Brazen and Breathless (Untouchable Book 6)

by Heather Long

“You won’t,” she teased. “You love me.”

  “I do love you,” I said. “I also spoil you and let you get away with too much teasing, and it would do you good.”

  Her laughter made me grin. “Fair point,” she admitted. “Yes, please, can I borrow your panties?”

  “You can keep them,” I teased and tugged the little pack out of my backpack and slid it under the door. “Don’t say I never gave you anything.”

  She snorted, but the smile in her voice was unmistakable. “Thank you, Frankie. You’re my favorite.”

  And just because smug could be fun, I said, “I know. I’m the best.”

  The door to the hall opened and let Sharon in. The blonde made it two steps before she froze and stared at me. I’d seen her here and there, but I hadn’t been looking for her to be honest. Her nose looked all right. She’d had plenty of time to heal from our last encounter.

  Me too, as it happened.

  The flushing of the toilet broke through the impasse, and Sharon jerked her gaze away from me. Yeah. Blink, bitch.

  Any residual sympathy I’d held for her had long-since died. If she stayed in her lane and away from me and the guys, I’d leave her alone. Crossing to the sink, I turned the water on to wash my hands, but I tracked Sharon in the mirror. She made it two more steps to a stall and then glanced at me again.

  “So you really are a slut,” she muttered.

  Shutting the water off after rinsing my hands, I reached for the paper towels and turned to face Sharon again as Rachel’s stall opened.

  “Excuse the fuck out of you?” she demanded, but I held up a hand.

  “I got this. You go ahead and finish,” I assured her, and Rachel cut a look at me, eyes glittering. “Seriously,” I told her. “I got this.”

  Sharon snorted. “You got something.”

  I glanced back at her and smiled. Her brow tightened, and my grin widened. It was unnerving as fuck when you were trying to piss someone off and they grinned at you. It made it harder to get under their skin.

  Archie proved that time and time again.

  “You actually think I give a fuck about your opinion,” I said. It wasn’t a question. “What’s even more impressive is you think your opinion has value. Though now that I think about it, it’s more sad than it is impressive.”

  “I think you’re fucking four guys,” Sharon spit out. “That’s kind of the definition of a slut.”

  “I think you’re jealous, because you wish it was you and you’ve pretty much shot yourself in the foot with them even bothering to look at you, much less piss on you if you were on fire.”

  “Damn,” Rachel mouthed as she washed her hands.

  “I also no longer have time for meaningless friendships, forced interactions, or unnecessary conversations. You used me. You wanted me out of the way. You participated in trying to terrorize me. You failed, spectacularly, and it blew up in your face, along with your broken nose.”

  Sharon flinched. Tears actually welled in her eyes. “I hate you.”

  “I don’t care,” I said, and the rage and hurt in her voice rolled right off of me. Once upon a time, I felt bad for her. I couldn’t find it in me anymore.

  With a strangled scream, she pivoted on her heel and slammed out of the bathroom, damn near knocking over two freshmen on her way out.

  Rachel slung an arm around my shoulder. “That was hot as fuck…”

  I rolled my eyes. “Come on, we’re gonna be late to French.”

  “Did I ever tell you you’re my hero,” she sang as she followed me out, and I laughed. “Everything I would like to be…”

  There was a freedom in being pushed past the point of compassion with people who just wanted to use it to hurt you. Coop had given me the biggest grin when I got to lit and then leaned over to whisper about how sexy me being a badass was. I didn’t ask him how he knew, but I thumped him when Ms. Fajardo wasn’t looking and he laughed.

  At lunch, I handed him my backpack so I could take the helmet and climb on the back of Ian’s bike. We were all going to eat, but it was a relatively nice day with sunshine and in the mid-sixties. And I wouldn’t freeze my ass off on the back of the bike.

  Soon as I had my arms around Ian, he glanced back at me. “Ready?”

  “Yep.”

  We led the way out of the lot and blew right past Sharon and a couple of her friends. I’d invited Rachel to come to lunch, but it was her half-day and she had a date with chocolate and a shower before she had to go to work. I promised to call her later.

  Cramps sucked.

  Surprise cramps sucked worse.

  One upside of the implant, my periods were moderately better. I still got them, but they weren’t trying to kill me and they were shorter. I was calling it a win.

  At the stop light, Ian put his hand over mine where I’d tucked them against his abdomen. No words, just a soothing rub, and then we were off again. Lunchtime traffic was a little heavy, but nice weather in January always brought people out. It was supposed to drop back below freezing this weekend.

  When we reached the barbecue place, Jake pulled in right behind us. He really did like to follow when I was on Ian’s bike. After I climbed off, Ian said, “You busy this weekend? I know you have a date with Archie tomorrow to make up for last week.”

  “No plans yet. I mean, I have to work at Mason’s on Saturday.”

  “Save your evening for me?”

  “I can do that,” I teased as I backed up a couple of steps. “What did you have in mind?”

  “You’ll see,” he winked, taking my helmet and his to set inside Jake’s SUV before sliding an arm around me. If we hadn’t been close to the school, we’d have left them on the seats, but he didn’t risk anything since the incident with my car. Then he pressed his lips right to my ear as we followed the guys. “Dress comfortably but in loose clothing. We might be out late.”

  A full shiver raced up my spine. No complaints here. “Sounds good to me.”

  Archie eyed us as we got in line with them. “What sounds good?”

  “Just staking my claim on Saturday night,” Ian told them. “We’ll be late. No one wait up.”

  Coop snorted. “That doesn’t mean no one sleep over.”

  “Actually,” Ian said, “it does mean that. Thanks for the reminder.”

  “Nice,” Jake said with a laugh as he elbowed Coop. “If you’d kept your mouth shut, we could have just been there.”

  Clasping my free hand in his, Archie murmured, “We’re gonna stay at my place tomorrow, if that’s cool with you?”

  I grinned. “I have to work Saturday morning, so just don’t let me oversleep.”

  “Don’t let you sleep,” Archie agreed. “Done.”

  I laughed, and then we were giving our orders. Jake paid for mine before Archie could, and I stared up at the ceiling as Coop laughed at me. At the rate we were going, they were never going to let me pay for anything and it was sweet, but…

  “Don’t make that face,” Coop cajoled as he tugged me away from Ian and followed after a bickering Archie and Jake. “We like spoiling you. Besides, boyfriends pay for food. It’s a rule.”

  “Where is it a rule?”

  “It just is,” Jake informed me. He also had my food since he’d filled a tray, and he started offloading it and putting my food in front of the chair right next to him. Coop stole the seat on my other side as Archie and Ian glared at them.

  “No teaming up,” Archie snarked, and Jake snorted.

  “Too late, that ship has most assuredly come and gone,” Jake said with a wicked grin.

  “And come again and again,” Coop threw on top, and my face flamed.

  “Funny,” Archie tossed out there.

  “Hilarious,” Ian added dryly.

  Almost as one, Coop and Jake grinned and made mock bows. “Thank you,” Coop said. “Frankie definitely enjoyed it.”

  That earned him an elbow in the gut, and he grinned at me.

  “Now, Frankie,” Ian said in an almost so
othing tone. “You have to cut them a break. We all heard about how you staked your claim today. I gotta say, it was hot.”

  “You heard?” I picked up a french fry and debated just eating the fries and the ribs. If my mouth was full, I didn’t have to answer any questions.

  “Oh yeah, Baby Girl,” Jake said, stretching an arm along the back of my chair and knocking Coop’s off. “We heard you were badass.”

  “Remind me to kill Rachel,” I said with a half-smile.

  “Wasn’t Rachel,” Archie informed me. “Besides, she’s a vault about you most of the time. She only brings stuff up to smack us back to our place.”

  “She does do that,” Ian mused.

  “But she gives excellent advice,” Coop informed us as he scooped up his sandwich. “And she knows the best places…”

  “Feeling blue?” I asked him, even if my ears were still burning, and Coop gave me a teasing grin.

  “Aww, I was just playing.” He raised his eyebrows as if daring me.

  I picked up a fry and bit it in half, emphatically, and his eyes danced. We could play chicken, but I had him, blue bobs and all.

  Leaning forward, he kissed my nose. “You’re adorable when you get all riled up.”

  “We’re missing something,” Archie mused.

  “Yep,” Jake said. “They have their own language sometimes. We just need to tickle it out of Frankie later.”

  “Ha.” It was Jake’s turn to get an elbow, and he made a mock oof sound, then nuzzled my ear with a kiss that tickled like hell.

  “It could work,” he added, still laughing. Across the table, Ian studied me for a long moment and the expression in his eyes intrigued me.

  “Good to know,” he murmured, then picked up his own sandwich and another shiver danced up my spine. Jake pulled my chair a little closer as if I were cold, and I liked leaning into him, so I kept the why on that delightful bit of anticipation to myself.

  After that, lunch switched to debates about spring training that would start up in a couple of months and various players on the baseball teams. I liked baseball. I was not married to it and I couldn’t quote stats. But I liked games.

  I really liked stadium food and hot dogs.

  It was also really nice to just listen to them while I leaned against Jake, and I then switched to leaning against Coop when Jake had to hit the restroom. As we were getting ready to leave, Coop snapped his fingers. “That reminds me, I still have your mail.”

  Oh. I made a face. “It’s probably just bills. I can get it later.”

  “I got it,” Archie said with a grin, and I glared at him. “What?”

  “You can’t keep paying for everything.”

  “Sure I can,” he grinned. “It’s in the boyfriend rules.”

  “Who said?”

  “Everyone,” all four of them answered, and I rolled my eyes.

  “See?” Archie spread his hands. “It’s done. Don’t worry about it.”

  What was I supposed to do with them?

  On the way out, Archie wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged me against him. “Don’t be mad…”

  “I’m not mad.”

  “Yeah you are,” he continued, lowering his voice. “You’re a little mad, and I’m being a little pushy.”

  I shot him a look.

  “Okay, I’m being a lot pushy. But I like taking care of you.”

  “I have to be able to take care of myself.”

  For the most part, Coop, Jake, and Ian all lagged behind us as we headed out. I guessed Archie was supposed to take this hit for the team.

  “You do,” Archie agreed. “Just like you look after us, too. So…maybe a compromise?”

  “I thought that was a four-letter word with you,” I couldn’t resist pointing out, wrinkling my nose but having a hard time fighting a grin.

  “In business. You are not business.” At the SUV, he wrapped both arms around me, and I leaned into him as he tilted his head. “We’ll open them up together, and if it’s bad, I’ll take care of it. If it’s nothing that makes you freak out…you take care of it.”

  I squinted at him. “So if it’s like a couple grand, and I don’t have a heart attack…”

  He made a face.

  “Rules are rules,” I pointed out. “This was your compromise.”

  It was Archie’s turn to look skyward. “In all fairness, you’re right. I’ll probably still try to take care of it and then do some significant groveling to earn your forgiveness afterward. I mean…since we’re compromising.”

  I laughed. “You’re impossible.”

  “Not for you,” he said, then cupped my face and kissed me. I sighed right into the contact, everything else just falling away.

  “Man, he can talk himself out of just about anything,” Coop admired. “Boy has skills. I say we keep him.”

  Jake laughed, and I giggled.

  “You guys suck,” Archie complained, then gave me another kiss before letting me go to grab my helmet. I was bouncing and ready to get back on the motorcycle.

  “Actually,” I teased as I buckled it on and Ian got the bike started. “They don’t.”

  “No?” Archie inquired, and I swung my leg over to climb onto the bike behind Ian.

  “Nope, they don’t suck,” I said with a wink. “I do.”

  His eyes flashed, and I blew him a kiss.

  Ian was laughing as he backed the bike out, but not before Coop and Jake both groaned.

  I missed whatever they called out, but I laughed all the way back to school.

  Jake and I spent our study time in the library exploring all our options at NYU. Then he let me dig into MIT and Harvard for him and Archie, even as he reminded me that they weren’t going to Boston unless we all went to Boston.

  And just like that, we started checking into other Boston-area colleges. Sure, Harvard and MIT were huge, but they weren’t the only schools in town. Jake’s sisters kept blowing up his phone, and when I asked, all he said was they were fighting and wanted him to choose sides.

  “And who did you pick?”

  He grinned. “You.”

  I laughed, but it was sweet.

  My TA period flew past, and Mr. G had more timed writing and sample tests for us in the AP Euro. I flew through the exam easy peasy, and I was feeling pretty good about it when I beat Jake by a solid minute on turning it in.

  I was pretty sure my smug grin said it all, but he mimed tickling and I flipped him off, discreetly of course. Mr. G was cool, but probably better not to borrow trouble. Ian texted as we were heading out to the car. Jake and Coop were both working tonight, while Archie promised to be over later, but he had to spend some time in his workshop for whatever his and Jake’s new project was.

  They were being cagey and not telling any of us what the secret project was.

  Ian: Mom and Dad want to have dinner. You’re invited, but I know you wanted to get caught up on your homework.

  Which I had to stay ahead on because beginning the following week, I’d be spending two days a week at Standish. Couldn’t wait.

  Really.

  I could.

  Me: Tell them I will next time?

  Ian: I will. Love you.

  I grinned at that, and Jake gave me a squeeze as we headed for his SUV. Coop had brought his own car because he’d planned to work right after.

  “You want to come with?” Jake offered. “We can hang out and maybe make out in between orders.”

  I laughed. “The last time we said we were going to do that, there was never a lull.”

  “True,” he said with a grin. “Still can’t hurt to try.”

  “I’d love to, actually, but…don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m kind of looking forward to a little me time tonight.”

  I loved that I never had to be alone, but sometimes, I missed having the quiet time when it was just me.

  “Not taking it the wrong way at all,” Jake murmured, before he gave me a kiss. “I’m still coming back after work though, yeah?” He
brushed my hair back behind one ear.

  “Yes, please,” I said. “Not going to lie. I do not like sleeping alone anymore.”

  “Well, you don’t have to and I get it. I’m not a huge fan of it either.” Neither of us made any move, either me getting out of the car or Jake pausing in twining one lock of my hair around his finger. “Want me to bring you dinner when I come back?”

  “Nah, there’s still Chinese leftovers from last night. I’ll heat up some moo goo gai pan after I feed the cats and get in my pajamas, then I’m going to do all the homework.”

  He gave my hair the gentlest of tugs. “Text me if you change your mind, okay?”

  Cupping his face, I leaned over to kiss him again. This one longer and more lingering, until he huffed out a little growl.

  “Time to go, Baby Girl, or I’m going to skip work and you’re not going to get any time to yourself.”

  “Not sure if that’s a threat…” I teased him as I slid out of the car and hooked my backpack over one shoulder, “…or a promise.”

  Unsurprisingly, he waited until I had the backdoor unlocked and open before he backed out of his spot. I turned on some music, fed the cats, and then grabbed a quick shower before I changed. I liked having the time to just let my hair dry and not have to blow it out. Out of the shower, I nudged the heat up because the warm day had given way to the very chilly late afternoon and evening.

  Tiddles trotted after me as I padded into the kitchen, and I got my plate of leftovers ready and in the microwave before I carried my backpack to the living room. There were signs of the guys everywhere. Coop’s jacket—or one of them anyway—over the back of a recliner. It was new and had just mysteriously showed up here this week, along with the new loveseat.

  I loved it when they all played dumb and innocent. Except Archie, he totally threw Jeremy under the bus. His logic was I couldn’t say no to Jeremy, right?

  Sometimes, they were too cute. Probably a good thing.

  For the next couple of hours, I focused on getting through as many assignments as I could. One of the best parts of this semester’s syllabi was they included nearly all of our homework, and while we couldn’t turn it all in early, I could get it done early.

  The more I did, the less I had to worry about, and the guys still filled in a lot of hours, but I also had work and now the internship. I checked the time. I had another hour, at least, before Coop would be done. Though he might work later. He and Jake sometimes did a long shift so they didn’t have to go out every evening.