Death of a Waterfall (The Hayden Falls Saga) (15 page)

At first, his rhythm was slow, making it difficult for her to know where he ended and she began. There was no her and no him--they were one--it was all her and all him, together, and in that moment she knew nothing else. She cared for nothing else.
I love you!
The emotion overcame her senses, and the words raced through her mind unbidden, but she refused to let them form on her lips. "Donnie," she muttered.

He took both of her wrists into his one hand, pinning them into the wet sand above her head. The full weight of his body was on her, the thick hardness of him filled her, pressed her toward the cliff of another orgasm. Slow and steady turned into fast and hard. She wrapped her legs around his waist, hooking her feet under his ass, and rode the motions of his body that were timed to perfection with the remnants of the small waves that washed over them.

"Teghan." He kissed her hard. "I love feeling you tighten around me, holding me inside of you."

His dark, explicit, sexually charged words had her bucking against him. "Donnie!" she screamed.

"That's it, babe." He bit at her neck, scraping his teeth along her sensitive flesh. His grip on her wrists tightened as she let herself fall into the abyss of sweet, physical rapture. Teghan quivered beneath his warm body as he came inside of her with one final, hard push. The thought that he wasn't wearing a condom was fleeting. She just didn't care about anything except the orgasm that was tearing through her. Moments later, they collapsed into each other, exhausted and panting. Donnie slowly eased his hold on her wrists, but she had no ambition to move them. "I have sand in some very unwelcomed places," she said.

Donnie laughed as he rolled off her. "C'mon." He stood and helped her up. "Let's go wash this sand off," he said, leading her into the water.

~ * ~

It was well after midnight when Donnie pulled up in front of Teghan's dorm. Her hand lingered on the door handle as she thought about how it was getting harder and harder to say goodbye to him. "Thanks for today," she said. "I don't remember when I've had such a fun, relaxing day."

"When can I see you again?" he asked.

She had half a mind to invite him up to her room and tie him to her bed so he couldn't leave. "Friday?"

"I don't want to wait that long." Donnie leaned across the seat and kissed her.

She held his lips to hers for as long as she could. "How about Monday then? I'm done with classes at two forty-five."

"I'll be here at two forty-six," he said with a smile.

Teghan laughed. "I can't wait." She pressed her mouth to his again, savoring the taste of him. It was going to be a long two days, and she wondered if she'd make it or not. She opened the door and climbed out.

"Teghan?"

"Yeah?" Teghan waited, for what seemed like several long moments for Donnie to say something.

Finally, he said, "Have a good night."

"You too." She smiled and closed the door.
That was it?
She'd expected him to say something...romantic or funny. It wasn't until he drove out of sight that she climbed the steps to her dorm and went inside. She closed the door and leaned up against it, letting out a long sigh, a dreamy smile on her face. Today had been so amazing. She didn't want to fully admit it just yet, but she was falling in love with Donnie.

"Where the hell have you been?" Annabelle asked, snapping Teghan out of her blissful mood.

"With Donnie. I told you that this morning." Teghan tossed her bag on the floor.

"I know that, but where? Trevor was looking for you, and Alex must've called a dozen times today."

Teghan plopped down on her bed and stared at Annabelle. She could feel the fear creeping up on her. "What did you tell them?"

"I told them you were at the beach with a friend."

She let out the breath she'd been holding. "Thanks, Annie."

"This is it, Teghan. I told you in the beginning I didn't want any part of this. You need to come clean."

"I can't do that." She shook her head. "Things are going so good with Donnie."

"You guys are sneaking around and lying to everyone. How can that be good?"

Teghan rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Really, tell me, Teghan. I don't understand why you're so hell bent on keeping this thing with Donnie a secret."

"I told you, I don't want Alex to find out." Teghan changed out of her clothes and slipped on a nightshirt before climbing under her covers. "I've hurt him enough," she muttered.

"You and I both know that lying to him is going to hurt him a lot more than if you were just to tell him the truth. Yeah, he'll be pissed, but he will get over it."

As usual, Annabelle was right, but Teghan kind of liked the secrecy. It made things with Donnie much more exciting. The thrill of getting caught was a powerful feeling. "I'm tired. Can we talk about this in the morning?"

"Fine, but I'm not letting you off the hook on this." Annabelle was silent for a moment, pretending to be angry and despondent. "So, what did you do today?"

"Drove up the coast, stopped at Crystal Cove, had a picnic, went swimming." Teghan yawned.

"Had sex," Annabelle added.

"Twice," Teghan mumbled.

Annabelle tossed a pillow at Teghan and laughed. "Must be nice. I can't remember the last time I had sex."

"It was incredible."

"Go to bed and quit rubbing it in." Annabelle chuckled.

"Shut up so I can." Teghan stuck her tongue out at Annabelle before rolling over and drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Thirteen

Alex lay on his bed, arms tucked behind his head, ankles crossed, pretending to sleep. He kept his eyes closed and listened as Donnie moved around the room, gathering clothes and shoving them into a duffle bag. Donnie had been doing that a lot lately, Alex realized. Sneaking around, disappearing for hours or sometimes all night, never saying where he was going or who he was going with. Ah, who was he kidding? Alex knew damn well where Donnie was going and with whom. It wasn't a coincidence that every time Donnie went MIA, Teghan did too. It had taken Alex a little while to figure it out, but once he had, he'd had no doubts. And the fact that each time Donnie had left, Alex had called Teghan, and she would either give him a reason why she couldn't hang out or she just wouldn't answer his call only solidified his belief. When he heard the door shut, Alex sat up and grabbed his cell phone. He called Teghan and she didn't answer. Big surprise. So he called Annabelle.

"Hey, Alex! What's up?" she said.

"Hey, Annie. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight. Maybe go get some food or something?"

"Sure. Pappy's?"

Pappy's had the best pizza in Hayden Falls, and he loved to eat there. "Sounds good. I'll meet you there," Alex said before hanging up. He stood and stretched his arms. Normally Annabelle would mention inviting Teghan and she hadn't, which only confirmed his suspicions. Alex could understand why Teghan and Donnie were lying to him. Not that he accepted it, but it was understandable. But Annabelle? Alex knew Teghan had told Annabelle. Teghan always told her everything. The fact that Annabelle was lying to him really bothered him. Although, after the way he'd acted that night he saw Teghan and Donnie kissing, Alex really couldn't blame Annabelle.

"Alex!" Annabelle shouted, running after him down Greek Row.

"Go away, Annie." The last thing he needed or wanted was Annabelle lecturing him about fighting with Donnie.

"No." She grabbed his arm. "What the hell happened back there?"

"I punched the fucker," Alex said, running his tongue over his now swollen bottom lip. "He was kissing Teghan.
My
Teghan."

"Alex, sweetie." Her tone was soothing. "She's not your Teghan anymore."

"Yes she is. I w--" Alex stopped. Annabelle would go through the roof if she knew Alex and Donnie had bet on Teghan.

"You what?"

"I want her back," he said averting his gaze.

"That's not going to happen, Alex, and the sooner you realize that, the better for everyone."

"No." He shook his head. "I can't just let her go."

"You don't have a choice."

Alex sat on the curb and dropped his head into his hands. He hated that Annabelle was right. But how could he just let Teghan go? He glanced over when Annabelle sat beside him, draping her arm over his shoulders.

"Look, I don't agree with what Teghan did tonight, but you can't go around punching every guy that she shows an interest in," Annabelle said.

"Why not? It sure made me feel better," Alex said.

Annabelle laughed. "Tell me that again tomorrow when your lip is so fat you can't talk. And your knuckles break open and bleed every time you try to move your hand."

Alex grinned and shook his head. "Always the optimist, aren't you?"

"I prefer to call myself a realist," she said with a big smile.

He looked at her for a moment, the way her wild red curls sprang out in every direction, the way her green eyes sparkled with amusement while hiding the pain she clearly felt for him, and the freckles that were sprinkled over her nose and cheekbones. He'd never really noticed those before. Just like he never noticed how beautiful Annabelle really was. Alex broke eye contact and looked down at his feet. He sighed. "Maybe I should just move on. Find someone to take my mind off of Teghan."

"I think that's the smartest thing you've said all night."

Standing, Alex extended his hand to Annabelle. She took it and he yanked her into his arms, wrapping them around her back, his mouth slanting over hers, his tongue tentatively slipping inside her mouth and for just the briefest of moments, Annabelle responded to him. Her tongue stroked over his, her lips locked against his, her body molding to his, and then just as quickly, she pushed him away.

"Damn it, Alex! What the hell are you doing?" she said.

"I'm sorry, Annie. I don't know what came over me."

"I'm not going to be
that
girl for you. I can't and I won't."

Alex blew out a breath. It'd been a split second decision to kiss her, and he wasn't really sorry for doing it. He'd always had a crush on Annabelle, even when he was dating Teghan. But, once again, Annabelle was right and Alex had screwed up. Maybe he was destined to be known as the guy who fucked up with women. "I know," Alex said softly. "I'd never ask you to be that girl, Annie. You deserve better than that."

Alex grabbed his car keys and left the dorm. He'd thought about that kiss a lot lately. Way more than he should. And he knew he should feel guilty about it, but he didn't. In fact, all he could feel was a sense of longing. Longing for what it might be like if he and Annabelle were together. It's not like Teghan could get angry with them--she was the one who'd started it when she started seeing Donnie. God, when did he become so petty?

~ * ~

Alex arrived at Pappy's Pizza to find Annabelle sitting in the same booth they'd always sat in when they went there during high school. He smiled and waved to her as he approached. "Hey, Alex," Annabelle said with a smile.

"Annie," he said sliding into the booth. "Thanks for meeting me."

She shrugged. "It's not like I had anything better to do."

Alex laughed. "Wow, that's harsh."

"That's not what I meant," she said with a laugh.

"I know," he said. Damn she looked good with her hair pulled back. He wished he could just enjoy her company, but he came here with a purpose. "I'm surprised you didn't bring Teghan with you."

Annabelle picked up the menu and opened it. "She had plans tonight."

"Oh yeah? Doing what?"

"Don't know. It's not my turn to babysit her," Annabelle said.

Alex heard the anger and frustration in her voice. Yup. Annabelle definitely knew what was going on. He took a deep breath. "I tried calling her right before I called you. She didn't answer."

She snapped the menu closed and set it on the table, a sardonic smile on her face. "Oh, I see," she said. "I'm your fall back."

Alex felt his face pale. "No," he said shaking his head. "That's not it at all." Dear god, the last thing he wanted was to make Annabelle feel bad or feel like she was less important than Teghan.

Annabelle chuckled. "Relax, Alex. I'm kidding. It's okay. I get it."

"Get what?" He didn't move when she reached across the table and put her hand over his. He liked it. Her hand was soft and warm. The urge to lace their fingers and bring her hand to his mouth for a kiss was overwhelming, but he resisted because he didn't want to piss her off again.

"It's always been about Teghan for you."

"Not always," Alex muttered.

"Excuse me?"

Alex sighed. He might as well be honest. No one else was willing to be. "I think about that night a lot."

Annabelle yanked her hand away. "That was a mistake, Alex. You were drinking and angry. The only reason you kissed me is to make yourself feel better about what Teghan had done."

"Maybe, but..." He scratched at his jaw. "I like you, Annabelle. I always have."