BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset)

by Parker, Kylee

  When we got home, we loaded everything into our arms and went inside. I started the oven for some of the frozen snacks and Megan opened one of the bottles of vodka. She poured herself a drink that was about ¾ vodka and ¼ lime soda before waltzing into my room and flopping right in the middle of the bed. I scooted down on the floor and sat with my back against the wall. Thankfully, there was no sign of Stratton anywhere.

  “Okay, tell me,” I said, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around my legs. The house was chilly in the winter; it always was, but that was one of the reasons I liked it so much.

  Megan yawned and downed half of her drink in one motion. “He’s just been strange,” she offered. “The other night, we were supposed to go to the movies and then to dinner and then back to his place. I thought for sure it was going to be then. It was the anniversary of the first date we ever went on,” she paused and rolled her eyes up to look at the ceiling. I recognized the look very well; it was one I’d affected many times when I’d been trying not to cry.

  “This doesn’t bode well,” I commented.

  “And everything was just a disaster,” Megan continued. “From the moment we got together he just seemed really distracted and off. He didn’t want dessert at the restaurant and then told me he was too tired for me to come over. So I just went home and watched another movie by myself. I kept thinking he’d call and tell me that he changed his mind, but I never heard back from him. I even texted him and told him that I couldn’t sleep, but he never got back to me.”

  I frowned. “Do you think he’s cheating on you?” I asked, biting at my thumbnail. “It does seem really odd.”

  There was a knock at the door and my heart fell through my stomach. “Come in,” I called after a beat.

  Stratton opened the door and walked in. He was shirtless again, and clad in only blue silk soccer shorts. He was holding a bottle of wine and some glasses, and he grinned at me before turning his gaze to Megan. I watched as she blushed and sat up on the bed quickly, combing her hand through her blonde hair.

  “Hey,” Stratton greeted us. “You girls want some wine?”

  Chapter Three

  Stratton

  “Hi girls,” I said, stepping into Leda’s room. A flash of annoyance crossed her face and I grinned. “Who is your friend?”

  “I’m Megan,” the blonde girl said. She offered her hand for me to shake and I picked it up and lightly kissed her fingers. Megan giggled, but Leda rolled her eyes and turned away.

  “We were talking,” she informed me. I watched her eyes dart from side to side. “What did you want?”

  I tapped my chin with my finger. “Well, girls, I was just thinking you might want some company. This is good wine,” I added, gesturing to the bottle in my hand.

  “I’ll take some!” Megan chirped at me. She hopped off the bed and held out a tumbler.

  “Don’t you want a wine glass?” I asked, holding up a goblet. “It tastes better like this.”

  “She doesn’t, actually,” Leda said, getting up and standing in front of me. “Sorry, Stratton, we don’t really feel like company right now.”

  I cleared my throat. “Leda,” I replied. “There’s something we should talk about, actually.”

  I watched with satisfaction as a blush spread over her face.

  “Yeah, Leda, don’t be a bitch,” Megan teased. She sat back down on the bed and scooted into a corner, patting an area with her hand and gesturing to me. “Sit down, Stratton,” she said casually. “We want to hang out with you.”

  “This is so lame,” Leda muttered under her breath. “What’s up?”

  I settled into my spot on the bed, taking the time to pour a large glass of white wine for myself. I poured a smaller amount in the other two glasses and handed them to Leda and Megan. “You ladies probably have a lower tolerance than I do,” I joked. “I wouldn’t want to be trapped in here with two inebriated women.”

  Leda glared at me. “C’mon,” she said. “Just tell us. Or leave, that works too,” she suggested.

  Ignoring her, I turned to Megan. “Megan, do you know of our other housemates?”

  She laughed. “I don’t think so,” she said slowly.

  Leda cut in: “Ethan, Sean, and Scott.” She looked at me with her eyes narrowed. “What’s this about, anyway?”

  Enjoying her irritation, I took a long sip of wine. “This is good,” I commented to the girls. Leda’s gray eyes glared at me. “Okay, sorry,” I held up my hands. “I’ll tell you. There’s a rumor that Scott is dealing a drug, Leda.”

  Her mouth formed a small ‘o’ of surprise. “Oh, shit,” she replied. “I heard that, too.”

  Megan frowned. “Wait, Scott DeBaun? Yeah, he’s a cokehead. Everyone knows that, Stratton.”

  I shrugged. “I did not know that,” I said innocently. “Do you think I would have wanted to move in this house? With a felon?”

  “It’s not a big deal,” Megan said finally. “A lot of people at UVA do that.”

  “That’s not true,” Leda protested. “It’s a really big deal. We could all get arrested if the police raid this house. We could go to jail, Megan.”

  Megan shook her head. “That’s totally not going to happen,” she replied. “No one cares enough to report him.”

  Leda and I looked at each other. I was surprised not to see the usual venom in her gray eyes. Instead, she looked concerned. Her forehead was creased, and I could see her knuckles turning white as she clutched at a lock of her dark hair. “Thanks for telling us, Stratton,” she said quietly. “I don’t know if we should tell the landlord or what.”

  “I do not know either,” I told her. “When I sent my deposit, he said that he was planning to travel all year. It would be difficult to locate him right now.”

  “I’ll be right back,” Megan said. She got up and left the room. Leda barely looked after her. Instead, we locked eyes.

  “We have to do something,” she said in a low voice. “You’re the only one who’s going to take this seriously.”

  “That is why I told you,” I said in a sharp voice. Leda looked away.

  “You’re right,” she admitted. “I’m sorry. Thanks for speaking up. We’ll think of something. Is he home right now?”

  “I don’t think so,” I said finally. “I was home all day and I was alone until you and Megan arrived.”

  Leda got to her feet and brushed her hands off on the thighs of her jeans. She stepped closer, and I could smell her perfume. It was some kind of spicy, musky vanilla-based scent and I closed my eyes. When Leda wasn’t glaring at me, it was hard not to notice how beautiful she really was. Her long dark hair contrasted with her pale skin and made her look ethereal. Her gray eyes were fringed with long, dark lashes. For the first time, I noticed some light freckles dusting her cheekbones. I thought about what it would be like to make love with her; she was so biting that it wasn’t the most natural of thoughts. But seeing her with her guard down was something else. She almost seemed vulnerable, in need of protection. I wondered what had happened that had made her so prickly in the first place.

  “Let’s go check his room,” she said urgently. “Come on.”

  I followed Leda down the hallway as she pushed open Scott’s door. “Scott?” I heard her call after we’d entered the room. There was no answer, and she turned to me. “Check the closet,” she said. “I’ll go through his desk.”

  I watched as Leda systematically went through the desk drawers, lifting up piles of papers and making disgusted noises as she searched. “Go on,” she encouraged me. “We have to hurry!”

  Opening the closet, I parted his clothes and shoved them to the side. “I don’t see anything,” I called over my shoulder. “It just smells like dirty laundry.”

  “Ew,” Leda responded. She turned to me. “If you were Scott, where would you hide something?”

  I laughed. “Leda,” I said gently. “That sounds ridiculous.” She shook her head and closed her eyes, clearly thinking. I watched as she opened her eyes
and then walked over to the nightstand, yanking the drawer open. A look of horror crossed her face and she pulled out a gallon bag full of smaller bags full of white powder.

  “Holy shit,” she breathed. “Look at this.”

  “Guys!” Megan called from the hallway. “Where did you go?!”

  “I’ll be right there!” Leda called. She turned to me and crumpled up the bag in her hands. “Hide this,” she said. “We’ll talk about it when Megan goes home.”

  “Okay.” I took the bag from her and stuffed it in the front pocket of my hoodie. A feeling of paranoia washed over me; if anyone found this with my stuff, I’d be on a plane tomorrow. “Leda,” I said slowly, staring her in the eye. She blushed. “Please don’t tell anyone about this right now,” I whispered. “Just figure out something to do. It’s making me nervous.”

  Her eyes were big and serious. “I won’t,” she said under her breath. “I promise.”

  As I walked back to my room, I realized it was possible that I’d misjudged Leda.

  Chapter Four

  Leda

  I was alone in the house on a Sunday afternoon, and I couldn’t explain it, but I was feeling really antsy. The past couple of weeks had involved a ton of schoolwork and I hadn’t gotten to see Megan or catch up with any of my other friends. On top of everything, it had been raining for a week straight. I’d woken up that morning with a huge sense of purpose, but seeing the gross weather outside made me feel just as unmotivated as I had the night before.

  There was a ten page paper that I had to write for a seminar by Tuesday and I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I really felt like I deserved a break. The house was cold and quiet, and I decided to make some tea before curling up in bed with a book. Even if I couldn’t go for a run, I could still get some good reading time in.

  “Hey, Leda,” Stratton greeted me when I walked into the kitchen. I looked at him with narrowed eyes. “How is it going?”

  “I’m fine,” I said, not really answering his question. “I’m going to make tea, do you want some.”

  “Sure.”

  Stratton didn’t speak to me while I was boiling water and I felt kind of uncomfortable. Ever since the whole incident had happened in Scott’s room, he hadn’t talked to me. I felt bad; I was going to think of something to do, but this week had been so busy that I hadn’t felt as though I’d had time.

  When the kettle was whistling, I poured the water into two mugs with bags of green tea and honey. The smell was familiar and soothing to me as I carried them both over to the table and handed one to Stratton. I watched as he wrapped both hands around the steaming mug and inhaled gratefully.

  “Leda, thank you,” he said in a pronounced accent. I smiled.

  “You’re welcome,” I offered. “Are we home alone?”

  Stratton glanced around as though there was someone in the house with us. “I think so,” he said carefully.

  “Hey, wait a second,” I looked up at him and frowned. “Why aren’t you at soccer practice?”

  Stratton shrugged. “Not important to me right now,” he said after a beat. “I’ve been worried about this thing.” He pointed towards Scott’s room and I knew what he meant. “What are we going to do?”

  I frowned. “I’m not entirely sure,” I admitted. “I haven’t done as much research as I really should have by this point.”

  “Well, we can still get into trouble, right? Because now we know about it and we didn’t tell anyone?”

  “I think we should get rid of it,” I said flatly. “And then threaten him to leave and not tell him where it is. We’ll say that we’ll direct the cops to it unless he moves out.”

  Stratton nodded. “That’s a good idea,” he said. “But I really don’t want to be involved with this. I could be thrown out of school,” he pointed out. “Or lose my student visa.”

  I sighed. “I know,” I said finally. “But I think this is the best way to deal with this. I’m not sure what else we could do at this point.”

  “You’re tough,” Stratton commented. “You sure you’re ready to stand up to those guys?” I watched as he mimed a muscular arm.

  “They’re a bunch of spoiled rich brats,” I replied. “I’m not afraid of them.”

  Stratton threw me a weird look. “I stand by what I said,” he told me. “You’re tougher than I am.”

  I shook my head. “Definitely not true,” I said with a sigh, standing up and pushing back from the kitchen table. “Not even close.”

  “Big bad Leda,” Stratton teased. He winked at me and I was troubled to find myself blushing. Even though I was seeing a new, human side of Stratton, I couldn’t help but notice that I was still more attracted to him than ever. It was frustrating; I knew he was bad news. And yet, for the first time in my life, my brain couldn’t get that through to my heart.

  I headed back to my room with my cold tea, wondering about what I was actually going to do. Stratton hadn’t been wrong when he’d joked about our other roommates being meatheads, but I hadn’t ever really had a reason to challenge them before.

  Curling up in bed with a book, I tried to concentrate on the plot and ignore what was going on in real life. It was actually working until I started hearing angry voices from the living room. I put my book down and listened with an ear to the wall. Oh, shoot, I thought to myself. Scott.

  When I snuck into the hallway, the voices got louder.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I heard Stratton say as I snuck closer.

  “The fuck you don’t!” Scott yelled back.

  I jogged into the kitchen. “Hey guys,” I said warily. “What’s going on?”

  Scott turned around and glared at me. “Stay out of this,” he warned. “It’s not about you, Leda.”

  Stratton shot me a look from over Scott’s shoulder. “Hey,” he said in a cautious tone. “Maybe go back to your room, okay?”

  I shook my head. A chill ran down my spine and I felt my palms clam up. “Sorry,” I said in a light voice. Scott and Stratton both glared at me. “I mean,” I stammered. “What’s up?”

  Scott rolled his eyes. “Fine, since kraut over here won’t tell me, what happened to my blow?”

  “It’s gone,” I said.

  “What?” Scott leaned in my face. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  I felt myself begin to shake and Stratton walked around Scott to stand by my side. “I said it’s gone,” I repeated. My voice quavered and Scott’s jawline twitched. “And you’re not getting it back, sorry. If you don’t move out, I’ll call the cops and direct them right to it.”

  Scott glared. “You’re a cunt,” he spat at me. “Do you know that?”

  An angry flush crept up my neck. “You tried dealing cocaine out of my house!” I yelled. “Do you really think I would stand for that? Stratton could get kicked out of school for this shit, Scott! He could lose his visa!”

  “No one cares what I deal,” Scott spat angrily. “You’re going to be sorry for this, Leda.”

  “I doubt that,” I said shakily. Even though I felt like I was in the midst of having a panic attack, it was a relief to have everything out in the air. Scott gave me one last glare and then stomped down the hallway, slamming the door to his room closed.

  Stratton grinned at me. “Okay, Leda, that was pretty cool,” he said finally. I shrugged, feeling tears rise to my eyes.

  “I don’t know why I’m crying,” I said, my voice quavering. “I’m not upset.”

  Stratton stepped closer and put an arm around my shoulders. The contact was unexpected but it felt amazing. His spicy scent comforted me. “That was tough,” he said a quiet voice. A thrill of excitement ran through me. Stop it, I told myself.

  “It wasn’t that hard,” I replied. I took a deep breath and more of Stratton’s cologne filled my nostrils. He stepped closer and I felt the muscles in his arm flex.

  “You’re a tough girl,” he said quietly, nuzzling into my hair. A lone shiver trailed down my spine. I wanted to sa
y something clever and witty back to him about how no, I wasn’t really that tough at all but my mind was completely blank. Whenever Stratton was around, I always felt like I was half asleep.

  “Not really,” I said lamely, wincing at my inability to come up with anything better. Stratton stretched and lifted his arm off of my shoulders, crossing the kitchen in two quick steps. My side and shoulders instantly felt cold and I rubbed my hand over the place where we’d been touching.