I silently thanked Hayley with my eyes, and she barely gave me a swift nod.
Then, I shifted my eyes to Eric, again, who was still doing that annoyingly attractive bad-boy smirk.
I narrowed my eyes, and he hitched an eyebrow as if asking me what I was going to do.
The room began to feel heavy, everyone watching our stare-off. My feet pulled me forward, stepping over a few empty cups, and before I knew it, I was standing right in front of him. Our knees brushed as he sat forward on the couch, peering up at me with his dark eyelashes fanning over his cheeks.
“Interesting place to sit,” I said, looking down at him from above.
“Sure is,” he answered lazily.
His hand wrapped around the back of my thigh, and a few people gasped. I hated that we were putting on a show for everyone, which was so surreal because, before Christian and I broke up, that was all we ever did. We put on a show for everyone to keep up our statuses.
“You’re forcing me into being the person I wanted to bury, Eric.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, tilting his head to get a better look at me.
Mostly everyone was staring at us, even Hayley and Christian.
“For a second there, I thought I was going to have to come in here and tear Missy off your lap by her hair.” Someone gasped, likely her. “And that’s not who I am anymore. I don’t want to be that girl who inflicts pain and mortification on others. I don’t want to be that version of myself anymore.”
I said the last part quieter, because it was embarrassing to admit, especially in front of all t
hese people.
Eric pulled himself to a standing position as he gripped me by the hips. My heart climbed to my throat as I looked up at him. A dense feeling of vulnerability clogged my senses, and I didn’t like it. “I think I’d take a combo of the two. I like every version of you.” His eyes softened around the edges, and suddenly, I didn’t care about anything else, except him.
“Let’s go,” I whispered, grabbing onto his wrist.
“Where are we going?”
“I don’t care. I just want everyone in this room to know you’re mine.”
He smirked as I glanced back at him. “Challenge accepted.” Then, he pulled his wrist back, spun me around, and lifted me up by my butt and wrapped my legs around his waist. I kept the shock hidden from my face, but he grinned at me like he was going to devour me in front of every single person in this room. His head buried into the crook of my neck, my hair eclipsing him from the rest of the room. His breath was warm as it hit my sensitive skin. “Let’s go fuck, and let’s be as loud as possible. That’s a sure way to let everyone know.”
My core sparked, and I pushed myself into him. His hands dug even harder into my thighs, right under my butt.
“It’s a sure way to be labeled a slut, too.” I kept my gaze on his, too swept up in the moment to see the disgust on everyone’s faces.
“No one will call you that.” He pulled back and stared at me with a dark look in his eye. “Not now.”
There was that protective boy I’d grown to crave. Who would have ever thought I would have a guy to protect me like this? So fierce and unyielding.
I licked my lips, the cherry taste coating my tongue. “Then let’s go.”
His eyes dipped to my mouth before he growled excitedly and carried me upstairs.
Chapter Forty-Two
Eric
The next morning, Madeline and I both left the cabin at the same time to get back to our houses. I pulled into my driveway at the exact moment she pulled into hers, and I was out of the driver's seat so fast I was able to pull her door open and help her out of hers. I gripped her body and pulled her over to the side, slamming the door shut. Her back hit the black paint, and her legs widened, letting my thigh sneak in.
“You act like we didn’t just have sex a few hours ago—again.” The apples of her cheeks rose, a cute pink color painting the delicate skin. Her hair was still a mess from last night, her skirt wrinkled from being thrown on the floor.
“I can’t help it,” I mumbled as I smoothed her hair down. “I told you I have a hard time keeping my hands to myself. Do you know how long I punished myself for even looking in your direction? How long I refused to picture you as I beat off?”
She half-rolled her eyes, grinning. “You had plenty of girls to fuck. Why would you need to masturbate?”