“Not now,” he ground out. “Later. Now, I’m going to pound my dick into you until you forget your own fucking name.” With that promise echoing in my ears, he reached down into his pocket, pulling his wallet out and extracting a foil packet. He rolled on the condom, then lifted me and slid me down onto his hardness. I closed my eyes, crying out as he filled me completely.
“Fuck me, hard,” I begged.
He ke
pt his promise. We fucked hard and fast, up against the wall, his hands mostly protecting me from the stone; then he spun me so he was behind me and I was supporting myself on a stone boulder, his fingers working magic against my clit. He sent me spiralling higher and higher until I came, the blinding orgasm tearing through me, obliterating all thoughts. As I fell apart, I felt him coming hard inside me, digging his fingers into me, pressing my arms into the stone as he held me in place.
“Wow.” That was the first thing I managed to say as he slid out of me and I tried to catch my breath, my heart pounding.
We both started pulling our clothes on, and he gave me a smile that was nothing like the usual expressions he sent my way, and it made my heart skip a beat. “Yeah.”
I dropped my gaze. Swiping my T-shirt and hoodie from the floor, I pulled them over my head. Once I was fully dressed, I turned back to him, unsure how to react, hoping he wouldn’t act like we’d just made a mistake.
He stared at me for a moment, biting his lip, then pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me, and kissed my forehead. “Come on. Let’s get back to the others.”
Relief filled me. We made our way back to the main party, where the bonfire was now roaring, the smell of burning wood heavy in the air, smoke drifting towards us. Cade kept his hands shoved in his pockets, and we didn’t speak, but the silence was comfortable rather than hostile. It wasn’t like things were going to magically change overnight, but he’d admitted he wanted me, fucking finally, and that was good enough for now.
He spotted the boys over by the bar, surrounded by their usual groupies, and we made our way through the crowds to them.
“Did you fuck the hate out of each other, then?” were the first words out of Cassius’ mouth, accompanied by a smirk. The girl hanging off his arm gave us a quizzical look, but no one bothered to explain anything to her.
Cade just rolled his eyes, ignoring the question, and headed round the back of the bar to help himself to a drink. Because of course the Four wouldn’t wait in line like everyone else.
“Here.” He pushed a drink into my hand. “There’s only beer left.”
“Thanks.” I couldn’t help the huge smile that spread across my face. I gulped the beer gratefully, purposefully ignoring the smirks and knowing grins that were coming from the others.
“You’re so immature, sometimes, you know,” I told Cassius, when, after about five minutes had passed, he still continued to wink, nudge me, and basically act like an annoying boy.
“Let me have my moment.” He grinned, and I sighed, moving further away from him. Thankfully at that point, the DJ announced that the fireworks were about to begin, and everyone’s attention turned to the sea. The fireworks were set up on a group of boats that were anchored just off the coast, so as they began to explode, their reflections danced across the water, throwing sparkles of colour all around.
I forgot where I was, my entire focus on the bursts of light in the sky, showering down on us. When a hard body pressed up against my back, I jumped, so engrossed in the fireworks that I’d tuned out everything else. Caiden’s arms slid around me, into the pockets of my hoodie, and I leaned back against him.
“I see you.”
There was a roaring in my ears, and the loud bangs of the fireworks echoed all around us, and I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined his words.
“What did you say?”
He lowered his head and skimmed his lips over my ear.
“When I look at you. I see you. Not her. You.”
TWENTY-TWO
I knew it would take a while for me and Caiden to act normally around each other, to find new footing after all our animosity. After the fireworks display, he released me with a muttered goodbye and headed off with the rest of the Four while I met up with Kinslee and the other girls I’d come with to walk back to our apartments.
Kinslee was acting shifty and avoiding me, so I cornered her when we were finally alone in our own apartment.
“Kins.” She paused in the doorway of her bedroom, her shoulders slumped. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“I did something. Something I regret.” She turned around to look at me uncertainly. “And I’m not sure how you’re going to feel about it.”
“Just tell me what it is.”
“Um. I kind of kissed James. Well, more than kissed. We might have fooled around a bit, too.”
“James Granville?” I raised an eyebrow.