden scoffs as he opens the cooler and pulls out a can of beer. “I’m pretty sure I played a boat captain once.”

  “That doesn’t really count,” Lukas points out as he moves toward the bow to help Asher untie the rigging. “But I guess it’s better than nothing.”

  “And your family has a boat,” I point out to Kai. “You talked about taking Maisie Howard out on it last semester.”

  “Yeah, but that one has a steering wheel and an engine,” he points out good-naturedly. “I have no idea what we’re supposed to do with all this fabric.”

  I watch them mess with the sails for a few minutes while I sit in the little shelter at the back of the boat to stay out of the sun. About a dozen other boats are lined up on the dock in various stages of readiness. One of first years who volunteered to officiate and yells out a five minute warning.

  The guys are struggling to right the mast that keeps listing heavily to one side and I swallow a sigh of impatience. I don’t actually care about winning this thing, but we need to at least get out on the lake where we can be seen.

  A starting gun goes off and the guys hoist our sail. Instead of gliding forward on a gust of wind, our boat inches out into the water at the approximate speed of a slow loris. Luckily, most of the other teams seem to be having a similar amount of trouble.

  Asher shouts instructions to get us underway. I’m totally useless anytime I try to help as one of them moves me aside or directs me out of the way. Instead of even pretending that I can actually help, I take a seat under the shelter next to Jayden. He tips his beer at me as I let out a heavy sigh.

  “Now you see why I brought beer,” he says. “We’ll be here for a while.”

  “When I heard the word race, I definitely thought things would move faster than this,” I acknowledge. At this rate, it will take over an hour for us to reach the opposite side of the lake and then we still have to sail back. “I guess we’ll take a more observational role.”

  He offers me a beer and I take it but set the can down on the deck beside me, hoping he won’t notice that I haven’t drunk any of it. This morning I woke up in enough pain that I had to take another dose of medication and I know better than to risk mixing it with alcohol. I’d be worried about the consequences of having beer at a school event, but it’s already been established that the normal rules don’t apply to Diamonds. Jayden seems completely unconcerned with what might happen if we’re caught with the contraband.

  “How many beers did you bring?” I ask.

  “Just a six-pack,” he assures me with a wink as he pats the side of the cooler. “It’s mostly snacks and soda in here to throw Felton off the scent. You keep it in a cozy and the silver cans just look like Diet Coke.”

  “Clever.” I sit up a little higher and look around the lake. We’ve gained enough yards to have almost pulled into the lead. “We might actually stand a chance, no thanks to the two of us.”

  “We’re serving a very important function,” Jayden says with mock seriousness.

  “What’s that?”

  He seems to consider the question for a moment. “Counterweight?”

  I can’t help but laugh at that. “You have to get that printed on the trophy when we win.”

  When I look to the front of the boat, the guys have taken their shirts off and are working bare chested. For a moment, I let myself indulge in the sight of sculpted chest and abs that glow with golden light in the sunshine.

  Asher catches me watching him and his eyes narrow. “You assholes can feel free to help at any point.”

  I get up because being seen with three handsome shirtless guys by most of the school will help my social standing immensely, but also because I hate feeling useless. He tosses me a rope and tells me to hold it taut while he adjusts the sail.

  Asher actually seems to enjoy captaining the boat as he moves from one side to the other to adjust the sail or tie something down. I hate having to acknowledge that he might be good at something.

  “Great job,” he says as we catch a gust of wind and smoothly overtake the nearest boat to take the lead. Then he seems to realize who he’s ta
lking to and the characteristic sneer curves his lips. “I mean, thanks for not screwing that up.”

  “You know there isn’t an award for who can be a nasty jerk for the longest amount of time, right?”

  He shoots me a withering glare. “I’m doing you a favor, Goldie. Without me, you might start buying into your own press.”

  “My press? What is that supposed to mean?”

  “I’m the only one who seems to remember what you really are,” he says, pausing his movements to glare down at me. “You can pretend all you want to, but I see through this little act of yours.”

  I tighten my grip on the rope, imagining that it’s his throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t you?”

  “Just get to the point, Bellamy.”

  “I don’t have a point, just warning you for what seems like the thousandth time that you’re setting yourself up for a fall.” He grabs the rope out of my hands, forcing me to let it go or fight him for it. “And when that time comes, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Deciding I’ve had exactly enough of Asher’s shitty attitude, I turn away and head back towards the shelter at the back of the boat. The other guys are gathered there, relaxing now that we’ve caught a good wind.

  “We’ve got company,” Kai says, pointing behind me.

  I turn just in time to see Chloe’s boat skim near enough to our side that it sends up a spray of lake water, catching Lukas and Asher full in the face.

  “Sorry,” she shouts with an insincere wave as her boat moves out in front of ours. “Didn’t see you there.”

  “You guys still haven’t kissed and made up, I see,” Jayden says to Lukas as he takes another swig of his beer. “I’m glad you learned your lesson, man. You know what they say about putting your dick in crazy.”

  “Was she always such a bitch?” Lukas asks, almost as if he’s talking to himself.

  Everyone answers in unison. “Yes.”

  “Shit seems way different now,” he says with a sigh, but then seems to shake the feelings off.

  I wonder if he’s as over it as he seems or if it’s just an act. Only time will tell. But the smile he turns my way is so full of genuine warmth that it’s impossible to see even a hint of remorse over the past.

  It would surprise me if Lukas is truly over Chloe so soon, but I hope that’s the case. Their relationship can’t have been as perfect as it seemed from the outside for him to be this serene with its termination. If only all of her other relationships were so easily lost.

  I haven’t forgotten the fact that it’s all the people who support Chloe that truly make her a threat. A bad breakup isn’t enough to tarnish her crown.

  But I’ll find a way, I have to.

  The guys relax at the back of the boat. I shift to face the side and let the cool air rush over my face, lost in my own thoughts. Suddenly, a loud cracking sound shatters the peaceful silence.

  “Watch out, Goldie.”

  I hear the shouted words and look up to see that the sail has come loose and is tilting wildly on the mast. I’m frozen with shock as the boom flies toward me. All I can do is freeze in terrified anticipation as I watch it swing around with a flying path directly in line with my face. I hear a shouted warning and then I’m being shoved aside, landing hard on the deck of the boat. Squinting up into the sun, I see Asher standing in the same spot that he had just pushed me out of. The sail hits him squarely in the chest and he goes flying, getting enough air to launch him over the side of the boat. His body hits the water with a heavy splash.

  Jumping to my feet, I rush to the side of the boat with the rest of the guys right behind me. Bubbles of air churn in the waves but I can’t see any trace of Asher. We wait for another breathless minute but nothing stirs as the water calms to glassy stillness.

  “He’s not coming up,” Jayden shouts, voice more frantic than I’ve ever heard it.

  I don’t give myself any time to think it through. One moment I’m leaning over the edge of the boat, frantically scanning the water and in the next I’ve shed my cover-up and leapt over the side. I don’t realize what I’ve done until the shock of cold water hits my skin.

  The water stings my eyes as I frantically search for any sign of Asher. My lungs burn for oxygen as I dive deeper, the sound of rushing water and my own frantic heartbeat loud in my ears. I’m seconds from giving up and returning to the surface for air when I spot a dim bit of red in the near darkness, the color of his swim trunks.

  With a strength that I wouldn’t have otherwise thought I possessed, I hook my arm around his waist and haul the dead weight of his body back up to the surface. He doesn’t resist at all as I pull him through the water, making it clear that he hit hard enough to lose consciousness. It’s only been a few minutes and I’m pretty sure the human body can last that long without oxygen if the person gets help in time, or at least I pray that’s the case.

  By the time I swim back to the boat, I don’t have the strength to lift myself up, much less our combined weights. The guys have to pull us both out of the water and I collapse on the wooden deck of the boat, lungs burning and muscles aching.

  “He’s not breathing,” Kai says, voice high and reedy. “Who knows CPR?”

  I can hear the hesitation in his voice. When no one else respond, I push to my feet, forcing myself to ignore the screaming pain in my back. “He needs mouth to mouth.”

  Memories of a CPR certification class I completed back in middle school so I could babysit flash through my mind. I have no idea if I’m even doing it correctly as I place my hands over his cool chest and start compressions. When I tilt his head back and lean my face over his, it’s only a distant realization that this is the guy who seems to revel in making my life a living hell. In that moment, I don’t care how much he’s done to hurt me.

  I just don’t want him to die.

  As my lips seal over his, I fight off a feeling of dread so powerful that it nearly overwhelms me. Water drips from my hair which hangs around us like a heavy curtain as I force air into his lungs. There’s no response and another shot of adrenaline moves through me, feeling like a painful spike through my heart. I breathe into him again, willing life back into his body as if it's some mystical force that I can pass from my soul and into his.

  And for a surreal moment, it’s almost as I can feel a bit of my life force transfer from me into him.

  The smallest quiver moves through his body and then he’s coughing up a mouthful of water. I have to stumble back to keep our heads from colliding as he abruptly sits up, overtaken by a coughing fit.

  Jayden helpfully pounds him on the back until Asher shoves him off with an aggrieved sound. Asher looks around at all of us in terrified confusion as if he’s slowly recalling where he is.

  “What happened?” he croaks, throat obviously scratchy from all the inhaled water.

  “The sail knocked you into the water.” Kai holds out a towel and a bottle of water. “When you didn’t come back up, Lily jumped in after you. She saved your life, man.”

  Asher turns his head back to face me and our gazes meet. The look that he casts me is full of a dozen things that are probably better left unspoken, but there’s a strange sort of gratitude hidden under it all that I know he doesn’t want to acknowledge. The air is charged and neither of us says anything as the other guys look back and forth between us.

  “The sail hit you because you pushed me out of the way,” I tell him with a shrug, as if neither of our actions have to mean anything. “Otherwise, I would have been the one knocked into the water.”

  He clears his throat and looks away, but then surprises me when he says, “I guess we saved each other, then.”

  I swallow past a sudden lump in my throat. “I guess so.”

  Asher pushes to his feet and the strange moment is gone. “Don’t think this means I like you, Goldie.”

  Even as I roll my eyes, a slight smile tips the corner of my mouth. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

 
; We’ve lost enough distance that there’s no way we can make up the lost time, but no one seems to care much about that. Even Asher is more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him through the rest of the race as we cruise back to the dock in last place.

  As we’re getting ready to leave, Asher surprises me again by grabbing me by the arm and pulling me off the path that leads back to campus.

  “We’ll catch up,” Asher says when Kai glances back to see why we stopped.

  Kai shoots me a questioning look. “You good?”

  I wave him back with a reassuring smile. “Yeah, just give us a minute.”

  Once the others are out of sight, the smile drops from my face and I wrench my arm out of Asher’s grip to take a step back. “If you just want to yell at me again, I really don’t need to hear it.”

  “That’s not it.” He pushes a a hand through his hair in a frustrated gesture and sighs. “I just needed to talk to you about something in private.”

  I can’t hide the surprise on my face. “What could you possibly need to say to me?”

  “It’s about what happened to you last term. The accident.”

  And I can’t help but think about the connection between him and the other girls who’ve met with terrible fates at Black Lake. A sensation of falling washes over me as my heart sinks and I realize I’m alone with him in the woods. “Did you have something to do with it?”

  “Of course not! How can you even say that? Jesus, Lily.”

  The denial is vehement enough that I want to believe it, even with everything I know about him. “Then why bring it up now?”

  A pained expression briefly crosses his face before he looks away. “I really thought it would be easier to scare you away. I figured if things got difficult enough that you’d leave.”

  I cross my arms over my chest, refusing to give him so much as an inch after everything that’s happened. “That still doesn’t explain why you want me gone.”

  “I don’t want you gone,” he snaps, before catching himself. When he speaks again, his tone has softened. “I want you out of harm’s way.”

  “Asher, you need to speak clearly because I do not understand what you’re talking about.” The bleak expression his face has me more concerned than I want to admit. “Why would I be in harm’s way?”