by Angel Lawson
“In the yard?” Gray says, walking into the room. “Because I’ve had sex a lot of places, but never in the backyard. Mostly because I’ve never had a yard, back or front.”
“Stop,” I beg him. He winks. Incorrigible. “It’s just a few weeks. After that you’ll have your place and Ro and I will have ours. We’ll have a little more freedom.”
“Your mom loves me,” Theo says. He’s pulling a shirt over his head, giving me one last look at his magnificent abs. He claims he didn’t want to get his shirt dirty moving boxes. I think he does it because his body drives me crazy. “I don’t think she’d kick me out.”
He sits on an unopened box. All of this stuff came from the Second Chance charity. Dorian hooked Mom and I up with the program after I graduated high school and she graduated the treatment program. They assist with housing and everything a person needs to get back on their feet. She’d been living in a transitional house for the past month but comes home this weekend. The guys and I have been doing everything we can to get the place set up and ready. We’ll only live together until school starts in August. Until then, I’m excited about reconnecting with her.
I walk over to Theo and brush his hair back. “Thank you for going to NA with her. It means a lot.”
“We both get something out of it,” he says, wrapping his hands around my thighs. I bend down and brush a kiss across his lips. “Neither of us want to let you down again.”
“You’ll be too busy to get in trouble,” I tell him. He’s been invited to try out for the national swim team. It’ll be tough, but he has a chance. If not, the Asherville State team is waiting for him.
I glance over at Gray, who has pulled out a pocket knife and is cutting the tape on a box holding a flat screen. “Did you turn in all your assignments?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He flashes me a grin. “Got everything submitted.”
Relief washes over me. Gray had to attend an online summer school program to get the last of his math classes complete. He’s finally up to date and ready for fall registration. It’s hard to believe that we all managed to get it together enough to go to Asherville in the fall. It required a lot of juggling, interviews, financial aid, and recommendations. Most of all, that Sparrowood diploma opens doors.
“And you?” I look at Hawk. Sawyer Hawkins had been a tough sell on college. Once the shackles of Sparrowood were off, he was ready to be done with school. The boy’s smart, but stubborn. He didn’t like the idea of taking scholarships or loans. He felt like it was another way the “man” had their hands in his life. Dorian finally made him realize the way to have more control over his future was a good education.
It didn’t hurt when I agreed to get an off-campus apartment with Rochelle next door to his.
After everything we went through last spring, the only time Hawk is comfortable with me out of his sight is if I’m with another K-Boy. I’m hoping that campus life may help him relax a little.
“Did you turn in your deposit?”
“I did.”
Everything’s lining up. “Good. Now help me unload these boxes in the kitchen.”
They follow me in and the galley kitchen is really too small for the four of us all at once. But we’re close like that. What we went through together forged a bond that keeps us tight. I edge back and watch them, hopeful for our future, and slip out of the room to put sheets on my bed. There’s no way it’s not going to be christened before the night is over.
“Iced coffee, heavy cream,” I say to the barista. She rings me up and I pay. I kind of hate myself for coming to this high-end coffee place on the edge of the Park, but fixing the house up for my mom has been a lot of work.
And after staying up late with the guys the night before? I need coffee.
“Espresso, please.”
I look up at the familiar voice and a shiver runs down my spine. Dorian Miller stands a few feet away, oblivious to my presence.
I haven’t seen him since graduation. Sure, he helped me and Mom with the housing, but that was mostly a referral to Mom’s caseworker at the transition house. We’d texted a few times, but nothing more. I’ve spent countless hours daydreaming about the kiss we shared the night I found out about Hope’s suicide. It was a moment bound in pain and confusion, although there was no mistaking how much I wanted that kiss. How much I wanted him.
He feels my eyes on him and turns, eyebrows furrowed until he sees my face.
“Eden.”
“Hi,” I say. He walks over, and I get a whiff of his warm scent. “What are you doing down here?”
“My mom needed help with a few things, so I came down to see her.” He looks me over. “You?”
“Setting up my mom’s new house.” I smile. “Thank you, again, by the way.”
“Of course. You both worked so hard to get to this place.” The barista calls out my name. I walk over to the counter and pick up my drink. When I come back he asks, “Where are the guys?”
“Around. Theo is probably over at the club practicing. The guys are most likely at the gym.” They were gone when I got up—just a note scribbled on a pad affixed to the shiny new refrigerator. “I think they’ll be back this afternoon.”
Dorian’s drink is ready, and he grabs it. Together, we walk outside. “So, you leave for school soon?”
“In about a month.” I feel that buzz between us. The one that’s been there almost since day one. I’m never sure if he feels it, too. What I do know is I’m not ready for him to walk down that street. “Do you have a minute? You can come see my mom’s place. It’s just down the block.”
He checks the time and my heart plummets. He’s got other things to do. People to see. Other women? Surely, there’s another woman, right?
“No pressure,” I add, giving him a tight smile.
He looks at me and I see the muscle in his strong jaw tic. “I think I have a little time to spare.”
“Oh, good.” I gesture down the sidewalk. “It’s just down here.”
We walk past the little shops and the bike racks and all the other markers that this isn’t quite the same place either of us grew up. Mom’s house is in a tiny row of houses that juts off the main road. They’re built specifically for former residents of Kingston Park, people displaced by rising property values.
I point to the one painted light green and he follows me up the steps, his hands shoved in his pockets.
The front room is still in disarray, but Gray got up the TV the night before and the couches are in place. The bookshelf is leaning on its side, but the kitchen is clean. With each moment of my small tour, I’m thinking inviting him here was a bad idea.
“Anyway,” I say. “It’s just two bedrooms, but that’s enough. I mean, I won’t be here very long. I gave Mom the master even though the bathroom is way nicer.”
The hair on my neck stands on end and I feel him watching me. I turn around. “What?”
“I was just thinking about how much I missed seeing you all the time.”
We’re in the tight hallway. I press my back against the wall. “We didn’t see each other at school that much,” I reply. “You had your job. I was in class or taking down Brats.”
“You may not have been aware of me, but I was definitely always aware of you.” He rubs his forehead. “It was hard not to. You have such a presence.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Tell the truth; it was the skirt, right? I always knew you had a schoolgirl fetish.”
He shakes his head. “In general, no. On you? I may have understood the appeal.”
We hold one another’s eyes. “Are you flirting with me, Dorian Miller?”
He exhales. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I never do when I’m around you.”
“You’re the former leader of the K-Boys, I thought you guys always knew what you were doing.”
“I gave that job up, for one with much less respect, sub-par health care and boundaries.”
We’ve moved toward one another, until we’re standing toe-to-toe. “Maybe that�
��s the problem. You keep thinking like a social worker and not that boy you used to be. What would he do in this situation?”
His eyes darken, and the tip of his tongue wets his lips. I sense the struggle in him, the fight between the man he is now and the one he used to be. I love them both, crave them both, but he’s the one that has to make this decision. Does he want me or not?
“That boy would take what he wants, despite the consequences.”
“The limitations on us are gone, Dorian.”
He swallows. “The guys?”
“Trust me, they understand.”
His fingers coil in and out, making and unmaking a fist. My heart beats so loud it’s the only sound I hear in the small space. Three times I’ve stood in front of Dorian, my cards on the table. Three times, he’s had to make a choice. I step aside, unable to handle the intensity of the moment, the possible rejection, but his hand reaches out and grips my upper arm. When I look up his mouth is on mine, hard and demanding. His tongue eager, lips soft.
My knees buckle with relief, with want, and I hold onto him, afraid he’ll change his mind and run. My fear is pointless, because once he finally made the decision, something clicks and he’s all in. I feel it in my bones.
This thing between us has built and built…almost a year in the making. It’s like the coiling of a spring, wound tighter and tighter with every passing day. I feel it in his kiss, in the way his hands grab at my hips. I see it in his eyes when he carries me into the bedroom and drops me at the edge of my bed. His hands move fast, pulling my shirt over my head. His mouth hits the skin between my breasts and every nerve sets on fire.
His fingertips graze my belly and I work to catch up, grappling with his shirt. He reaches behind his head and tugs it over, revealing his body.
I press a hand to his chest, stilling him.
Holy mother of God.
He’s like carved stone, a man’s body. I love my boys. I do, and they’re all perfection, but they carry the soft slimness of youth. Dorian has more than a scattering of hair on his chest, and I run my fingers from there down his belly to the coarser hair trailing below. His stomach caves, reacting to my touch, and his fingers press into my hip.
“You’ve been holding out on me, Mr. Miller.”
Smug satisfaction tugs at his lips and the urgency returns, the flame stoked. His fingers and hands are confident and sure. He’s suddenly impatient, wedging himself between my legs, standing over me, powerful and strong. My stomach flip-flops at the shift in aggression, hungry for it. He grabs my hips, tugging them forward, ripping off my panties, yanking down his zipper. He strokes his cock twice and without hesitation, pushes inside. His moves are quick and hard, hands gripping my hips. As he drives into me, my breath catches somewhere deep in my throat until a moan escapes, and I fist the sheets in my hands, never having experienced it like this.
I come hard and unexpectedly, my body rattled. His fingers dig hard in my hips as he follows, and he tips forward, burying his face in my hair.
I kiss his shoulder, loving the way he feels inside of me. He props up on his elbows and looks down at me with a grimace on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, feeling very, very right.
“I didn’t mean to be so—”
“Fantastic?”
“Aggressive. That’s not how I imagined our first time.”
“You’ve imagined it?”
“And more, Princess.”
I laugh at the name, there’s my K-Boy. I suspect he arrived somewhere around the time he tossed me on the bed. I kiss his mouth. “Well, I liked it.”
His eyebrow raises. “Yeah? I think all that time holding off just got to me.”
I nudge him over and get him on his back. I straddle his hips. “Maybe we can do it again, a little slower this time.”
I can’t wait to explore this man, body and mind.
“How long did you say before the guys get back?”
I shrug. “Does it matter?”
He kisses the spot between my breasts and my belly warms again. “No, but there’s a way to handle this and I’m not sure what just happened here followed street protocol.”
“There’s a protocol for this?” I’m teasing. I think it’s kind of funny he’s worried about the guys. I know for a fact they’ve been waiting as long as I have for him to join the fold. They need him as much as I do.
“There will be now.” His fingers graze my side and I feel him grow and expand beneath me. Any semblance of control either of us had is long gone.
The man beneath me may have been the hardest to tame, but he’ll be the one to steady us, keep us strong and safe as we shift from lost kids to adults, from street punks to functional members of society. He’ll be our guiding force and I’ll be the glue.
Kingston Park will always be a part of us, despite the high rises and yoga studios, just like Sparrowood has left a brand on our souls. We’ve seen the face of evil and come out the other side.
Together.
Acknowledgments
Readers!
Thank you for coming on another journey with me. Sparrowood is one of those books that got under my skin and I didn’t really breath until it was finished. Your enthusiasm for the characters and storyline kept me motivated. So as always, thank you!
Special thanks to my magnificent betas that keep me on track; Jennifer and Lisa. Thank you to Vanessa @ VCedits, and of course @angstyg for her amazing covers. She brought Eden to life visually. Thank you to all the amazing girls at Angel’s Antics! Make sure you join in the fun.
This is the final book in the Sparrowood series but don’t worry! I’ll be back soon!
Angel
About the Author
Angel Lawson is a USA Today Bestselling author of adult and young adult fiction. She lives with her family in Atlanta and has a lifelong obsession with creating fiction from reality, either with paint or words. On a typical day you can find her writing, reading, plotting her escape from the zombie apocalypse and trying to get the glitter out from under her nails.
To keep up with Angel for fun, entertainment and exclusive book updates please join, Angel’s Antics, on Facebook!
Also by Angel Lawson
Angel Lawson Books
*
(Reverse Harem)
Angel Lawson Books
*
(Reverse Harem)
Sparrowood Academy
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
*
The Wayward Sons (Contemporary YA)
Starlee’s Heart
Starlee’s Turn
Starlee’s Home
Starlee’s Hope
*
The Allendale Four (Contemporary YA-Series Complete)
A Piece of Heaven: The Allendale Four
Holding on to Heaven: The Allendale Four Book 2
The Road to Heaven: The Allendale Four Book 3
Seventh Heaven: The Allendale Four Book 4 (November 2018)
*
Boys of Ocean Beach (Contemporary YA- Series Complete)
Summer’s Kiss (The Boys of Ocean Beach)
Summer’s Fun (The Boys of Ocean Beach 2)
*
Raven Queen’s Harem (Series Complete)
Raven’s Mark (Part 1)
Ebony Rising (Part 2)
Black Magic (Part 3)
Obsidian Fire (Part 4)
Onyx Eclipse (Part 5)
Midnight’s End (Part 6)
*Raven’s Gift (Holiday Novella)
*
Huntress: Trial of Gods
*
(Reverse Harem Alien Romance)
Taking Mercy: Planet Athion Book 1 Finding Mercy: Planet Athion Book 2
Saving Mercy: Planet Athion Book 3
*
(Reverse Harem Superheroes)
The Elites: Supers of Project 12
Sentinels: Supers of Project 12 (Book 2)
Rogues: Supers of Project 12 (Book 3)
Hero
es: Supers of Project 12 (Book 4)
The Death Fields: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller
The Girl Who Shot First
The Girl Who Punched Back
The Girl Who Kicked Ass
The Girl Who Kissed the Sun
The Girl Who Broke Free
The Girl Who Saved the World
Creature of Habit Series (Paranormal Romance)
Creature of Habit (Book 1)
Creature of Habit (Book2)
Creature of Habit (Book 3)
A Vampire’s Seduction (Ryan’s Story Book 4)
A Vampire’s Fate (Sebastian’s Story Book 5)
The Wraith Series (YA Paranormal Romance)
Wraith
Shadow Bound
Grave Possession
Urban Fantasy
The Lost Queen
Vigilant