by Skyla Madi
“Ever considered it?” He put his hand to her cheek.
She ducked out of his reach. “No.”
“Then why did you bring me out here?”
“What? I didn’t—I thought you were cool. Guess I was wrong.” She stalked off but only got three strides.
“No you don’t. You’re giving me what I came for.” Ned grabbed her arm and spun her around. He loomed over her, forcing her back to arch. She pushed at his shoulders and tripped on a decaying log. Her teeth rattled and she bit her tongue.
Rolling over, Chelsea scrambled on her hands and knees. He caught her slender ankle, jerking her across the coarse ground on her stomach, pinning her with his heavy weight. The air in her lungs squeezed out. She wheezed as she tried catching her breath.
“No,” she whispered.
Ned yanked on her shorts. “Stoooop!” she cried. What could she tell him that might make him stop? “I’m on my period.”
He let go of the waistband of her shorts. Thank God. The gratefulness faded when he stayed on top of her. His weight shifted as he reached for something.
***
Lance
Lance had shown up to the beach around ten-thirty. A small copse of woods hid him from view. However, the partygoers were busy getting drunk and not paying attention to much of anything that wasn’t right in front of them. He was about to show himself to Chelsea when Ned arrived. Since Lance wasn’t much of a people person and despised Ned, he kept to the shadows.
Chelsea and Ned laughed and drank from cans for thirty minutes before wandering off. This surprised Lance, considering she’d said she wasn’t into dudes. They disappeared around a curve in the shoreline.
He trudged through the thicket and found the two of them talking near the edge of the water. At this area of the lake, the sandy beach led into a rocky shoreline littered with a few washed up fallen tree trunks. Ned held onto her and leaned down over her. She pushed at his shoulders and fell backward over a log. He captured her leg while she crawled away.
Ned pinned her to the ground. “Stooopp!” she cried as he tore at her clothing. There was a pause in the frantic movement. Chelsea said something Lance couldn’t make out. Ned hit her several times with a large rock on the back of the head. Her cries fell silent. He tossed the object into the water with a plunk. Lance wiped his sweaty palms on his khakis and swallowed hard. Ned jumped to his feet. A dock with a paddle boat tied to it stuck out of the water twenty feet away.
Witnessing Chelsea’s murder awakened Lance. Freed him from his own inadequacies. His heart pounded. Adrenaline made him high, powerful, and he hadn’t even been the killer. Imagine if he was…imagine...
The tattoo artist dragged Chelsea’s limp body by the wrist. He waded through the shallow water, got into the boat, and paddled out with her in tow. The boat was barely visible in the dark. After several minutes, water lapped against the rocks on the shore and Ned crawled out of the water. He collapsed onto his back, panting.
Lance licked his lips, tasting the death in the air.
About the Author
A.J. Norris is a lover of all books but her loyalty remains with her first crush; romance. She graduated from a mid-western college with a degree in absolutely nothing to do with writing whatsoever. It wasn’t until well after college when the build-up of voices inside her head became too overwhelming and needed to be let out, that she began to write. She isn’t following a family legacy of writers, only a need to put words on a piece of paper.
A.J. is a movie buff, especially book adaptations, loves watching her son play baseball and communing with other writers. She lives with her family who are extremely tolerant (at least most of the time) of all her late nights behind the computer, clack clacking away.
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/alisajnorris
Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/AJNorris_Author
Website:
http://www.ajnorrisauthor.com/
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14888581.A_J_Norris
The Tattooed
Maniac’s Virgin
Sinful Delights
Book 1
By Suzi De Beer
***CONTENT WARNING***
This book is not intended for readers younger than 18 years of age.
This book contains dark—and sometimes violent—events that may be triggers for some readers.
Prologue
You know sometimes in small towns everyone knows everything about everyone else? Well that’s kind of how this mess started, instead of our town having the town slut, or whore, or whatever you liked to call her or him.
Our town was different. It had an eighteen-year-old girl who happened to be a virgin, and that girl was me. If someone hooked up the night before, it would be all over school the next day. It would always be the same thing. I was never one to worry about that; school was my main priority.
That was until I started my last year of high school. I thought I would be able to keep my little secret until I finished school, but luck wasn’t on my side. I attended a party with my friends, and that’s where things started getting out of hand. Someone overheard us talking and the next day everyone knew.
That’s when the name calling and the stares started. They called me Virgin Mary and a bunch of other names I don’t feel comfortable sharing.
I was getting sick of it. The whispers behind my back, the stares and laughter as they pointed at me. What I did was probably something very stupid, but I didn’t think twice. I just wanted it to end, so I set out to get rid of my virginity.
And that’s when I met him. A stranger. A man ten years older than me.
A man who worked for my father. We had an agreement: he would be the one to teach me everything I needed to know about sex, but we wouldn’t involve feelings.
It was only physical. No attachments. No emotions. Just sex.
And that’s when the real shit started.
Chapter One
I bit my lip, staring at the rack of books with unseeing eyes. I could feel their eyes burning into my back. A group of girls stood a few feet behind me, whispering and giggling. I’d seen them around school; they’re two grades below me. My eyes darted around nervously; it felt like everyone was staring at me.
“Mom said she wants to pay,” Emma said softly from next to me.
I nodded, following her silently with my head bowed and eyes on my shoes. This was the one thing I hated about the end of the summer, the school shopping a week before school started up again. We used to do it a whole lot earlier, but it seemed that we were running late this year. The shops were filled with families looking for all the stuff. I hated shopping.
We reached my parents a few minutes later. My dad gave me a disapproving stare before walking off. It’s always the same thing with him. No matter what I did, he never seemed satisfied with me. I’d tried my best doing things I didn’t even want to do just because he liked it. He gave more attention to Sam and Emma than he did to me. He would praise Emma for getting fifty percent on a test, but with me, he would always mutter, “You can do better.”
That’s why I was always worried about school and studying until I was sick. I just wanted my dad to be proud of me like he was of my other siblings. Sometimes I wondered if it was because I looked nothing like him. My brother, Brad, was a younger replica of him. While my sisters had his nose and hair color, my hair was lighter and my eyes a different color than theirs. Everyone in our family had dark blue eyes while mine were cornflower blue, a lighter shade that caught unwanted attention.
When I was younger, I thought I looked more like my mother, but as I grew older, my hair and eye color changed.
“Right. We only need to get those plastic files you need, Alia,” my mom said, glancing up from the list.
“And a new school skirt with some shirts,” I muttered softly.
“Maybe if you stop eating all the junk food, we wouldn’t need to buy you new clothes every
month,” my dad interjected.
“Michael!” My mom glared at him.
“What?” He pointed at me. “She eats two plates of food and uses her money at school to buy—”
“Shut up!” My mom placed her hand on my arm, giving it a squeeze.
I avoided her gaze as the pain settled in my chest. Self-consciously, my hand moved to my stomach. Shame washed through when I remembered checking my school clothes. The zip and button of the skirt wouldn’t close at all, and the white shirts were too tight over my boobs. Was it really because of all the second plates I ate and the food I got from the school cafeteria?
“You can pay, Alia, and I will go get some shirts. We can get the other school clothes tomorrow. Emma needs to check hers too,” Mom said softly. She took my arm, leading me out of the store and into the mall. “Don’t mind your father, honey.” She wrapped her arm around my shoulders, squeezing me against her side. “You’re growing up. Your body is changing. It’s something men don’t understand.”
“But it’s true.” I glanced up at her. “My skirt won’t fit because I’ve gained weight. My hips are bigger than they were last year. And even my shirts won’t close all the way!”
“Alia, your shirts won’t close because your boobs have gotten bigger.” My face heated in embarrassment. “It’s normal. Clothes shrink as time passes. You’ve had the same clothes since the two schools merged. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your weight, honey. Nothing.”
I smiled, wrapping my arm around her waist to hug her back. My mom was always there to pick up the pieces my dad left. Sometimes it was a blessing and other times…let’s just say it gets too much. I loved my mom for always being there, but a part of me hated her for not doing anything. She allowed him to walk over me; she stayed silent until he said what he wanted before speaking up. The damage of his words had already been done then, and it couldn’t be taken back.
“We’ll buy two packs of shirts,” she said. “One the right size and the other a size bigger, just in case.”
I nodded, following her silently into the store. Thankfully, it wasn’t as packed as all the other places. I could try on the shirts without whispers following my every move. My intuition told me that my last year of school was going to be hell. And I wasn’t just talking about the worries of the exams and everything; I was certain that the students would make my life hell.
***
I stood silently to the side, watching my mom argue with Emma. She just turned twelve a few weeks ago, and now she thought she knew everything. Then there’s my nine-month-old sister—the newest member of the family—crying because she wanted her pacifier.
My sister, Tyler, was the first born and about nine years older than me. She married Patrick a few months after meeting him at some social event. He’s a pretty cool guy. At first I thought he was fucking scary, but after spending some time with him, I realized he wasn’t so bad. They’d been married for four years now and were trying for a baby.
Then there’s my brother, Brad. He’s four years older than me. He took off right after finishing school, much to my parents’ disappointment. My father thought he would go to college and then police academy like him. Instead, he decided to travel the world with a bunch of friends. We rarely saw him anymore. He still called sometimes, but he barely had time to utter more than a few words.
Then there’s me. Alia, the eighteen-year-old virgin. I was the quiet, shy girl who was obsessed with school. The girl who always worried about what people thought of her.
My sister, Emma, was the total opposite of me. She’s the loud, bubbly twelve year old of the family. When she was happy, she talked, and by that I mean she never shut up.
Sam was, well, Sam. I don’t really know how to describe the baby of the family. She was cute with big blue eyes and curly brown hair. Most of my mother’s time was spent at home with her.
“Alia.” I blinked, turning to look at my mother.
Emma stood next to her with a smug smile tugging at her lips. That smile meant two things: she managed to get me in trouble for something I didn’t do, or I was going to be forced to do something I didn’t want to do.
“Yes?” I questioned softly.
“Take your sister to the shop for me, please.”
My eyes narrowed on my sister. Crossing my arms over my chest, I leaned back against the counter. “Why?”
“Because I’m telling you to.” My mom glared at me. “I’m not telling you again.”
“Fine!” I rolled my eyes, walking down the hall to my room. I pulled on a clean t-shirt and my shoes then grabbed my car keys from the hook on my wall.
“Let’s go, egghead!” I yelled before walking out of the house.
My car was parked in the driveway next to the family car. I quickly got into the car then leaned back against the seat as I waited for my sister. We managed to buy me a few skirts without any hassles. Emma exited the house, zipping her bag shut as she walked toward the car.
“The usual place.” I got my driver’s license when I turned sixteen and got the car as a birthday gift from Patrick. I loved having a car, especially when I wanted to go out with my friends. Since my dad worked late most times and my mom was so busy, I didn’t have to rely on them to drive me around.
Each of us had chores to do around the house. We got a monthly allowance based on that. So I thankfully didn’t have to worry about fuel money and other monthly stuff. I parked the car at one of the small local shops, a place that knew us all. My eyes fell on the girl at the cash register as we entered. She gave me a small smile, but I knew what that smile meant.
“What do you want to buy?” I asked my sister.
She shrugged but made a beeline for the candy aisles. Of course that’s what she wanted to buy for school. That girl ate too much candy. We’d been in the shop for a total of two minutes when the whispering and stares started. There were a few kids from school. I hated being the center of attention. Hated having them talk about me behind my back. Whispering about my lack of knowledge about sex. Not even the fact that one of my best friends was gay had made the talk of the town. I was tired of being the talk of town.
I didn’t want to be a virgin anymore. But I couldn’t just randomly walk up to a guy and say, “Hey, I’m tired of being a virgin. Will you fuck me?”
Hell no! I wanted it to be special at least, something to remember and not something I would regret. I’d never had a boyfriend in my life; well, I didn’t think dating in second grade counted. I was a virgin in every aspect of the word. But I knew for a fact that losing my virginity wasn’t going to be so easy or the way I wanted to lose it.
Though, one thing was for certain: I was definitely losing my virginity before my last year of school ended.
Chapter Two
School.
Buildings filled with thousands of students, where academic things were pumped into our brain. Things I was pretty sure we wouldn’t be using at all once we finished school. It’s the one place I used to love but now hated. Not because of my father, but because of the bullying. It was even worse there than it was in public places. Reporting it to the teachers wouldn’t help. My parents would be called, and that would make my dad even more disappointed in me.
No, I couldn’t risk that at all. It’s a new school year, and hopefully, it wouldn’t be so bad. I’d learned to ignore the rude comments and the stares from them. Besides, this year was going to be hard. Last year our teachers wouldn’t stop stressing on the fact that this year was important. I watched my brother go through this; I definitely knew what to expect.
I let out a low groan as I followed the line of traffic. I switched on my flicker to turn into the school yard. In front of me were three other cars. One car was blasting music pretty loudly. I wondered how much my friends had changed.
Delilah left for Puerto Rico last year on the day school closed; apparently, she had some family over there she wanted to visit. Kate went to visit her mother with her son. And Dane, Dane just did what we did every
year after the school closed.
I parked my car in a free space before grabbing my bag from the passenger seat. Getting out of the car, I made sure to lock it. I pulled my skirt down to make sure my new uniform was spotless before pulling my school bag onto my back. Smiling at some students I knew, I made my way back to the gate where I would wait for my friends.
This had been our routine since the two schools joined. There were originally two high schools in this town. I wasn’t really sure why they did it, but they decided to join the schools together four years ago. That’s how I met Kate.
A bubbly green-eyed redhead with a body to die for, she was a few inches taller than me with a thin waist and long legs. Kate was pretty much down to earth. She wasn’t one for violence and would steer clear of it. Don’t get me wrong, she would fight if she had to, but she preferred not to.
“Alia!”
My head snapped up, lips pulling into a smile as I saw Delilah walking toward me. Her slim body was dressed in the usual lime green and white uniform. Only the last year students got to wear the white pullover and sweater. Her blonde hair was tied up in some complicated hairstyle, and her brown eyes were focused on me. She was absolutely gorgeous, and she knew that.
“How was your holiday?” I asked softly, pulling her in for a hug.
She dropped her bag, rolling her eyes at me. “Amazing! The guys, the food—I loved everything, especially the guys! Damn, they certainly know how to entertain a girl in bed.”
“Okay,” I exclaimed, with heated cheeks, before she could say anything else. “Glad you enjoyed it.”