Undone: A New Adult College Bad Boy Romance (Mature Young Adult Fun Contemporary Romance)

by Alli Sims

  “Ow!” She cried as a sharp pain shot up her arm. The stranger didn’t care. He moved faster.

  They were walking out of the door. In the hallway, he began to push her towards the elevators. She panicked. Jenna had heard many tales of kidnapping, but she didn’t want to be one of them. Her body however was frozen, fear coursed through her making her stupid.

  “Excuse me,” a man stepped into the path. “I’m going to need her back.”

  Jenna knew who he was immediately. Damien. She was all too familiar with the shortly cropped black hair, the hard, hazel eyes and the tanned skin. The man was six feet of trouble. His arms were crossed over his chest. He wasn’t looking at Jenna, but rather staring down the man who had a hold on her.

  The man let go of her, turned the gun on Damien. She watched Damien’s lips pull into a smile. No fear. Jenna turned, kicked the guy in the crotch. He dropped like a stone, the gun spiraling out of his hand and sliding over the marble floor. Jenna grabbed it, ran to Damien. The man on the ground was quick to recover, disappearing down a stairwell before they could react.

  Still breathing heavily, she clutched Damien. He took the gun from her before he slipped it into the back of his jeans. She could feel the hard muscle of his body through the black t-shirt that stretched over his chest. Jenna gazed up.

  “Hi there,” he said quietly.

  “What are you doing here?”

  The man straightened up, all but pushing her off of him. The elevator doors were sliding open. Her father marched through the steel, double doors, a deep scowl on his face. His eyes fixed on Jenna and blazed.

  “What do you think you’re doing? I called you over and over. What’s wrong?” He asked as he noticed Jenna trembling.

  “Daddy,” she wrapped her arms around his neck, unable to hide the tears that had started to flow. “There was a man...and a gun...and...and,” her sobs choked out the rest of her words.

  Her father rubbed her back softly, shushing her. His hand ran over her hair before he reached into his pocket and produced his handkerchief. Jenna took it, wiping her eyes as he led her onto the elevator. To her surprise, Damien stepped on with them.

  “What’s going on, daddy?”

  “I told you that you have to be careful. This merger we’re going through at the company is making for a lot of disgruntled employees. I tried to tell you earlier tonight that you could be in danger.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. He got away,” she said, concern showing on her face.

  Her father shook his head. “No, I hired a team to keep an eye on you. I’m sure he was caught in the parking lot, but there could be others. That’s why I hired Damien to look after you.”

  Jenna raised an eyebrow at him as they stepped off of the elevator. “What are you talking about?”

  “He’s a bodyguard. I hired him.”

  Jenna’s mouth hung open. She glanced over at Damien. He winked, a grin on the corner of his mouth. Jenna scoffed. There was no way she wanted Damin Atwater watching over her.

  “Daddy, I don’t need a bodyguard. This was a one time thing, a fluke.”

  “We can’t be sure of that,” he said as the car door was opened by their driver. “Now, get in the car. We’re going home.”

  Jenna’s crying was over, quickly replaced by her anger. The long drive down the Miami streets was quiet. She kept her arms folded over her chest until they pulled up in front of the home.

  The estate was huge; it was done in red brick, white columns and grand topiary. The lawns were immaculate, the swimming pool immense and the house itself had more rooms than they’d ever need. Jenna had always thought it was her mother who wanted the house more, she had a taste for grand things.

  Stepping out of the car, she stumbled on the driveway. A hand gripped her arm, steadying her. She looked over to see Damien holding her up, a look of concern on his stern face. She pulled her arm away from him.

  “I’m fine.”

  “You don’t look fine,” he said so fiercely that she was taken aback.

  “Let’s get inside,” her father said.

  He was already ahead of them, standing on the stairs. Jenna took her time navigating the steps. When she walked into the house, the first person she saw was her mom, wrapped up in a thin, pink robe. Her blonde hair was tousled slightly, her eyes red rimmed.

  “Jenna!” She cried, taking her into a tight hug. “I heard about what happened. What the hell were you thinking?”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. “Not now, mom. I just want to go to bed.”

  “No! You are going to sit here and talk to me. I want to know what’s going on with you,” her mom’s voice was growing more desperate with every passing word.

  “I’m going to bed,” she repeated.

  Her mom was on the verge of protesting, but her dad put an arm on her shoulder. Jenna didn’t stick around to see the look of disappointment on her mom’s face. She felt bad enough already. She traversed the stairs up to her room, kicked off her shoes and plopped on the high, king sized bed covered in thick comforters.

  Jenna’s mind was overwhelmed. Her body was still dealing with the alcohol and pills going through her system. Adrenaline still pumped through her veins from her encounter. Then there was Damien.

  She could see that crooked smile in her memory. Hear that deep timber of a voice shaking her to her core. Jenna could still feel his fingers tracing her body, dipping between her shapely thighs. A tremor passed through her. She didn’t want to remember Damien like that, didn’t want the pain of those good memories mixed with the bad ones.

  Quickly, she pushed those thoughts out of her head. Jenna wiggled down beneath her blankets. She would deal with things tomorrow. After all, Jenna was absolutely certain that her daddy would listen to her. She’d always been able to persuade him.

  Chapter Two

  “No.”

  “Daddy, I-”

  “I said no,” he said again as he went back to reading his paper.

  Jenna scoffed. “There has to be somebody else!”

  “Damien came highly recommended. He’s ex-military, disciplined and won’t let you get yourself killed,” he said sipping his coffee.

  “Ugh!” She exclaimed as she sat back in her chair in a huff. “You’re just doing this to punish me! I’m an adult, do you not realize that?”

  “We’ll realize it when you grow up,” her mother snapped.

  Jenna looked at her mom, her mouth hanging open. The woman was clearly feeling snarky. There was a grin on her lips as she gazed back at Jenna, her coffee mug clutched in both hands. Jenna leaned back in her chair, arms folded over her chest.

  “What do I have to do to make this not happen? Do you want me to get a job? Get my own place? What?”

  Her mom snorted. “We asked you to do that a long time ago. Now, you’re just going to have to put up with it.”

  Jenna leaned her face on the table, pouted at her dad. “Daddy, please?”

  “You heard your mother.”

  “Fine!” She pushed her chair back from the table as Damien walked in.

  The man glanced at her, before he turned away quickly. He walked over to the coffee pot, poured himself a mug before he carried it outside. She could see him through the glass, patio doors talking on his cellphone.

  “I’m going out,” she said.

  “Not without Damien.”

  Jenna groaned. “Come on. It was one time. I doubt there’s going to be two gun toting lunatics in the same week.”

  Her father sighed, finally putting down his paper. “He’s not just here for ‘gun toting lunatics..’ You have something of a drug problem, if you haven’t noticed. Maybe, he’ll be able to keep you out of trouble.”

  Jenna didn’t know what to say to that. Her mouth opened to argue, but no words came out. Especially with the way her dad was staring at her. She could see that disappointment in his eyes, and it was soul crushing. Slowly, she nodded.

  “Okay,” she said quietly.

  She walked out of the
room slowly in need of a shower and a change of clothes. Behind her, she could hear her mother talking. She wasn’t under any kind of illusion that her parents were proud of her, but it still hurt to see the saddened look in their eyes. Their only child, they’d wanted so much for her, but all she’d ever been able to do was crumble under the pressure.

  Jenna shed the dress from the night before, kicking it into a corner in her bedroom. The steam from the shower was already fogging up the bathroom mirror. She wiped a hand through it.

  “Shit!”

  Jenna spun around. Damien was standing behind her, his eyes roaming over her body almost hungrily. She wrapped one arm around her breasts, the other dived between her legs to cover her smooth mound. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at him.

  “What are you doing in here?”

  Damien scoffed. “It’s not like I haven’t seen it before,” he mused as he walked closer to her.

  Jenna’s heart began to beat faster in her chest. “Stay away from me.”

  “Why? You never had a problem with me touching you in the past,” he said with his voice barely above a whisper. When he was close enough, he fingered a lock of her raven hair. “Why are you running away now? Is it guilt?”

  Jenna lowered her eyes, looked at anything, but him. She heard him give a short bark of a laugh, something that held no humor. His hand ran over her face, beneath her chin. He forced her face up. Their eyes connected. She could see the fire in his hazel depths.

  “What do you want Damien?” She asked, trying to sound cold, distant when really her heart was thumping away loudly. “Do you want to torture me, is that it? I made a mistake.”

  “That was no mistake,” he growled, his grip tightening on her chin.

  Jenna whimpered, but she felt herself leaning towards him. He was right. What she’d done had been far from a mistake. Still, even the thought of it made her ashamed now. She didn’t want those thoughts swirling around her head, making her crazy.

  “It was a long time ago,” she mumbled. “It doesn’t matter.”

  Jenna gazed up at him. She could see her words had wounded him, the look in his eyes a mix between hurt and surprised. Damien let go of her, roughly. He stepped back, slipping his hands into his pockets.

  “Let me know when you’re ready to go.”

  “Damien, wait,” she called, but he turned around, slammed the door after him.

  Jenna shook her head. What was wrong with her? She held her head up, tried her old trick of pushing all of her hurt into the back of her brain, but it wasn’t working this time. She could still see the pained expression on his face. Sighing, she stepped into the shower.

  The warm water usually calmed her nerves, let her think without the pressure of the outside world on her mind, but that wasn’t happening today. Instead, she could feel the gnawing guilt. She washed quickly after that, hopping out of the shower and padding back into her room with a white towel wrapped around her body.

  Jenna rummaged through her closet and drawers, before she settled on her outfit for the day. A short, baby blue skirt, white tank top and flats. All of them were designer. Jenna had a taste for expensive things. She figured that had come from her mother. Walking down the stairs, she could see Damien standing by the door, arms folded over his chest.

  “Ready to go?”

  Jenna nodded. “I’m leaving daddy!” She called towards the kitchen,

  “Be back before it gets dark!”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. Sometimes she was pretty sure her dad thought she was still in high school. She grabbed her purse before heading out of the door, Damien close on her heels.

  “Do you have to be so close?” She asked, her voice irritated.

  “It usually works better that way,” he said.

  Damien opened the door to the sleek, black car for her. She slid in before he shut it. She sighed. It was going to be a long day, that she was certain of. Damien slipped in beside the driver as she slipped sunglasses onto her face. There was still a dull ache in her head from the night before.

  “Where to, Miss Evans?”

  “Krista’s.”

  ***

  Krista was the only person who understood Jenna. They’d been friends since she was a child and they were never far from each other. On top of that, Krista kept Jenna supplied with a steady stream of honesty .

  They drove along without a word, but Jenna caught Damien’s eyes in the side view mirror more than once. He had a way of holding her in rapture when he gazed at her, the way his eyes examined her body. It was so obvious. Jenna forced herself to turn away, to gaze out of the window at the passing of large houses and open space.

  Krista’s place loomed in the distance. If Jenna’s place was huge, Krista’s was enormous. It was twice the size of her home with a garage stocked with expensive cars. Krista was big into clothes and shoes, but everything else was pretty irrelevant to her.

  The driver opened the door for her before she stepped out. Sun hit her skin, warming her up, but making her head throb worse too. She pressed a hand to her temple as she walked up to the front door. Jenna was prepared to knock when the door was yanked open and Krista stood there. She threw her arms around Jenna’s neck. The tall, blonde woman was cutting off her circulation as she squeezed tighter and tighter.

  “I was so worried about you! I heard about what happened last night. Are you okay?” She asked, her eyes running over every inch Jenna’s skin.

  “I’m fine. Stop worrying. Are you going to let me in?”

  “Who’s that?” Krista asked pointing behind her.

  Jenna didn’t have to turn around to know who her friend was talking about. “Daddy hired me a bodyguard.”

  “That’s intense,” she said as she continued to stare at Damien. “Hey there.”

  Jenna grabbed Krista’s arm, forcing her inside of the house. She could faintly hear Damien chuckle behind her. Damien closed the door behind them, but didn’t follow the women up the stairs. When they were safely in Krista’s room, Jenna sighed.

  “He’s hot,” Krista said as she plopped down on her bed. A magazine lay in front of her, but she seemed preoccupied.

  “Since when are you into the help?” Jenna mused.

  Krista shrugged. “I’ve never been opposed to it. I have more than enough money and that man had more than enough muscle,” she trailed off.

  “Can you please stop that? He’s my ex!” Jenna exclaimed as she plopped down on the bed.

  “Your ex?” Krista whispered. “Oh my god, he’s the guy you used to talk about all the time.”

  Jenna nodded. “Yeah. And I can’t get rid of him. He seems to be enjoying torturing me.”

  “Can you blame him? You cheated on him.”

  Hearing Krista say it so bluntly instantly made a wave of guilt wash over her. She scowled. The feeling persisted however.

  “I was young.”

  “You were nineteen. That’s barely two years ago.”

  “But Michael-”

  “You probably broke his heart,” Krista said seriously, her face stern.

  “I know,” Jenna said quietly. “I feel bad about it, I really do. What can I do though?”

  “Is he making a move on you?”

  Jenna thought back to her shower that morning. Damien’s hands traveling over her skin. His eyes gazing deeply into hers. She gave a little shiver, a smile spread on her lips.

  “I think so. Or maybe he just wants to mess with my mind.”

  Krista laughed. “He’s how old now, twenty-eight? I don’t think he’s that childish.”

  Jenna shrugged. “You don’t know Damien. He can be vindictive when he wants to be.”

  Krista laughed. “Do you want him back?”

  Jenna thought hard about that. She remembered when they were together. They’d never told anyone, but kept it to themselves so that they’d have peace in their relationship. Jenna would sneak him over late at night. They’d swim, go out to eat, sleep together. As if it had happened yesterday, she could imagin
e them laughing, pressing hands over each others’ mouths so they wouldn’t wake up her parents.

  By then he’d already been discharged from the army, his prosthetic leg gaining him a purple heart in the process. She remembered lying beside him at night, her fingers tracing it. He’d been self-conscious about it at first, but she’d never minded.