Wild Card by Ashley Munoz

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Hey honey,nice of you to come.” My dad’s flat voice matched his flat expression and thin smile.

I didn’t extend a smile; even a fake one would have been a betrayal to Taylor. She’d said she had been sick this last week. I hadn’t thought too much about it since learning of my father and Decker’s role in hiding her arranged marriage and, of course, that horrific meeting at the school. She’d stayed here at the house with Jackie and my dad. I had almost caved and gone to talk to her, but I worried Taylor wouldn’t be honest with me if she knew my dad might overhear our conversation. Besides, it was rude to interrogate people when they didn’t feel good, even if it was painful to be home alone while my heart shattered and my world imploded.

“It’s your big event,” I finally muttered in response.

“Where’s your date?” He looked behind me at the door, as if a gentleman caller would materialize out of thin air.

I shrugged, eyeing the trays for champagne. “He bailed at the last second.”

The long sigh that left my father’s chest was like a reaction to learning he’d been abducted by an alien. The man who’d raised me would have never made that sound, or even insisted we have dates to begin with.

“I had a feeling you’d come alone, so I have someone ready for you.” My father tugged my arm until we were walking toward the sitting room. Ouch. Him assuming I wouldn’t bring one actually kind of stung.

“You what?” I tried resisting, but his grip was firm.

“This is Jeff.”

A tall, handsome man, older than me but it didn’t look like by much, smiled at me, dipping his head.

“Jeff, this is my eldest daughter, Mallory. Would you do us both an honor and keep her company this evening as her date?” my dad asked the guy in the five-piece suit.

His hair was molded so perfectly, I wasn’t sure it was even real. It made me miss Decker’s silky, loose strands. An ache opened in my chest, like my body had just remembered it’d lost an essential limb or organ and didn’t know how to function properly without it. He’d texted and called about a million times over the past week, left me notes and flowers on my windshield, all the while just asking that he get a chance to explain himself. He didn’t even know that I knew about the article, or that I had lost it.

My father was about to open his mouth, likely to put his foot there, but just as he was going to explain the need for me to have a date, the crowd moved and Taylor came into view. She wasn’t alone.

There on her arm was none other than Decker James.

* * *

In some strange alternate universe,I was tucked away in the corner with Jeff, actually grateful for his tree-like height and his presence. It allowed me the opportunity to watch the floor and all the guests without being noticed. I eyed Taylor first; she wore a floor-length dress with see-through mesh over the stomach and glistening jewels flowing down her legs like a fountain of wealth. It was beautiful and insanely obnoxious. I nearly looked down to compare myself to her, which was a habit I needed to break. I wore a fashionable dress that cut off at mid-thigh, the capped sleeves making it seem modest even with the plunging neckline.

I inspected the man attached to her arm in a clinical way. Mentally I told myself he was no longer a part of my life, but it was like looking at an amputated limb. I mentally noted that if I had said that out loud to Hillary, she would have slapped me for being gross.

Jeff sipped his drink, droning about shareholders. I nodded, keeping my eyes on the couple. In that same sleek, gunmetal grey tailored suit from the last time I’d seen him and with his hair slicked back, Decker wore a stormy expression, searching the room with interest and a whole lot of rage. Was that a…black eye? What in the heck had happened to him? His lip was cut in the corner, and his upper eyebrow had a stitch in it.

I watched in what felt like slow motion as Taylor spun until she was in front of him. Then, linking her arms around his neck, she gave him a kiss on the cheek, but it was dangerously close to the corner of his mouth. His posture was rigid and cold, like he really didn’t want to be there. That was the smallest mercy he could have given me, and I clung to it.

I was curious how long it would take him to notice me, curious if anyone would notice if I were to sneak out of the room entirely and catch a cab home. As soon as they had entered, I had taken the coward’s way out and grabbed Jeff’s arm, begging him to crowd the corner with me.

Decker’s mossy green eyes connected with mine as soon as the thought left my head. Locked like a missile, studying the target, waiting for instructions to detonate, he stared.

“Ah, there she is,” Dad said, breaking me out of my staring contest with the man who’d broken my heart. My father was holding my stepmother’s hand, and she wore a bright smile, making me slump into the wall as I realized they were going to force me to socialize.

“Mallory, darling.” Jackie approached wearing a gold wrap dress that made her blonde hair look luminescent under the lights. She really was very pretty to look at; I just wished her attitude toward me would match how nice she seemed on the outside. My mother had always warned me if someone was pretty to look at but ugly to deal with, then they were just plain ugly. It’s the inside that matters.

“Hello, Jackie,” I muttered, giving her a tight smile.

“Tell me, dear.” She tugged me out of the corner and slid her arm through mine. “Have you heard about this dashing new boy my baby girl has been seeing?”

I looked over my shoulder to see Jeff and my father engaged in a discussion. They were both laughing, so it must have been about something good.

“I hadn’t heard.” I searched for Taylor on instinct, forgetting for a second that I loathed her entire existence. How could she bring him as her date?

“Well, as you know, your father has wanted to see your sister take the family business more seriously, and that includes finding a suitable gentleman she could inherit the dealings with, someone who would look good on the cover a magazine, of course, along with providing deliciously gorgeous children and being a supportive backbone for our little girl.”

She’ll marry someone her own age…my father’s words came back with a hard knock in the heart. That paired with finding out Decker had known…my throat felt like it was swelling shut, and I hated so much of what Jackie had just said. My mind had picked up several words like stones on a beach, ready to toss them back into the bay, hoping they’d hit with a splash. Sister…inherit…little girl… I hated how she always acted like Taylor was my dad’s biological kid when she wasn’t.

He was my dad and her stepdad. That was just how it was, plain and simple. Jackie didn’t include me in their mother-daughter trips or their conversations or spa weekends, and yet here my stepsister was, on the cusp of inheriting my father’s business. I wouldn’t have minded if it was Taylor’s dream, if she really wanted this, but I knew her, probably better than anyone. She hid behind this thin composure of luxury, but deep down she was a quiet soul looking for purpose. I saw it in the way she tried different recipes and secretly stuck her nose in one of those historical books, and not the fiction kind. She loved reading about the history of America, especially during the early 1900s. She was more than all this.

My father’s phone call started to swirl in my head like a bad cocktail.

I had made it more than clear several years ago that I would never help run my father’s business in any capacity, not when I was still so hopeful about being a featured writer and landing the Kline internship. That idea tasted like ash in my mouth now. Maybe it was time to step up and help out…maybe it was time to be the dutiful daughter so it stopped falling on Taylor’s shoulders.

“Well, I haven’t seen anyone around, but I am happy for her. That sounds great.” I tried to seem happy, merely because it would make these conversations go smoothly, and ultimately, I loved my dad. But honestly, I had no idea what in the hell she was talking about. I hadn’t seen anyone around with Taylor, but we’d been so off since I had started dating Decker, and then with her sickness. I was so caught up with trying to connect what Jackie had said to what I had seen with my stepsister that when the doorbell rang, I honestly didn’t think anything of it.

Unless she meant…

She can’t mean Decker.

I grabbed a flute of champagne from a floating tray and tossed the entire thing back, all while fastening my eyes on the enemy. Jeff moved in behind me, a little too close for comfort. He was definitely playing the date role like he was up for an Oscar. My eyes tracked with Decker as he moved with Taylor, making introductions around the room. I hated how much I wished it were me standing there with him. My stomach twisted. Why were they doing this, acting like nothing had happened, and wasn’t she supposed to be marrying someone?

God, what if that was Decker’s ultimate revenge plot? Him marrying Taylor…it would rip my soul out.

I had nearly perfected the art of ignoring the looks Decker kept sending my way and how every time I moved around the room, he’d try to rotate toward me. Seeing him in a suit was just as heart-stopping as it had been the first time, but seeing Taylor on his arm all night was just too painful. She laughed and giggled at everything he said, and each time I found it harder to love my stepsister.

Finally, after nearly an hour of Jeff smiling and flirting with me, I noticed a familiar set of navy eyes that also had inflamed bruising. My feet halted as I took in the rest of his face, the swelling of his nose and the white tape across it, the purple bruising on his jaw. What were the odds of Elias and Decker both showing up bruised? Either they’d had a rough practice, or they had gotten into a fight. Even with the imperfections on his face, he was all swagger and grace with those broad shoulders and stacked muscles. His blond hair was styled neatly in a way that made it look swept back and over, almost like a movie star. After everything had happened the week before, I hadn’t even texted him back to tell him I wouldn’t be going. He had swung by my house to check on me, bearing flowers and some Chinese food. I’d accepted them, only because I was so confused about the roles everyone was playing. Taylor didn’t seem to trust him, yet she’d agreed to marry him. Or had she?

She had received that card, but I thought that was by chance…then Decker had said he’d handpicked the girl he wanted back there, but did that mean she knew about all of it? Decker still hadn’t told me about their past and what had happened, so I had no idea what on earth had really gone down. Truthfully, I was just unsure of how I felt about the guy. He had always been nice to me, so what motivation did I have to be angry with him? In fact, I should have just invited him as my date so I wasn’t stuck with handsy Jeff.

Elias’s eyes found mine, and a seductive smile lit up his face as his gaze seemed to travel the length of me, staying especially focused on my chest. I snickered into my drink; he was being so obtuse, and he knew there was zero chance of anything happening between us.

I smiled back, playing along, and when he got close enough, because the champagne had started hitting, I threw myself at him, clinging to his neck as if we were long-lost lovers. I kept laughing even as his hands went to my hips, gripping me tightly. It was meant to be fun, a joke, but before I could pull away, his lips suddenly landed on mine.

That…I wasn’t expecting, but even as the temptation to mess with Decker sat on the fringe of my mind, I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t kiss him just to hurt Decker. Instead, I pushed him away, dipping my head so no one would see the devastation I didn’t know how to hide. It was there in the middle of my father’s house that I realized with absolute certainty that I was in love with Decker James. He had lied to me, screwed me out of a story, and played me like a fucking fiddle, and yet…he still had my heart, and I had no idea how to get it back.

“What in the hell happened to your face?” I asked, jokingly running my thumb over the bridge of his nose.

“Just a rough day at practice.” He laughed it off, but I didn’t miss how his eyes flashed over my shoulder, where I knew Decker was standing. Something had happened between the two of them.

Elias brought his focus back to me. “Want to introduce me to your famous dad?”

My stomach churned as I considered the likelihood of him now playing me. He obviously already knew my dad, and who had invited him to this party in the first place? Setting the champagne on a traveling tray, I nodded and walked toward my father.

“Hey Dad, I want you to meet someone.” Right as we stopped next to him, a circle started to form. Some of Dad’s shareholders were there. Taylor came in next, and there on her arm was Decker. A few other friends and associates were there, listening and talking to each other, all vying for my dad’s attention.

Dad’s eyes narrowed as he watched Elias, which only confirmed that Elias was a big fat manipulator. Why would he want me to bring attention to him? Why pretend?

“Weren’t you and that Juan boy dating?” My dad’s left eyebrow shot up while his hard gaze landed on me. I nearly choked on my drink.

“Uh…no. Juan is my best friend, Dad.” My gaze briefly darted to the man I had been dating, hoping to see something register there, but he was stone cold. His jaw clenched tight, his arm wrapped around my stepsister’s waist. My fingers itched for more alcohol.

“Oh, well I just figured since he was always around.”

The circle watched us while my face burned.

“Hello, sir, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Elias Matthews.” He stuck his hand out, covering for me. My father slowly took it with a solid shake, but his eyebrows caved in like he wasn’t sure why he was shaking Elias’s hand. I didn’t know either. I hated politics and pretending. This was all ridiculous.

“You’re what to my daughter?” My father glared at Elias.

“Well…I’m not sure yet. We’re still discovering that for ourselves.” Elias looked over and smiled at me, and I nearly choked on my tongue. Why had he said that? Frozen, my heart thundered in my chest as I waited for Decker’s reaction. His mossy gaze caught mine like a jagged piece of glass. The hurt in them nearly robbed me of breath. The bruises on his face added such a brokenness that I wasn’t used to seeing. I wanted to reach for him, drag him away, and figure out what was happening there, but he’d hurt me. Lied to me. He’d promised me notes for a story he knew I wouldn’t be able to publish.

My dad’s jaw ticked, his eyes sweeping between Elias and Decker, and my gaze kept landing on the latter. My dad was like a detective, always knowing these little intricate things about me.

“Okay…well excuse us, we’re going to find—” I started.

“Well who do we have here?” Jackie came over, butting in and grabbing my dad’s arm.

Her eyes bounced from Elias to me, and the way they went wide and round, even her lips parted as she drank in the sight of my date. I mean, he was good-looking, but she looked as though she’d seen a ghost. I faltered for a second before making the introduction.

“Elias, this is my stepmom, Jackie. Jackie, this is Elias Matthews.”

Taylor’s eyes hardened on the way her mom was looking at Elias. There were some awkward vibes going on here, and I was starting to piece it all together. Jackie and Taylor were in on the arrangement and were shocked to see him here with me, the oldest daughter. What the fuck was Elias’s game plan here?

Taylor glared at me while her hand tightened on Decker’s arm. I had no idea why she was suddenly staring with such vehemence, but I was over this entire scene.

“Well, I’m going to give him a tour of the house. I’ll see all of you later.” I pulled at Elias’s arm, and we departed. I took my time, showing him the gardens and the kitchen, which wasn’t that amazing, especially because it was full of staff at the moment. Then we wandered to the garage.

“This is bigger than my entire house.” Elias laughed, running his hand over one of my father’s rare cars.

“We weren’t always rich…” I walked around the cars. There were at least twenty-five in this garage, and at least thirty more in the secondary garage. I didn’t have the heart to tell Elias this wasn’t the only garage.

I watched him move with a calculating gaze, unsure of how to broach the subject of my stepsister, or my father…or Decker. What in the hell was this guy’s endgame, and why was my family a part of it?

“So, are you going to try to move on anything with Taylor?” I asked, trying to see if I could get him talking. At the bar that one night, he’d mentioned having a crush on Taylor, which was obviously bullshit, but maybe I could get him to start moving us in the right direction so my questions wouldn’t seem so strange. We walked back toward the party, shoulder to shoulder.

“She came with someone else tonight, so maybe I should just let things be what they are.”

Not what I wanted to hear. This only made me think he had his sights now set on me instead of her. I would have preferred he take his creepy vibes away from my sister, but I didn’t want them set on me either.

He opened the back door for me; it was being guarded by one of my father’s security team.

“So, that’s it? You’re just giving up?”

He laughed, holding my elbow while we started upstairs.

“Come on, there’s no way you’d just give up your crush on her.” I jabbed him in the side.

“What about you?” He looked over at me as we passed my father’s study and wandered toward the library. “What would you do if I went to talk to her?”

I pushed through the large library door, feeling a familiar comfort in the finished wood. “This.” I turned in a circle with a smile plastered to my face.

He lightly laughed while watching me with an odd expression on his face. “How about this: I’m starving. Why don’t I go hunt down some food for us, and if I happen to see Taylor not talking to someone, I’ll talk to her. Then I’ll bring some food up.”

I slipped off my high heels, finally feeling able to relax. “That sounds amazing.”

“Okay, I’ll be back.” He hesitated for a second before walking out.

I needed something to read while I waited. I veered toward the back, where all the classics were hidden. I knew Ben-Hur was buried somewhere on the back wall. I didn’t even know why I was in the mood for it, but it was one of my favorites.

“Where is it?” I mumbled to myself, trailing my fingers along leather spines. The low lights in the library created a dreamy vibe with all the dark leather and lush rugs on the wood floors. It was comfy and, on rainy days, my absolute favorite space.

I was thumbing through a rare edition of Pride and Prejudice when I heard the door open and shut…then the undeniable click of the older latch falling into place, locking us in.

I swallowed thickly, wiping my hands on my dress. I didn’t want to be alone with Elias, especially if he was aiming for some fucked-up marriage ticket. Carefully walking around the corner, still holding the book, I asked, “Did you strike out already? I hope you at least grabbed some of those stuffed mushrooms.”

I turned the corner, gripping the book tightly, only to find Decker standing there, hands shoved deep into his pockets and his head lowered.

It was unnerving not being able to see his expression. I could sense he was angry. Down in my bones, I knew he was vibrating with rage that I’d been with Elias all night, but he didn’t get to be angry anymore. I hadn’t even confronted him yet about losing my story.

“Decker.”

His head rose, those tired, mossy eyes getting their fill by searching me from head to toe. The bruises on his face still made my breath catch. I wanted to know what had happened.

“Why?” he asked, voice raspy, and the look of defeat on his face nearly broke me.

I stepped forward, wetting my lips. As much as I wanted to talk to him, I didn’t want to hear how much I’d hurt him by being around Elias. I knew it was a small betrayal, but…

“You ended this.” I pointed between us. “You lied to me…made a fool of me, offering me intimate details about the Devils knowing I wouldn’t be able to publish a single word.” The words poured out of me in an angry rush, full of venom and hurt.

“I ended nothing,” he snapped. His eyes blazed with such fury that it made me snap my mouth shut.

I opened and then closed my mouth, feeling like the smallest breeze might topple me.

“And your story?” he scoffed, running his hand over his jaw. His eyes were wild as he watched me. He took a few steps back until he was pacing the lavish three-hundred-year-old carpet at our feet. “He took that from you.”

I flinched. “What are you talking about?”

“Why do you think I look like this, Mallory?” He pointed at his face.

I rolled my eyes, linking my arms over my chest. “Don’t even try. The lawyers told me you knew the entire time whatever information you gave me wouldn’t be useful because I’d be barred from publishing a single word.”

“Why do you think I was in the city that one day you saw me? You assumed it was for that fucking marriage contract, but it was for you! I was there seeing what my options were because I had promised you the story,” he yelled, his hair slicing into his eyebrows. I just wanted to walk over and push it out of his eyes.

He was breathing hard as he stepped closer, crowding me. “Elias is the one who demanded you get called down and have the story taken away from you. He’s the one who fed them the intel that you were at the party and demanded you sign an NDA.”

“Then why are you so angry at me? Did you forget who you showed up with tonight? That door revolved real fast, didn’t it, Decker?” I hated that my mind had begun pairing him and Taylor together again, that he’d gone after his revenge. It was all just in my head, but why else was he here tonight with her?

“You’re so oblivious.” He shook his head, his dark green eyes burning as they narrowed on me.

I faltered back a step at his intensity, my bare feet brushing against some of the cold hardwood.

“I watched you all night. All. Fucking. Night. And guess what, Mallory…so did he.” He slowly continued toward me.

“What…” I swallowed the lump of confusion down and tried again. “What are you talking about?” Then it hit.

Of course.

I knew exactly why he was upset; how could I be so stupid?

“You’re just pissed because his focus isn’t on Taylor, aren’t you?” I gestured toward the door at his back, raising my voice in hopes that he’d stop paving a path across the floor with his angry strides.

“You think I fucking care about that?” he roared, and I knew if this had been his house, he would have thrown something. My father had gotten that look on his face only one time, after he learned my mother wouldn’t make it through her surgery.

When he realized he’d lost her forever.

“Decker—”

“No. You don’t get it.” He shook his head slowly, defeat hanging around him like a cloud.

“Explain it to me, then, because you’re right—I don’t understand. You came here with Taylor. You stood on the street just a few days ago admitting that the reason you didn’t tell me you knew about Elias and Taylor’s arrangement was because I was so desperate you assumed I wouldn’t care.”

“You fucking kissed him!” Decker roared.

“Why did you come with her?” I yelled back.

Even if I could have argued that I didn’t kiss Elias, he’d already made up his mind. He didn’t get to set the rules then wipe them clean as soon as he realized he didn’t like how others played by them.

I stepped forward, not waiting for his reply. “Why didn’t you tell me there was a chance I might not be able to publish my article, especially knowing how dire it was that I write it? How could you not tell me you knew Elias was making that deal with my stepsister?”

“Because I’m fucked up, Mallory, okay?” he yelled in response, getting even closer to me. I could smell his spicy cologne. “I went after the only shot at getting revenge on the guy who’d fucked me over. He was my best friend for half my life, yet when my dad passed, he couldn’t even be bothered to show up to his funeral. All he cared about was the team, and those fucking card games.”

His chest heaved like he wasn’t getting enough air. I found myself oddly trying to match its uneven rhythm.

“You wanted to know what happened between us—fuck it.” He tunneled a path through his hair, gripping the ends. “He fixed the hit. I don’t know how he did it…I threw slow and easy, but he hit it in a way that made it land in my solar plexus. Knocked the wind out of me, so bad I couldn’t breathe. In the commotion, when I was on the ground, he stuck his cleat through my pitching hand.”

His eyes were wild as he explained. Mine watered in response.

“I wanted to take from him what he took from me. Before the night we met, I learned that he was injured and wouldn’t last long after his first contract if he even landed that. My uncle found out and knew he’d be looking for a different payout. Elias somehow found this opportunity by marrying into the Shaw fortune. I just wanted to mess with it, maybe ruin it, but I’m not a saint. I didn’t have good intentions.” He brought his hand to his head and began rubbing the stress out of his temple.

I wanted to say something, but my mouth had gone dry. What did I say to that? I finally knew his story, and now I wanted to throw up.

He flicked his eyes to me, his anger simmering lower as he stepped closer to me. “But…then you came along, and from the first time I saw you, I knew you were meant for me. You were stuck on repeat in my head for days. That’s why I was so pissed when I saw you in that parking lot, because I assumed you were leaving your boyfriend’s house. I couldn’t stop, so I pushed harder for the Taylor thing, and there you were again, in my life, and I was already so taken with you, I just couldn’t keep doing what I was doing. But…if you’re with him, Mallory…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I can’t fucking breathe at the thought of it. Hate me.” He slapped at his chest. “Hate me until the day you die if you want, but don’t be with him. I can’t see you with him.”

I felt his desperation, the heat in his words warming me, smothering me.

It was my turn to shake my head, but I felt tears begging to fall free as well. I wanted to shout at him, scream at him so he understood, but I knew he wouldn’t. I understood that Decker needed revenge in the only way he knew how to get it, and that was through this fucked-up idea to sleep with Elias’s girl. I was just collateral damage…a hiccup in the process.

“Is this just about the guy you hate going after the girl you like? Because he’s just playing me, Decker. It’s not real.”

“Who the fuck said I like you? I believe the words I told you were that I was falling for you, which was a joke. I’m gone for you, Mallory—done for. There’s no one else for me. You can’t tell me you’re that desperate for attention.” He glared at me, his square jaw ticking.

“Are you fucking serious?!” I cried, ready to throw a book at his dumb, stupid face.

“Just…please.” He grabbed my wrist, roughly pressing our bodies together until his forehead kissed mine. His throat bobbed while tears clouded his eyes. “Not him, baby. He’s dangerous.”

I pushed back the emotions clogging my chest. I needed clarity. He’d confessed so much, but I couldn’t get past the idea that this was about Elias diverting his attention to Decker’s favorite toy, and I was just collateral damage in their fucked-up dynamic.

“Right now, so are you,” I whispered.

I was two seconds from crying. If I cried, I would sob and fucking sob. I wouldn’t be able to stop. He was dangerous for my heart; he’d won me, and now he kept tossing me back in the pile like he was willing to bet it again.

Decker merely shook his head back and forth slowly, but I didn’t miss how he shuffled closer.

“I need you…”

“Don’t.” I moved away from him, toward the door, shaking my head. “You say you care, but it was only because Elias started talking to me in the first place that you decided to stop going after Taylor.” It was a buried truth that I had to pull out and examine, like a sliver that kept burrowing deeper and deeper. He’d completely ignored me, ghosted me, and while I may have hoped it wasn’t about Elias, after everything…I knew now.

“You can’t honestly think that,” he muttered into the slice of space between us.

I broke free of him, was nearly to the door with my hand on the latch when I felt a jolt in my back. A strong arm was a band of steel around my waist, pulling me flush with a heaving chest. Decker’s lips were warm, skimming the sensitive part of my ear, right next to my tattoo.

“You still don’t understand all the rules.”

My heart paced violently in my chest. I hated that I still wanted him, hated that I had ever since that first night. He had the moon in his chest, and my heart was the tide. We were connected and tied together while existing apart from one another. I felt panic flare as I realized it would always be like this. I’d always respond to him…need him.

“Which rules?” I breathed heavily, keeping my eyes lowered to the carpet.

With his left arm around me and his hand splayed against my stomach, he used his right hand to brush the hair away from my neck. He drew me impossibly closer until I could feel every hard line of his body pressed into mine, and…I bit my lip to hold in my groan when I felt his erection digging into my ass.

Decker didn’t answer; instead he skimmed the length of my neck with his nose, inhaling. Suddenly his hands were gripping either side of my hips, roughly holding me against him. My chest rose and fell in desperate bursts while his seemed perfectly steady behind me. I wanted to ask again, demand he answer, but I also wanted to know what he’d do next.

Fevered fingers drew the material of my dress up from my thighs, and I felt him barely ghost over my entrance. I tossed my head into his shoulder as he bunched the material at my waist, leaving me bare save for my lacy thong. I gasped at how quickly his fingers dug into the fabric along my hips, stretching it, and with one hard tug, they ripped.

“Hey!”

Decker spun me and slammed my back against the door. His eyes were still so wild, but there was something else there too, something unhinged…desperate.

“There are rules to the game, rules to what it is we’re doing. There are rules to all of this, and you don’t get to just walk away from me and decide you aren’t going to play anymore.”

His fingers came up to grip my jaw, and he angrily pressed his lips against mine in a punishing kiss. I loved the rawness to it. The anger, the rage. I bit down on his lip while he licked inside my mouth like he knew exactly how he’d taste me if he were to go to his knees before me. Once he released me, his lips stayed close to mine, his hands sliding down my hips and along my entrance. Within seconds he was already working me while his mouth devoured mine. I felt like I was shattering from the inside out from the burn of his kiss, the seal of his mouth on mine, the way his tongue delved in, begging me for things I didn’t fully understand…the way his fingers were buried inside me, owning me and demanding I come apart at only their bidding.

He leaned back scarcely an inch then roughly pulled the top of my dress down, exposing my bare breasts. His eyes devoured me as passionately as his fingers did when they were inside me.

The moon silently tugged the tide, my chest reacting to the thudding inside his.

I wrapped my arms around his neck while he hoisted me, my back digging into the door, his hand cupping my ass while I rocked against him. I yanked at his tie, ripping buttons and shoving his shirt off while he sucked and kissed along my jaw. His slacks…I needed his slacks gone next.

“Do you want me to fuck you against this door, Mallory?” He breathed the words into my ear, dipping down to capture my nipple in his mouth.

I made a sound of agreement, a hum, or something close to it. Words were a foreign idea at this point. My fingers tugged on the thin belt holding his slacks up, then I was careful with the sewn button of his pants, peeling the buttery material down until I could see the tip of his cock peeking out from his dark boxers. I pushed them down enough to grip his erection.

Yes.

“You want my cock inside you?” He lowered one of his hands and rubbed the tip along my slit. Half hanging against the door, I arched against the wood, needing it to dig into my back while he pinned me there. “Say it.” The crown of his erection nudged my entrance, and I considered that this might actually ruin me.

“Fuck me,” I demanded, rocking forward against him, needing him to fill me completely.

He pushed inside of me, so hard and so deep I let out some kind of pitiful moan or scream. Whatever it was, it had him grabbing me with both hands again as he pulled out then slammed back into me.

“So fucking tight.” He grunted.

He did it again, sliding out, only to slam in until his cock was coated with my arousal and I’d adjusted to his length.

Then we moved like crazed creatures about to combust. I clung to him as he pumped in and out of me, my back hitting the door with loud and obnoxious thuds. His grunts, my moans…if someone were in the hall, they’d know exactly what we were doing. This was madness. I wasn’t this girl who got fucked against doors or sat on a guy’s face the night after he told me his plans to fuck someone else. I hated that he drove me to this point of obsession, of proving how quickly I was unmade and rebuilt into his plaything.

My chest heaved up and down, my tits bouncing as he pumped ruthlessly in and out of me. It felt like he was punishing me for tonight, like he wanted our disagreement settled this way, and I was saying yes. Figuratively and physically, over and over again.

“Decker!” I gasped as my climax started in my toes, working up to my chest where I was hardly breathing, my head tossed back as undignified moans erupted from my lips. He matched me with groans, my name falling from his lips repeatedly like he was saying a prayer while he claimed his release. I wanted to cling to him, to hold him, have something serene and soft between us, not just wild abandon, but that felt like surrender and forgiveness, which I wasn’t sure I was ready to extend.

Decker’s chest still heaved heavily while he lowered me, then he adjusted my dress until it was covering me once again. He ducked away, quickly scanning the room. He found a box of tissues near the piano and tossed it my direction while fixing his shirt and tie. The only sound in the room was of shuffling clothes and heavy breathing.

Once I cleaned myself up, I searched for my underwear, only to realize belatedly that he’d ripped them; the remnants were being picked up by the man who’d just fucked me against a door. He shoved them into his pocket, watching me with a guarded expression.

“That isn’t how I wanted it to be for us,” Decker whispered, buttoning what was left of his shirt. His hand reached around me while he shook his head. The latch lifted while he seemed to contemplate his words. He was taking too long for me, so I ran my fingers through his hair to fix it.

“Then how?”

His thumb ran along my bottom lip. Before I could say anything else, the door opened at our back, forcing us to move to the side. Elias walked in carrying two waters, his face falling as soon as he saw Decker and me still entangled in each other’s arms. My confusion swirled and battered against me, making me wonder at his timing. He’d said he was going to come back up…but he didn’t carry any food with him.

I didn’t understand why my face felt so hot, or why it felt like I couldn’t get enough air.

Decker looked surprised, but it somehow didn’t settle the feeling I suddenly had in the pit of my stomach.

“So this is why you wanted me to come check on her?” Elias scoffed, shaking his head.

Decker glowered at him, holding my wrist. “Get the fuck out.”

“No, you wanted me to see this, right? After we fought tonight about the feelings I confessed having for her, you had to go and fuck her against the door, knowing I was on the other side.”

I was going to be sick.

“No!” Decker shouted, likely realizing how fucked up this entire thing was. “Baby, no that’s not…” He let me go, trying to face me.

I couldn’t meet Decker’s eyeline.

“Isn’t it?” Elias challenged.

“You came over to the team house, busting down my door telling me to back off your girl, and I explained that I had real feelings for her. Next thing I know, I’m getting this random invite to show up at this party tonight, and now this.”

I started for the door.

“Mallory, he’s lying. That isn’t what happened here. I didn’t invite him. I didn’t know he was out there.” Decker ran after me, but Elias stopped him.

“I think you’ve done enough,” Elias said before I heard the sound of skin hitting skin and someone grunting. I ran down the stairs as I heard someone’s body hit the floor, and then a crash sounded. They were fighting, and all I could do was hope the contents of my stomach would stay put until I found a bush or a garbage can.