Page 4 of Pucking Possessive (Kings of Castlebrook #2)

LILAC

T he air tonight is uncharacteristically chilly, but I like it. The cold clears the noise in my head. After today in the rink, after Callum's eyes on me, I need it. I need the sting in my lungs to remember where my body ends and where he stops filling my mind.

I tuck my hands deeper into the pockets of the hoodie Callum forced on me, but I secretly love wearing.

I throw him an attitude any time he tries to cover me up, but I wear this thing almost every day when I don’t think I’ll run into him.

It’s giant just like Callum, and the waistband dusts low on my thighs.

My leggings are tight, my boots are warm, and my hair’s up in two low pigtails. My comfy trifecta.

I only agreed to come on this hair-brained adventure tonight because I didn’t want to be in my dorm in case my parents dropped by unannounced again, trying to drag me home to play nice with Vincent Warshaw.

The sooner they accept that I have zero interest in being auctioned off to the most eligible bachelor, the better.

If I’m honest though, the friendships I have with the girls on my figure skating team are really surface level.

There’s nothing I can pinpoint as to why I don’t feel like I can bond with them.

The vibes just aren’t there, and I can’t push myself to confide in any of them.

They invite me to events or fun places, and I find myself looking for reasons to say no.

I’ve met Callum’s friends, Madi and Winter a few times.

They’ve had a front row view of him accosting me from parties or bonfires.

If there’s one thing that’s true about Callum Grey, it’s that he is a fun sucker extraordinaire and legend has it that if he hears me laugh joyfully three times he’ll materialize out of thin air.

I really like the girls though, even though I don’t know them well.

They just seem genuinely nice, even if their boyfriends are complete psychos.

I hover by the edge of the parking lot while we wait for everyone to show up. If it’s one thing about the skating girls at Castlebrook, they like to travel in large packs and literally everyone is invited.

Lexi is bouncing on the balls of her feet, half from excitement and half to stay warm.

Her boyfriend, Ryan I think, lingers behind her, arms crossed, earbuds in, looking unimpressed with everything.

I can’t really blame him. When Lexi told me that the super fun activity of the night is going to scope out the old Whittaker mansion, I almost bailed.

Adam called and texted me three times about coming home to meet Vincent, so that’s why I’m here waiting in a parking lot to maybe commit a felony.

Is trespassing a felony or a misdemeanor?

It doesn’t matter because either way I don’t want to marry Vincent.

Mina, the queen bee of our little group, is already checking her reflection in her phone screen, looks up and says, “Why do you always wear that sweatshirt? It does nothing for your figure.” Her tone is just a little too sharp. A little too snotty.

“It’s comfortable,” I say. My gut reaction is to justify it, to say that wearing Callum’s clothes brings me comfort in a way that nothing else does. I bite my tongue because I’m fairly certain that will make things way worse.

Wren, the only one of us who can land a backflip on skates, swings her designer handbag and jumps in with, “Are we seriously going to the mansion? Like the mansion? Can’t we just go get sushi?”

“The one on the cliffs!” Lexi says. “It’s totally haunted.There was that guy who disappeared after trying to film the inside. No one ever found him.”

“Does anyone even really live there?” Mina adds. “I know Professor Whittaker supposedly moved there and became a recluse after he was fired, but he can’t possibly still live there, right? He has to be what? Eighty?”

I smile politely, but my stomach twists a little.

The more I think about it, the more I realize what a bad idea agreeing to come here tonight actually is.

Cursed or not, what if people really do live there?

What if they call the police? What if it’s not old professor Whittaker, and it’s some weird cult that wants virgin blood to do rituals?

If it’s the last one, I’m cooked, but maybe if I join a cult, my parents will leave me alone.

Just then, a guy I don’t recognize walks around the side of the building and steps up to our group. Mina immediately flutters closer to him. Knowing Mina, he could literally be her boyfriend, her hook up, someone she met at the gas station an hour ago.

“This is Eric,” she says brightly, and I get second hand embarrassment by the way he shakes her off when she tries to wrap what seems like her entire body around his bicep. “He’s coming with us.”

Yeah. I caught that part.

Eric flashes a grin and looks me over a little too slowly.

There’s something odd about him. Judging by his jacket, he’s a football player, so maybe I’m just on edge because he’s my brother’s teammate.

“Lilac, right?” he says stepping forward and I instantly step back away from him and it doesn’t slip by me the way Mina’s glaring at me instead of him.

I raise a brow. “Do I know you?”

He shrugs. “I listen when beautiful girls get talked about.”

Mina giggles, which throws me off, but I’m relieved when she pushes up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek .

I fake a smile and look down at my boots, hoping a response to what he’s said will fly up out of the blacktop.

I know any response I come up with will just make everything more awkward.

I open my mouth to say I forgot I have a paper due or that my roommate texted me that fell in the shower and I have to go save her…

But then?—

That sound.

Low. Growling. Familiar.

It’s my fucking favorite sound in the entire world.

Callum’s 1986 Chevy Deluxe pickup truck turns the corner, headlights flooding the lot. He parks like he owns the space, hops out, and heads straight toward us.

How did he know I’d be here? I swear if he talked to Adam about the Vincent situation and he’s coming here to convince me that it’s not a bad idea, I’m going to throw my phone away and change my name.

Eric’s still babbling about hearing things about me and I think this must be some sort of karma? Like was I a terrible person in a past life? Callum doesn’t say a word as he reaches me, instead he wraps an arm around my waist, picks me up, and spins me.

“You’re wearing my sweatshirt, bambi,” he says and I cringe. He has no idea that I, despite the fact that I give him a hard time whenever I can, I never grew out of the childhood crush I held only for him.

This is why I can’t have nice things.

The nickname slices through me, and I feel chills cover my body. I’ve protested since the first time he likened me to the wobbly legged deer, but it’s a sentiment I truly hold dear.

Eric clears his throat and steps back, Mina moving in clumsy sync with him.

“I didn’t know you were with Grey.” I decide in that moment if Callum is going to show up and crash my night, because that’s exactly what he’s doing, I’m going to use it to my advantage.

I just want Eric to fixate on Mina, or literally any other girl here.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, wrapping my arms around his neck signalling that I don’t want him to put me down quite yet. “Don’t you have a crash out session with Hayden or Tristan?” I say it sweetly, but the way he’s grinning at me tells me that he knows I’m being sarcastic.

Callum squeezes me in his arms. It feels like a natural reflex, pulling me closer to his broad chest. Being in his arms really shows me our size difference.

He’s massive. “Hayden’s probably hired forty-two scientists to trace which germ gave Madison the flu.

When I left the house, he was sitting up against their bedroom door trying to convince her to let him in. ”

I shake my head. “He genuinely would be lost without her. Like if she decided to leave Castlebrook tomorrow, they’d have to shut down the entire school because of him.”

“They’d just have to level the school and start over from scratch,” Callum jokes, finally setting me back on the ground.

I see the way he’s eyeing Eric, chest all puffed out like he wants to fight him.

Maybe he knows more about Eric than I do.

Normally, I’d tell Callum to stop acting so intimidating, but I’m thankful he’s here.

“And Tristan?” I ask, just for small talk. I know nothing about the goalie of the Castlebrook Kings except that he’s very attached to Winter LeBlanc.

“At the library with Winter,” Callum crunches his nose up in distaste. “They read together…for fun.”

I raise a brow. “You object to reading because.. . ”

Callum shrugs. “Why read when you have TV?”

I laugh, genuinely this time because he’s just so very…Callum.

Just then, my brother pulls into the lot, climbing out of his Jeep with a grin like he’s just won the lottery. Given the amount of nights he spends at the casino lately, I wouldn’t be surprised.

He slows when he sees Callum. “Uh… what are you doing here?”

Callum doesn’t miss a beat. “Didn’t think you were coming. Someone needed to look after your sister.”

And just like that, my chest goes tight.

Right. He’s just here as my brother’s best friend. To watch over me. That’s all it is. All it’s ever been. I take two steps away from Callum because being close to him fogs my brain. It makes me think he feels things for me that he clearly doesn’t.

My brother laughs, unfazed by the accusation. “Had a little date after practice. Ran a bit late.”

I see one of my skating friends, Tara, stiffen at my brother’s words. The way her face falls, I know immediately that she thought he was here to see her. I didn’t realize they had something going on, but really, my brother has something going on with most girls on campus, so I’m not surprised.

Tara tucks her short red bob behind her ears. Her smile falters, and she looks away quickly. I don’t say anything, but I feel it too. That sting of being second choice. Or worse, not a choice at all.

Danny, the only boy on our skating team, shows up and starts heading toward our group. This prompts Lexi’s voice to ring out over the low chatter of the side conversations. “We don’t have enough seats! Someone’s gonna have to double up.”

There’s a pause. A long, tense one.

My brother nudges Tara and pats his lap with a cocky grin. “Hop on.”

She gives him a look like she might cry or slap him. Maybe both, and I don’t blame her. He’s an arrogant asshole, and I know he’s only here because I won’t take his calls or texts. He sure as hell isn’t here to check on me or make sure I’m okay.

Lexi, oblivious to why everyone is so tense with each other, cheerfully offers a solution. “Lilac’s small. She can just sit on one of the guy’s laps.”

Before the moment can get worse, Callum steps in, his arm snakes around my waist. “She can sit with me.”

“I think I just want to go home,” I mutter, but my brother hears me.

“I’ll drive you and we can talk about your date with Vincent,” my brother says low enough that I think I’m the only one who can hear it. My stomach rolls. I feel so boxed in right now that I feel absolutely sick to my stomach.

“No, I don’t think that’ll be happening.

” Callum hauls me up and over his shoulder like it’s something he does every single day.

“I’m your only option, bambi. Sitting on your brother’s lap would be weird as fuck, plus you look like you want to claw his eyes out, anyway.

And you sure as fuck aren’t sitting on anyone else’s lap. ”

I’m too stunned to argue with him.

Callum slides into the backseat of the large SUV with me still in his arms, pulling me down onto his lap like I was built to fit there.

His arms go around me so tight, but surprisingly it makes me feel calm. I know it doesn’t mean anything to him, but it feels like he’s claiming me as his.

The vehicle fills with laughter and chatter, but my world narrows to the way Callum is breathing against my neck. The way he holds me like I belong to only him.

“You’re shivering,” he murmurs and I swear I feel the ghost of his lips skate along the side of my neck.

“I’m not cold.” It’s not a lie. I’m very warm right now.

When everyone else has piled into their seats, Callum’s hands rest on my hips and pull me back against his chest. He’s big, warm, just Callum. I feel him lean forward and press his face between my pigtails to rest against the back of my neck.

He reaches one hand up to wrap a finger around the bottom of my hair, twirling it for a second as if he likes how silky it is.

“I like when you wear your hair like this,” he admits quietly, but it feels like there’s something deeper there.

Maybe like he’s telling me he wants me to wear it like this for him.

I don’t dare to move in the event that whatever spell I’m under right now will be shattered into a million pieces.

I want to be held like this.

Even if it means pretending Callum doesn’t only see me as a responsibility.

Even if it breaks me for the rest of my life.