Chapter 46
LEX
The Cabana at The Row - finally about to fuck my girl…
Her nails dig into my bare shoulder as I press her deeper into the shadows. She tore my shirt off the second we stepped into this damn cabana, like she needed to feel me.
Skin to skin.
No space.
No air.
Just us.
Her thighs are locked tight around my hips, her lips swollen from my kiss. That thin red bikini is doing fuck all to hide the way her nipples are begging for my mouth. Her pulse’s thudding against my lips, and I swear to God, I can feel it. I can fucking taste it.
My girl needs me. And I need her worse. One more second and I’ll be inside her. One more second and I’m not stopping.
“Lex,” she breathes. “Lex… baby, stop.” Her voice cuts through the haze.
Fuck.
I slow. My grip softens. She’s panting now, forehead to mine, eyes fluttering open.
“We are not having sex for the first time at the damn Row,” she whispers like it’s a rule she made up to keep us from going completely off the rails.
I blink, still trying to catch my breath. Still rock fucking hard for her. “Seriously?” I manage, voice shredded.
Her lips twitch. “You’re the one who told me you wanted to earn it, remember?”
I groan, head dropping to her shoulder. “You’re actually trying to teach me patience right now?”
She hums, smug. “Character development.”
I let out a strangled laugh and lift my head, brushing hair from her face. “Cruel little thing,” I mutter, kissing her temple. “You know what you do to me.”
Her gaze softens. “Yeah, I can see what I do to you Lex.” She glances down at my cock.
“Eyes up here, baby”
“But I also know you’ll wait. Now go,” she says, swatting my chest playfully.
I kiss her once more—hard, fast, starved—then pull back. “Fine,” I growl. “But if your next dance involves another lap, I swear to God, Bella.”
“Then maybe next time, have your bestie put you in a chair.”
We step out of the cabana, her braid a little looser, lips kiss-swollen, eyes dancing with trouble. I’m smug as hell and not even trying to hide it.
“Wow,” a voice cuts through the crowd. “Didn’t realize The Row had added cabana rentals… or is it just fuck-and-run now?”
Bella goes still. She turns toward Maddie with that lethal calm that always comes before the storm. “Awe, Maddie Rae. Didn’t get enough at The Pit, so you had to come try again at The Row?”
She tilts her head, voice pure venom dressed in velvet. “What was it you said to me that night? Something about how I didn’t belong in Hollow Kings territory?”
She looks over her shoulder at me and then back at Maddie.
“You know, from the looks of it…” she steps back into me and my arms wrap around her waist instantly. Her head tilts, resting in the crook of my neck. “…I think I belong to the Hollow Kings more than you ever did. I mean I’m basically their fucking queen now. Right Lex?”
I grin like a wolf with blood on his teeth. “That’s right, baby.”
“Please.” She rolls her eyes. “You think riding one king’s dick makes you royalty? We want a rematch.”
Bella tilts her head. “A rematch? For what?”
Maddie crosses her arms. “Our Fight Night. You stole it.”
Before Bella can respond, Knox’s voice shouts through the party speakers. “Hold up. HOLD the fuck up. Who the hell invited the raccoons to the pool party? Maddie Rae? Is that you?”
The crowd erupts. Whistles. Laughter. People are turning, phones out, catching every second. Maddie’s face twists. Fucker Callum struts over, of course. Standing just close enough to look like backup.
Bella gives a slight nod toward the DJ booth, barely perceptible unless you know her.
Knox does. He dials down the music just enough for her voice to carry.
“It’s okay, Knox,” Bella calls. “Apparently, The Revenants are mad at us because we stole their precious little Fight Night.”
I lean into her ear, can’t help the growl in my voice. “God, I’m fucking crazy about you.” I feel her shiver.
“Well did you tell her that you were invited to the show by Rez?” Knox asks.
Maddie’s face goes pale. “What the fuck?”
“Yeah Knox, I was getting there.” Bella snaps.
Maddie scoffs, but this time her voice rises over the noise. “There is no fucking way he invited you.”
I hear the three beeps in my ear, my mic is on. Guess it’s my turn.
I grin.
“Yeah, Mads. We did invite them.” I let that hang, then lean in just a little. “Crazy, right? Turns out The Kings and The Order actually agree on one fucking thing. And that is that my girl and her girls are the sexiest, baddest bitches in both The Row and The Pit.”
She’s fuming. Red in the face and trying not to explode.
In my ear, Knox’s voice cuts through the static. “Allow the rematch, Lex. Let’s put on a show.”
I lean forward, eyes locked on her, voice dropping low enough to make the crowd hush. “Alright, Maddie Rae. You want a rematch?”
She lifts her chin like she’s already won. “Damn right I do.”
I grin and step closer until she has to tilt her head back to keep eye contact.
“Good. Because this time, you’re not just dancing for bragging rights.” I pause, let it hang, let her sweat. “You’re dancing for your spot at my Pit.”
Her mouth parts. The crowd starts to buzz.
I tilt my head, smirk cutting deep. “So I hope you brought backup, princess. Because tonight? I’m the only King here, and I decide who the hell gets to touch my stage.”
I walk back toward my girl, wrap my arm around her waist, and pull her flush against me and kiss her. Full. Possessive. Like every camera flashing is a spotlight I own.
Maddie groans. “That’s not fair!”
Bella breaks the kiss, looks right at her. “Take it or leave it, Maddie. You heard him. Lex is the rep for Hollow Kings tonight.”
Then she turns to me with that fucking look. Smug, daring, and dangerous, like she’s already dragging Maddie’s coffin behind her.
The Barbie brigade starts squawking.
“Alright, alright, Wolves, it looks like we’ve got ourselves a rematch!” The crowd roars as Knox’s voice booms over the speakers. “Here’s how this is going down. Rules of The Row: three rounds. You know the drill.”
He throws a beat drop under his words. Pure showmanship, my bestie.
“Round One… dance. Obviously. Y’all better be ready to move.” Cheers. Screams. “Round Two… oh, we’re micing you bitches up. Hope one of you little Revenants can sing or you’re gonna crash harder than you did at Fight Night.”
I glance at Maddie. She’s gone pale. The bitch looks like someone just unplugged her blow dryer in the middle of Homecoming prep.
Bella is still smiling like the fucking queen she is. Calm. Dangerous. Unbothered. My fucking Queen. The fucking Hollow Queen. That’s it, I need to make a shirt. Where the hell is my man Rico?
Knox leans into the mic, dramatic as hell. “And finally, Round Three… my personal favorite… Lip. Sync. Battle.”
Now the whole pool deck’s screaming. Drinks are flying, I’m pretty sure some bitch just yanked her top off and spun it around like a goddamn lasso.
Maddie stiffens. Ellie’s already bouncing in place. Haley looks like she’s ready to throw glitter bombs. I swear, Bella doesn’t even blink. She just tips her head toward the booth and calls out, “Thanks, Knox.”
She turns her attention back to Maddie and smiles wide. “You sure you still want this?”
Maddie doesn’t answer. She can’t. Because we all already know, she’s already fucking lost.
Knox keeps the energy rolling, voice dripping with hype. “Trifecta. Revenants. You each have exactly two song lengths to pick your set list and get it up to me. Tick-tock, ladies.”
Bella’s already walking back toward Ellie and Haley. Her heels clicking on the pool deck.
Knox pauses, then grins into the mic. “And as for our official judge,” his voice drops just enough to sound lethal. “Bestie. Front and center.”
I glance up, already moving.
Knox continues, “Looks like you do get a chair after all.”
I settle into the chair like it’s a throne. Spread my legs and rest my arms wide across the sides. If I’m going to be the Hollow King tonight, I might as well look the part.
Eat your heart out Whitmore.
Across the pool deck, chaos reigns. Bella, Ellie, and Haley are huddled in a circle, frantically arguing in high-speed girl code.
Hands flying. Heads shaking. Bella grabs her braid, twirls it around one finger while screaming “no, no, no” through a laugh.
Ellie screeches something. Haley claps her hands.
They’re glowing, laughing like its game night at home and not a war at The Row.
They’re fucking radiant.
Maddie and her two soulless backups are standing stiff, glancing between each other like deer on thin ice. One of them whispers something. Maddie snaps back. Her lip gloss is smudged. Her confidence? Shot.
Ellie takes off. She sprints across the pool deck, barefoot and screaming. She runs up to Knox at the booth and waves her phone like it’s the damn Constitution. He takes it, grinning like the evil genius he is, and starts cueing up their set.
The Revenants still haven’t moved.
I just sit here watching the girl I love light up the whole damn night. I should feel on top of the world. But part of me still aches because Cade would’ve loved this.
He would’ve been laughing right there with them. Joking with Knox. Whispering something in Bella’s ear to calm the storm she always carries in her chest. We were supposed to do this together. The three of us, a fucking family.
I glance back at Bella and something twists tighter in my chest. Round Two is singing. Can she even sing? Fuck. I don’t even know. There is still so much I don’t know about my girl.
Knox’s voice cuts through the heavy bass and the buzz of a few hundred drunk Wolves.
“Alright, alright… Round One! Let’s get this dance-off started!”
I swear I feel the concrete shake under my boots. Knox doesn’t even pause.
“Maddie Rae, since you’re visiting royalty… you and your Revenants are up first.”