I run in the direction of their voices, fully expecting to find Jake with his friends, but it’s…
Not them.
Shit.
It’s Eli leading the way, with a couple of guys behind him. He comes to a complete stop when he sees me, his eyes going wide, as he drinks me in.
I check him out as thoroughly as he does me. He’s clad in a pair of low hanging black swim trunks and nothing else despite the cold. He’s got Gucci—I’m not kidding—slides on his feet, like he’s some rich boy flexing how much money he’s got. A black towel is slung over his shoulder, and my gaze drops to his chest. His six pack.
I gulp. The boy has a hot body, I’ll give him that.
His hair is damp, and his friends are dressed similarly. They must’ve gone for a late-night swim.
I’m sure they’re not supposed to do that, considering that they’re completely unsupervised. Plus, there’s no lifeguard on duty.
“Ava Callahan, what the hell are you doing out here, girl?” Eli whistles low, his gaze still running over me slowly, making my skin grow warm the longer his eyes linger.
I take a step back, fear racing through me. My lips fall open like I’m about to say something, but nothing comes out.
Instead, I turn around.
And run.
Five
Eli
What the hell? Did Ava just run away from us?
From me?
“Go get her!” Brenden yells, making the other guys with us start laughing.
I toss my wet, heavy towel at him and take off in a full run, my feet eating up the space between Ava and I within seconds, even wearing the slides. I can see her blonde hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, wobbling back and forth. Those shorts she has on are so short, I can almost see her ass cheeks.
Damn.
It’s too easy, how fast I catch up with her. She’s panting, and I’m barely breaking a sweat. Reaching out, I grab hold of her hood and give it a gentle tug, pulling her toward me. She stumbles, loses her footing, but before she can hit the ground I’ve got my arms around her middle, keeping her in place. Her back is to my front, her fragrant hair right at chin level, and I can smell her floral shampoo.
It smells nice.
“Let me go,” she says, struggling against my hold. I’ve barely got a grip on her, and she almost gets away from me.
“I don’t think so,” I tell her, clamping my arms tightly around her waist, holding her in place. Her ass is pressed against my junk, and she keeps squirming and moving. Fuck.
She’s driving me crazy. The good and bad kind.
“I’m going to scream,” she tells me, her voice full of indignation and fire. The hoodie she’s wearing is soft and warm, and it’s almost as if it burns against my bare skin. “If you don’t let go of me, I’m going to yell my head off. When my dad comes out here and sees you holding me like this? He’s going to murder you.”
“You want to cause a big scene the first night you’re here?” My voice is full of doubt, because I don’t believe her. Nope. She won’t do that. She’s a perfect Callahan—perhaps the most perfect one of them all. She won’t want her image tarnished. Everyone who lives in our community knows the Callahans shine bright, brighter than most people. It’s one of their best—and most annoying, if you ask me—qualities. “I’ll tell whoever comes out here to rescue you that you planned this.”
She goes completely still. “Planned what?”
“That you wanted to meet me.” I tilt my head toward hers, my mouth close to her ear. “For a little midnight rendezvous.”
She shivers. I feel it. From fear? No way. She’s not scared of me.
I don’t think this girl is scared much of anything.
“Oh come on. You would never say that,” she practically growls, which makes me laugh.
“Go ahead then. Scream. Test me.” I press my cheek to hers and breathe deep. She smells unbelievable. Like sunshine. She’s soft as sin and just about the prettiest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on. “See what I’ll say when they all come running.”
Ava’s quiet. So am I. But I don’t move. I continue to hold her, my head nestled close to hers. A shuddery breath leaves her. I readjust my arms, my fingers brushing against the front pocket on her hoodie, and I can feel something inside it.
“What do you got here?” I ask, reaching into her pocket to yank out a crumpled bag.
“That’s not yours!” she whispers harshly, leaning her head away from mine so she can turn and glare at me. This close, I can see just how green her eyes are. Her pert nose. Those plump pink lips.
Ignoring her and how tempting she is, I shake open the bag with one hand and peer inside. “Firecrackers?” I meet her gaze. Can’t miss that it’s blazing with anger. I bet she hates my guts. “It’s a little early for the 4th of July, don’t you think?”
“Give them back,” she says, her teeth clenched.
“You were up to no good with these, huh? Who were you really meeting outside?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.
That and an annoying dose of jealousy.
“No one.” She struggles against my hold once more, so aggressively, the bag slips from my fingers and drops to the ground. Doesn’t matter. Like I’m going to do anything with firecrackers.
This entire forest is like a giant tinderbox, ready and waiting to go up in flames with one lit match.
“I don’t believe you. I think little miss Ava has a secret,” I say, teasing her instead of interrogating her, which is what I really want to do. “Sneaking out late at night to meet your secret boyfriend? Let me guess, he’s the biggest rebel on the team, and your father hates him. But that’s what makes him so attractive, right? That’s why you want the bad boy. So you can fuck him all night long, knowing how mad that would make your daddy when he finds out.”
I don’t even know what compels me to say that shit, but it feels good to get it out. Perfect people annoy me. When everything looks so good on the outside, you know there’s some damage behind the walls. There has to be.
Is she as perfect as she looks? Doubtful. Is she as snotty as she acts?
I’m guessing no.
Oh, and she’s really struggling now. My arms are getting a good workout, as I do my best to restrain her. Shit, so is my dick. I can barely stand her thrashing about, that perfect ass of hers rubbing against me, making me rise to the occasion. If she doesn’t watch it, she’s gonna find out exactly how she’s affecting me in about a minute.
“You’re such a prick,” she bites out.
“Please, like you don’t think about the many ways you could get back at your dad by secretly messing around with all the assholes on his team,” I tell her, loosening my hold just the slightest bit.
Once again, she stops struggling, her breathing heavy. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
Yeah right. She’s too hot not to have someone hitting that on the regular. “Not even a secret one?”
“Not even a secret one,” she repeats, her voice all of a sudden calm.
Too calm.
“Who were you waiting for then?” I ask yet again. I’m dying to know. I give her a little shake with my arms. “Huh?”