by Holly Renee
I was so glad my dad wasn’t here. Not that he could say anything.
But Lucas had plenty to say.
I could have drunk the entire keg, and I would have still remembered his face when he saw me in Beck’s arms.
He looked like he was going to be sick before his anger took over.
It should have made me push Beck away and never look back, but it didn’t. I just clung to him harder. I clung to him as if he was some sort of savior.
And Beck Clermont was the farthest thing from that.
Deep down, I knew that.
“We have to get ready for work.” I nudged Allie’s arm, and she groaned again.
“What the hell happened last night?” She rolled over onto her side to look at me, and I couldn’t stop smiling at the way she barely had one eye open as if that was all she could manage.
“We drank too much.” I chuckled, and she put her hand on her forehead.
“Yes. Yes, we did.” She pushed up on her elbows and looked around my room. “How did we even get back here?”
She was clearly much drunker than I had been. Maybe it would have been better if I didn’t remember. If I didn’t remember the way he looked at me or the way he touched me. Holy shit. He touched me. He grabbed my jaw and bit my ear, and I had done nothing but look up at him like I wanted more.
Oh, God.
“Beck and his boys brought us here.” I groaned. “After you accepted his offer to drive us.”
She dropped onto her back again and threw her arm over her eyes. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I laughed and pushed to my feet. We were going to be late if we didn’t start getting ready.
“Did I make a fool of myself?” She looked genuinely worried, like she cared what the three of them thought about her.
“No.” I shimmied out of my shorts and threw them in the corner of the room. “You were asleep for most of the ride, and Carson carried you up here.”
She shot up then, as if I had told her that she ran around the party naked. “He did not.” She looked horrified.
“He did.” I nodded my head. “I was too tipsy to even try to get you up here.”
“Oh my God.” She buried her face into the bed and growled out a scream.
“Should I have not let that happen?”
“It’s fine.” She stood up and pushed her hair out of her face. “I’ve just known Carson a really long time, and I’m sure he loved watching me be a mess.”
“When you say you’ve known Carson, you mean?” I cocked my head and studied her. She seems far too affected for it to just be that.
“I mean that Carson isn’t really my biggest fan. We’ll leave it at that.”
I was dying to know that story, but I wouldn’t pester her about it. If she didn’t want to tell me, she didn’t have to. There was plenty I kept from her.
I hadn’t even told her about my mom. I hadn’t told her anything, really.
But it had been so long since I had really talked to anyone about anything. Not anything that actually mattered, and I wasn’t ready to do so here. I wasn’t sure if I ever would be.
The two of us scurried around the room getting ready, and I lied to myself as I put more makeup on than normal. I told myself that I needed it due to the night before, but I knew I was anxious about the possibility of seeing Beck today. Surely, he wouldn’t be there.
Didn’t rich boys get to spend their summers sleeping in and not worrying about clearing their hangovers off as quickly as possible for work? I knew Lucas did.
He didn’t have any obligations or responsibilities outside of the baseball workouts that he attended through the week.
By the time we made it to work, my headache was just a low roar, and Allie looked like she had a perfectly peaceful night of sleep. I wasn’t sure how she did it, but she somehow looked incredible.
I hated her for it.
Our shift was busy, the two of us had sections right next to each other, and as each hour passed, I started to calm my nerves. Beck wasn’t going to be spending his weekend at his dad’s company.
He had far better things to do. He was probably off with his friends or off with some girl.
That thought shouldn’t make me feel anything, but it did.
It made me feel insanely jealous over a boy who I shouldn’t be feeling anything for.
By the time our shift was ending, I was exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to climb into bed.
“Josie, do you mind running this food to Mr. Clermont’s office?” I looked up at one of the cooks, then looked around me. The other servers were still tending to tables, but this was the absolute last thing I wanted to do.
“I don’t know where it is.”
He looked annoyed, but I didn’t care. I had no interest in spending any time with any of the Clermonts if I could help it.
“Straight down the hall and to the right. It has his name on it. You can’t miss it.” I grabbed the bag of food from his hands and pushed out of the kitchen with a huff.
It was already ten o’clock, and I couldn’t believe that Mr. Clermont was still here. I wondered if he was a workaholic like my father. I guess, to have an empire like his, he had to be. The men of Clermont Bay were basically all the same.
Money and power were more important to them than anything else.
I didn’t have to know much else about Mr. Clermont to know that.
I reached his office, and I stopped short when I heard voices inside. The door was cracked, and I didn’t know if I should knock or just set the food outside the door. I raised my fist to knock, then I heard it, Beck’s voice, and I took a sharp breath.
I had no interest in seeing him.
Especially not in his father’s office. Not after a day like today. Not after last night.
“I’m not firing the girl because you have some imaginary problem with her.” His father’s voice rang through the office, and I leaned closer to the door to listen.
I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t care.
“You know why I have a problem with her.” I could hear the anger in Beck’s voice. “The only people who are imagining things are you and her damn father.”
Were they talking about me? They had to be.
“Don’t lump me together with that man.” Mr. Clermont left no room for argument, but Beck didn’t care.
His voice was sharp as he snapped at his father. “Then don’t act like him.”
“Son.” His dad hesitated, his voice eerily calm, and I wished I could see his face. “It’s time for you to start acting like a man.”
I covered my mouth with my hand, and I hated that I was still standing there listening. I should have given them their privacy. I knew that, but I wanted to know more.
If this was the only way that was going to happen, then so be it.
My heart raced as I eavesdropped on their conversation, and I looked up and down the hall. There was no one there to catch me for what I was doing.
No one would know.
“You’re going to be taking over this business soon, and I can’t leave it in your hands if you’re going to be more concerned with holding a grudge than you are with running this place.”
Beck was going to be running this business? I figured that would happen eventually, but I thought he’d be going to some Ivy League college, where he drank far too much beer and hooked up with more girls than I could imagine.
Rich boys didn’t go straight to work out of high school.
There was silence in the room, and I had no idea what was happening. I couldn’t see a damn thing through the crack, and I really didn’t want to get caught. I raised my hand to knock just as Beck’s words rang through the room.
“I will destroy them.”
“And her?”
“Josie Vos is the perfect fucking pawn.”
I stepped back from the door and took a sharp breath as my heart skipped over itself. I didn’t know why I was so shocked by his words. He had been cruel to me since the moment
I met him, but last night… Last night nothing changed, and I was a freaking idiot.
I rapped my knuckles on the door, not waiting for either of them to answer. I didn’t care if Mr. Clermont owned this place or this town. I refused to sit out there and listen to another moment of their conversation.
Both of their gazes swung my way. Mr. Clermont was sitting behind his desk, and Beck stood across from him with his hands buried in the back of the leather chair. His dad painted a gentle smile on his face, but Beck wasn’t nearly as practiced. Or he simply didn’t care.
His anger was pure and unadulterated, and I could feel it as if it was a living, breathing thing.
“I brought your dinner.” I stopped at Mr. Clermont’s desk and set it in front of him. I didn’t meet his eyes. Mr. Clermont was a mystery to me.
He seemed so different from the other men in Clermont Bay, but my father seemed different to others as well. But I knew the truth. These men had a lot of experience when it came to their facade.
They were nothing more than snakes hiding in plain sight. At least with Beck, I knew where he stood. At least with him, I knew the danger that laid at my feet.
I knew that he would strike at any moment.
“Thank you, Josie.” His father smiled before his gaze jumped to his son, then back to me. “I hope you’re having a good evening.”
“Yes, sir.” I stepped back, and I avoided looking anywhere near Beck even though I could feel him staring at me.
“How are you liking it here so far?”
I knew he was just making small talk, but I couldn’t stop myself. Beck had just been talking so openly about how much he hated me. He hadn’t cared at all.
“It’s been fine.” I smiled at him. “Some are more welcoming than others.”
Beck scoffed under his breath, but I still didn’t look at him. That was exactly what he wanted.
And I refused to give him anything that he wanted anymore.
If he wanted me as his enemy, that was fine. I could play that part perfectly.
If that’s who he wanted to make me, that was exactly who I would become.
“Has my son here been one of those unwelcoming people?” He chuckled, but I could see the tension around his dark eyes. Eyes that matched his son’s.
I should have said yes. I should have told him that his son was a complete and total asshole, but I didn’t. That was what Beck expected me to do, and I was tired of being what people expected.
“No.” I shook my head. “Your son has been so nice.” I still didn’t look at him, but I knew he was looking at me. He always seemed to be looking at me.
“My son?” He chuckled again, and this time it sounded genuine. He didn’t expect my response either.
“Yes, sir.” I smiled. “Tonight is mine and Allie’s trash night, and he offered to help.”
Beck made a sound that made it clear that there was no way in hell as his father looked back and forth between the two of us.
“I know what you’re thinking.” I pushed my hands into my apron pockets to stop myself from fidgeting, and I finally stared at Beck. He looked so handsome, even just standing here in his father’s office wearing a plain white t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. “I was a bit shocked, too, when his highness offered to help, but apparently he’s willing to get his hands dirty.”
So was I.
I didn’t say it out loud, but I hoped he saw it in my eyes. He was staring me down, still angry, but I didn’t care. I could handle his anger.
His dad laughed, a full-on belly laugh, and I pulled my attention from Beck long enough to look at him. He was probably about to fire me for insulting his son, but I suddenly didn’t care.
“His highness.” He laughed again, and I tensed. Did I really just say that out loud? “Well, please don’t let me get in your way.” He motioned toward the door. “Beck, it seems like you have some trash duty to attend to.”
“It would be my pleasure.” Beck pushed away from the chair, and I swallowed hard as he walked past me. He looked more pissed off than I had ever seen him. He looked like he was ready to strike at any moment.
I smiled at Mr. Clermont before turning and following Beck out the door. I didn’t know what I had expected after I said that, but it wasn’t for him to actually do it.
I had expected him to push back. I had expected and wanted him to fight me. I was craving a fight.
I closed the door behind me and stared at Beck who leaned against the wall across from me. He looked like he wanted to say something. I was dying for him to say something, but he just glared.
He was angry, but he also looked like he was hungry. He looked like he could devour me in a moment’s time.
And even though I had no experience when it came to the matter, I still wanted to know what it would feel like.
The thought of being devoured by someone like Beck made me lose my breath.
“What game are you playing?” He cocked his head to the side, and a rush of fear ran through me.
“I’m not playing a game.” I pushed my hair out of my face and walked away from him. He may have had time for this sort of thing, but I didn’t. I actually did have a job to do.
I felt him behind me a moment before his body hit mine. I was too shocked to say a word. Too shocked to do anything as his body pressed into my back.
His left hand gripped my upper arm as if he thought I would run away, but I was stuck to the spot. With his harsh breath on my neck, his hard body behind me, I could barely think, let alone move.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Josie?” His mouth was near my ear, and the memory of him biting the sensitive flesh came back full force. I squirmed, attempting to put some space between us, but he held me tightly against him.
And I felt every inch of him against me as if there was nothing separating us.
I took a sharp breath as I felt his hard erection at my lower back, and I could practically feel his smile against my neck.
“I need to get back to work.” I barely recognized my voice.
“Hmm.” His lips vibrated against my skin, and I tried to catch my breath. My chest was vibrating with something: fear, anxiety, anticipation. I didn’t know which, but I knew that I couldn’t get a deep enough breath to think straight. “You think you’ll get fired if they know where you are.”
His hand tightened on my arm and his other hand snaked around the front of my neck. His fingers pressed into my tender skin, and I knew he could probably feel my erratic heartbeat hammering against his fingers.
Regardless of how I tried to act, he could feel every bit of how nervous he made me.
“If they knew that I was touching you in the halls where anyone can see.”
I hadn’t even thought about that. I try to move out of his hold, but he dug his fingers tighter against me. He had no intentions of letting me go.
Not that easily.
“Let me go, Beck.”
He gripped my chin in his fingers, and I winced at the force of his hold. “Say it like you really mean it, and I will.” His body somehow seemed to get impossibly closer. I couldn’t stop myself as I reached behind me and gripped his thigh to hold myself steady. If he noticed, he didn’t let it show. “Say it like you don’t want me to take you into the next room and fuck you hard against the wall.”
The sound of my breathing was the only thing I could hear.
I had never been touched like this, never spoke to in such a way that I couldn’t even concentrate.
“Let me go.”
I knew the moment the words passed my lips they were no more convincing. I wasn’t even convincing myself. Not with the way his middle finger drew small circles against the rapid pulsing in my neck. I could practically feel that exact movement between my thighs.
“Say please.” His left hand gently moved down my arm at a lazy pace, and I looked down and watched as it barely missed the side of my breast. He was teasing me. Logically, I knew that, but I didn’t want him to stop.
I was an idiot, but his hands felt too good and the throbbing between my legs seemed to be the only thing I could think about.
It didn’t matter that his dad, my boss, could catch us at any second. It didn’t matter that anyone could. I just wanted him to touch me. To give me more.
His hand skimmed from my arm to my stomach, and it trembled beneath him. He was barely even touching me, his hand on my stomach a stark contrast to the hand still holding my face, but I could feel every small inch of movement as if it was being burned into me.
He toyed with the buttons of my shirt, the movement of his fingers captivating every part of me before he’d stop, and I couldn’t stop the way my body arched into his touch, silently begging him for more.
He gave me what I wanted, the slightest amount more than the moment before, then he would take it away. A push and pull. A chase and torment.
His fingers pushed harder, the tips touching the top of my pants, and I couldn’t stop the soft whimper that left my lips.
What the hell was happening with me?
I knew I shouldn’t want him with absolute and complete certainty, but I did.
I wanted him more in that moment than I had ever wanted anything else.
“Please,” I said it so quietly, but I knew he heard me.
His breath was harsh against my neck, and it did nothing to help the way my heart hammered against my chest. I tightened my hand on his thigh, and I barely knew what I was asking him.
I wanted more. I needed more, but I didn’t have a clue what more entailed. More had repercussions. Repercussions that I would have to face.
“Say it again.” He breathed the words against my neck before his tongue touched the skin just below my ear.
“Please, Beck.” I was firmer this time. I was sure. I didn’t know anything about the guy who stood behind me other than his social standing and his hatred for me, but I still wanted him.
He moved his hand then, beneath my apron, the heel of his palm pressing against my sex, and I was wrong when I imagined my hand was his. He had barely touched me, and already my hand hadn’t compared.
He cupped me over my pants, but it felt like there wasn’t a thing between us.
He moved his hand in small circles just as his tongue flicked against my pulse point, and I bit down on my lip as I whimpered.