Page 1 of Pucking Possessive (Kings of Castlebrook #2)

CALLUM

I walk behind Hayden and Tristan, my steps easy but deliberate. All the bullshit has been over for a while, but I’m scanning our surroundings. Old habits die hard, I guess. Madison and Winter are on either side of the guys, fitting into their places like they were always meant to be there.

Hayden’s got Madison’s hand in his, and I’ll probably give him shit for being clingy, but I don’t blame him.

He saw what he wanted, he fucking took it, and he’s not letting go.

Without breaking stride, he lifts her fingers to his lips, brushing a kiss over them that is far too gentle coming from the dude I’ve watched crack someone’s skull on the ice.

Madison flushes, her gaze flicking down like she’s trying to fight a smile, but she doesn’t pull away.

She never does. Hayden’s got her, and he knows it.

Tristan’s a different story. Hood up as usual, hands in his pockets.

When he turns on the walkway, I can see that his face is set in that blank, lethal expression that makes people think twice before getting in his way.

He’s scanning, too. Not the way I am, but with that silent, brooding awareness that keeps people on edge.

Winter walks beside him like she doesn’t even notice, but I know better.

I catch the way her small hand curls around his bicep, her fingers barely denting the muscle.

Tristan doesn’t react, not at first. Then, like she’s flipped some invisible switch, his shoulders lose a fraction of their tension, the edge in his jaw smoothing out.

He hasn’t said a word the entire time, but I watch as he turns to look down at her, and I’m really fucking jealous.

They have something that everyone wants, even if they both deny that there’s anything going on between them.

It’s like they’re literal soulmates, and they communicate in ways that none of us will ever understand.

I’m about to crack a joke, whack Hayden in the back of the head, literally anything not to feel like the fifth fucking wheel, but then I catch a glimpse of her.

Lilac Fairbanks.

That dress. That fucking dress. It flutters in the wind, soft and delicate, the exact shade of her name.

It’s impractical for the season, but when has she ever cared about that?

It clings to her, hugs every inch of her body, and I can’t look away.

Her chestnut hair is shiny, half pulled back with a purple ribbon that makes my chest feel too tight.

I want to pull it out of her hair and tie her hands with it while I spend the entire night exploring the parts of Lilac that no one has ever seen.

I stare at my girl, jaw locked, and my fingers itch to just touch some part of her.

She’s always looked like she belongs in some glossy magazine, perfect and untouchable.

She grew up in Castlebrook Falls just like I did, but she doesn’t look like it.

Her makeup is always done to perfection, and there’s never a hair out of place.

I don’t want the polished version. I want the one beneath it, the one no one else gets to see.

I swallow hard because that’s not exactly true.

I get to see it every time I’ve let myself in her bedroom.

Every time I’ve taken a chance of her waking up and catching me leaning against her door just watching her breathe.

I can’t let myself any closer. I’m erratic when it comes to her.

There’s a single thread of decency left in me that keeps me from rushing to her bed on those nights and climbing between those silky thighs.

I want to be so deep inside of her that her eyes roll back, and I’m the only thought she has before she comes all over my cock.

Fuck.

I force myself to breathe. She’s not mine. She never has been, and that’s the problem.

Lilac is the baby sister of my best friend since literal childhood.

She’s untouchable. Off-limits. And then there’s me.

Castlebrook’s walking nightmare. The guy people still whisper about even if they don’t remember why.

They might not know the details, but they know the aftermath.

The blood. The body. The fact that I walked away unscathed when I shouldn’t have.

They should have convicted me, but Mr. Fairbanks was my lawyer. He’s a fucking good lawyer.

No one in the Falls trusts me, and that’s why I’m here at Castlebrook.

Sure, hockey comes easily to me. I don’t even have to try, but that's not why I came here.

Once I turned eighteen, I could have gone anywhere or done anything, but I wanted to be where Lilac is.

I wanted to be close enough to protect her from guys who want to do the same things to her that I do.

The Fairbanks were the only ones in Castlebrook Falls who didn’t turn their backs on me.

While the town whispered, while people crossed the street to avoid me, they let me in.

They treated me like I was worth something.

Like I wasn’t some rabid dog that should have been put down.

And Lilac was always there, too, looking at me with those big, knowing eyes, like she saw something in me no one else could.

She has no idea what I did for her back then, to my own father no less.

She certainly has no clue how many of her dates I’ve ruined before they ever started.

I want to put my fist through the face of every guy who’s ever asked her out.

Instead, I make sure they don’t get the chance.

I’ve sabotaged every single date she’s ever been invited on.

I made sure that they never happened, even if that meant the guys cancelled on her or ghosted completely.

It makes me feel a little bad, knowing she thinks the guys just ghosted her, but not bad enough to stop.

Because the alternative? Letting some asshole get his grubby hands on her? Never gonna happen.

No one gets to look at her the way I do.

I play my part. The careless playboy. The guy who doesn’t give a damn about anything because everything is a fucking punchline.

It’s what they expect. But the truth? I’ve never touched another woman.

I’ve been too busy stalking Lilac, watching, protecting, making sure no one else gets the chance to take what’s mine .

This isn’t just about keeping her safe, it’s about owning her in ways she doesn’t even realize.

There are things I’ve never told anyone. Kinks I know I love, but I’ve never explored. Because the only person I want to try them with is the only woman I can’t touch.

“Don’t fucking cause a scene, I’ve already got a headache,” Hayden snaps at me, breaking me out of my thoughts as we walk closer to where Lilac is walking with her group of friends.

I know every single one of their names and all of their personal details, but I’ll never acknowledge them to their face.

I keep tabs on everyone she associates with, but they think I’ve never given them a second thought.

“Would you let Madison walk around in that dress in this weather?” I grin at Hayden, but I’m annoyed because we both know the answer is no.

The way Winter giggles and Tristan snorts tells me that we are all aware that Hayden would crash out in the most obnoxious of ways if Madison was walking around campus in a low-cut sundress.

Hayden smirks down at Madison and then looks back at me as if to say, “Fair enough.”

I watch as Lilac spots me. Her eyes widen in a way that tells me she’s not exactly upset to see me, despite how much of a brat she’ll be when I give her a hard time about not wearing a coat.

Maybe I’m the brat.

I really take her in, and something primal inside of me snaps when I clock that she’s not wearing a bra. I have to breathe in and out through my nose to calm the urges that are racing through my whole body.

I have this fantasy about Lilac, and my imagination is running wild right now.

A dark, filthy fever dream that’s been living in my head.

In it, Lilac is in one of her frilly little outfits, running through the graveyard on campus.

I’m in a mask chasing her through the headstones, her breath coming in quick little pants as she pushes herself to run, to escape, but she doesn’t really want to.

She wants to be caught. Specifically, she wants me to catch her.

Only me. Always me. When I finally tackle her to the cold, dirty ground, I know she’ll light up.

Her eyes will go bright with excitement as I ravage her.

I know she’ll crave more, I can fucking feel it in my bones.

I’d ruin her. Make her mine in a way that no one else ever could. I’d mark her up, make her feel me for days after.

As our group catches up to hers, I can’t help myself, “Where’s your goddamn coat, bambi?

” Lilac’s pretty brown eyes narrow on me when the nickname I gave her so long ago rolls off my tongue.

She might be an elegant and extremely skilled figure skater now, but I’m the one who introduced her to the ice, wobbly legs and all.

She doesn’t move and just stares at me instead. “Are you serious?”

I step closer because I want to fucking touch her, but this will have to do. "Dead serious."

She exhales, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

She crosses her arms over her chest, pushing her cleavage up toward me, and my mouth fucking waters.

I just know she has the most perfect nipples ever made, and I want to taste every inch of them.

"Please, not today, Callum. It’s already been a doozy, and I don’t need you breathing down my neck just because you’re bored or want to score points with my brother. "

I narrow my eyes because she sounds off. Like she’s stressed or tired, and that makes me angry. "Who’s been bothering you?" My voice is low, and I already know I’m not going to like the answer.

She huffs, crossing her arms. "Unless you want to argue with my father, I suggest you don’t ask questions.

" A shiver rolls through her, and I don’t think it’s from the cold.

Her breath hitches, the rise and fall of her chest stuttering.

She clenches her jaw, shaking her head slightly, like she’s trying to convey that she’s not going to tell me what’s going on.

My jaw clenches. That’s fine, I can stay on task. "Did he steal your coat?" I’m being a flippant asshole right now, and we both know it.

“You’re insane,” she whispers, but there’s something else in her tone now that pulls at my chest. She’s genuinely upset, and now that I know, I won’t let it go until I find out why.

I won’t force her to tell me, but I will find out on my own, and I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of her like I always do.

My smirk is slow, deliberate because I need to keep up my act. “And you’re freezing.”

I don’t wait for her to argue. Instead, I quickly pull my hoodie over her head, my fingers brushing along her bare arms as I help her slide into it. She stiffens, her breath hitching when my knuckles graze the soft swell of her ample breast.

She inhales sharply, her lashes fluttering, cheeks going pink, and a shallow breath slips free. She thinks I don’t notice, but I do. And it takes everything in me not to groan and crash my lips to hers. She’s fucking perfect.

The fabric of my hoodie swallows her up. My name and number is plastered on her back for everyone to see. If her brother sees her, he’ll think I’m the dutiful best friend, looking out for his precious, but sassy, younger sister.

Her cheeks are flushed with both annoyance and something else, but she doesn’t look at me as she pulls the sleeves down, hiding her hands.

She looks up at me, eyes daring me to say something.

I step closer, brushing my fingers against her arm.

“Now, don’t forget. I don’t want to see you without a coat again.

A parka, preferably. One that comes down to your knees.

” She gives me a sarcastic smile and flips me off.

Whatever had her rattled early she’s pushed down and replaced those feelings with her annoyance for me.

“I’m wearing a string bikini tomorrow, so be prepared to give me your sweatpants,” she chirps out, and I grin because that’s my fucking girl.

She walks away, and my chest tightens when I actually get to see my ownership on her back.

The white letters on navy fabric that spell out Grey seventy-seven are like a brand.

It’s mine. She’s mine. As she walks by, a group of guys are eyeing her up.

I see the way they look at her, the way they try to hide their glances despite the fact that my hoodie comes down to the bottom of her thighs.

I memorize their faces, because I’ll be coming for them.

They don’t know who the fuck they’re dealing with or that every single one of them is about to have a very bad night.