I can feel how hard he is beneath me. And I want more. More of this. More of him.
More pressure. More of his mouth. More of this feeling that’s unraveling me from the inside out.
Callum lets go of my nipple with a pop, leans back slightly, cups the back of my head, and kisses me again. It’s slower this time, deeper, gentler. It only lasts a moment though because he’s pulling away, and looking down at the way my nipple looks rolling between his fingers. Just as his mouth finds my breast again, ready to devour me whole it seems, there’s a sudden bang.
Something slams against the windshield, and the glass cracks.
Callum reacts instantly. He helps me off his lap as I fix my dress. Then he’s out of the truck, scanning the darkness. There’s a rock lying on the hood that bounced off the windshield. A note is tied to it, and the words are scribbled in black Sharpie.
Don’t be a hero.
I fix my dress and climb out of the truck because I’m scared. I’ve realized lately that the only time I actually feel safe is with the man standing in front of me. "Callum..."
"Stay behind me," he mutters. We both look around, but no one’s there. Just shadows.
"It could be a prank," I offer. “I don’t think Vincent would do something like this. It seems beneath him. He’d offer you money to hand me over before he’d resort to tossing rocks.”
“Or it could be about the night at the mansion,” Callum says, looking around again.
Before either of us can try to figure out what’s going on, my brother appears silently from the other direction. I glance behind him and see his sports car parked at the entrance of the cemetery.
He’s furious.
He lunges for Callum. They collide, but Callum gets him in a headlock until he taps out.
"What the fuck are you doing with my sister? You’re fucking everything up for me!" Adam screams, and I realize that he must know about the engagement, because I truly doubt he’d care what I was doing inside anyone’s truck.
Callum lets him go only to shove him back and snarls, "Did you throw that rock?"
My brother blinks, thrown off. "What rock? I came here to kick your ass, not throw rocks."
Callum points to the cracked windshield. "You could’ve hit her! Are you fucking insane?"
"I didn’t throw anything!" Adam yells, and I believe him. I know when he’s lying, and he’s not right now.
"If you had hit her—" Callum’s jaw ticks, chest heaving.
My brother turns to me. "Lilac. Go get in my car. Now."
I shake my head. "No. I’m staying with Callum."
Callum reaches back and grabs my hand, threading his fingers through mine. A silent, stubborn promise. He’s not letting go of me, not even for his best friend. I don’t want to be the reason for their friendship ending, but it seems to me Adam is doing a good job of facilitating that all on his own.
"Wait until Mom hears you’re with this guy," my brother snaps, acting like Callum is beneath him. I’m embarrassed to say he’s my family, and that we share the same blood.
"He’s your best friend, don’t—" I start, but he storms toward me.
Callum steps in front of me.
"You’ve been my best friend for a long time," he growls, "but I’ll take your fucking head off if you touch her."
They stare each other down and when Adam wavers, backing up, only then does Callum speak, "Come on, bambi."
He scoops me into his arms like I was made for him to carry like this. I hear Adam stomping away to his car.
"Are you taking me home?" I ask Callum, and I’m breathless.
"Only because I have to deal with your brother," he says. "And I know you’re going to fight me on this, but we need to talk tomorrow about you moving into my place, so this whole thing seems believable."
