by J Bree
“Where’s the shorts and bra? I thought that’s what you wear to parties?” Harley smirks at me but his eyes roam over me appreciatively and I mentally fist bump myself. Sometimes it’s nice to know I’m not a complete ogre.
“I don’t need frostbite on my nipples. Come to a party in the summer with me and I’ll wear the other outfit again.” Wait, what? What am I saying? I’ve lost my damn mind.
Harley strides into the room and heads straight to the bathroom. “I’m holding you to that, Mounty.”
The door swings shut behind him but he doesn’t lock it. I don’t let my mind fixate on that fact and instead I sprawl out on my bed and text Avery.
Good luck, wish I was there to see you dance. Tell Morrison to send me a video.
I chew my nails for a minute while I listen to the shower.
Thank you. It’s weird, my father isn’t here. He always shows up to these things so he can monitor what Ash and I are doing. I’m so relieved. Blaise isn’t so lucky, his father is on the warpath. I’m expecting I’ll have to play nursemaid to him later while he gives himself liver poisoning. Text me when you get back from the party safely, Harley promised me he’d have your back all night x
I frown down at the screen. Blaise has been doing so well in his classes, our tutoring sessions and his dedication has paid off impressively. He’s easily on top of all of his classes now and he’s been asked to move into the higher classes in a few subjects. What could his dad possibly be pissy at him for? Fuck it. I text him.
Send me a video of Avery’s dance please. Let me know if you need anything.
I curse at myself under my breath. What would he need from me? He has two of his best friends with him and I’m barely a person in his life. The shower shuts off and I start to sweat. My phone pings again and I cringe before I look down at it.
Avery has already threatened me if I don’t. Thanks. If you could send me bourbon and a blowjob that would be great.
I cackle as Harley comes out of the bathroom and raises an eyebrow at me.
“Morrison wants me to send him booze and sexual favors to help him get through the night with his parents. Should I send him a Mounty hooker?”
Harley laughs, a proper laugh, and I blush at the sight of it. I jump up off the bed and try to discreetly check him out. His dark jeans are just fitted enough that I can appreciate his ass but not his dick. I’ll take it as a win. He has a dark gray shirt on with a deep v neckline so I can see his mother’s necklace and the edges of his tattoo peeking out. He throws a jacket on and we leave together.
He leans against the wall as I lock the door and he’s so close to me that I can feel the heat of his body and smell him. I swear he’s like fucking ambrosia to me, my body melts the second I get a whiff of him. I hear him curse softly under his breath and look up.
Annabelle scowls at me, standing before us in a lacy transparent nightgown-thing. Teddy? I’ve never owned one so fuck knows what it’s called. There’s no reason other than sex that a woman would wear one is what I’m saying.
“It’s bad enough I have to watch Blaise leave here most nights now you’re here with her too? Come on, Harley, what are you thinking?”
I move to walk past her but Harley grabs my hand and tugs me to his side. Oh fuck. I’m about to be thrown in the middle of relationship drama. Avery’s going to be pissed.
“We’re heading out to Joey’s party. Have a great night with whatever dumbass you’re all dressed up for, Summers.”
Annabelle pouts at him but I can see the real hurt in her eyes. Avery did say Harley was her favorite. “I haven’t broken the rules Harley. I haven’t had anyone else and I won’t. I know you’ll get bored of slumming it with Mounty pussy and come back to me.”
Harley chuckles under his breath and takes a step forward, pulls me with him. “I was born in the same city as Lips. I spend all of my summer breaks there. We have friends in the same circles. When I leave Hannaford, I’m going back there. I’m as much a Mounty as she is. Give up, Summers. I’m never touching you again. I never should’ve touched you in the first place.”
I see the tears start as we walk past her. I can’t find it in myself to feel bad for her.
The party is in the same clearing as last year.
We have to walk past the same tree I watched Annabelle blow Harley on and I think about pointing it out to him but his mood is fucking woeful after our run in with her. He hasn’t let go of my hand. I tried to tug it back and he glared down at me like I was wounding him. Fucking guys.
When we make it to the drinks table Harley swipes a bottle of whiskey, holding it up until I nod then he drops my hand to open it and hands it to me. As I take a swig I see Joey’s usual group of flunkies approach us. I roll my eyes at Harley and pass him back the bottle.
“Joey’s waiting for you.”
Harley slings his arm over my shoulders and sneers at Devon. “And he can keep waiting. We’re busy.”
I tell myself I’m not going to enjoy being this close to Harley all night and I also tell myself that I’m shamelessly lying. Harlow looks between the two of us and sneers at me. When she opens her mouth I tug Harley towards the makeshift dance floor and grab the bottle back from him.
“How long should we let the asshole wait for us?” Harley whispers and I smile and pull away from him to dance.
“At least four songs. I haven’t danced in weeks and I don’t have to keep an eye on Avery.”
He grins and pulls my hips back so we’re dancing together and I let the warmth spreading through my limbs turn me into something pliable and fluid. I let go of everything, all the stresses and worries, all the planning and manipulating, everything that I spend every waking moment thinking about. He’s watching my back and I’m protecting his. Harley is surprisingly good at dancing, he manages to walk that fine line between dirty sexy grinding and mindless dry humping. I’m panting like a whore in no time. It would be mortifying but Harley is just as worked up as I am.
By the third song we’d drunk enough of the bottle that I tug Harley away from the music. We need to have enough brains about us to handle Joey but I’m not really worried. Harley is a seasoned drinker and I’m no lightweight, despite my size.
“Let’s get this over with.”
Harley nods and I take the lead further into the woods where I know Joey goes to get high. There’s groups of students already out to play, moaning and grunting following us as we make our way over to Joey’s group. I don’t look around, I don’t want to know who’s doing who.
When we reach the fence line I see two very familiar figures leaning against the wrought iron latticework. Two of the Jackal’s underlings are doing lines with Joey. I freeze before they spot me and Harley steps up to press himself against my back.
“Friends of yours?” he whispers into my ear.
Joey has seriously misjudged who I am.
He looks up and grins at me, all baring teeth and threats. The two Mounts Bay locals notice his attention is elsewhere and look up to me as well. Daniel damn near pisses himself as he scrambles away from Joey but Trenton manages to keep his cool. He meets my eye and dips his head, a sign of respect. His eyes dart over my shoulder and he does the same to Harley. I stare at him with a blank face and I hope Harley follows my lead but I can’t glance back and check. Joey frowns at him and then back at me.
I arch an eyebrow at him but I don’t say a word. He wanted to out me as a gangster, either a whore or a drug dealer. Well, asshole, you guessed wrong.
“This guy bothering you?” Trenton says, jerking a thumb at Joey. His other hand slips behind him and I know he’s gripping a gun shoved into the waistband of his jeans. One word and the eldest Beaumont child catches a bullet between his eyes.
I look at Joey and raise an eyebrow at him. His lip curls into a snarl when he realizes his little reveal has backfired so superbly on him. I don’t think he’s noticed Trenton’s movements but the tension in Harley’s body tells me he has.
“He’s just a guy w
ith too much money and too little respect for how things are done in the real world, boys.” I say and Harley’s fingers grip my elbow.
Trenton nods as he looks down at his toes. “What’ll it be then? You need me to take care of him?”
Harlow frowns at me and her lip quivers as she takes a step away from Joey. Hm. She’s more observant than I thought. I stare Joey down even though his eyes burn my skin with their manic fixation.
“I’m here to go to school, not start a war. Head home, boys. Hannaford isn’t the place for you.”
Daniel takes off from the clearing, damn near running towards his car. Trenton hesitates before shaking Harley’s hand and bowing his head at me, respectfully. The entire crowd of students watch in silence as they walk away. When the car starts and peels away Joey speaks.
“Who the fuck are you, Mounty?”
I grin and lift the bottle of whiskey to my lips, “Maybe you should watch yourself until you know, Beaumont. I did warn you.”
Harley sniggers behind me and, after I’ve taken a sip, he grabs the bottle and takes a swig. “Come dance, Mounty. Let’s enjoy the rest of the night.”
“I’m sleeping in Avery’s bed tonight. If Joey comes up here again I don’t want you alone.”
My hands fumble with the keys but I manage to unlock the door and get us into the room. Harley slips his jacket off and hangs it over the armchair he’s claimed. He’s still clutching the bottle of whiskey and when he notices I’m frozen by the door he takes a sip, his eyes burning on my skin. He offers me the bottle and I snap out of my trance to walk over and take it. It’s nearly empty so I finish the last of it, feeling the warmth spread through my limbs.
“Do you have pajamas here or do we need to go back to-“ my voice dries up as Harley reaches behind his head to pull his shirt off.
Holy.
Fuck.
His eyes stay fixed on mine as he reaches down to unbutton his jeans and my entire body spontaneously combusts. There’s too much whiskey coursing in my blood to stop myself from moaning when he smirks and drops the jeans to the floor, kicking them away so all he is left wearing are his boxers. There is too much skin on display for my brain to process. I’m shaking, my body trembling with the intimacy and intensity of the moment. It’s like everything has ceased to exist except for us and this moment.
I want him so fucking bad.
“Are you just going to stare, Mounty, or are you gonna do something?” he taunts and I shiver. I think I’m going to do something. Wait, I know I’m going to do something.
I strip off, with the same efficiency he has, until I’m standing before him in my bra and panties. Thank god I bothered to wear nice ones, matching black with a tiny bit of lace. His eyes never drop down to my body but I watch his throat work as he swallows roughly. I know I’m covered in scars but I don’t feel ashamed of them when he looks at me the way he is. He waits for a second, like he’s making sure I’m with him, and then he pounces.
He grabs me by the backs of my thighs and lifts me up into his body like I weigh nothing. I wrap my legs around his waist to hold on and my arms wind around his neck as he claims my lips. I know that’s exactly what he’s doing, he’s claiming me. I open my mouth to his and groan as his tongue sweeps in and I melt.
He is so unbelievably hot, his skin pressing against me burning me until I’m sweating and shaking. I tug at his bottom lip with my teeth and his hands move to my ass and squeeze. I wriggle and he breaks away from the kiss to murmur, “Bed?”
I’m not thinking, I don’t want to think ever again, so I nod and kiss him again.
He sits on my bed and holds me over him until I can tuck myself into his lap comfortably, straddling him. We pause for a second, panting and staring at each other before Harley cups my face gently. His eyes are soft, something I’ve never seen on him before, my breath hitches in my throat but before I can think he pulls me back into his lips.
He kisses me like I’m a drug he’s desperate for and I kiss him back like he’s the only air I’ll ever need to breathe.
I move my hips until I feel the rigid length of his dick pressing against my panties. Good lord, his dick is so fucking hard and I gulp at the size. I do not want to be torn in half for my first time and I’m about to pull away but then he sucks the skin just below my ear and my hips rock in response and then nothing else matters except what his lips are doing to me. I grind down onto him and savor every grunt and moan he gives me. He’s only wearing his boxers so there’s two thin layers of fabric separating us and my eyes roll back into my head at the thought. I can feel how wet I am, soaking through my panties and leaving a wet spot on Harley’s boxers. I tug at his hair and moan softly.
“Fuck,” he mumbles as he drags his lips away from my shoulder. “This isn’t how I wanted to do this. You’ve had too much to drink.”
Whether it’s the alcohol or his mouth, the jury is out, I don’t feel drunk until he says that, and now I feel lightheaded and rejected. I pull away from him sharply, snatching my arms back from where they’re pressed into his chest, but he keeps his hands circling my waist. He pulls his knees up to push me back into his chest and moves a hand to gently stroke the hair away from my face while he scowls at me.
“Don’t freak out. I’m just saying I don’t think we should be doing anything more than making out when we’ve finished a bottle of whiskey between us.”
Dammit. Damn him to hell, he’s being fucking reasonable. How can I argue with that?! I don’t want to take this further, not really, because he doesn’t do commitment and I don’t want casual for my first time. I don’t want to be another Mounty girl used and thrown away. Urgh. Why?!
“You’re right. We should stop.”
Harley cradles my face in his hands again and kisses me slowly until I can’t breathe. Well, if he isn’t the most confusing guy on the freaking planet I don’t know who is, but my mind turns off again and I lose myself in his lips. I shift my weight, rocking my hips just a fraction, and he pulls away.
“Nope. No. We’ll stop. If you can’t kiss me without grinding on my dick like that we have to stop.”
I groan at him and collapse on the bed beside him. Rude. “You’re the one that stripped off.”
He scoffs at me and I swear I hear him mumble, “I had to get your attention somehow.” But that doesn’t make any sense to my whiskey-soaked brain so I brush it off. Clearly he isn’t taking his celibacy very seriously. I wonder why he’s even doing it, he could easily find a replacement for Annabelle. Maybe he wants me to be his regular casual hookup. I mean, I room with his cousin so he has access to me without drawing suspicion from the other girls. My eyes drift shut while I hypothesize Harley’s sex life.
I feel the blankets being pulled up around me and a hand brushing my hair back from my face.
“I can’t fuck a Hannaford boy.” I remind myself and then I pass out.
Chapter Thirteen
I wake up hungover, in my underwear, and alone.
I take some time to reassess my life choices because, boy, did I make some life choices last night. When I finally drag my ass out of bed and into the shower I’m in full sulk mode. Not Morrison levels of sulk but enough that I’m not leaving my room. Avery has different plans for me.
Stop being a hermit and join us for dinner. Harley said you haven’t come out all day and I can’t be bothered cooking.
Dinner? I glance at the clock and, fuck me, it’s after five. I’ve slept and moped the whole day away.
I think about texting her back some bullshit excuse but she’ll tell Harley and he’ll rat me out so I throw an oversized sweater and Avery’s yoga pants on and trudge down to the dining hall like I’m heading to the executioner's block. When I open the door I find Harley scowling down at his phone waiting for me. I open my mouth, not that I know what the fuck I’m going to say, but he turns away and grabs a tray. “Risotto or salmon? There’s pizza too but it’s shit.”
I stumble behind him as he grabs us both lunch. It’s chivalrous
and sweet but he won’t look at me and his jaw is clenched. I’m embarrassed about making out with him last night but he looks pissed and I have no fucking clue what I’ve done to warrant that so I keep my mouth shut and watch him from the corner of my eye instead. The twins are already eating in their usual seats and Blaise is nowhere to be seen.
When we take our seats Avery tucks her arm into mine and Ash does a double take when he sees my face. Fuck, do I have toothpaste on my chin or something? He stands and takes off without a word. What the fuck is going on?
“Why do your lips look all red and pouty?” says Avery to me with narrowed eyes. I refuse to blush. I refuse but my body doesn’t listen. Fuck. “Is that a hickey?”
I clear my throat but I can’t think of an answer so I grab my plate and tuck in. The risotto tastes like ash because of my anxiety and just once I’d like to enjoy my food. Just once.
Harley arches an eyebrow at me and I don’t know what the hell to say because he’s acting so weird.
“Did you forget your morals for a second and mess around with a Hannaford guy?” he sneers and I want to stab him with my fork. I didn’t ask him to get naked and kiss me! He has no right to be a dick to me!
Avery looks between the two of us and then snaps at Harley, “This is about safety not morals.”
He frowns at her and I butt in before she says too much. “I went to the party to see about Joey’s threats. I drank too much and made out with someone. I forgot myself for a second, don’t worry. I won’t do it again.”
Avery purses her lips and glances at Harley. I can see her measure out her words before she speaks them. “I just need you to be safe, Lips. I don’t want you to get carried away and risk something happening to you.”
Harley pins me with a searing look like he’s trying to pry my brain open with his eyes and learn all of my secrets. I ignore him and steer the conversation onto safer topics.