“Do you know that guy, Eddy?” I asked, inclining my head in his direction.
I couldn’t really see much about him outside of the dark jacket and blond hair, but he was creeping me out.
Eddy stared for a few moments before shaking her head. “Never seen him before; don’t think he’s local.”
My uneasy feeling increased.
“Fuck,” Eddy said, distracting me from the dude.
“What?” I looked around and almost died when I saw them.
Beck was in the center, Dylan and Evan were on either side, and their pissed off faces were very obvious for all to see. The three of them were heading right for our table, and even Eddy looked pale as they closed in.
“Should we run?” I whispered.
She shook her head. “No, that will only make it worse.”
I believed her. Reaching out, I wrapped my hand around the knife there, even though I knew there was no way I could use it on any of them. For some reason, it made me feel better though.
When they reached us, there was a charged silence, and I could finally see the tumultuous gray of Beck’s eyes.
“You ran from us,” he rumbled in a voice so dark and dangerous it sent a shiver down my spine. Or maybe that was arousal… the lines were becoming blurred.
I shook my head. “Nope,” I lied.
It was only partly a lie, actually, because I had only run from him … well, him and his skank.
“Figured you were too busy to notice me leaving anyway,” I said with a shrug. “You had your hands full.”
Beck tilted his head to the side and ran his gaze across my face. He’d done the exact same thing last night, just before he slid inside of me. Like he was seeing through my bravado to the pain in my soul. Leaning over, he caged me in, a hand on either side of my chair.
“You jealous, Butterfly?” he asked in a voice like velvet.
I snorted a nervous laugh that not even I believed. “In your dreams, Sebastian. What the hell would I have to be jealous about?”
He considered my bullshit for a long moment, then his lips twitched in a fractional smile.
“Don’t ever run from us again,” he told me in that same dark, dangerous voice. “This is your last warning.”
Swallowing hard, I could have cried when the server brought our pizza and salad to the table. It was the distraction we needed though, as Evan let out a whoop and pulled a chair out to sit down. “I’m fuckin’ starving,” he said. “Someone interrupted our lunch.” He winked at me though, and it was clear that he wasn’t angry with me anymore.
Dylan sat as well, and Beck, who was still leaning over me, reached down and yanked me up out of my chair. Before I could protest, he sank down, pulling me onto his lap. I struggled for a moment because all I could think about was his skank, but a firm hand on my stomach halted my movements. “This is apparently the only way I can keep an eye on you,” he said into my ear. “It’s this, or I take you over my knee and spank your fucking ass. And I really, really want to spank that creamy white ass.” This last part was delivered in a husky whisper that made my lady bits heat.
I had to get a grip on my raging hormones before I could even think about an answer to that. I took too long, though, and Beck growled in my ear, this low rumbly sound which basically set my panties on fire.
Turning slightly, I groaned at how sexy Beck was. So much for keeping a clear head.
It should have been uncomfortable for me, being in his lap like this. Especially after he’d all but ignored me since last night and then basically flouted his fuck buddy at school, but I felt mostly relaxed. Relaxed and turned on, because his body was hot and hard as he cradled my softness. His hand still splayed across my stomach as he held me in place, and I couldn’t stop from wiggling as I remembered the strong grip of his hands on my hips last night.
I didn’t fool myself though. This was Beck showing me who was in control. That if I defied him, he would come after me and put me right back in place. This was dominance plain and simple, and I was way too into it.
The pizza disappeared, even though Beck didn’t touch a slice. Evan made up for it though, eating over half on his own. When it was done, I reached out and grabbed my wine, gulping it down because I needed … wine. I really needed wine.
My eyes drifted across the tables, noticing most were empty around us now. Shit. I’d been distracted by the arrival of the guys, and I’d forgotten about the creepy dude. Eddy noticed me looking at that same table. “Girl, obsessed much. What’s up with that?”
“He just … I thought he took our photo before.”
I felt tension press across the guys then. “Who?” Dylan snapped, his eyes already taking in the tables around us.
“Butterfly…” Beck said, warning in his tone.
“I don’t know,” I told them. “Eddy didn’t recognize him, and he’s gone now. He was at that table over there.”
I pointed out the now empty table, wondering if maybe he’d taken off the moment the guys arrived. Or if that was just a coincidence. “Time to go,” Beck snapped. He stood, lifting me off his lap as he did so, before setting me gently on my feet. His hand wrapped around mine, and he started dragging me out of the food court so fast I needed to power walk to keep from falling flat on my face.
“Sebastian, what the hell?” I demanded, trying to yank my hand free of his iron grip.
Looking around I found Eddy and Evan hurrying alongside us, but Dylan was nowhere to be seen.
“Guys, what the fuck is going on?” I barely got my question out before Beck popped open the door to a cherry red McLaren P1 then shoved me inside.
He slammed the door shut, barely missing my foot, then came around and slid behind the steering wheel. “Maybe nothing. Dylan will find out.”
Confused, I shook my head. “Okay, so what the fuck are we doing if it may be nothing?”
Beck gunned the engine, reversing out of his space and speeding when he hit the main road. “Because it may be something.”
This shut me up. What was he thinking? Huntley? Oh shit, was that one of our attempted killers?
My blood ran cold, and I wrapped my arms around my body. We didn’t speak for a long time, and I stared out the window wondering how close I’d possibly just come to death again. Finally when the morbid thoughts became too much I decided to change the subject.
“Where’s the Bugatti? Not that I’m complaining.” I about died when he told me he had a McLaren in his ten car collection. I ran my hand over the soft leather trim and listened to the sexy purr of the engine. His Bugatti Veyron was my unicorn car, but this baby came a damn close second.
Beck gave me a long side eye. “My Bugatti needed detailing,” he remarked in a dry tone. “Some drunk bitch threw up in it.”
My cheeks heated, and I bit my lip with embarrassment. Whoops.
“Sorry,” I murmured, turning my attention back out the window again. Try as I might, though, it was impossible to ignore the sexy growl of the McLaren engine or the way Beck hugged each corner tight.
My fingers twisted in my plaid skirt, and I clenched my legs tightly together. If I had thought driving with Beck was an erotic experience before sleeping with him… this was something else entirely.
Thankfully, we came to a stop outside the Deboise mansion gates before I could embarrass myself.
“Get out,” Beck ordered me in a voice like ice. His hands gripped the steering wheel in a white knuckled grip while his gray eyes remained locked dead ahead through the windscreen.
He was angry—furious, even—but at fucking what?
“What the hell is your problem, Sebastian?” I demanded. “You mood swing harder than a girl with her period. One minute you can’t keep your hands off me and the next you can’t stand the sight of me. Make up your fucking mind because you’re giving me whiplash.”
Beck said nothing. Did nothing. I may as well have been speaking another language for all the reaction I got out of him. Shaking my head in disgust, I unclicked my belt and popped the door open. “Maybe just leave Evan or Dylan on Riley Duty the rest of the week. I’m sick of navigating your bullshit.”
I stepped out and slammed the car door behind me before stomping toward the Deboise gates. My entire body hurt, and I wasn’t looking forward to running into Catherine in the middle of the day, but Beck and his moods could kiss my ass. A car door slammed behind me, and before I could even turn to look, a pair of strong hands grabbed me. Beck whirled me around and crushed his lips to mine in a wild, possessive kiss that made my whole resolve melt into a puddle of mushy goo at my feet. Blame it on a head injury, but I kissed him back like he was my damn soulmate.
With a growl, Beck pushed me away, and we both stared, our breaths coming out in harsh huffs. “What are you doing?” I pleaded, imploring him with my eyes to fucking make a choice.
He shook his head, hands reaching up to run through all that glorious dark hair. “I don’t fucking know! You’re just everywhere. In my fucking head. I can’t … I need to stop. This is not a world that works with…”
He waved a hand between us.
“Then stay away from me, Beck.”
I was tired. This shit was tiring.
He shook his head, and I was drowning in his eyes. How the hell did they change color the way they did? From the lightest gray to a dark stormy night, which was where he was right now.
“That’s the thing, I’ve tried…”
I barely heard those words and then he spun on his heel and was back in his car. I resisted the urge to both scream and cry, because I was desperate to release all of my angsty emotions to the world, but I wouldn’t give Beck the satisfaction.
When I got inside, my phone started to ring, and for some reason I expected it to be Beck, but it wasn’t.
An unknown number flashed at me, and even though I wouldn’t normally answer it, something compelled me to.
“Hello,” I said.
“Are you home?”
The male voice was familiar, and I relaxed. A part of me had been worried it was going to be a scary call from one of those Huntley fuckers.