Page 22 of Nightmare

“That smile on her face,” he answers, throwing me a knowing grin over his shoulder as he walks toward Andie. “I haven’t seen it in seven months.”

My shoulders drop, and my lips curve into my own smile as I think about his words.

That smile’s because of me.

Just as I take a step closer to her, some high school senior I vaguely recognize bumps right into her side, too drunk to watch where he’s going, the fucking idiot. He turns around fast and grabs her waist to stop her from falling over, his eyes widening when he gets a good look at the smoking hot girl he’s touching. She pushes his hands away from her, and he does take a step back, but then he gives her body a slow once-over, and now I’m going to kill him. I see red and smash one of the empty beer bottles on the bar, walking over to the little shit and shoving him back a few steps, away from Violet.

“You stupid motherfucker.” I seethe in his face, holding the broken bottle up to his cheek, but before I can start beating the shit out of him, I’m yanked back by my arms, and my wrists are suddenly locked behind my back. “Tryst—”

“Atticus, don’t!” Andie shouts at me, quickly stepping between me and the kid with her hands up, eyes wide as she drills them into mine. “Don’t.”

I growl and twist in Trystan’s grip, feeling him snatch the neck of the bottle and throw it down on the ground. “Why the fuck do you care if I hit him?”

“We’re not stopping you for him, you idiot.” She steps into me, bravely snatching my jaw to twist my head to the right. “We’re stopping you for you.”

My vision tunnels, and I give up fighting them when I realize she’s making me look at Violet. She’s leaning back against the bar with her legs crossed at the ankle, casually sipping from the bottle of tequila I got for her, the expression on her face giving absolutely nothing away. She’s just staring at me, waiting for me to make my choice.

Goddamnit.

Trystan slowly uncurls his fingers from around my wrists, like he’s unsure whether he should let me go or not. I shake him off and move around to the guy I’m not killing, my heart still racing as I grip the front of his shirt and pull him into me.

“You’re so fucking lucky I love her too much to throw you into that fire,” I say quietly, tilting my head in Violet’s direction to make sure he knows exactly who I’m talking about. “Don’t touch my girl. Don’t look at my girl. Don’t even walk by her. You hear me?”

He swallows and nods, and I release him with a shove, resisting the urge to shove my fist into his face, just once. Knowing I’ll be the dead one if I do that, I walk over to Violet and place both hands on the bar on either side of her, really struggling not to lose my shit.

Fuck, this is killing me.

Her mouth tips up at the side, and she takes another sip of her drink before setting it down behind her. “That was really hard for you, wasn’t it?” she asks, looking down at my body as she runs her cold fingertips over my chest and abs.

“It’s not funny,” I breathe out, clutching her forearms and dropping my forehead to hers. “I think I’m having a panic attack.”

She chuckles and slides her hands up to my neck, running her nails through my hair to calm me down, to restrain me the way only she can. I kiss her and force my tongue into her mouth, claiming her for every motherfucker to see, driving my point home.

Mine, mine, mine.

“Baby, tell me yes.”

“I’m telling you maybe.”

I huff through my nose and tilt my face down to her neck. Kissing her throbbing pulse, I discreetly move one hand down beneath her skirt, over her pussy until I find the plug in her ass, pushing on it and twisting it, making her squirm and wiggle against me.

“I need to taste you again.”

“Right here?”

“No,” I growl, making her laugh.

She reaches around for the tequila and brings it with her, locking our fingers together and pulling me back into the darkness of the woods.

* * *

“Slower,” she demands, pushing down on my head to set the pace she wants.

I’m on my knees for her like the good boyfriend I am, her back pressed up against a tree with her legs spread wide open, the right one locked over my shoulder. All she’s wearing is her boots and my t-shirt, clutching the hem at her ribs so she can watch what I’m doing to her. That tight leather skirt of hers was getting in my way, so I got rid of it somewhere about a half a mile back, much to her annoyance, but she’s not complaining now.

Slowing down a bit, I spread her pussy with my thumbs and lick around her lips, then down to her entrance before I slide back up to her clit. “You want me to tease you?”

“Mhmm,” she moans, scrunching her eyes shut with her mouth parted. “Fuck.”

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