“It’s fine,” I bit out.
Continuing up the stairs, I barreled into my bedroom, throwing open the door so hard, the knob slammed into the wall. Charging over to the windows, I pulled back the gossamer curtain and peered down into the backyard, the view from the second floor spanning the terrace, pool, pool house, and wooded area beyond. I locked my gaze on them in the pool.
“What the fuck?” I growled low.
He had her in a headlock, her hair in her face, and a huge fucking smile on his. She struggled and fought, trying to reach him behind her, and while I was trying to decide if I was angrier that he was touching my shit or if he was really hurting her or just playing with her, he let her go, pushed her forward, and splashed her, both of them laughing and answering my question.
I gripped the window frame, scowling down at them. They stood waist deep, his chest naked, tattoos blaring, and she in some halter bikini top. Over the next several minutes he worked with her on different holds and how to get out of them. His lips moved, talking her through what to do as he grabbed or yanked her or backed her into the edge of the pool.
I almost snorted. Fucking Rika.
This was her idea. I’d bet any piece of ass she sent Will over here to teach Winter some self-defense moves to fend me off. Nice move, kid, but this was chess, not checkers. Remember?
Winter shot out her hands, planting them on Will’s chest, and I breathed hard and deep, my eyes burning with a glare.
She doesn’t touch him.
And he doesn’t touch her.
Releasing the curtain, I spun around and walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
I liked that Will was here. I wanted him here. I wanted him with me.
But he was not her fucking lifeline. Period.
I rounded the bannister and made my way to the back of the house and through the back door. Walking to the edge of the terrace, I stopped and looked down at them as they talked and played.
It made sense now why he took her into the pool. Without her sight, it helped her maintain balance and cushioned any falls during their training. Thank you for that, Will. I wanted her in perfect condition.
Sprinkles of rain hit my shoulders, and Winter fluttered her eyelashes as she turned her face to the sky and held out her hands, palms up. Drops hit the water, clouding the still surface, and the fire pit crackled near the pool house, an inviting glow under the darkening sky.
Will smoothed his wet hair over the top of his head and finally looked up, spotting me. He stood there, still and unwavering, his fucking juniper eyes always twisting a goddamn hole through my head like a screwdriver, and for a moment, it was high school, we were side by side, and Winter wasn’t standing between us.
In that moment, I wanted to grab him and her and Banks and put us all on an island, because they would never not belong to me.
Lightning shot through the sky, thunder cracked, and Will and Winter exchanged words before she hopped out of the pool. He followed, helping her find her towel.
Once she was dried off, she wrapped the towel around her body, but when he tried to take her hand, she waved him off. He said a few more words to her, she nodded, and then turned around.
Putting out her right hand, she made her way back up to the house, toward me, and I locked eyes with Will.
The corner of his mouth tilted in a challenge, and I shook my head as Winter made her way in my direction. Walking right past me, she paused, turning her head my way, and I looked down at her, knowing she knew I was here, mere inches away.
My eyes fell down her face, neck, and shoulders, touching her the only way I’d allow myself just yet.
Stupid girl. He only taught you to fend off one attacker. What if there were more?
She dropped her head, her lips tightening, and she walked on, back into the house.
Soon.
Will dried off and walked over to the fire pit, holding out his hands to warm up. I descended the brick steps, making my way over to him.
“I got your letter,” he said, staring at the fire.
I quirked a smile, remembering the note I sent him a while back. Challenging him to find me. To face who he really was, and it wasn’t as Michael and Kai’s third wheel. Fuck them.
“You think you can stop me?” I stared at him over the fire. Is that why he was here? Doing Rika’s bidding and trying to arm Winter against me?
But his eyes danced with mischief even though he still wasn’t looking at me. “You didn’t think that beating I gave you was the end of it, did you?”
My smile froze, remembering the beating I let him give me last year, because I knew I deserved it. I’d knelt there, letting him hit me again and again, because I wanted to feel worse on the outside than I did on the inside, and for so many moments, I just wanted him to kill me. Just kill me, because I can’t take it back, and I can’t move on.
I’d almost killed him. And I wanted him to hate me so hard he would fucking murder me, and then maybe, after his anger was spent, he’d love me again. Whether I lived or died, he needed to forgive me for standing by and letting Michael’s brother do what he did on that yacht that night.
But I wasn’t the only one to blame for all that shit that went down two years ago after we got out of prison, either. I took my punishment for my part, but I wasn’t taking it lying down again.
And if at least a small part of him wasn’t willing to forgive me, he wouldn’t be here now. He wanted to be here. He hadn’t let it go, which meant he hadn’t let me go. Not completely.
“You missed me,” I said in a low voice.
He moved behind the flames, circling the fire slowly, and I did the same, following him.
“Didn’t you?” I taunted.
His wet jeans clung to his legs, and I noticed he’d added some more ink to his chest and arms since I last saw him.
But some things hadn’t changed. He was still dwelling on shit and still getting drunk and high all the time. He needed me.
A small chuckle escaped him as I caught his eyes again. “You were my heroin once upon a time,” he said, and his eyes disappeared behind the flames again.
I stepped again, moving around the fire and locking eyes with him again. “And you still like your drugs from what I hear.”
He shook his head, knowing full well where I got that information. “Fucking Rika.”
“Fucking Rika.” I nodded.
He moved again, disappearing, and I advanced, seeking him. His eyes on me when he dropped out of sight and still on me when he reappeared. His lips twitched and his gaze was charged with fury, rage, excitement, the blacks of his eyes small and sober, because he didn’t need that shit when he had me.
“Winter likes you,” I said, taking another slow step. “She seems to trust you. Why?”
“I have a way…with women,” he teased.
“I remember.” I licked my lips. “You were fun to watch.”
His breathing turned shallow, and I knew he was remembering all the shit we got up to back in the day. We had some fun.
Even without girls.
“You want to see me with her?” he asked. “Is that it?”
I laughed under my breath and cocked my head. “Not exactly.”
I shot off, catching him off guard, darted around the fire and slammed my palms into his chest, pushing him backward into the wall of the pool house. He grunted, hitting the brick with his bare back.
The rain started pummeling the awning overhead, and I raced up to him, ready to throw him down on the ground, but he bent over and barreled into my stomach, sending us both falling to the concrete deck.
I bared my teeth, seething and throwing my fist across the side of his head while he punched my stomach. I tightened every muscle in my gut against his attack, and I didn’t know if I was really angry or just desperate to engage him in anything, because I’d fucking missed this, but either way, I was having fun.