Chapter 23
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
EMERSON
Waking up with my hands fisted in the sheets and Holden’s head between my legs was the best thing ever. The things this man could do with his tongue should be criminal. Gasping, I tightened my fingers in the bedding, my head rolling from side to side from the sensations.
“Holden,” I whined. My thighs trembled, and every ounce of concentration centered on the bundle of nerves between my legs. His tongue licked up my center, sucking my clit into his mouth. His long fingers curled in, hitting a spot I didn’t know existed. Stars burst behind my eyes, and everything went white as my body detonated into a million pieces.
Opening my eyes, I found a smug Holden lying on my stomach, his face wet with my release. “You shouldn’t be allowed to be that good at that,” I whispered, my voice raw from shouting.
“Then don’t be so delicious, Wildcat.”
Smiling at him, I tentatively ran my fingers through his hair. I loved this small moment where we didn’t seem to hate each other. Feeling brave, I continued my perusal of his naked body. My fingertips ran over his golden skin, devouring every inch he offered up to me. Reverently, I traced the words on his ribs and said the words out loud. “When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge.”
I looked up, searching his eyes for an answer to a question I didn’t know. My phone vibrated, and I groaned at the reminder that the rest of the world still existed.
“Ignore it.”
“I can’t. I bet it’s your best friend. I didn’t text him when I got home last night, so he’s probably worried.” I reached over and grabbed my phone, and sure enough, there were several messages from Colter. “Yep.”
I turned it toward him, flashing the texts. Holden moved up the bed and pulled me into his arms, resting me against his chest. “Give it to me.”
Handing him my phone, I pursed my lips and wondered if he would read them. I didn’t have anything to hide, but if he couldn’t trust me, I wouldn’t be able to keep doing whatever we were doing.
“Smile, Wildcat.”
“Huh?” I looked up and realized he had the camera on us. It showed us in bed, our hair disheveled and our upper halves bare. I smiled at the camera, expecting Holden to do the same, but he stared at me instead.
“You look like you want to fuck me.”
“Good.” He pulled the phone away and typed something. It took me too long to realize what he did.
“You did not just send him a sex picture!” I bolted up and grabbed my phone back. Holden didn’t fight me, and I realized why. He’d already sent the image to Colter and a new contact. My anxiety morphed from Colter hating me to why he’d sent it to this new number. Had this all been a ploy? Had Hope put him up to this? I couldn’t believe I fell for it so easily .
“I didn’t consent to you sending pictures of me to strangers.” My words were harsh, and I shook for an entirely different reason this time. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if Hope was behind this, but a part of me wanted to stay in the dark as long as possible.
“Relax.” Holden sat up, stroking my face. I narrowed my eyes.
“When in the history of ever has it worked when a man has told a woman to relax?”
Holden chuckled, infuriating me more. “It’s my number, Wildcat.”
“Oh.” My mouth formed an ‘o’, and I stared at him, dumbfounded. My cheeks became hot, and everything inside me felt warm. My phone buzzed in my hand, and I jerked in response, the vibrations surprising me. Colter’s name flashed, and I remembered Holden had just sent him a picture of the two of us in a compromising position. Taking a deep breath, I opened the messages, blinking when I saw what he’d put.
Magic 8-Ball: Damn, Mer. You look gorgeous. Tell Holden he can’t hog you.
Magic 8-Ball: And all is fair in love and football. I get you tonight.
Magic 8-Ball: I’m looking forward to hearing all about your night on our date.
“He’s okay with it,” I mumbled, confused. A mix of emotions from slightly turned on to relief swirled within me. Holden smirked, pulled me back to his chest, read the messages, and laughed.
“Sucks to be him, then,” Holden said, tossing my phone down on the bed and kissing me. All the questions I had fled my mind as Holden’s erection dug into me. “Do you have condoms in here, Wildcat?” he asked, licking down my neck .
“Top drawer.” I reached behind me, but my arms weren’t long enough. Holden chuckled and opened the drawer, rustling inside for what he needed and knocking my stuff sitting on top. “How is you doing it any better? I could’ve made that mess,” I teased, but my smile fell when he pulled out my hot pink vibrator.
He lifted his eyebrows. “This what you used that morning when you lied about listening to me?”
Biting my lip, I nodded. Holden’s eyes smoldered, turning darker as he sat on his haunches. He didn’t take his eyes off me while he opened the condom and rolled it on. Instead of spearing me like I expected, he fell back on his butt and scooted up to the headboard. Pilling pillows behind him, he rested on them and gestured for me.
“Ride me, Em.” The shortened name caused my heart to skip, and I nodded, crawling to him. He directed me to squat, keeping my feet flat on the bed. He held my hands while I lined myself up and lowered onto him. We both moaned as he filled me, his cock feeling thicker at this angle.
“Goddamn, Wildcat. You just keep getting better.”
Using my thighs, I lifted myself up while he played with my tits, sucking them into his mouth and flicking the stiff peaks. My hands ran over his chest, loving the feel of his muscles beneath me. I swear his abs were otherworldly, and his Adonis Belt were things angels wept over. The man was cut and looked at me like he’d never seen anyone more beautiful. It was a heady and addicting thing, and why I couldn’t let him go, no matter how much my head told me to.
We didn’t have a future. Hope would never stand for it. Neither would our parents.
All we could have were these stolen moments in secret.
But he told his best friend? So, what did that mean? I didn’t know, but I wasn’t going to solve the problem while impaled on his cock.
Buzzing brought me back to the moment right before Holden pressed my vibrator to my clit. “Oh, shit,” I cursed, and my arms gave out on me.
Holden’s free arm wrapped around my back and kept me upright. I looked down to where he held the pink vibrator against us, watching as he thrust up. It was erotic, making me wetter with each vibration.
“Fuck, Wildcat. I can feel it on my dick. Look how hot we are. I love watching me enter you. You take me so good.”
My eyes rolled back at his dirty talk, the praise sending me close to the edge. “Holden,” I moaned, clinging to him. My nails dug into his shoulders, and I lifted myself, dropping onto him hard. His cock filled me, going deeper than I’d ever felt and hitting every nerve. Vibrations rolled through me, and I couldn’t tell if they were mine or the ones he created. I felt out of my body, and I didn’t know if I’d ever come down from this high.
Screaming out my release, my voice came out in a guttural moan as the sound left me. The second my eyes opened, Holden dropped the vibrator, lifted me up, and pressed me into the bed, practically bending me in half. My ass rested on his thighs, and my legs hung over his shoulders as he plowed into me with an unrelenting force. His dick hit me so deep that I saw stars and another orgasm built deep within.
“I can’t get enough of you, Wildcat. Fuck.” His thrusts lost rhythm, and he fell forward, his body pressing into me as he came. Sweat coated our bodies, and my muscles ached, but I couldn’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.
My phone vibrated again, and Holden cursed, rolling off me and picking it up. His jaw clenched when he saw the name and tossed it to me. “Tell him you’re unavailable.”
Frowning, I picked up the phone. Understanding flooded me when I saw Cody’s name. Holden climbed off the bed, his body tight as he walked into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. Sighing, I opened the message.
Cody: Why am I hearing shit about what happened at Ember from everyone but you?
“Oh, shit.” I typed out a message, needing to know how bad the gossip was.
Emerson: What do you know?
Cody: So you’re not denying something happened? WTH, Peanut.
Emerson: Sorry. A lot went down, and I haven’t been on my phone.
Cody: I’m not mad at you. I can’t believe that jackass tried something.
Relief coursed through me, and I sighed. It was short-lived, though.
“What the hell is this?”
He stood in front of me, still naked. My eyes ran over him, not understanding what he was upset about. Then they landed on the notebook that had fallen in his search for a condom. The page was opened to where I’d last written in it.
The night I’d made my villain plan.
Gulping, I glanced up and felt my whole world shattering.
“It’s not what you think,” I whispered.
“I don’t fucking believe this. You keep saying how you didn’t bully Hope, that she was the one to bully you. Am I a game to you? Did you know who I was that first night?”
“No! I swear. Holden, give me a chance to explain.”
His nostrils flared, and he gripped the notebook in his hand, the pages bending with the force. He took a deep breath and let it out, nodding for me to talk.
“I haven’t lied to you about anything. Well, except for not knowing Hope. I panicked when you told me your name, worried she’d find out and punish me.”
“Punish you? She’s not a god.”
I scoffed. “You clearly don’t know your sister.”
Holden took another breath, some of the tension releasing from his shoulders. “Then what’s this list?”
“That night you said all those hateful things to me I decided I’d had enough. I came in here and wrote out that list. If Hope was going to make me a villain, I’d become one,” I whispered, my eyes downcast.
“Have you?”
I shook my head. “No. I went out for the dance team, but only made it as an alternate. Sure, she was upset, but being the mascot didn’t have the same punch I intended. She has her dance groupies making it hell, so I’d say Hope is still the victor there.” My shoulders slumped.
“What else?”
“I haven’t figured out what she wants other than status.” I bit my lip. Holden lifted his brow and waited me out. Sighing, I played with the bedspread. The next part didn’t paint me in a good light, and I wasn’t sure how he’d take it. “I have something planned for the game today.”
Holden closed his eyes, his jaw ticking with each passing second. When his eyes met mine, I wanted to lose myself, rewind, and go back to how we were a few minutes ago when it felt like only the two of us. “Don’t do it, Wildcat. I’ll talk to Hope and tell her to stop. That video,” he stopped, gritting his teeth. “I wanted to murder whoever sent it.”
I scoffed, my laugh humorless. “It’s not the first one she’s bullied me with. You’re the na?ve one if you believe it’s the only one of me she has. Every day of high school was Hell, Holden. Every. Day!” My anger rose, tired of having to be the one to stop.
Holden’s nostrils flared, neither of us backing down from our anger. I was surprised when he softened first. “I can’t go back in time, Em. I can’t stop her from doing those things, but I can stop her from doing anything else.”
“You really think she’ll listen to you?”
“Yes.” He said it so firmly that I almost believed in his version of Hope. “Just promise me you won’t pursue this anymore.” He shook the notebook for emphasis.
Worrying my lip, I debated. It felt too much like giving up and letting Hope win. But if he got her to leave me alone, and Holden no longer hated me, would it be enough? I wanted it to be.
“Fine. I promise. I won’t go through with my plan.”
Holden dropped the notebook and dropped to his knees, kissing me tenderly. It was the sort of kiss that made your toes curl, that poets wrote sonnets about and had hearts flying around your head. It was everything.
“I have to go get ready for the game. I’ll see you there?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’ll be in my mascot uniform.”
He smiled. “I can’t wait. At least then, no one else can look at you.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re ridiculous. No one looks at me.”
Holden gripped my chin. “Don’t put yourself down, Wildcat. You’re gorgeous.”
I searched his eyes, wishing I could believe it even when he wasn’t looking at me. I smiled, hoping it was enough.
“And tell Cody to fuck off.” He kissed me one more time before stalking out of my room. I fell back to the bed, picked up my phone, and scrolled through my messages.
First, I texted the person I’d hired to help me sabotage Hope that it was off. They gave me a thumbs up when I said they could keep the fee. Colter texted that he couldn’t wait to catch up on kisses and wanted me to find him before the game for a good luck one. I couldn’t believe he wasn’t upset. I didn’t know what any of this meant, but I’d hang on for as long as they let me .
Smiling, I pulled on a shirt and Facetimed Cody, filling him in on everything from Ember to Holden and then this morning.
“So, you’re going to let Hope get away with everything she did?” he asked once I was done.
I shrugged. “I don’t know how to make her pay without losing Holden.”
Cody’s eyes searched mine, and I knew he wanted to say something. “I hope the good captain knows his sister as well as he does football.”
“He is pretty great at football…” I smiled.
“I’ll see you at the game?”
“Yep. I got my mascot uniform cleaned and ready. Go, Wolves!” I pumped my fist in the air.
Cody laughed. “See you later, Peanut.”
The rest of the day went by quickly, and I headed to the game a few hours early to get ready. My phone pinged as I walked to the dressing room. Colter had sent me a picture of him and Holden in the locker room. Colter had his arm around Holden’s neck, both of them shirtless. Holden was rolling his eyes at his best friend while Colter grinned at the camera.
Magic 8-Ball: Now I just need one of you and me, Merbear.
Magic 8-Ball: I put something in your locker for your first game. I hope it’s not too cheesy.
Smiling wide, happiness pumped through my veins, and I jogged the rest of the way. The dressing room was quiet. I’d gotten here early to avoid Hope. I glanced around the room at each cubby. They had each Wolfette’s name on it and held their pom-poms and uniform. I spotted my name on the end and headed toward it. Setting down Wolfie, my heart dropped at the sight of roses resting in front.
“Holden talked to Hope. It’s not her. They’re just roses. Colter didn’t know,” I whispered to myself, trying to be reassuring. With shaky hands, I reached out for the card attached.
I can’t wait to watch you dance, Princess. No one deserves it more than you.
I gasped and dropped the note, and my eyes caught the sight in front of me. A Wolfette uniform hung in the back of the cubby, but what stole my breath was the dance jacket every Wolfette wore with pride beside it. It was black with teal accents, with a wolf’s head on the front, and the dancer’s name on the back in pink rhinestones.
Was this for real? Had Holden actually gotten through to Hope?
Excitement I hadn’t expected flooded me at being accepted. With shaky hands, I turned the jacket around, and my stomach immediately dropped at the words.
Fat Muppet Loser
Tears blurred my eyes, and I sucked in a shaky breath. She wasn’t going to stop. Hope wouldn’t be happy until I was gone.
Defeated, I took the roses and put them in Hope’s cubby. She could have them. I couldn’t deal with this anymore. If Holden didn’t want me to fight, I’d have to give up.
Stripping down into my tank top and dance shorts, I climbed into the mascot costume in a daze. My entire body was numb, and the world around me blurred. My phone buzzed, but I ignored it and shoved it into my sports bra. With a deep breath, I pulled on the big head just as the girls entered.
Their laughter was loud, hitting my already frayed nerves. Keeping my head down, I skirted around them. If I could make it out of here before Hope arrived, I might have a chance. I made it past the cubbies, the door in my view, just as someone stepped in front of me and blocked my escape.
“Leaving so soon? But you haven’t gotten your initiation gift yet,” Kimmy said, pouting.
“Just let me go. I’ll resign from the team if that’s what you want.”
“Why would we want that? It’s more fun to play with you.”
Girls tittered behind me, and I wished I’d waited until I was out of here to put my head on. I couldn’t see anything except straight ahead.
“Please,” I begged, despite knowing it never helped.
“Say cheese,” Kimmy said before the wolf’s head was lifted from the back, and ice-cold liquid slid down my back. I jumped, but they grabbed my arms and held me in place.
“Stop!” I screamed.
They continued to pour the frozen liquid down my back, filling the costume with the sticky liquid. My breaths rushed out as every time I’d been bullied before came to the surface, and panic overwhelmed me. My heart beat loudly, thumping against my chest hard, and my head spun. Breaking free, I pushed through them, and this time, they let me go, having finished their torture.
But even out of their reach, the panic didn’t subside. Each step felt like walking in quicksand, the cold liquid seeping into every part of me. I kept moving, not knowing or caring where I went as long as I got away. I could have been walking for hours, or mere minutes. Time no longer existed.
Thoughts came at me in a barrage, one after the other, until all logic was erased.
I should leave. Pack it up and call it quits. What was the point of fighting when no one cared? Each step I took revealed a new monster hiding and waiting to devour me. I had no clue how I’d survive the game.
But something wouldn’t let me leave.
I needed to see Colter and Holden first. I had to know. Was it real or just a long con? It felt real, but I’d been deceived before.
Hope stepped into view, halting me and my thoughts in my tracks. Surprisingly, she was alone. She stared at me with a coy smile, her hands on her hips, the pink and gold sequins glinting off the light. Her hair was pulled back in a perfect high-ponytail, and she had teal eyeshadow across her lids. She was ready for the game in all of her Wolfette glory.
Then there was me, a sticky and wet mascot who smelled of moldy dog fur. I would never beat her. I didn’t even know why I’d tried.
“I warned you. But you couldn’t stay in the hole you belong in, Muppet. You only have yourself to blame for everything that’s coming your way. If I were you, I’d run with my tail between my legs, and never show my face at Hayward again.”
The sad truth… part of me believed her. But my heart wouldn’t let me ignore the way Holden made me feel.
Pulling off the wolf’s head, I blinked at her. “What did I ever do to you to deserve this?”
Hope’s head fell back as she laughed. “Oh, Muppet, you really don’t understand how things are here. Do you?”
“It doesn’t have to be this way, Hope.”
Her face contorted into a sneer. “That’s where you’re wrong. I finally have everything I want, and I’m not going to let you take it.”
I stepped back, her words like a blow to my chest. “I… I… I…”
“I… I… I… Fucking spit it out, Muppet.”
Gulping, I straightened my spine. “Did Holden talk to you?” I asked instead .
She laughed again, and the sound was unhinged. “Oh, yeah. We had a good laugh about that. I can’t believe you believed him. You’re just as gullible about guys as you were with Lex Harrington. Seriously, Emmy, did you think the star quarterback, the King of Hayward, would be into you ?”
My face fell, my heart falling out of my chest.
“Ohh,” she pouted, “you did.” She stepped forward and patted my cheek. I was too stunned to stop her. “That goes for Colter, too. We’re practically engaged. I just let him have his fun, but that’s over now. Enjoy the game, Muppet. I can’t wait for everyone to see how much of a loser you really are.”
With those parting words, she turned and strutted away. Her dance uniform sparkled, reminding me how low I was. Nothing about me sparkled right now. Hope stopped before turning the corner and blew me a kiss.
Anger burned bright, erasing the self-loathing. I didn’t need Holden or Colter. I tugged my phone out and brought up the earlier message to send a reply.
Emerson: I changed my mind. Is it too late?
BlackDiamond: No. I can still do it.
BlackDiamond: You sure?
I didn’t have to think about it. I shouldn’t have stopped it in the first place. Hope deserved to feel a little of what I’d experienced for years, consequences be damned.
Emerson: Do it.
If I was going down, I’d take her with me.