Chapter 37
I wasn’t sure how the substance coating my body was only a cupful. It was everywhere. In my hair, on my face, on my chest. I could taste some fruity mixture with a bite of alcohol.
“You fucking bitch,” Declan snapped.
Colt, Ronan, Trace, and Dash were in front of us in a flash.
Ronan gave Chloe a hard shove. “We warned you to stay away from Leighton.”
There was a flicker of unease in her eyes, and then the bravado was back. She tossed her brown locks over her shoulder. “Pretty sure it was you who got the warning today.”
I stiffened at that. I hadn’t had a chance to ask the guys how their meeting was. Had they gotten in trouble?
Ronan prowled toward Chloe. “You think you hold the power, but you forget who truly does. Maybe you need a reminder.”
Mimi squeaked as she squeezed Chloe’s arm. “Don’t be an idiot.”
Chloe sent her friend a scathing look, then turned back to Ronan. “You can’t touch me.”
A grin stretched across Ronan’s face, but it was more than a little feral. “I could snap your neck so fast no one would even see me move. Right now, you’re just annoying, a little incessant gnat, but if you try to hurt Leighton again, I will deal with you. And you won’t like how I do it.”
Chloe went pale. “I-I’ll tell my father.”
Trace laughed, a coldness to the sound. “Good luck with that, sweetheart.”
Declan took my arm. “Come on. We can get you cleaned up. They’ll deal with her.”
It was like a car wreck I couldn’t tear my eyes away from, but Declan led me toward the stairs and then up them. When I finally lost sight of the guys and Chloe, I looked down at myself, scrunching up my nose.
“It’s not that bad,” Declan assured me.
I scoffed. “I smell like Hawaiian punch and rubbing alcohol.”
He choked on a laugh. “Pretty sure that was a cup of Jungle Juice.”
My whole face contorted like I’d smelled something bad. “What’s that?”
Declan only laughed harder as he guided us into a bedroom and closed the door. “It’s this punch with grain alcohol and cut-up fruit. They make it in trash cans.”
“Who would drink something out of a trash can?”
“Far too many people to count.”
I stared down at myself. “So, you’re telling me I have trash can juice all over me?”
Declan shook his head with a grin. “At least you didn’t drink it.”
“There is that,” I mumbled.
“Here.” Declan opened the door to a bathroom and pointed to a stack of linens. “There are towels and washcloths you can clean up with.”
“Thanks.”
I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Gone was the beautiful canvas Baldwin had painted. Half my hair was now plastered to my face, and red punch had stained my skin in places.
“Maybe I should just go home,” I said.
Declan moved in behind me, squeezing my arms. “We can, but I hate the idea of her ruining the night.”
I did, too, but it might be a lost cause, anyway.
Declan reached over and grabbed a washcloth, wetting it. “May I?”
I nodded slowly.
Declan gently wiped away the sticky remnants on the side of my face, then my neck. Each brush of the soft cloth against my skin made my heartbeat pick up. He carefully pulled the strap of my dress down so that he could clean my chest.
That silver flared to life in Declan’s eyes as his gaze zeroed in on the swell of my breasts. His nostrils flared as he squeezed his eyes closed for a moment.
“Dec?”
“You’re too beautiful. Too tempting for your own good.” He spoke the words as if he were pained.
I pressed a hand to his cheek, and Declan’s eyes opened. There were so many unspoken things in that gaze. I leaned in, just a breath away.
“Leighton,” he practically pleaded.
“Kiss me,” I whispered.
It was all Declan needed. He hauled me into his arms, and my legs wrapped around his waist.
There was no gentle brush of his mouth against mine. Declan took like a man starved. As if only my taste would satiate him.
He nipped my bottom lip, and I gasped. His tongue drove inside, and I pressed myself harder against him. I could feel every ounce of his response, muscles tensing, cock hardening. Everything about it made me feel powerful beyond measure.
“Leighton,” Declan groaned as his lips trailed down my neck. His teeth grazed my pulse point, hovering there, and I shuddered. I had the sudden burning need for him to bite me.
But Declan’s mouth kept moving. Lower and lower. Down my chest until my breast popped free of that black lacy bra. Declan’s lips closed around my nipple, and he sucked hard.
Light danced across my vision as an invisible cord pulled tight inside me.
What was happening?
I didn’t know, didn’t care, I just wanted more.
Then a deep and extremely pissed-off voice cut through my haze of need.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
It was Colt, and he’d just seen me practically dry humping a guy he hated.