Crashing Hearts (Pine Valley College #2)

38. Skylar

CHAPTER 38

SKYLAR

W e barely made it through the door before we were on each other again. In fact, we barely made it to the elevator, but afterwards, we lie in his bed, tangled in his sheets.

It was torture letting him push me away, but I knew if I didn’t give him the space he needed, then I was no better than anyone else trying to control him. I don’t want to clip Bones’s wings. I want him feral.

That doesn’t mean I was ever letting him go, just giving him time to figure out what he really wanted.

Luckily, it’s the same thing I want, which is us. Otherwise, I would have had to kidnap him and tie him to our bed. I don’t tell him that bit though. We are in a happy place, and as much as I love arguing with him and the fucking that comes after, I like this quiet happiness between us more.

Everything has been stripped away, and the world can’t touch us here. It’s just us and our love.

“I need to tell you why I pushed you away,” he murmurs.

Lifting my head, I peer down at him, but he isn’t looking at me. “You don’t have to if you?—”

“I do. I owe you that,” he snaps before kissing my chest. “My dad came to me. He had a folder on you, Skylar.” He looks up at me, and my heart slams in fear.

What did he see? I’ve never hidden my past from him, but hearing it and seeing it are two different things. Did he not want me because of where I came from? Before my anxiety can completely take over, he kisses my chest again.

“He was going to use it to ruin your life, taking your job and your shot at the championship if I didn’t leave you. I told him to go to hell, but I knew he would and could do it. I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let you lose everything for me. I’m not worth it, so I pushed you away, even if it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. It destroyed me, making you think I didn’t want you, but I love you, Skylar, and I didn’t want to be the reason you didn’t succeed.”

For a moment, I just stare at him, and he swallows, searching my gaze.

“Say something,” he snaps, smacking my chest.

I drag him up and kiss him soundly, swallowing his gasp of surprise. “You brilliant, beautiful fool. How could anyone so smart be so stupid, angel?”

“Fuck you.” He pushes me away, but I can see the worry in his eyes. “I wanted to protect you.”

“And I love you for that,” I tell him. No one has ever tried to protect me, not once in my life, but this man did. He tried to shield my future and my reputation like I give a fuck about any of it without him.

If I wasn’t already madly in love with Silas Townsend, I would be now.

Cupping his cheeks to make sure he really listens, I meet his bright eyes and wonder how anyone could ever think this boy is cold. His heart is so fucking pure and big. He just protects it better because he was tired of being hurt, but when Bones loves, he loves so deeply, it’s almost a miracle.

“It is my choice, not yours, angel,” I murmur, and he frowns. “My choice is to keep you in my life. It isn’t yours. Let him destroy my future, let him out my past, I don’t care. I don’t care about any of it. It means nothing without you. Don’t you see that? I love that you wanted to protect me, but if it was at the expense of losing you, then fuck that. He can take everything, but he can’t take you from me. Let him try because I have something to fight for, and there’s one thing about me he doesn’t seem to realize—I never lose.”

He searches my eyes. “You aren’t mad or worried?”

“I’m worried about you,” I answer truthfully. Let his father come for me. He doesn’t scare me. I’ve dealt with gang bangers, drug dealers, and men who would make Declan Townsend weep in fear. He might think he’s a big, hard, powerful man, but I can cut him down to size and show him what he truly is—a weak, scared little boy.

“Worried that you let this get to you, that you’re still thinking I’m better without you. Let me make this very clear, Silas Townsend. You are mine, and I am yours, and nothing else matters.”

“Of course it does. The championship?—”

“There will be others, but there will never be another you,” I state, and he quiets. “I am in love with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don’t care what your father says. I don’t care what he does. I have you, and I have Alek and Evan, and I have Starfire at my back. I know you will all support me.” It’s something that’s taken awhile to sink in, but I have a family now—one that would go to war for me. Noah would never let me go no matter what, Mackie would stand before anyone who tried to question me, Alek would simply kill them, and Evan would make them wish for death. Bones . . . he would be the devil they pray doesn’t come for them. “We both have a family that loves us. I am not going anywhere, and neither are you. This—” I gesture between us. “He can’t taint it, break it, or ruin it. It isn’t his, and you aren’t his. You’re mine. If you try to leave me again, we both know you won’t get far.”

He smiles, but it fades, and his eyes fill with something infinitely worse—fear.

“He scares me,” he whispers, finally admitting the truth. “I’m terrified of my father, of what he will do to mold my life. I’m scared, Sky.”

Anger flows through me, but I keep it in check, biting it back as I lean in and kiss his forehead. “You don’t have to be scared anymore, beautiful. I’m right here, and I will never let anyone hurt you. Do you understand me?”

His lips tremble, and his eyes fill with tears, each one that falls a blow to my heart. I kiss them away and hold him, my lips in his hair as he shakes in my arms. “I will never let him hurt you. I would kill him before I ever let him lay a hand on you, emotionally or physically. Your life is yours to control. If you want to say fuck it all and run away, I’ll do that. If you want to become a singer, a dancer, whatever you want to do, I’ll make sure you can. Your father doesn’t have a say in your future. Do you hear me, angel? I will give you everything you want and whatever you need so you will never be afraid again.”

“I don’t want him to hurt you,” he rasps, his voice thick.

“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.” I grin as I wipe his tears away. “I grew up on the streets, angel. A lawyer doesn’t scare me. Now, this lawyer, he does things to me, but none of it involves fear.”

He grins, wiping at his face. “Idiot,” he mutters, but it seems more loving than anything.

“You’re an idiot.” I roll him, and he grins up at me. Raining kisses all over his face, I drink down his laughter as he tries to smack me away. I never want to see fear in my boy’s eyes again, and I’ll do anything to ensure it never happens.

He’s panting when I finish, but he’s smiling. I kiss him until he can’t think about anything other than us. “You should get some sleep. You look exhausted,” I murmur.

“It seems I’ve grown so used to being mauled to death by a clingy koala during sleep that I can’t sleep without it,” he admits, and I grin wider.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m here.” Wrapping him tightly in my arms, I kiss every part of him I can reach. “I love you, Silas Townsend, and I will be right here when you wake up.”

“Promise?” he murmurs, covering my hand on his chest and interlacing our fingers.

“I promise.”

I wait until Bones is asleep, and then I slip from his arms. He reaches for me, so I press a pillow into his hands, and when he sighs and cuddles it, I grin. I take a picture on my phone and set it as my screensaver, then I grab his phone and head out.

Typing in his passcode, I sit heavily on the sofa in the dark living room. I don’t want to wake him up, but this is important. I know the longer you leave your enemies alone, the stronger they think they are. I need him to realize he’s nothing and that he has nothing—no power or control.

Pulling up Bones’s contacts, I chuckle at the name he saved his father under and I hit call. It rings four times before a deep, snapping voice answers.

“What is it, Silas? It’s the middle of the night?—”

“Your first reaction is anger when your son calls you in the middle of the night? Not worry? I guess that shouldn’t surprise me,” I reply.

He’s quiet for a moment, and then I hear rustling. “Who is this?”

I chuckle as I glance at the window. “Now, let’s not play coy. You know exactly who this is, and from what I’ve been hearing, you know everything about me.”

“Skylar Warren.”

“The very one.” I smirk as I lean back, crossing my legs as I drape my arm across the back of the sofa.

“Why are you calling me at this hour and using my son’s phone?” he snaps.

“Well, we have something very important to talk about. Your son is sleeping, and I won’t wake him for your bullshit. You are going to leave us alone. You’re never going to interrupt his life again. You will back off, is that clear?”

He laughs. “And why would I do that?”

“Because if you don’t, I won’t stop coming after you until you have no choice,” I reply casually, eyeing my nails. They need a trim. My boy doesn’t like it when they cut his back when he rides me.

“Like you said, I know everything about you?—”

“Not everything. You don’t know what I’m willing to do to protect Bones. You don’t know what I would be willing to do or willing to lose to keep him happy. Declan, what would you be willing to lose to keep your son? I’d lose it all. Would you? Because that is what it will come down to. You think you are the only one with power and connections, but you’re not. I could pull every dirty skeleton and secret from your closet within a day.”

He’s quiet for a moment, and I laugh.

“Exactly what I thought, so this is how it’s going to go. You will never threaten your son again, and if you ever lay a hand on him or hurt him again, I will do exactly what I just promised and I will laugh as your life burns. You will cease contact with your son and stop forcing him to meet you or do what you want. If he wants to be in your life, that’s his choice, and you will honor that.”

“And if I don’t?” he retorts.

“Then let’s see how far you are willing to go. You know everything, and you know what I’m capable of. I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty. Are you?”

“You are a foolish?—”

“Maybe,” I interrupt, and his sharp inhale tells me he doesn’t like it, but I don’t care. “You aren’t the first person to try to destroy me, and you won’t be the last, but I’m never letting your son go. I love him, something you should understand but don’t seem to. That’s okay. I’ll love him enough so he never has to worry about that. I’ll give him the life he deserves and the life he wants, with or without you. If you ever threaten him, though, or scare him again, I will ruin you, Declan Townsend. Let me make that very clear because I do not lose.” I hang up, refusing to let him get another word in.

It’s all about power with a man like him, and I just took his away.

Dropping Bones’s phone, I lean back, only to look up at a noise. Bones is hesitating in the hallway, watching me.

“Baby, what are you doing awake?” I murmur as I meet his sleepy eyes.

“You said you would be there when I woke up,” he mumbles, sounding adorable as he shuffles over, rubbing his eyes as he yawns.

Damn, I love this man.

I open my arms, and he collapses into them, his head on my chest where it belongs. “Was that my father?”

“You heard?” I ask. I’m not worried. I will always do what it takes to protect him.

“Most of it,” he admits. He stares at me for a moment. “What did he say?”

“What could he say? I told you to trust me, didn’t I?”

Sitting up, he swings his leg over my lap and presses his hands to my shoulders as he looks at me with love and hope in his eyes. “We are free to be together?”

“Even if he doesn’t listen, we are,” I reply as I turn my head and kiss his wrist, feeling his pounding pulse. “He won’t be a problem, angel. I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you,” he whispers.

“Why don’t you show me how thankful you are and how incredible your boyfriend is?” I grip his wrist and run my tongue over his pulse. His eyes dilate as he peers at me. I place a kiss on the inside of his elbow before kissing down his arm, and then I slide his thumb into my mouth, sucking on it as he watches me.

Popping it free, I lay a kiss on the tip of it, and he swallows hard. He looks so beautiful in the moonlight, the type of man they would write sonnets about.

“There is an old story that says souls were split in two, and we spend our lives searching for our other halves to feel whole again,” I murmur as I lean forward, grabbing his hips and tugging him so there isn’t an inch of room between us. “You’re my other half, angel, the missing part of my soul, and I have been waiting for you for so long.”

“Skylar—”

I cover his lips, hushing him, and meet his gaze. “I have never claimed to know much about love. The closest I have ever seen was my parents before their deaths, but I am willing to die for you, beautiful. I’m willing to suffer for you . . . live for you. I’m willing to be whatever you want to be. You are all I think about every waking moment. When the sun shines, I want to be under it with you. When it rains, I want to be your umbrella. When it’s dark and scary, I want to be your light. I don’t know much about love, Silas Townsend, but I know this”—I smack my chest—“is yours, and I will spend my life searching for answers so I can be the best other half to you I can be.”

He watches me with glassy eyes, and I kiss my fingers on his mouth, lingering for a moment. “No matter what happens, no matter if the world tries to tear us apart, remember where you go, I go. You will always find me at your side.”

He pulls my hand away, smiling softly. “You know, I tried so hard not to let you in because deep down, I knew you would have the power to destroy me. Ruin me, Skylar Warren, if that’s what you want. I don’t care anymore. Just don’t ever leave me. If I could go back to the night we met, I wouldn’t change anything. I don’t want to live a life where I don’t know the warmth of your arms or the softness of your kiss. I don’t want to live without you. You aren’t my first kiss, my first time, or my first love, but you are the first person to make me feel whole, and you’ll be my last kiss, my last time, and my last love.”

He kisses me, sliding his hands up into my hair where they belong. Mine sweep up his back until there is no room between us.

What I said was true. I only feel whole when I have him in my arms.

Silas Townsend is my other half—the better half.

For the first time in my life, I’m generally afraid of losing something. Oh, I survived because I had to, but I never really had a reason to fear it. Now I do. I’m terrified all the time because I never want to break his heart. I never want to leave him alone again, so I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure he feels safe and secure. I’ll be scared enough for both of us.

When we pull back, I can’t help but smile as I reach up and brush away his tears. “No more crying, beautiful. I only ever want to see you smile now.”

His smile grows and he laughs.

“I told you that you have the best boyfriend, didn’t I?”

He rolls his eyes, but his smile remains. Smacking his ass, I draw his gaze back to me, and indignation flares in his eyes even though he loves it. My cock has been hard since he sat down on my lap, but it throbs in reminder of what I want—him.

I drag my lips up his neck, and his moan fills the air as he turns to give me better access. I bite his earlobe then kiss it better.

“Say thank you, Skylar,” I murmur. “Thank you for being mine.”

“Fuck you,” he mutters, but he grips my shoulders and tugs me closer.

“I plan to fuck you, angel, but first, you are going to thank me.” I smirk into his skin, and then I lean back, sliding my hand down his chest. I grip his dick through his shorts, and he moans, jerking into my touch. “Or show me. Your choice.”

He watches me for a moment, his lips tilting in a cocky smile before his hands drop from my shoulders.

He slides from my lap, standing before me, and I narrow my eyes as I go to stand, but his hand hits my chest, stopping me. “Sit,” he orders.

You damn well bet I fucking sit.

He smirks as he watches me, knowing I might act like I’m in control, but he’s the one who is. I would do anything he asked. I would follow his every order and whim, no matter how unreasonable and crazy.

“You want me to show you?” He kneels before me, grabbing my boxers and pulling them down. His bright eyes pin me in place as his mouth presses to the tip of my aching, leaking cock. “Then let me show you.”

My head drops back to the couch as he slides his mouth down my length and back up, dragging his tongue along the veins under my dick. I jerk in his hold, forcing myself deeper. I tangle my fingers in his hair as I watch him.

“Angel,” I murmur.

He licks the tip of my cock, tasting me, as his other hand slides down and cups my balls. “You wanted me to show you.” He kisses the tip of my dick. “Do you see now? Do you understand?” He slides me all the way into his mouth and down his throat.

“Fuck, angel.” I drive into his mouth, forcing him to take me. “You were made to be fucked by me. You were made for this. Look at you. So goddamn beautiful. Look what you do to me.”

His eyes heat at my words and he sucks harder, squeezing my balls until I’m swearing.

Fuck, I’m so close. His mouth feels too fucking good, but I want to be inside my boy. I want to be buried so deep, no one can ever separate us again.

I yank him up and off me, his eyes widening in confusion and desire. “That pretty mouth is incredible, angel, but when I come, I want to be inside you. I want to be buried in your perfect ass so you know exactly whom you belong to.”

Throwing him down onto the couch, I roll so I’m on top of him and rip his shorts off, tossing them away as I kiss his incredible chest. My lips wrap around his nipple, and I suck as he rubs against me, his hands clawing at my sides as his legs fall open, demanding I take him.

I do just that. Lifting his pretty, tattooed hips, I place a kiss on his leaking dick before I line up with his ass and slowly push inside him, his hot hole gripping me as I slide deeper before pulling out and pushing back in. I stretch him as his mouth drops open on a moan, his eyes sliding shut as he tosses his head.

“Skylar, fuck, please, I want you so deep I’ll feel you everywhere,” he begs. “I need it, please.”

I need it too. I need it more than my next breath.

I need to be like this forever, trapped in his body with my name on his lips.

I was made to love Bones, and that’s exactly what I do. My hips speed up until I’m pounding into his ass, watching him bounce with the force of my movements.

“Please!” he screams.

Rolling, I pin him against the sofa, trapping him on his side between me and the cushions. I thrust my hips and force myself deeper as he groans. Lifting his leg, I toss it over mine so I can change the angle, letting him feel every hard inch of what he does to me.

“That’s it, angel, look how well you’re doing. You’re being such a good boy, taking me like this. How crazy do you have to be to think I’d ever let you go? I only find this heaven inside you. I’ll destroy every single person who ever tries to get in the way of me having what’s mine.” I suck on his ear, feeling him clench around me.

“Sky, please, babe, please,” he begs, pushing back as his head falls against my shoulder.

“I love the way you beg me. You’re so fucking stern outside of our apartments, but in here, you’re just my baby, aren’t you? My needy fucking angel desperate for me to fuck him into oblivion.” I bite his neck as he cries out. “I always knew you would be a screamer.”

“Fuck you,” he growls as I drive into him, forcing more of those addictive sounds from his lips. The neighbors pound on the walls, but it only spurs me on, and I slam into him harder so he makes more noise.

He digs his teeth into the cushion as I fuck him, trying to muffle the sounds until I pull him away. I want to hear them. I want his beautiful voice to haunt me.

“Sky,” he begs, reaching up and gripping the back of my head. I bite his neck as I fuck him, and his ass spasms around my cock as he cries out.

Sliding my hand down his chest, I grip his dick, tightening my fist until he bellows his release. I feel the warmth of his cum spill over my hand, and it drives me over the edge. Grunting into his neck, I pump my cum deep inside him. Pleasure races through us. The only time I feel my heart speed up is with him, and it pounds now.

We both slump into the cushions, sweaty and satisfied. I kiss his neck, soothing the wounds there.

He turns in my arms and smiles up at me so brightly, I can’t help but kiss him.

“I love you, angel.”

“I love you too,” he whispers.

We are in this together.

There is no breaking us apart.

Where one goes, the other follows.