Page 53 of Dare To Take

I turn on my heels, and don’t wait for him to retaliate.

Chapter 35

Eli

I let her go without a fight, and turn in the opposite direction, tucking my dick back into my pants.

What the fuck just happened? How did we end up arguing?

I scrub a hand down my face, replaying the fight in my head.

Oh yeah. She called me a monster.

I thought we were beyond that, but once again, she threw it into my face and, fucking idiot that I am, I reacted.

I sink down onto the stone wall circling the center of the maze and drop my head into my hands. Music and laughter from the party inside the Country Club reach me as people celebrate the last few hours of Christmas Eve.

My mind goes back to Arabella’s face. The horror and hurt when she realized I hadn’t used a condom, and my stomach twists. I hadn’t even thought about it, hadn’t really considered much of anything beyond the need to be close to her, to show her that we had something beyond the hate she feels.

Exhaustion weighs me down. No matter what I fucking do, I can’t shed the monster title I’ve been given. Everything untoward that happens at school or at home, and fingers are pointed at me. Most of the time, I’m not to blame. But once you start being accused of things, it’s hard not to behave badly just so that there’s a fucking reason for the accusation.

I want to go home. I want to get away from everyone. But I’m stuck here because I stupidly agreed to travel as a family.

“Eli?”

My head snaps up at the sound of my name, and my eyes zero in on the girl coming toward me. Tina Rafferty, head cheerleader, full-time bitch. She’s dressed in a festively red dress that leaves very little to the imagination, cut low on the breasts and high on the thighs.

I let her come close to me before I stand. Her fingers reach out and trail down the front of my shirt.

“I haven’t seen you around for a while.” She looks up at me through her lashes.

“Getting thrown out of school will do that.”

“You did a public service. That slut was trying to fool everyone with her sweet and innocent act.”

Her words rouse my temper. “How many videos of you sucking dick are out there, Tina?”

“At least I’m only sucking the dick of one person. There are two guys in that video with their hands all over her.”

I cant my head, and let a smirk pull my lips up. “Jealous?”

“No!”

“Did your pussy get wet watching her?”

Her cheeks flush.

“Are you secretly wishing it was you in that video?”

“I’m not a slut.”

“Arabella isn’t a slut. She just knows what she likes.”

“And she likes getting off with two men.”

I snort. “Like you have never been spit-roasted. I remember a party last year …” I tap a finger against my lips. “You were wearing a dress a lot like the one you have on now. What happened? Let me think. Kellan was here.”

“Shut up.”

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