Loving War Read online

  I really fucking hope it returns.

  When Tria walks away, joining Tag and Ash, I take a moment to watch her ass—every perfect curve of it. I hate her for a whole new reason right now.

  Chapter 4

  TRIA

  So far so good. Kode and I have been in the same room with each other numerous times now since our one night of temporary insanity, and nothing terrible has happened. If he’s not ignoring me, then he takes the chance to say something snide or witty in an effort to be a dick. And I just ignore the hell out of him when he does.

  Everything is back to normal.

  I’m almost positive he has no clue that he slept with me. It’s relieving and irritating at the same time.

  Now we’re in Vegas, and everything is running smoothly. I feel like the outcast of the group, considering how close the guys are with Rain. The rooftop party going on behind me sounds as though it has gathered more people, but I stare ahead at the city lights, ignoring everything and everyone. I just want to go home.

  I wish Kade and Raya had come. I really get along with Raya.

  Tag and Ash had to stay behind because they didn’t want Trip to have to travel so far. It’s not that far. They’re just overprotective parents.

  “Hey,” a smooth voice says from behind me, prompting me to turn away from the railing and face him.

  Yep. The party has quadrupled in size since I last paid it any attention. The rooftop pool is packed with unfamiliar faces. How does Dane Sterling draw this many people in everywhere he goes?

  The guy who has demanded my attention has soft brown hair that shags a little long for my taste. He’s tall—not as tall as Kode. Though he’s attractive enough, he’s not really doing anything for me. I really wish he was.

  “Hey,” I say softly, forcing a smile. At least I don’t look like the loner anymore.

  “Don’t know anyone?” he asks, smiling as he grabs two champagne glasses from a passing tray.

  He proffers me one of the glasses, and I willingly take it, ready to drown out as much of the next three days as possible.

  “I know the two that assembled this party. You?”

  He smiles as his eyes flick toward Rain. She must radiate some pheromone that draws attention from everyone.

  “I know Rain Noles,” he says while turning back to me. “I’ve worked on her marketing team for a while. I asked her out a few times, but she was always unavailable—according to her. I guess she’s really unavailable now. So, what’s your name?”

  So glad I’m his second option, I think dryly. Nothing new.

  It takes a great amount of willpower not to roll my eyes.

  “Tria. Rain’s sister.”

  His eyes grow wide with amusement, and I sigh in boredom. If I’m forced to feel alone, I’d rather feel alone in my house.

  I look over to see a girl wearing a skimpy red dress and strutting up to Kode, putting her hand on his arm. He smiles down at her, and she leans in closer, using her body as a weapon of mass seduction.

  Bitch.

  Jealousy? No. I can’t be jealous of Kode. That’s beyond crazy.

  I have to stop looking at him. I need this jerk who is still talking to me to move on so I can put my back to the party again.

  All in all, I really need to get out of here.

  ***

  KODE

  “Who’s that guy talking to Tria?” I growl, staring at the shaggy haired idiot who’s practically drooling as Tria’s eyes move to the city once again.

  “I dunno,” Maverick says, distracted as he watches the ass on a girl wearing a bikini.

  “You and I need to find somewhere a little more private to talk,” the girl hanging on my arm says.

  It was funny at first; now it’s annoying. I can only be nice for so long before I act like a dick. I’ve reached my limit.

  “Or you could go find someone who wants to talk to you.”

  She leans back and gives me a glare that promises she believes I’ve lost my mind. “Excuse me?”

  “I have no excuse for you,” I quip, walking away from her and Maverick on my way toward the bar.

  I need more to drink. Tria’s ass in her trademark short dress is about to drive me crazy.

  “Corona,” I say to the bartender, moving my eyes back over to Tria as she smiles up at the loser who can’t seem to stop looking toward Rain every five seconds.

  Surely Tria realizes this guy is a tool.

  “Kode Sterling,” a familiar voice purrs.

  Fucking Courtney Hughes—Kade Colton’s ex-girlfriend. Should have known she’d crash this party. This girl is always driving someone to the brink of madness, and not in a good way.

  “Not now, Court. I’ve got something on my mind.”

  Tria starts laughing at whatever the douche has said, and my teeth grind together as his hand slides up to touch her shoulder. It shouldn’t piss me off, but my blood feels like lava as it pumps through my veins at a furious pace.

  “Where are you—”

  Before Courtney can finish, I walk toward Tria and the jerk, trying to think of something clever to say. I’ll need a good entry line to make this seem... less like I’ve lost my motherfucking mind.

  Tria lets him take her hand, moving toward the pool with him, and something inside me finally snaps. Seeing her touching him is the final straw, and reality checks out as fury drives me on.

  I don’t stop or even make an attempt to show any rationality. With barely any exerted effort, I shove her into the pool with one hand, while using my other to turn my beer up for a much needed sip.

  I hear the gasp, the splash, and the scream, but I don’t turn around as I casually keep striding, pretending as though nothing just happened. I make it two more steps before Rain is pummeling my arm with her fists. She looks like the energizer bunny on cocaine right now. It actually forces a laugh out of me.

  But quickly my eyes widen, and I narrowly dodge her attempt to knee my balls. She always goes for the fucking jewels shot. I’m losing my edge, because she almost got me.

  “Why the hell did you do that?” she barks.

  A few snickers erupt, drawing my attention. I glance over my shoulder, and nausea strikes me in the form of the bitch called… I don’t know what it’s called, but everyone is looking at Tria as she walks out of the pool, her pale blue dress now almost see-through. And it’s really pissing me off to the point my jaw ticks.

  No fucking bra.

  The thin material clings to her as Dane walks over and hands her his suit jacket, and she takes it quickly before wrapping it around her. Several whistles emerge, and I fight real damn hard not to go put my fist through something—or someone.

  I really didn’t think this through. Now everyone has had an eyeful of the girl I didn’t want anyone looking at. It was supposed to make everyone point and laugh, embarrass the hell out of her, and send her to her room to pout. It was not supposed to draw every fucking guy’s attention.

  “Are you listening to me?” Rain harps, slapping me on the arm.

  Her pathetic assault doesn’t even register pain, but I finally curse as I turn back toward her, barely even managing to tear my eyes away from Tria.

  “What?” I growl.

  She narrows her eyes threateningly, and points her small little finger at me like it’s supposed to be intimidating. “Go apologize. Tria is already on edge anytime she’s around any of you. I swore to her you’d all start treating her better, and here you are pushing her into the pool for no damn reason. She hasn’t said or done anything to you!”

  No, she hasn’t. That’s the fucking problem.

  I know I’m not imagining the things we did, the sounds she made, or the fact her walls clenched around me countless times. My mouth has touched every part of her body, yet she has gone on as though that night never existed. Does she even know it was me?

  She’d better fucking know it was me.

  “I’ll go apologize,” I say tightly, planning on getting some answers as well.
r />   That damn girl has my head all screwed up, and I need things to be right again. It doesn’t make sense. None of this.

  “Where’d Tria go?” I ask Corbin. Dane might chew me out right now, so I’d rather avoid him for a while.

  Corbin snickers while motioning to the rooftop elevator.

  “She just headed down. Some guy went with her to make sure she made it to her room safely.”

  I’m going to have a brain aneurism.

  “What guy?” I snarl, and he tilts his head, confused or amused—I’m not sure which.

  “I don’t know him. Why?”

  Sucking in a painful breath, I manage to rein in my temper long enough to get through this asinine conversation. “Rain is making me apologize, and I don’t want too many people that know me to witness it.”

  It’s a shitty lie, but he buys it, shrugging as I walk toward the elevator. I stab the button over and over until the doors open, and then I press the button for her floor just as furiously.

  How can she just walk off with some guy?

  The elevator takes its sweet time descending, but after an excruciating twenty seconds, the doors finally open to Tria’s floor. I’m glad no one asked me why I didn’t need to know her room number. I didn’t think about that posing questions.

  I only asked the flirty desk clerk what room Tria was in because I wanted to make sure to avoid that room. That’s it. I had no intentions of using such knowledge for any other reason. Nope. No other reason at all.

  My palms start sweating like I’m a nervous kid at a middle-school dance the second I reach her door, and I loosen my tie while nervously clearing my throat. Like a fucking idiot, I lean my ear against the door and listen for voices.

  It’s quiet, though. No sounds at all.

  After shrugging off the unprecedented nerves, I finally summon the necessary courage to knock. The sound of feet shuffling toward the door catches my attention, and then I hear more silence before a few muttered curses behind the door.

  I probably should have covered the peephole.

  “Go away,” she says.

  “I came to apologize. Open the door.” I can’t help but give her my best grin, even though the effect probably isn’t as strong through the distorting lens of the peephole.

  “You don’t need me to open the door for that.”

  Shit. Why did I get myself into this mess?

  “Just open the door. Rain will come down here any minute to find out if we’re—”

  The door swings open, and I swallow the rest of my words when Tria stands before me in nothing but a towel. Her wet hair is hanging down in sexy locks, letting trickles of the chlorine water ride the swells of her breasts and gather in her cleavage.

  My jaw goes slack, my eyes become transfixed, and all my blood drains south.

  “I really don’t give a damn if Rain comes down here. You wanted her attention, apparently. Now you have it. Glad I could play your pawn.”

  Her bitter words snap me out of my trance, and I look up to meet her eyes again. My eyes narrow as I force my way into the room, trying not to enjoy the way she stumbles backwards when I get too close.

  When the door shuts, her eyes look at it like she’s plotting her escape.

  “I wasn’t trying to get Rain’s attention. You were pissing me off.”

  Her eyebrows go up in surprise, and then she gives me the sexiest glare I’ve ever seen, even though I’m sure it is supposed to be warding me off instead of enticing me.

  “I wasn’t doing a damn thing to you. I’ve stayed out of the way since we got here, just like I always do.”

  I take another step forward, and she quickly takes one backward to compensate for the reduced distance, expanding it once again.

  “You were talking to some douche, laughing with him, and letting him touch you.”

  She stares at me for a moment—lost, I think. Then she laughs humorlessly while shaking her head and turning her back on me.

  “I can’t believe this. You’ve acted like we didn’t spend a night together since you left my hotel room, and now you’re pissed because someone else is interested?”

  She turns back to face me, clearly amused by the fact I’m making an ass out of myself.

  “Don’t kid yourself, Tria. That prick couldn’t keep his eyes off Rain. You were just going to be the consolation prize.”

  Her amusement falls, and I silently curse myself when all the life falls from her face.

  Her voice is soft and tired when she finally speaks to me, her gaze on the floor now. “Go, Kode. I wasn’t planning on being his consolation prize. And I’m sure as hell not going to be yours while I’m sober.”

  Yep. I’m going to strangle her. And then I’m chopping my dick off for being such a pain in the ass.

  “So now you merely fucked me because you were drunk? That’s what you’re saying? Because you knew my name, and you asked me to fuck you like I hated you. And you sure as hell had no problem with begging for more each time I—”

  “Are you going to recap every detail?” she groans, her face red and her eyes screwing shut as she turns away again.

  “I was starting to wonder if you even remembered, since you’ve treated me as though I don’t exist.”

  She laughs bitterly, keeping her back to me. My eyes start trailing down to where the towel barely covers her ass. Fortunately I haven’t had much liquor tonight, so I’m not crowding her with my hands or tongue… yet. The night is still young.

  “Kode, you’ve treated me just the same. I assumed it was a mutual kiss-and-don’t-tell moment.”

  I step in behind her, unable to keep looking without touching, even though I’m not the least bit drunk. My hands slide around her waist, tugging her back against me, and she shivers while trying to escape. Holding her to me tightly, I run my nose up against her hair and cheek, carelessly letting her wet hair soak my shirt. She smells like exotic fruit and chlorine. It shouldn’t be such an intoxicating medley.

  “We did a hell of a lot more than kiss.”

  She stops fighting, but she’s so stiff that I’m worried she might break in two if I move wrong.

  “We fucked, Kode. One night. Don’t tell me you want more, because I won’t believe you.”

  Her towel is the only thing stopping me from having her naked. It’s all physical. Logically I know we have zero things in common. It’s not like I want a relationship with her, but apparently my dick wants to be in charge, and Tria is all I can think about right now.

  Never had this problem before.

  “We did more than fuck, Tria. My mouth has touched you in ways that had you praising me.”

  I feel her smile, but I can’t see it because I’ve started working on nipping at her neck, enjoying the way she immediately arches against me. Apparently she’s no more in control of her body than I am.

  “I don’t remember that part.”

  That pisses me off. I did some of my best work that night.

  “You’re serious?”

  She nods, angling her neck with a small sigh as she gives me access again. “You should go. This is… so screwed up. And you just pushed me into a pool.”

  “Because you were talking to that douche,” I remind her. It’s not my fault she’s making me crazy. She has to shoulder that on her own.

  “I assumed you were too distracted by the girl hanging on your arm to notice anyone talking to me.”

  This time I grin. “So you were jealous, too? What do we do about this, Tria? One night didn’t get it out of my system, and apparently you’re still just as into me as I am you.”

  She pushes away from me, but I pull her back, spinning her to face me, and my lips crash against hers in a rough kiss that reminds her how she likes it. Her hands go from pushing me away, to clawing at me to get closer.

  There’s nothing romantic or graceful about it. It’s raw and carnal, just like this thing between us. Her towel falls away, and I drop her to the bed, nudging her legs apart so I can settle in between them.r />
  She suckles my tongue, and my hips thrust forward, my cock straining against the fabric of my pants. But when I start fumbling when my belt buckle, she shoves me hard, breaking away from the kiss.

  Before I can protest, a loud banging interrupts us, and Tria’s eyes go wide. She quickly starts slapping me and shushing me when I grunt, and I climb off her with a begrudged motion while she goes to scramble for her towel.

  “Tria? It’s Rain. Open up. I swear I’m going to kill him.”

  I grin over at Tria who rolls her eyes at me. “I’m coming.”

  She grabs my hand, putting her finger over her lips, but I knock her hand away and pull her to me for a hard kiss that has her pushing and pulling at me again. Finally, pushing wins out, and I stumble into the room’s bathroom.

  She points a warning finger at me while Rain pounds harder against the door, and then she closes the door to the bathroom, where I decide to stay. No need in pissing my brother off by telling him I’m trying to fuck Tria. I’m barely staying on his good side these days, and he has started viewing Tria like a little sister he has to protect.

  The problem is, there’s no protecting her from me until I stop obsessing over her.

  ***

  TRIA

  What the unholy hell just happened? Am I seriously that big of a masochist that I let Kode run his greedy hands all over my bare body after humiliating me in front of the entire party? I know damn well my daddy issues aren’t that bad.

  I have to get the hell out of here. Thank God for Rain right now.

  “Hey,” I say, clutching the towel back around me as I open the door for Rain.

  Her platinum blonde hair is in disarray, like she and Dane just had a moment where they snuck away from the party. Leave it to Rain to get the nicest, most perfect person in the world for her. I refuse to envy her because it’ll only make being her sister that much harder.

  “Can I come in?” she asks.

  My eyes reflexively go to the bathroom door where Kode is playing nice. But if he wants to get Rain’s attention, he’ll be storming out at any moment, trying to use me to make her jealous. And it wouldn’t be the first time I was a pawn. Or the second. Or even the third.