“So that makes you a…”
“Freshman. Yep.”
I raise a brow. “And you’re in this class because…?
“Oh. I have a non-schedule first period. I usually hang out in the library since I ride to school with Aaron but Mrs. Beck asked me to T.A. for her today so here I am.”
Oh. Okay.
“Anyway, so…umm… do you?”
I tilt my head to the side before her earlier question comes back to me. “Oh. No.” I shake my head. “We’re just friends.”
Her smile drops and she purses her lips together. “Oh.”
Why does she care?
I reach out and touch her forearm offering what I hope is a reassuring gesture. “It’s not like that with us. On either side. You don’t need to worry about me stringing him along or anything. He knows I’m only looking for friendship.”
She nods but doesn’t look wholly convinced. “Is it because of…” She flicks her gaze toward Roman just as the classroom door opens and I'm saved from having to answer.
“Good morning, class. Sorry for the delay. Please open your books to…”
Class goes by as usual. Kasey helps Mrs. Beck pass out this week’s assignment. A ten-page persuasive essay on a controversial current event. Should be easy enough. And then, before I know it, the bell rings, signaling the end of the period and everyone rushes from their seats to head to the door.
I take my time shoving my books in my bag when a familiar sense of awareness has goosebumps breaking out along my skin. I look up and spy Roman waiting for me near the door with a devilish smirk on his face as he looks me over from head to toe with open want.
When I get close to him he takes my hand and drags me out the door before shoving me into the first empty classroom we come across.
“Hey! What—”
His lips land on mine and a small whimper escapes me. One hand settles on my hip, the other coming up beneath my hair, dragging me closer. I tense, but when he groans against my lips I melt into him. The bell rings but neither of us come up for air.
“What are you doing to me?” I arch against him as his lips trail down my neck, teeth nipping at my collarbone.
“Whatever I want.” His fingertips slide inside my jeans and he pulls back to meet my gaze. His tongue peeks out to lick his lips, as his fingers get dangerously close to my needy center.
“Roman.” My eyes dart up to look at him through my lashes. And then he’s there. Right there. His fingers dip inside me before making a hasty retreat as he swirls my clit with my own juices.
“Just making up for before.” There’s a wicked smile to his voice.
I cling to him, the muscles in his biceps flexing as he works me over with skilled fingers. “We’re supposed to be in class,” I rasp.
“Are you asking me to stop?”
I moan and my body tightens, chasing away my release. God, no. I don’t want him to stop. But when I don’t respond, he must take my silence as agreement and withdraws his hand from my jeans. A strangled sound of protest leaves my lips and he chuckles before kissing me into silence as his hands work quickly to unbutton my pants and shove them down over my thighs, leaving me exposed.
My head falls back against the classroom wall and when he shoves two fingers deep inside me, curling them to find just the right spot, I shudder in his grip. He kisses my jaw before trailing his lips down my neck, his free hand coming up to play with my breasts. He pushes down the stretchy material of my top, giving him better access to pinch my right nipple.
I gasp, my knees going weak.
He circles my clit, his movements quickening. I cry out when out of nowhere, my release slams into me. He covers my mouth with his hand, muffling my cries as his fingers milk every last drop of my orgasm from me.
“I need to fuck you,” he says, pulling me forward and bending me over the nearest desk, my bare ass in the air and on full display. I shiver, a whimper leaving me as I hear the telltale sound of his belt being unbuckled. His jeans sliding over his hips.
“Condom?” I rasp and he curses behind me.
“I’ll pull out.”
I’m about to object but then he presses against me and I arch back to meet him as he slides his dick inside my pussy in a single fluid thrust.
We groan in unison as he flexes his hips, holding me in place. “God you feel incredible,” he says. His hands tighten on my hips with bruising force as he pulls back and then thrusts inside me once again. “So fucking wet.”
I’m panting, barely able to catch my breath as he pounds into me. Each thrust harder than the one before until the desk is sliding beneath me with the force of his movements, screeching across the floor. I cling to the edge and he grinds his hips against my ass.
I cry out his name, losing myself to the feel of him inside of me, completely forgetting that we’re at school and that anyone can walk in on us. His hips slam frantically into me and I know he’s chasing his own release when suddenly he jerks back and then his hot cum is coating my ass, dripping down over the backs of my thighs.
He slides his dick over the trail of cum he coated me in before smacking me lightly on the rear. I groan and peer over my shoulder. Roman’s smirk greets me as he considers my still bare ass. “You should probably clean that up,” he suggests. I narrow my eyes as he laughs. “I might be persuaded into helping you out under a few conditions.” He tucks himself back into his jeans before folding his arms over his chest, leaving the top button unbuttoned, but saying nothing.
“Do you ever want to do this again?” I ask.
He grins. “Every day of the week.”
“Then get me something to wipe your cum off my ass or I won’t let you near me with so much as a ten-foot pole.”
“You say that now, but—”
Voices can be heard in the hallway. Crap. Everyone is supposed to be in class. “Now, Roman.”
Thankfully, he does as I ask and finds a roll of paper towels in a closet and helps to clean me up before tossing them in the trash. I shimmy back into my jeans and am adjusting my top just as the door bursts open and Silvia Parish’s startled brown eyes meet my own.
She takes in the scene, her eyes narrowing on our rumpled clothes and my unruly hair. When Roman steps closer to me, they narrow farther and I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face.
“Did you need something?” he asks, not a care in the world that she knows exactly what we were just doing. “You’re interrupting.”
“We all heard you fucking in Calc,” she sneers at me. “You sound like a dying rhino.”
Feeling extra bold with Roman beside me, I roll my eyes and flip her off. I don’t have time for her mean girl antics today. “Whatever.” Not my strongest comeback, but it’s better than wilting under her glare.
She whirls and leaves as quickly as she came. Roman leans down, smacking my ass and giving me a meaningful look. “If that’s what a dying rhino sounds like, I better be hearing it again. Soon.”
I shiver in response to the blatant desire in his gaze before Roman walks out of the room. I decide to stop by the bathroom and just skip Calc entirely. A look at one of the clocks in the hallways shows me that there’s only ten minutes left until the bell rings for lunch, so I decide to loiter for a bit and save myself some embarrassment.
I wash my hands and splash water on my face before running my fingers through my hair in an effort to smooth it out. The door opens behind me and I don’t pay it any attention until a body slams me forward and my stomach collides with the porcelain sink. I stumble and am shoved harshly to the ground. My hair covers my face as a foot slams into my chest. Shit. Ow. I suck in a pain-filled gasp and another kick comes at me from behind, slamming into my back with the force of a sledgehammer.
I curse and roll, narrowly avoiding the third kick when a fist slams into my cheek. My head snaps back and my vision blurs. Someone grips my hair, jerking my face up as my eyes meet Silvia’s.
“Bitch.” I spit blood in her face and she reels back.
Then I kick out, connecting with her shin and she stumbles back into her two asshole friends who decided to join her. I scramble to my feet and rush out the bathroom door just as the bell rings and the hallway crowds with people.
I suck in a breath and clench my hands into tight fists to keep them from shaking.
Careful to keep my head down, I lose myself in the sea of bodies, hugging my ribs as I fight through a wave of pain. Fuck. I think I’m going to vomit. I stumble toward a classroom door and lunge for the first receptacle I see to throw up my breakfast in.
Acid burns my throat and tears fill the corners of my eyes making it hard to see. The next thing I know, a boy crouches beside me, a comforting hand smoothing down my back, but I flinch at the contact. “What the hell, Allie? Are you okay?” Aaron says.
I hold a hand out to keep him at bay as I dry heave over the trashcan, my stomach intent on puking some more, despite it now being empty.
When the heaving stops, I sink to the floor still clutching my aching stomach and lean my head back against the wall. Aaron crouches down in front of me. His eyes are wide and filled with worry.
The door opens and Dominique steps inside, his eyes immediately zeroing in on me. “What’s going on here?” His nostrils flare and he rushes toward me. “What the fuck did you do?” He turns a hot glare toward Aaron who stands and takes several steps away.
“I didn’t do anything. She stumbled in here and I followed her to see if she needed help.”
He reaches for me, but I shake my head and slowly come to my feet. I use the counter as support to steady myself as my head spins and everything blurs for a few seconds. Nausea rolls through me again.
The door opens again and Emilio steps inside. “Yo, Dom. What’s taking you so—fuck!”
I lift my head and take in his wide-eyed stare. “Someone better start talking before Roman gets here.” The door opens again and Roman walks in. Emilio whistles. “Too late.”
Roman spots me and his eyes flare. “What the fuck happened to you?”
“Nothing.” I shrug, but the movement causes me to wince.
“Nothing?” Roman stalks closer, his hand reaching out, tilting my jaw toward the light. His thumb grazes my lip and I hiss. He releases me. “This doesn’t look like nothing.”
The other three boys crowd me until Dominique shoves Aaron back. He curses but stays put as all three Devils level me with varying shades of anger. “Spill, Alejandra,” Emilio says, and woah, we must be serious because Emilio never uses my name. It’s always Allie or vanilla.
I swallow and look down at my sneakers. “It’s nothing. I was walking out of the bathroom as someone else was walking in. The door slammed into my face.” Three sets of disapproving eyes meet my gaze.
“You’re lying,” Dominique says. And yeah, maybe I am. But I don’t need any of them making things worse by creating a scene. Silvia is the petty mean girl type and she’s mad she isn’t getting her way. I can handle her. I wasn’t expecting an attack like this but looking back, after the hallway incident, I should have seen it coming. I won’t make that mistake again.
I shake my head at Dom’s accusation but then stop when the room spins. “No, I’m not. You guys are making a big deal out of nothing. I got smacked in the face with a door and I’m on my period. Can we drop it now?”
“That the story you’re sticking with?” Roman asks, unconvinced.
“Yep.”
He glares. “For the record, you’re not on your fucking period and I don’t like liars.”
I shrug. “Whatever. Look, I just had the pleasure of throwing up my breakfast and would love to wash my mouth out. Can we move this show along?” I shove past them and head for the door, grateful when no one rushes to immediately follow.
Roman
“She was jumped,” Emilio says as soon as Allie leaves the room.
A snort from behind has all three of our heads turning. Aaron shakes his head, his jaw clenched and his hands fisted at his sides. “Yeah, she was. Wonder who’s fucking fault that is?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I advance on him, but he doesn’t cower, which only serves to piss me the fuck off.
“You know exactly what I mean, Roman. Or did you forget we used to be friends? I know how that head of yours works. You don’t think I know you wanted her targeted when she first showed up here? That you didn’t plant your little seeds in the school to make her life difficult?” He briefly looks up to the ceiling and laughs, but the sound is harsh and mocking. “Every fucking girl in this school is going to go after her now. And you”—he digs his finger into my chest—“you’re the one who put the target on her back.” He shakes his head. “I might have my demons, but at least I’m not a selfish prick like you.” He storms out of the classroom, leaving me reeling with his last statement.
“Fuck,” I yell as soon as Aaron is gone from the room.
Two sets of grim stares meet my own. “We didn’t really consider how chicks would respond when you claimed her,” Dominique tries to reassure me, but we all know what Aaron said is true. I did this. Me. No one else. I knew what would happen and I did it anyway. I might not have known the girls would stoop to jumping her, but I should have suspected this after what went down with her and Silvia before. Stupid. I am so fucking stupid.
“I need to fix this.” Neither one disputes my statement. The question now is, how?
Emilio rubs the back of his neck. “I didn’t make things better when I told the school to ice out Silvia. This could be retaliation for that. She can’t do anything to us, but…”
I shake my head. “I appreciate what you’re doing, but, no. This is on me.” I fucked up and I’ll own it. “Besides, we don’t even know if Silvia was involved. We need more information.”
Emilio snorts. “One of us is going to need to be with her at all times,” Emilio says.
“How the fuck are we supposed to manage that?” I ask, anger burning a hole in my gut. She was hurt. Someone put their fucking hands on my girl and hurt her.
“Yeah. It doesn’t look like Allie will be forthcoming with that,” Dom remarks.
“We start by finding her and then make sure whoever did this doesn’t decide to have another go at it,” Emilio says and I nod.
I don’t give a shit if Allie wants to sweep this mess under the rug. I want to know who did this and I’m going to make damn sure it doesn’t happen again. Everyone at this school needs to know they can’t hurt my girl and get away with it.
We head out to find Allie but she’s elusive. She isn’t in the lunchroom and she’s not in her next class either. After searching for twenty minutes straight, I find out from the front office that she signed herself out for the day. I release a harsh sigh of relief. At least with her home, I don’t have to worry about someone else coming after her.
I fill the guys in when we meet up later after school and we come up with a plan to shadow her during the next school day. I’ve got her covered before school and during first. I’ll walk her to second and Dom will follow her after second to third. Emilio’s next to her fourth period class so he’ll have eyes on her until she makes it to class and then I’ll catch her as soon as she’s done for the day.
We shouldn’t have to worry about anything happening to her during classes. No one is that stupid. And fourth period she’s got Welding with Aaron. I don’t like the idea of relying on that fucker, but whatever his motives, he seems to care for her, and thankfully there aren’t any catty bitches in that class for her to have to deal with.
It’s a solid plan and I should be cool with it, but I can’t get the idea of her abused body out of my head. Every time I close my eyes I see her face. The bruises. The split lip. It’s like a dagger to the stomach, and thinking of what she must have felt makes the blade twist inside me.
Practice that afternoon is grueling. I push all my anger and frustration into completing each pass and running hard until my heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest, but it doesn’t matte
r. I’m responsible for a pass-interception that I should have completed and then I fumble a fucking catch. Coach is screaming at me to get my head out of my ass and I’m trying but, fuck. I’m so out of it.
“We cannot afford for you to play like this come Friday,” Coach shouts.
I grit my teeth to keep from lashing out. I know he’s right but—Fuck. I tear my helmet from my head and throw it on the field.
“Roman!” Coach shouts, but I ignore him, stalking to the locker room to strip out of my gear and shower before the rest of the team finishes.
“Valdez, get your ass back on the field,” he tries again.
Dominique heads toward Coach to smooth over my little outburst, but I don’t stick around long enough to see if it works.
I need to see Allie, and recognizing that makes me feel all sorts of ways that I don’t want to think about. It’s three days till the big game. I should be focused on plays. Football is all that matters.
I know she’s home. I know she’s safe. I need to let this insatiable need to see her go but, dammit, I fucking can’t. I’ll be useless on the field until I know without a shadow of a doubt that she’s okay.
Forty minutes later I’m pulling up to her house—if you can even call it that. I used my dad’s Sun Valley residents service app that he doesn’t know I have installed on my phone to look up Gerald Ulrich’s address. Having a father who’s the chief of police comes with a few perks, but what I pull up to is not a home. It’s a fucking mansion.
The place has got to be five thousand square feet or more. It’s got twin pillars flanking the front door and massive floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides of the house. The lawn is perfectly kept and rose bushes ring the grass. This place rivals even Dominique’s, and that’s saying something, because that fucker has more money than any person can spend in a lifetime.
Wicked Devil: An Enemies to Lovers, High School Bully Romance (Devils of Sun Valley High Book 1) Page 13