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“Vi and Shaw are at this party. I don’t want either of them to get in trouble or hurt, Ma,” I told her. “I won’t let what happened at that last party happen to either one of them again.”
She blew out a tired sigh. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll see what I can do.”
Ten minutes later, she texted me that my name was now on the guest list, and I glanced at the guard shack to see one of them on the phone. Grinning, I directed the Uber driver to go back to the gate. The guard who’d been on the phone rolled his eyes at me, but he opened the gate. The second guard station simply waved me through.
A mile up the driveway, I saw the line of expensive cars and knew my own car wouldn’t have been out of place there, but the Uber driver’s sure as hell was. I handed the guy a hundred for his trouble and then stepped out. As I walked up the rest of the drive, I spotted Shaw’s car parked between a Lambo and a Ferrari, and I grinned.
Unlike Cannon’s car, Shaw’s was more practical. It had every safety feature her parents could think of, and the thing was built as solid as a tank. Hell, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was completely bulletproof. It was amusing because Cannon was the one who had really needed this car. Shaw had always been the more responsible of the two and had handled Cannon’s wickedly fast death trap like a pro.
When I got to the front door, I didn’t bother ringing the doorbell. As loud as the music was, I doubted anyone would hear it anyway. The door was unlocked, so I walked in and melted into the crowd as I searched for my girl.
I’ve been to parties before that were wild, but this one had borderline depravity going on in almost every room. I spotted Shaw’s head overtop of most of the other people in the room, and it didn’t take much once I saw her to find Violet. Both of them stayed close to who I assumed was Remington Sawyer.
He positioned himself between the girls and most of the other guests, keeping a protective hand on Violet’s back whenever someone tried to approach their small group. Knowing the guy was taking care of them helped me relax a little, and I was able to blend in.
I had a few people come up to me and try to chat, mostly chicks who were already so lit I doubted they knew their own names—but they sure as fuck knew mine. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself in case Shaw and Vi kicked me out, but I didn’t have any interest in hooking up with anyone other than the legs-for-days blonde who was drawing every male—and some female—eye.
Carefully, I let down those brave enough to approach me as gently as possible, so they didn’t want to slap me or toss their drink in my face while I kept my eyes on Shaw. All while trying to rein in my jealousy as guys winked at my girl, hit on her, and eye-fucked her from across the room.
Most people recognized Shaw and greeted her as if they were lifelong friends, even though I was sure she’d never met a single person in the house other than me, Vi, and Remington. Shaw’s face was everywhere worldwide, so of course they knew who she was. She put on her work smile, the one she hid behind when she was uncomfortable or irritated but had to be polite for appearance’s sake.
At one point, her eyes met mine, but other than a flicker of her lashes, she pretended like she didn’t see me.
I kept my distance for a while longer, giving her time to have a little fun and cool down in case she was pissed at me.
Remington and Violet started upstairs, but Shaw stayed behind. Figuring Vi would be safe with the other guy for a little while, I followed Shaw into a less populated part of the house. She glanced ov
er her shoulder once, and I knew she’d hoped I would follow her.
My body hardened more and more with each step we took toward the back of the house. The music was still as loud here as it was in the front of the house, but the lack of noise from the other guests gave the room she walked into an intimate vibe.
We were in a home office I noticed as I shut and locked the door behind me. A huge desk sat by the window with a plush roller chair behind it. Bookshelves lined one wall, while some expensive painting was the focal point of the opposite wall.
The only light on in the room was a lamp in the far corner closer to the window, and Shaw crossed to look out at the lit-up back lawn, putting distance between us.
Unable to stop myself, I followed her. When I was within touching distance, I caught her hips in my hands and jerked her back against me. I felt her sharp inhale as she melted against me, and I lowered my head to kiss her exposed neck.
With her finally in my arms, my heart calmed down, and I just stood there breathing in her scent as I skimmed my lips up her neck to her ear.
I could feel her giving in to what we both wanted, letting us have what we both needed. My heart started pounding against my ribs for an entirely different reason, and I began to turn her so I could kiss her sweet lips.
But as soon as she lifted her lashes and met my gaze, I felt her stiffen. I saw the hurt and the anger that filled her baby blues, and my heart dropped into my stomach. Shit, I should have known it wouldn’t be this easy. Nothing about this girl ever was, and I loved that about her. But fuck, I just wanted us to be together.
“Dimples,” I started, but she stepped back, putting distance between us once again.
“No. I’m not playing this game with you, Jags.”
“Just give me—give us—a chance,” I pleaded. “I swear you won’t regret it.”
“Yeah?” she demanded skeptically. “For how long? How long do you even want there to be an ‘us’?”
“Until I draw my last breath,” I told her honestly, swallowing the lump that tried to fill my throat.
Her eyes filled with tears, and I knew she wanted to give in, but her fear wouldn’t let her. “What happens when Cannon comes home?” she asked in a shaky voice. “He won’t like us being together. It’s why all this bullshit happened in the first place. You chose him over me once already, Jags. You’ll do it again.”
“Never,” I vowed vehemently, cupping both sides of her face. “I swear to you, Dimples. I will always pick you. Over anyone or anything. You’re mine and I’m yours, baby. Just…let me show you.”
“I…can’t,” she whispered, her chin trembling. “I don’t trust you not to hurt me. If Luca can do that to Vi, then it will be nothing for you to do the same. I’m not like Violet. I’m not strong enough to survive it if you break my heart again.”
