“I told you. No one.” She goes completely still. I swear it’s like she’s barely breathing. “Why do you even care?”
Yeah. Good question. “I don’t.”
“Uh huh.” I feel like she’s trying to turn the tables on me. My hold loosens on her, but she doesn’t run away. Nope, she stays right in my arms, and I realize she fits almost…
Perfectly in them.
“No secret boyfriend then, hmm?” I ask, trying to get back on task. That is, trying to find out more info about her.
“Why are you so concerned with my love life?” she asks.
“Supposedly you don’t have one.” I duck my head again and nuzzle her ear with my nose. She tries to block me, her shoulders rising, but I press my face against her soft neck and whisper into her skin, “Meet me tomorrow night and we can work on that.”
“What did you just say?” Her voice is like ice.
Wouldn’t it just drive her brother crazy if he knew I was planning secret meetings with his sister? Jake would lose his shit. Hell, so would her daddy, but he won’t ever find out. Neither will Jake.
Or should Jake find out? He’d be so pissed. I get great satisfaction from burrowing under Jake’s skin. He hates me. He’s hated me since the day we met, for no apparent reason. Now I just give him reasons to hate me on purpose.
It’s more fun that way.
“You heard me.” Deciding I’ve got nothing to lose, I slowly lick her neck. A strangled whimper sounds deep in her throat, filling me with satisfaction. “Meet me right here tomorrow night. Midnight. You don’t show up, I’ll tell everyone you agreed to be my homecoming date. At my school.”
Lame, but can you imagine? Me bringing Jake Callahan’s sister to my school dance? People would shit themselves.
“You wouldn’t dare.” She sounds downright scandalized.
“Don’t try me.” I bite her ear. Another shiver steals over her.
I think she likes it.
“My brother will kick your ass,” she threatens.
I scoff. “Callahan doesn’t scare me.”
“I’ll sic all his friends on you too. They’ll destroy you.” There’s a note of satisfaction in her otherwise sweet voice, like she’s getting off on the idea of me getting my face pummeled in.
Who knew she’d fight back so easily? The girls I know, they always give in. Give me whatever I want. They offer it without me having to ask, and that’s…boring.
I want a challenge. I need one. Ava Callahan is…
Perfect.
“Bring it on.” My lips brush her ear once. Twice. “I’ll gladly go to war over you, Ava. And I’ll win every fuckin’ battle. Watch me,” I whisper.
More heavy breathing comes from her, her tits rising and falling with her every breath. She hangs her head, staring at the ground and I shift my torso away from her so I can look at her pretty face.
Big mistake.
It’s like it happens in slow motion. One second she’s perfectly calm and barely moving. The next, she’s lifting her leg, her knee rising up.
And then she’s stomping her white Nike shoe directly on my flip flop wearing foot with all her weight. Which isn’t much, but still.
The heel of her shoe makes direct contact with my big toe.
“Shit!” The word falls out of me, loud as hell as my arms spring open. Ava darts forward, bending down to grab the stupid bag of firecrackers before she takes off in a full run, heading right toward the cabin her family is staying in.
My toe is throbbing. I can feel the pulsating throughout my entire body. My friends appear out of nowhere, all of them running toward me with frantic expressions on their faces. Yet I’m somehow laughing. I’m not even mad, despite the pain radiating through me. “See ya tomorrow night!” I call after her.
“Burn in hell!” she tosses over her shoulder.
I throw my head back and laugh, shaking my foot to try and get rid of the pain, though I know that won’t work. Fuck, this girl.
I think I’m in love.
Six
Ava
Eli Bennett is the devil. The spawn of Satan. Lucifer incarnate.
Whatever you want to call him, he’s bad.
Awful.
He held me against my will.
He dared me to scream bloody murder.
He kept brushing his hands against my chest, like he was trying to feel me up.
He demanded that I meet him again, and if I don’t comply, he plans on telling everyone we’re dating. Please.
Like seriously, who does that? What kind of person is he?
A terrible one, that’s for sure.
I’m steaming for the entire day. The. Entire. Day. I keep reliving what he said to me. What he did to me. How he licked my neck. Bit my ear.
I don’t like to think about how he made me feel when he did those things. When he held me so close. Little shivers racing all over my skin. My heart pounding extra fast. I wanted to die when I felt his tongue on my flesh. Worse, I wanted to…I don’t know.
Make a noise? Moan? Tell him how good it felt?
I push those disturbing thoughts firmly out of my mind.
When his teeth sunk into my earlobe, it was just hard enough to make it hurt. A barely there sting. This foreign pulsing sensation throbbed between my legs, and I may not have much experience, but I know what it was.
Desire.
Thank God, those moments were fleeting. A mistake. My body’s automatic reaction to a boy—a very attractive, extremely rude and terrible boy—touching me in a sexual manner. I sound so logical, I can almost believe myself.
Truthfully? I’m just mad. I could barely sleep. An unfamiliar bed plus complete and utter disgust left me tossing and turning all night. I kept punching my pillow, imagining it was Eli’s smug face.
God, I really, really hate him.
Jake found me at breakfast, apologizing profusely for not being there when I accused him of ditching me. He and his friends chickened out, he explained. They couldn’t sneak out of the cabin without getting caught, so they gave up.
Leaving me out there all alone, so I could meet up with the boys who were brave enough to sneak out. Like Eli and his asshole friends.
None of those friends ran to my defense, though I suppose they probably never would, considering who I’m related to. Still, they suck.
Eli sucks.
Everyone sucks.
I spend the majority of my day with Mom and Beck. There are a few staff members on hand for the coaches’ families’ entertainment. We went on a morning hike, which was beautiful and serene but didn’t much ease my annoyance. After lunch, they take us out on a huge boat, which thrills Beck to death. He fishes and even catches a few, and Mom can’t stop snapping photos the whole afternoon, like it’s a major life event.
Me? I spend the entire boat ride stretched out on a bench in my bikini top and shorts and soak up the sun, going over what happened last night again and again. It’s so warm outside, and the boat bobs up and down in the water, lulling me to sleep. By the time we’re headed back to the dock, I’ve got a slight headache and a sunburn, despite my liberal application of sunscreen.
This weekend just keeps getting better and better.
Once we’re back at the cabin, I take a cool shower, wincing every time the water hits a sensitive spot on my body. My head is killing me. I blame lack of sleep and possibly my clenched jaw due to immense anger.