Page 40 of Silver Tears

I place my hand on his chest to keep some distance between us. My heart pounds at speed. “In your dreams, Collings.”

He chuckles darkly and winks. “Oh, you are in my dreams. The things we do in my dreams, precious, would make your daddy want to lock you away forever.”

I swallow, my cheeks heating, as a wave of lust rushes through me. “Shame, they’ll only ever occur in your dreams.”

He leans in, his lips a breath away from mine. I can feel his warm breath against my mouth. “It’s cute that you deny what we both know to be true.” His hands take hold of my thighs, and he lifts my legs, forcing me to wrap them around him. I gasp. Being so close and in little more than a scrap of wet material, I can feel everything. He leans into my neck and blows a soft breath against my skin, causing me to shudder.

“What are you doing?” I ask him breathlessly, tilting my head back to give him better access.

“Just playing the part of the horny boyfriend who can’t get enough of his girl.”

I freeze as his words sink in.

It’s all fake. None of this is real.

I take a steadying breath and push at his chest. “I think you’ve made your point to the others. You can put me down now.”

He frowns down at me, tilting his head in confusion at the sudden change in my mood. “You’re such a puzzle.” He shakes his head and drops a kiss on my forehead before he pulls away and swims over to the others. I watch him swim away, attempting to steady my erratic heartbeat. For a moment there, I forgot. I forgot this is all just a game to him. A part. A role. For a second, I wanted to lose myself in him. Until his words hit me like a cold ice bath and reality came crashing down.

I don’t want him. I don’t even like him.

He’s a sinful, bad boy and my body was just reacting as any females would. I dunk my head under the water to clear my thoughts, and steeling my resolve, I swim over to join the rest of them.

SEB

Iwatch her as she leans over and bunches her hair into the towel to dry it off. I don’t understand girls. One minute she’s teasing me and the next she shuts down and is standoffish and cool. I meant what I said, though. Mills needs to make time for some fun in her life. She’s so serious and tense all the time. My plan wasn’t to kiss her before, but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to run my fingers over every inch of her delectable body and learn every curve. I’ve never spent time with a girl without it being about sex, but I enjoy being around her. She gives back as good as I throw at her and I like it. I like it a lot. I wasn’t lying when I said she was in my dreams. I do dream about doing dirty things to her. Spreading her legs wide and hearing her moan my name as she comes on my tongue. I want to taste her everywhere. This relationship is fake though. I can’t go there. It will only complicate things, and the last thing I need is Mills catching feelings for me.

I cast my mind back to the call I had earlier with Dan. He’s a private investigator me and the boys have on our books. I asked him to look into her mum’s new fella, Lenny Tate. He’s a nasty piece of work. Been in and out of prison most of his life. He’s divorced and has three teenage kids that he has no contact with. He lives in a flat and spends his nights smoking, drinking, and snorting coke. In short, he’s a low-life and not someone who should be around Charlie. The kid is so sweet and funny. Even though I’ve only known him a short while, I feel a need to protect him and Milly.

* * *

My phone rings. It’s Harry inviting us all to a barbeque down at the beach. When I look up again, she’s dressed and standing there clutching her bag, looking at me expectantly.

“I need to go home and study, if you’re ready.”

I scoff. She’s always in a rush to bury her head in a schoolbook. “Uh-uh, no you’re not. The time with your boyfriend isn’t over yet, precious. We’re done when I say we are done.”

She scowls at me and fuck if it isn’t cute. “You are a pain in my arse. If I fail at school, it will be all your fault.”

I fight a smile. Yeah, Mills is cute when she’s angry. “You won’t fail. You’re a genius. I’ll take you home to change and Vee will pick you up at six. I’ll meet you there.”

She tilts her head and cocks a brow. “Why can’t you pick me up?”

I grin, walking over to her. I’m standing that close that my shoes bump against hers. “Aces business, precious. And wear something pretty. I can’t have my girl not looking her best.”

I scoff in response. “I always look pretty. If I’d have known you’d be so demanding of my time, I may have reconsidered this whole deal.”

I chuckle to myself as I grab my keys and usher her out of my bedroom. “A deal. This wasn’t a deal, precious. I call all the shots in this relationship. You obediently obey me like the good little fake girlfriend you are.”

I hear her mutter under her breath that I’m a controlling bastard, and it just makes my grin widen. I love pressing her buttons.

I drop her home and then head to the meetup point to meet with Dan. He’s already there when I arrive, shades on, leaning on the bonnet of his car. He’s one of the best private detectives in England and, luckily, us boys have him on our payroll.

“Dan, what have you got for me?” I ask him, shrugging on my hoodie. I feel tall until I stand near this guy. At six foot four, he makes me feel small.

He holds out a USB stick and I take it from him, popping it in my jeans pocket. “Talk to me. Do I need to be worried?”

Frowning, he nods his head, stroking his beard. “The guy’s a piece of shit. Violent history of domestic assault. He has very little respect for women. I’d be concerned if I were you. He’s not someone you’d want around a little kid or a teenage girl. He’s hooked on drugs and drink. Our friend Lenny owes money to the Brownlee Brothers.”

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