A Fighter's Desire (Gloves Off 0.5 & 0.6)(17)

Thankfully, Gabriella didn’t hesitate. “Um … no, actually I don’t. We had a class together this morning, but that’s the only time I’ll see her until the afternoon at the apartment.”

Their voices were so much alike I couldn’t tell which one was speaking. “All right, well tell her we were looking for her. We need to talk to her about something.”

“Oh-kay,” Gabriella drawled out slowly. “I can’t guarantee you that she’ll call you, but I’ll tell her you were looking for her.”

“Thanks, Gabby. Tell your brother we said hey. We hate that he couldn’t come to the party the other night.”

“Will do, guys. I’m sure I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”

“You better,” one of them called out, their voice sounding further away.

“Are they leaving?” I whispered to Colin.

He nodded, but kept his gaze forward. A few seconds later, he lowered the book and both Gabriella and Bradley smirked at me. “You’re safe,” she giggled. “They didn’t suspect a thing.”

Colin slid his arm away from my shoulders and turned to look at me, his gaze concerned. “What exactly do they want with you?”

That was a good question. I wanted to know the same thing.

While quickly packing up my books, I sent a warning glare to Gabriella so she’d know I didn’t want them knowing anything about what happened over the weekend. “Nothing you would want to know, trust me. All right, guys, I’m out of here. I need to head to the library before my next class.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” Gabriella asked hesitantly. “I can walk you there before I leave to go back home.”

Getting to my feet, I took off Colin’s hat and gave it back to him, sighing. “No, Gabby, I’ll be fine. I’ll see you at home in just a bit.” I hurried off and waved them good-bye as I headed toward the library.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

I was curious to know what they wanted, but I knew it would only mean trouble if I did. The decision was simple enough … I wasn’t going to call. If they wanted to talk to me bad enough they would try to find me again.

And it just so happened that they did.

“Well, hello there, sexy,” a voice spoke out right behind me, making me gasp. Stopping mid-stride, I closed my eyes and held my breath, hoping it was just my imagination playing tricks on me.

When I opened them up, my fears became reality; both Ryley and Camden stood before me with smug expressions on their faces. I was right before when I thought Ryley was the one in the shorts and tank top because right above his left eye at the hairline was the small jagged scar. Camden was the one in the jeans, T-shirt, and baseball cap. It was uncanny how much they looked alike.

“You didn’t think you were fooling us back there, did you?” Camden asked.

His striking blue eyes were almost hidden below his hat, but it definitely didn’t hide the mischievous leer or the way he bit his lip. I glared at them both before walking right past them with my head held high. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop them; they both fell into step beside me, one on each side.

“I wasn’t trying to fool you at all. I figured you would’ve been smart enough to realize that I had no interest in talking to you.”

They both chuckled, but it was Ryley who spoke next. “When are you going to stop lying, Ashleigh? I already told you I don’t like it when people lie. I know you’re just as interested in us as we are with you.”

Keep walking, Ashleigh. Keep your head straight and don’t stop.

“Oh yeah, and how do you know that?” I snapped, picking up my pace.

Abruptly grabbing my hand, Ryley pulled me over to a secluded corner and blocked me in against the brick wall of the library. Other students walked by, but none of them seemed to see us in the darkened corner.

“What are you doing?” I hissed. They both stood in front of me with a hand against the wall, caging me in.

“We just want to talk. Do you want to know how I know you’re lying?” Ryley asked, moving his body closer.

He nuzzled my neck with his nose and breathed me in before placing a gentle kiss behind my ear. “I can see it in your eyes, angel. You may be able to lie with those luscious lips of yours, but your eyes tell me everything. I understand you’re pissed right now, but it’s not because we have you cornered, it’s because you want us and you’re fighting against it. What is it that you don’t want? Is it because you want something more and you know that’s not what we can give you?”

“No,” I huffed. “I’m not stupid enough to believe either of you could ever love someone enough to be faithful. Believe me, I’m in college and the last thing I want is something serious.”

“Then what is it?” Camden asked, leaning into my other side. With Ryley on my right and Camden on my left, I thought I’d go insane. They each had a hand on my waist, and both leaned in to kiss along the sides of my neck, gently grazing their teeth along my skin.

“I don’t want you to give me anything,” I whispered breathlessly. “I’m worth more than being just another mark on your belt that you forget. I bet you’ve already forgotten about the girl you f*cked after I left the other night.”

They both paused and pulled back. “There wasn’t anyone after you left,” Camden growled. “I think we made it perfectly clear that we wanted you. Just hear us out, and if you don’t like our proposition we’ll leave you alone.”