by KL Donn
“No, baby, but it sure feels good after coming with your soft hands around me.” His crude words earned him a half-hearted slap to the chest.
Grabbing the towel hanging beside the stall, he slipped it around his waist. Guiding her from the shower area, he sat her down on the bench where it had all started and was nearly lost at what he was going to do when he caught sight of the deepest blush he’d ever seen on a woman.
A pounding on the door, followed by, “Hayes!” had him getting his ass in gear.
“That your friends?” he asked her.
She wouldn’t meet his eyes when she answered him. “That’s Lys. I came with her, Brett, and Dustin.” She said the last name with such disgust.
“Dustin the fool that had his hands on you?” He couldn’t help the possessive growl.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Leaning down in front of her, he ran a hand up her chest and around to the back of her neck before pulling her forehead to his lips for a soft kiss. “Look at me, Hayes,” he told her softly.
When she hesitantly met his eyes, he saw real fear in them. “What’s with the look?” he asked her, wanting to know before he brought up what he wanted to tell her.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged like it was no big deal.
He wasn’t a complete fool; he could guess. “You think that’s all I wanted?” Her eyes shifted away, and he had his answer. Nipping her bottom lip, he sucked it into his mouth until she tried to pull back. “I want so much more, Hayes. What I really want right at this moment, though, is a promise from you.”
“What promise?” She finally met his eyes again, and satisfaction rolled through him as hope lit them.
“I need you not to let that asshole, or any other asshole, touch you again.” No point in mixing words.
“Why would anyone touch me?” She seemed confused. As though she didn’t know her own beauty.
“’Cause you have a banging body, baby, and those eyes, they’re like pools of gold that scream of your innocence. After that taste you just gave me, I’m greedy, and I want everything for myself.”
“Everything?”
“Every last drop you have,” he murmured against her swollen lips. Kissing her lightly as the door banging began again. “Come on. Let’s go cool the savages down.” He smiled as she stood with him.
Opening the door, he was not surprised to see the fool that had his hands on Hayes stumbling around and cursing about Levi taking his girl. He got the feeling she wouldn’t like his caveman attitude and kept any disparaging remarks about the tool to himself as her girlfriend rushed in.
“You’re wet,” she pointed to Hayes’ shirt, “and flushed.” Her hand waved around Hayes' face. His poor girl looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
“Your point?” Levi growled, hoping she’d back off.
“Nothing,” she finally said, a smirk on her face.
“Come here, sugar.” He held out his arm for her as the douchebag was about to walk over. When she melted into his side, he lay light kisses along her neck. When she moaned, he took her mouth again in a passionate kiss of possession, devouring her sweet moans and giving her his own.
He couldn’t get enough of her sweet taste.
Levi’s lips on her neck had Hayes’ hormones going haywire. She knew he was doing it as a display of ownership to Dustin. She should hate it, she should stop it, but it felt oh so good. What they’d done in his locker room was so far beyond her realm, she didn’t know where to start.
That wasn’t like her at all. Never had she even thought about boys like that since before the accident. That’s no boy, Hayes. That much was crystal clear. Levi stole her breath with a single searing look when he wanted to.
“If high school girls are what you’re into…” Dustin stupidly slurred with jealousy.
She felt Levi tense at his words. That was it. For a man like him, she knew he was done with her. He’d toss her aside like she was nothing.
“High school?” he whispered in her ear.
She couldn’t bear to look at him as she nodded her head once with a jerk, her throat already clogging. It shouldn’t hurt so much. They didn’t know one another.
“High school,” Dustin repeated, shattering her ridiculous fantasy. His voice was laced with disgust.
Lys, the sweetheart that she was, must have seen the tears pooling in Hayes’ eyes as she spoke up. “Shut up, Dustin. She’s eighteen and can do as she likes.” The emphasis wasn’t missed by anyone but Dustin because he was drunk and Levi because he was pissed.
Stupid boys.
Stupid men.
Stupid me.
Hayes walked, or rather ran, away before anything else could be said. She didn’t need any more heartbreak in her life. She’d had enough of it.
Pushing through the crowds as they either partied or fought was harder than when they’d made their way to the front of the arena at the start of the evening. Once outside, the spring air hit her face like a punch to the gut. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she did exactly what she didn’t want to and called her parents. “Hey, princess, how’s the night?” her dad’s happy voice answered.
“Daddy.” Her voice cracked as she tried to hold back the pain. “Come get me, please.”
Without question, he said, “Text me the address. I’m on my way.” Before he was finished talking, she’d heard his car keys jingling. Once she’d sent him the coordinates from her phone’s GPS, she took the chicken’s way out and hid.
When her phone started buzzing, she looked down to see a text from Lys.
Lys: Where r u? U ok?
Hayes: Fine. Waiting 4 dad.
Lys: I’ll kill Dustin!
Hayes: S’okay. Nothing gained, nothing lost.
At least that’s what she told herself.
Lys: He wasn’t happy u left.
Hayes: He didn’t chase me either.
Lys: Point made.
She didn’t bother responding after that. What was the use? Her heart hurt. Her mind was screaming at her. She just wanted to go home.
As her dad’s cream-colored Buick 4-door came into view, so did the most gorgeous piece of machinery she’d ever seen. A sleek, black 1964 Charger. Her mouth watered. She’d always loved classic cars.
Opening the door to her dad’s sedan, she envied the owner of the other vehicle until she saw who was behind the wheel.
Levi.
Of course, it was his car.
Of course, he would still look gorgeous.
Of course, he had to give her the nastiest look she’d ever been given as he spotted her.
Her heart shrivelled up right on the spot as she slid into the passenger’s side. The ride home was quiet. Her dad had never been much of a talker, that had always been her mom.
Sinking into her seat, she wished, not for the first time, that Ryder was around so she could talk to him. He’d say something silly like the man didn’t know who he was missing, or that he’d kick his ass for making her upset.
Of all the things in the world she wanted most, it was Ryder back. She wanted him home. Safe. Alive. She wanted to not be a broken shell of who she used to be.
Too bad she had nothing but pain to look forward to.
Chapter Four
If you don’t fight for what you want, don’t cry for what you’ve lost.
High school.
Of course, she was in high school. It was Levi’s fucking luck that when he found a girl, a real girl, she would be off limits.
Her friend says she’s eighteen. His inner voice reminded him.
Didn’t matter. She was still in school.
Fuck!
After winning the fight, he should have been ready to party, celebrate. What he did was go home and sulk for the loss of Hayes. After that, he pulled a Nox and fucking stalked her house at three in the damn morning. He wondered which room was hers, was she sleeping?
Was the flash of hurt on her face when he’d passed her in the parking lot because of his rejectio
n? Of course, it was, you fool.
He was driving himself crazy. All day Sunday, he’d thought about her. Couldn’t kick her from his mind. He shouldn’t be so damn obsessed over a girl he’d only met three times and barely spent any time with her.
Except…
She was a puzzle he wanted to put together. She had secrets he wanted to reveal. Untapped passion he craved to unleash. It was the mystery of her that was driving him crazy. He wasn’t ready to give her up, and yet, he couldn’t exactly have her, either.
Needing to get her out of his head, he ran the four miles to the shop from his house on Monday morning. Being the first to arrive, he opened everything up and got started on the parts order for the things he was going to need for the overhaul of the ‘44 F1 4x2 truck he’d been working on.
For the first time in his career, he was so engrossed in what he was doing that he hadn’t noticed when Nox showed up. Or that he’d begun work on one of his own jobs until Nox came into the shop.
“When’d you get here?” he asked his older brother as he passed to his station.
“’Bout an hour ago. Didn’t wanna disturb you.”
“Damn,” he muttered, realizing he must have been incredibly absorbed in the paperwork.
“You alright, Levi?” It wasn’t the first time Nox had asked him that over the past few months.
“Fine, Nox.” It took all his control not to snap on his brother. Nothing was said after that.
Levi was still struggling with how to tell his family what he did. The inevitable questions that would come were his problem. He didn’t know what to say to make them understand he was different than they were.
His Ma, sweet as could be, would never understand. She would hate the impact fighting would have on his body. She’d fight tooth and nail to get him to stop, and as much as he loved the older woman, he didn’t think he could.
Fighting was in his blood the way cars were in Nox’s.
Losing himself in his work, he tossed the worries from his mind.
He tossed Hayes from his mind.
If he weren’t careful, she was going to take over his life even though he couldn’t have her.
You could, his inner voice taunted again, she’s eighteen. He was gonna lose his fucking mind soon enough. As more of the guys filtered in through the shop, he was able to block her from his mind. Get his work done.
Until Mac called him. “Levi! Got a customer.”
The man walked away before he could tell him he wasn’t taking any bookings for a while. Wiping his hands on his coveralls, he stopped at the fridge beside the office door and grabbed a bottle of water. Twisting the cap off, he was about to take a drink while walking through the door when he noticed her. Cute little brunette, big fucking smile with probably an even bigger damn mouth.
He was not looking forward to the encounter.
“Do I really have to be here, Dad?” the girl whined to the older man she was with.
“Alyssa, if you want this car, you’re damn well going to know what’s being done to it.” She stomped her foot and pouted, and that’s when her gaze landed on him.
“You ass!” She stormed her way over to him, jabbing his chest.
“Alyssa!” Her father tried scolding her, but she barrelled right on through.
“How could you do that to her? You took something from her she’ll never get back.” Her words were getting louder, causing a couple guys from the back to come see what the commotion was about.
Including Nox.
Fucking great.
“Listen, little girl, what happened is none–“
“It damn well is! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get her to go out? What it took for her to come along with us? No, you wouldn’t ‘cause you’re just like every other swinging dick! You only care about one thing.”
He had no idea what she was babbling about, but he was sick of it. “Shouldn’t you be in school?” The implication was clear.
He should have shut up.
“School?” Her voice was deadly quiet. “That’s such a big deal to you?” He remained silent. “You stupid fool. She’d have graduated already, but life fucking sucks, and she couldn’t. Then she opens up just a little bit, and you go stab her in the back. You’re such a tool.” Before he could say anything, she was turning on her heel, telling her dad, “I don’t want the car that bad. Walking would be preferable.”
The man shrugged his shoulders and followed the loud-mouthed brat out while Levi was left scrambling, wondering what the hell he did. The room was soundless as he processed her words, she’d have graduated already, but life fucking sucks and she couldn’t, and what they meant.
Was he making a bigger deal out of it than it was?
“Levi?” Nox asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. “What the hell was she talking about?”
“Nothing,” he muttered. “I gotta go.”
He left Nox standing with Mac and Asher as he took off for his Charger. It wasn’t until he was pulling up in front of her house that he realized she was probably in school.
Monday mornings sucked.
That one was particularly hard because Hayes pushed herself harder than she should have the day before in an effort to purge Levi from her mind.
His callous words.
His dismissive attitude.
His sinful body.
She tried to escape the only way she knew how, and it was killing her. She had foolishly had hope for him. She’d thought their connection was something she could anticipate, explore.
Feeling dead for so long, she’d been too eager to connect with someone, and in the end, it bit her in the ass.
Her limp was as prominent as it was the day she’d relearned how to walk after her accident. The pain was excruciating as she tried climbing the front steps to her school. She had both hands in a white-knuckled grip on the railing as she climbed the dozen or so steps. When she finally made it to the top, her leg was on fire, and she was sweating as if she’d just run a marathon.
A hand on her shoulder had her jumping away and twisting her knee as Dustin cooed in her ear, “Missed you after the fight.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” she muttered, holding her breath, hoping the pain would abate. No such luck. The throbbing only intensified as he spoke. The ringing in her ears prevented her from hearing him.
“Hayes!” he screamed at her, clearly frustrated.
“What?” she snapped back, uncaring of the fact they were gathering a bit of an audience.
“I asked if you went home with that fighter, or are we good to go out this week?”
With her head ringing, she wasn’t thinking clearly as she answered him, “Yeah, sure, whatever.” He needed to just leave her alone.
“Hayes!” she heard Lys call. Shocked that the other girl was at school when she had a free period first thing. Dustin was about to say something.
“Would you people stop yelling at me?” she griped.
“What’s wrong?” her friend asked as she approached them.
“Nothing, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” Lys complained.
“She looks pretty fine to me,” Dustin commented.
“That’s ‘cause you’re looking at her ass, you ass. Now piss off.” Count on Lys to make them run.
“Thanks,” Hayes murmured through tight lips.
“No problem. What happened to you?” she asked again.
“Just overworked myself is all.” It was a straight up lie. She had done exactly what her doctors ordered her not to do and forced her body to run the way she used to.
“You want some help?” Lys asked, gripping one arm around Hayes' waist, not waiting on an answer. “Dad’s picking me up so we can take the Mustang to some shop to be looked at during my free period. I just gotta drop my books off, so we don’t have to go back home.”
“Why don’t you just take them with you?”
“’Cause then I’d have to carry them back on the bus.” Her voice held a note o
f censure, as though Hayes should have known that.
As they entered through the front doors, she told her friend, “I’m fine. Just gonna get to Algebra and be done with this day, I think.”
“Why would you even come in? You’re in so much damn pain. I can have Dad take you home.” Her offer was sweet.
“I’ll be okay. Got that big test in Algebra today, anyway.”
“Call me later, let me know how you’re feeling?” Nodding, they parted ways as Lys spotted Brett down the hall with some football players.
Limping to her first-period class, Hayes almost wished she could have skipped school today. Her pain level was as high as ever, and she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the test, anyways.
No one said this would be easy.
She could practically hear Ryder’s voice in her head when she first started her Olympic training. With those dreams in the trash, she needed to ace her classes if she wanted to study Food Science and Nutrition at Colorado State in the fall. She’d been accepted months ago, but she still felt like she was coming up short in her work.
She felt like she wasn’t good enough.
Getting settled into a seat that was always empty in the back, she didn’t want the teacher, Mr. Pike, to notice just how much she was struggling. He was one of the few teachers that paid attention to his students, and she knew he’d catch on to her discomfort, immediately.
Students started trickling in one by one, and the more noise they made, the more her ears rang. It was almost like her head was trapped in a tunnel, and the other kids were screaming and banging on the outside.
There was an echo she couldn’t explain.
When Mr. Pike entered the class, everyone quieted down without him having to say a word. He went directly for the tests he’d had prepared, handing them out individually.
As he came to her desk, she froze.
“You all right, Miss Morrison?”
“Fine,” she gritted out between clenched teeth.
“Let me know when it’s too much” was all he said as he went on his way. “All right, class. You have ninety minutes, make them count. Drop your papers on my desk as you finish.”