by Tijan
The other corner of his mouth curved up now. “No, but she’s protective of me.”
“Great.”
He stepped towards me. His voice softened, “She’s not you, Alex. Cord’s not Ethan. Don’t get confused about that. No one can touch either of you guys.”
My chest swelled with emotion. I found myself blinking back tears. As he moved another step closer, my hand lifted to rest on his chest. His heart was pounding and his gaze seared into me. He was deadly serious. There was no humor, only dark promises swirling in his depths, mixed with the same lust that was pounding inside of me.
I asked, feeling raw, “You promise?”
His hand touched my pants. He tucked his thumb inside of them and pulled me against him. Closing my eyes, I felt him. I felt every inch of him. Then his thumb moved to the front of my pants and slipped farther inside. His entire hand went underneath my underwear until I felt him at my entrance. My legs wanted to press together, but I willed them to stay still. I didn’t move to give him better access. I couldn’t do anything except keep still and stop myself from launching into his arms. My heart was a continuous thunder now and I already knew I was wet for him.
His finger dipped inside. I gasped. My head hit his chest as I concentrated on breathing. In and out. In and out.
I clutched onto his shirt. My legs threatened to buckle, but I couldn’t do anything. Pleasure rippled through me from the sensations he was building. “Jesse.”
He ducked his head down to rest his forehead on my shoulder, then he turned and kissed my bare nape.
I shook my head, struggling to form a thought as a second finger slipped inside.
Kissing down the side of my neck, he nuzzled under my chin before he started up the other side. His other hand gripped my hip and he held me anchored against him.
The edge was nearing. He kept pumping faster, holding himself still against me. When he stopped kissing me, I felt his breathing grow labored as he continued to rest his forehead on my shoulder. My head fell back and my eyes were heavy-lidded, but I saw him from underneath my eyelids. He was watching us. He was watching as his hand moved against me and his fingers kept thrusting into me.
Then I felt myself hurdling over it and I exploded on him. As I trembled against him, he kept his fingers in me, but pressed his forehead against my neck. A sheen of perspiration had built up. I felt the moisture now and then his lips curved against my skin. He pressed them to me in a soft and lingering kiss as he withdrew his fingers.
Pressing my lips together, a moan escaped from between them. A flush of renewed heat flared through me and lit up my face. As he began to lift his hand, my legs squeezed together. I felt empty. I didn’t want him to leave, but he tilted my head to meet his gaze with his free hand. His eyes had darkened until they were black with lust.
Cupping my head with his hand, he ran his thumb over my lips. When it settled between them, my lips parted and my tongue darted out to brush against him.
His eyes fell to my mouth. As he watched my tongue sweep against him again and then tasted the end of his finger, he stepped closer. He crowded me against the door. We hit it with a thud, but it didn’t stop us. I scrambled to lift his shirt, which he yanked over his head then he shoved my pants down with one foot. When they were on the ground, he hoisted me up underneath my arms and carried me to the bed.
When he lowered me to it and held himself above me, he looked at me for a long moment. He seemed to be absorbing every inch of me. I felt ready to burst and reached for him to pull him down.
He blocked my hand and shook his head, a small grin appearing as he held it down on the bed. He positioned my other one above my head and I was now pinned beneath him.
He still continued to study every inch of me.
“Jesse,” I rasped out. I tried bucking my hips up to touch against his, but his grin only grew wider.
“It’s been too damn long, Alex. I’m going to make this last a long time.”
The throbbing burst inside of me again. I gasped out, huskily, “Touch me, dammit.”
Then he bent over me and I closed my eyes.
His lips were coming.
Knock, knock
“Jess-” I started again, but then the door started to open and I heard instead, “Alex, I thought I heard some-oh!” It was slammed shut. The sound echoed in my head. Everyone had heard. Everyone would wake up and come to see what had happened.
Then my eyelids lifted. What had just happened?
Jesse had frozen on top of me with his head turned to the door. In slow motion, he turned to look at me. “Some girl came in here.”
“Really?” I rolled my eyes, frustrated and pissed about the whole thing. “No shit, Jesse.” Shoving against his shoulders, I groaned, “Get off.”
He sat on the edge of the bed.
When he made no move to put his shirt back on, I scrambled off the bed and threw it to him. At the same time, I threw mine on and hopped around as I tried to pull my pants up, as quickly as possible. When I was covered, I checked one more time. Everything was good and then I bolted out of the door. They’d be milling around, looking for where that door slam had come from, but I came to a halt instead.
Nothing.
The lights were still low. The doors were all closed.
Then the bathroom door was opened and light flooded the hallway before it swung shut again.
Beth strolled back to me with a caddie in hand. She was in a robe and a towel. As she saw me, she grinned. “I thought you were in bed.”
I paused, was there something more in that question? Did I hear her insinuating that I’d been in bed?
I wanted to slap myself. Get it over with. “You saw?”
The grin widened and she nodded, a sparkle came to her eyes now. “Oh yeah. I saw. And I know who that is.”
“You can’t say anything.”
She snorted. “Like hell. You were with Jesse Hunt. Is he still in there? Does Kara know? Is that why she said we should be friends?”
My head dropped and I wanted to crumble to the floor. This couldn’t have started on a worse note. But she said not to judge. In the back of the cab, those were her exact words. Hope stirred in my gut again. “You can’t say anything. Please, Beth. That would be horrible for me.”
The realization of who Jesse was on the campus and how many knew him was settling in. Mortification and horror was starting to take root and I felt like smacking myself in the forehead. Going to his house before had been a horrible idea. I wanted to demand answers about Ethan’s death, but if someone else had been there and not just Chandra, I gulped. It could’ve been bad. Really bad. I was starting to think the best way to start life as a student at Grant West was for no one to know about our relationship.
Goodness.
Our relationship.
What was our relationship?
Images of him above me flashed in my head and lust sparked again. My throat went dry and I knew he was in my room still, waiting for me. What the hell was I doing?
“You okay?” Beth frowned at me. “Don’t worry. I won’t say anything. I was just playing with you. Sucks to be on the receiving end, huh?”
I nodded. It did. It really did. I shook away the desire and any remaining terror. “You won’t say anything?”
“No, but I think it’s cool you know Jesse Hunt. It’ll be nice to see Tiffany knocked down a peg. Finally.” She started back towards our rooms and I fell in step beside her.
“What do you mean?” Different dread formed now.
She stopped again, before glancing in the direction of my room. “Is he still in there?”
I jerked my head in a nod. My limbs felt like lead.
She touched my arm and tugged me back closer to the bathroom. Lowering her voice, she said, “Tiffany’s dating Jamie
Striker. Do you know who that is?”
I frowned. “Just that Cord laughed at me when I asked about him. I have no idea why.”
“Well,” she searched for her words. “Let’s just say that Jamie’s not the brightest bulb in the group, or the nicest, or the one with morals. Okay. Jamie doesn’t really have any morals.”
“What does this have to do with Tiffany and Jesse?”
“I don’t know. Hannah’s sick of her attitude, but I think Tiffany mothers Jamie and so that goes to the rest of the guys too. She’d try with Derek and Cord if they didn’t have girlfriends.”
“Cord doesn’t have a girlfriend.” Or he hadn’t said he did, but as I remembered, there was more between them. I picked up on that immediately.
“Trust me. He is taken. Chandra’s been working him for three years, since they were freshman.”
A dull headache was forming in the back of my head. I felt it growing bigger and bigger. The pounding would start in a moment. “How old are they all?”
“Tiffany’s a junior, so’s Jamie. I think the rest are too except for Hunt. He’s a sophomore.”
I nodded. He had wanted to get out a year early and go with Ethan, but it hadn’t happened. The paperwork never was turned in because of...because my brother died.
The headache was raging and I pressed my hands against my temples. I’d be throwing up soon, but I croaked out, “How do you know all this?”
She stepped back and scowled, but then it was gone. She schooled her features in the next second and an impassive mask stared back at me.
My eyes widened. What had that been about?
Her voice held a chill in it, “I grew up with them.”
“Oh.” Why so damn cold then?
She grimaced then and rolled her eyes. “Look, I’m sorry. When I say that I grew up with them, I mean in their house. My mom left me with them when I was eleven and I’ve been living with them ever since.”
“Oh.” I could relate.
The scowl flared back. “Don’t feel sorry for me. Hannah’s mom is wonderful. Trust me, I got the better end of the deal.”
I scowled back. “Relax. You were dumped by a parent. I understand.” My hands went up in surrender. “That’s all I meant. You’re a bit touchy, you know.”
The scowl lessened, but didn’t completely vanish. “So, yeah. I know all about that select group.”
I frowned.
She explained, “That’s what Tiffany calls them, The Select, since they’re all on the—”
“It made sense. I just think it’s stupid.”
“Me too.” A grin lifted the corners of her mouth and her eyes warmed. “And she thinks she’s Grant West royalty.”
“Why does she think that? Because she’s dating this Striker guy?”
“It’s because they have Homecoming Court here and she gets nominated every year.”
“Are you serious? Colleges do that?”
“Yep, we’re like a rich high school that’s bigger.”
“That sucks.” I was starting to think Ethan had horrible taste with his college choices. I should’ve thought this through more, but then I remembered this was the only school where I had an academic scholarship. At the time, I hadn’t thought I had money so the decision had been set in stone. Now I had money, but I was locked in place.
Like you were going anywhere that Jesse wasn’t? Be real.
I frowned at the nagging voice, but it was right. I sighed as I was starting to get a better picture on my new life. Jesse was still at the top and there were a bunch of prissy bitches surrounding him. The only problem was that they didn’t know about me and I didn’t know if I wanted them to know. Keeping it a secret had its benefits, but they already knew I was ‘family’ to Cord. I wanted to growl from frustration.
There’d been a brief hope of starting over again and living a life as a nobody. That was gone now.
We went back and parted at our doors. When I went inside, Jesse was gone. In his place was a note beside my cell. ‘Cord arrested, snuck out. Call later.’
It was like Homecoming all over again.
I got to my political science class early on the first day of classes. Sunday was spent moving in, Monday was the day for making sure everything was ready to go, and it was now Tuesday. My first class was at eight thirty, but I showed up at eight. It wasn’t that I was nervous. I think it was that I was bored. I hadn’t slept well and was up early so I got dressed and headed out. After grabbing a bagel and coffee, I found the classroom and took the seat farthest in the back. As others started to trickle in, I put my bag in the chair beside me. I wasn’t feeling social.
No one minded.
They trailed in and sat by themselves. A few girls came together and took the row in front of me. At eight twenty-nine, I slumped down in my chair and rested my head against the wall behind me. Closing my eyes, I could’ve fallen asleep. I was hidden in my back corner, but then I heard something that had my eyes wide open again.
One of the girls whispered in her friend’s ear in front of me, “That’s Cord Tatum and Jamie Striker. I heard they might take this class, so glad we took it now.”
The friend giggled, whispering back, “Super HOT!”
“Jenna was with Jamie at the Kappa party last Friday night.”
“Really? Isn’t he dating…”
The first one nodded, her excitement was barely contained. “Tiffany Chatsworth. Sucks to be her, huh? He’s the biggest manwhore on the team.”
“Bad for her. Good for us.”
The two shared a knowing grin. Then the first one leaned closer, “I heard they’re having a party next Friday. I’m going to try to talk to Jamie after class; maybe we can get an invite.”
“We need an invite? We can’t just go?”
She rolled her eyes, flicking her hair over her shoulder. “It’s at Jesse Hunt’s house; you have to have an invite to even know where it is. No one knows where it is unless you’re in their circle. I heard his daddy bought him a new mansion.”
The friend groaned, giggling at the same time. “Jesse Hunt. Oh my gawd! Is he going to be there?”
The other one shrugged. “Don’t know. I heard he’s anti-social. You have better chances trying for Cord.”
“Why Cord? Jesse Hunt is way hotter.”
The first one blinded her with a smile. “Because I’m going for Jamie. And trust me, Jesse Hunt is out of our league.”
“What about Tiffany?”
“Who cares.” She shook her head, a look of disgust flashing over her. “She’s a bitch. She needs to be taken down a notch.”
Then the third friend leaned over. “Would you two shut up?! They can hear you.”
“Sorry,” one whispered.
“Sorry,” the other hissed, but both still giggled.
I wanted to groan. Cord was in my class. Nothing against Cord, but I hadn’t told him about my hope to be anonymous. It hadn’t mattered over the last two days. Jesse hadn’t texted or called. I hadn’t cared. For real. After he left, my head had swollen with questions and doubts. I hadn’t gone to him with the intention of starting our relationship up again, whatever relationship that was. And I didn’t know if I wanted a real relationship, if he did. I had no idea. Jesse wasn’t the committed type. It was why I had stopped our arrangement in the first place, but then he was in my dorm room. He hadn’t ignored my calls on purpose and there was no big secret about his phone call to Ethan that night.
All control fled when he was close, but he hadn’t been close since. Reason flooded back in.
I could not do a relationship. No way.
I was barely able to stand saying hello to Beth the past couple days. Kara had been sickeningly sweet when she saw me in the bathroom. She wanted to know if I had hung out with Beth and Hannah, but my
mouth had been full of toothpaste. I used that to my advantage and shrugged, unable to talk. She’d been nice and waited until I spit it out, and then rinsed my mouth. I hadn’t been so nice. I gave her a polite smile and walked out of the bathroom.
I didn’t need anyone knowing my business.
Hurt flared in her eyes, but that didn’t stop me from snubbing her. She was better off. That’s what I told myself and the next time I saw her, she didn’t try again.
An unnamed emotion burned low in my gut, but we were both better off. She hadn’t asked how I knew Cord and I hoped she would let that go as well. No one needed to know any of that information. And certainly not these three girls who sat in front of me.
I tried to crouch farther down in my seat, but to no avail, I could see Cord and a taller guy who looked like he could’ve been a poster boy for any Ivy League school follow behind him. He was tall and built with wavy blonde locks, dark eyes, and a smirk plastered over his thick jaw. He knew they were the center of attention and he loved it.
They approached the back of the classroom. The girls in front of me bristled from excitement. Their eyes were glued to them as they trekked all the way to the back, where I was.
The first girl drew in her breath. The second one nudged her friend.
They were openly staring now. In slow motion, I watched as their heads followed the guys and they turned facing behind them now.
Oh gawd.
I closed my eyes. My gut fell to the floor and I looked up. Cord was grinning down at me, three empty seats between us. His friend seemed annoyed, shifting on his feet behind him.
“Little Connors.” A big smirk came over Cord’s face.
I was reminded of an exchange he had with Marissa once. The same cockiness had been with him as he told her to get lost. I bristled with irritation now. No way was he going to treat me with the same, even though he had been nice to me on Sunday.