Fallen Crest Forever (Fallen Crest Series Book 7)(33)
“You really think like that?” That wasn’t what bothered me. I moved to stand by the stairs, and crossed my arms over my chest. “What happens when you don’t get your way? What do you do if you can’t fulfill what must happen in your mind?”
She rolled her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m going to beat you.” I already had. “I will continue to beat you. No matter how hard you train, how fast you can go, I will always be faster. What are you going to do when you’re forced to accept the fact that I’m better than you?”
She wasn’t laughing anymore. There were no scoffs or cocky attitude. She glared right at me, and that dark emotion showed again. This time, it stuck. I identified it now.
Jealousy.
That was when I knew. She knew I was better. She knew she couldn’t beat me.
“Are you going to physically hurt me?” I asked.
I waited to see surprise at the idea of it. There was nothing. That told me one thing: she’d already been thinking about it.
“No.” I shook my head. “You’re not going to take running away from me.” My tone was curt, and I felt shivers down my spine. They weren’t there because of her, or what she might do. They were there because of me.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to know how far I would go to keep the one thing that had saved me.
Running saved my life.
She scoffed now, but saw my darkness too. And she blinked. I heard a twinge of caution in her voice. “Stop trying to claim I’m going to hurt you. You did it earlier, saying I was going to hurt your friend—”
Taylor surged to her feet, coming to stand beside me. She folded her arms.
Faith wavered; her voice hitched as she finished. “I had no plans of doing that, and I have no plans to hurt you either.”
“Here’s the rule.”
Faith looked at me, waiting.
“You hurt us. We hurt you. What you dish out comes back at you.”
Her lips pressed together, and her thin shoulders lifted up in a breath. She didn’t reply, but I thought I saw a slight edge of fear spark in her eyes.
Raelynn broke the brief silence with a mocking laugh. “Why do you think—”
“Shut up, Rae.” Faith grabbed her arm. “Let’s go.” She glared at Taylor and me, then swept her eyes to Logan. She spoke through gritted teeth. “We’re not welcome here.”
They left, and Logan waited two seconds before bursting out, “I either wet my pants, or I had the quickest release ever.” He waved his hands in a flourish, indicating us. “Well done, and you two together are fucking hot.” His hands fell to the front of his pants. “I’m still hard. Honey?” He winked at Taylor. “Quickie?”
She groaned, but her face was already flushing. “You’re the most romantic boyfriend ever. How have you stayed single all this time?”
Logan hopped up the steps and grabbed her hand. “With tenacity and battering rams. Those bitches try to break down my barriers, but fuck no. I got SWAT covering me. No bitch could shatter my protest line.”
She laughed as he swept her inside. The door shut before we heard her retort.
“Sam.” Matteo raised his beer to me. “I got new respect for you.”
He wandered down to the bonfire, followed by the rest of the guys who had been on the veranda with us. They nodded to me as well, and I felt an arm encircle my waist. I closed my eyes, feeling Mason’s hard body pressed up against me.
“Hmmm.” I moaned, feeling his lips settle on my neck. “Is this your version of asking for a quickie?”
His other arm slid around me, anchoring me in place. His lips moved up my throat and landed at the corner of my mouth.
“It’d be longer than a quickie, and I have to give my brother props. That was hot.”
“That’s my goal in life. To embody my inner she-devil for your viewing pleasure.”
He pressed up against me. “Consider this my thank you ahead of time.”
I laughed and turned to wind my arms around his neck. I looked up into his eyes. There was a lot of shit going on with me, but him and me? We’d never be on shaky ground.
“Maybe I can ask for a quickie?” I said. I pressed back against him, my ache deepening.
He breathed out, “I thought you’d never ask.”
He grabbed my ass and hoisted me up. My legs went around his waist, and he carried me back through the party to our bedroom. We remained there for the rest of the night.
The house was empty when I woke around four in the morning. That had been my normal time to get up for a run, and my body hadn’t adjusted to cross-country season yet. I didn’t want to wake Mason, so I slipped out into the hallway to use the bathroom there. Hearing talking from the kitchen when I finished, I grabbed a robe from under the counter and tiptoed the rest of the way. It wasn’t that I was hoping to be sneaky, I was just tired.