A Sinner’s Saint (De Bellis Crime Family #4)

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

H ave you ever experienced something so life-altering you know it’s going to be one of those moments that changes you forever? Except, you don’t know it at the time, when you’re living in that moment. That realisation comes later, when the moment’s already passed, and you can’t do a damn thing to take it back.

That’s what Saturday night was like for me. A moment I know is going to change my entire life. Although, if I could do it all over again, I absolutely would. Just to experience it again. Vin was nothing like I expected him to be. He was caring, tender even. He touched me like I was precious. Like I was something worth millions.

Yep, a night I won’t be forgetting anytime soon, if ever. I don’t think anyone else could ever compare to Vin. I get it. I’m young and I’m sure I’ll meet plenty of other men in my life. I also know that I’ll compare every single one of them to him from this day forward.

I might have spent all yesterday contemplating if I should call him. Message him. Slide into his DMs. After a few hours, it finally hit me that I didn’t even have his phone number. And when I went to search for him on social media, he didn’t exist.

What kind of seventeen-year-old doesn’t have socials? Vin De Bellis. That’s who. Someone who doesn’t care about societal expectations or social norms.

The guy literally moves to his own beat. Especially in bed. Boy, did he hit the right notes over and over again. And he never tried to tie me up, which makes me wonder if all the gossip about him is even real.

My stomach is filled with nerves. I don’t know what to expect or what I should do today. How do I act when I see him? Is he going to go back to just staring at me from a distance? Should I approach him or wait for him to come to me?

It’s not like I haven’t had a one-night stand before. I know the drill. Don’t get me wrong. It may have been only one one-night-stand. But trust me, these questions never popped up in my head afterwards. I didn’t care if I saw the guy again.

Vin, though? I want to see him again. I want to talk to him. I want him to want to talk to me. Which is why I’m currently clenching my stomach as I walk through the corridor towards my locker. I feel sick with nerves. I hate it. The uncertainty of it.

I’ve never felt like this before. I mean, I’ve always been a little nervous when it comes to Vin. Those butterflies like to go wild in my stomach whenever I see him. But now, it’s like those butterflies flew straight off the shelf of a Costco store, in bulk and super-sized.

Stopping at my locker, I dump all the textbooks I took home—the ones that didn’t get opened once over the weekend—and pick up my English binder just as Devon and Elena come to a stop next to me.

“Explain,” Devon says.

“Ah, explain what exactly?” I ask, looking from her to Elena.

“You were silent all day yesterday, and you followed Vin De Bellis out of the party without a word to us,” Elena says.

“So?”

“So?” Devon gasps. “What happened? Did you…?”

I can feel my cheeks heat up. What do I tell them? Usually, I would have already called and spilled every single detail. It’s different with Vin, though. I don’t think I want to share him. I don’t want everyone to know just how amazing he is. I also don’t want to deal with the embarrassment after he doesn’t acknowledge me today.

If I tell the girls I spent the night with him Saturday, and then he goes back to ignoring me…

Well, I just can’t.

“Vin dropped me home,” I tell a half-lie. I mean, he did drop me home. It just wasn’t Saturday night.

“Really?” Devon frowns.

“He just dropped you home? That’s it?” Elena asks with a confused look on her face.

Lauren pops up beside me, her arm snaking around my shoulder. “Don’t look now, but lover boy is coming your way,” she whispers.

My heart pounds in my chest. Vin is coming this way?

I turn and regret it as soon as my eyes land on Jye, who is very much not Vin and appears to be heading straight for me. “Argh, gross,” I hiss to Lauren, turning back around while doing my best to ignore the creep and the sound of his squeaky shoes making a beeline for my locker.

A hand taps my shoulder. “Cammi?”

Taking a deep breath, I turn around again. “Jye? Can I help you with something?” I keep my voice neutral. Polite. I don’t want to engage. I don’t know why he’s even talking to me.

“Yeah, you owe me a kiss,” he says.

I laugh, and then stop when I notice he’s not. “Oh my god! You’re serious?”

“As a heart attack. A game is a game, and rules are rules.” He grins.

“Yeah, well, I’m not kissing you. Now or ever.”

Jye takes a step closer, forcing me to take one in the opposite direction. My back hits the cold metal of my locker.

“Whoa, back the fuck up.” This comes from Devon.

“Stay out of it. This is between me and Cammi,” Jye sneers at her.

Lauren looks past Jye and smiles. “Yeah, you might want to back away from her,” she tells him.

“No, I don’t think…” Jye’s words are cut off when he’s tugged away from me before I can blink.

Everything happens so quickly. One minute, he’s right in my face. The next, he’s on the ground and an extremely angry-looking Vin is on top of him, raining down punch after punch.

A crowd gathers. Idiots surround us, all chanting, “Fight, fight, fight!”

I need to stop this madness. I don’t want Vin getting into any more trouble than he already has because of me.

Dash and Marcus pull Vin off Jye, whose face is covered in blood. “Let this be your only fucking warning.” Vin points to the crowd and then at me. “Camile Taylor is mine. If I so much as see any of you fuckers think about touching her, I will kill you.”

My eyes bug out of my head. What the hell? I wanted him to acknowledge me, sure, but he’s just made a freaking declaration in front of the entire school. People are recording it.

Shit. They’re all staring at me.

Vin doesn’t seem fazed at all. He lifts his arm, an invitation for me to lean against him. “You okay?” he whispers into my ear.

I nod my head. Shouldn’t I be the one asking him that?

“Vin, they’re all staring,” I whisper.

“Let them get a good look at their queen. We should get to class,” he says. “You got everything you need?”

Again, I nod like an idiot, because I don’t know what else to do. What else to say. When I look at my friends, their expressions tell me that the interrogation is coming. Just as soon as they get me alone. Thankfully, I have until lunch before I have to face them again.

“Later,” I mouth in their direction.

“So, what’d you get up to yesterday?” Vin asks as we make our way to our English class.

“Not much. You?”

“Babysat one of my brothers,” he says.

“Babysat? Aren’t you the youngest?” I look up at him.

“Yep. But you wouldn’t know it right now,” Vin grunts. “What’d you really do? You can’t expect me to believe you did nothing all day?”

“I… ah… Well, most of the day, I sat around debating whether or not I should call or text someone. And then it occurred to me I didn’t actually have their number anyway,” I admit.

Vin drops his arm from my shoulder. “Give me your phone,” he says.

“Why?” Even as I’m questioning him, I’m pulling my phone out of my pocket.

“I want to make sure you have my number. You know, in case that someone you want to sit around and debate on calling or messaging is me one day.” He takes my phone from my hand, and I watch as he types in his number. “There,” he says when he passes it back. “And for the record, don’t ever sit around debating shit. Just call me.”

“Okay. Thank you.” My eyes drop to my shoes. I don’t know why I’m feeling shy all of a sudden. He’s seen me naked. We showered together, not to mention everything else we’ve done.

Whispers surround us as we walk into the nearly-full classroom, side by side. I don’t blame them. I’d be curious too if I saw Vin De Bellis walk into class with the girl he just publicly claimed. He’s never done anything like this before.

If I thought the whispers and stares would simmer down as the day progressed, I was wrong. If anything, they’ve gotten worse. After English, Vin walked me to my next class and then went on to his. I haven’t seen him since.

Now, I’m walking through the cafeteria, wishing I’d chosen to eat somewhere else, anywhere else. Sinking into the seat across from Elena and Lauren, next to Devon, I look at my three best friends. And they all stare back at me like I’m a stranger.

“Okay, spit it out now or forever hold your peace.” I wave a hand at them in gesture for them to get on with it.

“What the actual hell? Vin? Really? You’re dating Vin De Bellis and you didn’t tell us?” This comes from Devon.

“I’m just… shocked. Happy for you, of course… if you’re happy,” Elena says.

“How did this even happen?” Lauren adds.

“Okay, first… I don’t actually know how it happened. It just did. Second, yes, Vin De Bellis. And third, I didn’t tell you because, like I said, it just happened,” I explain.

“Don’t look now, but lover boy is coming your way,” Elena hisses.

Of course, I turn around and look. Thankfully, this time, it’s Vin who’s making his way towards me with determination on his face and his two friends flanking his sides.

He sits right next to me, leans in, and whispers into my ear, “Ask me.”

I pivot in my seat and whisper back into his ear. “Vin, kiss me as if it’s the first and last time you ever will.”

“Oh, babe, it’s never going to be the last time,” he says right before his lips slam down onto mine.

Everything drifts away. The noise of the students, the sounds of the chairs scraping across the tiled floor. Everything except him. It all dies away when his lips are on mine. By the time we break apart, I’m breathless and horny as all hell. But let’s not focus on that right now.

I turn to the very open stares of everyone at the table. “Well, this is new,” Dash says, pointing from me to Vin.

“Not really. Our boy’s been pining over this one forever,” Marcus adds.

“This one has a name,” Vin growls—yes, literally growls.

“Sorry, Cammi,” Marcus directs to me. “Let me know if the animal gives you any trouble. I’ll be sure to put him back in his cage.”

“I’d likely jump in the cage with him if you did,” I tell Marcus with a smile. And I mean every word.