Chapter 6

6

RHODES

I was going to hell.

Looking over at where Larkin was sound asleep on the couch, I leaned against the wall by the window looking out over the backyard.

It had finally stopped snowing, but there was a solid two and a half feet of snow out there. Probably more where it had drifted.

I looked back at Larkin, the bright moonlight slanting through the windows over her body. She was curled up in a ball under the blanket, her hands tucked under her chin.

God, she was so beautiful it hurt to look at her.

I knew the second I kissed her I had fucked things up. Probably for good because there was absolutely no way to go back from this.

There was no way in hell I would ever see her as my best friend, Larkin.

Watching her come against my hand, feeling the way her body trembled and surrendered completely to me? There was no way I could unsee that.

Hell, it had been four hours and my dick was just now starting to settle down. I finally got up off the couch because every little sigh she made in her sleep had me almost reaching for her to finish what I had started.

I had pulled myself up, cleaned up the mess from dinner and then paced the floor for a few minutes before settling in to watch her sleep. She looked so sweet and innocent asleep, a big difference from the girl who a few hours earlier was riding my hand.

I blew out a long breath, trying to get a grip.

Larkin wasn’t ready for sex yet. And I wasn’t ready for sex with Larkin yet, despite what my body thought.

I meant what I had said—she and I needed to sit down and talk all of this out in the morning. There was a lot she needed to know. A lot I needed to say. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, but we needed to make sure we were on the same page.

Or, I needed to make sure she was on my page. Because there was no way I was going back. I was too selfish, too much of an asshole.

The second I tasted her in that first kiss, she was mine. She would always be mine.

For the first time in a long time, I wished I had someone to talk to about this. Someone like my father who could give me insight and advice.

Sure, I had Remy. Remy was an amazing best friend, but he was just starting to figure out his own thing with Skye. I wanted someone who had been there. Gabe was an option, but...

He wasn’t my dad.

I dropped my head back against the wall with a thump.

A sharp gasp had me looking over to see Larkin sit up, clutching a hand to the top of the blanket around her chest.

“Rhodes?”

I stepped out of the shadows, feeling like an asshole. She thought I had left.

Which I probably should have, but I was fucking gone for this girl.

“I’m still here,” I said softly, moving across the room and sitting on the edge of the couch beside her. I brushed some of her hair out of her eyes, letting my fingers trace the curve of her cheek, map the contour of her lips.

Her big brown eyes were huge as she searched my face. “I thought you might have... gone home.”

There was something so sad, so accepting in her tone, that I physically flinched.

I cupped the side of her face. “I told you we had some things to talk about in the morning. I’m not going anywhere, Lark.”

She sagged in relief, letting her eyes drift shut for a second as she relaxed into my touch. “Good. I don’t like it when you leave.”

That small admission, spoken in such a tiny voice, absolutely wrecked me.

She looked around my shoulder, giving me a slight smile. “It’s after midnight.”

I glanced back at the clock on the cable box. “Yeah.”

Her smile widened. “It’s morning. Technically.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “You should sleep.”

“So should you ,” she replied, sitting up and tucking the blanket around her where I wished it would fall down. “But since we’re both up, maybe we should... talk?”

I opened my mouth, but a sharp knock on the door cut me off.

I got to my feet, glancing down at Larkin. “You expecting a delivery?”

She shot to her feet, eyes wide. “Who the hell could that be? There’s like three feet of snow outside.”

I grabbed her arm to stop her. “Lark, maybe you put a shirt on before you answer the door?”

She blushed and laughed, awkwardly clutching the blanket over her chest. “Um, right.”

I waited, but she didn’t move.

“Can you turn around?” she asked, her cheeks a bright shade of red.

I cocked my head to the side, amused as hell. “You realize I’ve seen all of this before, right? In vivid, high definition detail. I can tell you how many freckles you have on your—”

She slapped a hand over my mouth. “Oh, my God, Rhodes. Seriously?”

I smirked under her fingers before darting my tongue out and licking her.

“Ew!” she laughed, twisting away and nearly tripping over the blanket.

With a loud, exasperated sigh, and to my utter delight, she dropped the blanket, setting her hands on her hips. “Happy?”

My gaze instantly dropped to her breasts, greedily drinking in the soft swells and the dusty pink tips.

Another, more insistent, knock sounded.

I growled, my wolf as pissed as I was at the interruption.

“I’ll be happy when whoever the hell it is goes away,” I muttered darkly, heading for the door.

“Rhodes—I can answer the door!”

I was already in the hall, wrenching the door open. My eyes locked on one set of eyes, then the identical pair of the guys in front of me.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded, glaring at one McAllister twin and then the other.

Kyle’s gaze narrowed. “We could ask you the same question.”

“Where’s Larkin?” Konnor demanded, trying to look past me.

“Getting dressed,” I replied with a smirk as I leaned against the doorframe. I shook my hair out of my eyes.

Kyle winced, but what I said only seemed to piss Konnor off.

“Again,” I said, louder, wanting to get back to the half naked girl in the other room, “what the hell are you doing here?”

“Kyle? Konnor?” Larkin came up behind me, wrapping her arms around herself as the cold seeped into the room. I glanced back at her, thankful as hell she remembered to put her bra back on in addition to her sweater.

But her hair was loose around her face, hanging in long waves, her eyes still sleepy. I hated that these two asshats were seeing her like this.

Only I should see how she looked after she had just woken up hours after crashing from the biggest orgasm of her damn life.

“We texted you,” Kyle said, his voice low like I couldn’t hear him right in front of my face.

“We wanted to make sure you were okay,” Konnor added.

“Since your parents are gone,” Kyle finished.

I blinked slowly. Jesus, these two even talked in tandem. Like they shared a single brain.

Larkin coughed into her hand, her eyes flicking to me for a second before looking back at them. She ducked her head guiltily. “Guys—”

“She’s fine,” I cut in sharply, hating she felt any sort of regret for what happened between us. “It’s late and it’s cold. Maybe we could do this at a time that isn’t midnight?”

Konnor glared at me. “We were talking to Larkin, Rhodes. Not you.”

“And now you’re saying goodnight,” I retorted, standing up straight with a warning growl.

Maybe Konnor needed a reminder of his place in the pack, and in Larkin’s life.

“Rhodes!” Larkin gasped, her small hand grabbing the back of my shirt. “Chill out.”

“I’m not entirely sure why you’re at our girlfriend’s house,” Konnor kept going, “but we’ve got it from here.”

My entire body went rigid as his words registered. Ice settled in my veins that had nothing to do with the weather. My anger flared, waking my wolf.

“Excuse me?” I asked quietly.

“Okay, guys, seriously,” Larkin protested, coming around in front of me. “We’re not doing this.”

“We really just came to check on you,” Kyle said quickly, his blue eyes searching hers in a way that made me want to yank them out of their sockets. “We were worried about you.”

“Thank you, Kyle, but—”

“But I guess we shouldn’t be shocked to find Rhodes here,” Konnor continued, holding my gaze in an open challenge that had me snarling. “Even in a blizzard he has to find some girl to try and screw. Even if she is already claimed by another.”

Larkin sucked in a sharp breath, bristling beside me. Even Kyle looked a little unsure now.

“But since when has that stopped Rhodes? He doesn’t do much except think with his dick,” Konnor spat. His furious gaze turned to Larkin. “But I’m pretty disappointed you bought his act, Larkin.”

I barely registered Larkin yelling before my fist slammed into his mouth, knocking him back several feet. He lost his balance and tumbled down the steps of the porch, falling into the snow. It would have been pretty damn funny if I wasn’t ready to rip his head off.

I glanced at Kyle, but his gaze was already down at the ground. He had always been the more submissive twin, which was the only reason he wasn’t joining his brother in the snow.

Konnor came up, spitting a mouthful of blood into the snow.

“Rhodes!” Larkin yanked at my arm.

“I’m only saying this once,” I said through gritted teeth, barely keeping a tether on my wolf. “Larkin isn’t yours.”

Kyle slunk back a step while Konnor had the nerve to bare his teeth at me.

I smiled, ready to throw down. Sex and violence were two sides of the same coin, and since sex wasn’t currently an option, violence would suffice.

“You guys need to leave,” Larkin said, her voice quiet but firm. “I appreciate you coming to check on me, but I’m fine.” She hesitated before touching my arm, leaning against my side. “ We’re fine.”

Konnor looked ready to argue, but Kyle was already going down the steps, pulling his brother back. He looked apologetically at Larkin.

“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely to her, not looking at me. “We’ll see you around.”

Konnor spit out one last mouthful of blood and stalked off, at least as much as he could in several feet of snow. I watched, arms folded across my chest, until they rounded the corner of the street.

Larkin gave me a small shove from behind. “What the hell was that, Rhodes?”

I turned slowly, still feeding off the rage from my wolf. It was Larkin, which I knew, but we both interpreted the shove as a challenge.

But with Larkin it was less about violence, and more about working out my aggression in other ways.

She swallowed and took a step back. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Then don’t touch me like that,” I countered.

With a huff, she retreated back into the house, but left the door open for me as she did. I went back inside after her, shutting and locking the door.

I wasn’t surprised when I found her standing in the middle of the living room, hands on her hips, waiting for me.

“Well?”

“Well, what?” I asked, coming into the room.

“I cannot believe you,” she seethed, raking a hand through her long hair. It spilled across her shoulders like a silk curtain. I couldn’t wait to fist in my hands again.

“I’m sorry,” I replied drolly, “I guess I have an issue with two guys showing up, claiming to be your boyfriends after you spent the evening riding my hand.”

Her mouth dropped open. “They’re not my boyfriends!”

“Do they know that?” I asked, trying to stay calm when I spoke. All I could see was that fucking kiss at Christmas. Every time they were around Larkin at GPA.

“One date, Rhodes,” she snapped, holding up a single finger. “We went on one stupid date.”

“Wait—you went out with them?” Jealousy snaked around my gut. I was going to be sick.

She sighed. “Yes. The other night. When you were cleaning up.”

Hurt flashed through me, the sting bitter. “And you didn’t tell me?”

She spread her arms wide at her sides. “It’s not like you and I talk much anymore, Rhodes. The last twenty-four hours is the most we’ve talked all year!”

I scoffed. “That’s not true.”

“Yes, it—” She cut herself off with a frustrated groan. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. I’m allowed to date, Rhodes. You made it pretty damn clear you wanted nothing to do with me.”

I crossed the room and was in front of her in a flash, reaching out and hauling her against my body. “Does this feel like I want nothing to do with you?” I pressed my cock against her. The damn hard-on hadn’t quit since earlier. Now it was at full attention, loving the fight and fire in her.

Larkin gasped softly, her hands coming up to grab my shirt for balance as she tipped her head back to look at me.

“How was I supposed to know that days ago?” she finally asked, her tone softer. “Days ago, when you were still giving me the silent treatment. The same way you’ve acted for the last year .”

“I know I’ve been an asshole,” I admitted, my hands going tight around her hips. “I know I have a lot to apologize for. But I’m not going to apologize for what happened out there. Konnor was out of line.”

“Yeah, he was,” she agreed. “I’m sorry he interpreted one date—”

“And a kiss,” I muttered darkly.

Her brows lifted. “You know about that?”

“I saw that,” I replied stiffly, looking away. “I left right after it happened.”

“Why?” she pressed softly, one hand sliding up my chest and winding around my neck.

Now or never.

“Because it wasn’t me you were kissing,” I answered honestly. “Because it should have been me.”

Her eyes went soft, her lips curving into a gorgeous smile that stole my breath.

“You’re right. It should have been you.” Her other arm came up around my neck, pulling me close. “It’s always been you .”