Page 58 of Wild Card

“I need him to care that I’m with her. It’s…shit that’s from the past but affected me and still affects me. It’s just something I need to do.”

I began connecting the dots, seeing the bigger picture it created.

He wants revenge.

“The rumors…they aren’t true, are they?”

A shudder ran through him, and the hitch in his breathing was the only answer I needed to know Elias had done something horrible to Decker and the story I had heard about the two of them might not have been true.

“If you heard the same ones circulating the halls, about me hitting Elias on purpose or trying to attack him…no, that’s not how it went down at all.”

“Will you tell me about it?” I whispered, not wanting to ruin the flow of information coming from him.

“Someday…but for now, I just need you to understand that I want to hurt him in the only way I can.” His hand trailed down my body, that finger finally brushing against my hip, splaying along my thigh.

“By sleeping with Taylor?” The words hurt coming out, and I knew the answer would hurt even worse, but I had to face it. So did he.

Another painful pause, almost too long to be comfortable, passed between us. His fingers moving were the only indication that he was still awake.

“Just tell me. I already know the answer, but I need to hear you say it, and I think you need to hear you say it too.”

A huge swell of air left his lungs as his chest deflated. “I don’t know.”

“So, it’s not off the table then…” I didn’t phrase it as a question, because we both knew it wasn’t one.

“You knew, that night we met…that was my intention. Sleep with her, have him see it…ruin him.”

Pain pierced my chest, barreling into my stomach like a lightning bolt. I knew. He was completely right, but I just thought…

“I guess I thought you were just trying to date her.” I sounded small, almost childlike, unsure of why my voice wouldn’t work right.

“Nothing has changed from what I originally planned,” he whispered.

I believed him, but his hand was now firmly placed on my hip in a possessive way, sending me a mixed signal.

I whispered the only truth I knew to him and hoped he’d see it for what it was. “Everything has changed, Decker.”

Tears begged to be freed, and after the week I’d had where he pushed me away, I just wanted to let them free.

“I think you should go.” I was so damn proud there wasn’t a single shudder in my voice, nothing betraying that I had somehow fallen for him, regardless of knowing the deal.

“I can’t,” he replied roughly, like he was suppressing bigger emotions than I might realize.

I couldn’t help it. I blinked, and the flood gates opened. I turned away from him, out of his embrace, and let the pain flow from me, wishing and hoping that once I woke up, he’d be gone and so would the remaining feelings I had for him.

Chapter Twenty-One

Mallory was carefully removingthe sheets from around our waists, going slow and cautious. I knew she was trying not to wake me, but I’d been awake for a while, watching her sleep, trying to get my hard-on under control without touching her. It was an act of God that she didn’t wake up while I struggled in silence behind her. She’d fallen asleep hugging the far side of the mattress, as far away from me as possible, which was fine. As soon as she began softly snoring, I had pulled her back against my chest, put my face in the crook of her neck, and fallen asleep too.

Something had shifted between us when I saw her climb into Elias’s truck. Seeing that smirk on his face while Mallory climbed in, looking like fucking sin…it did something to me. I knew the irony of the situation was ridiculous, but just the same—he was using her, and it didn’t sit well with me. The conversation with Mallory after she came home wasn’t sitting well either, but I’d had all morning to think that over too. Taylor was work…she was the job, as Scotty put it. Mallory was home. Every minute she lay curled into my side this morning just re-established that she was mine. I’d finish the job with Taylor, without sleeping with her…I had made the decision this morning while holding Mallory that I could never touch Taylor like that. Not even a kiss.

Which royally fucked my entire plan.

The warmth from Mallory’s body shifted as she moved her hips to the side, trying to get free of my hold and the blankets. I wouldn’t be assisting with any of that. I wanted her to squirm and realize we’d fallen asleep wrapped up in each other’s arms. Her ass moved again, but this time it went in the wrong direction. She backtracked, and suddenly she was plastered to my chest, her ass aligned perfectly with my cock.

I had put so much work into calming down, but now I was already hard again. I considered warning her. The gentlemanly thing would have been to warn her, but I’d already warned her I wasn’t one of those…so instead I challenged her.

Moving my hand down and over her hip, I splayed my palm flat against her stomach, over her ribs. Her skin was so soft, and I just wanted to run my fingers over every inch of her then follow the route with my tongue. I could feel her breathing change, growing shallower as I continued to pretend to sleep behind her with soft snores.

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