Page 27

RYDER

I watched her disappear into the house, the door shutting soundlessly behind her.

I could’ve held onto her all night. I wanted nothing more than to bring her home with me, but that wasn’t in the cards quite yet.

I climbed back into the truck and threw it into reverse, the rumble of the engine cutting through the stillness.

My hands gripped the steering wheel harder than necessary, knuckles white as I stared straight ahead, willing my dick to chill the fuck out.

Not an easy feat when the girl I spent my nights dreaming about, and half the day fantasizing over, had just been pressed against me.

I could still feel her in my arms, the softness of her skin under my fingertips.

She fit against me like she was fucking made for it.

I was convinced the universe had pressed us from the same mold and then ripped us apart just to watch us come together again.

Even when she was mad, especially when she was mad, she melted into me.

Every. Damn. Time.

I fucking lived for it.

She was the center of every axis I spun around, and getting to hold her was like touching both sides of the sun and the moon.

It had been this way since we were kids.

I held myself behind so many mental barriers just to keep from consuming every part of her, making her mine in every way possible.

It was about more than the physical, although I did dream about finally fucking her raw at least six times a day, seven days a week.

I wanted to watch her unravel beneath me.

Feel her nails rake down my back.

I needed her breath against my skin as she forgot everything but my name.

I wanted to sit her on my face until she couldn’t remember how to say it.

I pictured her riding me, that long dark hair falling around her like a curtain as she took everything she needed, mine to worship and wreck in equal measure.

I’d take care of her afterward, give her a break, and then start all over again.

This line of thinking wasn’t helping my current situation at fucking all.

I exhaled hard, gripping the wheel again.

I forced my thoughts back to what she said in the truck, all those soft-spoken lies spilling from that pretty mouth.

In no version of reality did Sass want me with anyone else.

She had two hang-ups when it came to us.

One, I’d spend the rest of my life working around because I didn’t have a choice.

The second was her need to keep the peace.

She didn’t want anyone to bleed for her, but someone always did, and I was tired of it being me.

After holding her in my arms tonight, I didn’t know how much longer I could restrain the part of me that didn’t want to love her quietly anymore. I wanted the whole damn world to know she was the best thing that ever happened to it.

I pressed harder on the gas, the truck growling under me.

Being at war with myself was exhausting.

One half of me was done waiting. The other knew the payoff was coming.

And soon. In the meantime, I would take full advantage of every opening she gave me to move things along.

I turned onto another street, not sure if I should hit the highway and just ride or head home to try and concentrate on the schoolwork waiting for me.

My phone rang, and the call flashed across the dash display with Nick’s name.

Perfect timing.

I had been waiting for him to call me back since we’d hung up right before Sass came out of the drugstore. Whatever he was about to say would determine what I did next. I tapped the button on the steering wheel to answer.

"Did you find it?"

“Yes, sir.” I could hear the grin in his voice. "They're at the old Miller Pub."

"They’re? Who is it?" I asked, eager to know.

"Kyle Anderson, DeAndre Woods, and there's a girl with them, Xan couldn’t get confirmation on yet."

Kyle Anderson.

I sifted through the people I knew until I placed him. “The fucking chess club kid?”

A burst of laughter came from the background, which I recognized as Rook's.

“That's the one,” he confirmed.

“Kyle Anderson, huh. What the fuck was he doing getting mixed up in something like this?”

“You know how half the Huntsmen come to be. They play just so they’re acknowledged for once in their life.”

Rook chuckled. “Kid probably thinks if he wins, someone might actually remember his name for something other than that time he cried during his famine presentation.”

“Or when he puked all over that blonde chick during the charity run freshman year,” I added with a laugh.

Nick made a sound of mock sympathy. “Poor lil dude. What he lacks in all areas of his life, he’s trying to make up for in theatrics. Xan found out he was gunning to outbid two legacy players for a certain Marked.”

“Sanjana,” Rook supplied, like I needed the double clarification.

I wasn’t surprised our names were put up at the first opportunity.

People liked the idea of hunting us. The potential bragging rights on top of thinking they would get to see us sweat for once.

All it took was one dumb fuck to start the bidding, and we were ripe for picking.

The irony was that things had changed with The Hunt this year.

The rules were shifting, and thanks to that, we would use them to our advantage.

Like I promised, Sass, it would be handled.

We hadn’t spent years keeping them untouched just to let strangers turn them into casualties.

“And DeAndre?” I asked, remembering the other guy Nick mentioned.

“He chose Ari.”

Rook made a sound, something between a laugh and a scoff. “Probably thought she’d be an easy target.”

“Then they underestimated her,” Nick volleyed, voice hardening, “and us.”

No shit, they underestimated her.

Ari might’ve been shy and quiet, but she was steel wrapped in cotton with a brain full of knowledge. That didn’t make a difference for us, though. No one was going to fuck with any of them.

“I'm heading out there.”

“Hey, I wanna come,” Nick called out before I hung up.

I laughed, shaking my head. Nick had a taste for chaos that rivaled my brothers. Missing out wasn’t something he tolerated well.

“I’ll be there in five.”

I disconnected the call and circled the block to get to our house. When I pulled up in front a few minutes later, the porch light came on. The door opened, and Nick jogged out first. Rook followed, and then Cade stepped into view, Angela B, his metal bat resting across one shoulder.

I reached across to my passenger seat and moved the candy Sass had bought me, so it didn’t get crushed.

The plastic crinkled beneath my fingers and reminded me of the pregnancy tests.

When I saw those boxes—fuck. I never wanted to experience that feeling again.

It was like a cold, sharp blade, driven straight through the organ in my chest that belonged to her.

Pulverizing everything in its path. She’d shut that shit down fast, thankfully.

The lapse in control was not my finest moment, but considering I was barely keeping it together, knowing someone else had been touching her at all, I handled it better than I could have imagined.

I owed some of that credit to Xan. When I’d been in my feelings the other night while we rode around looking for whoever was outside of Ashton’s spot, pissed all over again that she was with him in the first place, he looked me dead in the eye and said, “You can’t expect her to have stayed this pure, untouched virgin when you’ve been slanging your dick around.

” That last bit was overkill. We both knew I was close to a saint when it came to that, but the point was made.

Nick, Rook, and my brother piled into the truck, each of them humming with the same volatile energy as I was.

Nick claimed the passenger seat while Rook and Cade slid into the back, Angela B. wedged between them like she belonged there.

“Everyone ready?” I asked.

“Let’s do this,” Nick prompted, twisting his ball cap around on his head.

Rook gave a silent nod. My brother caught my eye in the rearview mirror, and I knew his answer.

I dropped the truck into gear and got us rolling.

The old Miller Pub was located in a remote part of town without too many prying eyes, perfect for however this panned out.

I needed the distraction it would offer, a chance to let loose some of the shit I kept reigned in that was clawing beneath my skin.

Sassy had me twisted up in ways that made breathing feel optional, and until I could have her the way I needed, this would have to be enough.

We sat in the parking lot, the truck’s engine off, windows slightly cracked so we had some airflow.

The glow from the pub’s neon sign pulsed weakly, flickering like it was barely clinging to life.

A steady stream of people shuffled in and out.

Most were loud, drunk, and blissfully unaware of their surroundings.

Cade had one foot propped up against the rear door, softly rapping along to Regulate under his breath while aimlessly scrolling his phone. His energy was coiled tonight, but not in a dangerous way.

Rook took a long pull from his blunt, holding it like it held the answers to every question he didn’t want to ask.

He exhaled slowly, watching the crowd. Every now and then, I watched him study Kyle Anderson’s black Genesis.

It was parked two spots over, sporting a scratched bumper and cracked undercarriage.

Nick shifted beside me, breaking the silence. “How is this place so packed on a Tuesday?”

“Bored college kids. Bad decisions don’t keep a schedule,” Rook answered as he leaned forward, his attention caught by one of the patrons. “I don’t think she’s supposed to be here.”