Page 81 of SNOB

“Your turn,” he says, taking the bottle from my hand.

With one last look at Mac, I strip off the dress he got for me. First, the top. Then the maxi skirt. It drops to the floor, the crowd whistling some more as my nipples harden under the cool night air. Then I kick the dress into the pool.

“No turning back,” Gray says.

Nodding, I flick the joint to the pool next and hold my hand out for Gray again. He takes it.

“We’re in this together.” If Mac can’t hear me I hope he reads lips.

“Let’s do it,” Gray says.

And with that, we jump.

Relief fills me as the cold water takes over my body. It’s still easy to hear the warbling cheers from above and for a moment, it’s just Gray and I.

Opening my eyes, he’s in front of me, a stupid smile on his face. Then he swims up.

I follow him to the surface, finding the ledge to push myself up. When I do, my wet hair falls over my face, but something’s different. It’s quieter than before, the cheers and applause replaced by silence.

When I push my hair out of my eyes, that chiseled face finally greets me.

Mac crouches over the ledge, murder in his eyes. “You, fucking, moth.”

TWENTY-FOUR

MAC

“Mac, put me down.”

Ember hangs over one shoulder, her naked wet body against mine as droplets fall from her hair onto the stone path.

“Do we have a problem, Everett?” The crowd parts as I walk through the gardens, music still bumping in the background. “Or are you fucking stupid? I asked you to do one thing and you’ve fucked it. What if my father saw? The rest of the town sure as hell did.”

Pushing the wooden door to the garden shed open gets us away from the party. The noise quiets when the door creaks shut. Green overflows the space, plants and flowers littered throughout. The smell of earth blends with flowers, but the rum off her breath is what I smell most.

“You don’t listen to me either,” she yells. “Especially when I say shit like put me down!” Ember wriggles harder, my eyes landing on a pile of frost blankets in the corner. Kicking some tools aside, I move towards them and follow her command. “Ow!” she yells, her ass hitting the blankets.

A wooden stool sits next to a stack of soil and I collapse onto it, rolling up my sleeves. Ember looks up at me, her wet hair hanging over her face, her naked body exposed and her mouth twisted.

Leaning forward I tug on the choker she still wears. She stumbles closer before she tugs back, the collar tightening around her.

I cock a brow as she tugs harder, like she doesn’t care that it’s choking her but I won’t let up. And she won’t either. It’s a game of chicken with her breath on the line and it doesn’t look like she’s giving up.

“Fuck,” she spits, red filling her face. “You.”

Tilting my head to the side, I see how much she’s willing to endure. “How much are you willing to sacrifice to prove you’re a stubborn little slut?” She makes a gurgling sound, my cock coming to life. “I told you to stay away from Gray.”

“Why?” she squeaks, using the bit of air she has to annoy me. Psycho.

“Doesn’t matter. We’re a team.”

With gritted teeth, she stares right into my eyes. Her words cut short but I hear each one. “Then where the fuck were you?” Loosening my hold, I lean over to catch her when she falls. She speaks between gasps of air, those watery, bloodstone eyes shooting up at me. “Where the fuck were you, Mac?” Lifting her off the ground I lay her over my lap, pinning her with one arm. “Are you fucking hard, you psycho?” She wriggles more and that doesn’t help. “What are you gonna do? Spank me?”

“Yeah, I am.” My hand slaps on her wet, naked ass, the sound ringing through the shed. Her body arches off my lap, another gasp leaving her before I do it again.

“That's all you got?” She urges me on like she wants more. Like she needs more.

Smack!

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