Fighting for Love (Second Chances #4)(31)
Caleb rubbed his jaw and winked at me. “You sure do have fire, love,” he teased. “I can see why he got all pissed off when I mentioned your name. Little did he know that I’d already had my lips all over your body by that point.”
Gasping, I stepped away from him and closed my eyes tight. No, no, no … it couldn’t be. Please tell me it’s not the same person. I was stuck in a nightmare that I couldn’t get out of. I felt sick to my stomach, and by the look on his face when I opened my eyes he knew I had begun to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Matt never told me the guy’s name, but he told me to be wary of someone. Except, Caleb didn’t look like the guy Matt described; his eyes were green and he had dark blond hair. What was I missing?
“He told you about me, didn’t he? I figured he would. Did he say stay away from the big, bad wolf with the two colored eyes?” Rolling his eyes, he reached in with his fingers and took out one green contact, revealing a lighter shade of green underneath, and then the other one which happened to be so dark it looked black.
“Surprise,” he boasted triumphantly, letting his contacts fall to the floor. “I guess it might be time to introduce myself. I’m Kyle … Kyle Andrews.”
Holy shit!
I felt like such an idiot. He utterly and completely had me fooled and I had no clue. If Matt had never come back into my life, I knew without a doubt I would’ve fallen for Kyle, and most likely slept with him, if he’d kept up his charade long enough. The thought of what that would’ve done to Matt infuriated the hell out of me. He would literally and seriously kill Kyle if he was here right now.
“Shelby!”
Oh, thank God, he’s finally here.
“Jace, I’m in here,” I shouted, rushing toward the locked door.
Kyle grabbed my arm before I could unlock it and turned me around. “You know this isn’t over, love. For what it’s worth, I really did enjoy kissing those lips of yours,” he murmured, lifting a finger toward my mouth.
Backing out of his grasp, I glared at him and smacked his hand away. “Fuck you,” I snarled. “You know, I’d be careful if I were you. You may have your connections in this world and be able to get away with the shit you do, but I can guarantee you I have more. Especially in the media, which would believe me any day over a pathetic scumbag like you.”
Incredulously, he lifted his brows and his smile faded. “Are you threatening me, love?”
“I don’t threaten,” I told him, narrowing my gaze. “That was a promise.”
Jace banged on the door and tried the handle. “Shelby, what’s going on? I got your text and Lexi said you were up here somewhere. If you don’t answer me I’m going to break down the goddamned door,” he shouted.
I glared at Kyle one more time before unlocking the door and jumping into Jace’s arms as soon as I saw him. Everything came crashing down once I knew I was perfectly safe. “Oh my God, Jace, get me out of here,” I pleaded desperately. When he let me go, I grabbed his hand and led him toward the stairs as fast as I could.
“What happened, Shelby?” he demanded.
Squeezing my hand, he stopped me before we could go down the steps. When he turned to look at the room we just left, Kyle stood there in the doorway with a smug expression on his face.
“What did you do to her?” Jace hissed.
Kyle smiled and shrugged a shoulder. “Oh, let’s see … I’m pretty sure it’s something you’ve never done with her. I heard you didn’t swing that way.”
“You son of a bitch,” Jace snarled, taking off after him.
Jumping in his way, I placed my hands on his chest and dug my heels in the floor to try to keep him back. His eyes were wild and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop him.
“Jace, stop!” I shouted, grabbing his chin so I could get him to look at me. “He didn’t hurt me, I promise. He’s just being a dick and trying to get you riled up. Please, just get me out of here.”
Pushing against him, he finally relented and put his arm around my shoulders, moving us toward the stairs. I needed to talk to Lexi and Hayley to figure out how Kyle could’ve found out about me and Matt, but I wanted to get home more.
ON THE WAY HOME, I told Jace everything that happened between me and Kyle, and also about the things Matt and I had been doing together. Thankfully, by talking to him about it, he became a little more open minded to the idea of Matt and I giving it a second try. I didn’t want it getting to the point where I’d have to choose between them.
Lexi called, freaking out, to see if I was okay, so I gave her a quick rundown of what went down. I told her what Kyle had said about Hayley, and if I wasn’t so shaken up I would’ve called her myself, but honestly, I didn’t want to deal with anymore at the moment. Lexi promised she never told anyone, including her sister, about mine and Matt’s past. I had no other choice but to believe her.
Jace also swore to me that he never told a soul about our past. Before we got to the house, I texted Matt and asked if he’d come over, but I didn’t dare tell him about Kyle. He was on his way to my house, so I tried to prepare myself before the shit storm. No doubt Kyle was chomping at the bit for him to find out. If I didn’t tell him myself, I was sure Kyle would find a way.
“Are you sure you want to tell him tonight?” Jace asked. “I understand you want to tell him first before Kyle can, but you know once you do he’s going to want to go after him.” Yes, I know, but there’s no choice. Kyle deserved to get more than just his ass beat; he needed mental help. I mean, who in their right mind gets off on tormenting others like he does? One word came to mind: psychopath.