I Need You (Meant For Me Book 1)

by N. Natishna

  Emma buried her face in my chest, and I heard a sob escape her. I could feel her hot tears seep through my shirt, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. Her soft hand came up to run gently down my jaw, comforting me. “I had no idea…I could never tell, she always seems so strong.”

  “Yeah, well it was a couple years ago, but she came through a lot different than anybody thought. The only time she talked about what happened was that night, at the hospital, when the cops talked to her. I was with her and listened as she told them that some guy led her outside, and then how two others came out of nowhere. One of them was recording the other two attempting to rape her.”

  “Was she okay, Deklan?” she asked urgently and I nodded.

  “They didn’t get a chance to do more than beat her, because they heard me calling for her and ran off. The blood on her thigh was from a gash caused by one of the guys cutting off her underwear.” My nostrils flared at the red hot anger that still boiled when I thought of it.

  “Did you ever find out who they were?”

  I nodded, my eyebrows going down in a dark frown. “Oh yeah, Molly told me. I only got to beat the shit out of two of them. The other guy, the one that had the camera, he was a lucky s.o.b. When the cops found the camera, two of the guys were charged with assault and attempt at rape. The guy who recorded got it the easiest, because they said he was only an accomplice.”

  “Disgusting pigs!” Emma spat and I stilled. I looked at her with a shocked expression, because I had never heard her sound so hostile before. Sure, she’d been pissed that first day, but not like this. Her eyes were just as dark with rage as my own, and she was practically spitting fire. “What kind of city did you live in, Deklan? How could people be so cruel? And to someone as nice as Molly?”

  I didn’t know if Emma was just saying that, or just saw deeper than the cold façade my little sister put on.

  I shook my head and gave her shoulders a squeeze. “That’s when things started changing with my family. My dad started drinking, my mom started working more to keep us going, and Molly stopped playing her instruments. When I told her I was going out to get my tattoo finished, she told me she wanted to go. I let her come, because it was better than her holed in her room blaring hardcore metal all day. But when she wanted to get her own tattoo, I kinda freaked.”

  I looked at Emma and smiled at her understanding expression. “She wasn’t old enough at all, but she really wanted it and I knew the guy, so I gave in like always. She started putting on this I-don’t-give-a-shit attitude and locked up her emotions.”

  Running a hand down my face, I sighed roughly. “The guy my dad shot was the dad of the guy who recorded Molly getting attacked. I don’t even know why he did it…he and my mom were nothing but hateful to Molly for the way she was. I don’t even want to know, and neither does my sister. At least, that’s what she tells me.”

  “That’s not right of them to be like that to you guys,” Emma muttered. “A parent should encourage a child to be the best they could be.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “What happened the night you went to juvie, Deklan?”

  Her question threw me and I hesitated before answering. This is the most I have ever talked to anybody about anything. I don’t know what it was about her, but I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. She didn’t seem to mind that we’ve been talking for a long time, and she still wanted to hear more.

  “I just wanted to go out to eat at a place I’d been eating at since I was a kid. Before I could go in, a couple guys started talking shit about my dad and calling my sister a slut. When they wouldn’t shut up, I shoved one of them. The other guy hit me with an uppercut and then a left hook that left me dizzy. I fought back, until the cops showed up. Everybody who saw said I threw the first punch and I went away for it. It was a good thing I was only seventeen or I’d have spent time in jail and not just some juvenile center.”

  Emma sighed and pulled away. Her eyes were sad and she gave me a shaky smile. “You’re a pretty great guy, Deklan Mayfield. I’ll be honest and say I thought you were dangerous even before I met you…and I’m so sorry for that.” She pressed her palm to my chest. “You’ve got such a big heart and a kind soul, yet you’re so strong and protective. Do you have any idea how amazing you are?”

  Her words would’ve brought me to my knees had I been standing. Something stirred inside me that pulled me towards her. She’d listened to the fucked up tale about my so-called family and she found me amazing. She didn’t know the half of it. There was nothing amazing about me…but her; she was incredible.

  I found myself lowering my face down to hers until I could feel her breath as she panted. Her eyes snapped to my lips and then back up, and I knew she felt the same thing I was feeling. I needed to kiss her as badly as I needed my next breath. After spilling out my past to her, and having her still next to me, I wasn’t able to hold back any longer.

  I pressed my lips to hers softly and, after a few surprised seconds, she kissed me back.

  CHAPTER 7.

  Emma

  I’d never felt such a strong pull towards someone before. The way Deklan spoke about everything Molly went through broke my heart. She never showed how much she truly knew, and my guess is that she didn’t want people to treat her as her old classmates did. I never knew people could so hurtful…and their parents were what really got me. My parents may not always be around because of their jobs, but they loved me and Kat. There was never any doubt about that.

  I wanted to hold Deklan tightly to me and comfort him. His lips were so warm and soft, and I relaxed against him, letting him pull me closer. He bit my bottom lip and then sucked on it, causing my mouth to tingle. He ran his tongue along it before slipping inside to meet mine. I tried to mimic his movements without getting sloppy. I’ve kissed a few boys before, but I’ve never been kissed this way. My body yearned for his in a way that was overwhelming, but I couldn’t stop.

  Deklan groaned and I matched it with a whimper of need as he deepened the kiss. His hands gripped my waist as he pressed up against me. The emotional wringer his story had put me through had me needing him more urgently. I loved this raw need he had for me. I wasn’t afraid of his roughness, I was excited about it – I wanted more of it.

  My hands roamed over his shoulders and Deklan broke away from my lips to travel down my jaw to my neck. He stopped at my collarbone and I felt him nip at the skin there, lapping his tongue over it gently. “Deklan!” I whispered breathlessly and dug my nails in his shirt when the tingle shot down to between my legs.

  “It’s okay baby, I’ve got you,” he whispered against my skin. He kissed back up my neck to my lips and pressed his lips to mine one last time before pulling back. I gazed up at his glazed eyes.

  “Nobody has ever kissed me like that,” I told him and he gave me a shaky grin.

  “Good.” He closed his eyes and rested his cheek against mine. His breath was hot against my ear as he regained his composure. My arms hugged his shoulders as my heartbeat slowed down to a slow pace. He pulled back, kissed me softly on my lips, and ran his hand through my hair.

  “Thank you for that, Emma,” he said in a low voice. I leaned into his touch more and smiled.

  “You can talk to me about anything, Deklan. I’ll always listen and be here for you”

  He kissed me again, this time harder, before letting me go and pulling out his phone. “We’ve been gone a long time now. We should get back so the guys don’t worry. And I want to check on Molly.”

  I nodded and he got to his feet, pulling me up with just a little tug. I wasn’t surprised, seeing as how I weighed a little over 100 pounds. He could probably bench two of me.

  He picked up his now dirty shirt and his shoes. “Come on, pixie, let’s head back.”

  I looked up at him with a smile. I liked the nickname. Even though it was referring to my size, it made me feel precious.

  I curved my hand around his thick bicep as we made our way back. When we got back we met up wi
th Liam, Bianca, Molly, and Luke. I could see how relieved Deklan felt to see his sister still in good hands. I knew all along that she’d never be harmed with my friends around. There’s no way they’d stand for it.

  “Hey girl,” Bianca greeted me with a knowing smile. “You get lost out there?”

  I blushed as they all chuckled, except Luke. He just stared between me and Deklan, before looking away.

  “Actually, no, I didn’t,” I told them and pressed my side to Deklan’s. His arm came around my shoulders in a possessive manner.

  “Holy shit,” I heard Reggie say and I turned my head to see him and Jeff coming up to us. I rolled my eyes at him as he smiled teasingly. Great, here we go.

  “Well if our dear friend Emma hasn’t just hooked herself a fishy,” he said in a southern accent. He nudged Jeff with his elbow and bobbed his eyebrows. “And what a big fish it is.”

  Jeff chuckled with him. “More like a shark, bro.”

  “Yeah, a great white.”

  Jeff nodded his agreement. “Definite Jaws material.”

  Bianca sighed exasperatedly. “Will you two shut up?”

  I laughed at them, relaxing against Deklan. Even when they teased me, I knew they wouldn’t ever try to hurt me with their words. I didn’t want to hide my feelings for Deklan from them anymore. If we were going to be together, then everyone was going to know about it.

  “What’s up?” Zane asked as he walked up with Aria under his arm. She winked at me when I sent her a sly smile.

  “Nothing, really,” Bianca said with a roll of her eyes. “Emma and Deklan are a thing, and I am starving my ass off. Let’s get some pizza.”

  I perked up at the mention of food. “I’m in.”

  “Yeah, us too,” Reggie said, rubbing his stomach dramatically. “This place is dull tonight anyways.”

  Jeff scoffed. “Yeah, only because you got rejected by two chicks.”

  Reggie’s mouth dropped open. “Total foul, bro! I was not rejected. They were freshies, so they didn’t know what the fuck to do.”

  “Dude, you asked them straight out if they wanted to go do it in the back of your truck! You were completely rejected.”

  Everyone in our group busted out laughing. Reggie and Jeff could be completely ridiculous at times, but they never stopped entertaining us.

  “Let’s hit the restaurant,” Aria suggested and we agreed.

  “Won’t your dad be pissed?” Deklan asked her and she shook her head.

  “No way. I have a key to the place. Papa doesn’t mind us going there after hours. As long as it’s just the group and we clean up when we’re done, it’s all good.”

  “Okay.” He looked up at Molly. “You wanna ride with us, sis?”

  She shook her head, but before she could reply, Bianca threw her arm around Molly’s shoulders. “Nah, she can ride with me,” she told us was a big smile. “This chick’s cool company.”

  Molly ducked her head at the compliment, but I could see the small smile on her face. Seeing a smile on her – now that I knew what had happened to her – made my heart hurt. This girl deserved to be happy, and I was disgusted at the fact that there were people out there who would try to steal that from anybody. I knew some pretty mean jerks, but not anyone so cruel.

  Deklan pulled me from my thoughts as he steered me off the beach to his car. We were the first ones out of the parking lot, and we headed to the restaurant. It was only a five minute drive from the beach. We pulled in the back and parked a few spots down from the back door.

  As soon as he turned off the engine, he turned to face me. I bit my lip as his eyes roamed from my face, down my body, and then back up. He reached out and traced around my exposed shoulder. I sucked in a breath and held it as his fingers left a heated path on my skin. His eyes never wavered from mine as he touched me.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered before lowering his mouth to mine. He kissed me harder this time, his hand still caressing me. I fisted his shirt as his tongue smoothed across my lips, and his breath fanned warmly across my cheeks.

  I let my hand slide down to the hem of his shirt, the need of wanting to see what he looked like underneath nearly undoing me. He chuckled against my lips and his calloused fingers went to my neck.

  “You have such a naughty side hidden under this sweet girl exterior,” he teased and nibbled on my lower lip. I tried to laugh, but it only came out as a moan. I grasped his face and pulled so he could kiss me again, but he held off, making me grunt in frustration. “Patience, pixie. We need to get out of here before our friends come and see our little show we’re putting on.”

  “No fair,” I pouted and fell back against my seat.

  “No, what’s not fair is getting me all worked up when we’ve got somewhere to be, you little minx.” He hopped out of the car and opened the passenger door. I sighed and let him help me out.

  “You know that this is crazy, right?” I asked him, leaning against the door. He looked at me and frowned.

  “What is?”

  “The fact that we’ve only known each other for two weeks and I’m already close to tearing your clothes off…” I ran a hand through my hair and groaned. “See what I mean? I don’t talk like this, ever, or act this way. I’ve never been so bold.”

  Deklan chuckled and pinched my chin between his fingers, making me look at him. “I find the way you’re talking to be really hot, and I definitely love the way you’re acting. I like the way you’re so open with me, just like I have been with you. It just proves how comfortable we are with each other.”

  He had a good point, I’d give him that. We knew a lot more about each other than I thought by this point. It was like those two weeks we’ve known each other stretched into years. I didn’t know what was going to happen between us, but I knew I was getting in way too deep to back out now.

  “You’re right,” I told him and he grinned.

  “Of course I’m right.” His hands gripped my waist and he lifted me easily, bringing me up to his level to kiss me. I smirked and when he set me back down. My hands lingered on his biceps, squeezing them softly. “I love how big and strong you are.”

  He grunted and bent to kiss my exposed shoulder. “And I love how soft and delicate you are.”

  “I’m glad you shared part of you with me tonight, Deklan.” I kissed his chest and ran my hands down to hold his hands. “You can trust me, always.”

  He nodded. “I know, Emma, and you can trust me.” He grew serious as he looked down at me and cupped my cheeks. “I’d never purposely hurt you, my precious pixie.”

  I kissed him until we were both out of breath and panting. We were just about to go at it again when headlights signaled that we had company. Zane parked next to Deklan’s car and Reggie’s truck pulled in afterwards, followed by Luke’s mustang and Liam’s MV Agusta motorcycle; just one of his many bikes.

  I groaned and pecked Deklan on the lips before pushing him away. “Away with you now, lover boy. I’m hungry for thick, cheesy pizzas; not sexy, macho men.”

  He chuckled and patted my bottom. “Man, baby, not men. Any kind of hungers you have, I will sate. Got it?”

  “We haven’t even started dating officially and you’re already becoming possessive.” I tsked and smiled teasingly up at him.

  He frowned, but before he could say something, Aria and Bianca bounded over with bright, knowing smiles on their faces.

  “You look a little flustered, Slim,” Reggie said slyly and smirked. “Jeff, doesn’t she look flustered?”

  Jeff coughed to cover up his laughter. “Just a tad, Reg.”

  “Shut up and let’s eat,” I muttered and followed Aria while she went to unlock the door. Deklan grabbed my hand and squeezed. I smiled and squeezed back.

  I wasn’t fazed by the guys. They both topped 6’2 and were attention freaks; well mostly Reggie. Jeff had a cute, boy-next-door face with brown hair and eyes, and Reggie looked more GQ with his blonde hair and green eyes. He looked like he was made to be on the co
ver of a magazine.

  Reggie had two eyebrow piercings in his left brow, the band’s name tattooed across his shoulder blades, and a barbed-wire tattoo covering his right shoulder and upper bicep. Jeff didn’t have any piercings, but he did have the band’s name tattooed on his side, and a tribal bat tattoo in between his shoulder blades. Girls usually flocked to them and Liam like bees to honey, and they enjoyed every minute of it.

  “I want pineapples and ham,” Bianca stated and Molly seconded that.

  “Hawaiian style,” Aria said with a nod of her head.

  “No way, man,” Reggie scoffed. He looked pointedly at Jeff. “Meat lovers, all the way. Am I right, bro?”

  “Hell yeah, let’s do it.”

  They got to work on their pizza and I turned to Deklan. “I’m going for cheese. Lots and lots of cheese!”

  “Fine with me, babe. I’ll eat whatever.”

  I went to get the shredded cheese from the fridge. I loved cheese pizzas! In my opinion, the more cheese there was, the better. When I came back, I started on the pizza with Deklan and Liam. Molly was with Aria and Bianca, while Luke and Zane leaned up against the other counter chatting.

  I had just got done with the sauce, and was working on my cheese, I heard a shout.

  “Heads up, Slim!” I was too busy scattering gobs of cheese on my pizza that I wasn’t paying attention to Reggie. When something wet smacked my cheek, I jumped.

  “What the…” I looked down at the anchovy that had dropped onto my pizza. Oh my jeez! Holy shit! I freaking hated anchovies! I swear on my very precious Gucci boots that I saw one twitch once. My friends thought I was just going crazy, but I didn’t care. I hated damn anchovies!

  I turned around with my mouth agape. “You did not just hit me with a freaking FISH!” It was silent for a moment, and then everyone just busted out laughing. I stood there – face smelling like fish – and watched my friends double over with laughter. Growling, I took a handful of flour that I had used for my crust, and tossed it in Reggie’s face, getting some on Luke’s t-shirt, as he was in the crossfire.