Chapter 23
Abigail’s going to drive me batshit crazy. The sun has long since set, but I continue doing laps. Pushing way past my physical limits and ignoring everything—my exhaustion and my technical director. Parker shouts from the two-way radio for the umpteenth time, and I finally snap out of it.
When I park, he asks, “What was that?”
I look at him, smirking. “Surpassing my record.”
“Three-day suspension.”
“Are you fucking serious?”
“Give me more attitude and I’m going to pull you from the next race.”
Cursing under my breath, I haul my ass inside, shower, and change.
Following the app’s tracking location, I drive back to the college and step inside the library. I jerk my chin to every other student to leave, and they all scurry out.
Abigail is behind a shelf, going through books.
So many possibilities.
I take the keys from the desk and lock the door. With one press of a button, the curtains of the library bathe us in darkness. Only a small lamp flickers at the opposite end of the room.
I hear some books dropping and a “fuck” coming from her. In the next second, a flash of light illuminates the library.
“If I find out who you are, I’m going to make you regret it.”
Bring it on, princess.
I duck and hide behind a shelf, jiggling the keys. She grumbles, following the noise only for me to stop when she’s nearby. Her annoyance permeates the enclosed room, and I shake the keys again.
“I’m not a trained monkey.” Her irritation rings loud in her tone.
She moves faster, but I’m always one shelf out of reach. I shove the keys in my pocket and play with a strand of her hair. She whips her head in my direction, but I back up stealthily.
“Coward.”
I chuckle and light my lighter. I stopped smoking two years ago, but I still like my Zippo. The flames calm me.
“Of course it had to be you.”
I shut the lid, getting in her face. Backing her against a shelf, the books rattle. She fights me off, but I shove my leg between hers. I grip her hands, and her phone drops to the floor with a thud, casting a dim light.
The fire in her eyes excites me like nothing else.
“Let go of me.”
“You kneed me in the balls once already.”
“Your fault, not mine.”
She struggles while I cage her in, her vanilla rose scent intoxicating my senses.
My hand curls around her neck, feeling the flicker of her pulse there. At my mercy. Her eyes widen, a flash of curiosity and excitement shimmering in them.
We exchange heavy breaths, and I pull my hand away.
She averts her gaze for a moment. When she looks at me again, my chest cracks. Raw sadness swallows her pupils. That image hurts more than all the pain she put me through.
She puts her cheek on the Mustang galloping in my chest.
“I’ll never be afraid of you.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. I’d rather kill myself than scare her.
“Did you come back for me?” she whispers.
My lips purse. Giving her ammunition is the last thing I should do.
“Why? Missed me? I must be a better lay than he is.”
Her disappointed look pours acid on my skin. I can almost sense the flesh festering.
“Open the door.”
“Why would I?”
“That would be the mature thing to do,” she says, picking up her phone from the floor.
My vision darkens. I’ll show her childish. I rush toward the windows and open one.
“What are you doing?”
“What would you do for these keys?”
She approaches me with her hands displaying a no-threat gesture.
“Answer me.”
I jiggle the keys, and she halts with a stoic expression on her face. “You still want me.”
Her words rattle me, and I throw them out. She comes at me, pummeling at my chest.
“So violent, princess.”
“You’re… you’re…”
She plucks her phone out and mumbles when the screen turns dark.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone is conspiring to keep us right where we are.
“Give me your phone.”
“Don’t have it on me.”
She looks at me searching for the lie, and it must be my smirk that gives me away.
She touches me everywhere in her quest to find my phone, heating up the blood in my veins.
“If you don’t stop, I will do the same to you.”
She cups my hard dick through my jeans, and I say, “That’s not the phone.”
“Yeah, your phone is bigger.”
“Say that again.”
She grins while her palm rubs my length. I’m painfully hard, and she knows it, damn it.
A satisfied grin curls up her lips. “Your phone—”
I cut her off as I lift her up with my palms on her ass. My hungry eyes take every inch of her in. Her face is fuller and more radiant. Her blue eyes spark brighter and while she’s still slim, her body has these sexy as fuck curves now, I itch to dig my fingers in. Even her hair looks shinier. While she has always been beautiful, she looks different now, better, and healthier.
“Put me down,” she says, while locking her arms around my neck—a contradiction, just like everything we’ve said to each other but done the opposite.
“You were saying?”
“Your phone—”
I bite her neck and suck on it. She scratches at my back, moaning.
“Really? A hickey? Again?”
“Force of habit. Now, where were we?”
I place her on a table nearby and pin her hands behind her back. My dick grinds against her core wanting inside of her.
“Your phone…” She gulps and wets her lips.
Put us out of our misery. You’re getting fucked tonight, one way or another.
“It’s vibrating.”
Fuck it. I rip my phone from my pocket and see it’s Lori, my social media assistant.
Abigail sucks the entire air out of the room when she sees her name.
I send her call to voicemail and type a quick message that I’ll get back to her.
The temperature in the room drops to icy. Abigail lies still on the table as if I shackled her to it.
“Your girlfriend?”
She blinks at me, pain etched in her vibrant blue eyes. She has no damn right to look so hurt. The visual rips my fucking heart out of my chest.
“I don’t do the girlfriend thing.”
“You wanted me to be yours.”
“I would have said anything to fuck you.”
“And like you said, the experience wasn’t worth it.”
She hugs herself, looking crestfallen. Everything in me wants to comfort her, yet I know it would never be enough.
The door unlocks, the click interrupting our moment.
We both sneak out undetected.
She doesn’t look at me, and when she goes to her car, she says over her shoulder, “Be happy. That’s all.”
I’d need you for that, but we both know you’d pick him every time, wrecking me again and again.
***
I shoot upright and wipe at the sweat drenching my body.
Just a nightmare. Just a fucking nightmare . She got married to Kaden while I had to watch. Abigail said yes while looking at me. What fucking torture. If that day comes, I don’t fucking know how I’ll survive that.
With shaky fingers, I get changed. Heading to the kitchen, I open the fridge, gulping down a bottle of water.
I need to see her and see for myself there is no ring on her finger, so I head to my car.
On the college’s grounds, I park next to her and send her a message.
We need to talk .
She reads it but ignores my message. So the next thing I do is send her a photo of me. Rain pours down on me while I am perched on the hood of my car, waiting for her.
She rushes from the building to her car and sends me a pointed look before she gets in hers. She drives away, and I follow her to the college house. I should have known because this is the biggest and most impressive one on campus. It looks like a damn small castle.
I get out of my car and grab her elbow. “Abigail. Stop ignoring me.”
She turns to me, inhaling deeply. “Just leave me alone.”
She yanks her arm away, and I trail after her inside.
Blake stands up from the couch in the living room, approaching me. “Crazy motherfucker.”
Bailey walks down the stairs, phone in her hand. “Hi, Dane.”
Abigail moves to the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge.
“So what are you making?” I ask.
“Nothing for you.”
Bailey says, “Come on, guys. We’re better than this.”
“Since when can you cook?” I ask.
“I have learned it after—I took a course,” Abigail says.
“Wanna be a good wifey?”
“Lucky me, Kaden’s not that pretentious.”
“So, are you still fucking other people? How will it be—an open marriage or a polyamorous one? Just curious.”
“Want in?” She grins. “I guess you missed your chance.”
Blake laughs so hard that the island table rocks, and Bailey says, “I’m so done with all of you today. And you say I’m the antisocial one.”
She shakes her head, and Abigail points at the door. “You know where the door is.”
“To your room?” I ask.
“You’re insufferable.”
She prepares a bowl of salad with chicken strips and heats some bread, then she brings us each a plate. I can’t stop looking at her. Blake punches me lightly on the shoulder. “Stop trying to impregnate her with your eyes. That’s gross.”
I chuckle, and Abigail whips her head to me.
“You’re still here? Get out.”
“Well then, why did you put the plate in front of me?”
She looks at the table and then moves to stand up. “Eat Abigail or I will lose my shit,” I say.
“Is it me, or is this awkward?” Blake asks.
“Even I feel the tension between you two,” Bailey says, sweeping her eyes from me to Abigail.
I groan. Abigail grumbles.
She’s the first to finish her meal. She ate it all, which has my worry backing down. Then she walks upstairs.
“You won’t listen regardless, will you?” Blake asks.
I shake my head, and Bailey says while still on her phone, “Don’t hurt her or I will ruin your life.” A threat laces her serious tone.
Instead of leaving, I take the stairs and slip inside Abigail’s room.
She unstraps her bra, peels the scrap of material down her ass, and steps inside the shower stall.
Saliva gathers in my mouth as I stalk over to her.
She turns and shrieks, but I back her into the shower wall and put my hand over her mouth.