"Spare me the bullshit. I know when I'm not wanted but I'm not here for you," Heather said with the roll of her eyes and I narrowed my eyes at her watching her carefully.
"Glad there is something working up there however small. Now scat," Wilder said narrowing his eyes on her.
His feet firmly planted on the ground his hands on either side of him clenched into fists, still watching her every move. His fighting stance, whether verbal or physical, I'd so come to realize. Compared to Ryder who was perched on the barstool behind me playing with my hair and prodding my tattoo gently as I half hugged him, seemingly lost in his own world though he was still listening, he was easily the fighter of the group. I'd called Ryder a panther. Now Wilder seemed like a cougar, riled up and ready to pounce on his prey. He was bidding his time.
As much as I noticed this, my main focus was on Heather. Dressed in some blue jeans that outlined her form, a white halter top, her hair pulled up into a ponytail to expose some dazzling hoop earrings and some heels to match. Her outfit though simple in general was almost equal to an amount someone would earn in a year's time. Honestly, I wished it made her look slutty. Maybe I wouldn't have have such a hard time trying to hate her. Instead, like all outfits she wore, it made her seem rich and sophisticated, confident and yet spoiled. I was yet to speak a word to her since Ryder had taken the chance to berate her for calling him Ray, after which we'd been caught in awkward silence before she decided to try and air her grievances when Wilder had burst in with the rest. When his eyes clashed with mine, he'd taken a step forward with a grin to brew whatever problem he was trying to get out of this. At the mere realisation that we'd probably be here till morning, I relinquished my right to be a spectator.
"Just what are you doing here?" I called out and her gaze suddenly lit up before her gaze fell on the hands now holding me firmly onto place after I turned to face her and I caught the strange glint of jealousy she'd been trying to cover up since she got here.
She would probably hate me for seemingly rubbing it on her face but my major concern had been giving him as much warmth as I could and I could tell the shivering was receding slowly.
"Ah, did you finally have the courage to grow some balls and face me head on instead of letting others take care of your fights?" She asked and I gave her a bitter smile.
"Honestly as a biology major, I thought you'd know better than anyone else that that is anatomically impossible," I said and a blaze of anger flared in her eyes her cheeks burning red as I tilted my head amused. "But enough of that, does this mean I wouldn't have to worry about you having the backing of your rich mommy and richer daddy?"
I asked and she glared at me and from the way she was eyeing my neck I knew she very much wanted to strangle me, not that she could anyway, I thought as I coaxed my way out of Ryder's arms.
"Listen, Heather. I've been trying very hard to be an accommodating rival. I mean I could have decided that you are totally meaningless and completely non-significant and wreck your life for all it's worth but I don't. And let me confide in you, it's not in me. I doubt I could have hurt a fly but you," I said remotely unfazed when I heard a scoff behind me as I stood in front of her giving me a slight height difference since she was yet to step on the deck where everyone was gathered. Not that I needed to feel like the one with the upper hand.
"Huh?" She let out confused and I refrained from grinning.
"Girl to girl, I get why you don't like me."
"That's an understatement," she sneered in answer rolling her eyes at me as she crossed her arms but I didn't pay attention to her.
"I probably wrecked your plans. I mean, you had it all figured out. It's your senior year. You are already the it girl of the school, star of the cheerleading team, good grades. At the rate you are going, you're going to be in the school council. Top dog, you know. Girls want to be you, guys want to be with you," I said and at that moment I could feel the daggered glares thrown on to my back but I didn't care.
From the corner of my eye, I could see her try to discreetly glance at him, her expression dropping even further when she realized he didn't even react and instead was staring at me. His expression was curious and amused as traces of his drunkenness faded. Seemingly the bottled waters I'd given him when we'd moved to the bar had worked.
"Then there is him. Ryder. The guy most girls ogle on the sidelines but never dare to make a move, I mean apart from you that is. Because no one in their right mind would go against you and try to.. fight you for him."
At that, she grinned.
"You agree you are a crazy bitch," she said and I chuckled making everyone looking at me weirdly.
"Crazy? Maybe. Bitch? From one crazy bitch to another, I know I'm the biggest thorn on your side," I said as she scowled at me. "Because you already figured out that whatever this is, I've won already but you won't back down without a fight, will you? You had a plan and I ruined it. And you've never had a rival at all or like me, have you?"
Under the warm glow of the lit lounging area, a cold aura frizzled out the warmth. A different one from the one previously and from the corner of my eye I saw Ryder stand from the stool just as Wilder stepped forward. Honestly, he should have looked odd with his trunks and robe but he didn't. Honestly seeing that dark gleam in his eyes I saw him differently. A man ready to swoop in and protect his own. Was it weird that at moment I wanted to tackle him on to the ground and kiss him senseless?
Fuck!? What the hell is wrong with me? I'm acting like I'm in heat. I wondered as I looked back to Heather to find that she had noticed his movement too. Being closer and staring at her, I was quick to notice how she flinched fear clear on her eyes before she seemed to decide that keeping her eyes on me was less terrifying.
"You're right. You are worth the trouble. So what? We are rivals. What about it?" Henley cast her a wronged look. She didn't notice or rather ignored it. However, my grin dropped and I glowered at her.
"I'm your rival but you are not mine. Never forget that," I said emphasizing on my words as I stepped forward looking at her tauntingly. "And it's going to stay that way. You're going to try hard to beat me, try to hurt me, give it your best to go after me or my friends and oppose every choice I make but every single time I'm going to win. You'll use your influence, your connections, but you are never going to hurt me or anyone that matters to me. And if you do, let's just say you'll be regretting it a lot."
I said and she jerked back looking confused casting a wary glance at all of us.
"What is your deal with thinking I'll hurt you?"
"Because you have no reason not to. Not while you think I have stolen from you. And you are going to milk it for all its worth till the day it will really dawn on you that you really did lose. You'll feel new heights of being threatened and you'll want payback. I promise you, I won't hesitate to retaliate," I declared with a smile and she watched me with a frosty look the muscle in her jaw twitching.
"And when that day comes, you are going to regret all the sabotage your deluded thinking brought you to," Alice said with a frosty look of her own as she stood beside me. "I've been watching you and when it finally happens you are going to regret the day we were born."
"Ah, shouldn't it be the day they were born," Zayn took the words out of my mouth and we all turned to the door where he and Trevor had walked in. "Hello, little spitfire. Hello, pretty lady."
He greeted Alice and I as he placed both his arms around our shoulders and I was mildly aware of the bloodlust released to the guy who barely seemed fazed as he winked at Alice.
"It should be like that. If we weren't born, we would never be here making trouble for her," she said brightly and I chuckled alongside Zayn.
"I like the way you think," Zayn flirted as I turned back to Heather who still looked red with anger.
"Whatever. I don't know why you'd think so lowly of me but if being a good friend is a crime then I should be as well be judged. You are ganging up on me whereas all I wanted to do was check on Ryder because his mother's anniversary is coming up, because a certain someone claiming to be with him couldn't even hang around long enough to be there for him."
Silence. Everybody stiffened including me and probably everyone I could spot through my peripheral vision. But I cast on a sidelong glance at Ryder to seem him clenching his fists in anger and I made my decision. He'd be okay. We'll be fine, I convinced myself before looking back at Heather whose pitiful expression vanished for a brief moment, a slight glee in her eye as if she had just received a smile from her crush. Come to think of it, if Ryder so happened to do that it would match the expression that vanished as briefly as it had appeared since everyone was looking at Ryder.
"You didn't know. I didn't realize you were not that close," she said with an innocent expression and I narrowed my eyes at her in anger.
"Quite the contrary, but of course like the good, kindhearted friend you are, remind me, rather us, what right you have to announce that as you please?" I asked sarcasm dripping off my every word as I stepped out of Zayn's arm and was gratified greatly when she took a step back. "Like the good friend you are, you'd know it's their own family matter and if they were ready to confide in the matter, they would have. So again? What right so you have?"
"But..." She stuttered for a moment as she paled and I looked at her confused before I was pulled back and into his chest and it suddenly made sense.
"Leave."
One word. She flinched recoiling as if she'd just been punched in the gut which might as well be true. No one wants to be dismissed as rudely by his or her crush. But as much as I would have liked to pity her, she should have already figured this would happen by now. Sooner if not later.
"I was just trying to..."
"Thank you but my brother and I are in no need for your pity. Now don't make me take you out myself," he said still holding me tight in his arms where I was holding my breath watching Henley who had been standing quietly beside her all this while led her out and I finally breathed out.
"That was intense," Alice muttered as I buried my face into Ryder's chest trying to figure out why I'd gotten so angry.
"No worries, little wild flower. Each year gets more interesting than the last," Zayn said and I froze for a brief moment before I heard Ryder sigh above me.
"Each year?"
"She's been chasing him since he was 13," Ethan answered and I raised an eyebrow at Ryder to which he grimaced.
"I only ever considered her as I would a sister, or rather friend," he emphasized and I was about to remind him the fact they had slept together before I decided otherwise.
"Well, sister or not, she had no part in it."
"Really?" Wilder asked confused and I nodded.
"What are you guys talking about?" Zayn asked sharing the same confused faces with Alice and Trevor but neither of us answered.
"She's scared of implication. She'd be the first one accused, no matter who or when she attacks," Ryder said in realisation and I nodded making Wilder step forward.
"So what do we do?" He asked and a rare silence hung around us as everyone turned to us or just Ryder who shook his head.
"It's late. We'll talk tomorrow," he said nodding towards them before taking me in his arms and I didn't bother fighting against him, a little surprised yet relieved. I wanted this day to be over.
After the run, the impromptu exercise and now Heather, I just didn't have it in me anymore and hung onto him as he carried me through the door nearer to his room and hurried down the stairs and I questioned if he wasn't exactly as drunk as he had made me believe. But then what Heather had said before echoed in my mind. Was that the reason why he'd been grieving before? Stupid question, my subconscious chided and I grumbled under my breath. I couldn't imagine it was easy living with the memory of someone you loved dying in front of you and with the aim to protect you. Maybe it was why he'd been so edge lately, to the extent of hiring a bodyguard for me, I thought watching him closely as my heart broke for the 10 year old who had lost his mother too soon.
"Diana..?" He called out softly pressing my back to the door kissing me hard as soon as he set me down once we were in the safety of his room. "You are something."
"Something?"
"Something, special, priceless, irreplaceable and someone I won't be giving up on any time soon," he said and I blinked at him blankly confused by the sudden confession. "Are you aware how hard I am for you right now? You should get into more face-slapping scenes just for me."
He added with a light tone and I burst out laughing as my arms lay relaxed around his neck.
"You are a master bootlicker. Is this your way of asking for a quickie?" I asked and he tilted his head looking at me thoughtfully.
"Is this your way of saying you want to have sex?" he said and I could feel my cheeks grow warm.
"I don't know. I just...wonder sometimes that's all," I said with a shrug as he kept looking at me with that serious expression. I shifted uncomfortably.
"Does it bother you?"
"That's not it. I just wonder if it bothers you."
"Diana, it won't work like this," he said shaking his head. "We are going at your pace. If you're not ready, then I'm not ready. I'm not going to have under the pretense that you are ready just so you could help me ease my libido. When you are ready to have me then I will."
He said and my eyes flashed as they met his.
"Even if I said I want you now."
I whispered in question and his eyes immediately darkened with desire as he hooked his hands beneath my thighs and dragged my back against the door until I was perched on the bulge in his trunks before attacking my lips in a more passionate kiss. Lost in all the delicious tingles all the plans I had for after we came back vanished. His hands rose up landing onto my waist guiding my hips in perfect alignment as he dragged his fingers deliciously on my covered thighs before he pulled away breathless leaving me grumbling in annoyance.
"Do you feel that? That's how much I want you babydoll. And it won't stop now. But consent or not, I'm not going to have you when we are drunk."
"Technically you are."
"Goes more to emphasize my point," he said caressing my cheek as he pressed into me, leaning his forehead against mine. "When it finally happens, I want to remember every single detail, I need both of us to remember how it felt, everything. From how we kissed upto the point I was fully sheathed in you. Like the first time I tasted you, I'm going to take my time and make sure I explore every inch of you. You probably won't be able to walk for a while, but I'll be so deeply imprinted on you that you'll never ache for another man like you would me. So be good for now, my little kitten."
At his words, a delicious shiver dropped down my spine and I trembled greatly as he bit onto my earlobe and I was sold. At least before I realized begrudgingly that this would be a completely uncomfortable night.
"Fucking tease," I muttered for a moment before pulled my forehead from his, my eyebrows furrowed in concern as I disentangled from him. He was too warm. "Okay, that's enough for now. At this rate, you'll be running a high fever in a few hours. Shower, now."
"But I'm hard," he whined with his husky tone from all the kissing which did nothing but made my core shiver with expectation.
"Isn't that what your hands are for?" I teased and he glared at me.
"Aren't you going to help? It is because of you I'm like this."
"I'm horny because of you too. Do you hear me complaining?" I sassed and he chuckled at the confession making me glare at him as I pointed to the bathroom. "Shower, now. You are not giving me a cold. I'll wait."
I said and he clicked before matching towards me and carried me towards the bathroom before I could protest.
"One after the other. So inefficient," he said and I looked at him shocked as he set me down. "If you not comfortable, you shower there, I'll shower here," he said pulling the shower curtain between us and I was left staring shocked before the shower started.
And suddenly I had the sudden temptation to bash him on the head when I looked at my drenched clothes. Glad I'd already stepped out of the shoes. On the other hand, I found myself chuckling at the cute antics in the realisation he'd promised the next time I came he'd make sure I repaid the one time he let me off when all he wanted was to pull me into the shower with him. As embarrassing as it was, it wouldn't be the first time. It had actually happened twice both after our sexual endeavors and both times he'd been well behaved. And on that thought, I slipped behind the shower curtain finding him standing under the spraying water still in his trunks leaning his arms against the wall.
Reaching out I brushed my fingers against the hot skin of his back and he tensed visibly the muscles of his back rolling and jutting out making me gulped inwardly as I found the rest of the machine-like tattoo on his back tracing it gently. It was like nothing I've ever seen, like he was, I thought tracing the rest of it and he didn't stop me just as the steam and water fogged it up.
"Clara?" I said absentmindedly as I recalled the name I'd seen and he stiffened. "Was that her name?"
"Yeah," he let out his head hanging low and I hugged him from behind.
"It's a beautiful name. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I.. I don't know. It's a pretty eventful week," he said and I disentangled myself and placed myself between him and the wall. "I thought you were afraid of catching a cold."
"You are not sick and besides it's not going to be the end of the world if we do catch a cold," I said and he looked at me strangely. "What?"
"You know... Nevermind. You are pretty amazing you know that."
"I don't think deciding to catch a cold with you would count as such an amazing thing," I said and he chuckled tipping my chin towards him and pecked my lips gently.
"I'm glad you found me first. How exactly did you know where I was?"
"I trusted my gut. I mean the roof is the next best quiet place from the trails."
"I could have been here. She would have found me first."
"Maybe, but it didn't happen that way. And besides if you were, you'd have been on the balcony. You'd have seen me first or I could have and I wouldn't have the trouble of searching for you downstairs," I said and he chuckled reaching behind me.
"That's true," he said meeting me halfway for a kiss as he helped me shed my tank top and bra his lingering touches heating my body up more than the water did before he pulled away.
"You are a fucking tease, you know that," I grumbled as he kissed my cheek before biting my earlobe and turned to look at me amused.
"Well aren't you?"
"Fair point," I said as he caressed the underside of my breast before leaving another healthy trail of hickeys on my neck to suck the taut nipples at attention as if they were parading themselves for inspection and I held onto the wall. ".. Ryder.."
I gasped trembling in excitement when his tongue dipped into my belly button as he let me pull up the breath of my clothes off. I was more than ready to go tumbling on the bed when suddenly a sharp pain jabbed on my side and I winced in pain as a cold silence hung in the cubicle and I shivered in realisation as his hand brushed gently against my hip. I gulped inwardly as a rare sense of fear overwhelmed me.
"He told you. That's what you were checking for," I gasped in realisation trying to move away as he began standing up but I wasn't fast enough to avoid him cornering me. This would explain why he let me off so easily.
"Diana? Stop."
"No."
"When are you ever going to figure out I would never let you go when you're mad?"
"Well, sometimes one needs to vent it out. Alone."
"And sometimes venting is not enough. One needs to talk it out," he said his gaze not wavering from mine and I sighed inwardly. He would not let me go without a fight. Not particularly a bright idea while we're in the shower. "He warned me something was up. But I just want to hear it from you. Who hurt you?"
He asked and I stared at him blankly before letting out a sigh.
"How do you know I was not doing the hurting?" I asked and he watched me expressionless as if trying to read my mind. Honestly, I thought I had gotten used to these stares by now, but he still made me feel as if he was looking into my soul. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you. Or they'll kill you."
I said meeting his gaze without batting an eyelash and I saw him flinch for a brief moment when he probably noticed my serious expression.
"Seriously!?"
"I'm not losing you for even once second and don't you forget it," I said narrowing my eyes at him as he looked at me surprised at the confession. "Nothing good is born from lies. I know that and that's the truth. But I'm just trying to keep you safe. For the most part that is."
"Did you just quote Wonder Woman?" He asked suddenly and I glared at him. "You've been watching to many of these movies."
"Is that the only thing you got?" I asked bemused and he laughed making me give him a nasty glare. You'd think he wasn't my movie buddy.
"You are really not going to tell me?" He asked before letting out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair before looking back at me and slammed his lips onto mine. "If not for the mere fact that you drive me crazy, I would be mad."
"That's actually a good thing?" I asked breathless and bewildered and he grinned at me.
"How else would I prove to everyone else that I'm neither heartless not a machine?" He said and I laughed out loud hanging onto him.
That was definitely one way to look at it, I thought as we finished the shower and immediately started drying off once we realized the shower had lasted longer than we intended. And yet for the most part I was glad he didn't push it. I was not ready to deal with that side of the family yet. My dear grandpa and Dylan were enough.
"Why are you so quiet?"
I asked as he sat me on the counter and I looked at him weirdly as his finger moved slowly making stroking motions on my ass cheek as he had been when he'd been standing behind me. It was worrying but I couldn't help but think he was disheartened by the fact I didn't indulge in what had happened in the woods. I had to hand it to the bodyguard, he'd been threatened by people who wouldn't bat an eyelash if they were ordered to hurt him and yet his loyalty didn't waver and he still reported. It made me wonder why he had not chosen the easy way out of trouble but I didn't dwell on it. Ryder, even if he did find out about my family and their connections in the states and around the world, would be smart about it. But as I thought of and agreed with this, nothing could have mentally prepared me for the sort of response I got for my innocent question.
"Why do you do it? If you were so interested in looking for all sorts of dangers and trouble, you could have just ask me and I would have willingly spanked you. As a matter of fact, more for not only for making me worry about you but also for letting yourself get hurt."