Death of a Waterfall (The Hayden Falls Saga) (17 page)

"Do tell." Teghan plopped down on her bed.

Donnie sat beside her. He rubbed his palms up and down his pant legs. He knew it wasn't the best time to have a conversation with her. "Look, I don't know how it happened but--"

"Go home, Donnie," she mumbled, her words slurring.

"Not until you let me explain."

Teghan got off her bed, staggered to the mini-fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. "Want one?" Donnie shook his head no. She twisted off the top and drank half the bottle in one long swallow. "I'm waiting," she said.

"I tried not to tell him, but he just kept pushing and pushing. Next thing I know, he's punching me in the face."

"You promised!" she shouted. "You swore you wouldn't tell him. How could you do this to us? To me?"

Donnie hung his head and sighed. "I'm so sorry, Teghan." He got up, walked to her, and wrapped his arms around her. "Maybe this is for the best though."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Teghan pushed him away. "I knew it was a mistake to get involved with you." She pointed at him then the door. "Get out!"

"Wait a minute," he said. "You've been lying to everyone you claim to care about, and now you're getting pissed at me for being honest with them? That's a bit hypocritical don't you think?"

Teghan slapped him. "You're a jerk. A selfish, manipulative, jerk. I want you out of my room and out of my life."

"No." He shook his head. "I'm not going to let you push me away again. Not now. Not after everything we've shared."

Teghan walked to the door and opened it. "Get out."

He approached her. "I'm not leaving." They stared at each other in a silent battle of wills. "I know I broke a promise to you and I'm sorry, but I come here to fess up, to make things right and I find you with another guy. I'm the one who should be angry here, Teghan, not you." He crossed his arms over his chest. There was no way in hell he was leaving when he knew she was so angry with him--all though he still didn't know why she was so pissed.

"Fine." She swung the door closed.

Donnie hated the way her voice had flattened. "We can get through this," he said.

She faced him. "You wanna know the best part of Alex's message?"

He cringed. God only knows what Alex said. "No." He really didn't want to know, but knew he had to hear it.

"Alex said he still loves me, and that's why he made that bet with you. The one where you two bet me over a basketball game. You know the one I'm talking about, don't you, Donnie?"

Donnie looked at her, stunned. "What?" Of everything Alex could've told her, Donnie hadn't expected Alex to tell her that. Why had he? Surely it didn't look good for Alex either.

"Don't play dumb. I want to know what the bet was," she said.

"Does it really matter?"

"Yes." Teghan folded her arms across her chest and leaned up against the door.

Donnie sighed. "Alex and I bet on a basketball game. I win and I get to take you out. Alex wins and I walk away from you for good. It was just a stupid bet, Teghan. It didn't mean anything. We were drinking and…"

"Who won?" Donnie looked down at the floor. "Who won?" she repeated.

"Alex," he mumbled, wincing as Teghan's hand made contact with his face again. Gripping her upper arms, he pushed her up against the door, and crushed his mouth over hers, giving her a hard, daring kiss laced with frantic despair. A small moan escaped him as he felt Teghan lean into him, becoming pliant against his body. Donnie could feel she wanted him. He could feel it in the way she kissed him. He loosened the grip on her arms and dragged his hands up her shoulders and into her hair. "Teghan," he whispered, reluctantly releasing her lips. Donnie watched as Teghan fought to open her eyes. He adjusted his hands so they were on either side of her head, palms flat on the door.

"Stop!" She pushed him away and beat her fists on his chest. "You bastard."

"Stop it!" Donnie grabbed her hands and shoved her onto the bed. He straddled her, pinning her arms by her sides.

"It was never about me or your feelings for me, was it?" she asked quietly.

He leaned over and kissed her hard. "It's always been about you. You have to know that."

"I'm not a fucking trophy." She writhed beneath him.

"Fucking Christ, Teghan. Do you really believe that's how I think of you?" He eased up on her so that she could free her arms.

She pushed at him, but he didn't move. Her hands hit him again and scratched at his chest. Teghan lifted her head from the bed until she was inches from his face. Her eyes were nothing more than mere slits, her voice a taunting whisper, and her smile goading. "Yes."

"God damn you." Donnie felt the tips of his ears burn hot. She'd crossed the line with that one. "You obviously have no clue, do you?"

Teghan shook her head. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I've never,
never
, thought of you as a trophy." Donnie leaned down and kissed her again.

Teghan sat up on her elbows, meeting his mouth. "You're a terrible liar," she said.

Donnie glared at her. "What did you say?"

"You never
wanted
me. You
won
me." She laughed. "No, wait, you didn't win me. Alex did." She was furious with him, but everything south of her waist, was damp, dripping with desire. Why was she so aroused by the situation? It infuriated her that he had this kind of power over her.

"Is that what you think? That I don't want you? If I didn't want you, I wouldn't have bet you." He reached for his zipper and slowly pulled it down. "See this?" A strangled sound of pleasure tore from Teghan's throat as she watched Donnie's cock spring free from his jeans. It was hard and throbbing. Donnie grabbed himself. "Does this look like I don't want you? Huh? Even if there had been no bet, I still would've wanted you. I can't get enough of you, Teghan."

Teghan's tongue lashed out, licking the head. He tasted like a mixture of warm flesh, body wash, and a salty sweetness. It was intoxicating. She'd never given head before. Her lips closed around him, drawing him deeper into her mouth. Her tongue circled around the ridge as she sucked hard.

"Teghan... Ah, God, baby...fuck!"

She smiled around him. Oh, having this type of power over a man, this man,
her
man, was better than she could've imagined. "Mmm," she murmured while her fingers cupped his balls.

"I
want
you," he said as he pulled out of her mouth and curled his fingers around the waistband of her shorts, tugging them over her hips.

His word choice wasn't lost on her, and she knew he meant it, but he wasn't getting off the hook that easily. She lifted her hips to him and smiled. "Claiming Alex's prize, are you?"

"You're mine, damn it. Not Alex's." Donnie spread her legs with his knees and with one hard push entered her. Teghan sucked in a breath and wrapped her legs around his waist. She loved the feel of him filling her, stretching her, fucking her until she screamed his name. He put one hand flat on the mattress by her head, the other on her waist, and stared down at her as he moved in and out of her slowly. "Mine," he repeated.

"Yes." Teghan winced as Donnie's fingers dug into her hip when he started moving again. Hard and fast. She arched her neck and closed her eyes.

"Look at me," he growled. Teghan kept her eyes closed. His teeth raked across her neck, sending rasping flares of pleasure through her body. "Open your eyes, Teghan." She slowly opened her eyes. "Good." He smiled and kissed her firmly. "You are mine," he repeated the words each time he thrust into her.

"No," she half moaned half shouted. "I. Hate. You," she muttered, each word a staccato.

Donnie eased out of her. She propelled her hips up; the need to feel him plunging inside of her was so intense she didn't think she'd survive it. "Take it back," he demanded.

"No," she said, her voice was weak. "I hate you." The words were a breathless whisper. He shifted his weight into both of his arms and pounded her with jackhammer fast thrusts. "Oh, God, Donnie."

"You're the most impossible woman I've ever met," he panted.

Teghan grabbed his ass, the feel of it clenching beneath her hands as he started to spill inside of her made her dizzy. It was coming, fast, uninhibited, and beyond her control. "I...I..." she stammered.
I hate you!
Every time she said those words, she'd feel him push her just a little closer to the edge. Speaking them left a bitter taste in her mouth though, because God knows she loved him with everything she had.

"You feel what you do to me?" He moved faster, each forward plunge of his hips was with a purpose now. "My God, Teghan," he moaned. "Ahh, yes."

Her teeth caught his bottom lip and nipped it as they rode the waves of their orgasms together. "Donnie," she whispered. He buried his face in her hair. His heavy, erratic breathing tickled her neck. She giggled and squirmed beneath him, positioning herself so that she could see his face. She kissed his cheek and stroked his sweat dampened hair.

"Please don't push me away. I love you."

What the fuck? Had she just heard him correctly? Teghan shoved him off of her and rolled out of bed. She stood up, grabbed her bathrobe, and tied it tightly. "What did you just say to me?"

Donnie pulled up his jeans and buttoned them before pulling Teghan into his arms. "I love you," he repeated.

Teghan pushed him away. That was the last thing she wanted to hear from him. All of her anger, all of her fears, all of her pain came back full force. Hearing it made it real, and she wasn't ready to admit it yet. Admitting it meant a commitment that she wasn't prepared to make--at least not yet anyway. Tears trickled down her face. "You have no right," she said. "No right to say that to me. Not now. Not like this."

"Why the hell not?"

"This entire time, I thought you were lying to Alex because I asked you to, but in reality, you've been lying to him because you knew he'd won the bet." She turned her back on him.

"Teghan, please." Donnie put his hand on her shoulder.

Teghan spun around. "You bet me, like I was some goddamned prize to be won. And you didn't even win! Do you have any idea how furious Alex is about this?"

"I don't care," Donnie said. "Yeah, I know it was a shitty ass thing to do, not keeping up my end of the deal, but you are more important than some drunken bet I made with Alex."

"And what about your word? Your loyalty? Your friendship with Alex? You're really okay with pissing all of that away too?" Donnie reached for her and she slapped him again. "Don't touch me," she cried, hugging herself.

"Don't do this," he pleaded.

"Just leave."

Donnie picked his shirt up off the floor and put it on. He walked to the door, opened it, and stopped. "For what it's worth, Teghan, it was never about the sex. Not for me. And I know you don't believe me now, but I do love you."

"Go."

He walked over to her, took her face into his hands, and wiped her tears with his thumbs. "I'm sorry." Donnie gave her a gentle kiss. "When you calm down, give me a call. I'll be waiting for you." He turned and left her room.

Teghan grabbed the bottle of water she'd opened earlier and threw it at the door. "Shit!" She collapsed to the floor, tucked her knees to her chest and sobbed.

Chapter Fifteen

"Oh my God! Teghan!" Annabelle rushed over and put her arm around Teghan's shoulders. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Teghan buried her face in Annabelle's arms and sobbed. "No," she choked. "Donnie...he...and Alex..." She still couldn't fully comprehend everything that had happened. There was no way she could coherently tell Annabelle, but she had to try because she couldn't deal with it on her own.

"Okay, take a deep breath."

"It hurts so much, Annie. Oh God, why's it hurt so much?" Teghan cried.

Annabelle hugged her. "Shh. Tell me what happened."

Teghan took several deep breaths, sat up straight, and wiped her eyes. "Alex knows," she said. "Donnie told him."

"Oh, sweetie," Annabelle whispered.

~ * ~

The first week had been pure hell. She cried all the time, and obsessively checked her cell phone for text messages or calls from Donnie that never came. And the bruises on her hip from where he'd grabbed her were a painful reminder of their last encounter. Teghan sat at a table in the corner of the dining hall with Annabelle, Logan, and Harmonie. Her food sat on her tray, untouched. Her bottle of water, unopened.

"If I had known he was there to break your heart, I never would've left you alone with him," Logan said.

Teghan smiled weakly and thanked him, like she'd done every other time he'd said that to her. The insincere apologies and looks of pity were getting old. She just wanted everyone to leave her alone.

"The OTP Halloween party is this weekend," Harmonie said. "We should go."

"Thanks, but I'm really not in a partying mood."

"Too bad," Annabelle said. "You're going. It'll be fun, and it'll get your mind off Donnie."