Filthy English (22 page)

At six, Axel came over with a bottle of Patrón, several pizzas, and a couple of the fraternity little sisters. Even though classes didn’t start until Monday, sorority rush had been going on and, as usual, several of the girls had been hanging around the Tau house.

I’d dropped by a few times to check in on how rush was going, but since I wasn’t president this time around I didn’t have any pressing duties. I’d walked through the entire house, feeling a little detached. It was odd. I mean, I’d spent four years living and partying at that house. With my charm and penchant for a good time, I’d brought the girls and pledges in by the droves. I liked everyone, and ninety-nine percent of the time, it meant nothing, just a way to pass the time. I may have sucked at my GPA, but my friend list was extensive.

Yet . . .

Something in my gut said I’d moved on from the Tau shenanigans over the summer while helping Spider, or maybe it had begun sooner. After Declan met Elizabeth, I’d witnessed firsthand what they had—love and unicorns and rainbow crap.

Part of me longed for that too. My forever girl.

Axel, the two girls, Declan, Elizabeth, and I finished eating pizza as the doorbell rang. I glanced at the clock. Seven on the dot. Of course–Remi was punctual as shit.

Declan arched a brow at me. “She’s here.”

“This is going to be interesting you living with a girl,” Elizabeth murmured. “Want me to get it?”

“I got it.” I wiped my mouth with a napkin and stood, taking my beer with me. Time to deal with reality.

When I opened the door, Remi and Hartford stood there with several boxes at their feet. The sun had already set and it was nearly dark, but I saw they’d come in a Toyota truck filled with furniture. Hartford’s silver Lexus SUV was parked behind it with several boxes inside.

“Hey,” she said, following my eyes. “I borrowed Lulu’s truck.”

“And she would be the only girl I know who drives one,” I said, forcing a smile.

Her lips twitched. “Yeah, she’s a country girl underneath all that craziness.”

I nodded.
Okay
. See, we could be civil. I sucked in a breath and willed myself to relax. Best way to do that was to not look at her, so I directed my attention to Hartford. “Let me grab Axel and Declan and we’ll help you out.”

“You don’t have to,” she said.

“I want to.”

She paused. Looked at the ground then back at me. “Okay.”

Hartford’s brow wrinkled as his eyes went from me to her.

After calling for Axel and Declan, we went out to the truck with Hartford and carried in her iron bed, nightstand, dresser, and boxes of clothes. Even with going up the stairs, it only took an hour to get things situated where she could start unpacking.

Hartford went down to grab the last box from the truck while Axel and Declan put her bed together. I carted the box labeled
Bath
and put it on the floor in her loo. I riffled through it. Curious. I pulled out some hair thingies, a round brush, a small bag of make-up, and generic shampoo. Compared to my extensive list of styling products, hers was seriously low maintenance. I opened her deodorant and sniffed, looking for her scent. Nope. Rummaging to the bottom, I pulled out a small bottle of perfume, but it didn’t smell like her either.
Dammit.
I was jonesing.

The door opened. I flipped around, tossing the bottle back in the box.

“What are you doing?” Remi asked.

“Nothing. Helping.”

“By sniffing my perfume?”

“No, that’s stupid,” I snapped.

“You were going through my things.” She shut the door and leaned against it, and it was the first time I’d looked at her in the light since she’d arrived. Her eyes looked red.

I scowled. “Have you been crying?”

A pause. “No. I’m just tired.”

I didn’t care. I put my shoulder against the wall, letting my gaze move over her and eat her up.

“You never came back to the hotel,” she said quietly.

My jaw clenched, and I felt my face redden.

A wrinkle grew on her forehead, a confused expression on her face. “Wait. Are—are you angry with
me
?”

“Have you fucked him?”

Her face paled. “Don’t ask me that.”

“You did.”
I gritted my teeth, rage simmering.

“Your question makes no sense . . .” She stopped, her lips compressing. “I don’t have to explain anything to you. Not like this. You’re acting weird when you’re the one who
never
showed up. You got what you wanted and left. It was a total redo of my freshman year, only this time, you were the one walking away . . .” Her voice hitched. “As far as I know, you planned the entire thing. Did you?” Luminous blue eyes searched mine.

“You don’t think much of me, do you?” I shook my head.

“I did.”

I glanced at her left hand. “You’re wearing his ring.”

“He wants to work things out—”

“Can’t you make up your own mind?” I sneered.

“Don’t . . .”

“Don’t what?” I took a step toward her. “Am I supposed to wipe you from my memory now?”

Fuck. I wanted to
.

“Why do you care?” she asked, her voice rising. “I’m just like all the rest. Easy come, easy go. Right?”

I glared at her.

She gripped the doorknob, her knuckles white. “I—this is a mistake. You obviously have a problem with me, and we won’t be able to get along—”

“Too bad you already signed the lease agreement.” No way was I letting her walk out my door.

Her eyes glittered as she angled her chin at me. “Sue me.”

Flattening my hand against the door behind her, I leaned down to her neck, my nose sliding up her throat. She smelled like that fucking scent I’d been dying for.
Sugar.
I wanted to lick her from head to foot. Instead I sucked in a shuddering breath, steeling myself against her.

“You don’t intimidate me,” she whispered.

“Oh yeah? You’re shaking, Remi,” I breathed into her ear. “Are you thinking about us in that hotel room? Are you thinking about how much better I am than Hartford?”

She pressed herself even further against the door, her chest rising rapidly. “What . . .”

“I am, aren’t I?”

She gnawed on her lip.

I wanted to kiss it.

She covered her face. “Stop—”

“You know how I know I’m better? Because any guy who’d leave you at the altar—any guy who’d let you
live with me
—isn’t a fucking man. He’s a goddamn pussy.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed. “Please . . .”

My mouth kicked up in a wicked grin. “Better yet, let’s have a repeat of the hotel room. Why don’t you get down on your knees right now and wrap those tight, wet lips around my—”

She slapped me, and I stumbled backward, my arse landing square on the toilet. God, I deserved it, but I couldn’t stop.

I smirked. “Damn. If you wanted me to sit down, all you had to do was ask, angel.”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “You call everyone that and I hate it.”

Shaking it off, I shrugged and stood back up and faced the mirror, checking my appearance as her eyes spit fire at me. I pretended to be bored as my fingers fixed my hair. My hand trembled and I dropped it to my side.

My reflection looked like shit.

I had bags and shadows under my eyes.

My head hurt.

I needed a fucking lobotomy.

My gut was all twisted.

Confused.

Angry.

“I don’t even know you anymore,” she mumbled, shaking her head.

Welcome to my world. I didn’t know who I was since London either.

She made to open the door, and the voice of sanity permeated my thick skull. “Remi . . .” I grabbed her arm, but immediately dropped it at the scathing look she sent me.

“What?” She crossed her arms.

I rubbed my forehead. Exhaled. “Stay—please. I know you need a place for you and Malcolm. I promise, I’ll barely be here. I’ll spend a few nights at the Tau house and maybe Declan’s. Classes start Monday, and I want this settled. I know you do too. If—if it doesn’t work out, I’ll refund your rent and you can find somewhere else.”

“Don’t you have someone else coming to look at it tomorrow?”

I closed my eyes. “I lied.”

“Why?”

“You know why,” I said.

A knock came at the door, Hartford’s voice behind it. “Remington? Everything okay?”

DAX WALKED OUT
ahead of me, his voice blasé. “Had to put some things on the high shelf in the closet for
Remington
.”

He paused and glanced from me to Hartford. “I’m headed downstairs for a drink. Either of you want anything?”

Hartford sent me a questioning look, and I shook my head.

“No, I’m going to finish up my bedroom now,” I said. It was decided. I was staying.

“Whatever.” Dax sent us a backwards wave and bounded down the stairs two at a time. Axel had already gone downstairs since we’d been in the bathroom, and over the railing, I watched them fist-bump as two giggling girls came down the hall from the kitchen. I recognized them as Tau little sisters although I didn’t know their names. Dax threw an arm around each of their shoulders.

And so it begins . . . Dax and other girls.

God.

How on earth would I be able to handle seeing him with someone?

You have to. You’ve done it before.

But, but . . . it was different this time. We were different.

No. You still have Hartford,
my head reminded me.

“Is there tension between you and Dax?” He’d followed my eyes.

“No, just school starting. You know how anxious I get.” I smiled. “I haven’t even gotten my planner filled out yet.”

He nodded, looking uncertain. “Okay, but let me know if anything changes . . .”

“He said he wouldn’t be here much. I’m fine.” My voice sharpened at the end, and I immediately felt guilty.

Pivoting around so I didn’t have to watch Dax, I went into my bedroom. Hartford followed. Declan and Axel had finished getting the slats and the mattress on the bed, my dresser was against the window, and someone had even put my clock out on my nightstand.

Hartford came up behind me and wrapped solid arms around me, and I leaned back into him, needing comfort from my confrontation with Dax.

We stood that way for a while, each of us silent, until he said, “I’m not happy about you living here, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back on my side. This is just a bump in the road. We’ll get married as soon as you want to. Maybe after graduation?”

I turned to face him. “Maybe.”

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Want me to stay the night?”

“Soon.” I smiled.

His head came down, his lips taking mine gently, and I kissed him back, opening up to him. He slid an arm around me, pulling me down on him as he fell back on the bed. His hand cupped my bottom. “God, I’ve missed you, babe.”

“Me too.”

He kissed me harder, sliding his hand up my back and unsnapping my bra under my shirt. Deepening his mouth over mine, his hand caressed my breast and I stiffened.

He pulled back and stared at me, letting out an exasperated sigh as his arms dropped to his side. “What’s wrong with you? You haven’t let me near you since we broke up.”

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, Hartford.” I rose up to sit on the edge of the bed. I fixed my bra. “And there’s a lot going on today.” Truth. We’d driven Malcolm back home to my mom’s before loading all the furniture. All I wanted to do right now was curl up in my bed and go to sleep. I rubbed my eyes.

He sent me a disappointed gaze but stood. Bending down, he brushed my forehead with warm lips. “I’ll head out so you can get some sleep.”

I nodded.

We walked out the door and down the stairs to an empty den. Wandering into the kitchen, we saw Dax and friends out on the covered patio outside.

“Let’s see what they’re doing,” he said, taking my hand.

I stiffened. “Why? I mean, you don’t even like them.”

His eyes narrowed. “If you’re going to live here, it’s a good idea if I’m on friendly terms with your landlord.”

I didn’t buy that for a minute, but I followed him.

We walked out the back door onto the patio. I didn’t see Elizabeth and Declan anywhere, and I assumed they’d already taken off, but Axel, Dax, and the two girls were there, sitting on a wicker sectional with blue cushions. A coffee table was in the middle with a bottle of Patrón on it. As we approached, I watched Dax pour a shot-glassful and toss it back.