Perfectly Flawed (62 page)

“You see,” he begins, throwing me toward the
bed. I hit the mattress, bouncing once, twice, before I settle. “I
had this bet.” I scramble up, leaning on my elbows as he stalks
toward me. “This bet was about you.” He grabs my ankles, sliding me
down the bed, closer to him. I reach out, hoping to grab something,
hoping to keep away from him, but there’s nothing.

“Ryder, just—”

“No, no, no.” He places his finger over my
lips. “Just let me finish, babe. There was this bet about you and I
decided to take it.”

What’s happening? Why’s he doing this? I
could be running away, I could be fleeing, but there’s a part of me
too scared to move, a part of me frozen in time, waiting to see
what he’ll do.

“Ryder—”

“You don’t even know who placed the bet,
right?” His hand trails down my neck, down my shirt to the hem, his
fingers tickling the exposed skin beneath the gray fabric.
“Alexia’s always hated you. I don’t know why, but she was willing
to pay money to see you destroyed.” His head dips close, his nose
gliding across my cheek. I’m too stunned to move. “And I was more
than happy to oblige, baby.”

“
Don’t call me that
.” I push at him,
shoving at his chest, but he doesn’t budge.

He’s settled between my legs, holding one
knee to the mattress while his other hand snakes around my
neck.

“You want this.”

Before I could even tell him I didn’t, his
lips crash to mine so hard, his forehead slams against mine. I
reach my hands up, trying to shove him away, but he only pushes
harder, pressing against me, pushing me into the mattress. He
forces my lips apart, shoving his tongue sloppily into my mouth,
tasting heavily of alcohol.

I bite down, nipping at his tongue violating
my mouth. He leans back, letting out a yelp while his hand covers
his mouth. He pulls it back, spotting blood. He looks to me as I
try to scramble away, gripping my ponytail and yanking me back.

“Just shut up and it won’t hurt.”

Never tell, baby girl.

No, no, no… please.

“
GET OFF OF ME!
” I scream, hoping
someone in this crowded house can hear me. Ryder cuts off my scream
with a hard slap, the force throwing me back to the bed.

“RYDER, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” someone screams
from the door.

I sit up, facing the opposite direction,
fixing my glasses to my face.

“This is what you wanted, right?” I hear
laughter in his voice but I can’t focus. I taste blood and I need
to find the source. I need to get out of here. I need Zephyr. I
need Zephyr now. I clutch my hand to my mouth, pulling it away to
see if I’m bleeding. There’s no blood but I’m not that trusting.
“Look, we’ve got her where we want—”

A loud crash sounds through the air, a lamp
shatters from the bedside table, and I look up, catching Ryder’s
crumpled body as he lies in a heap on the floor. Footsteps vibrate
through me as someone stomps toward the seemingly lifeless body,
and I see Zephyr bending over, examining his work.

“Zephyr,” I croak. The last thing I want to
see is this.

I blink once, twice, three times, trying to
clear my vision. After the fourth blink, I watch Zephyr take a deep
breath, grab a groaning Ryder by the back of his hair, and throws a
punch directly to his nose. The sounds soars through the air, the
sound of flesh hitting bone, and I can’t breathe.

This shouldn’t be happening.

Scrambling up, I move toward them, watching
one punch after another, one painful hit after another, and no one
is stopping him.

“Zephyr,” I say, reaching out a hand. He
doesn’t hear me. “Zephyr,
please
, stop!” A sob escapes and
Zephyr’s hand drops, as does the bloody mass of Ryder’s head.

A shudder racks through my body and I drop to
the floor, not able to stand.

He turns, his hand dragging through his hair.
There’s hate in his eyes, there’s anger and something terrifying,
but it disappears when he sees me. Zephyr rushes to my side,
sweeping me up in his arms and cradling me against his chest.

“Are you hurt? What happened? Should you go
to a hospital?” he rapidly questions, his eyes searching my visible
skin for imperfections.

“I just want to go home.” I tell him,
everything I saw leaving my mind when he tucks my head beneath his
chin. “Please, take me home.”

He nods. Standing, he lifts me up by my arms,
steadying me to make sure I can walk. When I appear fine, he wraps
his arm around my shoulders and leads me through the growing
crowd.

“Joey,” Alexia calls. “Joey, please.” She
rushes to my side, her hands reaching for me but I recoil. I don’t
want her near me let alone to touch me.

“I think you’ve done enough,” Zephyr says,
angling me to avoid her.

“No, she needs to listen to me…”

“She doesn’t
need
to do anything for
you
,” Zephyr spits. He obviously heard Ryder’s brief speech
about the bet.

I stop, turning my gaze to her, ready to hear
what she has to say. Zephyr tries to lead me away but I won’t move.
If I
need
to hear this, I’m going to hear it. Then punch her
for good measure. Because if what Ryder said is true—and he has no
reason to lie to me anymore—she deserves so much worse than a
punch.

“What he said, it’s not
all
true.”

“All?” I ask. Yeah, she’s getting a
punch.

“Yeah, I wanted to see you hurt, but I never
wanted this.” She tucks her hair behind her ears, her eyes rimmed
red. Is she sad? “I’m sorry. It’s my fault, every bit of it. Truly,
I never wanted anything like this to happen. I just thought that
he’d…”

“You thought he’d what, Alexia?” It’s taking
all my effort not to lunge at her and rip her hair out. That and I
can’t really lift my arms. I’m sure my eyes swelling, I’m bleeding,
and she’s
sorry
?

“I thought he’d just get a good story,
something to ruin your reputation.”

The crowd’s thinned completely, leaving only
the three of us, and a snoring Ryder, in the room. I want so much
to be home right now, I want to be away from this, but part of me
wants to see what Alexia has to say. That part of me just wants
ammunition to take her out.

“If you haven’t noticed, my rep is pretty
shot.” I turn away from her, leading Zephyr from the room. I don’t
need this; I don’t need any of this. Parties aren’t my thing to
begin with but I did this for him because it’s what he wanted but
it’s just another thing ruined by Alexia Cavanaugh’s hatred for me.
“Take care of your
boyfriend
,” I tell her.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” she whispers
back.

“Then I guess you’re lucky.”

Zephyr leads me out.

***

I crawl into my waiting bed. I’m clean and
dry after taking the longest shower known to, well, me. The longer
I stood beneath the stream of scalding hot water, the more I felt
Ryder’s touch disappearing. My aunt’s at work and Zephyr’s sitting
on the edge of my bed, making sure I’m okay even when I tell him
I’m fine.

He doesn’t believe me.

At least my eye isn’t swelling, that’s a
plus.

“You can lie in my bed,” I tell him, reaching
for his hand. “You know, with me.”

He yanks it away, standing up and backing
away from the bed. “No, I can’t.”

“Zephyr.” I sit up, looking to my boyfriend
as he paces back and forth, his fists clenching and unclenching at
his sides. “I told you, I’m fine.”

“I should be punching his fu—”

“Zephyr Kalivas, no talking like that. It’s
New Years.” I reach out my hand like a greedy kid, wanting only one
thing.

He looks to me, the softness of his eyes
returning, and he reluctantly takes a step toward my bed, taking my
hand.

He joins me, snuggling beneath the blankets.
I drape my arm over his stomach, placing my head on his chest. The
soft
thump-thump, thump-thump
of his heart is enough to calm
my nerves. But add his hand drawing circles on my back and I’m
ready to do just about anything.

“I’m sorry about tonight,” I whisper to his
button-up, wishing I could change the last three hours.

“It wasn’t your fault.” I can hear the
bitterness of his voice. He’s right, I know that, but the last
thing I wanted to do was ruin our planned evening.

I let the words die on my tongue, never
releasing what I wish to say, and it’s okay. The silence
surrounding is comforting, relaxing, and I dive right, feeling the
warmth caress every part of me.

“Any resolutions you want to make?” I ask,
disturbing the silence developing around us.

“Nothing worth telling,” he answers. The
circles grow bigger. “You?”

“They’re a secret,” I whisper, smiling.

“Only for you,” he whispers to the top of my
head before pressing a quick kiss into my damp hair.

I lean up, looking at the boy in my bed. His
head resting upon my pillow, his arms draped around my waist, and
I’ve never
wanted
him more, I’ve never
needed
him
more. My only resolution for the New Year is to let everything go
and live without regrets. And my one regret is waiting to let
Zephyr in.

Something blooms within me, something strong
and south, something I’ve never really noticed before. It burns and
blossoms and takes control, and I can’t help it, I need to feel him
everywhere.

I lean closer, closer, closing the distance,
and press my lips against his, gently, tenderly at first, before
welcoming him in. His hand fists against the fabric of my t-shirt,
balling against my side. His other hands threads into my hair,
resting on the back of my neck.

Throwing my leg over his body, I feel him
pressing against my core, ready. And I think I’m ready. No, I know
I’m ready.

I think.

Want dissolves into need and need controls my
entire body beginning with my hands on the buttons on his shirt. My
hands glide over the sculpted muscles of his stomach, feeling every
ridge, every detail that I’ve traced time and time again when it’s
been just the two of us trying to discover everything.

His hands slide up my legs, electricity
scorching through every touch into my tender skin. I want him to
touch all of me; I want to feel his fingers everywhere. I want to
feel his skin against mine. He grips my lower back, pulling me
closer. I move against him, listening to his moan escape his
throat. It’s fueling my fire.

I slide my hands up the bare skin of his
chest, grabbing his neck.

“Joey,” he whispers as my lips near his. His
breath plays against my cheek, his breathing hard and fast as my
hands trail down his body, dipping lower and lower until I’m at the
band of his jeans, playing with the button, working up the courage
to unbutton it.

His hands slide up my sides, feeling scarred
flesh, feeling me and only me, and I love the fire from his
fingertips. Without thinking, I tug my shirt over my head,
revealing the lacy white bra I didn’t think he’d see tonight.
Zephyr’s eyes widen with the sight of me, and I can see his wish to
devour me whole. I can also see his chaste wish just to be with me.
In his eyes, I can see he truly loves me.

He flips me onto my beck, covering my body
with his own, and I grip onto him, pulling him closer, wanting him
closer. His chocolate eyes find mine as he touches his forehead to
mine, keeping his lips from me as his breathing evens out.

Zephyr takes this moment to let his eyes
scour my body. He licks his lips, his hands greedily gripping my
skin. “We don’t…” he pauses, catching his breath. “We don’t have to
do anything, Joey.”

“I know.”

He smiles. Gently, he presses his lips to
mine before trailing lower and kissing my stomach. Then again, and
again, until I realize that he is kissing every scar, every
imperfection on my body.

“Zephyr,” I moan out. His hair tickles along
my flesh as he nears closer.

I grab his shoulders, fisting the fabric of
his shirt in my hands until he takes the hint and tosses it aside,
leaning over me, slowly nearing closer and closer until I can feel
his soft breath against my lips. His knees part my legs and he
settles between, edging closer and closer until I can feel him, his
want, pressing against me.

“Tell me what you want.” His hand caresses my
cheek, soft fingertips trail down my flushed skin.

“I want you,” I moan out.

“Tell me,” he starts again, quietly. His
other hand grips my hip, pulling my body closer to his. “What you
want.” He presses into me.

“Z-z-zephyr,” I stutter out, shutting my eyes
as a sensation blossoms deep within me. It's hot and fluid, flowing
through my veins as he hovers above me.

“Yes or no.” His breath is hot against my
ear.

“Yes,” I breathe out.

He doesn't hesitate. His lips attack mine.
They nip and tug at the swollen flesh as he savors every kiss,
every moment between us.

He presses against me, I arch my back, and
the feel of his skin, soft and smooth, against mine is enough to
send me spiraling into a hazy daze. Zephyr's lips connect with my
chest, trailing soft kisses down the center of my body. I want to
beg him for more but my mouth refuses to make any sound other than
the guttural moan of desire. I bury my hands in his hair, pulling
him back up to kiss me while his hands fumble with the tie on my
shorts. Slowly, and tentatively, he slips his hand between the soft
pink fabric of my underwear and my skin, reaching until his hand
reaches the desired destination.

So beautiful…

Baby girl…

My eyes snap open, but it wasn’t Zephyr who
spoke. His mouth is too busy against my neck. I try and shake away
the odd feeling, but something dense falls to the pit of my
stomach, something I can't ignore.

You’re prettier than Mommy, you know,
the voice tells me.

No—no—no, I want to scream.