Toxic (Desired Affliction Book 1)

by Harms,C. A.

  “Do you still need to think about it or have I convinced you?”

  He didn’t wait for my answer before he removed my panties and ran his tongue over my clit. I tried to stay quiet as he teased and taunted. I bit the pillow to muffle my moans; he was so proud of my pleasure. The cocky grin barely left his face. He brought his body back up over mine and the fact that he was ready was evident.

  He slid into me slowly and brought his mouth to mine before I could make any noise. He moved so slowly as to take in every second. It was absolutely mind blowing. He pulled his face back to watch me closely as my eyes rolled back and I let my head rest into the pillow. Kole ran kisses down my neck while continuing to thrust his hips. I concentrated on keeping my moans under control. When I felt my impending orgasm I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist and moved my hips into him to meet his every thrust. My legs began to tense and a rush of pleasure ripped through my body as Kole followed closely behind me.

  When our breathing slowed he looked at me and smiled.

  “What are you smiling about? Don’t look so cocky.”

  He licked his lower lip.

  “I told you I was very persuasive. You can’t resist me.”

  He really was adorable, cocky, but completely adorable.

  “Watch it, buddy, or you’ll be reacquainted with your old friend Rosy Palm.”

  He smiled. “Oh, so you’re actually going to make me jerk off for punishment. What exactly is my punishment for? The fact that I’m irresistible and my girlfriend can’t get enough?”

  I kissed him quickly. “How about the fact that your ego is entirely too big for one person?”

  Kole rubbed my jaw with his thumb.

  “I love you, Lexi. You’re so easy to love, do you know that?”

  I felt a thickness in my throat that I couldn’t swallow. I still found it uncomfortable when he complimented me, but I was trying so hard to be able to accept his kindness.

  “You’re pretty easy to love too.” I looked into his eyes and I still felt like something was there. He looked saddened or worried about something, he seemed tense, and I hated that he was brushing it off like it was nothing.

  ***

  Over the next few days things were great. Kole seemed to lighten up and didn’t act as tense. His parents made me feel so welcome, and on Christmas morning when his mother handed me a gift my heart raced. I really wasn’t expecting anything, especially the gorgeous suede coat that I found when I opened the box. Beth seemed ecstatic with my reaction and I was compelled to hug both her and Jack, which was completely out of character for me. The surprised look on Kole’s face was the greatest part.

  Chapter 43

  Kole

  Lexi had become so relaxed with my parents and her being here through the holiday was perfect. I looked back over the last month and knew that we were closer than before. I felt like this girl was created for me. We were meant to find each other when we both needed it the most. She was self-destructing and in my own way so was I. I just felt when I was with Lexi everything had a purpose. All the little things meant something and she made me truly happy. Lexi made me smile without even trying.

  My parents had a dinner that night with my father’s boss and would be home late. Lexi and I were watching a movie, but she had fallen asleep with her head on my shoulder. I was watching her instead of the movie; she was easier on the eyes.

  “Hey, baby…” I brushed her hair back. “Lex, wake up.”

  When she rose up and looked at me I had to smile. Damn she was beautiful, even right after she woke up. She looked at me still half asleep. I guess I should have let her sleep last night. Instead I snuck into her room and spent two hours exploring her body. I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face from the memories of us tangled up together.

  “What on earth are you grinning about?” She was looking at me like I was crazy.

  “You don’t want to know. It has to do with you and me both being naked, though.” Lexi giggled and rolled her eyes.

  “I was actually thinking maybe we should go to a movie or something. Just to get out of the house for a while. What do you think?” I could sense by her smile she agreed.

  Lexi went up to change while I went out to start my car and let it warm up. The temperature had dropped and they were calling for snow. When she came down the stairs I had to stop and admire her. She really was perfect. Her curves were so sexy and the way her hair flowed was beautiful. She had lip gloss on, making her lips shiny. I really just wanted to grab her and kiss her until we were both breathless. The shirt she wore was tightly fitted and showed just the right amount of her neck. Yeah, I knew—I was such a fucking pussy, but I loved the hell out of this girl.

  “Why are you staring?”

  I walked slowly to her and placed my hands on her hips, pulling her close to me so her entire body was pressed into mine. I kissed her slowly at first and then sucked on the tip of her tongue. She moaned lightly.

  “I was admiring my girl. She’s fucking hot.” She pushed against my chest and I laughed. I placed her hand into mine and walked toward the door.

  “What is this place? It looks like a bar, Kole.” She appeared nervous.

  “It’s not a bar, more like a bar and grill. They have pool tables and darts, music and dancing. Come on, it’ll be fine.”

  Lexi followed me in, but held my hand tightly. The waitress led us to a booth in the back. After she took our drink order, Lexi shrugged her coat off and snuggled into me. We were sitting toward the back and the dance floor was to our left, the pool tables to our right. I tilted her chin up and gave her a light kiss.

  “Do you want to kick my ass in pool?”

  She laughed. “Um…I’ll play, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be kicking your ass.”

  I let her break and stood behind her watching her bend over the table. I came up behind her and ran my hand over her ass, bringing it to rest on her hip. She leaned back into me letting her head fall back onto my chest. I kissed her neck.

  “If you keep distracting me with that sexy ass of yours, I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to concentrate enough to shoot pool.”

  She pushed her ass back into my groin just a little more and a deep groan ripped through me. Spinning her around, I backed her up against the pool table pinning her with my body. I kissed her, letting our tongues dance with each other as my hand roamed her hip and came to a stop cupping her ass.

  “Well, what do we have here?” I turned and my anger flared immediately as Matt stood five feet from us with some really sleazy girl. I kept Lexi behind me.

  “What the fuck do you want?” Matt looked over my shoulder to see Lexi and the smile he gave her made my blood boil. Lexi was squeezing my arm tightly.

  “Kole, I thought you had better taste than that. But hey, if you’re into sluts then you went top of the line, because Lexi here has fucked half the town. She’s a good lay, so I guess when you’re all done at least you’ll get that out of it.”

  It happened before I even realized what I was doing. I charged at Matt and fisted his shirt with one hand while my other connected with his face. I didn’t stop; I kept punching him, and when he went down I kept swinging. The only thing that pulled me back was Lexi’s cries. When I turned to look at her she looked terrified. I looked down at my hands covered in blood and then back at Matt, who was now slouched against the wall with blood pouring from his nose.

  “Kole, they called the cops.” Lexi sobbed as she pointed to the door. When I looked in that direction I saw the three policemen walking toward me. I quickly grabbed my keys from my pocket.

  “Take these and go get my mom. She’s at the Hilton.” Lexi nodded, but the tears fell heavy. I leaned over and kissed her before the cops reached us. “Baby,” I said, gaining her full attention. “I’ll be okay. I love you.”

  They arrested us both and as they were placing me in the car I almost lost it. I looked back as Lexi was sitting in my car with her face in her hands and I could tell she was
crying heavily. I just wanted to hold her. I wanted to kiss her and tell her everything would be okay. I didn’t regret beating the fuck out of Matt. The sick bastard had it coming and I knew it was just a matter of time before I got hold of him.

  Chapter 44

  Lexi

  I drove to the Hilton and I couldn’t stop shaking. How was I going to tell Beth that Kole had been arrested and that it was my fault? I felt sick. She surely wouldn’t want us together after this. I tried to control my tears, but they wouldn’t stop. I was so worried about Kole being in jail.

  I approached the greeter.

  “I was wondering if you could find a woman by the name of Beth Hartman. She’s having dinner here and it’s very important that I speak with her. It’s an emergency.” The young girl behind the counter excused herself and I paced the hall waiting.

  “Lexi, honey, is everything okay?” When I turned to face Beth she took in my tear stained face. “Oh my god…where’s Kole? Is Kole okay? Honey, please, what happened?”

  I took a deep breath. “He got arrested.” She stared at me and I wasn’t sure what to say. I felt a fear run through me at her silence. Just when I was about to apologize she spoke.

  “Sweetheart, you wait right here. I’m going to get my coat and excuse myself from dinner.” Beth rubbed my shoulder to comfort me. “Lexi, he got in a fight with Matt, didn’t he?”

  I felt a panic overtake me as I looked up at her. She smiled lightly and I just nodded my head. “I’ll be right back sweetheart.”

  Beth drove Kole’s car in silence to the police station.

  ***

  I couldn’t hold back the tears as I sat in the waiting area waiting for them to bring Kole out. Beth was talking to Matt’s mother on the phone. Apparently Matt had a broken nose and Kole knocked out two of his teeth. He also needed nine stitches above his right eye.

  I held my head in my hands crying at how badly our night turned out. I was startled when Kole knelt down in front of me.

  “Don’t cry, Lex. I’m fine.”

  I threw myself at him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He stood with me still holding him and wrapped his arms around my waist. I cried into his shoulder and he whispered in my ear that he loved me and that everything was okay.

  When I heard Kole’s dad’s voice I jumped.

  “Let’s get you home, son.” I rode with Kole in his car and his parents followed.

  “I hate that you went to jail because of me, Kole. We should have just walked away.” I ran my hand over his as he held my leg. He didn’t turn to look at me he just took a deep breath.

  “Lexi, it wasn’t your fault. I couldn’t just walk away. He hurt you and I have been waiting for the day I could show him that there is no fucking way he is ever going to hurt you again. I don’t even remember hitting him. It happened so fast and I was so pissed. Hearing you was the only thing that stopped me. I don’t regret it; he had it coming. If you ask me, he deserves worse.”

  We parked behind his parents and I knew that they were going to want an explanation. I knew they deserved it—after all, their son just went to jail and they had no idea why. When Beth approached us she looked directly at me and took me into her arms hugging me tightly. I looked at her in confusion.

  Kole’s father spoke first. “Uncle Randy called after they stitched up Matt and took him to the jail. They had gone in to try to bail him out. Apparently, his bond was set too high. He has some charges against him that his parents weren’t aware of. Matt got in some trouble at school a couple weeks ago. There are ongoing investigations on campus for two different accusations of sexual assault.”

  My knees felt weak and Beth allowed Kole to take me into his embrace. I felt him kiss the top of my head and hold me tightly to him. We made our way into the house and Kole led me to the couch where he sat closely beside me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and I rested my head on his chest. I concentrated on his voice as he whispered, “I love you, Lexi.”

  I found out that Kole had told his mother about Matt and what he had done to me a few days before. I wasn’t upset. Due to the circumstances of tonight, it made it a little easier to get through. We didn’t have to sit up explaining everything.

  Kole decided to sleep in my room and his mother was completely aware. I wanted him as close to me as possible. Falling asleep wrapped in his arms was exactly what I needed. I needed to feel safe and Kole was my safety and security. He gave me so much just by being near. What I felt for him was overwhelming at times because I never thought I would have that. I never wanted it before. Until I met Kole, I didn’t know what I was allowing myself to miss.

  Epilogue

  “Hurry up, you slow ass,” Megan yelled from the hallway as she drug her bag out of the doorway.

  “I am! I keep feeling like I’m forgetting something.” I continued to look around our dorm room.

  “Kole and Radley are going to send out a search party for us. We were supposed to be there by now,” she complained.

  Spring break had arrived and all four of us were taking a trip together.

  ***

  Matt was charged with two counts of sexual assault on two different girls he had met in college. They sentenced him to four years in prison. Things were stressful after Kole was arrested, but once Matt was charged a huge weight had been lifted from me. I knew that he wasn’t being punished for what he had done to me, but in a way, it felt like he was.

  ***

  When we arrived at the fraternity house, Radley and Kole were waiting outside. I stood beside the car, leaning against it and watching Kole. He was sitting on the trunk and when he looked up at me I couldn’t help but smile.

  There was something magical about that smile of his.

  Slowly he slid off the car and walked toward me with ease. He was so relaxed, comfortable even. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pinned me to the side of the car, giving me no ability to escape. As if I’d actually want to.

  Kole brought his mouth close to mine and whispered, “Why are you staring, Lexi?” I tried my best to imitate his cockiness.

  “Well, if my man wasn’t so unbelievably attractive, I wouldn’t be forced to stare.”

  He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me slowly, and left me feeling as if he’d taken my breath away. I allowed my mind to think of nothing but Kole’s kiss. I knew things would be okay for us.

  I’d continued to go to counseling and each day I knew I’d get one step closer to the strong girl I once was.

  I had the love of a great guy, who I fell harder for every day. He gave me so much to look forward too.

  It was time to focus on us and let our past rest.

  Author’s Note:

  National Sexual Assault Hotline–1.800.656.HOPE

  Lexi and Kole’s story continues in:

  Conquer

  Desired Affliction Series,

  Book Two

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  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to all my readers and followers without your praise my drive to keep writing wouldn’t be as strong. Thank you for all the kind words and inspiration you share with me along the way. You are all amazing and I love sharing my stories with each and every one of you.

  Maria Trojanowski, once again you are so kick ass. You never fail me when I need a boost in the right direction. If I hit a snag I know you will shoot an idea at me. Even if that idea is so off the wall that all I can do is smile, it still gets me moving in one way or the other. Thank you for being exactly who you are.

  The great and wonderful Lisa Watmough with RockWat Desi
gns…I love your guts, girl. You rock my world!

  To my husband who has given me some great writing material without even realizing it.

  To my children Jayden and Tayler, I love you both to the moon and back. You both are my greatest accomplishments in life.

  About the Author

  A little about me, let’s see where to start.

  I love HEA stories, as long as they come packing a little heat. I need some excitement, some angst and moments that make me fan my face, those are always good too. I am an Illinois girl, born and raised. Simple and true, it honestly doesn’t take much to make me happy. I love the little things, they truly mean the most. I may have a slight addiction to my new Keurig, oh my, that thing is a godsend. And so fast too. I have two children who truly are my very best friends their faces never fail to put a smile on my face. I have been married to my husband for sixteen years and even though at times I want to beat him with a stick, I would never change the years we have had. We have learned and fallen, only to pick each other up, dust off the ache and help each other make it right.

  I am one of those authors that adore my fans, I love to hear from you. After all it is because of each one of you that I continue to write. I look forward to you feedback.

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