Bad Intentions

by Allie Valentine

  Jenna must have interpreted his facial expression as agreement because she abruptly started sobbing. “You did cheat. I knew it. You’re such a scumbag, Cage!”

  “No, no that’s not true. I was just thinking that L. A. has always been more your dream than mine. You and I both know I would only hold you back.”

  “All I want is to be somebody. Don’t you see that? Why can’t you support me and let me have that limelight?”

  Cage inched away as she continued sobbing uncontrollably. There was no reasoning with Jenna when she was like this. She was used to getting whatever she wanted. Her parents had spoiled their only child and that treatment had continued even after she left home. Honestly, she was hot, and men were pretty much willing to give her whatever she wanted for the chance to see her naked. He’d had the same thoughts when they first got together and he wasn’t ashamed of it. He was a healthy red-blooded male. And he was willing to put up with copious amounts of crazy if it came attached to a great rack.

  Until he was over it. And Cage was definitely over it. Because some levels of crazy just weren’t worth it.

  “Look, uh, I’m gonna go. It’s probably best if we don’t talk for a while. I think it’ll be easier for both of us if we have some space to adjust to not being together. I think it’s best if you leave your key to my place in my mailbox.”

  Jenna stopped crying abruptly and even though Cage had seen evidence of her manipulations before, it always took him off guard. Jesus, he’d never know how she could go from full-blown tantrum to perfectly composed in the span of a few seconds.

  “Don’t go. This is all a mistake. Once you think about it some more, I’m sure you’ll change your mind. Are you really going to find another girl who likes it freaky the way you do?” She eyed him and stuck out her tongue.

  Cage swallowed. Hard. Damn, she knew every button to push. But damned if he was getting pulled back into her clutches. He was already free. He wasn’t doing a dance with her talons again.

  “It’s been over, Jenna. We need to make a clean break and not see each other for a while. I’m sorry but… I’m sorry.”

  Just like that, her sweet cajoling look disappeared. “Fuck you, Cage! It’s not over. It’s never going to be over!”

  Cage made it to the front door and emerged into the hallway outside of her apartment right before something heavy crashed into the door behind him. Someone opened the door across the hall and Cage walked quickly away. That was the thing about crazy chicks: they were a handful, but all that energy translated into hot sex. But that could only keep a guy happy for so long.

  He was just happy he hadn’t moved in with her when Jenna had suggested he move into her place to save on rent. Luckily his best friend Trevor had knocked some sense into him. He’d warned that eventually Jenna would cross the line and he’d want to have his own place to escape back to. His friend had been so against it that he’d offered to help him with his rent until he got back on his feet. Cage hadn’t needed the money but he’d taken the advice.

  Once he was outside in the parking lot, he pulled his phone from his pocket and hit the first speed dial. Trevor answered on the first ring. Cage started talking before his friend even finished saying hello.

  “Dude, you were right about Jenna. She just had another fucking tantrum about the LA thing. This time she hit me in the ear with a shoe and accused me of cheating just because I didn’t do what she wanted and move with her.” He ignored the twinge of guilt. That girl he’d kissed last night. He couldn’t get her out of his head. He had to remind himself that he’d been broken up with Jenna for over a month and that kiss was him being totally into some new girl. The guilt was just a byproduct of dealing with Jenna for so long.

  Trevor didn’t bother hiding his laughter. “I won’t say I told you so. But only because I’m so happy you finally ditched her. She was hot, but no sex is worth dealing with that bullshit.”

  “I agree. So I’m going home to my apartment. The one I still have thanks to you. I totally owe you for talking me out of moving in with her.”

  “You do owe me one. And I’m going to collect soon.” Trevor paused, and then spoke again. “Remember my sister, Talia? It’s been years since you’ve seen her.”

  “Of course.” Shit, did he remember Talia? Fuck him, he’d only fantasized about how she’d taste hundreds of times. But he’d never gone there. For one, she’d been young, like fifteen. Second, she was Trevor’s sister, so bro code and all that.

  “Well, she’s transferring to San Diego University this year because they have the program she wants. I need you to help me keep an eye on her.”

  Cage shifted uncomfortably. What he remembered of Talia was a sweet, bookworm with huge glasses. Why would Trevor need help keeping her in line?

  “I thought Talia was a straight-A student in high school? Why would you be worried about her flunking out of college?”

  Trevor snorted. “It’s obvious you don’t have sisters. I’m not worried about her flunking, genius. She’s not like us. Talia will ace all of her classes without even trying.”

  “Okay, well then what do you need me to do? I’m sure she doesn’t need my help studying.”

  “I need you to make sure no one bothers her. Help her get to her classes and shit. She’s shy and has never made friends easily. If I was there, I could look out for her and make sure she doesn’t spend the entire year in her room with her textbooks. But since I’m not, I’m counting on you to make sure she has some fun but stays away from the wrong crowd.”

  Cage thought about some of the frat parties he’d been to. There was some truly shady shit going down sometimes and he’d hate to think of little Talia stuck in a situation like that with no one to call for help.

  “You got it, man. I’ll show her around and make sure she knows where everything is. Hell, I know some goody-two-shoes girl types. Maybe I can introduce her to some friends.”

  Trevor’s sigh of relief was audible, even over the phone. “Thank you. I’ve been really worried about this. I just want her to have a good time. She’s always been so serious. I don’t want her to study for four years straight and never have any fun.”

  “You know I’ve got this. She’ll have fun with me. Trust me.”

  When she returned to the dorm after her first day of classes, Talia found Bailey on her bed with a pile of text books in front of her, even as she was typing into a laptop.

  Talia spotted the boxes she’d had shipped prior to her arrival sitting on the floor next to the bed.

  Following her gaze, Bailey pointed at the boxes. “Oh yeah, your stuff arrived this morning. Do you need help settling in?”

  “No, I’ve got it. I’ll feel much more at home with the rest of my stuff.”

  Talia focused on opening the boxes and figuring out where she wanted to put all her stuff. Bailey kept up a running commentary about the campus and all the fun stuff there was to do there. It made Talia feel a lot better.

  See? You’re going to be fine, she chastised herself. Bailey won’t let you sit in the room all year being boring. Granted, she maybe didn’t need another night like the one they’d just had.

  Not for the first time, Talia was glad she’d chosen a school where she knew someone. College was going to be hard enough. It helped to have one friendly face.

  Her phone chirped in her purse. She sighed. Trevor had his own ringtone and text tone so she’d know when to ignore the phone. Her brother meant well but he could be so overbearing at times. It was hard for him to understand that Talia had her own way of doing things. Trev was kind of a bulldozer when he didn’t get his way, and she wasn’t up to dealing with him just yet.

  “Oh, your phone just rang. Do you want me to get it?” Bailey was already grabbing for her phone before Talia could tell her to ignore it.

  “Uh oh, I think I accidentally hit something. It’s calling someone!”

  Talia jumped up and snatched the phone. When she heard Trevor’s voice, she sighed. She’d been hoping she could hang
up before the call connected. Too late.

  “Hey big brother. What’s going on?”

  “Um…don’t be mad, okay?”

  Talia rolled her eyes. The only time Trevor ever said that it meant he’d done something she wouldn’t like and she would definitely be mad.

  “What did you do now?”

  “Nothing. I just asked a friend of mine to check in on you today. Make sure you know where everything is. That’s all.”

  Talia paused. Considering what Trev was capable of, that really wasn’t that bad. Although it would probably be awkward having to make small talk with one of her brother’s booty calls, it would be easy enough to send the girl on her way. She’d just tell her that Bailey had already offered to give her a tour and that would be that.

  “Okay, great. Did you already tell her what dorm?”

  There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Long enough for Talia to get nervous.

  “Trev? You still there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here. It’s just…the person I asked to help you, it’s not a girl.”

  “What? Please tell me didn’t ask one of your jock buddies to show me around?”

  Just then there was a loud knock on the door. Bailey bounded over to the door and flung it open. Talia couldn’t see who was standing outside from her perch on her bed but she had a great view of the shock on Bailey’s face as her friend’s mouth fell open.

  “Whoa.” Bailey finally said.

  A deep, rumbling voice came back at her. “Bailey? It’s been ages. How you been? I’m actually here to pick up Talia.”

  As the one voice she hadn’t expected to hear ever again boomed around her, Talia’s fingers tightened around her cell phone.

  “Talia? Is Cage there yet?” Trevor asked.

  She closed her eyes against a rising fury and tried to whisper into the phone. “I am going to kill you, Trevor. Do you hear me?”

  Three

  Cage's gaze swept the room for Talia's dark hair and glasses. He’d always remembered her as cute and curvy, and those glasses had given him one too many dirty librarian fantasies. Because you’re a dick.

  This was true. She was Trevor’s geeky little sister. He should not have been thinking about her like that. And he hadn't...mostly. Just the once or twice. Hell, he'd been too busy playing the field in high school. He didn't need to think about Talia. Except, there had been those moments. Usually after he'd been at Trevor’s and she'd kept him company while he waited for his best friend. They used to talk. And not just bullshit talk but real talk.

  She was smart and intuitive, and he got the impression she’d felt a little overlooked because Trev was so Trev. He was the Golden Boy—so obviously athletic and charismatic, and the chicks clearly dug him. The kicker was that he was also smart. Come to think of it, it must have been a pain in the ass having him for a brother. Cage didn’t have any siblings so he had no idea about that dynamic.

  Either way, Cage had always liked talking to her. And sometimes he'd mentally slipped and thought about kissing her. But not often. At least not often enough for Trevor to kick his ass.

  But as his gaze swept the room, he didn't find the girl he knew. He did, however, see someone else.

  That girl...from the club. The one that had upped and Houdini’d on his ass. What the hell? And funny thing was, she didn't look the least bit surprised to see him. Matter of fact, she looked like she’d been expecting him.

  "It's you?" Damn it, why did his voice sound like that? All deep and out of breath and shit?

  "Hi, Cage." She flushed deep and tossed her cell down on the nearby bed. "Trevor said you'd be coming by."

  Wait, she knew who he was? He frowned as the pieces clicked together. She knew Trevor? Oh shit. He stumbled back a step, but regained his footing quickly. Talia. She was the girl from the other night. "Jesus. You look, different."

  She shrugged. "Yeah, nothing a little Lasik and gym time couldn't cure."

  His gaze swept over her again. "Wow."

  She just shrugged. "I promise you, I'm still me."

  "Why didn’t you say something the other night?"

  She flushed a deep shade of crimson and Cage smirked. Well at least some things were still the same. He had the ability to make that girl turn red. "Well, you didn't recognize me, so I took the opportunity to have some fun. Sorry about that."

  Except she wasn't sorry at all. And also, his dick wanted her pressed up again him all over again. "Well, I know how you can make it up to me. We're going out tonight. There’s a party on campus. Sort of a start-of-semester thing."

  "Oh, that sounds like fun," Bailey said.

  Talia shook her head. "Thanks for the invite, but I'm gonna pass."

  Cage frowned. Say what? "Give me one reason why not? It'll be a good time. And Trev asked me to make sure you're not lonely and shit. So c'mon. Or do you only like to go clubbing?"

  She flushed again. He had her there. "I just don’t want to go to a party with you, Cage. What's the matter? Never had a girl turn you down before? I'm sure it’s a whole new feeling."

  He grinned. "You seem different, Talia. I like all the changes. Miss the old you though."

  She sighed. "I'm still me, Cage."

  He studied her closely. "You’re still the same girl content to live in Trevor’s shadow? Somehow I think not. The girl I met on the dance floor the other night sure wasn't. She wanted to be seen." He stepped closer, into her space. "You want me to see you, Talia?"

  She swallowed hard. Her roommate’s gaze ping-ponged between the two of them. Then she said, "I'm just gonna head to take a shower. Cage, it was nice seeing you again." Bailey scuttled out of sight.

  "Just you and me now, Little T."

  She scrunched her face. "Don’t call me that."

  He knew she hated that nickname. Everyone called her that back in high school. They all knew she was Trevor’s little sister. It had made her insane. "Sorry, honest mistake, Talia." He cocked his head. "So, your roommate is gone. Now do you want to tell me the real reason you don’t want to go to this party?"

  "I already told you, I'm not into it. Besides, I know Trevor put you up to it, and while his heart was in the right place and it was nice of you to offer to show the little sister around and everything, I'm absolving you of all responsibility. Trevor never should have called you anyway."

  Cage clenched his teeth, then forced himself to relax. She was right. He wasn’t used to hearing no. People just usually did what he wanted. "We were friends once, I don't see why we can’t hang out now."

  She rolled her eyes. "God, were you always annoying?"

  He grinned. "Maybe." Her dark gaze met his. And he saw it, the trepidation. And he could almost understand where it came from. He was Trevor's best friend and she was trying to establish herself as her own person. She didn’t want to be babysat. "Okay fine. I get it. I don’t like hearing the word no. But how about coffee? You can do coffee, right? We’ll catch up, and I can tell Trev I looked in on you. That work?"

  "Maybe. Fine. I'll call you, okay?" She tried to close the door on him. But he easily stopped her.

  "Won't you need my number for that?"

  Her cheeks went pink again. Oh, this was going to be fun.

  The moment Cage was gone, Bailey rushed out of the bathroom. "Oh my God. I knew Cage Ward and Trevor were friends in high school, but I didn't know that you knew him."

  "I don't know him."

  "Clearly you do, because I think that's the guy from the other night. And forgive me if I'm wrong, but you laid one on him at the club."

  Talia ran her hands through her hair and flopped back on her bed. "Please don't remind me. I don’t know what I was thinking. Thinking I could be all wild child. I’m an idiot because I honestly thought that I wouldn't see him. I mean it's not like he and I were real friends." Except, they kind of had been. Yes, he’d been mostly Trevor's friend. But every time Trevor's practice had run late, or he had a student council meeting that took too long, she ended up talking to C
age. Of course, like every foolish teenage girl, she’d had a major crush on him.

  But during his senior year, he'd started dating Jenna and crushed all her hopes. He’d been completely in love with her, and she understood why. Jenna had been like walking, talking perfection. Bright blue eyes, blond hair, tits out to here. And she had been peppy and perky, and occasionally seemed really nice. Though according to Trevor, that was all an act. He’d told her Jenna was pretty manipulative.

  "Look, I was feeling excitable. And I don't know, maybe like I could be free. And he didn't recognize me, so you can understand that it was sort of tempting to try to be that girl."

  Bailey put up her hands. "Hey, I don't judge. I’m the one who threw my naked self at my best friend."

  Talia frowned. “You never threw yourself naked at me."

  Bailey laughed. "I meant Hunter over the summer. There was a naked incident. That's how we got together."

  Talia could only laugh. "I could tell from the way you talked about him that it was something more than just friends."

  "Well, you were right. And I can tell that there is something going on with Cage Ward. You’ve been withholding."

  "Honestly, there's not much to tell. Just something that happened when I was a freshman."

  Bailey dragged over her beanbag chair plopped into it. "Tell me everything."

  Talia sighed. "Okay. There was this party. I only got into the thing because I was Trevor's sister. I don't know where you were. I think you’d gone somewhere that weekend with your parents. Anyway, his evil girlfriend Jenna had stormed out of the party because he wouldn’t give her something that she wanted. And he was drowning his sorrows. He got seriously wasted. There was no way that he could drive himself home. Luckily, he only lived about eight blocks down from the house, so I took him, even though I didn't have my license yet. And then, there we were in his car talking. And the next minute, he kissed me."

  Bailey leaned forward, eyes wide lips parted. "Shut the front door! No fucking way. Like a peck or like a real kiss?"