Defending Donovan

by Jillian Quinn

  “No, not you, too.” She sounds bummed that I’m siding with him. “You’re just as bad as Preston. Look what happened the last time I had sex with one of his players. It almost ruined my life.”

  “This time is different.”

  “How so?”

  “Because Preston is different. And girl, he’s like a five-alarm fire hot. I don’t know how you can stand to be around him without keeping a change of panties in your pocket.”

  I love messing with her. Sometimes, Bex can be so sensitive. And when it comes to Preston, she’s acting like a complete weirdo. She needs to lighten up about him. Whether she will admit it or not, she’s totally into him, and will probably jump him by the end of the night if he doesn’t get to it first.

  Bex lifts a pillow from the bed and throws it at me. “You’re so gross.”

  I catch the pillow and throw it back at her. “You know I’m right. Admit it, Bex. You want him, too.”

  She ducks, the pillow missing her head. It hits the wall behind her. “I can’t.”

  “Hey, it’s just an idea. If you want to touch his man meat, there’s nothing stopping you.”

  She makes a disgusted face. “Eww, did you just say man meat?”

  “I hear he’s pretty big.” I hold out my hands to pretend I’m measuring Preston’s dick, though I doubt he’s bigger than Drake.

  I don’t think anyone is that big. Drake is like porn star, Guinness World Records huge. When Jackie showed me the pictures he sent to her, my jaw unhinged. It’s so massive that one screen isn’t enough to cover all of it.

  I have been wondering where he puts it. Like how does it even fit in his pants?

  “Oh my God.” She sticks her tongue out. “Stop it. And how would you know how big Preston is? It’s not like you’ve seen it.”

  “I asked around for you.” I’m lying to mess with her. “Figured we should get as much dirt on him as we can… in case you change your mind about him.”

  She shakes head and sighs. “I can’t think of him like that. Ugh… he’s my dad’s favorite player. And his mom invited me to learn from her. I mean, how cool is that?”

  “Yeah, that’s pretty awesome. Coach is like your spirit animal.”

  “I know. She’s so incredible. I would kill to have a mom like Preston’s. Mine was a complete embarrassment to all women. A nasty home-wrecking whore.”

  I take a peek in the mirror once more. “How do I look?”

  She winks at me. “Hot.”

  Smiling, I gather my hair and move it over my shoulder, and then hand Bex the bottle of vodka from the counter.

  She takes it from me as if she needs it to survive the night. “Everyone on campus is coming to see the contest, and I don’t even know how to dance.”

  I snort and steal the bottle back from Bex, raising it to my lips. “You’ve got moves, Bex. They come out when you’re drunk. All you have to do is get on that bar, shake your ass, and push out your tits.”

  She laughs. “I hate you.”

  I blow her a kiss. “You love me.”

  I know she does.

  We have to leave now, or we’ll be late for this clusterfuck of a night. Between Bex stressing out over Preston and the dance moves, I haven’t given much thought to the fact Drake will be there too. And I have to dance in front of him and the rest of the school. Oh, well. I can do this. Bex needs me to be the strong one to push her.

  Drake is the first person I see in the parking lot at The Sixth Floor, the two-story dance club that overlooks the Philadelphia waterfront. He’s so big, he towers over all of his friends who are standing around him. They must be waiting for us. Preston is next to Tucker and Trent Kane with Jamie O’Connor on his right. Bex locks onto Preston and sucks in a deep breath.

  I have a similar reaction to Drake, even though I expected to see him here. The second our eyes meet, his expression changes. He shoots a strange look in my direction, a mixture of desire and hatred that pricks my skin.

  The feeling is mutual, buddy.

  I know some of the girls in Kappa Delta, the sorority we’re dancing with tonight. A group of girls in matching outfits crowd around Drake and his teammates. Avoiding Drake’s intense gaze, I follow Bex who makes a beeline toward Preston.

  Preston stops talking, his eyes now fixed on Bex. His takes in every inch of Bex’s body, his mouth open in shock. No one has ever seen Bex dressed like this. At least, not in public.

  She tends to stick with basketball uniforms or track pants when we’re on campus. When I drag her to parties with me, I often have to force her into women’s clothing. She’s a real tomboy down to her very core.

  Preston’s eyeballs are practically bugging out of his head at the sight of Bex in sexy clothing. “Damn, Bex.” He grips her by the waist, studying her. “You look… hot.”

  She forces a smile. “Thanks, Parker. You’re not so bad yourself.”

  “Shannon,” Jamie O’Connor says to a girl with long, blonde hair. “This is Bex.” He points a finger at her and then to me. “And her friend, Taylor. They’re the girls I told you about.”

  “Oh, hey.” Shannon strolls over to us. “You two are such lifesavers. We were ready to bail on the contest until Jamie told me you could fill in for our friends.”

  I’ve seen Shannon at frat parties and around campus, but this is my first time meeting her.

  “I don’t know how to dance,” Bex admits.

  She’s so obsessed with all of her flaws that she can’t stop doting on them. I wish she would exude the same confidence she has when it comes to basketball.

  “Yes, you do.” I smack her arm. “Bex is being modest.”

  “Okay, fine.” She holds up her hands. “But if we lose, don’t blame me.”

  “So, what do you need us to do?” I ask Shannon.

  “It’s nothing special,” she lilts. “Just have fun. We have a few moves we’re planning to do. Move your hips to the beat and do whatever feels natural to you.”

  Preston slips behind Bex, his big hands on her hips. He sways her hips, rocking her from side to side. “Nothing to it, Bex.”

  She tenses up when his hands touch her skin. My bestie really needs to chill out. I guess the vodka we drank in our apartment wasn’t enough to mellow her out.

  She glances up at him. “Easy for you to say. Maybe you should get up on the bar and shake your ass for money.”

  He laughs. “For five hundred bucks, I would.”

  “I think I need a drink,” she says to Preston. “I had some vodka before we left the dorm, but it wasn’t enough for me to do this.”

  He better convince her to follow through on the dare. I know she can do this. While it’s stupid and not something either of us would normally do, she needs to get out of her little bubble and push herself to do things that make her uncomfortable. I learned from my father a long time ago you have to get uncomfortable to get what you want. And I know she wants Preston.

  “I’ll be right there… watching you,” Preston says to her, his voice low and sensual. “Look at me and no one else.”

  He gives me chills with his deep, manly voice, so I can only imagine what he’s doing to Bex right now.

  “Okay.” She sucks in a deep breath and blows it out. “Let’s get this over with.”

  When I peek over at Drake, he’s burning a hole through me with his intense blue irises. He looks like he’s a big, sexy caveman ready to throw me over his shoulder and pound me into next week. But I shoot him a wicked look that says, ‘If you’re smart, you’ll stay where you are.’ He must catch my drift because he does just that, still staring at me with a strange longing that heats my skin.

  A few minutes later, we enter the club. The bass is so loud it vibrates beneath my four-inch heels. We tower over the other girls in these shoes. Bex was opposed to wearing them for this exact reason, but I couldn’t care less if people stare at us like we’re freaks. Let them look all they want.

  “We have to check in,” Shannon says to us over the music.
r />   We split off from the guys and follow Shannon and her sorority sisters to the back of the club. A bouncer ushers us into a large open room with vanities on one wall where a few girls are seated. Others stand behind them fixing their hair or makeup in the mirror.

  Shannon introduces us to the girls in our dance group. We exchange pleasantries, and once it’s our turn to go on stage, a bouncer leads us out of the room and down the back hallway. He pushes open a door which leads to a long, wooden bar.

  We step on stage, and when I glance out at the crowd, the lights are so bright I have to squint. Poles line the bar, each of us stepping forward to grab hold of one. Bex glances over at me, and I want to reach out and comfort her when I see her body visibly shaking from fear. She’s played basketball in front of large crowds, we both have, so you would think this should be a piece of cake for her.

  In the crowd, I find Drake. It’s easy to spot him among the sea of people in front of us. His gaze is fixed on me, his eyes so intense they haunt me. Since our encounter in the cafeteria, I haven’t stopped thinking about him. I was so mean to him, though in my mind, at least at the time, I thought he deserved it. I’m not wrong about him.

  What kind of decent man sends dick pics to every girl on campus? Like I could ever consider being anything to him. It’s almost a joke. All he could ever be is sex. And that’s probably all he would ever want from me, anyway. Guys like Drake don’t date. None of his friends do. They’re all pigs, even though I do believe Preston is serious about Bex. She’s more than a fling to him, which makes me wonder about Drake.

  But I don’t entertain the thought for long. I sway my hips to the music blaring through the speakers suspended from the ceiling. My virginity is not going to Drake Donovan, so it doesn’t even matter. He can look at me like a hunter stalking his prey all he wants. Love is the only thing that can buy him my v-card, something he will never work hard enough to earn.

  Girls in cages dance above us, their movements perfectly timed to ours. They’re not part of the competition. It’s their job to hang from the ceiling like monkeys and entertain the crowd.

  Drake watches me so intently it’s as if he’s afraid I will vanish into thin air if he doesn’t keep track of me. His deep blue eyes burn a hole through me. His gaze, combined with the overhead lights, causes my skin to burn. Sweat drips down my forehead, my body slick from the heat inside the club.

  Drake licks his lips and then raises the beer in his hand to his mouth. Not once does his eyes leave mine. It’s as if I’m dancing for him. Giving him a private show. Shaking my hips to the beat, I move to the rhythm.

  Drake inches his way through the masses, his friends parting the crowd like the Red Sea. Preston stops in front of Bex with Drake right below me. The Kane twins are busy chugging beers behind them while Jamie’s focused on Shannon.

  Staring up at me, Drake drags his teeth along his bottom lip. He’s killing me. And he knows it.

  Bastard.

  My entire body comes alive from each motion he makes. He taunts me with his sexuality, something he must know no woman can resist—including me. And for that reason, he won’t get me. I can’t fall victim to his good looks and muscular body. Nope, I won’t be that girl. I’ll never be his girl and definitely not his plaything because that’s all he wants.

  He only wants me because he hasn’t had me.

  Because he can’t have me.

  Who the hell am I kidding?

  I’m dying up here, my panties damp with each look he shoots at me. He leans forward, about to touch my leg, when someone drops a glass on the bar. Liquid runs down the length of the wood, and I have to hold the pole in front of me, so I don’t lose my balance. But Bex isn’t as fast to react as me. She’s too busy ogling Preston to notice.

  She slips on the puddle and loses her balance, falling off the bar before I can reach out for her. Lucky for her, Preston is there to catch her. He wraps his arms around her body, holding her tight against his chest. They disappear into the crowd. With the overhead lights in my eyes, it’s hard to spot them.

  Even though Bex falling off the bar disqualified our entire group from the competition, we continue to dance until the song ends. Once it does, we’re prompted to hop down from the bar to allow the next group to take our places.

  I don’t see Bex or Preston.

  Where the hell did they go? They were here a minute ago.

  I find Shannon next to Jamie and tap her on the shoulder to get her attention. “Hey, where did Bex go? Have you seen her?”

  She scans the crowded club and then shakes her head, just as confused as me. “Umm… they were just there.”

  “Probably went back to the house,” Jamie says.

  Irritated with Bex, I say, “Are you sure?”

  I can’t believe she ditched me. She wasn’t even drunk enough to follow Preston home. Maybe she didn’t need to be drunk… I mean, seriously, look at Preston. It wouldn’t have taken much convincing.

  “Yeah,” Jamie says without hesitation.

  This is so unlike her. Bex doesn’t normally disappear on me without a word. But she’s with Preston, so who knows what he talked her into while I was on the bar finishing up the dance routine.

  “Did Bex say something to you?” I ask.

  Jamie shakes his head. “No, I know Preston. We have a signal.”

  “But we came here together…” I’m somewhat deflated. “I can’t believe Bex didn’t say anything to me.”

  Drake appears at my side and presses his big hand to my shoulder, his massive body invading my personal space. I shake off his heavy hand. Who does he think he is? I didn’t give him permission to touch me.

  “I can give you a ride,” Drake offers.

  Yeah, I’m sure he can.

  “I can Uber it back to campus,” I spit back.

  “Don’t be stupid,” he says over the loud music. “I can drive you.”

  “Don’t call me stupid.”

  Before he can say another word, I slip through the crowd, desperate for some fresh air. But I have a feeling I won’t get rid of Drake quite that fast. Nope, that dick-pic-loving weirdo is right behind me.

  Chapter Five

  Drake

  Following behind Taylor, I push my way through the crowded club. She’s such a pain in my ass. Of course, she couldn’t stay with Jamie and Shannon. This girl loves to make me chase after her. And that’s why I like her so much. She has a strange hold over me, one I have yet to understand.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off her while she was dancing on the bar. Every guy in the club grunted and cheered, throwing money at their feet like they were strippers sliding down poles. The few times Taylor looked down, she locked eyes with me, singling me out. My heart raced with each movement of her hips. Every time her big tits bounced out from the tight top she’s wearing.

  This girl will be the death of me. She doesn’t even like me, and yet I can’t get enough of her.

  Once I find her, I reach for her, wrapping my arms around her stomach, pulling her back against my hard chest.

  I swipe some hair away from her face and off her shoulder, while she tilts her head to the side. A few minutes ago she acted like she hated my guts, and now she’s letting me touch her. She doesn’t even know me to hate me.

  I have to change her opinion. But how do I do that? She thinks all I want is sex.

  Well, I guess I have to prove that there’s more to Drake Donovan other than hockey and sex.

  I release my hold on her, and she staggers over toward the wall beneath the stairs that lead to the second floor. She leans back against the wall, pressing her heel to the painted brick. We stare at each other, unsure of what to say.

  Without a word, she steals the beer from my hand and tilts the bottle to her lips. She takes a few sips before a smile stretches across her lips. She hands the bottle back to me with a defiant look on her face.

  I cock an eyebrow at her, confused by her sudden change of behavior.

  She looks so fucking pretty
with her long, dark hair framing her face. As usual, she’s not wearing makeup, just that pink gloss that makes my dick rock hard when she rubs her pouty lips together. I move closer, and for some reason, she doesn’t stop me. Our mouths are so close I can feel her breath on my lips and notice the slightest change in her breathing.

  She wants me.

  Her body tells me so.

  There’s no denying she does, not when her nipples are so hard they’re poking through her tight tank and rubbing against my chest. She stills in front of me, unmoving, as if waiting in anticipation of a kiss.

  Should I kiss her?

  Do I make a move?

  I have no clue if she’ll hit me or kiss me back.

  Before I can make a decision, she speaks against my lips. “I’m hungry.” She rubs her flat stomach, the seam of her shirt riding up to expose some of her bare flesh. “Take me to get something to eat, and then you can take me home.”

  “You’re so bossy,” I counter.

  “You said you would take me home. Either you want to or not. And if you do, I want to get food on the way home.”

  “How about one more drink before we go?”

  She ponders my question for far too long and then nods. “Okay. One drink and then we’re out of here, you got it?”

  For someone who doesn’t have a car, she’s awfully controlling. But I don’t mind Taylor telling me what to do. My attraction to her increases with every angry look or nasty comment she makes. What would normally chase me away is somehow keeping me more interested in her. I love feisty women. And I love the way she snaps at me, always a comeback on the tip of her tongue.

  After I get two beers from the bar, I steer her toward the dance floor, where the club is in full swing. Hundreds of people surround us. Sweat glistens off the bodies of those grinding on each other. Using my body, I shield Taylor from everyone and push our way through the crowd, moving her in front of me. I slide my left hand to her hip, the other on her shoulder as I steer us away from the masses.