Surge: A High School Bully Romance (Salinity Cove Book 1)

by Maya Nicole

  "You wanted to dance." He turned me so we were both facing where Jax had returned to his spot perched on a log, glaring at me.

  Something about his glare excited me more than it should have. I didn't know why these three guys made my body have a reaction. It was probably because I was a hormonal teenager.

  Morgan's hands were on my hips as we moved to the music. "You weren't at the football game tonight."

  My body trembled as he slipped his hands into my front pockets and hooked his thumbs in my belt loops. "I was getting ready."

  "Whatever you're up to... I like it." His fingertips dug into my thighs and I tried not to react.

  I hadn't wanted to believe Ivy and Aiden about Jax wanting me, but the proof was right in front of me as he balled his fists on his thighs as he watched us dance. Even with a girl hanging off him, his eyes were locked on me.

  "Move your hair out of the way for me, vixen." Morgan's purr interrupted my thoughts.

  My body was on fire, and not from the heat of the flames nearby. I wanted to run away, and I would have, but my body refused to do anything except stay plastered to his front.

  I moved my hair to one side. His fingertips dug into my upper thighs again, closer to my apex. I put my hands over his and pushed down on his hands, causing him to groan.

  His lips lowered to just under my ear. "You are so incredibly irresistible." His breath tickled my neck and my nipples tingled as they hardened. "It fucking sucks."

  His lips brushed against my neck and my skin exploded in goosebumps. Jax was scowling and pulled a blonde into his lap, sliding his hand up her thigh and under the short fabric of her dress. His eyes were locked on mine as he let her kiss him, her tongue immediately probing at his lips.

  I shut my eyes so I didn't have to watch.

  "Let's go to the parking lot." Morgan took a handful of my hair and turned my head toward him. "I want to kiss those pretty little lips in private."

  My heart raced, and I looked back at Jax, who ripped his lips away from the girl he was kissing. He took the cup that was in her hand and tipped it back to drink the entire contents. He stood and grabbed a different girl, pulled her against him, and kissed her.

  I gasped as his hand went under her short skirt to cup her ass.

  "Let's go." I stepped away, breaking my contact with Morgan.

  He jogged to catch up as I walked toward the parking lot and slung an arm around my shoulder. "You know this doesn't change anything, right? We're just going to have a little fun."

  I stopped as soon as we got to the top of the path and faced him. "Did you put fish in my dorm room?"

  His eyes widened and his lips pulled at the corners, fighting a smile. "You think I would do something like that?"

  "Yes." I saw Ivy and Aiden walking up the path and grabbed his hand. "You can make it up to me. Where's the car?"

  He took keys from his pocket and led me to Jax's black Maserati SUV. "I'm the designated driver tonight."

  He opened the back door and I slid in with him hot on my heels. My ass was barely over into the next seat when he placed his hands on my cheeks and his lips were on mine.

  What the hell was I doing?

  I wrapped my fingers around his wrists, but instead of pulling away, I moved my head to a better angle and let his tongue in my mouth. It was as if I couldn't stop it once their mouths were on mine.

  His hands ran down my arms and then he grabbed my waist and laid me out on the seat, settling between my legs. My body arched up to his as he moved his hips against mine. I gasped when I felt his erection against me.

  I couldn't control my body's reaction to him.

  "Shit, vixen, you taste and feel better than I could have ever imagined." He ran his thumb over my bottom lip.

  "Why are you doing this?" My eyes searched his for answers.

  "Because I'm horny and you're fine as fuck." He ran a finger along the edge of my shirt before dipping a finger under to touch the soft skin of my breast. "Have you let anyone kiss you here?"

  My eyes grew heavy and my body wanted to arch into his touch. I never realized how much I craved a man's touch and mouth until then. It was like they'd opened up a floodgate of hormones that had been locked away.

  He kissed down my neck to the exposed skin of my chest. I speared my fingers through his short brown hair.

  "Treating me like crap... why?" I couldn't even formulate questions correctly. His lips stopped and he pulled back.

  "You didn't meet your deadline." He sat back on his heels and rubbed his hands up and down my thighs. "Are you even trying to contact him?"

  I nodded and my eyes landed on the evident bulge in his pants. "Why is it so important for me to contact my father? Do your parents work for him or have investments in his business?"

  His hands stilled and he lowered himself back on top of me, gripping my chin between his thumb and forefinger. "My parents are dead."

  "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

  The door was wrenched open and Morgan yelped as he flew off me and hit the car next to us. Jax's pissed off glare greeted me.

  "Stay here." He slammed the door and turned and punched a laughing Morgan in the face.

  Aiden and Ivy opened the door on the side the two assholes weren't fighting on.

  "Hurry!" Ivy grabbed my hand and I pulled away from her. "Hurry before he's done beating the shit out of Morgan!"

  "Wait." I got to my knees on the seat and looked into the trunk area. "This is my one chance."

  Morgan and Jax were still fighting, and with the tinted windows, they couldn't see me. I climbed over the backseat.

  "Your one chance for what? Riley! What the fuck are you doing?" Ivy screamed in a whisper. "They aren't going to fight for that long!"

  "Leave the door open and then run to Aiden's car and peel out of here like I'm with you." She shook her head and looked at me like I was crazy. "Please! This is my one chance to find out why they hate my dad so much."

  "You were just supposed to turn them against each other! Mission accomplished." She gestured to the other side of the SUV.

  "They might know where my mom is." I gripped the headrest. "I have to try."

  "You're crazy! They're going to hurt you." She looked through the window just as Jax slammed Morgan into the car on the other side of us again.

  "I'll be fine." I ducked down and pulled my phone out to make sure it was silent. "I'll text you when we get to their house and when I get home. I still have some Uber credit."

  "Fine. It's your funeral."

  I laid down on my side and then started to doubt my decision. What if they caught me? They already had a few screws loose. I didn't think they'd hurt me, but what if this pushed them over the edge?

  I needed to find out why they needed to find my father so bad, especially now that I knew the connection between my mom, my father, and Jax's father. I didn't want to think about the possibility of my mom going missing because of my father, but it was the only explanation that made sense.

  My lips felt almost numb, and I brought my fingers to them. They were slightly swollen and most of the lip gloss was gone. I couldn't believe I'd made out with both Jax and Morgan. It was addicting and made me feel alive. I just wished assholes weren't the ones making me feel that way.

  I heard the screeching of tires and Jax cursing. It was hard not being able to see what was going on, but heavy breaths came from the open door and then laughing.

  "Fuck!" Jax must have seen I wasn't in the car and then the door was slammed shut. "Let's fucking go before I kill you."

  I could still hear them through the windows.

  "What about Blake?" Morgan's voice grew louder as he walked around the back of the vehicle. I held my breath, hoping he wasn't about to open the back.

  "Did you see him back there? Oh, wait. You didn't because you were distracted by that... by that..."

  Both doors in the front opened at the same time and the vehicle moved as they got in.

  "Now, now, don't go calling names. It was
only fair since you had two tastes that I got one too." Morgan sucked in air through his teeth. "Fuck, man, you've come a long way since the days you punched like a girl."

  "She's mine." His voice came out raw and unhinged. "Just drive. I'm done here."

  "Jesus, you need to calm yourself down before you shift right here in the car." Morgan started the car and revved the engine. The music was turned up to some hard-hitting song that shook the back window and made my ears hurt.

  Shift? Was that a word similar to tea and bet? I didn't speak teenager slang, despite being one.

  The music cut off. "Did you touch her?"

  "Put your seatbelt on." We started moving, and if I wasn't so scared of them seeing the light from my cell phone, I would have turned on GPS.

  I heard the click of the seatbelt and then a sigh. "This is such a fucking mess."

  "I agree. I hate that it's not safe to have parties at our place. There is nowhere to adequately fuck a girl at the cove. Even in here, some asshole would probably film it and post it all over the place."

  Was that all I was going to be? A fuck?

  "She knows."

  "What do you mean she knows?"

  "She texted me last night and told me she knows our secret."

  I heard the sound of air coming in and I wrapped my arms around myself. It was way too cool out to have the windows open.

  "That could mean anything." Morgan sounded worried. "There's no way she's ever seen us."

  "It would explain the siren's knife."

  My eyes widened. My mom's knife I had pulled on Jax had stolen his attention. He'd asked where I'd gotten it, but I hadn't thought twice about it.

  "You were probably just seeing things. They were all destroyed by our people. Your dad said he remembers how big a deal it was from when he was a kid."

  "What if they missed one, or one of them escaped?"

  They both fell quiet and didn't turn the music back on. I was pretty sure I was far enough back that they couldn't hear me breathing to calm myself down.

  I needed to hide the knife when I got home because if they were worried about me having it, they might try to steal it. If it was that important, I needed to protect it.

  The car came to a stop and then pulled forward into a garage.

  "If she really does know though..." Morgan turned off the engine. "What are we going to do?"

  "We'll have to tell the admiral." Jax's voice sounded forlorn. "I fucking hate her, but..."

  "But you don't want to see her get hurt... physically." Morgan laughed. "He said to do whatever it takes."

  "I know. Seeing my sister this morning was a good reminder of what her father has done." The doors opened. "I need to swim."

  The doors shut and the lights turned off, leaving me in the dark garage to wonder what his sister had to do with anything.

  Chapter Ten

  I slipped out of the car and sent a text to Ivy. I understood that she was concerned about me, but she didn't need to be. I was trying to find answers, but so far I was more confused than ever.

  Were they part of some kind of mafia organization? I was starting to wonder if it was possible after what I overheard. I shivered at the thought.

  I turned on my phone's flashlight and looked around the garage. It was more square feet than the first floor of my townhouse and had off-roading vehicles, a boat, and two motorcycles. Lined on a shelf were different motorcycle helmets. I spotted Morgan's motorcycle and figured we must be at his house.

  I slipped off my shoes and put them behind what looked like a trash can and tried the door. It opened and I took a deep breath before slipping in, hoping there weren't cameras.

  I was in a hallway that led to a large living space. I stayed as close to the wall as possible and peeked around the corner. The house was gigantic.

  Everything was sleek, modern, and clean. The entire back wall was glass, looking out onto a giant swimming pool. Surrounding the outdoor area was a railing, and then the ocean stretched as far as my eyes could see.

  I hunched down and tiptoed into the room, hiding by the kitchen island. The kitchen was all white and smelled of lemons. There wasn't a crumb on the floor or counter. The stainless-steel appliances had not one fingerprint of grease splatter.

  I peeked over the counter. They were in the pool, swimming laps. They must have gone straight outside and jumped in. The lights in the pool made the water look like it was the ocean.

  I eyed the stairs and then dashed up them. I stopped at the top and listened to make sure they hadn't seen me. There wasn't a sound.

  The first door on the right was cracked open, so I peered inside and pushed the door open the rest of the way. The room was a mess, and I could tell from the helmets and motorcycle posters that it was Morgan's room. I wondered who he lived with since his parents were deceased.

  I didn't know what I was looking for, so I started with the desk, which was just as messy as the floor. I wasn't the neatest person in the world, but his room took it to a whole new level. I moved some papers around and only spotted notes. The desk drawers had a lot of junk and papers crammed inside.

  I looked at the nightstand on the side of the bed he slept on. I only knew because he left it unmade. I stepped over a pile of clothes and pulled out the top drawer. Did he really need that big a box of condoms? I shook my head and opened the next drawer.

  He had eye masks, a ball gag, wrist cuffs, and a switch in the drawer. I shuddered and closed the drawer. I might have been a virgin, but I was a well-read and knowledgeable one.

  In the nightstand on the other side of the bed there was a roll of money that was all hundreds. It was tempting to take a few, but my conscience wouldn't allow it.

  I left his room and shut the door the way it had been. The door across from his was open all the way. I walked in to a much more organized room. The bed was made and only a few shirts lay on the back of the desk chair. One of the walls was plastered with prominent black sports stars, and another with a giant canvas painting of sea life.

  I ran my thumb over Jax's name signed on the bottom. I had no clue he was a painter or so talented. The painting looked like it was a photograph instead of done by hand.

  I went to the desk where books were stacked neatly. There was a small container holding sticky notes and sticky flags and a cup with pens and highlighters.

  I opened a drawer and pulled out a folder that looked jam packed with papers. Inside were printouts of college admission criteria. There were color coded highlights on each page. I flipped through them and spotted an opened Salinity Cove High envelope addressed to Blake.

  Did Morgan and Blake live together? I wracked my brain, trying to remember if I'd ever actually seen any of their families. I hadn't been paying enough attention to them in the past to recall.

  I knew exactly what it was by the seal broken on the back. Curiosity got the best of me and I pulled out his transcript. He had straight As and was ranked in the top ten percent.

  I put it back inside the envelope and folder. Blake didn't act like a top student in class, but that didn't mean he wasn't one. The rumors about him paying people to do his assignments was still likely.

  After his room turned up nothing, I tried the rest of the rooms. One was a guest room and another was locked. The last room was behind two double doors at the end of the hall.

  I knew as soon as I cracked the door open that it didn't belong to anyone's parents. Jax's scent hit my nose, and in the corner of the room was an easel with a drop cloth laid underneath.

  They all lived in this house without their parents? I thought that only happened in movies, but I guess when you're rich anything is possible. They were all eighteen as far as I knew, but leaving three guys to their own devices seemed negligent.

  My eyes took in the master suite, which was way too luxurious for an eighteen-year-old still in high school. Like downstairs, the entire wall of the room was windows with a small terrace that looked out at the ocean.

  I shut the door and steppe
d farther into the room, turning toward the bathroom that was encased in glass. The shower was against the glass wall, looking out to the ocean, and there was a giant tub right next to it.

  Voices came from outside in the hall, and I looked around frantically for a place to hide. Where the hell was the closet door?

  I heard a door shut down the hall and cursed under my breath. I ran to the other side of the bed and dropped to the floor right as the bedroom door opened. I saw his bare feet as he walked to the bathroom.

  I needed to wait until the opportune moment and hightail it out of there. It was a completely stupid idea to hide in the back of the SUV and then come inside and snoop. I'd clearly lost my mind and my common sense over the past week. If I got caught they might call the cops, and then what? I had no one to bail me out.

  The shower turned on and I scooted forward to peek around the end of the bed. My lips parted as Jax's bare, muscular ass greeted me as he stepped in the shower. He stood under the spray of water, facing away from me.

  I prepared to dart around the bed and to the door. Even if he heard me, I should be able to get out of the room and house before he could catch up. It was doubtful he'd run after me naked. If he did, I didn't know if I would be able to not look.

  I put a hand over my mouth to cover a giggle that threatened to bubble out of me at the image of his dick bouncing around as he chased me.

  He turned to face the window, looking out to the ocean. His eyes were shut and his jaw hardened as he put his forearm against the window and put his forehead on it. He grabbed his cock and began stroking it, the water still hitting him from the side. He stroked himself from root to tip and stopped at the end of every pull to run his fingers around the crown and over the tip.

  I was glued to my spot on the floor and my stomach clenched with need. His pace increased and the muscles in his arm flexed as he worked himself.

  I needed to get out of there.

  I scrambled on my hands and knees, and when I was just about to the door, my phone fell from my back pocket. It wasn't loud, but the second I looked back at the bathroom, Jax's eyes met mine over his shoulder.