Bad Intentions
Allie Valentine
Contents
Back Cover
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
About Allie
Back Cover
Talia Hamilton has one mission. To have fun in college and for once, break out of her shell. So who does she end up dancing with on her first night clubbing? Cage Ward, the star of all her high school dirty dreams and the only man to ever break her heart.
So much for breaking free.
Cage Ward should be enjoying the single life. But all it takes is one kiss from a mystery girl on the dance floor and he wants to brand her as his. That is...until he realizes the sexy girl with lips to tempt and a body for sin, is his best friend’s little sister. The same girl he just promised to keep his hands, lips, and dick off of.
So much for friendship.
Now it’s up to Cage to show Talia he has more than Bad Intentions. In fact, he might be just the guy to show her everything she’s been missing.
One
"Oh my God Talia, I can't believe you're finally here."
Talia twirled around her brand spanking new dorm room and grinned at her best friend, Bailey. "Neither can I. I mean I'm finally a freshman. I want to do all the things. Really soak it up."
Bailey laughed. "Slow down, Tiger. As the wise junior, I will guide you, young grasshopper. I know all the best spots. And because my company does a lot of the marketing campaigns locally, we can bug Hunter to get us in somewhere."
Hunter was Bailey's boyfriend. And oh so hot, judging by the photos Talia had seen. She hadn’t met him yet, but she was glad her friend was happy.
Back in high school, she and Bailey had been part of a mentorship program, and the two of them had been pretty much inseparable ever since. So when Talia had decided to attend San Diego University, there was no one else she wanted to room with. "Well I’m open to anything. I am yours to mold in your image. Your fabulous image, I might add—you look amazing. I guess having a sexy boyfriend is doing your body good."
Bailey grinned. "You know what, you might be right. Come on, unpack a few things. At least one sexy outfit. You and I are going out to celebrate your arrival."
After unpacking a few boxes, and finally finding something to wear that was worthy of a night out on the town, they headed downtown to Throb Nightclub. Apparently Hunter had some kind of in with the owner.
Even though Talia was underage, they let her in. She just had to promise not to drink, which was fine by her. She wanted to get the lay of the land and didn’t want to miss a moment. She’d been waiting for this time for four damn long years.
She’d known high school wasn’t going to be easy as Trevor's little sister. Her brother was a full-on jock, one of those too-good-looking-to-be-true jocks who was also smart, and really into student politics. Which meant that Talia, his slightly overweight, bespectacled little sister, was practically invisible.
To make matters worse, her parents always had a double standard when it came to dealing with her and Trevor. Trevor was allowed to do as he damn well pleased. On the other hand, they acted like Talia lived in some kind of convent—not that anyone would even ask her out because they didn't want to risk an ass beating from her brother. But she was smart enough to know that wasn’t the only factor. And the other reason had nothing to do with her glasses, or that she had been curvier than her classmates. It was a confidence thing. She knew it then, she knew it now. Which was why she was determined to shrug all of that off and be free. To enjoy every moment of college. Starting now.
Hunter turned out to be even sexier than his photos. And Bailey was completely over the moon. The good news was that Hunter was just as into Bailey. The two of them could barely keep their hands off each other. He was really sweet to Taila, too. He kept asking the bartender for virgin takes on all the coolest drinks so she would at least know what to order when time came.
Armed with some kind of fruity concoction in a sexy martini glass, Talia surveyed the club. Funnily enough, most of the guys were slightly more grown-up versions of the kind of guys she knew in high school. There were the jocky ones; she assumed they were frat boys. There were the slightly nerdy ones. There were the ones who tried too hard with too much cologne and looked like they put entirely too much effort into the night out. And then there were a few cute normal guys. Her eyes roamed over the crowd, and then stopped in their tracks.
On rewind, her gaze roamed back to one guy in particular. Oh no. No. No. No. That couldn’t be him. But those broad shoulders, the slouchy beanie over the too-long hair, the way his torso tapered to slim lean hips. And dear lord, what that guy did for a pair of jeans. Yes that was him, Cage Ward. What was he doing here?
You know what he’s doing here. You conveniently forgot he goes here? Okay no, she hadn’t forgotten that Cage attended San Diego University. But she hadn't planned on running into him so soon, and not somewhere like this. Though in her wildest dreams, this would be somewhere she would run into Cage. A place full of sweaty bodies and lowered inhibitions.
And in her fantasies, he would turn in the crowd, spot her, and want her. Kind of like now. Wait, what? She’d been staring at him. Yes. Totally creepy. She didn't check, but she was pretty damn sure she had drool coming out of the side of her mouth. But then he’d turned, as if feeling her gaze on him, and he stared back at her.
When he moved through the crowd, Talia froze. She couldn't move. And she was completely locked in his gaze, in their moment. He must recognize her. As her brother’s best friend, he’d been in and out of her house so often when they were kids, he had to know she was. Except, he was still looking at her, like he wanted to —
"You want to stare at me all night, or are we going to dance?"
Okay, that was a question. A question directed at her. Even better. Wait, he was asking her to dance? Her—Talia Hamilton? But she still couldn’t force her body to move until Bailey took her drink and gave her a gentle nudge forward, which was more like a shove, really. When Cage took her hand and led her to the middle of the dance floor, she automatically went on autopilot. She knew what to do. How to dance. She could do this.
She wouldn’t freak out. She would calmly dance with Cage Ward. Like she did this every day. Stop it. You are not the same girl you were back then. You are hot. Why wouldn’t he want to dance with you? And just like that, Talia let go. He’d picked her out of a crowd.
She could do this, she could be free.
And things were different now. She wasn't Trevor's geeky little sister. This time, she was confident Talia. And she was going to enjoy every single second of this.
When the DJ changed the track, making the music a little dirtier, with a little more bass, Talia threw herself into it. Cage Ward was never going to know what hit him.
Jesus Christ the girl was sexy. She knew it too, judging by the way that she was grinding against him, making him hard. She knew exactly what she was doing.
What the fuck was wrong with him? Cage had just gotten out of the worst relationship of his life. He shouldn’t be all over this girl. He needed some fucking alone time. But something about this girl felt right.
Yeah, that's me, your dick, talking. Okay, there was that. Because he was hard enough to cut diamonds right now. But that wasn’t it. There was something about the way she smelled that was somehow familiar, homey, and also forbidden. Jesus, he was a head case. All that time with Jenna had screwed him in the h
ead. He couldn't even enjoy a simple dance with hot girl without overthinking it.
Except this girl seemed to be different, but so familiar at the same time. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
She grinned. "Really, you’re giving me a line?"
Cage laughed. "I realize how that sounded. But honestly you look familiar as hell. Do you work here?"
"Isn’t that part of the fun? Being anonymous?" Her dark eyes danced with mischief. "Okay, we'll make it a game. If you can tell me where you remember me from, I'll tell you my name."
He stared into her eyes, and something warm spread through his chest. What the hell? Who was she? He’d been so embroiled with Jenna for so long, he'd missed and ignored pretty much everything around him. How had he missed this girl? Why did she make him feel like this even though he didn't know her at all? "Come on, give me one clue. Do you go to SDU?"
She just gave him a beatific smile and kept dancing.
Shit, he needed to know. What was it? And how had he missed her before? He been so fucked up and twisted over Jenna that this girl would've been a welcome distraction. "You aren’t going to tell me your name?"
"Nope. But I'll give you three guesses."
"Nothing I could guess would be worthy of you, so why don't you go ahead and tell me?" He leaned close to her ear so that she could hear him. The moment his skin touched hers, electric shock ran through him. Damn. Who the hell was she?
"You’re probably right, but I’m still not going to tell you."
Why was it that in three minutes of dancing with this girl he felt more alive than he had the in last six months with Jenna? Because you know that was over a long time ago. But he’d stayed, because of what? Loyalty? Fat lot of good that had done him. "Come on. Stop teasing. You know I have ways of making you —"
Before he could even finish the sentence, the beautiful girl looped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes before molding her lips over his.
Lightning strike.
That was the only way to describe being kissed by this mystery girl. Like being struck by fucking lightning. The electricity coursed through his body, unsettling him, making him edgy, making his teeth ache and his skin too tight. And making him want her.
Cage immediately took over the kiss, sliding his tongue over hers. Running his hand down her back, he pressed her lower back until her breasts pressed into him. He inhaled deep, even as he kissed her, and attempted to devour her in one taste. He wanted more. More of this feeling.
And then she was backing away. As she dragged her lips from his, he instinctively followed, only to realize she was just out of reach. Cage blinked his eyes open to find her smiling at him.
"You are a surprise."
She laughed and gave a happy spin. "You know, that's the first time anyone has ever called me that."
Cage liked her. She made him feel light. Like he was finally shaking off the weight that he’d been dragging around forever. "Can I get you a drink?"
"Yeah, sure. I could use some water. I'll be right here."
Cage had never been happier that he knew the bartender in his life. He ran to the bar and signaled his buddy Max behind the counter. Max was too busy making other drinks, so Cage hopped back behind the bar, slapped a five on top of it, and grabbed a bottle of water.
But when he returned to the dance floor, she was gone.
Fuck. Frantically searching the crowd, he looked for her, but she wasn't there. She was nowhere to be seen. His mystery girl had vanished into the night.
Bailey staggered into the bathroom.
Holy crow, had she just kissed Cage Ward? And not just kissed him, but had that kind of spine-tingling, bone-melting kind of kiss. And the worst part was he tasted just as good as she remembered.
Three years ago, when he left for college, she’d thought she would never see him again. He’d been a friend of her brother’s, and she thought, a friend of hers too. Boy was she wrong about that. And while in her conscious mind, she knew that he went to San Diego University, she never expected to see him. Seeing him here now shook her. Get your shit together, Talia. You can handle this.
Three years ago she'd had a huge crush on him. And he'd always been sweet to her. The touches, the conversations, all of that started with one kiss after she'd taken him home from a party, which had been her first. And afterwards, she hadn't ventured into the boy pool for quite some time. For starters, she knew no one could compare. And she'd been so scarred by the aftermath that she hadn't dared.
Splashing some water on her face, Talia tried to get hold of herself. She planted her hand on the counter and stared at herself in the mirror. "So what if you just kissed Cage Ward? It's cool. You are confident, you are hot, and he should be chasing after you."
Yep, it was pep talk time.
She tried desperately not to think about what had happened the last time. Sure enough, the memory came rushing back. That perfect kiss on his porch, when he'd said she was beautiful and given her the most amazing first kiss any girl could imagine. Everything about that night had been perfect. The way they talked, the way he gently caressed her cheek before sliding his lips over hers.
What had been less than perfect was how he'd treated her after. As if none of it had never happened.
Matter of fact, he'd made up with his girlfriend, and treated Talia exactly as he had before, like Trevor's little sister. Always nice, but sort of aloof. If anything, he distanced himself even more. Gone were the chats they used to have while he waited for Trevor. In fact, they were never in a room alone together again after that night.
She'd tried to talk to him about it once, and her opening salvo had been, "So do you want to talk about that night?"
He'd given her a slightly dazed smile and then asked, "What night?"
It was then that she realized he didn't remember it. He'd kissed her and completely forgotten about it. He had been drinking that night, but she'd still thought it meant something. But it hadn't. Not to someone like him. So seeing him here today hadn't exactly been payback. But seeing the way he was looking at her definitely opened the door to finding out if the sparks they’d shared that first had had been all in her imagination.
Her stomach twisted, and then she heard shuffling by the door. Needing another moment to herself, she rushed into a stall and locked it. All she needed was a minute and then she'd go back out and find Bailey and Hunter. But turned out Bailey was already looking for her.
Bailey: where are you?
She tapped out a quick response.
Talia: In the bathroom. I'll be right out. I'm not feeling so hot. Do you mind if we just head back?
Bailey: Wait? Where in the bathroom? I came into the bathroom looking for you and you're not in the stalls.
Talia: What are you talking about? I'm right inside and by the door.
Bailey: Honey, unless you're six-foot tall Latina woman, you are not in the stall at the end. Because that's who just came out of there. The bathroom is packed. Just come out when you're ready. I'll wait for you by the sink.
Talia frowned. What the hell was Bailey talking about? There was no one in here. And then it hit her, just as she heard the male voices to the left. "God, dude, did you see her rack? And that ass? I am getting that tonight," one guy said.
And then another guy said, "Man, you're dreaming. Yeah, she let you buy her like two drinks. But she refused the third. And when we left them, she was dragging her best friend out onto the dance floor. You do not have that in the bag."
"You want to bet? Five bucks she goes home with me."
The other guy laughed. "Easy money."
Holy crap, her synapses had been so fried after kissing Cage that Talia had stumbled into the men's bathroom. What the hell was wrong with her, why did Cage Ward still have this kind of pull on her after three years? Because you're a glutton for punishment.
No. No she wasn't. Not anymore. This was a big campus. It would be easy to avoid him. As far she was concerned, Cage Ward was a stranger. There would be no mor
e kissing. No more fantasizing. No more stumbling into random men's rooms. She was going to enjoy her freshman year. And not spend it mooning after someone that she didn't even want.
Liar.
Two
Cage ducked as another high-heeled shoe flew toward his head. It crashed into the wall behind him, leaving a little dent in the plaster.
“Fucking hell, Jenna! What is your problem?”
She paused in the act of grabbing another shoe. Her big blue eyes, the ones he’d once thought looked as innocent as a doll’s, got even wider and he could have sworn he saw flames dancing in them.
“What is my problem? What is my problem?” she screeched before letting another shoe fly, this time clipping him right on the ear. “My problem is that my boyfriend is a cheating sack of shit!”
He put the couch between them. He would never hit a woman and thought any man who would was a punk, but he wasn’t keen on taking one of those shoes to the face. Jenna actually had pretty good aim.
Fuck, she was in this kind of mood again. They’d broken up over a month ago, but Jenna was still having problems with that break and thought she had a claim to him. “I never cheated on you. What are you even talking about? For starters, when I said I wasn’t moving to LA with you, you gave me an ultimatum, move or we break up. I chose break up.”
She put one hand on a curvy hip. “Of course. But the only reason you didn’t want to come was because you were fucking someone else.”
Cage made a face. He could see why she’d think that. Going to Los Angeles had been a dream of theirs for years. Jenna was convinced that she would be the next reality television star and Cage was always up for an adventure. Living in a town with beautiful people and non-stop nightlife had sounded like a dream. But one day he had woken up and realized that he didn’t want to live in a dream. Well, a nightmare really. He wanted something real. Something more.
Bad Intentions Page 1