“You’re right.” Stone nods. “Let’s jump her!”
“Okay, Rambo, a little less reprehensible.”
“Egg her house?” Easton suggests.
Stone thinks about it for a second then shakes his head. “Not enough.”
“Graffiti her house.”
The idea comes from Gage, and Stone instantly jumps into his lap. “I knew there was a reason I love you.”
We all laugh as Gage pushes Stone off him and onto the floor. Still, while spray-painting a teacher’s house wasn’t on my agenda for the day, it’s not something I’m against doing. I’ve met the woman he’s complaining about, and he’s right—she’s a total bitch.
“All right, are we doing this shit?” I ask, getting up from my couch.
Everyone else follows while Easton looks at his phone. “Can we wait for Tess? She’ll be here in a second.”
“I thought you two were just fucking around?”
He narrows his eyes at me. “We are. Why?”
I shrug. “It doesn’t seem that way. You two are together more than you’re not.”
“She’s a good lay. Don’t get your panties in a twist. Besides, I think her sister has the hots for you.”
Thoughts of Delaney instantly fill my mind. It’s not the first time, either. The fact that I’ve dreamed of her beneath me is something I’ll forever keep to myself. Her hair fanned out on the pillow. Her innocence tainted with every inward thrust I make. The images are burned into my brain, and it didn’t even happen. I can only imagine what the real thing would do to me.
I’d be lying if I said she didn’t intrigue the fuck out of me. I’ve never met someone so pure, so damn perfect, that enjoyed toeing the line between right and wrong. Every time she’s around, I’m drawn to her like a moth to a flame. I want to lock her away and protect her innocence, all while injecting my own venom into her veins. The thought of anyone corrupting her makes me see red, but the thought of me doing it sends a wave of adrenaline throughout my body. It’s too fucking dangerous—needs to be avoided at all costs.
“That’s too damn bad for her, isn’t it? Besides, I’m hoping she’s gotten the message by now and will go back to her prep-school friends where she belongs.”
Zayn snorts. “Not likely.”
“Oh, yeah? Why not?”
He nods toward the window. “Cause she’s walking up the street with Tessa now.”
I throw my head back in frustration, and the five of us go out onto the front porch. Delaney does her best to avoid eye contact, which only pisses me off more. Who the fuck does she think she is, coming to my house and trying to ignore me?
“Tessa, Bambi,” I greet them, feeling slightly satisfied as Delaney squirms under my intense stare.
Tess crosses her arms over her chest. “For fuck’s sake, Knox, do you have a nickname for everyone?”
“Nope. Only the really special ones.”
Laney looks at her sister and her brows furrow. “What’s yours?”
“CBP, but he refuses to tell me what it means.”
She’s damn right I won’t. I’ve seen the mood swings of Tessa Callahan first hand when she found out Easton got a blowjob from someone chick at a party. I’m not dumb enough to put myself directly in her crosshairs.
“So, are we doing this shit or what?” Stone questions.
“What are you doing?” Delaney chimes in, like she’s got a right to know.
“Nothing that concerns you.” My dismissive tone should be enough, but apparently, it’s not.
She glares at me while Stone, being the idiot he is, takes one of the cans of spray paint from the backpack and shakes it up.
“A little redecorating of sorts, for a deserving recipient,” he tells her.
There it is again—that fire in her eyes that mixes with fear and only burns brighter. The kind of look that turns me on and morphs me into an overprotective fucking beast all at the same time. She should be mortified by the idea—running in the opposite direction and trying to get her sister to do the same. But instead, she does none of that.
“You should come with us,” Easton tells her, and I groan loudly.
“Jesus Christ, E. Read the fucking room.”
My eyes lock with Delaney’s, my stare silently telling her to go the fuck home. No words are exchanged, but I can tell she knows exactly what I’m trying to say. As if her only goal is to piss me off, she smirks.
“Don’t,” I warn, but it’s too late.
“Sounds like fun.”
My jaw ticks at her answer, and I’m so close to punching Easton in the fucking face for even inviting her. The guys all smile triumphantly while I’m straight up ready to snap. I grab the bag from the ground and head for Zayn’s car before I do some shit that I regret.
MRS. VANDALAY’S HOUSE IS the perfect canvas—all white siding that looks like it’s recently been power washed. The lack of a car out front and the lights off inside tell us that she’s most likely not home, but we still need to be quiet in case any neighbors decide to see what the commotion is.
Stone grabs a can and shakes it up, instantly writing BITCH across the front of the house. Gage follows suit before Easton and Tessa join them. I stand back, leaning against Zayn’s car and watching it all go down. My best friend steps beside me.
“You think she’s actually going to do it?”
I steal a glance over at Delaney; she’s still got that glint in her eyes but her feet stay planted to the sidewalk.
“I don’t know. That girl is surprising me at every damn turn.”
He chuckles. “So I’ve noticed.”
“Fuck off. It’s not like that.”
“I never said it was,” he says, and goes to take part in the festivities.
I take a cigarette from my pack and light it, inhaling the smoke and hoping to hell it calms me down. Even the fact that she’s here has me on high alert. She should be at home, doing what valedictorian prospects do, not hanging around a bunch of delinquents while they vandalize a house.
“Laney,” Gage calls as he jogs up to her. “Come on. You’ve got to try this, it’s such a rush.”
The second he puts his arm around her, a level of rage so strong that it blurs my vision rushes through me. There isn’t a thing in the world that could keep me in place. I may not be the jealous type, but for her, I’m a possessive monster ready to kill anyone who gets in my way. I throw my cigarette to the ground and stomp it out with my foot before all but shouting his name.
“Gage!” He stops, as does everyone else, and they watch as I storm up to him. Even Delaney’s eyes widen. “Get your fucking hands off her before I break every bone in your goddamn arm.”
He does as I say, but doesn’t back down the way I expected him to. “What the hell is your deal lately?”
To be honest, I don’t have an answer for him. I’ve never felt the need to be so protective over anyone before. Shit, even Hailey has slept with half my friends. All I know is that Delaney is different, and the mere thought of anyone touching her but me is grounds for homicide.
Red and blue lights fill the night sky and dread floods my stomach in a flash. “Shit!”