“Think again.”
“No? Put it this way, unless you start to learn to play nice, you’re never going to see your friend again.” Caleb slammed his lips down on hers as I turned to look at Gael and Vadik for any idea what he was fucking doing.
Of course, we didn’t give anything away.
Caleb pulled away.
“River, let me out,” she said. Her lips were swollen and her cheeks flushed.
I shook my head and turned on my heel.
Next, she called Vadik and then Gael. All of us left, not getting involved. Caleb closed the door, flicking the lock into place.
“You want to tell us what that was all about?” I asked.
“I need a drink.”
“You had plenty on the plane.” We all had our vices, but we’d made sure not one of us succumbed to the addiction. For now, it had been easy, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t change. I stared at him, waiting.
Caleb looked at me. “Don’t for a second think you can tell me what to do. I need a drink, sleep, and then I’ll deal with the wildcat. Until then, stay out of my fucking face.”
He pushed away from us and I let him go. We were all tense, and I couldn’t say I blamed him.
“I’m out,” Gael said. Before he left, he put his palm flat against the wood of the door. “She’s finally home where she’s supposed to be.”
It was the first time he’d looked at peace.
With him gone, it left me and Vadik.
“What are your thoughts on this?” I asked.
Vadik looked at the door. “She’s home. That’s all we need.”
He left me alone. Probably to go and draw another picture for his constant shrine to her. He’d have plenty of inspiration today.
Me, I looked at the door. I didn’t want to leave, but I also couldn’t face her yet. I wasn’t ready.
I didn’t know what Caleb’s game was, but I had to be in control and ready for whatever he planned to dish out. It was going to get messy. I knew it was, deep down in my soul.
We’d stolen Emily, bargained her friend’s life, and we could have just handed her a death sentence. I didn’t trust Earl Valentine, but for now, I intended to just get some sleep. It was all I could do.
****
Caleb
Sleep wasn’t as easy to come by as I thought it would be, which pissed me off. After how long I’d been up, you’d think I would be able to just hit the pillow and be out for the count. Not even a little bit, which pissed me off.
Running a hand down my face, I stood outside Emily’s door.
I’d gotten the cook and a couple of housekeepers to go to her, but they’d come back covered in soup, along with bite marks.
The one on my arm still felt good to me. I enjoyed the pain. It showed she still had feelings for us, even if she did try to hide it. There was no getting away from what we were to each other.
In my hand, I held a bag of chips and a sandwich.
Opening the door, I found Emily sitting on the bedroom floor, her hands clasped together. She tilted her head back and looked at me.
The anger was still there.
I closed the door and moved toward her. Sitting within touching distance, I expected her to lash out, but she didn’t.
“You’re going to play nice.”
“Fuck you, Caleb.”
I smiled. “Good to know you’re not giving in.”
She pressed her lips together.
“You certainly hurt those two girls. They were just doing their job.”
She looked at me. “Are they okay?”
“They’ll live. I’ll make sure to give them a bonus for dealing with you.”
“Aren’t you nice.”
“I’m the best.” When I held up the sandwich for her to eat, she shook her head. “You’ve got to eat something. You’ve lost too much weight and I don’t like it.”
“Why didn’t you just leave me there?”
“Not going to happen. You knew we were coming for you.”
“Bullshit. I didn’t know you were coming for me. You bargained my life, all of you did.”
“To save you.”
She took a deep breath.
“If you try to starve yourself, that’s fine. I don’t mind if you make this difficult. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you healthy. You know that, so why don’t you cut the crap and save us both the hassle?”
“I don’t like you.”
“Yeah, you do. It’s why you’re behaving this way. Don’t worry. I won’t hold it against you.” I waited, as did she, but like I knew she would, she took a bite of the sandwich. “See, not so bad.”
“What did you do to Ashley?” she asked after chewing and swallowing.
“You’re going to have to eat the whole sandwich before I tell you a thing.”
“I don’t like this, Caleb. You think I don’t know how this works? I saw Earl. I talked to him. He’s part of this,” she said.
Fuck. I didn’t want to tell her any of the details too soon, but she knew everything about our life. She’d been part of it and lived it herself.
“Eat.”
“Damn it, Caleb.”
“Eat. That’s all you’re going to get from me.”
“This isn’t fair.”
“No, you know what isn’t fair, it’s living your life for the past seven years wondering about you, wanting you, craving you, but not being able to do a damn thing about it because of what your parents threatened. You think none of us wanted you? You think we didn’t regret trying to save you?” I needed her to understand.
She finished chewing her next mouthful of food. “I don’t want to talk about this.”
“Emily!”
“No, don’t Emily me. You talk about how bad it has been for you, what about me? I was the one whose life was in the balance. Me and Ashley.” She stopped, pressing her lips together. “You know I’ve hated you all for so long. I even went through a stage of wishing I hadn’t saved Gael. None of this would have happened. You wouldn’t have gotten me to love you, or to care—”
I silenced the rest of her tirade with a kiss. She froze beneath my touch, not making a sound, not even giving me a chance. I wasn’t going to give up easily. She wanted my kisses, I just knew it.
If Emily no longer wanted me, us, she would have moved on already. There would already be a man waiting in the wings, but there wasn’t. She was alone and that told me she’d been waiting a long time, pinning for me, for us.
The instant she responded felt glorious. Her tongue traced against mine. From a dull kiss, it turned into a fire I didn’t want to extinguish. She was so fucking good, so hot, so everything. I couldn’t get enough of her.
Suddenly, she jerked back. “This doesn’t change anything.”
“About you hating us?” I chuckled when she didn’t even nod or give me anything else. “I’m used to people hating us. You can hate me because I know right now your pussy is soaking wet and probably still has traces of Gael’s cum inside you. You want us and for now, that’s fine with me.” I picked up the other half of the sandwich and offered it to her. “You can keep being stubborn all you want. Eventually, you’ll wear yourself out, and it will be up to us to pick up the pieces. It’s your decision.”