by Laura Avery
FIRST & ANYTHING
BOOK ONE
BY LAURA AVERY
Copyright 2018 Laura Avery, all rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced without written consent of the author. This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This book is for a mature audience only due to strong language and strong sexual conduct.
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Chapter One
HANNAH
“Shit, just looking at him makes me want to drop my panties,” Rachel, my roommate, pushed her long red hair over her shoulder and squeezed her legs together; as if the sight in front of her might physically cause her undergarments to flow down her long tan legs without her permission.
I swallowed and followed her gaze.
“This was a really bad idea,” I chocked out, my eyes still locked on the other side of the room. My view was obstructed by at least a few dozen of my college coeds, all grinding on one another and throwing back shots as if they did the whole frat party thing every night. And they most likely did.
Me? Well, let’s just say I was a virgin in more than one sense of the word.
Yup, this had definitely been a bad idea.
My gaze drifted past a blonde with a huge chest and landed on the exclusive group toward the back of the football house that Rachel had just been losing it over. Or, rather, the guy, she had been losing it over. Nathan Cummings smirked at something one of his teammates said to him and then leaned forward, whispering softly into the dark-headed beauty that was currently perched on his lap, there was no doubt in my mind he would be balls deep in her by the end of the night. The thought alone made me blush.
Whatever he said caused her to giggle like a schoolgirl before she ran her hand back and forth over his perfectly ripped chest. Nathan caught her hand and then moved it down to his crotch.
A gesture she seemed to enjoy.
Ugh, disgusting.
My knees felt like they were going to give out from underneath me.
“This was a very bad idea,” I said again, louder this time. “I’m leaving.”
Rachel caught me before I could fully turn around and shook her head sternly. “You aren’t going anywhere, Hannah, you’re going to march your fine ass over to the other side of the room and do what you have to do.”
Easy for her to say. She didn’t have to walk up to the most popular guy on campus and announce that she was assigned a research paper on him. I could hardly believe it when my teacher had handed me the slip of paper with Nathan’s name on it. The assignment? Each member of the class was given a name of someone who we went to school with.
It was our job to hunt that person down, find out as much as we could about their life, and then write a ten-page paper about what made them tick, about what made them who they were. At the end of the term, our teacher was sending the papers over to her contact at the Westfield Times to see if any of them were good enough to be picked up for a special edition they were running on the hidden challenge of college writers. It was supposed to be a great opportunity for us, and it would have been if I had gotten anyone else’s name.
The research part wasn’t the problem. There was enough information on Nathan Cummings swarming around the Internet to write a book. He was our school’s starting quarterback at only 20 years young, the NFL was already looking at him to enter the draft within the next two years. His grandfather owned one of the top sports drink franchises in the world and Nathan was in talks to be the youngest owner ever of the half a billion dollar company when his grandfather called it quits within the next five years. It was a huge scandal in the press because Nathan’s father wanted the company and he wanted it bad but the whole family was a mess, caught up in way too much turmoil for an outsider to fully understand, no matter how many articles I had read on the matter.
So, just to recap, Nathan was worshipped by the whole school, came from enough money to buy the campus a few times over, and was so good looking that girls literally stripped at the sight of him.
“Hannah!” Rachel said my name loudly, shaking my shoulders back and forth and snapping me out of the gut-wrenching thoughts that were running through my mind. “Are you listening to me? You can do this! You aren’t the same timid and scared girl that kept her nose in a book for most of high school!” She waved her hands up and down my body. “You’re sexy and fierce!”
I clutched my bag tighter to my body and closed my eyes, trying to repeat the words to myself but no matter how many times I said them internally, it did little to calm the rocks circling around my stomach. Because I wasn’t sexy and fierce, I was the same old Hannah. The one who no one noticed when she walked into a room, the one who stuttered when she got nervous, the one who had never even been kissed. No amount of hair fluffing or makeup was going to change that.
My eyes snapped open and I shook my head. “I shouldn’t have let you dress me up like this!” I waved my hands up and down the black dress Rachel had shoved me into and then pulled my jacket tighter around my waist, trying to pull the long strap across the center together to tie it. “I look ridiculous! And it’s not going to work!” I glanced back at Nathan again.
More and more people were swimming to his side.
Did I really think a new look was enough to make him hear me out? Even at my best I still couldn’t compare to the kind of girls who were surrounding him now, the kind of girls he had begging and clawing at each other for his attention. They were completely gorgeous and I – well - I was average.
Nathan Cummings didn’t do average. Not in any form.
Rachel grabbed my purse and flipped it open. “I’ve had enough!” She thrust a piece of paper into my hands and pushed my bag over her shoulders. “You are going to go over there and get him to sign this damn release! And then we’re going to celebrate!”
I glanced down at the folded up piece of paper in my hands. The damn release.
This whole thing would go away if it wasn’t for the damn release. Since there was a chance of our work ending up in a national newspaper, they were insisting every subject sign a release, just in case anything ended up going to print. Everyone else’s subject had signed willingly but Nathan wasn’t anyone else, everyone in the world would be dying to read whatever it was I had to say just because it was about him.
The notion made me sick. I wanted to win because I was the best writer, not because my subject happened to be semi famous.
“Maybe I can switch with someone,” I tried one last attempt at getting out of the football house freely. Back to the safeness of my dorm room and the familiarity of Netflix playing as I fell asleep.
Rachel pushed me a few steps further into the party. “You already tried that. There’s no switching, there’s no extra credit, there’s no way to not submit the paper for consideration, there’s NOTHING else to do but march over there and get exactly what you need from Nathan Cummings.” She flipped my body over and shoved me halfway across the room, forcing my jacket open again before she finally gave me some space to finish the walk on my own.
Here goes nothing.
Chapter Two
HANNAH
God, why did I feel like I was going to pass out?
My feet felt heavier and heavier with every step I took closer to Nathan and his overwhelmingly good-looking fan club. The girl sitting on Nathan’s lap noticed me first, her eyes narrowing as she continued to rub her hand up and down his manhood. The message was clear, her gaze sharp.
Back off. He’s mine.
I tried to keep her eye contact, wanting to send her a message of my own. You have nothing to worry about, honey, I’m not here for th
at. Any guy who would let a girl give him a hand job through his jeans in front of a room of people wasn’t anyone I wanted on my radar.
Of course, Nathan was on everyone’s radar.
It wasn’t his fault; he couldn’t control how jaw-droppingly handsome he was or how much money he was set to inherit. He could control his actions, though, and letting his parade of woman crawl all over him in public wasn’t a good look.
Not that I cared, I definitely didn’t.
His conquest let her eyes look me up and down and I pulled my coat across my body again self consciously, having time to tie it just before Nathan moved his blue eyes on top of mine. And I swear I almost lost it right there in the middle of the football house, almost passed out and let my legs fall out from underneath me. I had seen pictures, numerous pictures, I had even seen him across campus before, seen his serious face on the football field while he tried to work out a play.
But nothing could prepare you for what Nathan Cummings looked like up close.
His jaw was angled and tense even under the simple atmosphere of a house party. His tan skin speckled under the bright lights and his cheekbones were defined and sharp around the edges, giving him the perfect model-like appearance. His black hair was full and soft, too soft for a man. But none of that could compare to his eyes. They were deep and intense with specs of green around the edges. I wanted to look away but I couldn’t, I was too busy drowning in them.
My mouth suddenly went completely dry.
Those eyes that were traveling up and down my body now, not even trying to hide the fact that he was taking every curve of me in. His signature smirk tugged at his lips when he finally met my eyes again, a trace of something I couldn’t fully read creeping into the corners of those brilliant eyes.
Was he? Oh, God, was he laughing at me?
One of the guys standing next to him followed Nathan’s body language and took me in, dismissing me right away after he checked me out. “He’s not signing any autographs tonight, sweetheart.” A few of his football buddies chuckled and the girl on Nathan’s lap laughed.
Well, this was going about as well as expected.
I opened my mouth, searching for a sentence but nothing came out. It was his stupid eyes; they were making it impossible to think straight. I forced myself to look down at the ground so I could form a coherent thought.
I don’t know how many beats it was before Nathan’s girl scoffed. “Jesus, is she, like a mute or something?” She moved her hand off Nathan’s cock and crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned forward, talking loudly. “He’s not doing any pictures or autographs tonight, catch him on a game day.”
More laughter.
I snapped my head up, suddenly brave for a minute. “I have to talk to you.”
Nathan’s smirk twitched, surprise written across his face.
“How the hell did you even get in here?” The girl asked now, standing up and trying to look intimidating. She glanced at the guy who was standing next to Nathan again. “I thought you had someone watching the door.”
“I need to talk to you, Nathan,” I tried again, more firmly this time. Nathan shuffled forward, his eyebrows raising at the word need. But he still didn’t say anything, still made no effort to usher me closer to him and find out what it was I wanted from him.
“What you need, honey, is a nice hard cock,” the guy who told me Nathan wasn’t giving autographs tonight told me, shaking his head back and forth. It was clear from his size he was a member of the football team. “You look so fucking frigid I could cut ice off of you.”
“Hey,” Nathan’s tone was sharp. “Manners, Baker.”
His voice was startling, deep and cutting enough to make one’s skin ache.
But it was too late; I was already mortified, already feeling like more of an idiot than before. I felt a sense of panic creeping over my body and before I could fully understand what I was doing I felt the cup of beer Rachel had given me in an effort to loosen me up falling to the ground with a thud.
The liquid went splashing everywhere, spraying forward onto the girl’s dress that already hated me. I took in the scene before me in horror and then did the only thing I could.
I turned around and ran.
“What the fuck?” I heard the girl squeal behind me.
But it was no use; I was already across the room and out the front door taking off down the street as fast as my feet could carry me. The heels Rachel had forced me to wear stung my feet and I lunged forward, almost falling flat on my face before I pushed my body into the side of a random car, choosing to rest my back against the safeness of the black paint.
I pushed my face into my hands, mortified.
Had I really just walked up to the most popular guy on campus, demanded to talk to him, and then splashed my drink all over him before turning around and running for the hills?
Yup, same old Hannah.
“So, do you always throw your drinks on guys and then take off before they have a chance to react?” I recognized the same brooding tone from inside right away and it sent my body instantly stiff.
I peeked out from under my hands, taking in Nathan’s piercing features in the darkness of the street. He was taller than I expected now that he was standing so close to me and I had to strain my neck a little bit in order to look at him. My eyes traveled up his defined abs and stomach to the muscles on his shoulders and all the way back up to his face.
You could see how ripped he was even under the fabric of his jersey.
He smirked. “Like what you see?”
I gasped and looked down. “You followed me,” I somehow found words.
He chuckled and took a few long strides toward me. “You didn’t leave me much choice.” His body towered over me, barely leaving any distance between the two of us. He smirked knowingly when I took a step backward and stumbled further into the side of the car.
Having him so close to me was unsettling.
“What’s your name?” he asked, leaning next to me against the car.
His body was too large for the small frame of the car so he had to scrunch down a little, his long legs bending at the knees. Only Nathan Cummings could make such a position look graceful.
“Hannah.” I snuck a glance at him.
“Hannah.” My name never sounded better. “I’m Nathan.”
“I know who you are.”
“I know,” he said cockily.
Ugh. He was so full of himself.
I shook my head. God, was this really happening? Nathan Cummings had followed me outside of the party him and his teammates were throwing to find out what it was I wanted? My paper suddenly flashed through my mind like a saving grace, reminding me why I was there in the first place. I looked down at my hand, relieved to find the release still in my grasp.
The release. Right, the release.
I held my hand out to him. “Nice to meet you.” I tried a different approach, determined to make this whole thing professional. If I could get him to just hear me out, I could get this awful night over with and get the hell out of there.
Nathan glanced at my hand and raised his eyebrows. “A handshake, really?” He stood up straight. “You want to know the last time a woman introduced herself by shaking my hand?” He put his hand on top of mine and pushed it to the side of my body, forcing it downward. He was standing in front of me now, so close that I could feel his breath on my neck. “Never,” he whispered into my ear.
A chill ran up and down my body at the same time a sharp heat crept into the middle of my legs. His mouth was still in my hair and he was making no effort to move away from me. God, I had never felt anything like this in my entire body. He smelled like Grey Goose and mint swirled into one. I dug my hands into the fabric of my coat in an effort to stop them from shaking. I tried to focus on the release, tried to remember I was there for a signature and not a roll in Nathan Cumming’s sheets.
I should have had no trouble pushing him away from me. I should have been able to detan
gle myself from his rock hard body without a second thought. I mean, I didn’t even know him for God sake. Still, I found myself reaching forward and taking the fabric of his jersey in my fingers, turning it over curiosity. It was like I wasn’t in control of my own actions; like someone had zeroed in on my senses and taken control of my body without my permission.
What was more startling though was the way I seemed to be enjoying it.
“I need… I need…” I stuttered over the words, unable to get them out. Just say it to him, Hannah; you need him to sign this release. You need him to give you permission to write a research paper about him and his life. It’s a simple phrase, a simple request.
“I know,” he hummed into my neck. “I know.”
He knew? He knew why I was there? About the article and the release? Was it possible word had already traveled to him, that he heard about the chance the school was giving to up and coming freshmen, a chance to be published on a national level. It would make sense; he knew everything else that went on around here. He probably knew his name was sure to be selected…
Sure to be a chosen headline.
Everyone wanted to read about Nathan.
Everyone wanted Nathan.
Oh, God.
“You know?” I whispered.
He nuzzled the side of my neck with his mouth, pushing my hair back and letting his soft lips trail a soft kiss across the side of my neck. “I know, Hannah.” He licked me gently. “I know you need me.”
I had never had a guy so close to me before, never had someone tracing small kisses up and down my skin before. I felt like the pressure was going to cause my body to crumble. “Yeah… that’s right…. I need….” My eyes flew open and I stumbled backward half an inch. “Wait, what?” Had he just said I needed him? Did he think? Jesus, he thought I meant I needed him inside of me.
You do, a voice I didn’t recognize popped into my head.
I pushed it away at the same time I pushed him away. “Wait, what?”
Nathan didn’t move much; his body was too big for me to have much effect on him. He reached out and ran his thumb over my bottom lip, tracing small circles back and forth over the softness of my pillow that now felt like it was on fire along with the rest of my body. “It’s okay, Hannah.” He leaned in closer to me but stopped before his lips could touch mine, not fully closing the distance between us.