Craving Trix (The Aces' Sons 1)

“The fuck are you doin’ here?” he hissed, reaching for me. I stumbled back, tripping over Abbie’s legs before righting myself.

I watched Cam’s eyes dart over my shoulder as booted feet made their way toward us, but before I could turn to face my pop, Cameron was moving toward me—his shoulder meeting my belly so hard that it knocked the wind out of me as he slung me over his shoulder.

“Give me a minute?” he asked my pop angrily as I gasped and pounded on his back. What an asshole! I could smell her, I could fucking smell her on his clothes.

“She’s fuckin’ seventeen years old,” my pop ground out, obviously furious.

“Seventeen or not, you see that shit?”

“Saw it.”

“I need a fuckin’ minute,” Cam ground out between his teeth.

There was a tense silence that gave me hope, but then my pop murmured, “A minute,” and my entire body deflated.

I was so fucking embarrassed I wanted to crawl into a hole, so I wasn’t going to make it worse by fighting Cam as he carried me to the back hallway and through the door to his room.

This wasn’t going to end well.

I’d finally gotten my breath back when the door to Cam’s room was slammed behind us and I was tossed onto the bed.

“You asshole,” I yelled, pushing my hair from my face as I scrambled onto my knees.

“You wanna tell me what that was about?” Cam asked, crossing his arms.

“Fuck you,” I mumbled back, shaking my head. I was an idiot.

I’d let my emotions take control and I’d made myself look like a complete moron in front of every single man sitting in the clubhouse. There was no excuse, no way I could explain it away. Frankly, I knew better.

I may not agree with the rules, but I knew them.

I crawled to the edge of the bed, clenching my jaw to keep from spewing my hurt feelings all over the place. I needed to get the fuck out of there.

A hand planted in the center of my chest had me falling back into the bed.

“Explain!” Cam yelled, finally losing patience.

“Fuck you! I don’t have to explain shit to you!” I yelled back, climbing to my feet again.

“You jealous? That what this is about?”

I scoffed, turning my head away from him.

“You knocked that girl out, Bea!”

“She fucking deserved it,” I mumbled back, refusing to look at him.

“She didn’t do fuck all to you!”

“She’s a bitch.”

“She’s hot as fuck and down for anything. Don’t fuckin’ care if she’s Miss Congeniality,” he shot back.

My body jolted as if he’d slapped me.

“You’re right,” I told him around the lump in my throat, making eye contact and smiling ruefully as stupid tears began to leak out of my eyes again. “You can fuck anyone you want to.”

“Bea,” he murmured softly as his shoulders slumped forward.

“I’m sorry for bothering you,” I told him, jerking away from his hand when he reached for me. “My problem with Abbie has nothing to do with you.”

“Baby girl—”

“Don’t,” I cut him off, shaking my head as I got to my feet once more. “I’m going to go.”

The moment I tried to step past him, he grabbed me, pulling me into his huge chest. He was big, one of the biggest guys I’d ever been around, and usually his thick arms and broad shoulders comforted me when nothing else could.

But they didn’t comfort me then.

“Let go,” I ordered, pushing away from him and slapping his hands as he tried to pull me back.

“Bea, come on—”

“I’m done,” I whispered, backing toward the door. “Whatever we are—it’s done.”

“Don’t be so fuckin’ dramatic,” he said in exasperation, reaching for me again.

I think we were both surprised by the sound of my hand meeting his cheek.

“I got my license today,” I said with a humorless laugh as I backed away and grabbed hold of the doorknob. “I came by to see if you wanted to go for a ride with me. Didn’t realize you were already getting one.”

He lurched toward me, but I got the door open and was running toward the main room before he could catch me.

I heard his door splinter as he roared, “Goddammit!” but I didn’t slow. I raced past my pop as he paused in a conversation with Cam’s dad, Casper, and didn’t stop until I’d reached the door to my new car.

I needed to get the fuck out of there.

Cam had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. He’d taught me how to ride my bike without training wheels and how to change both a flat tire and the oil in a car. He’d been to every birthday party I’d ever had, and even though he was almost six years older than me, he’d let me tag along with him whenever I was having a bad day or just needed some attention.