Caught Stealing (Leighton U, #2)

by C.E. Ricci

A semblance of a smile curls his lips as he leans his shoulder against the wall. “Well, that’s one way to get a guy’s attention.” “It worked, didn’t it?” I muse, stepping closer to him. “Apparently so.” His brow lifts, attention flicking between my eyes and my lips. “I’m Phoe—” “I don’t care,” I mutter, and before I can think, I crush my mouth to his.

“Were you hooking up with someone, then?” His eyes shift to me. “Yeah, Hold. I took a page straight from your playbook and let someone get on their knees for me in the upstairs bathroom with a bunch of other people right outside. Best blowjob of my life; the scent of weed and stale beer truly was the best kind of aphrodisiac. I get why you enjoy it now. Ten outta ten, highly recommend.” I snort out a laugh and shake my head at the snarky bullshit that just left his mouth, knowing it’s for sure that—a bunch of bullshit.

“Oh, hey, Nixy?” My lips roll into a firm, flat line as I slowly turn to look at where Holden lingers in the doorway. An arched brow is all I give him, not trusting myself not to pop off at the fucker. “I left you something on your bed. You know, as a thank you for the clothes.”

I haven’t had much time outside of practice with him since our date last week. A date that was downright abysmal, filled with far too much awkwardness—mostly on his end—to consider a success. Especially when the most fun I had all night was seeing the look on Phoenix’s face the moment I showed up at the door with his glove covering my dick to pick Kason up in the first place.

My eyes find the mirror again subconsciously, only to discover him already staring at me. Not in contempt or irritation like normal, though. There’s a flash of empathy in those dark depths, an emotion so out of place, I almost miss it entirely before he looks back out the window. But it was there, making me realize one thing. He was listening, after all.

“Shit,” I whisper before holding the phone out for him. “You’re telling me Holden Sykes, campus playboy, and literal golden retriever, is a closet emo?” Noah snorts out a laugh. “Holden retriever.” “That’s going a bit far with it,” he says as he takes the phone from my hand while ignoring Noah’s joke. Yet, from the flash in his eyes, I’m taking it as a yes. Well, I’ll be damned.

“Be nice,” Kason chides, kicking sand toward Theo. “We all have weaknesses. Volleyball just happens to be Holden’s.” My eyes lock with Phoenix, waiting for him to make some snarky, smart-ass comment next. Except, rather than joining in with Kason and Theo, all he does is give me the hint of a smile and a tiny nod of…encouragement. Which, at this point, is as welcome as it is unexpected.

He’s crawled under my skin, burrowed beneath the surface and made a home there. And while it was irritating at first, it’s gotten to the point where…I like him there. Want him there. My eyes sink closed, finally allowing myself to admit what I’ve known for a while now. I want him. This stick-up-his-ass, frustrating-as-hell guy who, quite frankly, wants nothing to do with me.

“You don’t even know that guy.” The words come flying out of my mouth before I can stop them, and I really should stop them. What Phoenix does and who he does it with should be of little to no consequence to me. Yet here I am, all ragey and pissed off when another man was just talking with him. Granted, his hands were on Phoenix, but still.

Every molecule in my being has been lit on fire by Phoenix, and the only thing I want right now is to keep fanning the flames. Keep kissing and touching him until I’m nothing but a pile of ash and debris on the ground at his feet.

Confusion mars his features as he tries to slip out of my hold, but my fingers tighten on the underside of his thighs to keep his legs locked around my waist. Fuck if he thinks he’s getting out of my grasp right now. He’ll be lucky if I ever let him out of reach ever again, especially when it took this long to get him here in the first place.

I feel him everywhere. Not just where he touches me either. Every atom in my body is attuned to him.

Holden: I haven’t stopped thinking about you. Goddamnit. A knot forms in my throat as I reread the message more times than I should, before typing out a response. Me: I see through your bullshit. Your lines aren’t going to work on me. Holden: They aren’t lines when it’s the truth.

“And I can’t just be your friend, Nix. I don’t know how.”

He doesn’t stay there long, though, instead opting to take this sordid encounter a step further by dropping to his knees in front of me. “If you’re not gonna give me what I want willingly,” he whispers, deft fingers working open my belt with ease, “then I’m gonna have to be forced to take it.”

I moan, my hand sinking into his soft, brown locks. “Your mouth is something straight out of heaven.” His lips tighten around my shaft, and when my eyes open to look down at him, I find the asshole smiling around my cock. Like a kid with a lollipop in his mouth. Oh, hell.

I swallow down those little sounds, taking them for myself. After all, they belong to me. He belongs to me.

Phoenix’s eyes never leave me as we right ourselves, and once he’s completely redressed, he digs through his bag until he pulls out a Leighton Baseball hoodie. “Here,” he says, holding it out for me to take. My throat constricts as I shrug into it, becoming enveloped in his scent, and God, if it doesn’t do something strange to my heart. It feels like he has his fist wrapped around it, and every time I catch sight of a new or innocent piece of him, he squeezes it a little harder. Claims it a little bit more.

He chuckles again as his fingers scrape and rake through my hair some more. “God, I really am going to Hell for this.” My mouth curls into a grin against his lips. “That’s okay. I’ll meet you there.”

“You’re trouble,” he whispers, voice gruff and full of lust. “The best kind.” His teeth scrape over his bottom lip in a move far sexier than it should be, especially if he’s asking me to keep my hands to myself. “Sometimes I’m not too sure about that.” “Eyes and mouth, Nix.”

“Stop. Staring,” he says, his tone flat and direct while his eyes stay locked on his notebook as he continues writing. “Stop. Being. Sexy.” “Kinda something I can’t control, considering I’m not even trying,” he retorts. “Mmm, yeah, you’re right. This is one of those maybe he’s born with it moments.” His gaze lifts from his notebook again. Slower this time, before he cocks his head and blinks at me. “Did you just Maybelline me?” My lips lift in a grin. “Maybe.” “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

“I never promise someone something I can’t give.” My hands shift, wrapping around the back of his neck. “I told you, I always make sure the score is known.” “Then what’s the score with us?” “You tell me, Nix,” I murmur, my attention darting between his eyes and lips. “Because from our conversation in that classroom, I’m under the impression we’re doing this your way. You’re mine, and I’m yours, and that’s the end of it.” “Glad to see you were listening.”

His fingers scrape against my lower back in a soothing caress, and I feel him brush his lips over the spot above my ear. “Nothing serious, huh?” he murmurs, and even though I hear the playfulness in his tone, I don’t have it in me to look at him. Probably because I’d be forced to acknowledge just how false my statement was, and that’s not something I’m ready to do out loud.

Holden turns to speak directly into my ear, his lips brushing the shell as he says, “Is this you trying to make me jealous? By fawning over another man in front of me on our first date?” It wasn’t, actually. It’s just a fact. For him to have those looks paired with his vocal abilities? There’s no way he’s human. And if he is, then he’s also living proof that God plays favorites. “Not at all,” I say, shaking my head. “Good, because you’ve gotta know as well as I do that his reputation is far, far worse than mine will ever be.” He nips at my ear before murmuring, “And just so we’re clear, Nash Kaelin might be a god amongst men, but all that means is he’d never get on his knees for you the way I do.” I smirk to myself, enjoying the hint of possessiveness in his tone. It’s a different side of him I’ve yet to see, and I don’t hate it. Not one fucking bit. Something to keep in mind.

“Just don’t turn into Quinton de Haas on me, okay?” I say lightly, poking fun at the hot-headed winger Oakley’s been at odds with for years now.

Phoenix rips his mouth away and presses his forehead to mine, his breathing coming out in harsh pants. “You wanna thank me, baby?” I nod, my forehead rolling against his. “Yeah, I do.” He smiles against my mouth before brushing another kiss over my lips. “Turn around. Hands on the counter.”

He peppers kisses across my shoulders and upper back, his hands coasting up and down my sides as he does it. It’s almost like he can’t stop himself from touching me. Feeling me. Tracing every inch of available skin like he’s mapping them to memory.

“Oh, God.” His teeth bite and nip where my shoulder and neck meet—some of them hard enough to surely leave marks—but I don’t care. Let him mark me, brand me, stake his claim. I’m already his. I have been since the night I laid eyes on him—maybe even before then. All I know is it’s been far longer than either of us realize.

“That’s one sight I’m never gonna get sick of,” he murmurs, and I turn my head to find his eyes locked on the cum seeping from my ass and dripping down my leg. The corner of my mouth lifts in a half-grin. “You’re a possessive one, aren’t you?” I think he doesn’t hear me at first, since his attention stays fixated on where his release coats my skin. It’s only after he wipes the cum up slowly with the towel, taking great care in making sure I’m thoroughly clean, that he responds. “I just take care of what’s mine.”

“I’d bet my life on it,” he simply states, but I don’t miss the little twinkle in his brown irises or how they crinkle just a little more around the edges when he smiles. It’s always his eyes that give him away.

Holden: You make a fair point, Nix. Care to make a deal with the devil? Me: Tempting. What are the stakes? Holden: A trade. I’ll come to watch you play as long as you’re in MY jersey next season. Me: Awfully possessive of you. But I think those are agreeable terms.

“I thought you said you were rescuing me?” His brow arches playfully as he settles in amongst the pillows on my bed. “Yeah, I am. From having a lonely night here all by yourself when you could have a date-night-in instead.” “So you’re not trying to drag me out into society right now?” “I’m capable of being low-key too, you know. We don’t need to go all Fight Club at a concert every date night to keep things spicy.”

As quickly and quietly as I can, I climb in beside him and situate the laptop between us. Which Holden seemingly has a problem with since he grabs it, puts it over to his other side, and drags me toward him until my head is resting on his pec. “So you’re a cuddler, huh?” I murmur before wrapping my arm around his waist. “Just with you,” he whispers, his eyes still on the screen while he hits play. “But don’t let it go to your head.”

There’s just one part of this that feels wrong. One thing he told me that…I just don’t see as a possibility. And it’s a concern I whisper aloud, though I know he’s not awake to hear it. “I don’t know if he’ll forgive me for falling in love with you.”

“You love him,” Oakley says, a hint of awe in his voice. “Don’t you?” Leave it to my best friend to see right through me like I’m nothing more than a piece of glass. I bite the inside of my cheek, and before I realize it, I nod. “With every inch of me.”

“I’ll see you later, baby.” God, I’m never gonna get sick of hearing him call me that. Or ever get sick of him in general. He’s everything I didn’t know I wanted, and now I doubt there will ever be a day when he isn’t.

“I want you in all ways,” he murmurs, a seductive tilt of his lips adding to his sinful aura. “But being inside you with my number on your back will, without a doubt, take the cake. So I really know you’re mine.” My blood flares. “Possessive, are we?” His nod is immediate before his words come out all grated and raw. “I wanna claim every part of you.” It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him he already has.

I’m left staring at him in awe, and I swear on my entire life, nothing is more beautiful than this man falling apart beneath me. It’s a sight to behold, and I’ll never stop wanting to watch it happen.

“Look at you. Saved by the bell,” Holden muses, and I peer down to find him smiling. Only the smile doesn’t quite meet his eyes, and for once, I’m starting to see what he means by eyes and mouth.

“But you’re not sorry, Phoe! That’s the whole fucking point. I can see it written all over your face.” His eyes darken from an emerald to a deep forest as he stares at me, more angry than hurt now. “You’re not sorry about what happened with Holden, you’re just sorry you got caught stealing him in the first place.”

I can’t help the one thought circling through my head. It’s not stealing if he’s meant to be mine.

Which makes me wonder if I’m really about to make a fool of myself for a guy who doesn’t love me back. Who is too hung up on his best friend’s approval to see that this thing between us…it’s what people cross oceans for, what they write songs about. It’s the kind of love that only comes once in a lifetime. The one worth breaking all the rules for.

“I’ll be quick, but you need to hear this.” I swallow past the baseball-sized knot in my throat, my fingers gripping the wall tighter. “You need to know that I don’t care if your loyalty to Kason wins out, and all I’m doing here is making a fool of myself. It doesn’t matter, and I don’t care if you don’t feel the same way, because I can’t go another day keeping this shit to myself. Especially now that he knows.” There’s pain and sorrow etched into his features that might as well run my heart through a blender as he goes to speak. “Hold—” “I’m sorry,” I cut in, knowing my time is limited. “I have a lot of things to apologize for, and those can all wait ‘til we have more time. Hell, I’m sorry for doing this now, during a game instead of waiting. But if there’s one thing through this entire fucked-up situation I’m not sorry for, it’s falling in love with you. And you need to know that.”

“Holden, just…” He pauses again and clears his throat. “Please, don’t do this.” I can’t help the scoff that slips free while I shake my head at him. “Don’t, what? Don’t love you? Because it’s a little too fucking late for that, baby.”

“I don’t love you,” he says, his voice a rough whisper. “I never have.” Liar. I wouldn’t have to know him as well as I do to realize it. It’s written all over his beautiful, lying face. “Eyes and mouth, Nix. Eyes and fucking mouth.”

“That person could be right around the corner, you know.” His head shakes, disbelief evident on his face. “At this point, he’s either fictional, straight, or isn’t alive.”

I hate how my skin lights on fire when his fingertips brush against my palm. Hate the way my body aches and yearns for this man—the way my soul reaches toward his constantly and without end.

“I’m staying,” he whispers, thumbs brushing along my cheekbones. “It might not have been my first choice in the beginning, but Leighton’s grown on me. And I honestly don’t think I’d enjoy attending a college halfway across the country from the guy I love.” I damn near choke on my spit before sputtering out, “What?” A raspy chuckle I love so much spills from his lips. “Theo mentioned something about you going deaf recently. Guess he wasn’t kidding.” Why in the ever-loving fuck are we talking about Theo when he just said— “You love me,” I parrot. That little smirk is still on his lips as he shakes his head in obvious amusement. But rather than answering me, he draws my mouth to his in a long, slow kiss. One that sends my pulse into overdrive and has my heart skipping in my chest. Not due to lust or desire, but because it feels like coming home.

“Out of all the lies I’ve told through this entire mess, telling you I didn’t love you was the biggest one of all. There’s nothing and no one I want more than you,” he murmurs, fingers scraping against the back of my head. “I love you, baby. And I’m so fucking sorry for making you think otherwise.” I think my heart might burst right out my chest when I realize…they match his mouth. Finally.

My gaze meets his while I pull back. “I’m just glad your eyes finally match your mouth.” “Because I meant it, Holden.” His eyes dart between mine. “Until the day you decide you don’t want me, I’m yours.”