A Drop of Pretty Poison (Pretty Poison Trilogy #2)

by Kelsey Clayton

Everything plays out in slow motion in front of my eyes. Cam puts his tongue in his cheek, laughing dryly as he puts the blade down. For a second, I think I can breathe again. Even Hayes looks relieved, if a little confused. “Wow,” Hayes says. “I thought for sure you were going to—” His words are cut off as Cam turns, fist clenched tightly as he slams it into the side of Hayes’s face. The blow is so hard that it spins him around and knocks him into the table. “Cam!” I scream, taking a step forward, but Hayes stops me. “Don’t!” he demands. The look in his eyes keeps my feet glued to the floor. “It’s fine. I deserved that.” Cam scoffs as he shakes out his hand. “You’re damn right you did! My fucking sister? Half the goddamn town wants you, and you have to have my sister?”

“You think I planned this? I tried for weeks to stay—” “Weeks?” Cam roars. “How long has this shit been going on for?” As he realizes his slip up, Hayes’s eyes fall closed, and he sighs. “Cam.” “No, you know what?” Cam shoves past Hayes. “I can’t do this right now.”

“So, you’re falling in love with me, huh?” I smirk, still in disbelief that he spoke those words. His expression turns skeptical as he hums. “I mean, you’re all right.” I chuckle. “Oh! Well, in that case…”

As I start to walk away, he grabs my wrist and pulls me back to him. My hands rest on his chest as he stares into my eyes, like he’s been missing this all his life.

“I’m already there, but I figured you deserve to hear it first.” He takes a nervous breath and tucks my hair behind my ear. “I love you, Laiken. I am so massively in love with you...

My eyes fill with tears of joy as a gush of air leaves my mouth and I smile back at him. “I’m in love with you, too.”

“Are you fucking crazy?” I ask, smacking his chest with every word. He catches my wrists and chuckles, but I’m not done yelling at him. “What were you thinking, handing him a knife? What if he actually stabbed you?”

The grin doesn’t leave his face as he shrugs. “I would’ve deserved it. I knew the rules. But I couldn’t stand to be away from you anymore. The pain of missing you is worse than anything he could’ve done to me.”

Sighing, I wrap my arms around him, and we hold each other close, my head on his chest. “I wasn’t trying to force you into telling him, you know. I just wanted to know it could happen eventually. That you saw a future with me.” “Lai,” he says, bending his neck and movi...

I make my way up the stairs, only to find Hayes sitting on the floor outside Cam’s bedroom. He’s leaning back against the wall, and I frown at the defeated look on his face. “He won’t come out?” He shakes his head, exhaling heavily. “I tried to go in, but he threw this at my face.” As he holds up the hockey puck, my eyes widen. “Don’t worry. I managed to catch it.” Ruining his friendship with my brother was never my intention, and I can see that Hayes is trying to play it off like it’s not a big deal, but it is. They’ve been best friends for almost six

years—hanging out almost every day for most of that time. It makes me sad knowing he may have given that up for me. And to be honest, a little nervous. I put my hand out to help him up, grateful when he takes it. “I’m sorry, H.” He doesn’t let go as he trails behind me up the shorter stairs to my bedroom. “Don’t be. It sucks, but I don’t regret it.” “You don’t?” “Not at all.” As we step into my room, he turns me around to face him. “You have no idea how much I hated being away from you.” My nose scrunches as I hum. “I think I did, but if you want to show me, I won’t complain.”

“Fuck, I missed you,” he groans against my mouth. I press my head into the pillow as he starts kissing my neck. “I missed you, too.”

It feels incredible, and all I can imagine is getting him inside me again. I need to stretch around him as he fills me completely. But as I arch up against him and let out a moan when he grinds down into me, he stops. “Don’t,” I beg. “I need it.” He chuckles breathlessly. “I do, too, baby. Trust me. There’s nothing I need more than this right now.” “Then why aren’t you fucking me right now?” I whine. “Because Cam is right downstairs,” he says. “And you tend to lack volume control. I don’t regret telling him about us, but I’m also not trying to rub it in his face, either.”

“Tell me again,” I say softly. He smirks. “I think I can show you better.” With his hand on my lower back, he pulls me closer, covering my mouth with his. It starts out slow. Gentle. He licks into my mouth and hums as our tongues tangle together. I throw my leg over him, needing to be closer. “I need you.” My words come out like a desperate plea. Hayes deepens the kiss, only stopping for a second to respond. “You have me, baby. You always have me.”

“It’s been too long since we’ve had sex for you to tease,” I tell him. He chuckles and stops his movements. “Then show me what you want, babe. I’m all yours.” Yes. He. Fucking. Is. I grab his wrist and put his hand right where I need him, damn near exploding just from the contact. He bites his lip as he slides his finger down over my clit and into my pussy. “Look at you,” he murmurs. “So wet for me and I’ve hardly even touched you yet.”

As he switches back and forth between fingering me and rubbing my clit, he starts to move faster. My head presses into the pillow, and I moan softly. It feels incredible, like he knows exactly where to touch to make me putty in his hands, and he uses it to his advantage. “Hayes,” I beg, needing more. Needing him. “Please.” “Please what, Laiken?” he asks. I try to arch into his hand, but he lets up on the pressure. “Nuh-uh. Use your words.” “Fuck me,” I breathe. “I want you to fuck me.” He slows down as he leans forward and kisses me. “Not tonight, baby. Tonight, I want to love you.”

He lines his cock up at my entrance and laces his fingers with mine as he pushes in, and holy shit, going without it for the last

few weeks was too damn long. I feel him bottom out before he pulls back. He rubs circles in my clit as he slowly slides in again, and I swear I’m not going to make it through this.

“You’re flawless,” he tells me as he presses back in. “So fucking perfect. And beautiful. And mine.” “All yours,” I confirm.

“I need it, Lai,” he groans. “I need you to cum on my cock.”

“That’s it, baby. Always so good for me. Feels so damn good.”

“Never make me go without that again,” I tell him through labored breaths. He chuckles quietly and drops a kiss on my forehead. “Never.”

Hayes fucking Wilder is mine.

Hayes puts his boxers back on and helps slide my panties back up my legs before lying beside me. He covers us with the blanket as I rest my head on his chest, hearing the sound I’ve been craving for weeks. “I love you, Laiken,” he says softly, pressing a kiss into my hair. My stomach flips in the best way. “I love you, too.”

My mom always used to tell me that when there is a fork in the road, make your decisions wisely. Think things through, trust your gut, and act accordingly. Well, I didn’t do that. I chose my friendship with Cam over my relationship with Laiken out of fear. Fear that Cam would hate me. Fear that I will never be good enough for her. Fear that I was destined to be just like my father. I chose the wrong road and lost the one girl who means more to me than anyone. So, I turned the fuck around and chose again.

“Puberty hit you like a fucking truck.” A bark of laughter emits from my mouth and she shrugs. “You and Cam came back from hockey camp when you were seventeen, and you had grown your hair out and got muscles,” she explains. “I was done for at that point.” My mind clings to each one of her words, specifically seventeen, and I can’t believe how long this has been a thing for her. “That was three years ago.” She looks anywhere but at me as she sighs. “Yeah.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to come around,” I tell her. She reconnects the kiss once more and smiles. “It’s okay. You fell in love with me eventually.” I pull her just a little closer. “Hard and fast.” “Mm. Just how I like it.”

“By the way,” Laiken says. “I meant to ask you if you plan on coming to the bonfire this Friday.”

“I don’t know, Lai.” I run my fingers through my hair and put my hat on backward. “He clearly doesn’t want me to come. He won’t even answer the damn phone. I just don’t think it’s the best idea.” She takes a deep breath and comes over to sit on the counter. “I get it, but he’s going to have to get over it at some point.” “Uh, have you met your brother?”

But I still managed to subtly say I love you by writing it into the condensation of her beer bottle. Yeah, that one may have scored me a few points.

Cam stares at Laiken. “Can you please go?” She nods, knowing the last thing either of them want is for Isaac and me to go at it. With my hand on her lower back, we step off the ice and go over to the women’s locker room. “I’ll see you later?” I ask, twirling her hair around my finger. “Definitely.” Her arms wrap around my neck as she pulls me in. Our mouths meet in the middle, and we kiss like any normal couple would as they say goodbye. Except, ours may last a little bit longer. “I love you,” I tell her as I take a step back. She smiles. “I love you, too.” I go to head back over to the rink, but halfway there, I turn around to kiss her once more. She giggles into it, but the moment is ruined when Owen yells get a room loud enough for the whole rink to hear. And I don’t miss the way Lucas glares at me. Well, at least Cam has some company in the Hating Hayes department.

“So,” Hayes starts. “Is this up to your romance standards?” I chuckle as I nod. “Yes, definitely.” “Good, because there’s something I want to ask you, and I need it to be memorable.” My mouth goes dry as he stops us and turns to face me, looking deep into my eyes. “A-are you about to propose right now?”

“No,” he says with a small laugh. “I’m sure that will happen eventually, but you once told me I’m not allowed to skip steps. So, Laiken…” He pauses just to drive me insane. “Will you officially be mine? My out-in-the-open, hold-your-hand-no-matter-who-can-see girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“All right, Rochester,” he says, using the nickname I haven’t heard in a while. “Let’s make this interesting. You get three shots. If I block all of them, I get to fuck your mouth again.” God, it was so damn hot when he did that, it hardly sounds like a punishment. “And if I score?” He smirks in a way that would have my panties ripping themselves right off if they could. “You can sit on my face for as long as you want.”

He puts his tongue in his cheek and drops his stick, while I raise my arms in the air and celebrate. But the second I hear him skating after me, I squeal. There’s nothing I can do to get away from him. He grabs me, and the stick falls to the ground as he lifts me up. When he places me back on the ice, I spin around to face him, smiling proudly. “I scored!” His eyes move across my face, and he puts his hands on my cheeks. “So did I.”

I wonder if she knows how much even the sound of her voice manages to relax me. The moment I walked out the front door, my phone was pressed to my ear. I told Laiken that I needed her, and that was it. Nothing else mattered. She just got in her car and got her ass to my house. I mentally add that to the endless list of reasons why I will love her for the rest of my life.

“It still feels dirty. Like I’m letting him buy my forgiveness from beyond the grave or something.” “No one is expecting you to forgive him, babe. Or even asking you to,” she says calmly. “I don’t think anyone who knows what you’ve been through ever would. That is something only you could decide to do. But let me ask you something.” “What?” “What would you do if your dad hadn’t left?” My brows raise. “Well, I would’ve had a lot less commitment issues.” She chuckles, bumping her shoulder into mine. “I mean with the money.” For the first time since my mom broke the news, I let myself think about it, but it doesn’t take long. “I’d use the money to buy a bar,” I answer. “Then personally, I think you should do that.” She hops off the truck and stands in front of me, slotting herself between my legs and staring into my eyes. “He’s stolen enough of your joy. This is your chance to take some back.” My gaze stays fixated on her, and I don’t think there’s ever going to be a time where I’m not in awe of everything she is. She’s so calm, so caring, that sometimes all I can do is admire her. “You know, it’s a little infuriating how you always tell me what I need to hear,” I quip.

“But for the love of God, answer my sister before she has a stroke.” Cringing, I take out my phone and see the endless string of notifications. I open Laiken’s and type out a text—I’ll read everything she sent later. I’m okay. I love you.

“So, are we good?” I question, because if when we leave here, he’s going to go back to hating me, I think I’d choose to stay for a bit. He rolls his eyes. “I mean, I can’t say I like it. The idea of you and Laiken together makes me want to wash my brain in acid.” I can’t help but laugh because I get it. I’d feel the same way if I found out he was hooking up with Devin. But after a minute, we both turn serious again as it goes quiet. “Do I have to worry about you hurting her?”

I shake my head without hesitation. “I’m crazy about her.” He nods slowly, turning his head straight and taking another sip. “Then I guess I’m going to have to learn to deal with it.”

Hayes chuckles and then turns to me. With a hand on the back of my neck, he pulls me in and wraps his arms around me, holding me close. I breathe in the smell of him and feel as my blood pressure returns to normal again. When he backs away slightly, he rubs his thumb against my cheek and stares into my eyes. “I’m sorry I disappeared. I just needed to get my head on straight, and I didn’t want to drag you down with me.”

“You don’t need to apologize for needing some space,” I tell him, shaking my head. “But I want to make sure you know that you’re always able to come to me.” “I do. I know that,” he confirms. Eliminating the space between us, he kisses me, and I melt right into it. This, right here, is exactly what I needed. The feeling I get when I’m around him. The way he makes me feel safe and loved.

He breaks the kiss and smiles. “You’re so im...

And I know without a fraction of a doubt that I will spend the rest of my life loving the woman sitting across from me.

I picture the look on Laiken’s face as we pulled up, and the way she was in awe of the inside. I can see it all. The two of us sharing the same space, raising a family and growing old together in the house Laiken fell in love with from the moment she saw it. And I want it all.

And later, as I spend four hours of her eight-hour shift smashing shit at the old surf shop, I think about how I’ll never forgive myself for failing her.

If he steals the only girl I’ve ever loved away from me, there’s no telling what I might do.

Hayes comes back in but stops when he sees Mali and me staring at him. “Something wrong?” I shake my head and look away, but Mali isn’t the type to keep her mouth shut as she crosses her arms over her chest. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” “Okay,” Hayes says hesitantly. “Do you want to fill me in on what it might be?” Cam lets out an annoyed sigh. “They want to know if you’re cheating or if you’re just not into Laiken anymore.” “Dude,” I hiss. But my brother only shrugs. “What? There are way too many dangerous tools in here for Mali to be contemplating whether to kill him or not.”

“Lai,” he says softly. “You have me. All of me. Forever.”