Unfiltered & Undressed (The Unfiltered Series) (16 page)

“I’m glad they did,” he said, his mouth meeting mine.

On my nightstand, his phone vibrated, and he groaned. I released him so he could stretch over the top of me to check it, and when he gave me an apologetic look I knew I wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “I’m sorry. I have to get home. I don’t have time to explain everything, but I live with my little sister.”

I sat up too. “Is everything okay?”

He leaned down again, and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’m sure it’s fine.” His brow wrinkled, as he tried to decide how to explain. “It’s a family disagreement. She’s just upset, is all.”

I didn’t tell him I knew Tess, or that I’d witnessed the scene in the alley, but if that was it, he was right, she probably was still upset. Their uncle was an asshole.

I admired the view as he tugged on his jeans and pulled his t-shirt over his head. I didn’t bother covering myself, and when he looked my way, he grimaced. “Fuck.” He ran a finger beneath my chin. “You are so fucking beautiful, you know that?”

I smiled because he wasn’t really asking me. And then he planted a decisive kiss on my mouth. “If I don’t get outta here now, I’ll never go. Just promise we can do this again…like, a lot. And swear you won’t tell me to stay away from you again.”

“Pinkie swear,” I told him, but instead of wrapping his finger around mine, he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and scorched my lips one last time.

‡

My head was still reeling when I finally got out of bed to grab a midnight snack. I was tender, but it was the kind of ache that kept the memory of what Will and I had done together at the forefront of my mind. Not that it was something I could have forgotten, since I could still smell that musky smell of him on my skin and I kept replaying every touch and kiss and stroke in my head. I couldn’t wait to do it again.

But when I reached the living room, and spotted my duffle bag, still sitting in the same place, right next to where Will’s toolbox had just been, I realized there was so much left unsaid.

“Crap,” I muttered, getting it out of the way even though there was little to no chance Emerson was coming home any time soon. How was I going to explain this? Maybe I wouldn’t have to. Maybe Will would forget all about the money.

Or maybe, I thought grinning wickedly, I could find a way to distract him if he brought it up again.

Just then, my phone chimed, letting me know I had a text message, and I forgot all about dirty money and secret duffle bags as I lunged for it, hoping the message was from Will.

Still thinking about tonight
, the message read.
Round two tomorrow
?

Unable to stop myself, I was beaming when I responded,
Maybe we can try a little glow in the dark action next time.

Anything you want
, he texted back, and when I closed out of my messages, I could hardly believe this was my life. The idea of a repeat performance had my toes curling already. If all guys could do what Will had done to me tonight, I understood why Emerson had been so adamant about me cashing in my V-card.

I was about to put my phone down when I saw the missed voicemail from Mr. Wall at the West Beach Rec Center. I pressed play to listen to it while I smeared cream cheese on my bagel. But I lost my appetite as the message played.

He’d called several hours ago, but between my run-in with Will’s uncle in the parking lot, and then my run-in with Will in my bedroom, I’d missed it. “Hey Lauren. We ran your background check through the local police department, and we just got a call back about it—something about an incident in Rio Verde. Anyway, I gave the officer who contacted me your number, and just thought you should know to expect a call from him.”

A boulder settled over my chest, crushing me.

An incident in Rio Verde. It couldn’t be. They didn’t know, did they?

My legs crumpled and I wilted into one of the kitchen chairs. I buried my face in my hands. This was all wrong. I was supposed to be safe here, away from everything that had happened that night. This was my do-over, my chance to start again.

I guess that wasn’t the way things worked; there were no clean slates.

And now, it seemed the police knew where I was. This changed everything, whether I wanted it to or not.

I didn’t know why I wasn’t more panicked, but somehow I’d kicked into survival mode. And by the time I was finished packing and putting the finishing touches on what would need to be taken care of once I was gone, I ran my hand over my ponytail and let out a cool breath.
Everything would be fine
, I assured myself, and believed it.

Kicking the duffel bag under Emerson’s bed, I dropped a note on her pillow, locked the door behind me, and disappeared into the cab that was waiting outside for me.

WILL

It took me way too long at the courthouse, getting all the paperwork squared away, and it was hard not taking out my phone every thirty seconds to check it. Something that was completely unlike me. It was official, one night with Lauren and I’d turned into a thirteen-year-old girl. It was tough not to feel bent that she hadn’t bothered to text me once during the entire day.

I’d have to make her suffer, just a little. Maybe even beg.

Fuck! Just thinking about Lauren beneath me, begging for mercy, made me hard all over again, and then I was the one who was suffering. I shifted, trying to stop thinking about her full breasts and the way she’d whimpered my name as she finally let go, but it was damn near impossible.

Last night had been the best night of my life, hands down. I almost couldn’t wrap my brain around the fact she’d been a virgin, and I probably shouldn’t feel like a goddamned conqueror, but I did. For whatever reason, she’d decided to give her virginity up to me, and I damn sure wouldn’t give her the chance to regret that choice.

From the first time I’d laid eyes on her, I’d never wanted someone so badly. I wasn’t used to being the pursuer. I’d always been the one making a quick getaway before whatever poor girl I’d been sweet-talking just hours before finally came to the realization that all she’d been to me was another notch. I’d always been the one dodging tearful phone calls and stalker-y texts.

But now that I finally had Lauren I had no intention of fucking it up.

The whole money thing still bugged me. I mean, who the hell keeps a gym bag full of hundred-dollar bills hidden in their ceiling? People with something to hide, that’s who. I didn’t care what her secrets were though, as long as she was willing to let me help her keep them with her.

As far as I was concerned, she was mine now, and that meant that if she was in some sort of trouble, I planned to do everything in my power to protect her.

My attorney came out of the clerk’s office and handed me a file. “It’s official,” she said, looking from me to Tess, and back to me again. “You now have sole legal custody of Teresa Christine Gabaldon.”

“Tess,” Tess corrected automatically, but her eyes were brimming with tears as she looked up at me. “So does this mean he can’t hurt us anymore? No more threats?”

“I told you to trust me; I was taking care of it.”

Tess squealed and threw herself at me.

“Thank you,” I mouthed to Amanda Connors, the attorney I’d hired to handle my custody case when Camden turned my final offer—the money I’d made selling my surfboard and everything else I had worth a shit—down. Instead, I’d used the cash to hire Amanda, after she’d assured me I had a real chance. There had been a risk that the court would swing in our uncle’s favor, once and for all, but I’d had to take it for Tess’s sake. I couldn’t let Cam hold this over our head’s forever.

Amanda raised one dark brow and gave me a look I recognized all too well—the one that said we should take our celebration someplace private. And if it were any other time, I might have considered her offer. She was fine as hell, especially with the whole lusty lawyer vibe she was giving off. But right now all I could think about was getting Tess home safely and getting back to Lauren so I could drag her ass to bed. I didn’t even care that I sounded like some sort of Neanderthal. If I had a club, I might have considered using it.

I pretended I hadn’t noticed the look, and without letting Tess go, I extended my hand to Amanda, making it clear we were on a handshake-only basis. “I can’t thank you enough.” Tess finally released me.

“Yeah. You’re a lifesaver!” she gushed, reaching out for her turn to shake the attorney’s hand. She was completely clueless about the disappointed look being directed my way.

As we left the courthouse, I dropped my arm around Tess’s shoulder. “Lifesaver, huh? A little dramatic, don’t you think? I always figured if worse came to worse, you’d be able to hold your own.”

Tess looked up at me and frowned. “I wasn’t talking about me, dumdum. I meant if I’d had to live with Uncle Camden, I’d have smothered him with his pillow in his sleep.” Her eyebrows ticked up. “Your sexy lady attorney literally saved his life.”

I laughed, even harder because I’d been wrong about Tess not picking up on Amanda’s suggestive glances and her take-me stares. “Jesus Christ, I gotta stop thinking of you as eleven. You notice everything, don’t you?”

“You mean like the fact you’ve been moping around for the past few weeks like someone ran over your dog?”

Grimacing, I nodded. “Yeah, like that.”

We reached the truck and I unlocked her door. “All I know for sure is, whoever she is, you two must’ve worked things out, because you’ve been halfway decent all day. Feel free to thank her for me.”

Tess got in.

“And what makes you so sure I’m not in a good mood because of the good news we just got?” I asked.

She reached for the door handle. “Nope. It’s a girl.” Right before she slammed the door closed, she said, “And she must be somethin’ else because you’re what we like to call ‘in love,’ my friend.”

Muttering to myself as I walked around to the driver’s side, I climbed in beside her. I couldn’t believe how transparent I was, or how close to home Tess had hit with her assessment of my recent behavior.

But love? I didn’t know about that. It was too soon to be in love, wasn’t it? I knew I couldn’t stop thinking about Lauren and the things I wanted to do to her, and that I wanted to take care of her, and that every protective instinct I possessed had kicked into overdrive the moment I’d unzipped that duffel bag of hers.

“I’m not in love,” I protested as I started the engine. “And I’m not your friend either.” I grinned then, just a little, as I flashed her a wry look. “In fact, I’m pretty sure these papers here officially make me your father, which means I can officially ground you now.”

Tess reached over and slugged me in the arm. “Yeah, that’s never gonna happen. But keep it up and you’ll have to sleep with one eye open.”

‡

I felt like kind of a douche showing up with an armload of flowers like this. When I’d stopped at the flower stand the lady started drilling me with all kinds of questions about what kind of flowers my girl liked best, and the thing was…I had no fucking clue. So I bought a bouquet of each, ten in all, each wrapped in this plastic cellophane crap.

But now that I was standing here, the gesture seemed less thoughtful and more like something a nervous sixteen-year-old would do on his first date, which was exactly how I felt. My palms were sweating, my legs were restless, and I couldn’t find the courage to even knock on the door.

If this was what love was all about, then why on earth would anyone sign up willingly? This blew—hard.

After a brief pep talk, during which I reminded myself I’d faced some of the fiercest waves known to man on my surfboard, and that girls were constantly giving me both their numbers and their panties, I finally rapped my knuckles against the weathered wooden door.

When Lauren’s blond roommate answered and her eyes dropped to the pile of flowers I was holding, I felt as exposed as if I’d been standing there completely undressed. “Will?” she frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“I mean, I just thought you knew…” She shifted nervously and gave me a look that made me feel like I’d missed something important. “Lauren’s gone.”

“Gone? But that’s her car.”

“She left me a note…and the car,” she explained, still doing that wince-thing. “But she was gone when I got here this morning.”

“Did she say where she was going, or when she was coming back? Have you tried calling her?”

She shook her head. “I found this.” She held up the remnants of a broken phone, which I assumed was supposed to be Lauren’s. “And from the note she left me, I got the feeling she isn’t planning to come back.”

“I don’t understand.” I dropped the flowers. But suddenly I
did
understand. This was why she hadn’t texted or called me. “Why would she do this?”

“Come inside, I think it’s time we have a talk.”

LAUREN

I stared out the window at the crystal blue lake and the fields, lush and green now that summer had descended on the Rockies. The still waters reflected the mountains like a canvas, and even though it was July, there were still veins of snow visible in the high, far-off peaks. It was like staring at a portrait, and I wondered how I’d never noticed the breathtaking view before. I’d spent so much of my life wanting to be someplace else, to live some other life, that I’d somehow forgotten to appreciate the one right under my nose.

Not anymore though. Now, my parents’ mountain cabin, and the view from the enormous windows, was exactly what I needed. Being here would give me the chance to plot my next step, and maybe, if I was lucky, I might even get over Will.

My eyes burned at the thought of him, and I wrapped my arms even tighter around myself as I tried to shove the memories away. I hated that I couldn’t even think of him without falling apart like a baby. Did I really believe I’d just wake up one day and my feelings would, what, just vanish?

I’d been stupid to let myself get attached, to let him burrow into my heart. I knew better. There was no room in my life for distractions like Will. Not yet. I needed to put some time and distance between myself and that night at The Coffee Cave, otherwise I’d forever be looking over my shoulder, wondering when my past would catch up with me.