Page 17 of Pucking Possessive (Kings of Castlebrook #2)

LILAC

T he first thing I notice when we walk in the house is the utter chaos.

Not bad chaos. More like... loud laughter and bodies draped over furniture and the distinct smell of something sweet coming from the kitchen. The kind of chaos that feels like a real home, even if it’s not mine.

Madison is at the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, laughing as she brushes pink frosting off her cheek with the back of her hand.

There’s a smudge on her nose too, and her big blue eyes crinkle when she smiles.

She’s wearing a light pink henley top, light wash jeans, and a matching pink bow in her golden hair.

Hayden appears behind her, crowding her space like he owns it.

I suppose he does, because his arms loop around her waist, lips brushing her shoulder and then her cheek as he helps her put on a pink apron that has tiny white and pale yellow daisies dotted on it.

“You taste like frosting,” he mutters, loud enough for all of us to hear.

She tries to bat him away with a laugh, but he only pulls her tighter against his chest.

She looks over at me. “Hey! I was hoping you’d be here tonight.”

“You were?,” I ask, smiling and then looking up at Callum who is beaming. I’ve seen the way he interacts with Madi and Winter. He treats them like sisters, like I wish Adam had treated me growing up.

Winter waves to me from the couch, perched on Tristan’s lap like it’s her natural place in the world.

She’s wearing one of his hoodies and it swallows her whole.

She paired it with tall pink leg warmers that stretch up to her thighs, leaving only a sliver of skin at the top.

Her long black hair is braided to the side, tied off with a tiny pink bow that matches Madison’s.

“Are you two part of a pink bow club or something?” I feel comfortable enough to tease them.

Winter giggles and nods toward Madison. “Hayden bought a thousand pink bows because she pinned one on Pinterest. There’s a whole box upstairs if you want one.”

Hayden groans. “I thought it said one bow, not one box.”

Everyone laughs, and Madison rises on her toes to kiss his cheek. “It’s the thought that counts. I love my thousand bows.”

She tries to talk to me more, asking about skating, but Hayden is relentless. He kisses her shoulder again, then her temple. His hand slips under her shirt, resting just beneath her breasts. Protective. Possessive. Totally unconcerned with anyone else in the room.

They’re kind of intimidating and kind of perfect.

Winter and Madison are genuinely sweet. Warm and welcoming.

I’ve met them before, but I’ve never been inside this world they share.

I want to be. They’re so different from the figure skaters on my team.

There’s a softness here without competition.

A loyalty I don’t know how to be a part of yet, but I want to.

Winter leans forward slightly, looking concerned. “Are you okay? Tristan told me about your teammate… being found.”

“Yeah,” I say softly. It’s kind that she didn’t say the words killed or murdered. “I’m just a little shaken up.”

Before anyone can respond, my phone buzzes.

Again.

Callum glances at me. “Your parents?”

I nod.

He holds out his hand. “Let me take care of them.”

I hesitate, then hand him my phone.

He answers it calmly and walks toward the foyer. I watch his broad back as he disappears down the hall, listening to the low hum of his voice in the distance.

I look back toward the living room, where Tristan’s fingers are sketching lazy circles on Winter’s thigh, his hand tucked up under her hoodie. She’s dragging her hand slowly through his hair, absent and affectionate as they both look at the computer screen in front of them.

They look like they live in their own world. Like nothing and no one could intrude.

When Callum returns, his expression is unreadable.

“We’re having dinner with your parents tomorrow night.”

My mouth falls open. “What? So soon? Do you think we’re ready?”

“Because I want to get them off your back. We need to get off campus anyway until we find out who killed Lexi.” Callum hands me my phone back and rubs his hand over my shoulder and down my back.

“Your parents need to believe this is real. I’ve tried talking to your brother several times, and he’s completely ignoring me. ”

I just nod because there’s really nothing else to say. Callum threads his fingers through mine. “I’m not letting anyone take you from me,” he promises, and that one small thing he says instantly makes me feel better.

Madison appears in the doorway again, this time with white cupcakes topped with pastel pink frosting and tiny bow sprinkles. She smiles and says, “It’s the least I can do since I haven’t intervened when Callum screams at you in the quad over those cute floral dresses you wear sometimes.”

Everyone laughs, even Tristan.

“I do not scream,” Callum says indignantly.

Winter grins, clearly listening from the other room. “You’re one octave away from being Hayden when there’s a man existing within a twenty-mile radius of Madison.”

Madison giggles, eyes sparkling.

Hayden rolls his eyes. “You’re exaggerating. I’m just protective of my?—”

“Did you or did you not scream at the mail carrier two days ago for flirting with Madison?” Winter cuts him off.

Hayden opens his mouth to argue, but Winter holds up a finger. “Don’t get loud with me either, Hayden. Did you or did you not?”

He scowls. “He didn’t need to be in my yard handing my girl the mail. WHY DO WE EVEN HAVE A MAILBOX IF HE’S PRACTICALLY TRYING TO SHOVE IT IN HER brA?”

Laughter breaks out again and Tristan says, “If we have to move because you’re a psycho, I’m going to beat your fucking ass.”

Hayden ignores him and sinks his teeth into a cupcake, eating half of it in one bite. Pink frosting smears across his upper lip as he chews and says to Callum through a mouthful of pink, "Coach is gonna be pissed that you're missing practice."

Madison giggles and tries to wipe the frosting from his mouth, standing on her tiptoes as he leans down for her. For as psychotic as Hayden seems, he fucking melts when Madison is involved.

Callum rolls his eyes. "I don't give a fuck. Coach Kav can kiss my ass. Come on, bambi. We need to get upstairs and pack for the little trip to my parents’ house." I don’t think Hayden hears him though, because he’s chasing a squealing Madison around the kitchen, trying to plant a frosting kiss on her.

Callum grabs my hand and leads me toward the stairs. As we pass the couch, I glance over and Winter is still in Tristan’s lap. I realize that it’s a chess game on Tristan’s laptop, and it’s still in progress. The boy on the screen looks exactly like him to the point I do a double take.

“I didn’t know Tristan had a twin,” I whisper when we get to the stairs and out of earshot. “Do they act the same or is the brother…sane?”

Callum snorts. “I wouldn’t say he’s sane. That’s Sebastian. He plays rugby at St. Killian's in Ireland. But that’s not why he goes there.”

Ohhh, I think I understand where he’s going with this. “He followed a girl?”

Callum studies me. “Your eyes light up when you get excited. Did you know that?” I try to look away, but he cups my cheek, brushing his thumb across my skin.“You’re so pretty when you blush for me.” I bite my lip, and it feels like my heart is fluttering.

“I’m not blushing,” I lie. I can feel my face flushing,so I know that I am.

“Lies,” he says, voice softer. “But yeah, Sebastian followed a girl to Ireland. It’s more stalker-ish than romantic, though.”

“I don’t even question that, knowing how his brother is,”I say laughing because if Winter wasn’t such a willing participant, Tristan would definitely be panting himself to blend in with her walls to watch her sleep. Hell, he probably does that now.

Callum smirks at me before he says, “I think you’ll get a kick out of this. Even though they’re twins, Sebastian can’t read Tristan. Never could. But Winter can. So Sebastian watches her expressions to anticipate Tristan’s next move. It’s how he’s wins.”

I blink. “Tristan and Winter are actual soulmates.”

Callum smirks. “Trauma bonded. But soulmates works too.”

Before I can ask more, he laces his fingers through mine and leads me the rest of the way upstairs.

Callum’s room is organized chaos while we’re packing for a literal one night, two-day trip. He opens the closet and starts tossing clothes into a duffel bag.

I help him fold a few shirts, but something dark catches my eye.

A mask.

Black. Sleek. With bright lilac Xs over the eyes and mouth.

I pick it up. “What is this?”

He turns, eyes wide. “Something I’ve imagined using on you a hundred times.”

I turn the mask over in my hands, feeling its weight and trying to imagine what it would look like on him.

“I have a couple friends who are part of a secret society at a different college. They wear these masks for initiations." Callum telIs me, like he’s not sure where to start. “I did them a favor, so they had one made for me.”

“So you’re like…in a secret society?” I scrunch my nose up in confusion, because when would he find the time?

Callum shakes his head, a crooked smirk gracing his lips. “I like the idea of chasing you, Lilac. Dropping you off in the graveyard behind campus. Giving you a head start. Watching you slip into the dark, wearing one of those little dresses I hate other men seeing you in.”

I hitch a breath. “Then what?”

He steps behind me, chest pressed to my back, hands grazing my hips.

“Then I show myself. Wearing the mask. Concealing just enough that you’d wonder if I was really me…

or someone dangerous.” His hand slides up my stomach, curling around my breast, and he groans against my neck.

“I’ve always dreamed of being this close to you.

Touching any part of you whenever I want. ”

I lean back into him, gasping when he rolls my nipple between his fingers through my top. It feels like he’s stolen my words, but I silently implore him to tell me more, and it’s like he reads my mind.

“In the cemetery,” he whispers, “I’d watch the surprise bloom on your face when I appear. Watch your chest rise and fall with panic and excitement. Your nipples would be hard for me, wouldn’t they? You’d be soaked, waiting to be caught.”

“Yes,” I moan.

He holds my throat gently as our eyes meet in the mirror.

“Fuck, baby. You’re so beautiful.”

“Tell me more, Callum. Tell me what’s next.”

He kisses my shoulder slowly. “I have scenarios where I want to be gentle with you. Where I caress you like you’re the most precious thing I’ve ever owned.”

“But in the graveyard?” I ask.

He growls. “I want to ravage you. Rip your dress from your tight little body. I’d be in such a frenzy that I don’t even get my clothes off. I’d just pin you to the earth and shove my cock so deep inside you that I’d imprint myself on your DNA.”

I gasp, trembling.

His fingers dip down my waistband and into my panties, and he groans. “Still sticky from this morning.”

“I thought about this all day,” he breathes. “Knowing you were walking around with me still inside you.”

“Callum…I love this as much as you do, but we have to be careful after this. I’m not on birth control.”

“I know, baby. I would’ve thrown it away if you were. I don’t want there to be anything between us. When I fuck you deep and raw, I want to know I’m touching every part of you.”

He lifts the mask and slides it over his face, those purple Xs glowing faintly.

“Did you notice the color?”

I nod, dazed, but it doesn’t really click until he says, “The most perfect shade of lilac.”