WHEN WE ARRIVED AT HAYLEY’S house for the party there were already a line of cars on both sides of the street. “Holy shit, how many people did she invite?” I asked, gasping as the number of cars kept multiplying.
In the front seat, Lexi’s mouth hung wide open. “Your guess is as good as mine. I haven’t ever been to one of her parties before.”
Will parked as close to her house as he could get, but we still had about a quarter mile walk up the street. The entire time, Caleb had his arm around my waist and kept it there even when we got inside of the house. Hayley and Josh already had the wine, liquor, and beer ready in the kitchen, and there had to be at least fifty people in that room alone.
“Do you want a drink?” Caleb asked, pressing me tighter against him.
“Yes, that would be great,” I replied. “Do you mind getting me a glass of wine?”
It would at least get me out of his hold for a while until I got the chance to give him the bad news. He was the first good guy I’d come to meet in years, and I felt terrible that I’d wasted his time. Caleb took off and Will followed him once he gave Lexi a soft kiss on her cheek.
“Are you drinking tonight?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “No, I told Will I would drive us back so he could drink. When are you going to talk to Caleb? You need to do it soon before he really starts making moves on you, Shels. He wants something tonight and it isn’t just a kiss he’s after.”
Groaning, I hung my head and sighed. “Speaking of kisses,” I added. “Do you mind …”
“Getting rid of the picture I took tonight,” she finished for me. Laughing, she squeezed my arm and put her head on my shoulder. “Honey, I already knew to do that. I’m your best friend and I’ll always have your back.”
“Thank you,” I said, just as Will and Caleb came back carrying our drinks.
Caleb placed his hand on my lower back and leaned closer. “Come with me,” he whispered in my ear.
Taking my hand, he led me out of the kitchen, but not before I saw Lexi mouth the words ‘good luck’ to me as I continued out of the room. I’m definitely going to need it, I thought to myself.
Caleb started for the stairs and my gut clenched with each step we took, my instincts telling me to stop while I was ahead. “All right, Hayley said when we got to the top of the steps for us to take a left and it’s the first room on the right,” he said when we reached the second floor.
We followed Hayley’s directions until we came to the right door. Opening the door, Caleb turned on the light to reveal a moderately sized room with a queen-sized bed and a separate sitting space. The walls were painted a medium shade of taupe to match the two-toned bedspread and the rug at the foot of the bed. The dressers and headboard were made out of dark cherry wood, giving the room a dark and seductive feel; however, I wasn’t feeling any of that at the moment.
Against my better judgment, I took my first step into the room and regretted it the moment Caleb shut the door and locked it. “So what did you say you wanted to talk about?” I asked, putting my full glass of wine on the dresser.
With a gleam in his green eyes, Caleb bit his lip and stalked forward, stopping right in front of me so he could trace a finger along my bare collarbone. “Oh, let’s see … I figured we could talk about us, and maybe explore other possibilities on taking a step further.”
“Caleb, I—” I tried to say, but he cut off my words by crushing his lips to mine and wrapping his strong arms around my waist, pulling me in tight against him. I tried to wriggle out of his hold, but it was too constricting. His frame towered over mine and he was too strong.
“Caleb, please,” I begged, but he either didn’t hear me or didn’t listen. He kept kissing me with punishing force while moving me back toward the bed. It was then my heart started to race and I began to feel the panic.
Oh, God, what is he going to do?
Crushing me into the mattress, he rubbed his cock up and down my thigh, kissing his way down my neck to the tops of my breasts. “I need you, love,” he growled. “I know you feel the connection, too.”
Bucking and pushing against him, he finally stopped and looked down at me, his gaze heated with anticipation. With a growl of my own, I glared up at him. “No, Caleb, not like this. This isn’t what I want.”
He scoffed and shook his head, staring down at me with an evil leer splayed across his lips. “But Matt Reynolds is what you want, right?”
Immediately, my heart stopped and I could feel the blood rush out of my face. How does he know about Matt? Once Caleb slid off of me, I jumped off the bed as fast as I could and backed away while he casually adjusted his pants like nothing happened.
“How do you know about Matt?” I demanded angrily. Knowing I needed to get out of there, I pulled out my phone and typed a frantic text to Jace. This was the last place Matt needed to be.
“Good, text him,” Caleb insisted happily. “I’d love to see him come to your rescue.”
I scoffed, keeping my gaze on the phone while I finished my text. “I’m not texting Matt, jackass. Do you honestly think I’m that stupid? You obviously want him here, so I’m not going to give you that. I’d pity you if he were to come.”
Bursting out in laughter, Caleb shook his head and gloated, “Oh no, love, you’re the one I’d pity with having to watch me kick his ass. By the way, I wasn’t going to rape you if that’s what you were worried about just a few minutes ago. Trust me, I don’t have to rape anyone to get a piece of ass. A couple of days ago it seemed like you wanted it, so I thought, what better way to mess with Matt’s head by fucking his girl.”
“How is that even possible? I met you before Matt even started coming around again,” I shouted. “Matt and I hadn’t spoken in ten years.”
“Exactly,” he sneered. “When I found out you two had a past and that Hayley had access to you, I figured why not give it a try. I can be charming when I want to be. You sure as hell fell for it. However, it would’ve been perfect if you let me fuck you, but seeing as you chose him over me I guess I have to deal with what I got.”
“How did you find out about me and Matt, Caleb?” I snapped angrily. No one knew other than Lexi and Jace. Surely, Lexi didn’t tell Hayley; she wouldn’t share my secrets even if it was with her sister, would she? Jace was out because I couldn’t see where there would be a connection to Caleb.
“Was it Hayley?” I growled.
Nonchalantly, he shrugged and said, “No, it wasn’t Hayley. That bitch is clueless, and no, I’m not going to tell you who. I’m entitled to my secrets, and if I told you it would ruin all the fun. I must say it worked out great that I had an easy outlet to get to you through Hayley. She was determined to set me up with one of her friends, and when I suggested a woman with your qualifications she delivered just like I knew she would.”
What a lying piece of shit.
“So basically everything we did and talked about was a lie?” I asked through clenched teeth.
When all he did was smile at me, taunting me, I marched up to him and slapped him across the face as hard as I could. The sound echoed through the room, but it only made him grin wider. “Bastard,” I spat.
Caleb rubbed his jaw and winked at me. “You sure do have fire, love,” he teased. “I can see why he got all pissed off when I mentioned your name. Little did he know that I’d already had my lips all over your body by that point.”
Gasping, I stepped away from him and closed my eyes tight. No, no, no … it couldn’t be. Please tell me it’s not the same person. I was stuck in a nightmare that I couldn’t get out of. I felt sick to my stomach, and by the look on his face when I opened my eyes he knew I had begun to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Matt never told me the guy’s name, but he told me to be wary of someone. Except, Caleb didn’t look like the guy Matt described; his eyes were green and he had dark blond hair. What was I missing?
“He told you about me, didn’t he? I figured he would. Did he say stay away from the big, bad wolf with the two colored eyes?” Rolling his eyes, he reached in with his fingers and took out one green contact, revealing a lighter shade of green underneath, and then the other one which happened to be so dark it looked black.
“Surprise,” he boasted triumphantly, letting his contacts fall to the floor. “I guess it might be time to introduce myself. I’m Kyle … Kyle Andrews.”
Holy shit!
I felt like such an idiot. He utterly and completely had me fooled and I had no clue. If Matt had never come back into my life, I knew without a doubt I would’ve fallen for Kyle, and most likely slept with him, if he’d kept up his charade long enough. The thought of what that would’ve done to Matt infuriated the hell out of me. He would literally and seriously kill Kyle if he was here right now.
“Shelby!”
Oh, thank God, he’s finally here.
“Jace, I’m in here,” I shouted, rushing toward the locked door.
Kyle grabbed my arm before I could unlock it and turned me around. “You know this isn’t over, love. For what it’s worth, I really did enjoy kissing those lips of yours,” he murmured, lifting a finger toward my mouth.
Backing out of his grasp, I glared at him and smacked his hand away. “Fuck you,” I snarled. “You know, I’d be careful if I were you. You may have your connections in this world and be able to get away with the shit you do, but I can guarantee you I have more. Especially in the media, which would believe me any day over a pathetic scumbag like you.”
Incredulously, he lifted his brows and his smile faded. “Are you threatening me, love?”
“I don’t threaten,” I told him, narrowing my gaze. “That was a promise.”
Jace banged on the door and tried the handle. “Shelby, what’s going on? I got your text and Lexi said you were up here somewhere. If you don’t answer me I’m going to break down the goddamned door,” he shouted.
I glared at Kyle one more time before unlocking the door and jumping into Jace’s arms as soon as I saw him. Everything came crashing down once I knew I was perfectly safe. “Oh my God, Jace, get me out of here,” I pleaded desperately. When he let me go, I grabbed his hand and led him toward the stairs as fast as I could.
“What happened, Shelby?” he demanded.
Squeezing my hand, he stopped me before we could go down the steps. When he turned to look at the room we just left, Kyle stood there in the doorway with a smug expression on his face.
“What did you do to her?” Jace hissed.
Kyle smiled and shrugged a shoulder. “Oh, let’s see … I’m pretty sure it’s something you’ve never done with her. I heard you didn’t swing that way.”
“You son of a bitch,” Jace snarled, taking off after him.
Jumping in his way, I placed my hands on his chest and dug my heels in the floor to try to keep him back. His eyes were wild and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop him.
“Jace, stop!” I shouted, grabbing his chin so I could get him to look at me. “He didn’t hurt me, I promise. He’s just being a dick and trying to get you riled up. Please, just get me out of here.”
Pushing against him, he finally relented and put his arm around my shoulders, moving us toward the stairs. I needed to talk to Lexi and Hayley to figure out how Kyle could’ve found out about me and Matt, but I wanted to get home more.