"Hi. We were in calculus last semester, right?" I could've smacked myself on the forehead for being so silly. Of course, we were, and we both probably knew it.
"Yeah. Jack, remember?"
I nodded. I'd never forget that. Jack Painter was one of the best of the best on the soccer team. Everyone either loved him or envied him for his skill and strength.
And right now, I couldn't believe that he was standing in front of me... talking to me. I did my best to keep smiling and not run away. That would be awkward.
"I'm Molly," I said–Although, he probably knew that. Our teacher had been a big stickler for attendance and usually sang out all the names as if she was in a church choir. It had been pretty weird, but maybe not as weird as this encounter.
"I know. We didn't sit too far away from one another." He lifted his chin and breathed in the early afternoon air. "Sorry for disturbing you. I just wanted to say hi. Were you going for a walk?" He nodded his head toward the park, and sunshine reflected in his blond hair making it seem golden.
I shoved my hands into my pockets to help quell the urge to reach out and brush my fingers through his hair. "Uh, yeah. I enjoy going for walks here. It's peaceful and takes my mind off things." Except for now when I'd probably be analyzing every word spoken between us on my walk.
"Same. It's beautiful this time of year. What's your major?" He smiled, and it reached all the way to his clear blue eyes.
"Accounting." I lifted my eyebrows and quirked my lips. "Fun, right? How about you?"
He cocked his head to the side in a way that reminded me of a wolf. "Ah, I wouldn't have expected that answer. You seemed awesome at calculus, much to Professor Miles's glee." He chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "She was eccentric. But you don't seem like an accountant. I'd have thought you were more of a science major."
My mouth dropped open, and I caught myself after a few moments. "I... uh..." What did I really say? The fact he noticed it too blew my mind, but I couldn't just change my path because my secret crush was able to see that I was just coasting through life instead of embracing it.
"I shouldn't have pried." He gave me a half-smile and shrugged a shoulder. "Sorry about that. I'm going for sport's medicine. Big surprise, huh?"
I shook my head still not sure about my chances of being able to say anything coherent. I wished I had the strength to stand up to my parents. It wasn't as if they were paying for my tuition. I'd gotten enough scholarships and grants that my college fund was able to go toward expenses instead. Still, they liked to remind me that I was their daughter, and my path was connected to theirs.
I looked up at Jack and saw someone who seemed much more free. What would it be like to just live, do what you want, and have others look up to you? Maybe I'd never know.
Chapter Two
Jack
I'd been kicking myself all summer for not talking with Molly last semester. It was silly since I didn't have any problem with confidence. I had healthy self-esteem, if not too much of one sometimes as my coach liked to say. But I had a secret that I couldn't risk exposing to anyone. It was bad enough I'd gained as much exposure from soccer as I had. I was a werewolf, and my pack hated when their members were brought into the limelight. I'd managed to convince them that nothing would happen, but I knew a few of the pack's high-ranking members kept tabs on me just waiting for me to mess up.
It was a lame excuse for not talking with her, but I just didn't want anyone to get too close to me, and I knew there was some chemistry between us, even if it wasn't acted upon yet.
But there was no time like the present. However, I couldn't believe I'd made our first conversation incredibly uncomfortable. It was usually a simple question that college students asked one another to break the ice. I'd pried into her business though. I'd just been surprised, and I'd let that drag me off course.
"Hopefully we'll have another class together," I said, trying to break the silence lingering between us.
She nodded her head. "That would be nice. Bye, Jack." She dipped her head and a pink blush crept up her neck and into her cheeks.
Other girls on campus had practically thrown themselves at me, but there was something about this quiet, almost mousy girl that caught—and held—my interest. Maybe I'd have to keep an eye out for her. I couldn't let on to those who were watching me in the pack that she meant anything to me, or else we might both be in danger, but I could allow myself a tiny crush. Almost all the other guys on the soccer team had a girlfriend or had girls that liked them whether they wanted a relationship or not. I'd been the odd guy out. I told them that I liked to keep myself focused on the sport and my grades, but that wasn't really the reason why. Sure, it was a partial reason, but I knew the pack would interfere in some sort of way if I acted inappropriately in their eyes.
They were much more strict than any coach could ever be. Their punishments weren't simply being benched or made to run laps or do pushups. The punishment, for what they determined as unacceptable for a member of my highborn status, was death.
My father had been the Alpha's second in command. That meant I had a chance at becoming Alpha since our Alpha had no children of his own. The Alpha was a hardened old man who didn't really care about much except for keeping the pack under his control and not pushing the envelope too much. He didn't want our kind to be found out since we'd gone through enough heartache during the medieval times when our people hadn't been quite as careful as they should've been.
Still the Alpha had enough respect for my father, that he'd told me he would honor his word to my late father. I honestly didn't want the responsibility since I wanted to be free and able to live life to the fullest. The pack would only get in the way of my lofty goals and dreams.
I watched Molly as she walked down the path away from me and couldn't help drinking her form in. She had a soft, curvy body that made me want to run my hands over her, memorizing every inch of her. I'd heard the way her heart pounded in her chest like a frightened animal ready to burst free of its cage. But I knew she wasn't scared. I hadn't sensed fear coming off of her. There was the sweet scent of her attraction. I slid my tongue over my lower lips, feeling my wolf howl his desire.
While I wanted to make a move, it wasn't time yet. If I moved too fast, I could scare her away. I didn't want that. When she turned down the path, the trees blocked my line of sight from her. I walked toward campus, but a sudden feminine scream had me barreling back into Molly's direction. Had I been too careless? What could have happened to her?
I turned to see her on the ground with a large wolf staring her down farther up the path. It snarled and edged closer to her as if taking its time to attack. There was a pack of normal wolves in this area that mostly kept their distance from my people, but I knew this one. It was James. He was a college student too, but he was a senior. I had suspected him of watching me since he was one of the pack enforcer's seven children, but I didn't have proof until now.
I strode toward the two of them and positioned myself between them. "Slowly get to your feet and back away, Molly," I said, reaching back to help her stand. I smelled a little blood coming from her, but I didn't see any on James's lips. If he bit her, he'd be sentencing her to life as a werewolf, and I couldn't abide that. I'd tell our Alpha, and he wouldn't be happy.
The Alpha didn't allow his pack members to change humans, and everyone in the pack knew that too.
"J-Jack... What are you doing here? It's not safe." Molly accepted my hand, and I savored the feeling of her soft, cool palm in my larger one.
"Don't worry. Just slowly back away." I leaned over, keeping my gaze firmly on James as I grabbed her purse from the ground and handed it to her. "Let's leave."
"Wh-what if it attacks us?" Her breath hitched, and she sounded like she was holding in a sob. Her small hand dropped back into mine, and I kept a straight face even if I was grimacing on the inside. This was making us seem like we were a lot closer than we actually were. James would likely go report all of this back to his father.
"Just remain calm." I narrowed my eyes at James, knowing I shouldn't push the other wolf, especially since he was in wolf form, and our wolves weren't as easy to control as our human sides. He could very well attack and say I provoked him. But that wouldn't matter either way. He'd put an innocent in danger, and I'd be in the clear to get vengeance for something happening to Molly and our presence being shown to the world at large. I only wondered how I'd handle this now since if she suspected something was different about that wolf, then she could put the pieces together about my kind. I didn't want to kill her because she knew too much.
When we'd gotten to the bend in the park's path, I saw James dart into the woods before I turned the corner with Molly. I clenched my free hand into a fist, and then loosened it, before I turned to her.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
She stared down at her shaking hands, and I could see the scraps on her hands and knees now. The bleeding was beginning to slow, but I hated seeing her injured.
"We should get that take care of. I have a first aid kit in my room, but I live in the apartments on the other side of campus." I frowned, wracking my brain on what we could do.
"I'm in the dorms not far from here." Her voice trembled, and she looked up at me with a few tears staining her cheeks.
"It's okay. You're safe." I pulled her into my arms, unable to help myself. "It's all okay." I ran my hand over her back, not sure if I believed that myself. What would James say? I couldn't do anything but wait for the consequences. I glanced down at Molly. If I was going to crash and burn, I might as well explore what this relationship could be like first. "Let's get out of here."
Chapter Three
Molly
Pain radiated through my hands and knees, and I limped beside Jack to my dorm room. I wasn't sure about letting him into my room. The dormitory I lived in was co-ed, but my parents would freak if they ever found out. Not that I should be worrying about them. After all Jack had just saved me from a huge freaking wolf! I had no idea how he'd managed to keep calm with that huge hulking monster inching on us and flashing its big teeth.
I unlocked the room and walked inside. My spine stiffened as he shut the door behind him, and I suddenly felt a little more vulnerable being this close to him. Maybe I wasn't afraid of what my parents would think. Maybe I was more concerned about what I'd do along with him that anything else.
“Um, the first aid kit is in the tiny kitchen under the sink.” I probably should’ve gotten it myself, but my knees hurt after the fall and then all the walking. The idea of going all the way across campus to his apartment would’ve been too much for me. Forget about the fact that we’d likely be alone in his dorm just as we were now where who knew what could happen.
"I'll get it. Just relax on the couch and be sure to prop your feet on the coffee table. It's good to have them elevated after taking a fall like that." He'd been a little different after that incident. Before he'd been kind of laidback and smiling, but now he was a little more direct and in control.
Then again, maybe he'd dealt with people getting hurt before, but the way he'd handled the wolf still amazed me. He'd been strong and didn't seem afraid at all. When the beast had come out of nowhere and thrown me forward to the ground, I'd been terrified. Jack had just maintained a firm calm. My heart leapt in my throat as I remembered the way he'd acted. Wow...
"Thanks. I probably should've just handled this myself, but I was just freaked earlier. I've taken enough of your time..."
He shook his head. "No, don't worry about that. I don't have anywhere I need to be. I was just walking around and doing a little shopping." He knelt in front of me, and a wave of self-consciousness drifted over me for having worn a skirt today. Had he seen my panties when I'd been on the ground? He hadn't been looking in my direction, but I pressed my thighs together a little tighter as if it made a difference now.
"Thanks." I watched him go to work, pulling out disinfectant wipes and then grabbing bandages.
He cupped my right calf and lifted it a little sending chills through my leg. This wasn’t the first time I’d been so up close and personal with a guy before, but I had to say it was the most intimate... and he was only bandaging a wound.
Thoughts of him sliding his hands over my naked skin and pressing kisses between my thighs dampened my panties, and I bit my lower lip. Don’t go there! My parents would likely do something drastic if I got too involved. They’re not here. They will never know.
He glanced up at me with a raised eyebrow and a boyish grin that brightened his eyes. “It’ll only sting for a second.”
I nodded, not really caring about the pain anymore. My body was on fire.
If he moved his hands any more along my skin, I might end up dropping my panties for him without a second thought. This wasn't really a good idea, was it? Yet, I couldn't figure out why not.
His nostrils twitched a little, and the grin faltered a little as he went to work. His eyes darkened with what seemed like lust, and suddenly, the room got a lot hotter than it had been before.
"I... I don't mind if it does," I said.
He touched the wipe to my knee before bandaging it, our eyes remained connected throughout the whole experience, and even if it was supposed to hurt, I didn't feel a thing–I was captivated by him. He continued with my hands, and the sensation of him gently holding mine in his was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. When he was done, he didn't pull away. His hands lingered on mine, and I shivered a little knowing what I wanted to do, but I didn't want him to think I was too forward. What if I had the wrong impression about all of this? Still... the look in his eyes made me think otherwise.
I lowered his hands to the spot on my thighs just above my knees. My skirt had risen up enough so that his warm palms were against skin.
"You sure you want this?" he asked, sliding his hands up very slowly farther up my thighs. A strange intensity made his voice trembled as if he was trying to hold back and give me an out.
The sensations raging through me made it impossible to back away now. No one had ever made me feel like he was right now. This was the most intense thing I'd ever felt before in my life, and I'd said I wanted to make this week count, didn't I? Making out with the school's star soccer player would top the list of most spontaneous and amazing things I'd ever done before.
"Yes." The single word nearly squeaked out of my throat, and I cleared it before continuing, "I do want this."
He nodded and rose to his feet with a catlike grace. He pulled me up with him so I was pressed firmly against his chest and the wall of muscle there. "Is your roommate supposed to return any time soon? Should we leave a sign out?"
I tossed my head back, laughing, and savored the way my breasts pressed against his chest. "No, no sign. She's not coming back until the weekend. I have the whole place to myself until then."
A grin spread across his lips. "You do? Maybe we'll have to use that time wisely."
Moisture dampened my thighs, and I squeezed them together at the way he said that. If he was as interested in me as that, then I didn't know what more to say than a resounding yes! All of my dreams were coming true. This almost felt like I'd wake up tomorrow with a heart full of regret when he finally realized I wasn't more or better. I was just me. A slightly nerdy girl who was studying accounting because her parents pretty much demanded her to choose a "solid" path in life.
I shook those thoughts from my head. The image of my parent’s faces dulled the pleasure, but that didn't last long.
Jack pressed his lips against mine, and he cupped my backside with one of his large hands softly kneading it. He slid it down to the hem of my skirt and brought it back up to my panties. "Let's take this to the bedroom."
I placed a palm against his chest, unsure if I'd picked up my dirty laundry earlier when I'd changed. Besides, my bed was tiny with a couple small shelves over it that I'd hit my head on before. The two of us in there would be crazy.
"It's pretty cramped in there. Let's... um... I'd
feel more comfortable not going in there." I looked down at my hand on his chest, but he crooked his finger beneath my chin and forced me to meet his gaze.
"I'm good with whatever you want to do. I want you to be comfortable. That's what matters to me." He smiled and where they'd before had either humor or mischief, now he looked so sincere.
"Thanks." I leaned into him and pulled him down toward me to kiss his lips. That was a feat since he was about six foot three inches tall, and I was only five foot five. I trailed my tongue over his lower lip and nipped it softly before running my tongue across the seam. He opened his mouth for me, and I started to slide my tongue inside his mouth, but his crashed into mine with strength and an almost wild allure. He tasted sweet like butterscotch, and I started to raise up onto tips toes to make the kiss easier for him. He lifted me into his arms as if I weighed nothing, then laid me onto the couch without even breaking the kiss. It was fairly large as far as couches went, and there was definitely enough room for us here unlike the bed.
He nudged my knees apart to place himself between my thighs, and then positioned himself on top of me. The heat between us was so intense that I wasn't sure if I'd be able to continue much longer without begging him to penetrate me.
He slid one of his hands between my legs and jerked the panties hard ripping them from me. I widened my eyes, but I wasn't afraid. In fact, it added to my arousal. Now the only thing really standing between us was his jeans.
I dropped my gaze to see the thick bulge pressing against his pants. While I had been with another guy before, I could tell that this was going to be nothing like that. I almost wasn't sure I wanted to see just how big he was, but I also couldn't squelch my curiosity. I ran my tongue over my lips, and Jack moaned above me.
Romance: SPORTS ROMANCE: The First Half (Bad Boy Alpha Male College Football Romance) (New Adult Contemporary Pregnancy Romance) Page 16