Page 12 of Pretty Spiteful

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

His face is so close that spittle lands on my cheek, and I part my lips, although to do what exactly, I’m not sure. I can hardly breathe, never mind speak. And even if I could, I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear anything I have to say.

He crowds me against the counter, the edge digging painfully into the lower part of my spine as he uses his tight hold on my hair to force me to arch my back. The move only presses me against him more fully, my pelvis and thighs flush with his.

By now, I can hardly think straight. Blood rushes in my ears, deafening me as black spots appear in my vision. I’m distantly aware of the hardening of his cock against my lower stomach, but it’s little more than a passing thought before my lack of oxygen sends it scurrying off into the recesses of my mind.

Just when I think I’m going to pass out, he abruptly lets go, stepping back as my weak knees give out and I sink to the floor, gasping for air as I cough and splutter. When I no longer have tunnel vision, I lift my head, watching as Wilder stalks toward Hawk, who is leaning against the doorframe, apparently having observed our interaction and clearly didn’t feel the need to intervene.

I glower at him, although given the tears in my eyes and the trembling in my hands as I lift them to touch the tender skin along my neck, I doubt it looks all that impressive. He barely looks at me anyway, before returning his focus to Wilder.

“She shouldn’t fucking be here,” Wilder snarls venomously before storming past Hawk and disappearing through the door. Hawk remains where he is, still leaning casually against the doorframe like this is any other morning, watching me with those stormy gray eyes of his that always leave me feeling unsettled.

“I told you your safety came with a price. You better get ready to pay up, ‘cause that was only the beginning.”

On that disturbing note, he pushes off the doorframe and follows after Wilder. Their footsteps have long since faded by the time I pull myself off the kitchen floor. Forgetting about my coffee, I sneak back through the house, taking the stairs as quickly and quietly as I physically can until I reach the relative safety of the third floor. Rushing past my bedroom door, I head straight for the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind me and pressing my forehead against the wood as I suck in a steadying breath of air.

“Are you okay?”

What the hell?! It can’t even be six a.m. yet. Why is the entire house awake?!

With another fortifying breath, I turn to face Kai, but holy mother of Mary, my mouth instantly runs dry as I drink in every exposed inch of his torso. It’s only as my eyes trail the water droplets as they drip from his wet hair onto his shoulder, then over the hard planes of his torso until they soak into the towel wrapped around his narrow hips, that I notice the bathroom is steamed up from his shower.

A moment passes when I can’t seem to look away. Everything from the kitchen is forgotten as I commit every hill and valley of his prominent six-pack, his lightly bronzed skin, and the short dusting of dark chest hair to memory. It’s only when my eyes trail further south, following a neatly trimmed happy trail, that my cheeks pinken and I snap my eyes up to his face.

When I do, I find his gaze zeroed in on my neck. Self-consciously, I lift my hand to cover the no-doubt red marks on my skin, but before I can, he steps toward me, batting my hand away. With gentle fingers that are at complete odds with Wilder’s rough touch, he grasps my chin, tilting it up while he inspects my neck.

“Which one of them did this to you?”

His voice sounds like gravel, ominous and seductive all at once, and when I don’t immediately respond, he lifts his gaze, meeting mine. His jaw is clenched tightly, and something I can’t place simmers in his emerald, green eyes, turning them a darker shade than I’ve seen before.

“Wilder.” His name is barely more than a whisper on my tongue, but Kai hears it.

“Why?”

I push against his chest until he takes a step back, and refusing to answer him, I move over to the sink, craning my neck to get a better look at the fingerprint marks that will definitely bruise and stand out against my otherwise pale skin.

Sighing, I turn on the tap and run my hands underneath the cold stream before splashing my face. The cool water soothes my heated skin and helps steady my nerves. Even so, I can feel the heat of Kai’s intense stare drilling into my back.

“Why?” he repeats, his voice sounding more strained than it did before, and when I flick my gaze to his in the mirror, I catch him staring at me, his fists clenched at his sides like he’s debating going out there and punching Wilder on my behalf. I don’t know why he’s so worked up over this. Surely he knows Wilder’s crazy ways, and even if he doesn’t, he barely knowsme.

His words from last night come to mind, his promise to protect me. I’m honestly not sure if this falls under his purview, nor do I know if I want to clue him in on all the details of mine, Hawk, and Wilder’s complicated and sordid past.

Instead, I wave away his question. “It doesn’t matter.” Looking away, I say quietly, “I deserve it, anyway.”

It’s the truth. I do. Every time I close my eyes, I see the pain on Wilder’s face the day I basically told him to go shove his summer plans for us. The second I told him what I was actually going to spend my summer doing, it broke the thin thread of inexplicable feelings that had been blooming between us.

I can’t doanything but gape at Wilder while he literally ticks off what sounds like the vacation of my dreams. A vacation he planned… for us.

I don’t…

I can’t…

“Wilder,” I trail off, lost for words. “That’s… insane. Like, completely crazy. Why would you even organize all of that without asking me first?” I dart my eyes around the busy dining hall. We’re in the middle of our last school dance at Pacific Prep, yet none of it really matters as I stare into Wilder’s enigmatic eyes that shine with excitement. So much excitement. He can hardly stand still; he’s so ready to burst with it. Like this trip means as much to him as it would to me.

Except, I can’t.

“Why would you even assume I want to spend the whole summer with you? How do you know I don’t have plans already? Hell, you haven’t even given me any say in what we’re doing.”

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