Chapter 4 4

I could hear the words in my head, Eve had repeated them so often. It had really upset her, but eventually, she’d bounced back. She was too cool to be a cheerleader, anyway. With her black nail polish and dark red lipstick, Eve had an edgy, Goth style that didn’t mesh with Selena and Winter’s preppy polo shirts and denim cutoffs.

Selena tapped a pink talon to her lips. “And you thought you’d bring Bug with you? Brave choice.”

Bug. Irritation filled me, but I fought to keep it from my face. Selena was looking for a weakness, and I wasn’t going to give her one. I hated the nickname, though. I hated it. Give one presentation about why germs and bugs were cool and how you wanted to study epidemiology, and wind up with the most unglamorous nickname in the world. Lesson learned, a little too late, it seemed. Last time I checked, being terminally uncool wasn’t a crime, and yet I was still doing time for it.

“Whatever. I need a drink,” Winter interrupted from behind her friend, her beautiful blue eyes showing her boredom.

Winter was well named. She had an icy, aloof energy that never slipped. She really was made of ice. With her artic blue eyes, and white blonde hair, she was a snow queen made real. Her natural beauty was what Selena tried to imitate, but fell short. She was nearly as rich as Beckett, or so I’d heard, and seemed terminally bored with life. Selena rolled her eyes but let us past.

“Have fun at the party, Eve. You too, Bug.”

I took a long breath through my nose, channeling my inner Zen monk. Responding to Selena was a waste of time. Soon enough, I’d be across the country, making a fresh start at college in California, giving presentations about bugs to people who were actually interested. I couldn’t wait.

“Sorry,” Eve muttered to me as we entered the pool house.

“It’s not your fault Selena’s a bitch,” I reminded her. “Let’s just have fun and see what games they have here. Beating your ass at air hockey will cheer me up,” I teased.

She laughed, forgetting her bad mood. “Right, you couldn’t beat me even if Coach Williams was the ref.”

The main room was huge. It was insane to call it a pool house. It was really an annex of some kind. A small kitchen stood at one end, and several other rooms branched off the hall beyond the main room.

The music was quiet in here and the conversation low. The lights weren’t blaring, and there were plenty of soft, empty seats. I headed for one, just as the soft clink of balls at the pool table caught my attention. I glanced toward the table, wondering who else was hiding out in here, and froze.

Marcus Bailey, another one of the Ice Gods, was playing, along with someone else.

Someone new.

His silhouette was immediately familiar. He had dark hair, cut short, and his black hoodie was long gone, and beneath, a simple black T-shirt and jeans. His shoulders were just as broad as they’d promised to be when he’d towered over me in the parking lot. His ocean-blue eyes caught mine and held. He paused in the act of leaning down to take a shot. I froze in place while he abandoned his shot and slowly straightened up, his eyes boring into me. His mouth and angular, strong jaw were instantly recognizable, but nothing could have prepared me for the effect of his entire face. He was beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

He leaned on his pool cue, and those blue eyes narrowed. He knew I’d recognized him. He’d clearly recognized me, too. His gaze moved from mine, down to my throat, and then lower. He perused my body with a look so thorough, it was like a touch.

“Hot damn, who is that?” Eve whispered beside me.

I shook my head. “I have no idea.”

“I wonder if he’s the new ace. I heard that we’re getting a transfer student who’s going to win nationals for us,” Eve was saying, totally oblivious to the fact that I was caught in a staring contest with the guy across the room.

Her words took a moment to register. Wait, this guy was transferring to my school? No. Please, no.

School was awkward enough without adding another guy into the mix. Ugh, and a hockey player, too. He probably worshipped my father and couldn’t understand how cool Coach Williams had ended up with such a nerdy daughter.

A loud whistle cut through the tension. “Little Eve… the ultimate forbidden fruit. Does Asher know you’re here?” Marcus asked, smiling broadly at us. He leaned his fit body against the pool table and grinned. Marcus was the most approachable of the Ice Gods, which hardly made him less intimidating. He always seemed to be in on a secret joke, an ever-present smirk on his handsome face.

Eve flushed and folded her arms over her chest, tossing her black curls back. “He’s not my keeper. I’m a senior. He can’t tell me what to do.”

Marcus laughed. “Let’s see about that.”

“Leave her be. If she wants to party, let her party,” another deep voice cut in.

Beckett, the host, lounged in the corner, his feet up, phone in hand. He was the biggest of the Ice Gods, and his powerful body filled the chair. He had dark hair and gray eyes, which were usually filled with jaded distain. He was the kind of good-looking that made it hard to look right at him. He was just too much. He didn’t look at us, but I had the feeling that somehow, he was watching. It was an odd sensation. Regardless, despite the banter that ensued since we’d landed smack dab in the middle of the Ice Gods’ little hangout, the new guy held my attention completely.

“I-I forgot something in the kitchen,” I muttered to Eve and turned around.

Deep laughter rumbled behind us. Marcus. “Oh look, we scared Bug away.”

I left the pool house and headed around the pool. My face flamed and I wanted to take my jacket off but was self-conscious of my short dress. I went in the house and pushed through the crowd, heading for the kitchen. It seemed best to hide somewhere busy. As paranoid as it was, I had a horrible feeling that my parking lot stranger was going to follow me. He hadn’t seemed like he was messing around when he’d followed me to my car.

I burrowed into a busy group by the refrigerator and peeked around. So far, there was no sign of him.

“Wow, Lillian, I’ve never seen you at one of Beck’s parties before,” a voice said just beside me.

I blinked up at another player, my mind blanking on his name for a long moment.

“Hi, Josh, yeah, it’s my first time. Don’t tell Coach, okay?”

Josh Samuels was okay. He was kind of a suck-up to my dad and had gone through a phase where he’d tried to butter me up to impress him. It hadn’t worked.

“I won’t, don’t worry. Isn’t it his birthday in a few weeks? The team is going to get him a gift or something. I’m organizing it.” Josh gave me his golden retriever smile. My dad’s birthday, right. It was a little after mine and I already had his gift picked out.

“Nice. He’ll like that.”

“Who’ll like what?”

The deep voice behind me registered at the same time a hard chest pressed against my back.

Josh turned and looked up, and up again. “Cayden, man. How are you enjoying your first Hade Harbor party?”

I froze, my front squished against the counter. Cayden. That was his name? He was standing so close, I couldn’t turn without rubbing my entire body against his. It was busy in the kitchen, and Josh didn’t seem to notice that the new guy had pinned me to the counter with his hips.

“Beckett wanted you. He’s out in the pool house.” Cayden’s voice was rough, rasping over my nerves and sending my tension higher.

Josh immediately brightened, setting down his beer. “Really? Cool. Be right back.”

“Wait—” I started, but Josh was already gone.

“What’s wrong, Bug. You don’t want to be left alone with me?” His hands landed on my hips, and his fingers pressed in, sinking into my flesh. He was so tall, my head fit into the space underneath his chin.

“I-I don’t know what to say.” Stating the obvious was about all my overheated brain could handle.

“But you had so much to say before… what was it you called me again?” His voice dipped low, grim amusement coloring his tone.

“I don’t remember.”

He chuckled. “I think you do.”

One of his hands slid around my belly, and my insides trembled. What was he up to? Nobody touched me like this, especially not a hockey player. The new guy was breaking all my father’s rules.

“Lily! There you are,” Eve’s voice washed over me.

Thank God.

“What are you doing?”

Eve appeared beside me, just as Cayden released me and stepped back. I twisted around immediately, trying to put some distance between us. My gaze landed on his collarbones. His T-shirt was thin, it even had the odd hole in places. I couldn’t tell if it was strategic and designer or just worn. Either way, he looked hot.

“Eyes up here, Bug.” Cayden’s voice was just as hot as the rest of him.

“Don’t call me Bug,” I muttered instinctively, raising my eyes to take him in.

“So, you’re Cayden West? Big-shot ace, the one who’s going to take us to Nationals?” Eve smiled up at him without seeming to realize anything weird had been going on.

“So they say,” Cayden said shortly. “I saw Asher around. He just passed through.” He cast a look over his shoulder.

Damn. This guy caught on quick. He’d already managed to get rid of Josh and Eve with little effort.

Eve tensed. “Shit. I’ll be right back.” She looked predictably freaked out that her brother might appear.

She turned on her heel and disappeared before I could stop her. I was hot on her heels. Eve disappeared down the hall and into a bathroom. I made it to the hall before a hard hand closed around my wrist. Cayden tugged me to a stop.

“We weren’t done talking,” he snapped at me. His tone was far from friendly.

“What do you want?” The hallway was quiet, and no one else was waiting in line for the bathroom. We were alone. Heat crawled across my face as Cayden backed me into the wall and caged me against it.

“I want to finish our conversation from earlier, before you so rudely ran off.”

“Fine, whatever. I called you a parasitoid – it’s not that deep. A kind of insect that eventually kills the host it feeds off. It was a biology joke. It was lame. Let it go. Why are you so angry about nothing?” My voice rang in the air between us.

Cayden stared down at me, a deep frown creasing his forehead. He wasn’t smiling. His face looked hewn from granite.