by Jenika Snow
“Just trying to mellow you out, darlin’.” He finished off the joint and flicked it away. “Come here.” He patted the seat next to him, and she shook her head. Kiera needed to get the hell away from him and leave the party. She took a step forward, and the world tilted. Placing a hand on her head she closed her eyes and forced herself to take breath in and let it out slowly.
“I need to go. I’m not feeling so well.” A buzzing started in her ears, and she took another step.
Before she could get any farther Josh reached out, snagged her wrist in a tight hold, and brought her on top of his lap.
“Let me up, or I’ll scream.” Her words sounded thick, and her mouth was so very dry. The term “cotton mouth” made perfect sense now.
“Come on, Kiera.” He kissed her neck, and she struggled away from him. “I’ve seen you all those times and never got to tell you how pretty you are.” His hands were everywhere, her breasts, thighs, and making a slow trail under her skirt. Why had she agreed to let Molly dress her? The skirt and tank now made her feel completely exposed.
“Stop.” She pushed at his chest, but it was like a brick wall, or maybe it was just that her limbs felt like they were filled with lead? “Stop!” She let out a scream, but he slapped his hand over her mouth. Panic gripped her, and she struggled harder, but her erratic actions caused her to fall backward. The momentum had Josh going forward and falling on top of her. The ground met her back in a hard, cold embrace. Her new position had her sprawled on the ground, her legs spread and Josh on top of her. He pressed his hips forward and grunted when his erection pressed between her thighs. The sound of her heart pounding in her ears was the only thing she could hear as she continued to try to break free.
“Shh, pretty girl. I ain’t gonna hurt you. I just want a little bit of fun.” His lips found the hollow of her neck, and he started licking and kissing. In his drunken, high, and aggressive behavior he moved his hand so it covered her nose and mouth. Her eyes went wide at the fear of not getting any oxygen into her still burning lungs. Slapping and clawing at him did no good. Tears slipped out the corner of her eyes at the knowledge she would most likely die at a party she had never even wanted to attend. A pounding vibrated the ground, and she tilted her head back. Even with her vision blurred from her tears, she made out the upside-down form of Reese charging toward them. The sight of him had her renewing her efforts of escape. Flashes of light flickered in front of her vision from the lack of oxygen. The closer he stalked the clearer his expression became: fierce and rage-filled. The savage look on Reese’s face should have put fear in her, but a sense of relief flooded her instead. Seconds later the heavy, suffocating weight of Josh left her. Kiera gasped in air and rolled to her side, coughing and gagging. Nausea washed through her, and she threw up. Tears continued to fall down her cheeks as she tried to pull herself up. Her skirt was askew, and her tank was pushed up her belly. The sound of grunting and flesh meeting flesh sounded close by. She stood on unsteady legs and turned around. She wiped her tears away and blinked several times to clear her vision. For several seconds she could only stare in shock at the scene before her. Reese stood over Josh’s sprawled body at his feet. He had his shirt in one hand, using it as leverage to lift his upper body from the ground. Reese used his other fist to slam it into Josh’s face repeatedly. Blood came out of every orifice in Josh’s face, and bile rose in her throat. Josh looked like pounded, raw meat. Reese said nothing, and the way he seemed to stay so calm chilled her. His biceps strained, and the vibrant colors of his tattoos stood out in stark relief. Marcus, Christian, and Leo came running up, and it took all three of them to pull Reese off a now unconscious Josh.
****
Reese had never felt such raw, uninhibited fury before. He would have kept beating the shit out of this asshole, but he was pulled off the prick far too soon. His lungs burned from the force of his breathing, and the only thing he could continue to think about was this motherfucker’s hands all over Kiera. People spoke all around him, but he couldn’t make out what they said. The frightened image of Kiera kept replaying through his mind like a broken reel. Her wide, terror-filled eyes, the way she clawed at her attacker. Rage burned white hot inside of him when he looked down at the asshole lying by his feet. He clenched his fists, needing to hit the fucker over and over again until there was nothing left, until the threat to the only girl he had thought about was eliminated. Marcus kept saying something, but a buzzing filled Reese’s head. Nothing mattered except taking the problem out and making sure Kiera was okay.
****
Kiera was rooted to the spot, and she couldn’t help but look at Josh lying motionless by Reese’s dark boots.
“Jesus Christ, Reese. What the fuck did he do, man?” Marcus breathed out, his eyes wide at the fight that had just taken place. Reese shoved away from him. He breathed heavily, his massive chest rising and falling. Suddenly he turned to her, his eyes hard and fierce. Fire seemed to flash behind the blue depths, and Kiera found herself swallowing hard and taking a step back. He walked toward her slowly, and after everything that had happened with Josh, then watching Reese kick the shit out of him, she should have been hauling ass out of there, but she couldn’t move. Kiera was forced to crane her neck to look in his face. He was big and muscular, and she didn’t think an eighteen-year-old should be so intimidating. She flinched when he lifted his hand. Her reaction gave him pause, and his jaw clenched hard, but he slowly grabbed the strap of her tank and slid it back up to her shoulder.
“Are you okay?” His voice was deep and harsh, but filled with concern.
Kiera swallowed, still feeling lightheaded. She started to shake, and her teeth chattered. All of a sudden she was so cold. A crowd gathered behind Reese. A few of the guys were laughing, calling Josh a “pussy” and other derogatory names, and some of the girls had wide eyes and covered their mouths with their hands. A few people lifted Josh off the ground and carried him in the house. Talk about getting Josh to the hospital could be heard, but after what had just happened he was the last thing on her mind.
“I—” She looked into his face and felt something cracking inside of her. She shook harder, and tears fell in an uncontrollable torrent down her cheeks.
“Fuck.” In the next instant he wrapped his arms around her and brought her body flush with his. She stiffened, but the clean, spicy scent of his cologne, or maybe it was just his natural smell, washed through her. “You’re in shock. Come on. Let’s get you inside and away from the fucking gawkers.” He turned, but kept his arm around her waist. Fortunately, she had thought to adjust her clothing before people saw too much flesh. Reese pushed through the crowd. “Get the fuck back.” His voice was harsh, and his words were a rough growl. His presence commanded attention, and everyone obeyed. It was a mixture of respect, awe, and fear, she realized.
He took her in the house and steered her down a long, unbelievably deserted hallway and into a bathroom. He left the door cracked open.
“I’m okay.” It was a lie, because even as she said the words she still shook and her voice wavered. The buzz from the alcohol had since left, but the high from the weed still went strong and made her feel groggy.
“No, you’re not.” He grabbed a washcloth and ran some water over it. “Sit on the toilet.” When she didn’t make a move to do as he said he frowned. “Listen, I’m only trying to help.” He breathed out and glanced down at his feet. He lifted his head and pierced her with his blue gaze. He seemed so damn big in the bathroom. “Please. I only want to help, okay?” His voice softened, and she found herself sitting on the closed lid of the toilet. He offered her a smile, and she was amazed that the small gesture could change his whole appearance. Had she ever seen him smile? She couldn’t recall. The touch of the warm washcloth touching the corner of her mouth had a sting of pain moving through her, and she gasped out. She lifted her hand to her lip. She hadn’t even realized she had a cut.
“I didn’t know I hurt my lip.” Kiera was so rattled she didn’t even know
if she was talking to herself or to him.
He was so close, just inches from her face. It was hard to breathe, and not because her lungs still burned.
“It’s small. Looks like you might have bitten your lip.” After he said the words his jaw locked up tight, and a muscle ticked beneath his cheek. He averted his eyes from hers and focused on the task of tending to her lip. He stood and tossed the washrag into a hamper then sat on the edge of the tub. Their knees touched, and she forced herself not to move away. He had saved her from an unthinkable act, but her nerves were still on edge and she couldn’t think clearly. For several long moments neither said anything. The sound of Jack White singing “Icky Thump” came through the door. Kiera kept her gaze on her entwined hands resting on her lap, but she could feel his stare. It was so strong and tangible, like flames licking across her body.
“Do you want to talk about it? Tell me what happened?” His voice was low, and she swore she sensed a coaxing quality to it, but it still sounded strained. Why was he doing this, talking to her, or caring what had happened? He never gave her the time of day before, and his attitude had always leaned toward the “I don’t give a fuck” side.
Lifting her eyes to his, she thought about his question. Did she want to talk about it, especially with Reese Trenton? Closing her eyes, all she could think about was Josh’s hands on her, touching, kissing, and licking her flesh. A shiver worked through her. What she wanted was a shower, one hot enough to scald her skin and tear away the first layer.
“I don’t think so.” She looked away and stared at the sterile white tile. Her voice was barely a whisper, and when she lifted her head and looked at Reese again, she was struck by the raw emotion reflected on his face. He gave a sharp nod, and Kiera was so very thankful he didn’t press her. “Thank you. If you hadn’t come when you did…” Kiera’s voice hitched at the vile image her words invoked.
“Yeah, let’s not go there, or I’m liable to hunt him down and break his fucking neck.” The rage in Reese’s voice had her eyes widening. He must have seen her reaction because he schooled his features. “I’m sorry.” He ran his hand over the back of his neck and exhaled loudly.
“How did you know where I was?” Not that it mattered, because in the end he had saved her life. She was curious, though, and she wanted to talk about something to get the images from her mind.
Shifting slightly, he cleared his throat and said, “I came outside for a smoke and saw Josh heading toward the garden. I didn’t think anything of it, but then I saw movement and he fall to the ground through the break in the trees.”
His words caused fresh tears to fall. “You know him?” Kiera grabbed some toilet paper and wiped her tears away.
“Hey, how about we stop talking about this? I can take you home, or back to where your friends are?” She shook her head because right now she didn’t want to see anyone. Being enclosed in the bathroom made her feel safe, in a strange sort of way. “Do you need to go to the hospital, get checked out?”
She shook her head again. “No, no, I’m fine, really. Just shook up and a little confused is all.” Sniffing, she smiled at him and hoped the forced gesture had him believing her. From the look on his face it was clear he didn’t buy it, but he gave her this round.
“Your earlier question, about if I knew Josh … yeah, I know him from my freshman year. He’s a real asshole, and doesn’t take kindly to girls saying no. I know Haden didn’t invite him, so not sure who did. But hell, knowing Josh he probably just showed up.” Reese took his hat off and set it on his knee. He ran his hand over his short dark hair, causing the strands to stick up in every direction. “He’s lucky the guys came when they did and pulled me off. I would have made sure he couldn’t have walked out of here.” His dark words calmed her, for some fucked up reason.
“Well, thank you again.” She looked away and wished she should have gone with her instincts and stayed home.
“You’re Alex’s little sister, Kiera, right?” His question had her lifting her head and looking at him. She knew Alex had been popular in school, but hadn’t known people still talked about him three years after he graduated. She supposed him being on the Varsity football team had a lot to do with his reputation.
“Yeah.” He nodded and looked at the bathroom door then back at her. “I didn’t even know you knew my name.” Why would you say that? Kiera could have slapped a hand over her mouth if she wasn’t humiliated by her question. He didn’t answer right away, and the awkwardness in the room grew. Kiera stood and was about to leave when someone called out from the other side of the door.
“Reese?”
Kiera closed her eyes and breathed out when she heard Andrea’s voice growing closer to the bathroom door.
“Has anyone seen Reese?”
“Think I saw him go into the bathroom with some chick.” A guy answered Andrea’s random question.
Her clicking heels came closer and closer, and right before she was sure to push the door open Reese said, “Don’t open the fucking door, Andrea.” His words were clipped and demanded obedience.
“What? What the hell, Reese?” Andrea sounded surprised at first, but then morphed to irritation.
“Go the fuck away,” he said.
Kiera could practically hear the smoke billowing out of the other girl’s ears. “Reese,” her whiny voice had Kiera looking at the door then at Reese. His attention was solely on Kiera. “You said you’d take me back to your place tonight.”
Ugh. Andrea’s words had a disgusting image form in Kiera’s mind. For a moment Kiera had forgotten Reese’s reputation, but that was the least of her worries right now.
“Go wait in the damn car, Andrea.”
Yeah, Kiera needed to just go. Rubbing her hand over her eyes she felt herself start to calm slightly, but she still didn’t feel one-hundred percent.
“About your earlier statement.” His words had her dropping her hand and looking at him. The sound of Andrea’s heels fading away pierced the silence. “I’ve known who you are since you got out of Alex’s car that first day freshman year.”
His words had everything around her fading. What? He did? He never talked to her, barely even glanced at her, but he spoke like he knew more than just her name. Before she could delve a little deeper into his statement the sound of Molly’s panicked voice came down the hallway and straight for the bathroom. She threw it open and with wide eyes looked at Kiera then Reese.
“What the fuck happened? I’m hearing all this talk about some guy getting his ass kicked by Reese because of you?” She continued to look back and forth, and the action and her expression would have been humorous if not for the seriousness of the situation. Molly gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my God, Kiera. Your lip.” Her words were muffled, but Kiera heard them nonetheless. Molly dropped her hand. “What happened?” Kiera so didn’t want to get into this again. All she wanted was a shower and her bed.
“Can you just take me home? I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
Molly looked as if she wanted to argue, but she kept her mouth shut. “Of course, come on,” Molly said from the doorway.
Kiera stood, and Reese did the same. He gripped his hat in his hand so tight she saw the whites of his knuckles. Dragging her eyes to his, she was struck by the vulnerable expression on his face. “Thank you again. You’ll never know how thankful I am you showed up when you did.”
Molly took her hand and led her out of the bathroom, but Reese calling out to her stopped her. “You sure you’re okay?”
She stopped and looked over her shoulder. No, she wasn’t but she would be. At least she hoped.
“Yeah.” She smiled at him. His brows were furrowed down over his eyes, and she knew he saw right through her lie.
“Okay…” A beat of silence passed between them. “I’ll see yah Monday at school.”
He would? This time it was her turn to furrow her brow. “Yeah, okay.” Smiling again, she let Molly lead her through the house and out to the
car. Kiera was very aware of the whispers and stares as they left. She could only imagine how Monday would play out at school. Once in the car Molly turned and looked at her.
“You going to tell me what the hell happened? I heard a few things, but you can’t believe anything those assholes say, or at least I hope they aren’t true.” The worry was thick in Molly’s voice.
Kiera rested her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. “Can we talk about it later, please?” Kiera was exhausted mentally and physically.
Molly took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“If that’s what you want.” They drove to Kiera’s house in silence, but she preferred it that way. She was tired of talking and just wanted to close her eyes and put this entire night behind her.
Chapter Two
The scent of beer was thick when Reese entered his house after dropping off Andrea. The fact she constantly tried grabbing his dick the entire ride put him in an even fouler mood. He walked farther in the house and pushed his keys into the front pocket of his jeans. If he hadn’t been used to the stench he might have gagged, but nowadays it was just a second thought in passing. The sound of the television blaring in the background was loud in their small, rundown house. He knew what he would find if he went into the living room: either one or both of his parents passed out on the couch. They’d either have a cigarette hanging from their mouths, or from the tips of their fingers, just waiting to fall and start a fire. There had been too many times when that had almost been his reality growing up. Reese passed the entryway to the living room and saw his mother sprawled on the ratty, brown tweed recliner. Numerous burn holes from their cigarettes littered the upholstery. A bottle of cheap gas station bought vodka sat between her thighs. His father sat on the equally disgusting couch, his back to Reese. Just as he turned to head down the hall to the only safe haven he had in their shitty little house, his father’s slurred voice stopped him.