Fraud (Antihero Inferno Book 2) Read online

  Sawyer taps my shoulder in goodbye and jumps out of the car as soon as it stops, his long legs easily covering the distance to his car where it’s parked on the other side of the driveway.

  I’d only brought him to Emily’s to ensure grabbing Ivy would be as quick and quiet as possible, but now that we’re here, I have no need for him to stay.

  His taillights retreat into the distance as he drives off, another sharp crack of lightning splitting the sky just before thunder rolls over our heads, shaking the car beneath us.

  “The storm seems fitting, don’t you think?”

  Surprisingly, Ivy hasn’t moved from where she’s laid across the backseat, the bag still over her head that I thought she’d pull off immediately.

  She goes quiet at the sound of the storm and my question, her voice cautious a few seconds later when she says, “It’s best we don’t bring that up.”

  It really is.

  “Aren’t you going to pull the bag off and fight to escape?”

  “So I can see the woods you plan to chase me through? No thanks.”

  I laugh. I hadn’t planned on doing that, but now that she’s mentioned it...

  “Let me guess: the rest of the guys are here? How big is the gauntlet party? What’s the theme? And I’m not drinking that green shit, just so you know.”

  “We only do that when someone refuses to pay the price. And if I want to, I’ll hold you down and dump it down your throat.”

  “Well, I’m still not paying the price, and I’ll spit that shit back in your pretty face, so where the hell does that leave us?”

  Fuck, she’s stubborn.

  Always has been.

  “You think I’m pretty?”

  “Screw off, Gabe.”

  My lips curl. “No, actually, I won’t. I happen to like where this conversation is going. Tell me more.”

  Ivy growls and shuffles over the backseat to sit up, her hair a mess around her head when she tugs the bag off and looks around.

  “Damn it. We are in the woods. This is bullshit.”

  Twisting in my seat to look at her, our eyes meet just as another bolt of lightning tears through the night sky, the flash of it reflected in her gaze, just like a night that never should have happened.

  Ivy’s shoulders flinch at the sound, yet she says nothing, our silent thoughts tangled together as thunder shakes the car.

  “I hate storms,” she finally whispers.

  It’s hard to speak around the knot in my throat. “Why?”

  “I think you know the answer to that.”

  That’s a dangerous topic to bring up, yet both of us keep returning to that place, the violence of the storm around us forcing us back to a moment in time when our stupid pranks took on a cruel new meaning.

  My voice is rough when I say, “We should go inside before the rain starts.”

  Just like that, the skies open up. It would have been best not to mention it. Mother Nature hates when we’re together and does everything in her power to stop us.

  Maybe Ivy was right to say that we are the natural disaster. Not the storms. Not the turbulence. Not the lightning that cuts trees in half and sends us running.

  We are the devastation that was born on the day we met as children, our hatred of each other swirling in chaotic winds, our attraction cracking the sky apart on a spark that becomes a raging fire at the point where it strikes the earth.

  She wasn’t the person who set my house on fire that night. Nature was at fault for that. But I’d blamed her for it. And punished her.

  There’s a reason we never bring our families into this, the events of that night the biggest reason, and yet I’m the one who crossed that line happily.

  Then again, this woman has a way of pushing me to every extreme.

  “Bit late for that,” she jokes. “Guess we won’t be grabbing my bags either.”

  I grin. “It would definitely suck having to drag all sixty of them in through the rain.”

  “Seventeen,” she snarls.

  “My apologies for miscounting.”

  Forcing myself to break the stare down we’re having, I grit my teeth as I shove my door open and step out into the torrential rain. I open Ivy’s door and offer a hand to help her out, blue eyes tipping up to me with memories behind them.

  She has to raise her voice to be heard over the storm. “Such a gentleman,” she teases, her words daring me to do what we both want.

  I tug her out and shut her door, but when she attempts to step away, I pull her back to cage her against the car.

  Her near white hair is plastered to the sides of her face, both of us soaked already. I’ve seen her like this before, drowned beneath the rain, her eyes wide with both fear and desire.

  Fuck what Mother Nature wants.

  I’m no longer interested in her warnings.

  I’m taking what I should have taken all those years ago.

  “Only for you,” I answer honestly before my mouth claims hers in a kiss that shouldn’t happen and will only lead to disaster.

  Ivy

  I brace myself against what’s happening.

  Against the onslaught of memory.

  Against the collision of the past and present in a violent explosion that’s knocking my feet out from under me.

  The only reason I’m still standing is the car against my back and Gabriel’s body pinning me in place. My legs are shaking with fear. Not just for the lightning that continues to assault the sky, but also because I know what we’re doing will never end well.

  But we can’t help ourselves.

  And the truth is, we never could.

  The first night we kissed was the same one when I’d stolen his truth. The same one he’d terrified me and punished me for something I didn’t do.

  It was at another house party, just like any other. The gatherings were always the same mess of rowdy kids, the only difference was the locations.

  On that night, everybody was at Gabriel’s house since his parents were out of town, a multi-million-dollar mansion filled wall to wall with practically the entire junior and senior classes.

  As usual, the alcohol was flowing, red Solo cups in every hand, the air a giant smoke screen from all the pot being smoked.

  It was pure chaos, and I’d snuck in because Gabriel had banned me from his place. Not one to be socially ousted, I showed up anyway, and given the events of that night, I wish I hadn’t.

  If I hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t know the truth. And if I’d just stayed my butt home instead of trying to pull a prank, I wouldn’t have been terrified beyond measure.

  We wouldn’t hate each other as much as we do if I’d made a different decision that night. But the past is clearly written, and there’s nothing I can do about it now.

  After arriving at the party, I’d walked in like I owned the place, a bunch of kids laughing to see me because they knew some shit was about to go down. Gabriel and I never could be in close proximity of each other without a fight of epic proportions.

  I was prepared for the fight.

  Excited for it.

  And I had enough glitter and soap on hand to turn his pools (both interior and exterior), hot tubs, multiple fountains spread over the property and any other moving water source into a massive bubble bath.

  I often used glitter because the stuff is a nightmare and almost impossible to clean up. Imagining Gabriel angrily trying to fix it brought me immense satisfaction.

  We were still young, our pranks were stupid, but also nothing permanent. At least until that night they weren’t. After what happened, we started going for the each other’s throats, and our pranks grew into cruelty.

  It wasn’t until after I’d glitter soaped his pools, hot tubs and most of the garden fountains on one side of the house that I’d walked to the other.

  A storm had rolled in while I was in the process of fucking things up, the sky opening with sheets of rain when I rounded a corner to the west garden to stumble on a horrible sight.

  G
abriel was standing off near a private service driveway, a strip of cement that cut through the property but wasn’t seen from the main house. It was one of those roads that caretakers often use to keep from being burdensome on the property owners.

  Two cars were parked near where he stood, and three men got out while I was watching. The rain had already soaked Gabriel to the bone, his wavy hair slick over his head, his clothes plastered to his body.

  The men approaching him didn’t look much better, their faces revealed to me when a crack of lightning illuminated the garden around them.

  I recognized them immediately as William Cross, Peter Black and Joshua Kesson.

  All of us grew up around each other. All of our families somehow tied together. So it wasn’t difficult for me to recognize the fathers of the twins, Jase and Sawyer.

  What I didn’t understand was why Gabriel was standing in the rain waiting for them.

  At first, I thought they’d arrived to shut down the party since Mr. Dane wasn’t home, but that illusion was quickly destroyed when William Cross grabbed Gabriel by the throat and shoved him back toward the car.

  Pinning him against the back passenger door, Mr. Cross was yelling something I couldn’t hear, the other two men encroaching on either side of Gabe, their faces tight with anger.

  The chaotic wind of the storm stole their words away, so all I could see was what they did to him.

  I always thought the bruises on Gabriel’s face at school were from him fighting other kids.

  I’d never guessed how they really happened.

  After that night, I knew, and I wished for the next few years that I didn’t.

  Once they stepped away, Gabe dropped to the ground, his face swollen and lip split open, his eyes narrowed on the three men as they got in their cars and drove off.

  I should have left, too, should have snuck away without a word, but I was too upset. Too worried. All I could think about was the nine-year-old boy with the busted lip and bruised eyes. And I hated to realize what happened then as well.

  Gabriel was on his knees when I ran over to him, his emerald green eyes lifting to mine, his expression twisting with hatred.

  In that moment, we were small kids again.

  “But you’re hurt...”

  “You’re not supposed to see that...”

  I was never supposed to see it.

  I was never supposed to know what caused it.

  Gabriel hated me for knowing he could be hurt, for seeing the truth of his life, and I hated him for holding in all his anger and pain to take it out on me.

  He reached out before I could back away from him and pulled me to the ground. My back slammed down into a puddle as he crawled over to straddle me, his teeth clenched in anger and his stare narrowed on my face.

  I thought he was going to hurt me. Punish me. Make me feel the same way as him.

  He did.

  All of it.

  The words he said to me were razor sharp, the names he called me were vile. The way he gripped my throat like he would choke the life out of me stilled me in place with terror.

  I saw the true Gabriel at that moment, and what I saw broke me.

  But instead of hurting me physically, he stopped and stared down for what felt like forever. When he leaned forward and kissed me, it stole the breath from my lungs.

  I didn’t care about the blood on his lip when his tongue slipped into my mouth. Didn’t care about the rain and wind when his hand moved between my legs. I didn’t give the first fuck about the lightning that was striking down when his fingers were forceful against my jeans, the rough fabric abusive to my clit.

  I didn’t care.

  I didn’t want him to stop.

  But Mother Nature did.

  A bolt slammed down fifty feet from us to shear a tree in half, the cracking wood so damn loud as the trunk fell our direction.

  We didn’t move until the heavy weight of it slammed down and shook the ground, we didn’t break apart until the very end.

  Maybe it was shock that kept us in place. Or maybe it was the truth that we didn’t want to let go of each other.

  Even with how much we hated each other, we always refused to let go.

  Not that it mattered. Not that it could. The scent of smoke blew past us a few seconds later, and we turned to his house to see the first flames rolling off the roof.

  “What did you do?”

  I shook my head. Tears leaking from my eyes from the brutal way he’d kissed me.

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Liar!”

  Gabriel ran in the direction of his house, and I was left on the ground crying.

  That was the night our silly war became a legacy of cruelty. The next year and a half was spent hurting each other as much as we could.

  Do you see it now?

  Do you understand my warning?

  You were told the truth about him.

  You were warned not to believe him.

  But the only person you knew was Fraud.

  And if you didn’t believe me, I can’t blame you.

  I see him, though.

  I know him.

  Which is why I shouldn’t be kissing him right now in another lightning storm, at another house, on another night when all he’s done is hurt me.

  Yet that’s exactly what I’m doing. The storm is just as wild. And he’s just as brutal as he’s ever been.

  Gabriel’s hands cup my face as his mouth assaults mine, his tongue sweeping past my lips with desperation. I can’t take a breath for how violent his kiss is, can’t hear anything beyond the rush of blood in my head.

  Above us, the sky is split apart by lightning, the wind snatching at our wet clothes and hair like it’s fighting to rip us apart. Gabriel fights even harder to hold on, his fingers slipping into my hair as his body presses tight to mine.

  His erection is a hard ridge against my stomach, his mouth releasing mine as his teeth bite my bottom lip. I open my eyes to see the same person I saw that night with his hair plastered to his forehead and rain dripping down his beautiful face.

  Only this time, he’s not bruised and beaten on the outside. He carries all those scars hidden within.

  My head falls back against the car as his mouth explores lower, my hands moving to grip his arms as his head dips down, and he traps a nipple between his cruel, deceitful lips.

  He sucks so hard that a gasp escapes my throat, the thin cotton shirt no match for the power of his mouth.

  Gabriel’s fingers release my hair to grip my ass, his biceps bulging beneath my hands as he lifts me up so I’ll wrap my legs around his waist.

  The ridge of his cock presses against my clit, and I cry out at the sensation, his teeth biting down at the pulse point of my neck before his tongue sweeps out to lick the sting.

  Lightning cracks above us, the thunder fast on its heels, and I open my eyes to see the sky is nothing but heavy black clouds.

  “We should go inside.”

  Fuck. It’s difficult to talk, but I’m up against a big metal car with lightning striking all around. This can’t be the safest place to be.

  We joke about nature trying to stop us, but this is pushing our luck.

  “Why?” he asks as his lips lock on the lobe of my ear, his teeth punishing the skin a second later.

  Gabriel’s palm skims beneath my shirt and up my body, his fingers gripping the weight of my breast with fierce possession. When his hips move between my legs, stars burst behind my eyes, the bulge of his cock hitting just the right place.

  “Because we can die in this.”

  He grins against my cheek.

  “If it’s not the storm that kills us, it’ll just be an earthquake or a volcano. Hell, a sinkhole can open up and swallow the house. That’s just how shit works with us. Now shut up, and take off your damn shirt because I’m fucking you regardless of what’s happening around us.”

  Dragging the hem of my shirt up, he uses his body to pin me to the car as he rips the soaked c
otton up my arms and tosses it away.

  His mouth locks on my nipple, tongue flicking the painfully tight tip as I try to pull his shirt off.

  Bracing his hands against the car on either side of me, he pulls his head up for me to tug the shirt off, but I slide down the wet metal door and damn near hit the ground.

  “This isn’t fucking working,” he growls as he picks me up and carries me in the direction of the house.

  “Oh, thank God,” I pant, relieved that he’s getting us out of this storm. “Inside is much safer.”

  That damn smile of his stretches apart as he dumps me on the hood of the car.

  “Who said anything about inside?”

  Our eyes lock just before he tugs his shirt off then locks his hands over the sides of my pants to rip them down my legs. He’s pulling them off my ankles before I can open my mouth to complain.

  Taking that moment to stare at him, to truly see what he’s become, I marvel at the strength of his body, the ripple of muscle over his shoulders, the breadth of his chest that narrows down into a tight abdomen perfectly formed with a washboard of tempting ridges. My breath catches to trace the shadow of his oblique muscles and narrow waist, my mouth watering at the hint of what waits for me below his pants that hang perfectly from his hips as a tease.

  Gabriel’s hands grip my hips again a second later to tug me down the hood and lift my knees to lock over his shoulders.

  My complaint is lost the second his hands take aggressive possession of my hips again, and his mouth covers my pussy. When his tongue slides inside my body, I lay back on the hood, and my back arches up.

  “Oh, God....”

  I’m barely able to get the words out, my eyes snapping open to watch the sky swirling angrily above our heads. But Gabriel doesn’t care that the trees are swaying and bending around us, and the rain makes it impossible to see.

  His fingers grip tighter into the soft flesh of my hips, his lips closing down on my clit, the hard suction driving me so close to an orgasm that I can’t keep from sliding down the hood.

  Every time I almost slide off, Gabriel’s hand grabs my ass and shoves me back up, my knees tightening over his shoulders as he circles my clit with his lying tongue, and I can’t fight the orgasm.