by Maree Green
“Yeah, are you still coming? I might need someone to stop me from making an idiot out of myself,” I said, already knowing how painful it was going to be.
Brad laughed, but he didn’t comment on my sad life. “How’s Noah doing with his degree?”
Happy for the easy conversation, I nodded, my gaze making contact with the pretty brunette who looked very much like she was making her decision on me. “He’s killing it, man. He only has another ten units to go and he’s done.”
Brad coughed, obviously impressed. I was too. I was seriously proud of my little brother. “Damn, dude can work,” Brad said, shaking his head. “Makes me feel like a total slacker.”
Taking a swig of my beer, I nodded. “I know. Fucker kicks my ass in the gym too.”
Narrowing his eyes, Brad huffed. “Whatever, Mister Muscles. You and your brothers disgust me with all your twelve-packs and bulges and shit.”
I laughed. I couldn’t argue with him. The Murphy brothers’ love of fitness was strong. We got it from our parents. “Dude, you know I’m a stick compared to my brothers,” I said, chuckling because it was true.
Brad pinned me with a look of disgust. “A stick my ass.”
Another red solo cup appeared in my line of vision before it clicked against mine, splashing beer up the sides. Jordan raised one bushy eyebrow and smirked at Brad. “You want who to stick what in your ass?”
Unable to stop the laugh that burst free, I held my fist out for Jordan to bump, while Brad tried to glare through his smothered smile.
“No, seriously,” Jordan said, looking quite amused. “Whose ass are you talking about? It’s Jess’s, isn’t it?”
As I watched his gaze swing across the room to where I knew Jess was draped all over Wyatt, I grunted. “Fuck off.”
“She looks pretty hot tonight too,” he said, his shit-stirring motor in fine form, as usual.
Brad chuckled before trying to conceal it by taking a sip of his drink.
Lifting my chin, I gazed at Jordan and quirked my eyebrow. “Do you really want to start on me, dude? Because I saw Amber yesterday, and I could probably describe what she was wearing and exactly how it clung to her if I had to.”
The smile slipped clean off his face at the mention of Amber’s name. She was another one of Kaeli’s friends, but she was tall, blonde, and made strictly for trouble. Jordan’s infatuation with her wasn’t anywhere near as bad as mine with Jess, but it was still as funny as shit.
“Fair point, Bro,” he said, his expression morphing into one of contriteness. But then he raised his cup and grinned. “A toast. To the end of another round of fucked-up exams.”
Now that was something I could agree with. Bringing my cup up the same time as Brad, we knocked them all together, before tipping them up and draining them completely.
One semester to go. I could do this.
Looking back at the brunette, I let the corners of my mouth curl up, finding her slowly making her way toward me, her gaze burning intently into mine.
“Time?” I asked Brad as I finished my drink.
“Jesus,” he muttered. “You make me sick. It’s been, like, three fucking minutes.”
As the girl weaved her way closer, I heard Jordan laugh from somewhere behind me. “Dude has swag.”
He called it swag. I called it desperation, because the truth was, I wanted what I couldn’t have, and this was the only way I knew how to stop it from driving me insane. Even if it only worked for an hour or two.
But I knew it would end the same way it always did. And that was with me wishing the hair draped across my chest was the one color I dared not touch.
Chapter 5
Jess
Lying back on the couch, feet tucked to the side and a blanket pulled up over me, I snuggled into Wyatt’s side. On the flat-screen, Keira Knightly hoisted up the hem of her dress and trudged over the muddy ground, fierce and determined. I sighed a little sound of contentment and felt my lips curl upwards.
I’d missed this. I couldn’t even remember the last time we just chilled and watched a movie together. It was a welcome change from the constant parties we’d been to lately. The party scene was wearing thin for me these days, so I was happy Wyatt had agreed to a quieter night in. He’d chosen the first movie, and now I was making him watch one of my all-time favorites, Pride and Prejudice.
As Elizabeth Bennet narrowed her eyes and let loose with a barrage of eloquently spoken reprimands, I vowed to make more time to chill like this. I just needed to find a few more things Wyatt would enjoy doing with me.
Feeling his hand moving under the blanket and over my thigh, I grinned. Of course, I knew this was one of the things he enjoyed doing, but admittedly, it was another thing we hadn’t had much time for lately. But that was how I knew he was one of the good guys, because he didn’t get all pissed off when it happened to be a long time between sex. He was kind and patient, and he never minded if I wasn’t in the mood.
Wriggling my body, I slid my hand over his stomach, letting him know I was very much in the mood if he wanted it. As his hand slowed, tensing, I tilted my head back, moving my hand over his muscular chest until my fingers were stroking his jaw.
His gaze moved over my features, a little crease forming between his brows as he watched me. When he looked like this, I often wondered what he was thinking. I always thought he looked kind of tormented, but he’d assured me on more than one occasion he was only thinking.
I took him in as he sat there, looking over his neatly cut hair, freshly shaved skin, and strong, masculine jaw. He really was a gorgeous specimen.
As his mouth crashed down on mine, I melted, letting the feel of him wash away the niggling worries that had been plaguing me lately. Something that felt this good couldn’t possibly be bad. Sliding my hand under his shirt, I pushed against him harder, knowing just how much he preferred me to be firm over gentle.
He growled before pushing me back on the couch and coming over the top of me. “Tie your hair up,” he commanded.
That was another thing he was particular about. I called them his fetishes. I thought they were cute. With quick movements, I twisted my hair into a bun on the top of my head and wrapped an elastic hair tie around it.
“I’m going to tie you up one day, Jess,” he said, his fingers stroking up the inside of my thigh until they were tracing the edge of my panties. “Would you like that?”
I exhaled shakily and nodded. If I got to see more of this side of him then I was all for it. His finger slipped under my panties and skirted around the spot I really wanted him to touch, making my breath catch. Clenching my hands in his hair, I arched, squirming underneath him. “I want you so much, Wyatt.”
The crease between his brow deepened before his finger stroked over my clit, sending shivers through my body. “Do you want me to fuck you, Jess?” he murmured as he slipped a finger inside me.
“Oh my God, yes,” I breathed. It had been too long. I needed to feel him close to me.
Before I could blink, Wyatt withdrew his hand from my underwear and gripped the sides of my panties, yanking them down to my knees. “Turn over,” he growled. “I want you on your hands and knees.”
I paused. It wasn’t really the way I wanted him right now. I wanted close and sensual, but I knew doggy was his favorite position, and I wanted to please him. Flipping myself over, he grabbed a hold of my hips and pulled me toward him. Then I heard the sound of a zipper, followed by the unmistakable rustling of a condom wrapper.
His hand ran over my ass, his thumb moving down the crease, stroking over my butthole. “I want to take you here, Jess,” he said, his voice deep and rumbling. I tensed. “Not now, Jess. But soon. Soon I’m going to fuck your ass.”
My mind ran wild. The desire I heard in his voice made me want to give it to him, but I didn’t know if that was something I’d ever want to try. But as his fingers ran over my pussy, one long finger pushing inside me, all thoughts of anal faded from my head. Pushing my ass back against him, I
felt my breath growing faster. This was what I wanted. As he gripped his cock and rubbed it over my folds, pressing forward, thrusting inside me until he was buried deep, I whimpered. God, he felt so good.
Gripping my hips, his fingers tensed, digging into me, pulling me and pushing me as he pumped, slow at first, but then his control loosened, and his movements became faster and more frantic. In front of me, Mary Bennet practiced on the piano as the girls milled about, but all I could hear was the sounds of our heavy breathing and our bodies slapping together.
I knew I wouldn’t come like this. I never did. But I really wanted to. I wanted to feel the release. I wanted to feel myself clench around his cock as I lost control of all my senses. The sound of his grunting told me he was close, and I wanted to finish with him. I wanted to share the post-coital bliss, worn-out and unable to move for the pure pleasure pulsing through my body. “Wyatt,” I moaned, unsure how to tell him to touch me.
His growls grew louder, his thrusts harder, faster. I was so close. Need spread through my body, taking over my mind. Reaching between my legs, I pressed the tips of my fingers to my clit and worked them quickly, bringing myself so close to the edge, and just as Wyatt’s body jerked against mine, his loud grunt telling me he’d reached his end goal, I crashed, waves of euphoria pulsating through my core.
Collapsing onto my stomach, I took quick, deep breaths, trying to catch my breath. My body sang, tingling with utter contentment. Rolling onto my side, I pulled the blanket to me and moaned, knowing I needed to go clean myself up. “Oh my God,” I muttered, struggling to my feet. “That was so good.”
Wyatt chuckled as I leaned down to give him a quick kiss. “Happy to be of service,” he murmured against my lips. “You have a sexy ass, Jess.”
I giggled before clutching the blanket tighter and darting off to the bathroom. All I wanted to do now was take him up to my room and snuggle until the late hours of tomorrow morning. It would be the perfect ending to the perfect day.
Cleaning myself up, I checked my flushed face in the mirror before smiling at my reflection and heading back downstairs to Wyatt. “I’ve had such a good time today,” I said, my gaze swinging to the couch where I’d left him, but instead of finding him spread out waiting for me with open arms, I saw him on his feet, shirt already tucked in and shoes laced up tight.
He gave me a sad look as he tucked his wallet into the pocket of his pants. “I’m sorry, babe. I just got a message from Zac. I forgot I had a textbook of his he needs before his appointment tomorrow.”
He was leaving? My head scrambled for a solution. “You can’t take it to him in the morning?”
He shook his head, coming to stand in front of me. “Unfortunately, no. He’s leaving first thing.” Disappointment flickered deep in his eyes and he sighed, pulling me into his arms. “I know, babe. I don’t want to go, either.”
Taking a little breath to push the upset away, I nodded. I knew it wasn’t his fault, but all I wanted was one night without interruptions. “Okay. How long will you be?”
Gently, he took my hips in his hands, then he sighed. “Would you mind so much if I just stayed back at the dorms? I’m pretty beat. I think I just need to have an early night, you know what I mean?”
I didn’t. I didn’t understand anything in this moment. But I’d vowed to never be one of those needy kind of girls, so I nodded anyway. I felt like I was on some sort of autopilot mode or something. “Oh, okay. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”
He took my face in his hands and brushed his thumb over my cheekbone. “Of course. I love how easygoing you are, Jess. You’re the best kind of girlfriend there is. Curl back up on the couch and finish watching your movie. I know how much you love it.”
As he kissed me gently on the lips and stepped away from me, I pulled the blanket tighter again. I didn’t know why I felt so disappointed. It wasn’t like he wanted to go. He’d said as much. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Running the backs of his fingers through my hair, he smiled softly. “Night, babe.”
Standing where he’d left me, the unease in my gut rearing its ugly head again, I watched him walk out the door, trying to figure out exactly what it was that I was missing, because I knew there had to be something.
Chapter 6
Eli
It was a nightmare. Like, seriously. I was sure I actually had a nightmare that went exactly like this. I was standing in the kitchen with a beer in my hand, my backside leaned up against the counter, while, across the room, the bane of my existence laughed like she didn’t have a care in the world. The only thing missing was the egotistical snot she called her boyfriend.
Tipping the beer back, I forced my gaze to the opposite side of the room, pondering the missing snot. I didn’t give a fuck that the guy wasn’t here, but I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing for me. As much as I hated seeing her with him, it was at least a sure way of keeping me away from her. Without him here, I couldn’t guarantee I’d be a good little boy and keep my distance. That was usually where Brad came in handy, but the fucker had pulled out of coming at the last minute.
It wasn’t so bad, really. Our family get-togethers were usually pretty awesome these days. Especially the ones where Noah’s new extended family joined in. They seemed to fit in with our family scarily well—the guys from the band even more so.
I watched Dean, their lead singer, laugh before nudging Isaac and pushing past him as he came toward me. I hadn’t been too sure of him when we’d first met. He’d been very reserved and cautious. He just always seemed so serious. But since he’d broken up with the chick he’d been seeing, it was like he was a different person. He looked so much more relaxed and happy.
“Hey, bud,” I said, holding my hand out for him. “Good to see you again. How’s things?”
Dean grinned as he took my hand. “Life’s good, man. How’s school going? How long have you got to go?”
“On the homeward stretch now, thank God,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’ll be trying for the bar this summer.”
Grabbing a couple of beers from the fridge, he nodded at me intently. “I bet that feels good.”
Raising an eyebrow, I inhaled deeply. “I’ll feel better when it’s all over.”
He smirked as he cracked a can. “True. That’s how I feel about the end of our contract with Leighton.”
I could only imagine. “How long have you got left?”
“Eight months, but it feels like a fucking eternity,” he said, his lip curling up in a sneer.
The story of the guys’ troubles with Leighton’s label was an interesting one to me. It stirred something inside me when I heard them talk about it. It made me see entertainment law as something I could really enjoy.
Dean waggled his eyebrows a little, mischief sparking in his eyes. “We’re going to end it with a bang, though. We go on our first world tour this summer. The UK, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.”
“Fuck, yeah,” I said, seriously impressed. I knew the guys were awesome, but playing overseas? That shit was like a huge mark of success. “That’s fucking awesome, dude.”
“Yo!” Isaac hollered from across the room. “Are you fucking brewing that shit or what?”
Dean gave me an amused look before holding up Isaac’s can. “Apparently, I’m a bar bitch now.”
I laughed as he started to walk away. “Next time, tell the pretty boy to get his own.”
“Next time the pretty boy can fetch mine for me,” he called back over his shoulder.
Sighing, I glanced around the room. I knew I should stop being so antisocial, but I just wasn’t sure which conversation I could be bothered to participate in. It definitely wasn’t the best idea for me to join Amber, Emmy, and Jess, that was for sure, but I wasn’t really in the mood for Isaac’s antics, either.
“You doing okay, Bro?”
I turned at the sound of Adam’s voice and found him staring at me with a curious gaze. Tilting my head from side to side, I gave him a little shrug.
“Just contemplating how much beer it’ll take to put me out cold.”
One side of his mouth curled upward as he glanced over at Jess. “That bad, huh?”
Rolling my eyes to the side, I groaned. “You have no idea.”
“Why don’t you just go talk to her?” he said, lifting a shoulder as though it was the only solution he could come up with.
I still found it weird that almost all of my family and friends knew how I felt about Jess, yet she didn’t. Or maybe she did and she just pretended she didn’t because she didn’t want to hurt my feelings by telling me I had no chance. That would also make sense to me.
Hitting him with a deadpan look, I huffed. “Oh, I don’t know. I could probably think of a couple of reasons,” I said, unable to stop the surly tone in my voice. “The biggest one being that I swore off dating until I’d passed the bar exam.”
My body hummed, the beer well and truly filtering in through my system. But my brain couldn’t be fooled by my words. How was it that the biggest issue I had with the whole situation wasn’t the fact that she already had a boyfriend?
Adam swiped his hand in front of me, his expression dismissing my concern. “News flash for you, little brother. Pining over someone is more distracting than actually dating someone who supports your goals. Trust me. Getting where I am now would’ve been ten times harder if I didn’t have Kara there to keep me sane.”
“Okay, but you’re missing the part where she already has a boyfriend, Adam. So none of that fucking matters anyway,” I said, done with the conversation.
Picking up his beer, he held it to his mouth, turning his body slightly away from me. “Okay, well, if your plan was to avoid her,” he muttered so I could barely hear him, “you failed.”
I frowned as he started walking from the room. What the hell did he mean, I failed?
“Hi, Eli.”
I closed my eyes in a long, slow blink. Fuck.
Drawing strength, I prepared myself for what was to come. Then I turned.