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

by Maya Nicole

  "I can do both. You do this and yearbook." He looked at Bernardo. "Two lessons a week and put us down for Hawaii."

  "What?" I blinked at him. "I can't-"

  Morgan slid a credit card across the desk. "I can and I will. We're doing this, vixen."

  I sat back in my chair and met Bernardo's questioning stare. "Fine."

  When the time came, I just wouldn't go.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Morgan

  Jax was going to kill me when I told him I was now Riley's official dance partner and we'd be spending a lot of hours with our bodies pressed close. He’d already told us multiple times that she was his, but she hadn't claimed him yet, so it was fair game.

  After changing back into my leather, I waited near the door for Riley to change. Bernardo was supposed to give her a ride home, but I had other plans.

  "Ready to roll?" I asked when she was almost to me. Her face scrunched up and I laughed. "I'll let you wear my helmet."

  "I'm not getting on that death rocket with you." She leaned her arms on the counter, giving me her back.

  I took that as an opportunity to move right beside her and wrap an arm around her waist. "It'll be fun. Bernardo lives in the opposite direction.” I smirked as she spun toward me. Now she was even closer.

  I knew that part of what might be causing my attraction to her was the fact that she was some percentage of siren. Blake and Jax didn't know much about sirens themselves, so we were left with a lot of questions about her.

  It's not like we could go and start asking questions about sirens. She'd be killed.

  "He does have a point." Bernardo wiggled his eyebrows. "I have some paperwork to do anyway. It would be better if he took you."

  "Thanks a lot." She shoved off the counter and headed out the door, pulling her phone from her bag. "I'll just call someone else to come get me."

  "Who? Ivy has practice, the rest of your friends are too scared, and Aiden doesn't want his ass plastered everywhere."

  "I'll walk then." She tried to walk past me and I caught her around the waist, pulling her to me. Her hands landed on my chest, but she didn't push away. "I don't want to ride with you."

  "What are you so scared of?" She bit her lip and I used my thumb to free it from her teeth. "I'll even go the speed limit."

  She stared at my bike for a moment and then at me. "You'll go under the speed limit and get in the slow lane."

  "I knew you'd cave." I grabbed her hand and pulled her over to my Ninja. "All you have to do is hold on. I'll do all the work."

  I helped her put the helmet on and climbed on the bike. I patted the small space behind me and scooted forward so she could get situated. "Just wrap your arms around my waist and hold on tight."

  The second her arms went around me, I scooted back and started my bike. I felt the heat between her legs against my ass and pressed a palm against my growing erection before pulling out of the parking space and turning onto the street.

  She held onto me tight enough that if I didn't have my leather jacket on, she'd have drawn blood. She was tense for the first few minutes, but then slowly relaxed and her grip loosened a bit.

  I sped up and I could practically feel her heartbeat against me as I pulled onto the highway. Her house wasn't far from the dance studio, but instead of pulling off at her exit, I continued on. She squeezed me but didn't have any choice but to go with me.

  The sun was setting and through the trees and houses off the highway, the ocean glittered in the fast retreating light of the day. We'd had to miss swim practice in the morning and my muscles were aching to feel the water.

  The highway curved inland and I took the first turn down the road to our house, back toward the ocean. The road was shrouded in trees, and unless you really were looking for it, you couldn't see the dirt path.

  The gate opened for me automatically and the road turned to pavement as I pulled into the garage and turned off the bike.

  She ripped the helmet off her head, her hair sticking to her forehead with a light sheen of sweat. "What the fuck are we doing here?"

  I took my helmet from her before she used it as a weapon against me. "It's Friday night, vixen. You don't want to spend it alone, do you?"

  "I certainly don't want to spend it with you." She stomped over to the door leading into the house. "I'll call an Uber to come get me."

  "Ubers won't come here." I reached around her, putting in the four-number code to unlock the door. It didn't escape my notice that she watched me do it. I'd have to change it later. "Come on. I'll cook you a nice dinner. We can go swimming, maybe Netflix and chill."

  "Netflix and chill," she deadpanned. For being so against me bringing her to the house, she followed me inside without complaint. "So you can videotape it and use it as a threat?"

  I stopped just before we got to the living room and she bumped into me. "I would never do that."

  "Oh, but hanging my panties and bra up for the entire school and world to see is okay?" She shoved at my back and I turned to face her. "You have some nerve acting like a knight in shining armor today."

  "Do you want the alternative?" I spread my arms across the hallway, putting my hands on each wall as she tried to move past me. "Because I can promise you, it won't be pleasant."

  "It's already unpleasant." She moved her hair off her forehead. "It's not like you'd hurt me."

  I moved to trap her against the wall as she tried to duck under my arm. "We won't, but that doesn't mean the others wouldn't. They'd torture you until you were an inch from death."

  "You don't scare me." She was feistier than usual. I liked it.

  "I should."

  She looked down at my chest and then cleared her throat. "What are you cooking for dinner?"

  I knew my words about torture bothered her, but they were true. If Jax's father found out we had all been having second thoughts about what the fuck we were doing, he'd step in. I didn't even want to imagine his reaction to her being able to use a siren's knife.

  Jax's dad was the last person we needed to get involved.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Riley

  I sat at the kitchen island as Morgan moved around the kitchen. He was making shrimp alfredo, which he said was his specialty.

  He bent over to get a pan from a cabinet near the stove and I couldn't help my look as the leather pants stretched tight over his ass and hamstrings. I shouldn't have been checking him out, but when he bent over, it was right there in my face practically begging me to.

  "Do you like garlic?" He put the pan on the stove and adjusted the heat on the boiling linguine noodles. "I like a lot, but if you don't like it, I can put less."

  "Put less." I loved garlic, but the last thing I wanted was for my breath to smell. Not that it mattered what my breath smelled like. My eyes went to his lips and I inwardly chastised myself.

  He smirked and I slid off the barstool, needing some air. I walked across the living room to the sliding doors he had opened the second we were in the room. The coolness of the air hit my skin and I grabbed the throw blanket off the couch and wrapped it around myself before stepping outside.

  The outside of their house was even more impressive than the inside. It seemed like they lived right in the middle of the ocean. I kept a safe distance from the giant pool that had lounge chairs and other outdoor furniture around it, and stopped a few feet away from the railing at the edge of the cliff.

  I wasn't scared of heights, but the water on the other side of the glass barrier scared the crap out of me. I took a calming breath and inched forward until I was right at the railing.

  The sky was darker than usual with an approaching rainstorm, and the waves crashing against the cliff face below sent a light mist into the air. It was breathtaking, but also terrifying. Someone could easily be thrown over and plummet to their death.

  I turned back toward the house. Almost the entire back was floor to ceiling windows. My eyes traveled to Jax's bedroom, and even though the window for the bathroom
was tinted so you couldn't see in, I could imagine him standing there on a daily basis, his hand stroking his cock.

  Jesus. Get it together, girl.

  Shaking my head, I walked back to the house where Morgan was tossing sauce, shrimp, and noodles in a sauté pan. His muscles flexed along his arm and shoulder as he flicked his wrist.

  "Why don't you get a few bowls out for us." He raised his chin to a cabinet to his left without looking back at me.

  "Have you ever thrown anyone over the railing?" I opened a few cabinets before finding pasta bowls.

  Their cabinets were clean and organized with white dishes. I had expected a hodgepodge of various plates and bowls. For being teenage boys, they were tidy.

  "Are you offering to be the first?" When my jaw dropped open, he threw his head back and laughed. "We dive off it during high tide."

  "But how do you not... die?" I took the bowl he had served for me and grabbed a few forks from the silverware drawer.

  "I think you know why." We sat down at the seats at the island. "If you don't like it, we have a frozen pizza I can throw in the oven."

  I spun my fork in the noodles and stabbed a shrimp. As soon as the food hit my tongue, I moaned. It was more delicious than any upscale seafood restaurant could make.

  "It's so good!" I took another bite, not even bothering to waste time making a presentable bite.

  Morgan flashed me an award-winning smile that almost made me choke. "I went out and caught the shrimp this morning."

  "In your boat?" I already knew the answer, but part of my brain still refused to believe they were... aquatic creatures.

  "Nope. Not in a boat." The smile didn't leave his face as he dug into his own bowl of pasta. It was hard to imagine them as anything other than human. I should have felt more panicked or shocked, but I also read way too much paranormal romance.

  After eating and putting the dishes in the dishwasher, I stood awkwardly by the island. The rain was falling now and the lights had turned on in the living room, casting a romantic glow across the space. Through the windows, I saw the pool lit up with blue lighting, and steam was coming off the top.

  "Ready to swim?" He walked around the island and put his hands on either side of me, pinning me against it. "The pool is heated."

  I looked past him at the pool. "I don't do water, and I don't have a swimsuit."

  His head tilted to the side. "You're scared of the water." It wasn't a question. "Why?"

  A small bead of sweat worked its way down my back at his nearness, and the fact we were talking about swimming made my skin heat. "I almost drowned when I was seven."

  He made a disbelieving noise and moved back, reaching behind his neck and pulling his shirt off. My lips parted and I sucked in a breath of air. I had seen them all without their shirts, even up close. There was something about being close enough to touch him and there being no one else around that made me feel the need to clench my legs together.

  "You have siren in you. Even if it was one percent, there's no way you'd drown. You're aquatic." He moved his hand down his chiseled chest and abs to the button on his pants.

  He knew exactly what he was doing and I kept my eyes on his hand as he undid the button and pulled down the zipper.

  "A blue creature saved me."

  He stopped pulling his pants down. "What?"

  I looked up, meeting his heated gaze. "I was pulled out to sea by a rip current and a blue creature with cat eyes put me on a buoy. I think that's what happened since, when I woke, he was staring at me."

  "That's impossible." He pulled his pants off, leaving him in a pair of tight boxer briefs that had anchors on them.

  "Maybe I was hallucinating."

  "Maybe." He moved back toward me. "I'll leave my boxers on for you. What are we going to do about all these clothes?" He ran a hand over my bare arm and my skin broke out in goosebumps.

  "I'm not swimming." I crossed my arms, breaking our connection. "I'll just..."

  "I promise you won't drown." He took my hand and pulled me toward the doors. "Look how inviting that water looks."

  "How deep is it?" I couldn't believe I was considering getting in the pool. There weren't even any steps or a ladder. It was just a rectangle.

  "Ten feet." My eyes widened. "There's a ledge inside you can sit on. I swear on baby sharks that I will not let anything happen to you."

  Despite everything, I felt the sincerity in his voice. "Fine."

  He reached for the hem of my tank and I batted his hand away. "I'm not taking off my clothes."

  "Clothes are the worst thing you can have on if you expect not to drown. How is your bra and panties any different than a bikini?"

  I was not the bikini wearing type. If I did swim and have a swimsuit, it would be a one piece with shorts. It wasn’t that I hated my body, but I also didn't want it hanging out all over the place.

  "Fine." I backed up a few steps and pulled my tank and shorts off, leaving them on the floor.

  "Damn, vixen." His eyes traveled up and down my body a few times. "I just want to bend you over the back of the couch right now and-"

  "Don't." I walked past him into the rain that was still falling, but not as hard as a few minutes prior. "Where is this ledge?"

  I sat on the edge of the pool, not ready to get in yet. It was a big step for me to get into a large amount of water again by my own free will.

  Morgan dove off the side and made a few laps before swimming up to me and parting my legs. I went to pull back, but his hands wrapped around my calves and pulled me closer.

  "Get in." His eyes smoldered and I scooted closer, sliding into the pool as he grabbed me around the waist.

  My butt hit the seat. Morgan leaned in and brushed his lips over mine quicker than I could react and then darted under the water.

  He swam the entire length of the pool and then surfaced like he was some kind of Greek god. "How long can you hold your breath?"

  "A while." He pushed back off the side and swam two lengths of the pool before joining me on the seat.

  "You're a mermaid." I'd said it a few times now, but none of them had corrected me.

  He scoffed. "Mermaids like you're thinking of don't exist."

  "Mo! What the fuck are you doing?" Jax's voice boomed from inside the house and he stalked toward us. "What the hell is she doing here?"

  I'd almost forgotten he hated me and my shoulders fell a little. Morgan noticed and frowned at me before glaring at Jax.

  "We're enjoying each other's company. Maybe you should join us and pull the piece of coral out of your ass."

  Jax glared at both of us before storming off. He was the moodiest man I'd ever seen. One minute he seemed like he might be warming up to me, and the next he was looking at me like I had tentacles. I didn't even know why I cared, but the feeling in my stomach told me I cared too much.

  "Why does he hate me?" I ran my hands over the water, trying to get them as close as possible to the surface without disturbing the water.

  "Not my story to tell, vixen." He tilted my chin up. "He's a moody bastard normally, but a lot has happened."

  Morgan looked up as the light in Jax's room turned on. He took off under the water again.

  After swimming, I rinsed off in the downstairs bathroom and wrapped a towel around myself. Morgan was supposed to have left me a pair of his sweatpants and shirt to change into since my bra and panties were wet and my tank and pants weren't warm enough.

  I loved the weather on the central coast of California, but it got chilly at night, especially if a storm had just rolled through.

  I opened the bathroom door and found no clothes. I rolled my eyes in annoyance and went to the living room to grab my pants and shirt, but they weren't where I had left them. I eyed the stairs and decided I would just take some from Blake, who wasn't home.

  All the doors upstairs were shut, and when I tried Blake's door, it was locked. I heard music coming from inside and raised my hand to knock, but then decided against it. He was home an
d just didn't want to be bothered.

  I turned to Morgan's door and knocked before turning the knob. Locked. Damn him. I looked down the hall at the two double doors.

  Fuck it.

  I walked to Jax's door and knocked. No answer came, so I turned the knob and the door opened. I peeked in, seeing him lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

  "Jax?" I opened the door further and stepped so I was just inside the door. "I need something to change into."

  He didn't respond or even blink. The room was dark besides the glow from the pool lights below. I took another step in. "Jax?"

  "Shut the door." His voice was gravelly and made my core stir.

  The last thing I needed was to be even more attracted to them. They were assholes and I was walking a fine line by even being at their house.

  I shut the door and stayed by it, unsure of what to do since he was still lying on the bed. His face was hidden in shadows, so I couldn't get a good read on him.

  "Top right dresser drawer in the closet."

  I had no clue where his closet was but figured it was by the bathroom, or maybe even through the bathroom. As I got closer to the glass walls that took up half the wall on that side of the room, I saw the small handle embedded in the wall.

  The door was a pocket door and I slid it open, stepping inside the walk-in closet. It was neat and organized by type and in order by color. Light to dark. His shoes were neatly lined up on the floor, not one poking out too far.

  Jax was a control freak and it made me smile as I went to the dresser and pulled open the right drawer. Inside were neatly arranged t-shirts. I picked a dark blue one and was tempted to mess up the neatly arranged drawer.

  I shut the closet door before dropping the towel and pulling the shirt over my head. Unlike in the movies and all the books I read, I wasn't a twig and Jax wasn't some monster of a man, so it didn't even fall to my knees. Instead, it barely covered my ass and left nothing to the imagination in the front.

  I pulled open a few more drawers until I found his basketball shorts and pulled on a pair. I pulled the inner drawstring and rolled the waistband. I stepped out of the closet, the wet towel draped over my forearm.