Page 12 of Watch Your Back (Devil’s Backbone #2)

C arter convinced me to still get coffee, since we were already so close to Dancing Goats, but we ordered it to go and he escorted me to his car once we collected our drinks.

It was a sexy deep-red Koenigsegg Gemera, almost the color of blood—or, coincidentally, the color of the dress he’d bought me for New Year’s Eve.

“New car?” I asked as he pulled out of the parking lot. It had that distinctive new-car smell, so it was a fairly redundant question, but I was suddenly all awkward and nervous, so it was the only thing that came to mind.

He shot me a sidelong look, one brow raised. Then the corner of his lips curved up. “Yeah, it is. Do you like it?”

I shifted in the soft, black leather seat and ran my hand over the dash. “I do. Does it go fast?”

Now his small smile broadened into a grin. “Spark, baby,” he chuckled. “What do you think?” He punctuated that question with a sudden gear shift and burst of speed that flattened me back into my seat for a moment.

Crap . Why did that do tingly things to my lady parts?

“I thought you were more of a classic car girl,” he commented thoughtfully, slowing to stop at a yellow light. I appreciated the fact he wasn’t risking our safety just to show off.

I wet my lips, cursing the fact that my cheeks were warm with an unquestionable blush.

“I am a car girl in general. I have a classic because it was my dad’s passion project and it was just kind of our thing to work on together.

He couldn’t exactly take it to South Sudan with him and it was being wasted sitting in the garage.

” I shrugged. “It’s more of a sentimental car than anything.

I can still very much appreciate these newer luxury cars. ”

Carter nodded thoughtfully. “You know Royce is totally obsessed, right?”

I snort-laughed. “With my car? Yeah, I know. He drives well, though, so I’m okay letting him borrow it every now and then.”

Carter gave me another long look before the light turned green and he accelerated once more. “Right.”

My phone dinged and I pulled it out to read the message from Carly. Then I gave a sad sigh at seeing her update.

“Everything okay?” Carter asked with understandable curiosity.

I shook my head. “The driver of that car died at the scene. Daniel Mahoney. Did you know him?”

“Yes…he was a DB,” Carter murmured. “Do they know what caused him to crash?”

“Not yet,” I replied, tapping out a quick reply to Carly, letting her know I was going to the guys’ apartment, before putting my phone away. “His girlfriend was in the passenger seat, but she’s in surgery right now. The girl Carly went in with is apparently still being seen by doctors too.”

Carter grimaced. “First day back. Doesn’t really bode well for this semester, huh?”

Fucking hell, I hadn’t even considered that the car crash might be linked to the hypnosis stuff Heath had talked about. Surely it was just a coincidence? It was a conversation we needed to have, though. All of us.

“How’s Lady doing?” I asked, changing the subject. “Who took care of her over the holidays?”

“Our downstairs neighbor, Mrs. Brown. She’s well into her eighties but likes to pretend she’s only fifty.

Real funny old bird and loves animals. She’s got a chihuahua called Vera that Lady likes to play with.

” Carter softened when he spoke of his adopted dog.

It was so unexpected after the mutt had been dumped in my room to cause havoc at the beginning of last semester.

I smiled, thinking how Carter was just a big softy deep down. Really deep down, below the bad temper, control issues, and arrogant entitled bullshit.

We arrived at the guys’ building a few minutes later, and I noticed Heath’s motorbike was parked in his usual spot when we parked.

He’d been blocked in my phone too. Did he think I was ignoring him on purpose?

Or had he taken his doctor’s advice to distance himself from me until his mental health could recuperate fully?

Carter took my hand when we got out of his car, linking our fingers together as we crossed the concrete toward the elevators.

I let him, because I loved touching him.

Loved how safe he made me feel when he gripped my fingers like that.

We stepped into the elevator and he backed me into the corner, balancing the tray with our coffees in one hand and lowering his head to kiss me… but I pushed him away.

My willpower was getting stronger every damn day, but that was a tough one.

“Carter,” I admonished, giving a slow shake of my head.

His brow furrowed, his jaw tight. “Spark…please let me kiss you.”

Oh my god, Carter begging? Dirty tricks.

I shook my head again with monumental effort.

“You keep doing this, sucking me in with this thing between us.” I gestured to the air between us as he stared straight through to my soul through my eyes.

I could hardly breathe. “This electric attraction between us…it makes it impossible to think, and all my better judgment flies out the window. We are not in a good place, Carter, and every time I let you get close, it feels like I lose a piece of myself to you.”

Sadness tainted his expression and he wet his lips. “Is that such a bad thing, Spark? I’d keep those pieces safe.”

“I know,” I whispered, my eyes burning with the sudden urge to cry, “but I’ll never get them back. So where does that leave me when you eventually marry some European heiress that your mother approves of?”

Conflicted emotions swirled in his gaze, and he didn’t immediately have a response to that question. Then as he parted his lips to speak, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open on the boys’ floor.

Biting my lip to hold back the tears, I slipped past him and walked the short distance to their door with Carter silent and brooding at my back. He paused a moment with his key in the lock, glancing down at me with a dark look in his eyes.

“This conversation isn’t over, Spark. I’m not letting go of you that easy, but you’ve raised good points. I need to think.”

“Okay,” I whispered, too choked up for any higher volume.

But I didn’t want the conversation to be over…

I just wanted him to sort out his mommy issues and finally tell her to fuck off.

I wanted him to fight for me and be proud to be with me, not stuffing me into a closet at the mention of his mother.

Then again…she was holding the threat of a murder charge over his head. Maybe I was being too harsh.

Carter pushed the door open, gesturing for me to enter ahead of him. As soon as I did, I was greeted by the wet, slobbery kisses of his mongrel street dog who was wearing an honest-to-fuck bow in her fur on top of her head.

“Aw, hi, Lady.” I greeted the pup. “You look lovely. Mrs. Brown has taken good care of you. Look at that pretty bow.”

“Mrs. Brown didn’t put the bow in,” Heath replied from the sofa where he reclined in a pair of gray sweatpants and nothing else.

Totally shirtless. Fuck, he was sexy… His hospital stay had slimmed him down somewhat, but the muscular structure was still evident, and I’d bet anything he was hitting the gym hard to get it back.

I arched a brow at Carter, the only other logical culprit, and he shrugged. “Lady likes to look like a lady sometimes,” he murmured, bending down to love on the dog.

I left him scratching the mutt’s belly and crossed over to the sofa to sit beside Heath. “Hey, you,” I said with a small smile. “So…uh…I don’t totally know if you’ve tried to message me since New Year’s, but it’s recently come to my attention that I had you blocked.”

Heath’s brow arched and he set aside the Xbox controller he’d been using. “Yes, I noticed. That wasn’t intentional?”

Carter scoffed, coming over to join us. “Oh, it was intentional, all right.”

I rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t me,” I explained to Heath. “I just thought you were all ghosting me.”

He frowned his confusion, glancing between the two of us as he puzzled it out. “Nate?”

“That’s my best guess,” I replied. “Is he here? I’d like to ask him to his face and figure out what the fuck he thought he was playing at.”

Heath grimaced. “That part is obvious. He’s a meddling shit sometimes. But no, he had an early class and usually stops at the gym before coming home. Paige was over here last night too.”

A sharp jolt of irritation shot through me at that statement. “Why? Didn’t they break up?”

Heath shrugged, running a hand through his messy, dark hair. “Yeah, but they’ve broken up heaps. It doesn’t always stick.”

Why the fuck did that thought annoy me so much?

Was it because I knew she’d been sleeping with Royce behind Nate’s back?

Or maybe just because she was a horrible person and I didn’t want to be stuck playing nice in social situations?

Not to mention the secret Carly had filled me in on about Paige’s fake pregnancy.

Yeah, that must have been it.

“I’ll call him,” Carter offered. “When he gets home, I’ll pin him down while you slap him, Spark. You deserve a couple of free hits.”

My lips twitched with amusement at that mental image. Slapping Nate would be very cathartic… It was a tempting offer, for sure. “You’d better call Royce too. I think we have more to discuss than just Nate fucking around with my phone.”

Lady whimpered at the balcony door, pawing at it, and Carter got up to take her outside. Heath took that opportunity and illusion of privacy to slip his arm around my waist and haul me into his lap, making me squeak in surprise.

“What are you doing?” I asked, stunned and a little hypnotized by his half-naked status as my knees straddled his hips.

A sly, sexy smile tilted his lips. “Making sure my feelings are crystal-clear, since you haven’t gotten any of my messages.” Then he slid his hand into the back of my hair and pulled my mouth down to connect with his.

I moaned softly as his lips caressed mine, his tongue slipping in to tangle with my very heartstrings. His strong fingers pressed against my skull, his other hand cupping my ass, and I suddenly became shockingly aware of the swell of his dick beneath my crotch.

Dimly I heard Carter talking to Lady out on the balcony and knew our time was limited.

I’d just pushed Carter away in the elevator—it’d be a harsh slap in the face for him to come in and find me grinding his best friend on the couch.

But I couldn’t force myself to stop kissing Heath.

His touches lit up every damn nerve in my body to the point I was sure I must be vibrating, and I wanted more.

He sucked on my lower lip, making me whimper with need, and my hands splayed out on his chest. He was already shirtless, and my imagination told me maybe he was commando underneath those sweatpants. If only I weren’t in jeans…

Heath’s fingers in my hair flexed, tugging on the strands in a way that sent a whole-body shiver through me, and I slid one hand up to his neck. Then he flinched so hard, our teeth knocked together.

My confusion only lasted the time it took to see where I’d just placed my hand. It’d been a month, but the mark still ringed his neck from where he’d hung, and my fingers rested directly over it.

“Shit,” I hissed, withdrawing my hand like I’d been burned. “Heath, I’m so sorry. I didn’t?—”

He swallowed hard, his eyes haunted as he reached out and grabbed my hand. “No. I’m sorry.” He very deliberately placed my hand right back where it was, covering his scar. Then crashed his mouth back to mine in an almost-feverish kiss, like he was trying to prove something to himself.

“Squirrel? What the fuck?”

Royce’s startled question came just a moment before the front door slammed shut, and I damn near jumped out of Heath’s lap like I’d been caught by my dad or something.

Carter chose that moment to step back inside with Lady at his heels and arched a brow at me in question. Without a doubt, my face must have been the color of a fucking tomato.

“Hey, roomie!” I greeted Royce with a weak smile. “Miss me?”

Heath sighed heavily and stood up from the couch, not bothering to try to hide the way his sweatpants tented from his boner. “Fucking cockblocker,” he growled, heading out of the room. “I’m taking a cold shower. Don’t start slapping Nate until I’m back!”

Royce’s face was a picture of confusion as I smoothed a hand over my hair in a desperate attempt to look less like I was about to fuck Heath on the sofa.

“Why are we slapping Nate?” he asked, looking to Carter for answers.

Carter just shrugged. “Why not?”

Really, though, why the fuck not? He permanently deserved it, even without fucking around in my phone. Nate was a walking red flag and I guess, apparently, I was the bull.