Barbie Btch (Rejects Paradise #3) - Sheridan Anne Page 0,7
his lips into a light line and nods before taking my face gently in both hands and tilting my head down to press a kiss to my forehead. “What can I say?” he says with a small shrug. “You’ve always been one for the dramatics.”
A tear rolls down my cheek and he instantly wipes it away. “You’re going to be okay, Ocean. Just stay away from the wine cellar and you won’t have to think about it. Just go about your day pretending he’s not down there. There’s no reason for you to beat yourself up over this.”
“He was defenseless, Colton. In heavy chains and already skin and bones, bruised, and beat up. I’m not going to be able to forget what I did any time soon.”
“In that case, revel in it. You kicked his ass while he was down. You took away his will just as he did to you. He drugged and raped you and took what he wanted. It’s called karma and when karma comes around with a face like yours, she’s a fucking bitch.”
I smile even though I shouldn’t. “I can get on board with that,” I murmur.
“Good.”
His hands slip around me again, pulling me into his chest, pulling me home, and I let out a soft sigh. “So, what now?”
Colton shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know,” he tells me. “I can’t say that I’ve ever held someone hostage before. I guess we wait and see if he lives through to morning and then take it day by day. I can’t let him go, Ocean. I can’t risk him doing it again and I can’t risk him talking to the police.”
“He won’t go to the police. He can’t risk that.”
“True. What do you think?”
“I think we have no choice but to do what I’ve always wanted to do. We hand him over to Nic.”
“Nic will end it. Are you okay with that?”
I bite down on my lip, really thinking about it. I wasn’t okay with being the one to end it, I wasn’t strong enough, but am I okay with still being responsible for his death? I don’t know. “Can I let you know?”
“Of course, Jade,” he whispers, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “Are you going to be alright?”
I shrug. “Can I let you know about that too?”
Colton nods. “Do you want to stay with me tonight?”
I look up and meet his deep, loving eyes. “Is that alright?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I fall back into his chest and smile against his warm skin. “Uh, Jade?” he questions. “I know you’re sort of going through something here, but did you want to put that fire out? You’re kinda burning the ceiling and my bedroom is above this.”
Oh, fuck.
I get up off the shower floor and Colton raises behind me, reaching for a massive white towel that he wraps around me. I turn off the shower as he peels off his wet clothes and as I dry myself off, he deals with the fire in his bathtub, knowing damn well that he’s going to have to have someone come in to replace the ceiling.
“Sorry,” I murmur, looking up at the damage I’ve caused. “I was trying to get rid of the evidence.”
“It’s alright, Jade. It’s nothing I can’t fix.”
I find a silk robe and pull it on, dropping the towel in the hamper. “How did you know I was down there?” I question as Colton grabs a towel of his own and quickly dries off before wrapping the towel around his narrow waist.
“My mom,” he admits with a cringe. “She came to tell me about your little … run in. She mentioned that she’d sent you down to Dad’s personal wine cellar and the second the words came out of her mouth, I ran.”
I cringe. “I forgot about that bitch,” I say, not in the mood to mask my opinion of his mother, though, from his carefree response, I’d dare say his opinion isn’t too far from mine.
“I don’t blame you,” he says. “But don’t worry, knowing her, she’ll be gone in no time.”
I nod and let out a breath, trying my hardest to file all this bullshit away in my brain and not allow it to continue eating me up. “So, Spencer?” I ask as Colton reaches for the door handle and opens it for me. “He knew about this the whole time?”
Colton nods and I stop in the middle of the open doorway to look up at him. “That