by Hart, Rebel
I snickered. “You’re intolerable.”
“Is that a yes?”
I grinned as I wrapped my legs around his naked waist. I rolled him over, feeling his cock settling hard against my thigh. My hands planted into his chest, and he looked at me with deviousness in his eyes. He licked his lips as his hands slid my cardigan off. I ripped my tank top over my head, bringing my clothed breasts into view. He slipped me back over, sliding my pants off with one motion of his hands. As he slid down my body, he rid me of the only barrier between us.
Then his eyes flickered up to mine.
“Ready to ride me off into the sunset, beautiful?”
And as I pulled him back up to my lips, I rolled him onto his back, straddling him as I kissed him and prepared myself to be filled with him.
21
Raelynn
I panted for breath as I gazed up at the ceiling fan. Around and around it went, causing the room to tilt before I closed my eyes. I felt something flexing under my head. Something warm. Something strong. A heat rolled into me before something pressed against my ear. And the sounds it made sent chills down my entire body.
“It was worth it, wasn’t it?”
I snickered and shook my head. I’d never give him the satisfaction of inflating that ego any more than it already was. But he was right. Missing second period had been worth that moment with him. Worth the torrential lust that poured over the two of us as he held me steady, rocking deep within me. I smiled thinking about it. I snuggled into him as he crooked himself against me, holding me with his arms. Cradling me with his legs. Allowing me to bury myself into the crook of his neck and hide away from the world.
“Hey there,” he said, chuckling.
I smiled. “Hi.”
He kissed the top of my head. “You doing okay down there?”
“I don’t know. Depends. Does my hair look rough?”
“Are you asking me if you have sex hair? Really, Rae?”
I shrugged. “Don’t have long to get to school now. We practically gotta get up and roll out.”
He groaned as he rolled over and it made me laugh. I climbed on top of him, peppering his face with kisses. I settled my chin against his chest, watching as his eyes closed. Every movement he made entranced me. Every blink of his eye was a mystery I wanted to unravel. Every tick of his lips was a grin I wanted to question. Every stretch of his limbs was an opportunity I wanted to take to climb him like a fucking tree. And as his arms wrapped around me, I felt myself melting into him.
He sighed. “You’re really thinking about school after all that? Because I can hardly see straight.”
I snickered. “You didn’t do your job as well as I did, then. Because my vision’s just fine.”
“Oh, you’re gonna pay for that.”
He rolled me over quickly as giggles fell from my lips. He muted them with his mouth, kissing me with a passion that sent my heart fluttering wildly. I slid my fingers through his hair, feeling him trying to wiggle between my legs. I moved my head side to side, and he tried to stop me as he deepened the kiss.
“Don’t leave. Stay here with me,” he whispered.
I giggled. “You can’t keep distracting me with sex. It won’t work after a while.”
“I can spice it up enough to keep you here all day.”
I winked. “Doubt it.”
He scoffed and rolled over, gripping his chest, feigning a heart attack. It made me laugh. I slid out of bed, making my way for his bathroom. I needed one last check of my neck and my hair before I had any chance of covering shit up in school today. We were twenty minutes away from our lunch period. And us walking in together wasn’t an option. He’d have to drop me off on the curb or something so the two of us could walk into the school at separate points.
Because I sure as hell wasn’t ready for that firefight.
I pulled my hair out of its bun. “Are you sure my hair doesn’t look bad?”
“It looks great, Rae.”
“Are you just saying that to get me to shut up?”
“If I wanted to do that, I’d tell you what I really thought of your hair.”
I grinned. “Now I’m intrigued.”
I looked over at him, watching as he leaned against the bathroom doorway. He’d already gotten his pants on, but he still stood there shirtless. I let my eyes travel over the soft rings of his abs, my gaze lingering on the steady rise and fall of his chest. He crossed his arms over his body, flexing his biceps at me and causing me to lick my lips as he drew in a deep breath.
“If I wanted to get you to shut up, I’d tell you your hair doesn’t mean shit to me. Because telling you that your hair is beautiful is like telling someone the sun’s bright. It’s obvious, trite, and overdone. If I really wanted to compliment you, I’d say how taken I am with the way your eyes match your hair. With the way your freckles undulate when you laugh. With the way your mind betrays an intelligence and maturity far beyond the high schoolers I have the privilege of spending time with. And if I really wanted to leave you speechless, I’d punctuate it with something like this.”
He pushed off the doorway, crossing the threshold of the bathroom. His hand cupped my cheek, and as his thumb slid across my skin I felt my heart stop in my chest.
“I’d tell you the sun is jealous of the light you emit simply by being yourself. And that your hair has shit-all to do with it.”
I drew in a ragged breath. “Stop it.”
“I’m serious.”
“I know you are, and I need you to stop it.”
“Why?”
I blinked rapidly. “Because.”
“Give me one damn good reason, and I’ll stop.”
Because you’re not supposed to steal my heart.
“Because your long-winded compliments are going to make us late for lunch.”
His eyes fell to my lips before his thumb ran along my skin. I shivered at his touch just before his lips pressed against mine. My head tilted back. He cradled the nape of my neck as he stepped forward, closing the gap between us. And as he slid his fingers through my hair, I whimpered against his lips.
“Your hair looks fine,” he whispered.
I nodded quickly, then turned away from him. I cleared my throat and pulled my hair back into the traditional ponytail people were used to. I felt Clint’s eyes on me, but I refused to look at him, because if I did I might just give in. I might just stay with him for the rest of the day instead of going to school and doing what I needed to do in order to get out of this hellhole.
He really does know how to own the English language.
The two of us got dressed, then he ushered me out of his room. With his hand on the small of my back, he guided me down the stairs, making a beeline straight for the front door. I knew why, too. Neither of us were sure whether or not his father was home. I mean, surely he’d be at work so close to lunch on a Monday. But things were always unpredictable. Schedules changed at the drop of a hat. Vacations got canceled at the last minute due to work. And sometimes, parents came home for lunch instead of eating out.
Clint reached for the doorknob. “I’ll drop you off at the front curb on the road before I park behind the school.”
I paused. “So we aren’t walking in together?”
“Do you want to?”
“Does it matter?”
The two of us froze as his father’s heavy voice sounded behind us. I slowly turned around, watching as Clint stepped in front of me. He reached behind me, slowly backing me toward the door. And as he opened it, I felt the heat of the day beat against my back.
I didn’t let go of his leather jacket, though. He had to come with me. He was my ride.
Clint cleared his throat. “Morning, Dad.”
“Who the fuck is that?” he asked gruffly.
“Hi. I’m—”
Clint cut me off. “None of your damn business.”
His father narrowed his eyes. “You wanna try that again?”
“No. I really don’t.”
I drew in a sharp breath. “Clint, come on. We’re gonna be late.”
“Did she just come down from upstairs?”
Clint nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“And is that fucking allowed in this house?”
“Probably not, sir.”
His father charged him and I cried out. Clint shoved his ass out, knocking me outside before his father gripped his leather jacket. I reached out for him, watching as his father picked him up onto his tippy toes. And as his father barreled him back into the wall, I cupped my hands over my cheeks.
“I’m sick and tired of you thinking you run this house. Shut the damn door,” he glowered.
I whimpered. “Clint.”
He peeked back at me with nothing but sadness in his eyes. And as his hand reached out for the door, he nodded his head.
“Get outta here, Rae. Sorry for making you late and not being able to give you a ride.”
“Mr. Clarke, this is all my fault. We just need to get to school. This won’t happen again, I swear it. Please, Mr. Clarke.”
His father gnashed his teeth at me. “Shut the hell up and get off my property.”
Clint growled. “You talk to her like that again and you’ll have to deal with me.”
His father chuckled. “And you think you’re what? Hot stuff? Because you can screw some poor girl from your high school in your own bed? You think that makes you hot stuff?”
And as Clint slammed the front door closed, I heard a resounding smack.
“No!” I exclaimed.
I heard his father yelling from behind the door, and it scared the living shit out of me. Holy fuck, his father made Clint’s mean side look like Mary Poppins. I heard them fighting behind the door. It kept rattling with fury as I backed away from it. I stumbled down the porch steps, trying to get my feet underneath me as tears rushed down my face.
And as a woman’s voice started yelling above all the ruckus, I made a mad dash for the road. I kept running and running. I ran until the yelling faded behind me and the sound of Clint’s voice was but a distant memory. My lungs heaved for air. I felt my legs giving out as I got to the entrance of his neighborhood. I tore across the street, hearing horns honking as my cardigan wafted behind me. Sweat trickled down the nape of my neck. It grew hard to draw in air as I stumbled my way for the front doors of the school. I had to tell someone. I had to let them know what the hell was happening to Clint.
But, when I ripped the doors to the high school open, Allison appeared at my side.
“Girl. Holy mackerel. I’ve been looking for you all day. Michael! I found her!”
The sound of footsteps rushed beside me before someone else took my arm.
“She looks like hell. Come on. Bathroom time.”
I shook my head. “No, no. I need to talk to someone. I need to—”
Michael rubbed my back. “We’ll talk in a second. Right now, you need a brush to your hair, a wet paper towel to the back of your neck, and some water.”
Allison sighed. “Did you oversleep?”
He scoffed. “The girl never oversleeps. You know damn good and well her mother did something.”
I kept shaking my head, trying to get a word in edgewise. They dragged me down a hallway and into one of the unisex bathrooms our high school had. A new installment after our school system passed some law that required two of them to be in every school now. They tugged me in there and closed the door. I put my hands on my knees to try and catch my breath. A cool paper towel came down against my neck, and the temperature change made me heave.
Causing me to throw myself at the toilet.
“That’s it. That’s right. Get it all out,” Allison said softly.
Michael sighed. “What should we do?”
“Is there anything we can do? Just be here for her?”
I couldn't speak. Couldn't talk. Between catching my breath and gagging into the toilet, I didn’t have a chance in hell of telling them what had actually happened. Not that I could say anything in front of Michael without starting some sort of third world war between us all. No, I had to keep it to myself. Just until I could pull away from them long enough to talk to a counselor of some sort. Tell them what I’d witnessed. Tell them what was going on.
Maybe then, Clint could get the fucking help he’d needed all this time.
22
Clinton
I punched mindlessly at the buttons on my controller. Roy kept yelling out, jumping out of his seat and trying to direct what I did with my car. But I didn’t give a shit. I hadn’t gone to school since my father blew his fucking cap through the roof and beat me to a bloody pulp. Well, practically. It felt like that for the past couple of days. My face ached. My nose kept bleeding at random times and my eye was swollen shut. The bruise on my jaw kept growing, and the more it grew the harder it got to eat.
Thank fuck, I like bananas.
Roy scoffed. “Come on, Clint. You mean to tell me that other eye still isn’t good? You completely missed the guy on the left.”
I snickered. “You put more mods on your car, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. Cost me a shit ton, too. Trying to make back some of the money so I can get to modding this other car I won last night in a race. It’s a sweet one, too.”
“Well, get us ready for another one. I’m gonna go get something to drink.”
I set the controller down and walked out as Roy continued cursing under his breath. I shook my head as I walked into the kitchen, then sighed as I opened the fridge. The only good thing about this school week was that Dad had jetted off with Cecilia again. She’d convinced him to whisk her away to the Philippines. Why the fuck she wanted to go there I had no idea. But the promise of beaches, cocktails, and landing tail for my father was too much for him to pass up.
Which got him the fuck away from me.
That man had knocked me around for a good half hour after I shoved Rae out the door. And my only hope was that she hadn’t stuck around long enough to hear any of it. It was brutal. I felt myself fighting for my life as I dodged some of my father’s punches. Even when Cecilia intervened, he knocked her to the ground with his elbow. My father didn’t give a shit about anyone other than himself. And after that moment, I knew he wouldn't think twice before burning me to the ground if it benefited him.
I wrote him off completely, telling myself that once I got out, I sure as hell wasn’t coming back.
Ever.
“Hey, can you grab me a soda?” Roy called out.
“Coke, Mountain Dew, or Dr. Pepper?” I asked.
“Whichever one you haven’t held up to your face yet. Which makes you look badass, by the way. I don’t know why you aren’t coming to school. The ladies would be all over you with those bruises.”
I rolled my eyes as I reached for the exact Coke I’d pressed against my eye the other day. I carried the food back out to the living room, tossing it right at Roy’s fucking chest. He stumbled with it, dropping his controller and crashing his car into a ditch. I chuckled as he cursed under his breath. But there were more important things than fucking Forza 4.
Like figuring out what the hell I was going to do about Rae.
“So, how long’s the dad gone now?” Roy asked as he cracked open his drink.
“For the next couple weeks, I hope. At the very least, the rest of this one,” I said.
“I smell a party coming on.”
I shook my head. “Maybe once I’m healed a little. But not this weekend. Marina’s place is fine.”
“Why the hell don’t you wanna show off those bruises? You always did before.”
I shrugged. “Just don’t feel like it this time. The fuck you care about it so much for?”
“Damn. Fine. I’ll put a sock in it.”
“Thanks.”
I flopped back down into my seat, refusing to talk about what happened with Roy. He’d poked and prodded when he first came over after lunch, skipping his last two periods in favor of hanging out here. He did it often, too. Jus
t randomly came over, knocked on the door, and took up space in this house. My father couldn't stand Roy. And sometimes, neither could I. But he was my only friend that didn’t pry about my bruises beyond making a few bullshit comments.
Some worse than others.
We continued our racing game in silence, stacking up the winnings and racing around the tracks. Forza was getting boring, though. We had plowed through all the car racing games over the years, and it was the most mindless game on the damn market. Around and around a racing track, racking up money to modify cars we’d never have. Playing the same racing game as some defunct twelve-year-old somewhere whose mother wanted to pawn him off on games so she could fuck her boyfriend in peace.
If only they knew the life that was headed straight for them, full speed ahead.
“Earth to Clint. You there, man?”
Roy’s voice ripped me from my trance and my eyes fell against the projection screen. Shit, the race had started and I was still hanging out at the starting line. I sighed as I peeled away from the flashing lights, racing around some random city with some random obstacles and some random cars chasing after us. I cut through the town, running some cars over trying to get into first place. I lost myself in the mindless momentum of it all. I sank myself into the tens of thousands of dollars we racked up in this game.
“Just twenty grand more,” I murmured to myself.
A knock came at the door.
I jumped at the sound. It shocked me so badly that Roy gave me a quizzical look. We finished up the race while the knocking continued, and I knew exactly who it was. I looked at my watch, clocking the time. School had gotten out thirty minutes ago. And not just anyone stood at someone’s door, knocking for ten damn minutes.
Roy furrowed his brow. “Who the fuck isn’t leaving you alone?”
I set my controller down after the race came to a close. Roy cursed the game, muttering under his breath about how we deserved more money from that win. I rolled my eyes as I made my way for the door, wondering if I should open it. Did she know I was here? Was my bike parked out front? I hadn’t gotten on the damn thing in a couple days. For all I knew, Dad had sold this bike off as well.