Love & Hate (Book One: Hate) (14 page)

“
You look stunning Paige.” He says watching me walk in front of him. I’m glad I’m in front of him so he can’t see me blush.

“
So we are going to the frat?” I ask him as we ride in the elevator.

“
Yup.” He is still looking at me and it’s making me feel self-conscious.

“
What are you looking at?” I finally get the nerve to ask him.

“
You” he says in a dark voice which makes me feel a little dizzy.
Oh, I have heard that tone before.

We arrive at the frat and it is dead upstairs. There are a couple of guys milling around but for the most part it is empty which I find very odd since its Halloween and they are having a mixer tonight.

“
Where is everyone?” I ask Cutter as we walk through the house.

“
Hmm… I don’t know.” He says guiding me toward the basement.

We walk down the sticky beer stained stairs. When we reach the bottom I can see the giant double doors are shut and I don’t hear any music.
What the heck is going on? Where is everyone?

Cutter proceeds past me and pushes the double doors open.

“
SURPRISE!” I hear as I walk into the basement. I look around the basement and see most of my sorority and pretty much all of Cutter’s fraternity.

I turn back to look at Cutter who is beaming with a giant smile. “You did this?”

“
Yup. Tanner and Millie helped of course.”

I don’t think about it. I rush to him and kiss him passionately. I can hear the whoops and hollers behind me but I could care less. I love that he did this for me and I need him to know that.

Cutter pulls back from our kiss. I’m sure he is aware we are not alone. “Happy Birthday darling.” He says and kisses me back softly.

My head is swimming with thoughts of what I really wanted to be doing with Cutter if we were alone. I know I need to stop kissing him and go greet everyone but I don’t want to. I could kiss this man forever.

“
Baby we need to stop, we have an audience.” He whispers softly in my ear as he pulls back from me.

“
Fine.” I whine.

Cutter ignores my little tantrum and simply threads his hand through mine pulling me into the crowd with him.

Pretty much all my college friends are here. Even the Katies have come to celebrate my birthday. Millie is the first one to great me.

“
Happy Birthday P!” She screams over the music and wraps her arms around my neck. Mills has chosen to dress in a stewardess outfit. The dark navy skirt is super short and her white button up shirt is definitely working over-time at keeping the girls caged in. She topped the whole outfit off with a really cute polka dot navy scarf tied around her neck and her very own silver wings pinned on her shirt.

“
Thanks Mills. Love the outfit!” I tell her as she hugs me.

“
Oh thanks. I’m working on getting into the mile high club if you know what I mean.” She says nudging my shoulder.

I laugh at Mills bluntness. “Well good luck with that.” I tell her and continue on through the crowd of people.

I see Cutter across the way near the bar. He is talking to a group of guys in his pledge class. They are all laughing and joking about something. As I watch him his eyes find mine. His smile changes and I see that hunger that is always there when he looks at me. My cheeks pink instantly and look at the ground. The way he affects me blows my mind. Just a simple look from him can turn me on.

“
Hey Paige, Happy Birthday.” I look up to find Laney Davis staring back at me. She is dressed as a baseball player. She has on white tight shorts and the signature high socks. Her socks have pink stripes and her top is a matching hot pink. Her brown hair is pulled in a ponytail under her baseball hat. Laney is your classic beauty. She is obviously athletic because she is very fit. The tightness of her outfit leaves little to the imagination, showing off all of her perfection. The guys must agree because I have noticed several eyeing her while she stands next to me.

“
Thanks Laney.” I say a little confused by her presence at my party since we aren’t really friends.

“
Cutter invited me.” She blurts out. She must have seen my confusion.

“
Well I’m glad you could make it.” I tell her honestly. I know Tess doesn’t like her but Laney has never done anything to me.

“
Yeah, me too. I haven’t seen much of Cutter since we have been at school and I miss him.” I know I shouldn’t feel immediately jealous but I do. I know that Cutter and Laney are friends but there is just something in the way she says it that frankly pisses me off.

I chose not to acknowledge her statement and change the subject. We chit chat for a minute about school and then I proceed on through the crowd to find Cutter. I don’t get far because Tanner catches my arm.

“
Happy Birthday!” He yells and wraps me up in the biggest hug picking me off the ground.

I laugh at Tanner’s excitement. “Thanks Tanner, but can you put me down. I can’t breathe.” I squeak.

Tanner sets me on my feet. “Sorry.” He says through his big smile.

He is dressed in a Captain America outfit with neon blue tights and all. He even has the freaking shield. It is for sure one the best outfits of the night. I love Tanner, he makes everything fun.

“
Love the tights.” I tell him through my laughter.

“
Oh you like these huh?” He says doing a little strut.

“
Oh I do and I’m sure the ladies do too.” I reassure him.

“
We will see my friend! We will see!” He says and takes off toward pack of girls congregating near the front of the room.

I shake my head and continue toward Cutter when someone snatches my arm. I know it’s not Cutter. I would know his touch anywhere. This was someone I didn’t know.

“
Hey don’t I know you?” I look over to see a stalky shorter guy. I recognize him immediately; it’s Gym Rat. The creepy guy who got all grabby with me on bid night, the guy Cutter had saved me from.

I start to pull out of his grasp and try to back away from him but he continues to invade my space.

“
Can I help you Chris?” Cutter rasps in a menacing voice.

“
Oh hey Cutter, I was just trying to figure out where I know this chick from.” He says still looking at me trying to place where he knows me from.

“
You don’t.” With that Cutter grabs my hand forcefully from Chris’ and begins walking us quickly toward the stairs of the basement.

“
What the hell Paige.” He says as we climb the stairs.
Wait, he is mad at me?

“
What?”

When we reach the top of the stairs he whirls around to face me. “What were you talking to Chris about and why was he holding onto your arm?”
Oh hell no. This was not my fault.

“
I wasn’t talking to him he grabbed me out of nowhere and asked if he knew me. End of story!” I snap back at him.

“
I don’t like you talking to Chris. Not everyone is nice Paige. He is not a good guy, okay?” He huffs in frustration.

“
I didn’t want to talk to him but he grabbed my arm.”

Cutter lets out a deep sigh. “Okay, just promise me that you will stay away from him.” He looks frustrated but I can see he is trying to fight it.

“
I promise. He creeps me out anyway.” I try to reassure him.

“
Good. I don’t like seeing other guys with their hands on you. I thought I was going to kill him.” He blurts out and fisting his hands in his hair.

“
Cutter…”

“
I know I’m being a possessive asshole but I can’t help it.” He looks at the ground.

“
No, I’m glad you are protective of me. I was just going to say you have nothing to worry about.” I take a step into his space forcing him to look at me. His eyes meet mine and the hunger is back in them. He closes the distance between in one large step. He pulls me by the shoulders and kisses me roughly.

“
Are you ready to go darling?” His eyes are dark and hooded.

“
Yes but don’t you think people will wonder where we are.” I want to leave but it is my party.

“
It’s also Halloween Paige pretty soon everyone will be so drunk they don’t even know where they are.”

“
You’re right let’s go.” He smiles and grabs my hand whisking me towards the exit.

CHAPTER 13

Cutter and I reach my dorm room and we barely get inside before we begin madly making out again. We crash into my room, which I’m sure, will wake up the Katies if they are home. I come up for air, tossing my bag back on the desk and kicking off high heels with a thud.

Cutter sits on the edge of my bed and pulls of his boots. He then starts to unbutton his plaid shirt and I’m awestruck. I watch his perfectly chiseled chest peek out of his shirt as he lazily undoes his buttons. He gets to the last one and tugs his shirt off. I must have gasped because he looks over at me worried. The minute he sees my eyes though he understands why I gasped.
Busted!

He stands up and saunters over to where I’m standing. He reaches up to take off his hat but I reach out and stop him. “No don’t. I kind of like you in a cowboy hat.”

A very sexy grin plays across his face. “You do huh?”

I nod. That grin alone makes me weak at the knees. I feel the familiar butterflies take flight in my stomach.

“
Well I’ll tell you what I like. I like this dress. It is very sexy. But I’m afraid it must go.” He says slipping a finger under the strap of my dress pushing it down my shoulders. He slips under finger under the other strap pushing it down as well. My dress instantly drops to the floor, pooling around my feet. I am now standing completely naked except for my lacy black thong and matching black strapless bra. Cutter groans in appreciation.

“
I’m glad you approve.” I tell him.

“
Oh I more than approve baby.” He says and reaches up behind me undoing my bra. I suck in sharp breathe when he bends down kissing one of my breasts. I love when he does this. It drives me insane. He begins to palm my other breast and I feel like I may just loose it having him touch me this way.

“
Okay, its bed time.” Cutter abruptly stops and takes a step back from me.

I let out a little whimper as the cold air hits my very wet breasts. “Fine” I manage to say before I stalk off toward my closet to get my pajamas. He loves doing this to me. I swear he enjoys teasing the hell out of me.

When I emerge from the closet he has my covers turned down and the lights off except for my bedside lamp. “Hop in Paige.”

I climb in and pull the covers over me. This is our little routine. It has become our cat and mouse game. Cutter works me up and then cuddles with me until I fall asleep. It is beyond frustrating.

“
Aren’t you staying for a while?” I ask as he stands next to my bed.

“
Of course I am, scoot over.” I push over to the edge of my twin bed. Cutter climbs in next to me with his jeans still on.

“
Do you want to watch some Deadliest Catch?” I ask him.

“
Sure do.” He says removing the cowboy hat I have now come to love.

I turn on the T.V. and the DVD player. We have been re-watching the last season together almost every night.

“
What time does your flight leave in the morning?”

“
Six in the morning I think.” I had almost forgotten that I leave tomorrow for a horse show in Oregon. My Dad had called me earlier in the week and asked me if I would ride a four-year old mare named Kiki in the non-pro trail futurity. Lacey was riding another horse from the farm in the same class so he needed a second non-pro rider. I told him he could probably get a catch rider for Kiki but he insisted I would be better. I was excited to be going to a horse show though. I hadn’t been to one since being away at school and I missed it.

“
How many days will you be gone?” He asks looking a bit forlorn.

“
I’ll be back on Sunday.” I tell him with a sympathetic smile.

“
I’m going to miss you.”

“
I will miss you too.”

“
Don’t go falling for some other cowboy.” He says with a smile.

“
Never.” I tell him and kiss him lightly.

Somewhere between kissing Cutter and watching Deadliest Catch I fall into a deep sleep.

When I wake up Cutter is gone. He always leaves in the middle of the night. He never stays. I don’t really understand why but I have never asked him.