A Dose of Pretty Poison (Pretty Poison Trilogy #1)

by Kelsey Clayton

I look down at Cam and chuckle as he groans in pain. And to think he has a thing for that girl.

It’s not like I’ve never noticed that Laiken is gorgeous. My eyes work just fine. But after hearing her confession last night, it’s like there is this extra light shining solely on her, making her brighter than everything else and demanding my attention. And I can’t find the damn switch to turn it off. See, there was a time where I couldn’t take my eyes off her. When Cam and I first started hanging out, she would walk into the room, and I could think of nothing else. But my friendship with Cam grew stronger, I convinced myself that it was just a puberty thing. That it wasn’t her per se, but the fact that she was a pretty girl, and I was full of raging teenage hormones. And now she’s making a liar out of me.

Friends are there to get you out of situations you don’t want to be in. Best friends, however, laugh at you when you get yourself into said situations and only step in when absolutely necessary.

“Uh, you good?” I ask her. She shakes her head. “You finally get your date with Hayes, and Craig goes and ruins it. Now I have to hurt him, and I don’t want to break a nail. I just got them done.”

“I’m going to do something, and I need you to trust me, okay?” She takes her bottom lip between her teeth and nods. “Okay.” I don’t let myself hesitate for a single second as I pull her in and cover her mouth with my own. It’s supposed to be quick—soft and simple—but when she wraps her arms around my neck and arches up on her tiptoes to get closer, I can’t help myself. The hand that isn’t on her cheek moves to her lower back and holds her close as we both deepen the kiss. The second her tongue tangles with my own, the taste of strawberries and vanilla is all I can focus on. In this moment, we’re not in the middle of a party, she’s not my best friend’s little sister, and I’m not kissing her for the sole purpose of making her ex eat his words. No. In this moment, she’s mine.

“So, tell me,” he starts as we meet in the middle of the room. “How are my sloppy seconds?” I put my tongue in my cheek and chuckle dryly before grabbing him by his jacket and slamming him into the railing of the stairs. Some people gasp while the majority just stop and stare. “Jesus Christ,” Craig says. “Chill the fuck out, bro.” Not your fucking bro. “Hand over your phone, shithead, or this is only going to get worse for you.” “All right, all right,” he mutters and takes out his phone. I rip it out of his hand and instead of going to photos, I go straight into settings. It’s bad enough that he’s letting his friends get ahold of pictures that were always meant to stay private. I absolutely refuse to betray her by seeing them too, even if it’s just to delete them. Within thirty seconds, his phone is in the process of being factory reset, knowing he hasn’t used the cloud since the day he almost got expelled for being caught with the answers to one of his final exams. “The fuck did you do that for?” he whines, snatching his phone back. “I had shit on there I needed.” “Should’ve thought about that before you threatened someone I care about,” I sneer. “Any other copies of those get out, I’ll smash your phone and feed you the pieces. Got it?”

We both stay quiet as we walk toward my truck, until I see Craig’s 1970 Chevelle. The paint is absolutely destroyed across most of the car, and Laiken looks at it like it’s her life’s work. “I take it that’s your artwork?” I ask. She smiles in a way that’s entirely too innocent for the last ten minutes. “I gave it a makeover. He should be thanking me. It has character now.” I laugh, knowing he deserved it. “You’re insane.” Her one shoulder raises in a half shrug as she reaches the passenger side of my truck. “I wanted to set it on fire, but Mali said that was a little too much, even for me.” For the love of fuck. “Remind me to thank her.”

Trying to tell her it meant nothing to me would be pointless. There’s no way he could kiss me and it not mean something. But she doesn’t need to know that said kiss caused me to go home and have a depressingly realistic dream that we were happily married with two kids and a house in Barbados.

Hayes Wilder would be fucking lucky to have you on his arm.”

There isn’t a single thing I haven’t tried to get my thoughts off Laiken. Dead puppies, naked grandma. I’ve done it all. And still, I woke up on Cam’s floor this morning to find a tent in my pants big enough to fit a family of five.

Giving her a cocky grin with my tongue in my cheek, I walk backward toward the door. Just before I leave, I slip the two fingers that were just deep inside of her into my mouth and let the sweet taste of her pussy overtake my senses. Her jaw drops as she watches me, and with a wink, I turn around and leave her to replay everything that just happened on a loop inside her head. God knows I will.

“Fucking hell,” he whispers. “I don’t stand a chance when it comes to you, do I?”

If she knew how far out of my league she is, she wouldn’t give me a second glance. Laiken Blanchard is in a category all on her own. Not only is she unfairly gorgeous, but she can insult you and have you apologizing for it later. A lethal mix of beauty and badass. The guy who ends up with her will be a lucky son of a bitch, but it won’t be me. Once she gets past this image of me that she has in her head, she’ll move on and end up marrying some rock star or billionaire. But that doesn’t mean it won’t grind on my nerves.

“I want you, okay? When you’re around, I can’t seem to keep my eyes off you. And when we’re alone together, I lack even the most basic fundamentals of self-control.” He takes a step closer and puts his hands on the counter in front of me. “But no matter how crazy you make me, at the end of the day, you’re still my best friend’s little sister. We can’t cross that line.” Forcing myself to look away from him, I roll my eyes. “Oh, fuck off.” His brows raise in surprise as an involuntary laugh slips from his mouth. “Excuse me?” “No. You’re not excused,” I sneer. “You can take your moral compass and your shitty excuses and shove them up your ass because that line you claim we can’t cross? You obliterated it the moment you sucked my cum off your fingers.”

“Laiken is going to teach you and the rest of the team skills that will make you better on your skates. Today, you’re all taking lessons…from her.” Fate has always had a way of laughing in my face, and it must have teamed up with Karma for this one. The timing of this couldn’t be worse. Laiken hates my guts—rightfully so—and now I have to spend the next three hours with her. Oh, and her brother, who can’t know there is anything off between us.

Her hair is thrown into a messy bun on the top of her head, and she’s wearing a pair of shorts and a hoodie, but fuck, she looks so good. Maybe it’s the way she keeps putting me in my place, or that I’ve been desperate to see her since the moment she stormed out of the shop, but it’s so easy to get lost in everything she is.

I hate every goddamn thing about this. The way he has all her attention locked on him. The way he plays with a strand of her hair. The way her whole face brightens as she laughs at something he said. I’m not a possessive person. A girl once tried to hook up with Cam to make me jealous, and all it got her was me tossing him a condom and telling him to have at it. But watching her with him feels like I’m living in my own personal hell.

“Hey,” I growl. “Keep your eyes on the ice.” He scoffs. “The fuck is your problem?” “As long as you stay the fuck away from her, I won’t have a problem.”

Laiken is sitting in the bleachers with Mali and her parents, but she’s no longer freezing her ass off in the white top she was wearing before. It’s so much worse than that. She’s wearing his fucking jersey. Every rule I have of giving her space and keeping myself away to respect her boundaries goes right out the window as I skate over to her and bang on the glass. Mali laughs as Laiken’s gaze locks with mine, watching me wave her toward me. She steps down off the bleachers and stands on the other side of the glass. “Take that shit off,” I roar. She’s anything but impressed. “No.” Wrong answer. “I mean it, Laiken. Take it the fuck off or I’ll cut it off you.”

Getting off the ice, I go into my locker and grab the backup jersey I have hanging in there. I grip it tightly as I throw the door open again and bring it over to Laiken, passing it to her as I stand off to the side of the bleachers. Her brows furrow as she holds it up and looks at the back. “No. Absolutely not. You’re not staking a claim on me or whatever it is you’re trying to do. Go get me one of Cam’s.” Yeah, that’s not happening. “It’s that or the bra, and you may be ballsy, but you’re not the type for self-humiliation.” She gives me a look that rivals the one she had in surf shop. “You’re an asshole, you know that?” “Yep,” I answer. “And I’m glad you’ve figured that out. Now, hate me all you want, but take off his fucking jersey.” There’s no chance for her to argue it further as I walk away and get back on the ice. And when I glance over at her again, she may be pissed off, but she’s doing it while sporting my number on her back.

“You think I won’t still fuck her while she’s wearing your jersey?” he asks, his grin turning smug. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to let you know how her pussy feels.” It’s not my fault. My actions are not my own. And the way my stick flies into his face, slicing through the flesh near the corner of his eye, is not something anyone will ever get an apology from me for. Honestly, he’s lucky that’s all I did. His glove instantly covers his eye, and before I can go after him further, the ref gets in between us and holds me back. “Go get that checked out,” the ref shouts to him and then turns back to me. “Good job, tough guy. You just got yourself thrown out of the game.”

“You want to tell me what that was about?” she asks. I refuse to look at her. “It’s hockey. Fighting happens all the time.” The only way I’m making it out of this room without doing something else I’ll inevitably regret later is by acting like it wasn’t about her, even though we both know that’s not the case. Call it plausible deniability. “And the jersey?” I scoff. “You can’t wear the opposing team’s jersey at one of our games. Don’t let it go to your head.” She huffs out a laugh, not believing a word coming out of my mouth. “And what about this?” Finally turning around, I see her holding up the same small piece of paper from earlier, with his phone number scrawled across it. “You mean to tell me it had nothing to do with this?” I drop my head as I chuckle, knowing there’s not a damn thing I can do now. The moral compass she told me to shove up my ass goes right out the window, and not a single ounce of self-control is anywhere to be found. There’s no stopping me anymore. “You really think he’s what you want?” I question, my voice low as I walk slowly toward her. “You think he can make you feel the way I did? Make your whole body shake when you cum?” Her throat bobs as she swallows, but she doesn’t dare say a word. All she can do is stare back at me as I reach her. Slipping the lighter out of my pocket, I don’t look away from her for a second as I light the paper on fire. As the heat reaches her fingers, she lets it go and watches it fall to the floor—turning to ash as it...

Pulling up to a red light, he looks over at me and chuckles, shaking his head as he focuses back on the road. “What?” I ask curiously. “You play dirty.” My grin widens, but I admit nothing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Humming amusedly, he puts his foot on the gas as the light turns green. “Every game I’ve seen you come to, you’re in jeans or sweatpants, with your hair tied back like you couldn’t be bothered. But tonight, you show up looking like you’re ready for a night on the town.” To be honest, the outfit was Mali’s idea, and a brilliant one at that. It may have been a little cold in there, but what’s that saying? No pain, no gain? Clearly, it was worth it. “And then you had the nerve to put on someone else’s jersey.” I can’t help but laugh. “In my defense, my shirt was ruined, and I needed something else to wear.” “So, you go into the locker room and take one of mine,” he growls. “But the only goddamn number that goes on that body of yours is mine. The fact that you even gave that shithead the time of day pisses me off.” Good. That was the point. “Maybe I just wanted to feel good.” He chuckles, turning the steering wheel to the left. “Oh, trust me, baby. You’re going to.” Baby. God, I have such a love hate relationship with the way that makes my heart race.

“Please?” I beg. “I need it. Need to feel you inside me.” “Laiken,” he warns. I roll my eyes. “I know, I know. I deserve better. I heard you. But that doesn’t change the fact that this is what I want. So, if you don’t want to fuck me because you genuinely just don’t want this, or because you have some weird complex about taking my virginity, that’s fine. I’ll find someone else to pop my cherry and then we can revisit this. But if you’re only doing it because you have some notion in your head that I—” My words are cut off as he kisses me…hard. His tongue dances with mine as he lifts me up and lines himself up against me once more. And this time, as he starts to lower me onto him, he doesn’t stop. He doesn’t pause. He slides himself into me and kisses me through the pain. And fuck, it hurts so good.

Climbing out of the truck, I’m about to shut the door when he stops me. “Oh, and Laiken?” “Yeah?” “You’re enough of a distraction at our games,” he tells me. “If you expect us to win, I’d consider not dressing like that again.” My grin widens as I giggle. “Got it. Next time, I’ll wear a trench coat.” His eyes narrow. “With clothes under it?” I shrug. “We’ll see.”

Rule number one of keeping something a secret: never

He thinks I’m this great friend, and meanwhile I’m lying to him and sneaking around with his little sister—betraying him in a way that’s bound to ruin our friendship. But I’ve tried to stop. I’ve tried to stay away from her. It’s just not something I have the ability to do. I want her too much.

She smiles, winking at me before going back to taking all the “stringy things” as she calls them, off the banana. If she was considerate, she would break off a piece and eat it that way. Everyone knows that eating it the regular way looks erotic as hell. But as the devious little smirk appears on her face, I realize that may be her plan. She’s not. She wouldn’t. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, she would. And she does, making eye contact with me and everything as she wraps her mouth around the banana like she’s imagining it’s my dick. I try to look away, to focus on literally anything else, but she’s still there in my peripheral vision, blowing the goddamn banana. There’s no way I can stand here while she does that and look completely unaffected. “I’ll be back,” I tell Cam. “I need to use the bathroom.” He waves me off as he opens and shuts another drawer of the fridge. I shoot Laiken a dark look as I pass her, and she chuckles quietly. As soon as I’m safely behind the bathroom door, where my hard-on can go unnoticed until it goes away, I take out my phone and send her a text. You’re going to pay for that later.

for herself. “Now let me see the video, you weirdo.” I grab it just as she gets her hands on it, and the two of us start to fight over my phone. The problem is, she has a much better hold on it than I do, and the fact that she’s standing works to her advantage. Just as she starts to slip it from my grasp, I panic. “I was watching porn,” I blurt out. Devin drops my phone like it’s diseased and holds her hands up with a disgusted look on her face. “Wait, you were laughing at porn?” Well, we’ve come this far. May as well really mortify her. “Yeah, he slapped her in the face with his dick and left a mark.” She stares back at me completely dumbfounded. “I swear, I will never understand what girls see in you.”

The sound of sticks cracking catches my attention, and I break the kiss for a second. Laiken whimpers, lifting her head to try to reconnect our mouths, but that’s not going to happen. Not when there are two cops standing ten feet away from us. “All right,” the one says. “Show us your hands.” Laiken whines, not thinking clearly from being wrapped up in her impending orgasm. “Does he have to? It’s a little occupied at the moment.” Unable to help myself, I drop my head onto her shoulder and laugh. “Babe, it’s the cops.” “Oh,” she says, her mouth forming into a circle. “Well, shit.”

She starts walking toward my truck when one of the cops stops her with his hand on her arm. “Not so fast. Let me see your ID.” He nods toward me. “You too, son.” I pull my wallet out of my back pocket and hand over my license, while Laiken puts her hands on her hips. “Look at me. What makes you think I have my ID on me?” Smirking, my eyes rake over her, and I realize she has a point. The girl is in a crop top and a pair of tiny shorts. Unless he thought she was hiding it in her bra, it’s clear the only thing on her is her phone. “Ma’am, the attitude is unnecessary.” “You interrupting my orgasm was unnecessary, sir,” she spits back.

“All right,” he says, taking out his handcuffs. “Turn around and put your hands behind your back.” “I haven’t done anything wrong,” she argues. “You’re trespassing. That alone is enough for me to detain you until we figure out what’s going on here.” He grabs her arm and turns her around, taking out his handcuffs. I take a step toward them. I want to be close enough to help her if needed, but getting in a fight with the police is something I’d like to avoid if possible. Laiken scoffs and lets him handcuff her without issue, but that doesn’t mean she’s going easy on him. “Oh,” she squeals as he starts to pat her down. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. My boyfriend’s name is Bubba, and he tends to get a little possessive.” The officer glances at me. “I take it you’re Bubba?” “No,” I answer through a laugh. Every time she opens her mouth, the guy seems to turn a little more red in the face. Meanwhile, his partner is trying not to laugh. “You’re the risk-taking type,” Laiken says when she continues to be searched. “I like it.” “Ma’am,” he growls, exasperated. “Please just let me do my job.” She smirks. “Okay, but you should know, my safe word is prune juice.”

Just as he goes to shut the door, Laiken stops him. “Wait!” He huffs and looks at her expectantly. “Could you uncuff him so he can finish what you fine gentleman interrupted?” My head falls back against the seat as I laugh loudly, but he doesn’t find it so funny.

This—the sneaking around and the stolen kisses when no one is watching—is all this can ever be. I know this more than I know anything else. It’s just…for the first time, I’m starting to realize I won’t make it out of this unscathed.

THERE’S NO REASON FOR me to feel the way I do right now. Absolutely none. And yet, every single time I see a guy pull Laiken into his arms to wish her a happy birthday, I want to bounce their head off a curb.

“Who the fuck is Monty?” I growl, a little too obviously. “Montgomery Rollins,” he says. Rollins. The name rings a bell, but I can’t put my finger on it. “Where have I heard that name before?” “Because his dad is Jeremiah Rollins.” “The senator?” Son of a bitch. He nods. “That’s the one. Apparently, they met him at a club one night a few weeks ago and hit it off. You would’ve heard all about it if you didn’t skip the bonfire.” Ugh, great. So the fact that Laiken is now besties with who the media calls one of North Carolina’s Most Eligible Bachelors is my fault. Jeremiah Rollins is on track to be the next president, and if his son is anything like him, he’s exactly the kind of guy I picture Laiken ending up with. “I met him when he picked them up for lunch one day,” Cam continues. “They think he’s great, but if you ask me, he’s a fucking douche.” His words resonate as Laiken comes back into view with Monty’s arm draped over her shoulders. It doesn’t matter that he’s just as physical with Mali—that’s Cam’s problem to deal with. He needs to get his fucking hands off my girl.

“I’m not letting anyone think anything!” I yell, not giving a fuck anymore if someone can hear me. “It was a fucking hug! I hugged half the guys here tonight!” “Yeah, I know,” he sneers. “And watching it was my own personal form of torture. But Moneybags plans on sticking around more than a few pricks you see once a year, and I’m letting you know now, I don’t fucking like it.” It’s so not the place to be smiling, but I can’t help it—and biting my lip does nothing to stifle it. Hayes’s chest moves with each heavy breath he takes, but when he sees it, he expels all the air in his lungs. “What?” “Nothing,” I try. He takes a step closer. “Nuh-uh. What are you looking at me like that for?” I shrug and shake my head. “No, it’s nothing. I just never took you for the jealous type.” His eyes darken as he comes toward me, putting his hands on the door on either side of me. “I’m not jealous—I’m possessive. There’s a difference. And I’ve told you before. You. Are. Mine.” Smirking, I keep my gaze locked with his while my hands start to undo the button on his jeans. “Well, Mr. Possessive, let me show you just how little you have to worry about.”

I’m never going to settle down, but fuck. The way she wrapped her lips around my cock had me mentally writing my damn vows.

No matter what show is put on that stage tonight, it won’t even compare to the view beside me.

As I listen to the lyrics, I realize exactly why she chose this song to test my limits. Every single word is spot on—hitting its mark dead in the center. It’s exactly how I feel about her. I make a mental note to add it to my playlist later. The playlist she’ll never know exists if I have anything to say about it.

OUT OF ALL THE things I expected tonight, getting metaphorically punched in the chest by another one of his songs was not on the list. But as he starts singing “Marry Me,” that’s exactly what happens. The whole time, I can’t stop picturing it. Laiken in a white dress, clutching a bouquet with one hand and her dad’s arm with the other. Her hair done all nice with a veil placed perfectly on top. And her walking down the aisle to someone who isn’t me. Just the thought alone puts a pit in the middle of my stomach. It’s not like I wouldn’t be there. Her brother is my best friend. Even if she tried not to invite me, there would be no excuse she could give him. I’d have no choice but to stand there and watch as she promises to spend the rest of her life with someone who probably won’t even realize just how lucky he is. And it would absolutely fucking destroy me. The song comes to an end, and I find myself pulling Laiken in impossibly closer. I know there may be a time where that becomes my reality. I’d be naive to think she’ll just be happy with our situationship forever. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to take advantage of the time when she is mine. It’s everything I’m going to hold onto when she goes off and finds her prince charming, and I’m left remembering the girl who made me feel things I didn’t know existed.

“You may not have the title, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re the only one who has my attention.”

As he pulls out into the traffic all waiting to leave, he looks over at me. “He still wants you.” I can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of me. “He’s gay!” “Yeah, okay,” he says sarcastically. “And I’m becoming a monk.” “Are you?” I tease. “That’s great. I’m sure your mom will be really proud of you.” Turning to look at him, I smirk deviously. “Though, I guess that means I can’t give you road head on the way home.” And the way his head whips over in my direction and he almost rear-ends the car in front of us has me laughing until my stomach hurts.

Lord help the man that ends up with her.

“One-track mind,” I remind him. He hums, moving his hands to my stomach and pulling me back against him. “Are you sure that’s a bad thing?” No, because it’s never a bad thing. But I’ve heard enough horror stories from Mali about having sex on the beach. The sand gets in places you never want it to be, and it’s just not all it’s cracked up to be.

“Baby?” she asks. “That doesn’t sound very casual of you.”

Worshipping her, because dammit, she deserves to be worshipped.

Since the day my dad left, I convinced myself that it was all a lie. The whole notion that you could find someone, fall in love, and spend the rest of your lives together—it was all just a hoax. A bunch of chemicals in your brain, tricking you into giving over parts of yourself that you should never trust anyone else with. But as his words circulate in my mind, I can’t help wondering if he’s right. And if he is, if there really is someone for everyone, there’s not a doubt in my mind that my person is Laiken.

I thought we were getting somewhere. Yeah, I knew what this was when we started. He told me as much before anything happened. But that was when we were just hooking up—sneaking around with the sole intention of sexual gratification. Somewhere along the way, things changed. He looked at me differently. Like I mattered. Like he cared. And the part of me I had locked into a box, the part of me that dreamed of a life with him, broke out and fed on the hope that swelled inside my chest. Now all that’s left are the broken pieces, and there’s no one to blame but myself. I knew better than to get involved with him. I knew the chances of me coming out of this undamaged were slim. But I thought I could handle it.

And when I see Monty staring back at me, I somehow break a little more. I open the door and he wraps his arms around me, holding me close as I cry violently on his shoulder. “You were right,” I sob. “I should’ve listened to you.” “No. Shh,” he tells me. “You were blinded by your feelings for him. But you deserve so much better. You’re going to find someone better.” “I don’t want to,” I answer through my tears. “I don’t want anyone.” His fingers run through my hair, but it’s not the same as when Hayes did it. Because when he did it, I felt warm. All I feel as I stand here now is empty. “You’re going to be okay,” Monty whispers. “I promise. You’re going to be alright.”