Chapter 26
A DEVIL FROM THE PAST
Lexi
My legs swung back and forth, a nervous energy swimming through my veins, as I waited on the bench at the edge of campus overlooking Copper Cove.
Things had been so hectic since I arrived at Stonewall, I hadn’t had a minute to explore beyond the sprawling university.
Most of the majestic sailboats and gleaming hundred-foot yachts that usually littered the pristine docks below had been covered or turned south for the winter, but still a few bobbed in the white-capped waters.
September had come and gone, and October held a crisp breeze, one that my flimsy jacket wouldn’t protect me from for long. I’d have to break into my hard-earned savings to buy a true winter coat before the end of the month.
Hey, you wanted away from the sweltering heat of Arizona, now you got it, Lexi. That annoying inner voice echoed through my mind. I’d definitely wanted something different from the small town I’d grown up in, but had I fallen into more than I’d bargained for?
Not only had I ended up in Killian’s dark sights, but I’d fallen into Stan’s orbit. Then of course there was that little possible murder thing I’d stumbled across. FML.
I glanced at my watch, and a hint of unease churned in my gut. Micah was thirty minutes late for our lunch date. It wasn’t like him to be one minute late, let alone a full half hour. Reaching for my phone, I typed out a quick message.
Me: Did you stand me up? ;)
Staring at the screen, I waited for those telltale blue bubbles. Nothing. A frosty breeze lifted the deep auburn hair off my shoulders, sending a chill across the back of my neck. I typed out a hasty follow up when the silence ensued.
Me: I’m starting to get worried. Will you just tell me you’re okay?
Nothing.
“Damn it, Micah,” I hissed.
A sharp, irritating giggle echoed behind me, and I refused to turn my head, knowing exactly which resident mean girl I’d find. The clatter of designer boots drew closer and Lorelei sauntered around the bench, stopping right in front of me and blocking the beautiful view.
So much for finding some Zen.
“What’s the matter, charity case, did your boyfriend stand you up?”
I rolled my eyes, biting back the urge to let loose a string of curses that would make the sailors manning the fancy yachts in the harbor cringe. “Micah’s just a friend,” I muttered. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“That’s not what I heard.” She planted a hand on her hip, cocking it in my direction.
“Word around the Sigma Delta house is that the new pledge saw you on your knees with one of the brothers, and he’s completely heartbroken.
” She paused. “I thought you of all people wouldn’t be so careless about your friend’s feelings. ”
A gasp escaped despite my best efforts to grit my teeth. Shit. He’d seen Killian and me doing that?
Oh, hell, my life was over.
No wonder he’d been acting so weird last time I saw him. Who else knew?
Wait a second... My gaze narrowed on the bitchy Barbie. She had no idea it was Killian. If she did, I’d be prying her fingernails from around my neck.
A satisfied grin curled the corners of my lips. Not like I wanted to shout my moment of weakness from the clifftops, but the fact that I’d stolen Killian’s attention sent a swirl of satisfaction through my damaged insides.
“What are you smiling about?”
“Nothing.” My grin widened. “I was just thinking you’re the one who should be keeping better tabs on your boyfriend.”
Deep crimson flared across her high cheekbones, that stupid pouty mouth curving into a capital O.
Yeah, that’s right, bitch, your boyfriend’s obsessed with me.
If I had any intention of continuing this thing with Killian, I would’ve voiced the words and crushed her like a bug.
But the truth was, this dirty thing my former best friend and I had couldn’t continue.
It wasn’t healthy for either of us.
Sure, it had been days since he’d finger-fucked me into oblivion in the middle of Rocks for Jocks, and I still couldn’t forget the mind-blowing orgasm, but that sure as hell didn’t mean I was going to repeat that terrible mistake.
So the boy knew his way around a clit? There had to be tons of frat guys more than willing to get me off without all that baggage.
“What are you trying to say, charity?” Lorelei inched closer, her cheeks so red I was scared her face would explode.
“I’m not saying anything.” I gave her a sweet smile.
“Keep your dirty, scholarship paws off Killian Davenport. He’s mine. Do you hear me? I need him...”
I slid off the bench and stood in front of her. She was like an entire head taller than me, dammit. It was hard as hell to pull off intimidating when you were forced to look up at your enemy.
“Or what, Lorelei?” I slapped my hands on my hips and glared. “You think you scare me? With your rich daddy and trust fund?”
“Shut up,” she hissed. “You don’t know anything about what I have to go through.”
“Are you really trying to make me feel bad for you?” I blurted.
“You’re weak because you’ve never had to fight for anything in your entire damned life.
I’ve stared into the eyes of the devil, and I survived.
I clawed and ripped my way back from the dead and I’m here, right beside you.
I’ve earned my spot at Stonewall, which is much more than I can say for you. ”
She stared at me, eyes wide, pink-glossed lips parted.
“And don’t worry, I have no interest in Killian Davenport. You can keep that asshole. You guys deserve each other.”
A deep chuckle resonated from behind me, sending the hair on my nape into a tizzy. I spun around as my dark past rose to the surface.
Stanford—no. Holy shit. My heart smashed into my ribs. This man was younger by a few decades at least but he was his spitting image.
It had to be…Sebastian Davenport.
He stood behind me, a wicked grin amplifying the sinister cut of his jaw.
Son of a devil. Literally.
How had I not even considered the fact that Stanford’s biological son could attend this university? Not that I knew him personally, but I was aware of his existence. And how had I not run into him sooner?
Now here he was, Satan’s twin, that icy gaze raking over me with a hunger that rivaled the one that haunted me in my sleep.
“The infamous Alexis Vega.” Sebastian stepped closer, and every nerve ending in my body raged. Tumbles of blonde hair fell perfectly across his forehead, those blue eyes glinting with that boy-next-door charm.
But I knew what lay beneath the surface. The poison that ran through Stan’s veins rushed through his son’s too.
My thoughts flickered to the past, to the night of the masquerade party. Ice frosted my veins as the familiar tone echoed through my mind. Oh. My. God. Bass was Sebastian. My thoughts spun, bile crawling up my throat.
It was him.
He was the one who murdered that girl.
Some of the Sigma Delta brothers had helped cover it up. I felt the truth of it in every cell of my being.
I stepped closer to Lorelei, so flustered even her presence was better than succumbing to the devil spawn’s proximity.
“I didn’t know you attended Stonewall.” He ticked his head at my backpack, filled to the brim with textbooks. “I wonder how my stepbrother could have possibly forgotten to tell me.”
I shrugged, the sinister curl of his lip icing my veins. “Killian and I aren’t exactly close anymore. You and your father saw to that.”
“Hmm.” He pressed his finger to his chin, frowning. “I find that hard to believe. How could he not know you were here? My little bro was in love with you for years, Lexi. You couldn’t have been that blind.”
All the air siphoned from my lungs. I couldn’t breathe.
I just stood there, gaping at the guy whose father had ruined my life. A punch in the gut would’ve hurt less than those words. Stan had stolen everything from me, including my best friend. And now his son was sinking the knife deeper by lying to me?
Killian couldn’t have been in love with me all that time. He would’ve told me... He would’ve said something...
Wouldn’t he?
I blinked quickly, my mind whirling to the past. I pushed the thoughts away, but my subconscious refused to take no for an answer. The hazy images rushed to the forefront of my mind until the steady creak of the porch swing sucked me back to a much sweeter time.
Brilliant green eyes traced my finger as I curled an auburn lock around the brightly painted fingernail. I pushed my flip flops against the worn floorboards and propelled us back, the old hinges of the swing creaking in protest. “Why are you staring at me like some weirdo?”
Killian’s cheeks burned a surprising crimson, something he’d been doing more lately.
Then he dropped his chin to his bare chest and swung his gaze to the sweating can of soda in his hand.
“I wasn’t! You’ve got something on your chin.
” He leaned over and swept his thumb over my bottom lip with his free hand then popped it into his mouth. “Mmm, Cheetos.”
A shit-eating grin split his lips, and for the first time in our ten-year friendship, I noticed how absurdly good-looking my best friend had gotten.
Had he always been so hot, or was it the gradual broadening of his shoulders, the sudden defining of his abs, the sharpening of his cheekbones and the thinning out of that baby face that I’d somehow missed?
“Now you’re the one staring like a weirdo.” He brought the can to his lips and took a long pull looking way too satisfied with himself.
Nights like these swinging on his back porch weren’t unusual for us.
I wouldn’t have survived Mom’s cancer without them.
Killian mostly just listened as I poured out my heart and soul, cried, laughed, and everything in between.
Sometimes he held me, sometimes he let me take out my anger on his newly rock-hard abs.
Sometimes I wondered why he was so good to me.
I glanced up, meeting that watchful gaze, and my heart staggered on a beat.
I’d never felt anything like it. A flood of hope, of love, of endless happiness in that one instant.
He inched closer, the old wood whining and squealing.
He cupped my face with his warm hand and ran his thumb across my cheek.
A faint, but super embarrassing sigh slid through my lips at the familiar and yet unfamiliar touch.
“More Cheetos dust?” I breathed.
“Mmm, something like that.” He ran his tongue across his bottom lip, then his gaze dipped, latching onto my mouth.
His head tilted toward mine until our breaths mingled. My heart punched my ribcage with each inch closer, the manic pace reaching a rapid crescendo until our lips were only a heartbeat away.
Killian was going to kiss me. My best friend was going to put his mouth on mine, and I’d feel the stroke of his tongue, those soft pillowy lips. I would finally know what he tasted like.
My eyes slid closed, and I held my breath.
An eternity passed.
“Kill!” A sharp voice rang out, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
Killian leapt off the porch swing sending me flying backward. “Oh, shit, sorry, Red.”
He jumped in front of me before I careened off the back porch and stopped the runaway swing. His hands clamped around my shoulders to steady me, but they had the opposite effect on my suddenly heated skin.
“Damn it,” he hissed. “I should go see what my mom wants. She had a bad day today and—”
“Sure,” I murmured. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just sneak out through the backyard.”
It wasn’t that Killian’s mom cared about me being here, it was just easier not being seen sometimes. When I was at a low, Killian was the only person I could stand to be around.
“Coming, Mom!” he called into the house before turning back to me. “I’ll pick you up for school tomorrow?”
“Yeah, definitely.” I nodded, chewing on my bottom lip.
“Night, Red.” Killian’s smile brightened the murky skies, forcing a grin to my own lips.
I watched as he disappeared into the quiet house, then I stood there for a long moment as the darkness settled in around me.
Heat blanketed my skin, the summer nights just barely more tolerable than the day.
And still, I remained there, unmoving. Because I wanted to remember this night, everything about it.
Killian was my person. The only one left on this earth besides my dad who really knew me. As much as I’d wanted that kiss in that moment, the thought of losing what we had was so much more terrifying. I vowed never to make that mistake with him again.
Spinning toward the wild hedges, I marched through the overgrown grass and forced my feet to Papá’s old truck.
“Hello? Are you still with us?” Lorelei snapped her fingers an inch from my nose as the vivid memories faded.
I swallowed hard, forcing down the painful thoughts of the past.
Sebastian stared at me, that arrogant smirk plastered across his face. He knew he’d gotten to me, and I’d fucking let him.
Pressing my arms across my chest, I glared up at the asshole. “You’re way off base, Sebastian. You need to have a heart to fall in love, and nothing but a bottomless black hole fills Killian’s chest these days.”
“Speak of the devil...” The great Davenport heir’s gaze darted over my shoulder.
That looming presence scraped up my back, sending a flood of goosebumps down my arms. A warm breath tickled the shell of my ear, and I spun around to meet a pair of blazing green orbs.