Page 22 of Pucking Possessive (Kings of Castlebrook #2)

LILAC

I don’t know what happened between Callum and my brother in the hallway, but when I come downstairs from getting dressed and brushing my teeth, Callum is taking down the porch swing we had sex on last night.

“Um, what are you doing?” I ask with a little chuckle because he looks so intense.

I know he’s strong, but he hoists the heavy wood up like it weighs nothing at all and carries it over to his truck.

He only sits it down long enough to pull the tailgate down, hoist it up and wrap the chains around the sidebars in the bed of the truck.

Callum slams the tailgate and then looks down at me, cupping my face and just looking at me like I’m his everything. He finally says, “Consider it a wedding gift from your parents since they won’t be invited.” He’s so serious, not a hint of humor in his tone.

My parents are posted up on the front steps like they’re waiting to deliver a verdict, not watching their daughter walk away from the life they’ve always tried to script for her.

My mom’s pearls are tight against her throat.

My dad’s expression is flat, detached. I don’t know what Callum said or did to them, but they’re not protesting what is very clearly theft of lawn furniture.

“That swing has always been our spot, now more than ever. It’s the least they can do,” he tells me, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

"You don’t have to do this," my mom says, arms crossed like she’s holding herself together with posture alone.

I pull away from Callum to round the side of the truck and stare her down.

"If you’re planning on threatening to cut me off, save it.

Grandma’s estate is what’s paying for my tuition.

I got the confirmation email this morning.

But I’m sure you already knew that, even when you tried to control me by saying you were paying for it.

” I take a deep breath before I say my final piece to her, “And I’m not coming back here after graduation. Not ever."

She scoffs, the sound sharp. "We’ve supported you your whole life. This is how you repay us?"

"You mean by choosing my own life? By not marrying someone you picked out like I’m a doll in a window?" They can’t be serious.

"You don’t understand what’s at stake,” my father grinds out the words, but he’s not even looking at me. He’s looking at Callum with so much hatred it makes me sick that I’m related to him.

"No. I do," I snap, chest tight. "What’s at stake is me. And I’m not going to sacrifice myself to protect a family name I don’t even recognize anymore. If you can’t accept my decisions, or Callum, then I don’t care what you think."

The front door creaks open behind them.

My brother steps out, looking like absolute hell, and there’s fresh blood on his face. He’s holding his hand like it’s broken, which makes me turn and give Callum a quick once over. If Adam got a punch in on it, he sure didn’t do any damage.

"You have to do this!" Adam shouts at me, and he looks like he’s going to be sick.

Callum’s already moving, stepping in front of me like he was born to protect me. In some ways, I think he was. Up until recently I didn’t believe in soulmates, but I swear there’s something more between Callum and myself than simply childhood crushes that bloomed into something more.

Callum’s voice is lethal. "Why don’t your parents pay your debts instead of putting that on your sister?"

My stomach twists.

Debts?

I glance at Callum, and he doesn’t look at me. He doesn’t need to. I don’t question him because I trust him with everything, including my life.

When my parents say nothing, I know he’s not lying about Adam having debts to Vincent’s family.

Callum’s jaw tics. "Your silence is more than enough. I know you took money from my grandmother to let me live here. I know she is the one who paved my way into Castlebrook. You’re probably still pocketing money from her since I took over all of my bills, aren’t you?"

My mother recovers, tries to spin it, but it doesn’t go unnoticed that she doesn’t even attempt to deny what Callum just accused her of doing. "He’s violent, Lilac. Look what he did to your poor brother. This is the man you want to tie yourself to?"

"Well," I bite back, "your son is vile, so a little violence was necessary."

I grab Callum’s hand like I’m claiming him in front of the whole damn world and storm toward the truck. My legs shake, and I feel like I could burst into angry tears at any moment, but I don’t stop. Not until I reach the passenger door.

Before I can open it, Callum’s hands are on my waist, spinning me. He presses me against the side of the truck and kisses me like it’s the only way he knows how to breathe.

He breaks the kiss, tugs the door open, and helps me inside.

My hands tremble as I settle in. I stare straight ahead, trying not to break in front of my family.

The window’s cracked just enough to hear him when he turns to face them.

"She’s mine to take care of now. Don’t reach out to her for anything. If she wants to talk to you, she’ll let you know. But I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one."

I hear my brother shift, feet clomping down the steps of the home we grew up in.

Callum doesn’t hesitate to level Adam with just one look when he tells him, "Come down here and I’ll fucking murder you in front of your parents. And if you show your face at Castlebrook again, you’ll regret it."

He rounds the front of the truck and slides into the driver’s seat.

My pulse is still hammering, but when he holds out his hand, I grab it like it’s the only steady thing in the world.

Because to me it is.

The drive back to Castlebrook is quiet. Not in a peaceful way. More like the calm after a bomb goes off. The kind where you’re waiting for smoke to clear and praying there’s something left to salvage.

Callum’s jaw is locked, tension rippling through him like a current he’s not even aware of. His fingers grip the steering wheel like it’s the only thing keeping him from turning around and finishing what he started at my parents’ house.

I want to tell him I’m sorry. That I hate dragging him into all this.

That if I could rewrite the past, I would’ve never let him get pulled into my family’s mess.

I also know that if I had to go through that argument without him standing beside me, I would’ve drowned.

With my parents against me, and my brother apparently selling me off to pay his debts, I don’t think I could’ve survived it alone.

Not to mention the murders on campus. I don’t know how I would have survived the night at the mansion without him.

The higher ups at Castlebrook can pretend it’s not a big deal, but it is.

Girls, and one guy, are being killed. On campus.

Some in daylight, some right under our noses.

I wasn’t close to Lexi by any means, but I still see her slashed throat and blood-covered body if I let my mind wander.

I can’t focus on that now. I know Callum has people looking into it, and I know he would only trust the best people that can get him answers. Despite everything, I feel... lucky. Not because of the fake engagement. Not even because of the sex.

Because it’s him.

He let me touch his scars. He let me kiss the one on his neck, and I swear it changed something in me. Made something settle deep inside my bones. I still feel the ache in my chest, knowing someone had ever tried to hurt him.

If his father had succeeded, if Callum wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have grown up with him. I wouldn’t have this now. This strange, fierce connection that feels like it’s been waiting for years to finally come alive.

I think I’ve always loved Callum Grey, and I’ve been in love with him for a long time too.

Callum brings me out of my thoughts with a quick glance in my direction. "While we were at your parents," he says, "I had someone move your stuff into my room."

I blink at him. "You did what?"

He grins like he’s already won. "Don’t pretend you’re shocked. This is a very me thing to do. I want you with me. And I need to protect you. So I don’t wanna argue about it."

I flip him off, middle finger up and proud because that’s a very me thing to do.

He just laughs. "Not while I’m driving, baby. Definitely tonight. I’m already having withdrawals."

I groan, not even arguing with him that I didn’t mean ‘fuck you’ literally, because he already knows that.

"Well, it feels like someone parked a train in my vagina, so I’m great with waiting.

" Callum wasn’t even rough with me by any means, but my entire body feels like it was dragged by that train before it parked.

He cackles so hard it makes me laugh, too.

Just like that, the heaviness in my chest eases. That’s the effect Callum has on me. He can make anything better without even trying.

By the time we pull into the drive, it’s late and I’m wrecked.

Not just from the fight with my parents, but from Callum, too.

My body is aching in places I didn’t even know had muscles.

The hot shower I took while Callum was talking to my brother did nothing to help.

I’m hoping a good night’s sleep will do the trick.

We slip inside quietly without discussing it first. Mostly we don’t want to wake Hayden because he’s a menace when his sleep is disrupted.

I like that part of this little group enough to know that.

As we make our way past the formal sitting room, I see Winter is curled up on the couch she and Tristan always read on.

Her long, dark braid spills over the armrest, and I can’t help but smile at the pink bow that secures the end.

Her lips are parted in sleep, and it dawns on me that it’s weird seeing her by herself.

I can’t even think of times I’ve actually seen her without Tristan looming nearby.

She looks peaceful though, with an open book resting on her chest. She must have fallen asleep reading to Tristan.

I didn’t see him at first, but his slight movement takes my attention away from her. Tristan, my God. He’s sitting in the corner in complete silence, no book, no phone, nothing. Just... watching her. Like she’s the only thing he sees in this world.

Callum grabs my hand, pulling me toward the stairs. He leans down and murmurs, "He records her breathing while she sleeps so he can listen to it at night."

My eyes go wide. "You’re joking."

"It’s not as weird as it sounds," he says, linking his fingers with mine. "He has night terrors. Her breathing calms him down, I guess."

I furrow my brow and look up at Callum when I ask, "Why don’t they just sleep in the same bed?"

Callum shrugs, squeezing my hand. "That’s what I said. But when anyone suggests it, Tristan goes all psychotic on them."

When we make it up the stairs, and we reach his room, I stop at what I see.

All of my stuff is here, which I was totally expecting, and I’m sure Chapel is stomping around campus because he sent random people to our room to move me out without giving her notice.

But that isn’t what has my attention. It’s the ceiling.

A mural of soft white and lavender clouds stretches above the bed, painted in delicate detail.

Like something out of a dream. I’ve always loved clouds, so much so that when we were kids, I’d make Callum lay next to me in the meadow behind my grandmother’s house and watch them pass by on particularly windy days.

I stare at it, breath caught in my throat before I manage, "You did this for me?"

Callum pulls me into his chest, pride warm in his voice. "Everything I do is for you."

I don’t get to respond, because I don’t even know what to say. He’s literally left me speechless.

My phone buzzes and I groan because it has to be one of my parents, or Adam. I glance down at it, fully prepared to just block whichever one of them it is, but what I see makes me flinch so hard that I drop my phone to the plush carpet.

Callum bends to pick it up, his expression darkening as he reads the message.

“Only a slut would fuck on her mother’s porch swing.”

My throat tightens. "Someone was watching us. I haven’t told a soul what happened last night."

“I haven’t either.” Callum wraps his arms around me protectively. "I’m going to get to the bottom of this. I promise, baby. We’ll get whoever’s behind it."

I press my face to his chest. "The only place I feel safe is with you."

He kisses the top of my head. "Then you’ll stay only with me."

I finally pull out of the hug and tell Callum I’m changing into my pajamas because I’m two minutes away from passing out. He kisses me again, but this time softly on the lips.

"Sleep naked. Let me put you to sleep,” he tells me, and his voice drops low in that tone that he only saves for me.

I nod, resting my face against his chest and squeezing his big frame to me one more time before he starts undressing me slowly, like I’m made of something precious. Right after he tucks me into bed, I hear the shower turn on, the sound distant, but steady.

I’m already drifting into a peaceful sleep when I feel the bed dip beside me. Callum’s arm wraps around my waist, and I feel him kiss my shoulder. Callum turns me in his arms, lifts my leg up over his hip, and I feel the thick, familiar pressure of him nudging between my thighs.

“I’m going to fill you up all night, baby,” he whispers. “Sweet dreams.”

And I fall asleep with him inside me.