Fair Game (The Rules Book 1)

by Monica Murphy

  “Kelli wanted me to go with them so I agreed. She knew it was at your frat and she was banking on you being there.”

  “Were you banking on me being there?”

  “Why do you think I wore these shorts?”

  Surprise filling me, my gaze meets hers again and she’s smiling at me, looking rather pleased with herself.

  “So you wore them for me.”

  “In the hopes that you’d be there…yeah.”

  “You about gave me a heart attack when I first saw you in those shorts,” I mutter, my gaze going to her pale thighs. I want to touch them. My fingers are fucking tingling, I want to touch them so bad.

  “The shorts are Kelli’s. They’re way too short for me,” she explains.

  “They’re perfect.” I give in and reach out to rest my hand on her thigh, sliding my fingers between them and she shifts beneath my touch, trapping my fingers. Her skin is silky soft and so fucking smooth. “You’re a tease.”

  “I think you like it when I tease you,” she whispers.

  No use denying the truth. Removing my hand from her legs, I clutch the steering wheel and press harder on the gas. Eager to get back to my house so I can drag her up to my bedroom and end this night on the right note. Nothing is stopping us. No drunken Jade. No random girls bursting into my room and calling us fuck birds. No period issues. No Shep issues.

  Well. I can’t guarantee I won’t have an issue but I gotta ignore it. No panicking allowed. No worry over what she wants from me. No worry over what I might want from her. I need to focus on the here and now. That Jade is willingly in my car and is going home with me—again, willingly. This is major. I can’t mess it up.

  I refuse to mess this up.

  Within minutes I’m pulling the car into the garage and I practically leap out of my seat, going round to the passenger side so I can open Jade’s door. All I see are her legs as she climbs out of the car, my mouth going dry as I drink them in.

  I am in serious trouble tonight.

  Taking her hand, I tug her into the house, through the kitchen, the living room, down the hall, heading straight for my bedroom. She’s been there before. I had her pinned to my bed that one night when we finally kissed for the first time. How long ago was that? It feels like months though I think it’s really only been weeks. How can I feel so connected to a girl I’ve known for only a short time? I want to learn everything about her—and not just what gets her off. I want to know what makes her tick, what she wants out of life.

  This is the sort of thing that scares the crap out of me so I push the crazy thoughts from my head as I pull her into my bedroom and shut the door behind her, turning the lock, watching as she stops at the foot of the bed, slowly turning to face me.

  There’s no light on in the room but my blinds are still open and slivers of moonlight spill into the room, illuminating Jade in shadow. I say nothing and neither does she and I wonder for a panicked moment if she can hear my heart racing. It’s like all I can hear, the rushing sound filling my ears, filling my head.

  She sits on the edge of the bed and takes off first one sandal, then the other. They both fall to the floor with a solid thump and she pushes her feet into the floor, her toes curling as I hear them crack.

  “Those sandals were killing my feet,” she murmurs.

  Relief floods me. God, she’s so normal. So…regular. And not in a bad way. In a wonderful, perfect way. Any other girl would’ve tried to jump me the second the door closed. Or she would’ve offered up a strip tease, ending up sprawled across my bed looking nothing like I imagined. Push up bras hide small tits. Excess makeup hides regular features. Teased, blonde hair lies when the pubic hair is revealed to be pitch black. Or worse, there’s no hair, nothing but a very bare, very pubescent looking pussy and that just turns me off.

  I’m starting to realize I don’t mind regular girls. Everyone has flaws, including me. Lies are just that. Lies. With Jade, everything I see is what I get. The vivid red hair. The freckles—so many fucking cute freckles. Her breasts are real. I’ve felt them enough to know there’s no padding in that bra, those tits are one hundred percent Jade’s. Pale, creamy skin, no spray tan in sight. She’s natural.

  Beautiful.

  Real.

  I approach her, stopping just in front of her. She tilts her head back, all that red hair spilling down her back and realization dawns.

  “Did you wear your hair down for me?” I ask, keeping my voice low, not wanting to break the spell that’s slowly forming between us. Everything’s quiet in this room, the only sound our breaths and I wonder if I should put on some music but I’m afraid that’ll ruin the mood.

  She nods. “Yes,” she whispers. “Everything I’ve done tonight, has been for…” She presses her lips together for a brief moment, like she doesn’t want to offer up this bit of information. Makes me want to hear it that much more. “It’s all been for you.”

  “Why?” I don’t deserve her trying to do anything to impress me. I damn near ruined this.

  Jade starts to laugh, the sound light and pretty and making my skin tighten in anticipation. “I wanted to look amazing so I could knock you on your ass, tease you into wanting me again and then walk away from you without a backward glance.”

  Okay yeah, she was setting me up but I’m stuck on one tiny bit of her admission. “Wait a minute. Did you say tease me into wanting you again?”

  She gives me a funny look. “Well, yeah. Because clearly you…”

  “Clearly I nothing.” I touch her, slip my fingers into her hair and push it away from her forehead gently. She leans into my touch, her eyes sliding to half-mast. “I never stopped wanting you, Jade,” I murmur. “Ever.”

  “It felt like you did,” she admits softly. “I thought I didn’t…please you. After what happened, it’s like you didn’t want to have anything to do with me ever again. I figured that was all on me.”

  I close my eyes for a brief moment and breathe deep. Guilt settles over me heavily. That she’s in my room at this very moment, giving me another chance…I should get on my knees and thank the lord above. “I’m an asshole. I—panicked.”

  She frowns up at me, appearing genuinely confused. “Panicked? Why?”

  How do I explain that she scares the hell out of me? How my feelings for her scare me even worse? “I don’t know.” I shrug. I’m such a liar.

  Slowly she stands, her body rubbing against mine, her gaze intent. I don’t back up, don’t move away from her and she’s so close, I absorb her body heat, inhale her sweet, clean scent, and my hands automatically settle on her hips.

  “I’m probably going to regret this,” she whispers as she settles her hands on my chest. Her fingers are hot, burning through my T-shirt, branding me and I wait in anticipation of what she’s going to say next. “This won’t end good for us, I know it. But—”

  I don’t even give her a chance to finish the sentence. I don’t care about the explanation, the worry or fears she might be experiencing. All I can concentrate on is how she’s looking at me, how good she feels pressed next to me. I bend my head and kiss her, cutting off her words, thrusting my tongue in her mouth, triumph surging through me when she melts into me, her hands slipping beneath my T-shirt to touch my bare skin.

  I’ve got her.

  And I’m not about to let her go.

  Jade

  He’s kissing me. I’m in Shep’s bedroom—again—and he’s touching me, kissing me, seducing me. Again. And I’m letting it happen. I’m giving in gleefully, as if what he did to me only a few days ago doesn’t matter any longer.

  It doesn’t. At least, not tonight. I’m taking my opportunities where I can find them and if he ends up hurting me, tossing me aside and forgetting all about me, then so be it. I like this guy. I want this guy.

  For some wild and crazy reason, he seems to like and want me too.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispers as he runs his mouth along my jaw, down my neck. I like that he keeps apologizing too. Makes me think he re
ally does regret how he treated me the night of the blowjob fail. Though is it really a fail when the guy comes in your mouth? I don’t think so. “I don’t know why I acted like such a prick that night.”

  I say nothing. Just revel in his mouth on my skin, his wandering hands. Oh, I love it when he touches me like this. He just takes completely over, there’s no hesitancy, no awkwardness. My past sexual experiences were all about hesitancy and awkwardness. That part sucked. Most of it sucked. I always got performance anxiety and felt like I couldn’t measure up.

  Oh, and orgasms? Forget it. I seriously don’t think I can come with a guy. On my own, yes, but otherwise? No can do.

  With Shep, I tend to forget my hang-ups. All I can concentrate on is his lips on mine, his busy hands, his hard body…

  “I want to make it up to you,” he continues, his fingers tugging on the hem of my shirt. Slowly he pulls it up, past my stomach, the fabric catching on my breasts before I lift my arms over my head and he tugs the tank completely off my body, letting it fall to the floor.

  His gaze lands on my bra-covered chest and he stares blatantly at my breasts, his eyes lighting up like a little kid who just caught sight of the pile of presents beneath the tree on Christmas morning. I’m tempted to cross my arms in front of my chest but he’d only make me drop them so I don’t. I stand there, letting him look his fill, eager for him to say something, anything to move this moment along.

  “You’re beautiful,” he murmurs, his eyes glowing as they lift to meet mine. “Take off the shorts, Jade.”

  Shock and arousal rushes through me at the tone of his voice, the command of his words. Here he goes being bossy again and without hesitation I do as he asks, shedding the shorts and kicking them off, so I’m standing in front of him wearing nothing but my black lace bra and the matching panties.

  That I picked out and wore tonight just for him, in the hopes that he’d see me like this. Matching bra and panties is so not my style.

  I’m bad. I planned for all of this. I wanted him to see me, to chase after me, to beg me for forgiveness. I wanted to give in and have him take me back to his place and strip off my clothes and…

  “Lay back on the bed.” He swallows hard and works his jaw, his eyes never leaving me. He rests his hands on his hips, standing at the foot of the bed, foreboding and sexy and oh my God, I can’t believe this is really happening.

  In fact, I’m starting to freak out just the slightest bit. Frowning, I ask, “Why?” Worry trickles inside of me and I tell myself to get over it.

  But I can’t help it. Old habits die hard.

  “Just do it,” he commands, his voice softening the slightest bit, as do his eyes. “Please.”

  Is it wrong that I really love it when he says please? When he looks so tortured by my mere presence on his bed? Do I really have that much power over him? Because if I do?

  That’s heady stuff.

  Without a word, I do as he asks, lying back on his giant bed, scooting up the mattress so my back and head are leaning against the fat pile of pillows. They smell like Shep, spicy and clean. I close my eyes and turn my head, inhaling deeply, my nose practically buried in the pillowcase.

  “Damn, you look pretty,” he murmurs, his voice husky. “Spread your legs for me, baby.”

  I’m supposed to hate it when he calls me baby, but I don’t. I freaking love it. His gaze races over me, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and I bend my knees, place my feet flat on the mattress before I slowly open my legs, sliding my feet across the bed.

  His eyes flare with heat but he doesn’t speak. Feeling emboldened, I rest my hand on my stomach, my fingers perilously close to the waistband of my panties. I could just slide them beneath the black lace and sink them deep. I’m that wet, I can tell. All from him only watching me.

  But it’s the way he watches me. He looks ready to pounce. Ready to take and conquer and make me his. That’s…exciting. My skin tingles in anticipation and then he’s there, climbing onto the bed with me, climbing over me, his face in mine, his arms braced on the mattress on either side of my head. I bring my legs closer together, his knees resting on each side of my hips and I release a shuddery breath when he presses his face to my neck, his mouth on my skin.

  “Tonight is all about you,” he whispers close to my ear just before he kisses it. I close my eyes, my heart racing as he starts to slide down my body, his mouth never leaving my skin. He blazes a trail with his lips, across my collarbone, my chest, kissing along the tops of my breasts, over them, licking first one nipple, then the other, his tongue dragging over the lace of my bra. A shock of heat pulses through me, settling between my legs and I swear to God, all the oxygen leaves my lungs when he shifts lower, his mouth drifting across my stomach. I’m so sensitive I almost want to laugh, or at the very least squirm away from his mouth. I bite my lip to keep myself under control.

  “You have freckles here,” he murmurs, his fingers coming into play. He touches my stomach, pressing his fingertips into my flesh as he oh so slowly kisses around my belly button. “You have freckles everywhere.”

  He’s fascinated with them and I sort of don’t get why. All these years I’ve silently—and not so silently—cursed their existence and now I have the hottest guy on campus running his lips all over them.

  His freaking lips. God, I’m weak just thinking about it, let alone actually feeling those magical lips on my skin, his fingers drawing little circles on my stomach, making goose bumps rise. I shiver when his mouth shifts lower, his tongue teasing along the waistband of my panties. His long fingers curl around the sides of my underwear at my hips, as if he’s going to pull them off and he goes completely still.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I open my eyes to find him watching me, his brows furrowed together, his big body nestled between my legs. I go weak just looking at him, assuming what he plans on doing, worried that he’s going to be sorely disappointed when he realizes that I just flat out…

  Yeah. I can’t come. The ever-elusive orgasm will slip right out of my fingers like usual when I’m with a guy and disappear into the ether. Ridiculous, because I have Shep freaking Prescott between my legs, his mouth right there, like he’s about to go down on me or something—holy crap does he really plan on going down on me? My girly parts are lighting up like crazy at the possibility of that mouth going ahem, there—yet I’m freezing up. Silently freaking out.

  He’s waiting for me to say something and I don’t know how to answer. I don’t know what to do. Tell him the truth? Yeah, I’m sure that’ll excite him.

  Oh hey, Shep. Did I happen to mention I have a hard time um…finding release? Yeah, it’s most likely a waste of your time to focus all of our energy—there. You could go downtown on me all you want, but you’ll probably just end up spraining your tongue. And it’ll be all for naught! So go ahead and skip that part. There’s really no point.

  “Uh,” I start and he sends me a look. A look that makes me snap my mouth shut and wait in breathless anticipation as he slowly starts to tug my panties down, exposing me. He pauses, my panties halfway down my thighs, his face mere inches from my lady bits and then he presses a light kiss on my thigh, a mere brush of his lips against my extra sensitive skin. Yet a jolt runs through me at first contact, settling in my core, and I close my eyes on a whimper.

  Hmm. Maybe he can make me come with that magical mouth of his…

  Twenty

  Shep

  “Let’s take these off,” I murmur, keeping my eye on Jade’s face as I slowly remove her panties. That little sound she made in the back of her throat when I kissed her thigh was hot. I want to hear that sound again.

  Desperately.

  She looks a little dazed at the prospect of me stripping her naked and I like that, too. I like it a lot. I want her dazed. I want her open and willing and receptive and eventually, I want her falling apart in my arms—or against my mouth. Around my fingers. However I can get her, I want her. I’m determined to make her come. Give he
r the orgasm she deserves. I still think about that blowjob she gave me and I need to return the favor.

  I slip the delicate black lace down her long, pale legs, run my fingers along her silky smooth skin, until the little scrap of fabric is dangling off her feet and she’s kicking them onto the floor. She inhales sharply when I place my hands on the inside of her slender thighs and I can feel her tremble beneath my palms.

  Fuck. My hands are shaking too. I’ve waited for this moment for what feels like an eternity and now that I finally have her where I want her, I’m nervous. And I’m never nervous. Girls are just girls. You fuck one, you’ve fucked them all. Some are a little more up for adventure, some are better cock suckers—crude but true—and some are screamers. But really? They’re all pretty much the same.

  At least, they have been for me.

  Until Jade.

  Trying to get my mental shit together, I spread her legs wider, revealing her to my gaze. And it is a damn pretty pussy. She’s a natural redhead, though that’s no surprise and she’s the first natural redhead I’ve ever been with, which is actually a total surprise. I don’t usually discriminate. Blondes, brunettes—I even fingered a chick with pink hair once—but I guess I’ve never been with a redhead.

  Wild.

  I run my fingers down the inside of her thighs, my gaze never leaving the spot between her legs. I can smell her. She’s turned the fuck on and I am too, so what am I waiting for? Slipping my hands under her, I grip that plump ass of hers in both of my hands and lift her up, kissing first one hipbone, then the other. Teasing her. Wanting to drive her insane because holy fuck, she’s been driving me crazy since the very first moment I met her. I set eyes on her in that mirror, heard that smart mouth running a mile a minute as she sat behind me and I was hooked.

  If anything, I’m more hooked now. Addicted. Desperate to have her. Desperate to make her mine.