Page 35 of Bottoms
“Look at me, Vanessa,” Colten said, using a tone I had never heard come out of him before. His hard, commanding tone knocked my mental train directly back on track. My body stilled, and the lump in my throat seemed to fade into nothing more than a bad taste in my mouth. I sat up, straightening my back as I took a deep breath and slid my narrowed gaze to Colten.
He pinned me in place with a look, and I could feel my bratty side rising to the new challenger. I had no idea why she always picked the worst possible times to take over, but it was at least better than the pathetic excuse of a human I had been.
“Miss me, Colten?” I said, my voice husky from the panic, but it came across as seductive.
“Where’s Fynn?” Colten said calmly, but he still hadn’t lost the hard edge to his tone.
“Around,” I said coyly as I reminded myself that Fynn was here.
Even if I tried to run off with them, Fynn would be on our heels. Nik certainly would wind up dead after refusing to give me back to my owner. I couldn’t let that happen, either. It helped me to remember that I was Mrs. White here, not Mrs. Black.
“Were you planning on killing him too?” I whispered loudly to Colten before breaking into laughter, releasing myself from his heated stare. “Now, Colten, I thought you would have known best. You can’t kill death himself.”
It was Colten’s turn to laugh; his came out darker than mine. “He’s done a hell of a job on you in such a short time.”
“Are the stories a lie, then? You are a killer, just like he is. Trained byhisfather.” I pushed off the floor, leaving Nik to look at Colten, confused. The look in Colten’s eyes told me he knew exactly what I was talking about. Fynn hadn’t lied about that part, at least.
“What’s your number, big boy?” I said, coming to stand toe to toe with Colten. Craning my neck to see him looking down at me. His glasses slid down his nose, and I reached up with a finger to push them back in place.
“Two-hundred and twelve.”
I knew there was no way to hold back the look of shock that crossed my face. Colten smiled darkly, and I realized this was the Colten hidden behind the calm sexy bookworm I had come to know. He was just as bad as Fynn. Colten just used his trimmers more often.
It wasn’t a turnoff. Quite the opposite. Heat pooled between my thighs, and I bit my lip. I felt Colten’s hand on the back of my head before his lips crashed into mine. It was desperate and messy as we bit and nipped at each other.
“Great, now I have to kill more people to compete,” Nik said.
I laughed, pulling my lips away from Colten. His lips searched for mine for a moment before he opened his eyes, his mind temporarily scrambled.
“Are you going to kill him only to take over ownership?” I asked Colten, my voice soft.
“Not ownership,” he breathed. Closing his eyes as if he was ashamed, I could think that.
“You will let me leave when our agreement is complete in the summer?” I asked.
It didn’t matter what words he settled on as a response, because the look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.
“Don’t,” I said, bringing my finger to his lips to prevent him from speaking. “Save yourself the lie, Colten.” I stepped back from Colten, and he stood frozen in place.
Guess I wasn’t the only one learning a bit about myself today.
“Look,” I sighed as I headed to the desk to retrieve my wig from the table.
Putting them on without looking in a mirror had become a task my fingers were accustomed to as I fit it back on my head and did my best to smooth it out. Colten and Nik stayed in place, and I had their attention as I scooped my mask off the floor.
“I don’t want Fynn dead,” I said, opening my arms wide. Since all my mental scripts had been purged, I didn’t know what else to say. Trading cages back and forth while they played out their war didn’t interest me. I cared about them, tonight had proven as much to me, but they needed to give up more than they would if it was really about my best interests.
“Did you fuck him?”
There it was. The words washed inside me, almost flooding me with a sense of power until I realized it hadn’t come from Colten’s lips. It had come from Tanner.
My eyes narrowed as I looked over to the door, finding Tanner standing in a black suit and matching mask. He locked the door, using a key that swiftly went into his pocket. It was his childhood mansion, after all. A smile crept to my lips at the absurdity of a childhood mansion in place of a home. No wonder Tanner was as detached from the world as he was.
“I thought you understood what not exclusive meant,” I said casually, fixing my mask back over my eyes.
“Where the fuck—” Tanner started, but his voice died out as I strode up to him confidently.
I backed him into the wall, his feet obeying my will. Soothing my hand over his chest, feeling the hard wall of muscle beneath. The magnetic attraction still hummed between us as I took more than a casual caress. A little voice in my head demanded to see him challenge me as well.
