Lust (The Elite Seven #1)(18)

I raise my eyes to hers. There’s a silence cloaking us, despite the music and chatter around us. It’s like we’ve been sucked into a vacuum and no one else exists.

The moment doesn’t last when a redhead saddles up next to her, almost startling her from the hypnotic hold I held her in. The newcomer offers Chastity a glass of what I assume is wine by the color, but she declines with a subtle head shake. The girl shrugs a shoulder and studies me with an intrigue I’m used to receiving from the opposite sex—hell, even the same sex.

“You know my best friend, Maggie,” Chastity snaps, narrowing those blues on me. I bite my lip and count to ten in my head to stop myself from throwing her over my shoulder and fucking all that defiance out of her. Looking to her friend, I try to conjure up recognition, but nothing comes to me. She’s shorter than Chastity and carries more weight around her ass and hips, which she crammed into too-small jeans.

“No, we haven’t had the pleasure,” the girl answers for me with a seductive purr, pushing herself forward and offering me her hand.

“Rhett.” I take her hand and give it a kiss, just to enjoy the tsking I’m gifted from Chastity.

“This is Rhett Masters, Maggie. Remember?” Chastity grinds out my name like it’s an offensive slur.

A hand snakes around my shoulder, and God crowds into my space, leaning in to whisper in my ear. “I need to take off for a bit. You good holding shit down here?”

“That’s Rhett Masters,” the redhead growls, pointing her pink painted nail at God.

God doesn’t even pay her any attention and just waits for me to nod my head in response to the question he asked. As soon as he has the confirmation he needs, he slips into the sea of people and out of sight.

“Huh. He didn’t even acknowledge me,” Maggie exhales.

“That’s not Rhett, Maggie,” Chastity informs her, annoyance in her tone.

There’s visible embarrassment coloring Chasity’s cheeks. Part of me wants to let her off the hook for hating on me today when in fact it was God her best friend hooked up with. But she brings out the pettiness in me, so instead, I fold my arms and shake my head at her. “Bet you feel pretty stupid right about now?”

The redhead looks between the two of us, then backs away. “I’m going to get us some drinks.” She slinks over to a bar set up on the other side of the pool area, leaving her friend and me in a stare off.

“You want to start your apology now, or do you need time to study how to?”

She turns to look at anything but me, folding her arms and prodding her inner cheek with her tongue.

“So, she made a mistake. It could have easily been you. You look alike,” she defends eventually.

Tutting my tongue, I purse my lips. “That’s a really shit apology and argument. You think that would hold up in court? He could have been the one to murder those people because he looks like the man who actually did it, so charge him anyway.”

Dropping her arms, she screws up her pretty features. “That got dark.”

“You’re dancing around the point.”

“That point is moot. You proved yourself to be a pig after the initial hook-up fiasco.”

Feigning hurt, I hold a hand over my heart. “Your words have the power to hurt, Chastity. Not me, because I think you’re a stuck-up bitch—but they could hurt someone, someday.”

A pain shoots up my shin, and it takes me a few seconds to realize she kicked me.

“Did you just kick me in the shin like a five-year-old?” I snort.

She balls her tiny hands into fists at her side. “Yep. Don’t call me a bitch. If I had a drink right now, you’d be wearing it.”

I open my mouth to accuse her of being a brat when arms encase my waist from behind and a warm, small body pushes against my back. Then a voice I recognize croons, “Romeo, Romeo where are thee.” Sunny Bishop slides around my torso and pins herself to my side.

“It’s where art thou,” Chastity scoffs, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Shakespeare.” Sunny laughs, loud and high-pitched “Who’s the textbook?” Sunny looks up at me, trying her best to offer me a seductive smile.

I haven’t seen her since school ended, and she’s all up on me like she’s my girl or some shit.

Turning on her heel to leave, Chastity smirks and mimes, “Bye, Romeo,” waggling her fingers.

Separating Sunny from my body, I push her away and reach for Chastity’s arm before she can flee completely. Her breath hitches as I swing her back to face me, our bodies almost touching. I can taste her scent infecting my senses and know it will refuse to leave long after she’s gone.

“You owe me something,” I remind her. Her eyes explore every inch of my face, then suddenly, she’s jolted from the side and falls. Wide eyes expand, and thick lips form a huge O as she tries to catch herself, but fails, pulling my arms down with her. It all happens too quick for me to react, to tighten my hold to save us both. In the next instant, cold water sloshes around us as we submerge, the liquid depths consuming us both and robbing me of breath.

I break the surface of the pool, gasping for air. My stupid hair sticks to my forehead and blinds me. Swiping a hand over my face to clear it, I search for her to surface. When she does, she lets out a shaky screech. “You pushed me.”