Page 21 of Battling the Enemy
I pulled back so she could look into my face; into my eyes and see just how serious I was. I wanted to ruin Delaney. I wanted to break her into a million fucking pieces until I was the only one who could put her back together. Delaney called to the darkest parts of me and I knew I’d never let her go.
“I’m not weak,” she whispered.
I let go of her face and took a step back. “Maybe not,” I allowed. “But if you’re going to fight this-us, well, you should know what you’re going up against, Delaney.”
“And what’s that?”
“I’m Deke Marlow,” I stated simply. “You go up against me, you go up against Ramsey, Liam, Emerson, and Roselyn, baby. So, tell me how strong your inner bitch is now?”
Chapter 14
Delaney~
Deke was right.
He was right, and I knew it. I’d always known it.
Deke was a package deal. Even if they all went to separate colleges, nothing would break the bond Deke had with Ramsey, Liam, and the girls. It was obvious in how they had hung around in the shadows these past couple of days watching out for me while he’d been gone. It was obvious in how Emerson and Roselyn had made the effort to make Ava feel comfortable around them all. They would back Deke’s play no matter how it ended up.
They’d bury my body if Deke needed that from them.
And now we were sitting in Deke’s car, missing first period, because he lured me to his car with the promise of a safety pin for my uniform pants. But if I’m being completely honest with myself, I needed these few precious moments. Letting him do what he did still had me a little flustered.
Even with my admission to Ava last night about being attracted to Deke, I hadn’t been expecting to feel such a substantial amount of weight to be lifted from my chest when I saw he was back. Deke shouldn’t have been able to affect me so strongly after one confrontation on Friday, and one day of bullshit on Monday.
I had told Ava I was attracted to him, but I was starting to fear it was more than mere attraction. I let Deke bring me to orgasm without a care to my reputation or my arrangement with Winston, which, let’s face it, was coming to an end. And, while I never judged Ava for being wild, having experienced my first orgasm at the hands of a hot guy, well…let’s just say, I understood a lot better now how a girl could get carried away. I also wouldn’t judge Roselyn if the rumors about her were true. Deke had me seeing Jesus, and I couldn’t imagine an experience where Liam McCellan joined in.
Holy shit.
Deke was turned in his seat looking at me, holding the safety pin hostage, as he demanded, “Now, tell me about Reynolds.”
I rolled my eyes but told him, anyway. “When we were ten, our parents had sat us down and told us we were going to marry each other.” I shrugged a shoulder. “At that age, I hadn’t really understood the implications of what they were saying, but Winston was my friend. It hadn’t seemed like a bad idea to marry my friend. Over the years, we were kind of brainwashed into accepting that our getting married made sense. Lots of families with money or dynasties get married to secure business relationships or acquire more wealth. Winston and I bought into it and, quite frankly, it saved me from having to…I don’t know. Knowing my future was with Winston, I didn’t have to meet boys or go on dates. The arrangement worked for me because…well, in case you haven’t noticed it all these years, I’m a pretty private person.”
“And all of Reynolds’ fucking around?” he asked.
“I didn’t care,” I answered truthfully.
“How could you not care if your future husband was sleeping with the entire town of Sands Cove?” Deke’s face was impassive as he asked his questions, but like I said, Deke had a hell of a poker face.
I let out a sigh, already tired of this conversation. “Because I don’t care about him like that.”
“You don’t care about him like that?” he repeated.
“No.” A part of me wanted, so badly, to tell Deke this was none of his business, but I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. I just let this guy do something to me that I’ve never let anyone else do. That was proof enough that Deke’s hold on me was stronger than I wanted it to be. “We tried being…uh, romantic back when we were like fourteen, and, well, I don’t know about him, but I felt nothing.”
Deke’s hand latched around my upper arm in a painful grip. “What do you mean,romantic?”
“We kissed,” I yelped. “We just kissed, you goddamn lunatic!” He immediately let go of my arm and gestured for me to continue.Jesus.“We kissed, and I didn’t feel anything. When it was clear that we’d never have a passionate marriage, Winston started looking to other girls for his kicks, and I just went about my business.”
Deke’s eyes were like liquid emeralds when he asked, “And just now? When I had my fingers in your pussy? Did you feel something then?”
I tried not to squirm in my seat, but I couldn’t help it. His words reminded me of just how sensitive I was down there. “You know I did,” I hissed. I knew I needed to come to terms with my surrender, but Deke’s arrogance and high-handed ways made that hard. I was attracted to him, but he made it hard to like him when he was being a dick.
He didn’t say anything for a few torturous seconds, before he reached across the console of his car, and fastened the safety pin to my pants. “This should hold you until you get a new pair of pants from the office,” he said casually as if this morning hasn’t been full of ‘what the fucks’.
“Deke-”
His green eyes snapped to mine, and I could feel my willpower dwindling down more than it already had. My leg was bleeding, and I was diving into the ocean, exactly where the sharks lurked. “I’m going to give you today to…come to terms with this thing between us, Delaney,” he said. “I will give you the rest of the day to…get your mind together. But after tonight, you’re mine. Understand?” I nodded because I didn’t know what else to do. “I’m coming for you tomorrow, Lamb.” I could feel my breath leave me as he got out of his car, walked around, and opened my door to help me out.
