Ruthless Love

by Penelope Bloom

I frowned at him.

  Tristan nudged me. “That’s as close as he’ll probably get to an apology. Just smile and nod.”

  I grinned, taking Tristan’s advice.

  After a little bit of an awkward start, the conversation at the table picked up easily a few minutes later.

  “You’re serious?” Tristan asked.

  Gage nodded. “We told coach about how she drugged you. He’s willing to test you again once it has had time to get out of your system. If you’re clean, he said you’re back on the team. Granted, you’re going to have to beat me out for the QB job if you want to be a starter again.”

  “You mean I’ll just have to show up,” Tristan said.

  Logan and Cassian chuckled, but Gage looked a little annoyed by the jab.

  The more I listened to them all talk, I realized that was their group dynamic. I really hadn’t been far off when I’d originally thought they were like a pack of wolves. Except it was more like four alpha wolves, all constantly snarling and vying for top position. I thought if you could get high off testosterone, I would’ve been in the clouds by the time the lunch bell rang.

  The next day at school, Tristan pulled me aside before I could join them at the table. He looked excited.

  “What is it?” I asked. “Are you back on the team?”

  “No,” he said. “This is all going to be a little much, so stick with me, okay?”

  “Okay…”

  “So, your mom lied to you about a lot of things, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Would it be a big stretch of the imagination that she lied about your dad, too?”

  “I don’t get where you’re going with this, Tristan.” Even though my brain didn’t understand, my heart was pounding like a caged animal trying to break free.

  “What if your mom lied about your dad being abusive? What if the reason he disappeared wasn’t because he ran away? What if your mom was the one who ran away with you, and the reason you guys have been hiding is because it would be his legal right to take you back?”

  “She said he was abusive,” I said stupidly. “That he was always threatening to do terrible things to us.”

  Tristan took a slow, steady breath. “I can’t guarantee she was lying about anything. But I found him. I’ve been talking to him over the past few days. There were police reports from the time you were five filed in Tennessee. According to them, your mom was abusive toward your dad a couple times. There wasn’t anything about him touching her.”

  “What are you saying?” I asked. My throat was so tight it felt hard to breathe. I wasn’t sure I could handle another lie like this. And I was too scared to let myself hope what I thought he was saying was true.

  “I think your mom lied about your dad, too. He knew where you were, but your mom promised he’d regret it if he ever tried to make contact with you. He didn’t know what to do, so he has just been waiting for a chance. I want to take you to meet him. I can bring the guys, too, just in case I’m wrong on this.”

  I sank down into the nearest chair, studying the floor. “What would I even say to him?”

  “I don’t know,” Tristan said. “But you can meet him. Decide for yourself if you want to let him into your life. If he tries anything stupid, I already talked to the guys. We’ll make sure he doesn’t fuck with you.”

  I grinned. “They all agreed to that? Even Cassian?”

  “Believe it or not, they’ve all grown a little protective of you. Our little wheelchair bound wonder.”

  I pointed to my lack of a wheelchair with a half-smile. “They’re going to need to come up with a new nickname for me.”

  “So you want to do this? He was ready to meet you the first time I contacted him. He already got a hotel in town. We could set this up as soon as this afternoon.”

  I blew out a slow breath. “I need a little bit to process all of this. But, Tristan?”

  “Yeah?”

  I stood up, slamming into him with a hug that probably would’ve sent an ordinary guy toppling to the ground. Being the rock he was, Tristan just absorbed the impact like he hardly noticed it. He wrapped his arms around me, softly at first and then he crushed me in a hug so tight I thought he might never let me go.

  “I love you,” he said.

  My eyes went wide. I happened to be staring at a group of girls who were watching us from a nearby table and whispering something, but I hardly noticed it. I pulled myself back, frowning up at him.

  He was smiling without a hint of self-consciousness. “It’s alright if you don’t feel the same way. But I needed to tell you. I think I loved you way before I knew it. Since I first started sneaking in your window. You make me better. And just knowing you’re around makes me want to try for something more. Everything I’ve ever fought for has been out of anger or spite. I was always doing things to show my dad he was wrong, or to prove to people they didn’t know what I was capable of. You changed that. I want to be better because I want to deserve you, and even if I never do, I still love you for showing me there’s another way.”

  “I love you, too,” I said.

  He narrowed his eyes.

  “What?” I asked, laughing a little. “You don’t believe me?”

  “No,” he said. “I was just trying to remember that moment, so when I inevitably fuck this up, I can look back on it.”

  I smirked. “You probably will screw it up, won’t you?”

  “Absolutely,” he said. He pulled me to him, touching my cheek with one hand and placing a soft kiss on my lips.

  I melted into it, wanting nothing more than to stay there forever—to pretend there wasn’t a storm waiting outside that was still going to test us.

  Someone tapped me on the shoulder, forcing me away from Tristan. I looked and saw a teacher. “P.D.A.,” she said, glaring.

  Tristan squeezed my ass, biting his lip and winking at the teacher.

  “What’s that?” he asked. “A detention?”

  Her face was bright red. “Yes,” she said tightly.

  “Good. Go ahead and give me another one.” He grabbed me and kissed me hard this time, shoving his tongue in my mouth.

  I kissed him back, then listened to the teacher scold me for the next minute about morality and respect. By the time she was done, we’d both earned detentions for the rest of the week, but I didn’t particularly care. Tristan’s hand was in mine, and in a few hours, I was going to be seeing my dad for the first time in over ten years.

  44

  Tristan

  We arranged to meet Kennedy’s dad in a park after school. It was a public place, and we weren’t taking any chances. I trusted my instincts after talking to him, but I still wasn’t about to put Kennedy in a situation that even had a one percent chance of risk without being there to be sure she was okay.

  Gage, Cassian, and Logan all agreed to wait in the car in view of where the bench her dad was sitting at. I walked out with Kennedy.

  Her dad was sitting by himself with his hands in his pockets. He kept glancing around nervously, and when he saw us coming, he stood, staring at Kennedy like he was transfixed. It looked like he wanted to run and hug her, but he was smart enough to stay where he was.

  He had brown hair that was graying at the temples, as well as a beard that was salted with gray. He had Kennedy’s eyes and her crooked smile, but the similarities seemed to stop there.

  “Kennedy?” he choked out.

  “Dad?”

  They stared at each other for a few seconds as something unspoken passed between them. As if in silent agreement, they both rushed forward and hugged tightly. Her dad was crying, and I was pretty sure Kennedy was too, even though I couldn’t see her face.

  I took a few steps back, waiting by a tree where I could keep an eye on them, but not so close that I was eavesdropping.

  I watched them talk, unable to help from smiling. For a long time, he talked, and Kennedy listened, nodding and occasionally wiping at her eyes. They hugged again, and then their conversation must’ve
taken a less serious turn, because they were laughing about something moments later.

  After a while—I wasn’t sure how long—Kennedy got up and came to me, bouncing on her toes and smiling giddily. “He wants to thank you.” She gestured to her dad, who was still waiting on the bench.

  I tried to head toward him, but Kennedy roped me into a tight hug, squeezing like she wanted to pop me. “Thank you,” she whispered into my chest. “Thank you.”

  I kissed the top of her head, pulling her back so I could get a look at her. “This is about as heroic as it gets from me, Wheels. So cherish this moment.”

  She gave me that crooked, half smile of hers and toyed with my shirt. “Somehow, I doubt that.”

  “I won’t stop you from having an inflated opinion of me. I just wanted to give you fair warning.”

  She chewed the corner of her lip, then pulled me down by the neck to kiss me. “One of these days, I’m going to help you see what a good guy you actually are. When you see yourself like I do, I think you’ll understand why it was so hard not to fall in love with you.”

  I wanted to laugh her words off, but I found they struck some inner chord in me that made it hard to speak. I smiled, hoping she wouldn’t be able to tell. “I better go let your old man sing my praises, huh?”

  Her dad stood and hugged me too. I rolled my eyes, patting his back awkwardly as he gave me a few tight squeezes. Apparently, spontaneous hugging was a genetically inherited trait in the Stills family.

  “Alright, alright,” I said, pushing him back.

  He was grinning wide. “Thank you for being there to protect my girl. She told me about what you did.”

  “You don’t need to thank me. It’s not like I did it for you.”

  He was still smirking. “She said you were a little bit of an asshole. But that’s okay. As long as you’re good to her, you can say whatever you want to me.”

  I thought about that. It was refreshing to meet an adult who wasn’t so up their own ass that they could handle me being a dick. I had let him do almost all the talking over the phone until now, so refraining from being a jerk wasn’t as much of a challenge. After a short, internal deliberation, I decided he had won a few points with his response. “Fair enough,” I said. “And as long as you don’t turn out to be the abusive creep her mom said you were, then we can probably coexist.”

  He nodded. “I know I have a lot to prove, and I don’t care how long it takes. I want to be back in her life. Yours, too, if you’re still around.”

  I hadn’t been expecting that. There was an admittedly kind glint in his eye, and I couldn’t help thinking it reminded me of the way Kennedy was—the way she’d probably pick up a rabid raccoon and not worry about how many times she might get bit. She’d win it over by sheer force of will, patience, and an unwillingness to give up on it.

  “Yeah,” I said distractedly. “Sounds good.”

  45

  Kennedy

  It was past midnight, and the sound of crunching dirt outside woke me. I sat up in bed, blinking through the grogginess and straining my ears to hear. There was a whisper of metal, a grunt, and then a noise like rocks being thrown and scattering.

  Carefully, I crept toward the window, looking down on the back yard. I could just see a hint of a tall, broad figure with a shovel in the moonlight.

  Tristan.

  He was digging a hole in my back yard, and I wasn’t even sure I wanted to know why. Actually, that was a lie. I’d always been curious to a fault, and tonight, I decided to add a little naughty adventurousness to the mix, too. I stepped out onto my roof in nothing but a bra and panties, making a careful way across the sloped surface toward him for a better look. My foot slid on one of the shingles, making a scraping noise that drew Tristan’s attention.

  From the way I was crouched against a slanted peak of the roof, all he could see was my head from where he stood.

  “Holy shit,” he said, laughing and wiping at his forehead. “Seeing someone’s head pop up on the top of a roof in the middle of the night is creepy, no matter how pretty the head is.”

  “What are you doing to my garden, Blackwood?” I asked with a teasing edge to my voice.

  “I noticed your weed garden was looking a little run down. So I picked some of the most raggedy ass looking weeds from my yard and brought them here. The only liquid they’ve probably ever had is spilled booze, so I figure they’ll love it here.”

  “Most guys would bring a girl flowers in the middle of the night. And you brought me weeds.”

  Tristan crossed his palms over the blunt end of the shovel, leaning his weight into it and looking up at me. “I’m not most guys, Kennedy. You want a rose, go find yourself one of those guys. But if you want weeds? I’m your man.”

  I worked my lips to the side, smiling. “I’m trying to decide if this was sweet enough to show you what I’m wearing.”

  Tristan straightened. A strange look crossed over his face, and then he broke into a run toward the oak tree by my window.

  I squealed in fear, rushing across the roof toward my window. I felt simultaneously ridiculous and alive at the same time. I made the mistake of glancing back toward him to see how close he was. I lost my footing, sliding a few feet down on the roof before I caught myself. I was almost within reach of the window when Tristan caught up to me, putting himself between me and the window.

  “There’s nothing faster than a horny male,” he said, making no attempt to hide how much he was enjoying looking at me.

  I awkwardly clung to the roof, alternating my focus between trying not to die and trying to cover myself. “I’m impressed by your speed, horny male. Now can you let me back in my room before I freeze to death?”

  “If you’re cold, I offer up my warmth as tribute.”

  I carefully scooted to a kneeling position. I was on my knees, making my eyes level with his knees as he stood a little higher up the sloped roof with his back against my still-open window. “You realize we’re outside, right? I’m in my underwear. What if someone else sees?”

  “Nice try, but nobody is coming. I’ve always wanted to fuck you under the stars, too. So we’re in a bit of a predicament.”

  I glanced up, as if I needed to confirm there was, in fact, a smattering of silvery stars overhead. “You’ve always wanted to, huh?”

  “For at least the last two minutes. Yes.”

  “I’ll make you a deal. If I get past you, then your dream stays a dream. If I don’t… Then we’ll see.”

  Tristan planted his feet a little wider and crouched in an athletic stance. “So you’re saying you want this as much as I do? Because we both know there’s no way you’re getting past me.”

  I bit back a smile, then let out my best war cry. I tried to lunge forward, but my foot slid, and I started to pinwheel my arms, nearly falling backward. Before I could topple off the roof, Tristan had me by the waist, pulling me into his chest. He sank down, sitting against the window again with me on top of him.

  “That doesn’t count,” I said. “I was just doing that as a distraction.”

  “No excuses, Wheels,” he said, rubbing my lower lip softly with his thumb. “Rules are rules.”

  “My bed is right through that window.”

  “Not nearly romantic enough,” he said, rolling me onto my back. And straddling me.

  I wiggled as the grainy shingles dug into my back. “Yeah, because shingle burn is so much hotter.”

  Despite my attempts to tease him, there was something magical about it—seeing his dark form silhouetted by stars as he sat on top of me.

  Feeling the unsettlingly sloped roof below me.

  Knowing we were outside, exposed for anyone who happened to come by and think to look.

  Like everything else with Tristan, it was a thrill. “Why is being with you so much like riding a rollercoaster?” I asked.

  “Wait a second,” he said. “Which rollercoasters have tried to put their dick in you so persistently? Because I swear, I’ll fuck them up.
”

  I grinned. “I mean it always feels like I’ve just got to let go and throw my hands in the air when we’re together.”

  “This is a roof, Kennedy. I wouldn’t advise either of those right now.”

  I swatted at his leg. “Forget it. You’re just going to make me feel stupid if I try to explain.”

  He bent down, kissing me. “Don’t feel stupid. If you’re trying to say you wanted a ride, all you had to do was ask.”

  He flipped me over in a dizzying spin so that I was sitting on top of him now. I could feel the long hardness of his cock through his jeans. It felt so dirty and so deliciously good. Little by little, I was getting closer to the point where all rational thought would shut off.

  He touched me roughly between the legs, rubbing his fingers hard and dragging them toward my clit, drawing a shudder from me. He brought them to his mouth and sucked them dry. “You get so wet for me, Wheels. And you taste so damn good.”

  Apparently, that was all it took to unhinge me. I was tugging at his jeans, trying to get them down. Once he realized my clumsy fingers weren’t doing the job, he reached down and freed himself, letting his thick length spring free from his pants and boxers.

  He tugged my panties to the side, then guided himself to my entrance.

  He wasn’t kidding. I was so wet that he slid right in, inch by inch, stretching me until I felt so completely full that I couldn’t imagine a better feeling.

  Above us, the moon hung with a silvery glow in the sparse clouds. Insects buzzed and chirped from the tree line a few dozen yards off. And our breath mingled in short, ragged patterns as we moved together.

  He glided in me, warm and so perfectly hard. His hands dug into my hips as he used his strong arms to move me up and down against himself with growing intensity. He pressed a hand to my stomach and shoved it upward, moving my bra up so that one of my breasts burst free. He sat up, sucking my nipple into his mouth the instant it came free. I gasped, grinding myself against him, not even noticing the way the rough shingles were probably rubbing my knees raw.