Chapter 15
Mia went to class with the girls, along with Hunter and Dane watching over them, and with the myriad of guards following stealthily.
Stop being a paranoid asshole.
I drag a hand down my face when Kaden says, “So?”
“I’m not in the mood to talk. Shouldn’t you be watching Celine?” I try to redirect his attention, hoping he would get off my back.
“Nice try.”
“What do you want me to say, huh?” I sound like I feel—resigned.
“You’ve been sneaking into Mia’s room all week.”
I grit my teeth, teetering on the edge. “She needs protection.”
“How is that working for you? You’re about to snap.”
He would, too, if he had to fall asleep with the girl he wanted without doing anything about it. I am a damn sinner, but apparently, I have the self-control of a saint. It’s getting harder to justify why I shouldn’t just make her mine already. I will never come as close to heaven as I am with her. Not being able to do that quickly reminds me of the other problem in my life.
“Where the fuck could those two assholes be?” The moment I find where Felix and Caleb are hiding, I will personally deliver them to hell.
He slams his palm down on the kitchen table. “I don’t fucking know.”
“So what? We’re going to stay here like sitting ducks?”
“Do you think I like this any more than you do? They will make the first move, and then we’ll be on them. And that goes for whoever helped them cover their tracks.”
“That’s risky.” I cock my head. “It’s either Bailey’s or Abigail’s parents. It has to be someone from Felix’s close group.”
“Yeah, but there are four people, and Cassandra doesn’t want to start an internal war without proof.”
He looks at me intently. “I won’t have to worry about that.”
“No, asshole, because we would always have your back.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t get emotional on me now.”
I stand up, needing to go to the main campus and see Mia. Every minute without her in my vicinity escalates my unease, making me restless, like I can’t find my damn place without her.
While I spend my nights wrapped in her warmth, not being close enough to her haunts my days. I don’t fucking know what is happening to me, but she does things to me that I can’t explain or comprehend.
“I can’t do this without you,” Kaden says, pulling me from my train wreck of thoughts.
“Don’t even start.”
“You’re family, Blake. If you leave, a piece of me will always be missing. You did it for Cassandra.”
“Ah, so you want me to pledge my loyalty to you as well? It doesn’t fucking matter where I am. If you ever need me, I’m going to be there.”
“You’re one stubborn asshole, but I still have a little hope.”
“Yes, what would that be?”
He stares at me with an all-knowing expression that pisses me off.
“You’ll find out when you stop being a blind idiot.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know. Just imagine Mia with someone else… like Tyson.”
I gnash my teeth, and the asshole smirks, getting the reaction he wanted from me. Storming out of the house, I walk to the main campus, hoping the icy air will cool me down.
Brushing the snow from my jacket, I go to my first class and see Tyson leaning against a wall next to Mia’s classroom. A murderous energy courses through me, making me want to bash his head into the wall until his skull shatters. He pushes off, and we stride toward each other.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I spit.
“Wanting to see how my girlfriend is doing.”
He has a death wish that I am itching to scratch for him. “Call Mia that again, and I will fucking obliterate you.”
“It was a tie. I am up to finishing the fight whenever you want.”
“Fine, this Friday. And then you’ll stay away from her.”
“What if she wants me?”
“You’re fucking suicidal, but I can grant you your death wish if you insist.”
Something catches his attention. I look to see what it is and see his sister.
“If you ever let Mia come inside your house again, I will do the same with Ivy. Don’t play this game with me.”
“If you ever go close to Ivy, you’ll be dead.” His chest heaves, features pulled taut.
“Sure.”
I strut away, feeling better. After this Friday, I will make sure no other motherfucker will dare come close to Mia ever again. She’s fucking mine.
That thought helps me pay better attention in class. When I return, the house is silent. I don’t like that. My mind goes to this dark place, where all my regrets are ready to jump on me, going straight for the jugular. It always puts me in a sour mood.
Needing to dispel some pent-up energy before I head to her room, I go to the gym only to find the guys there.
I jerk my chin in a greeting. “Where are the girls?”
“At a coffee shop on the main campus,” Kaden answers.
“Unsupervised?” I ask, forgetting all about the need to beat the sack.
Dane and Kaden pin me with a glare.
“Exactly. Why the fuck aren’t we there too?” Hunter asks. His siding with me on this topic comes as a major surprise.
“Because they need a bit of normalcy,” Dane says.
“We can all act normal when the danger passes,” I grumble.
“Both of you stay here and wait for them to return,” Kaden says to Hunter and me, taping his hands with gauze.
While Dane does an intense workout, Kaden moves to the punching bag.
Hunter and I look at each other. Without words, we move to the boxing ring. We spend the next hour exchanging hits and jabs , but the underlying aggression turns into us giving each other tips as we train more than fight.
“What are your intentions with my sister?” he asks once we’re finished, and I dab the towel at my sweaty chest.
“My intentions?”
“You heard me.”
“I intend to keep her alive.”
“So noble. And you need to sleep with her for that?”
Kaden barely suppresses his amusement. Asshole. Dane gestures for me to continue, being his usual troublemaker self. Here I thought Hunter and I had come to an understanding.
“It’s not like that.”
“How is it, then?” he asks. This asshole is persistent.
“None of your business.”
“Don’t make it my business. We can’t afford for this group to be split when we’re facing the danger of our lives.”
“I’d give my life for hers,” I blurt out, and his eyes widen. Hunter quickly masks his surprised look, offers a small nod, and is the first to leave.
“You tell him, or should I?” Dane asks Kaden, who shakes his head.
“Where would the fun be in that?”
“What the fuck are you two assholes talking about?”
They chuckle, sharing a secretive look.
“Can’t fucking wait,” Dane says.
Their damn laughter trails after me as I go to my room to take a shower. It doesn’t even feel like mine anymore. Her room has become my place, offering peace and tranquility for my brain, while my body burns in hell every time she molds her lithe figure against mine.
Just thinking about her has my dick rock hard, begging for a release my hand can’t provide. I keep ignoring that moody asshole.
Needing to know she’s safe, I track her location. I installed the app one night when she was asleep.
They’re not in the damn coffee shop anymore. Dressing quickly, I knock on all the assholes’ doors before I yell, “They’re at a damn bar.”
“So what? Let them have fun,” Kaden says.
“You know what? I need a drink,” Hunter says, walking out of his room.
“You poor fuckers. I remember that phase,” Dane says.
All four of us end up going to the bar on campus.
The moment we step inside, all eyes turn to us. Ignoring the hushed chatter and unwanted attention, I scan the crowd and easily spot the girls. They’re at the bar getting shots and toasting before tossing back their glasses.
The music suddenly gets louder. Mia hops onto the bar, with Bailey right next to her, both of them clearly tipsy.
“What the fuck?” Hunter says.
My thoughts exactly. I glare at Kaden and Dane, who look like they have no care in the world. Dane moves to Abi, who smiles brightly when she sees him. She jumps straight into his arms while he holds her tight as if he wants to become one with her. Kaden wraps his arms around Celine, who melts into him. They gaze at each other, ignoring the world around them.
Most guys in this place have eyes for the other two dancing on the bar while balancing their shots.
“Get down,” I snap the moment I reach Mia.
Her eyes widen, and she trips, but I catch her. She lies in my arms, tapping my nose.
“Always so grumpy and bossy. I want to have fun.”
“By shaking your ass so every guy here can imagine how it would be to fuck you?”
“At least they do,” she mumbles.
My damn palm is calloused from all the jerking off I have done. She has no idea the things I picture doing to her. But if she keeps this shit up, she’s going to find out, and soon.
It’s just a matter of time until I lose the last strands of my sanity. Then let’s see how she deals with what she unleashed.
I place her down and see Bailey and Hunter glaring at each other, but neither speaks. They’ve been doing that for a while, and I am curious about who will end the silent war first. Since I’ve returned, I’ve barely seen them interact. But if eyes could talk, they fight all the damn time.
Mia tries to hop back up onto the bar, but I drag her back to me. “No.”
She gives me a sweet smile, dripping with fake coyness, and grinds her ass against my groin.
I groan low in her ear. “What are you doing?”
“Dancing.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s that or I’ll hop on the bar again.”
“Then dance.”
Two songs in, and all my blood has rushed to my dick, which is trying to carve a hole in my jeans so he can get inside of her—desperate motherfucker. Never in my life have I experienced this raw agony. She giggles, knowing exactly what she’s doing to me.
I grip her waist, keeping her pressed to me.
“Stop.”
“You’re the one holding me.”
She’s such a tease, and my palm itches to punish her bratty ass.
I lose my hold on her before I do just that. The truth of her words awakens me from the stupor she had me in.
With a wink, she goes to the bar and returns with another round of shots. The girls each pluck one from her hands.
What the fuck is happening here? Kaden and Dane say absolutely nothing, just watching their girls. Are Hunter and I the only two rational guys here?
“Blake, come on, have a bit of fun. You look like you need it,” Abi says.
“You have fun for the both of us.”
She giggles, and I smile, seeing her happy and at ease. She deserves that after what she went through.
“So why aren’t you drinking?” Celine asks me.
“I thought you wanted to have fun, not interrogate me.”
“Party pooper,” she says.
Three more shots, and the girls start singing—they’re hammered. Abi and Mia can sing, but the other two are way off-tune. I can’t help but scrunch up my face.
“Don’t you dare say anything,” warns Kaden. Asshole.
When the girls finally want to leave, I breathe a sigh of relief.
It takes us way longer than necessary to get home because Mia keeps stopping to dance to a song only she knows, humming softly. Bailey keeps stopping to check for her phone, which is always in the same place—her jacket pocket. She walks ahead with Hunter, who shakes his head at her but keeps his distance. Abi and Dane are kissing against a street lamp, and Kaden is carrying Celine piggyback.
Mia comes to a halt and pouts, being fucking adorable.
“I am hot,” my drunk girl says, giving me those bedroom eyes. She’s about to take off her jacket, but I am done. I gather her in my arms, and she squeals but locks her arms around my neck.
“Horny too. Like, fuck me already.”
“Not when you’re drunk.”
“You’re no fun,” she says and immediately falls asleep
“Lightweight,” I say, watching her beautiful lashes flicker a few times. A few snowflakes rest on her cheek, and I blow them away, not wanting the cold to disturb her peace.
Hunter leaves the door open for us, and I carry Mia upstairs to her room. Placing her gently on the bed, I undress her.
My hungry eyes peruse every perfect inch of her. Tugging at my shirt, I pull it off and put it on her. Something stirs in my chest, seeing her in my T-shirt, roaring with the need to claim, mark, possess.
I climb into bed with her, painfully hard. I am in too fucking deep with her.