by K. Webster
I shake him off. “You gonna tattle on me, bro?”
“Fuck off,” he grunts. “Let’s go see what we can find in the cabin.”
Several shots later and I’m halfway to plastered. I’m queasy and the world keeps spinning. Roan is nearly as fucked up as I am. We’re not always the best influence on each other. With his arm slung over my shoulders, we head back outside. Roux is still talking to Kayden. They seem to be having an argument. I laugh because it’s funny. I hope they break up so I don’t have to break his neck.
“They’re still together,” I blurt out. “Been together this whole time.”
“What the fuck?” Roan roars. “Fucking seriously?”
“Yep.”
Roan charges down the porch steps, rage fueling him forward. Because I can’t let my best friend get hurt, I storm after him. Kayden, the cocky bastard, lifts his shirt, showing off his piece.
That motherfucker.
Roan screeches to a halt, the reality of the situation sinking in. “You’re fucking carrying?”
Kayden lets his shirt drop back down and pats Roux on the ass. “See ya around, babe.”
Uncaring that this asshole has a fucking gun, I rush him, my fist swinging hard. I clock the motherfucker right in the jaw, knocking him the hell out. He slumps to the ground and his gun hits the dirt. I pick it up and charge through the woods and to the beach. With a grunt, I heave it as far into the river as I can. It splashes and I laugh.
“You’re such a dick,” Roux yells as she stumbles along the sand toward me. “I hate you!”
She’s beautiful tonight with her dark hair twisted messily on top of her head. Her glasses are perched on her nose and her features are screwed up into an angry expression. With each step, her tits bounce and her dress rides up her thighs. I’m so fucking horny for her. When she reaches me, she tries to slap me. I grip her wrist hard, twisting it behind her back. I grip her jaw with my other hand, forcing her to look up at me.
“You’re not allowed to hate me, Little Hoodlum.”
“I can do whatever the hell I want!”
I squeeze her face, making her lips pucker out. “Anything you want, honey, but not that.” I relax my grip and run my thumb over her plump bottom lip. “Now say you’re sorry.”
“Fuck you,” she snaps.
I sure fucking wish.
“You and Ramirez are through. Understood?”
“He’s my boyfriend. You can’t force me to break up with him.” Her amber eyes flash under the light of the moon.
I lean forward, enjoying the way her breath hitches at my nearness. “You don’t want him like you want me.”
“I can’t have you,” she whispers.
“You can’t,” I agree. “But that doesn’t make you want him any more. If anything, it makes you resent him.”
“You don’t know how I feel.” Her eyes well with tears. “You know nothing about me anymore.”
I release her and then gently brush a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “I know you love Fruity Pebbles. And dumb chick flicks. I know your eyes turn dark copper when you’re worried. I also know your lips quirk up on the right side when you’re amused. I know you couldn’t care less about sports, but always cheered your brother on like it was your favorite thing to do. I know your favorite color is navy blue. I know you hate having to be tutored but are thankful for the opportunity. I know you write poems as therapy for all the fucked-up shit your mom put you through. I know—”
“Please stop,” she begs, tears racing down her cheeks. “I can’t take this.”
I pull her to my chest, hugging her and kissing her hair that smells like coconut with a hint of rum. “Okay, Little Hoodlum. Just know that time may have passed, but I still know you. The real you.”
She relaxes in my hold. “I’m so mad at you, but I’m glad you’re back.”
I stroke my fingertips up and down her spine, soothing her. Greedily, I inhale her scent and memorize the way she feels pressed against me. “I’m glad I’m back too.”
“You need to be careful,” Roux says, her hot breath tickling my chest through my T-shirt.
“Why’s that?”
“Kayden’s not some kid anymore.”
I bristle at her words. “Neither am I.”
“He carries a gun,” she says in frustration, pulling back to look up at me.
“Used to.” I smirk. “Now it’s sitting at the bottom of Hood River.”
Her nostrils flare. “And he’ll just get another one. But now you’ve put a target on your back. You don’t want to mess with him.”
“Are you afraid?” I demand, the fierce need to protect her consuming me.
“For you.”
“I can handle myself.”
“Your track record for that is really shitty,” she grumbles. “If I promise to stay away from him, will you do the same?”
“I can handle that.”
She lets out a heavy sigh. “Okay. I need to get back there and check on him.”
As she starts to walk away, I can’t stop myself from taking her hand and squeezing it. Her fiery eyes search mine out, silently questioning what sort of games I’m playing with her. Truth is, I don’t know. I can’t have her for myself because she’s too young and forbidden territory, but I want her anyway.
“What do you want?” she rasps out.
The only answer I have is her name. I tug her back toward me, my other hand seizing her hip. “Only one thing.”
“What is it?” Her head tilts up and her eyes flash with such vulnerability, my heart cracks down the middle.
“Something I can’t have.”
“Maybe you could have it.” Her whispered words set my soul on fire.
“I can’t.”
“Maybe…”
I lean forward, stealing a chaste, forbidden kiss. “I can’t. I won’t. Don’t make me. Please don’t make me.”
She tugs her hand away from mine and touches her lips I just pecked. “You worked your whole life to make sure no one hurt me.” She pulls her fingers from her lips and presses them to mine. “And yet here you are, hurting me more than anyone has in my entire life.”
Her words shred me.
“Roux…” I trail off, my voice husky with emotion.
“Good night, Jordy. I guess I’ll see you at home.”
This time, when she walks away, I let her. I watch her leave me with such an overwhelming longing inside my chest, I think I’ll suffocate.
I hurt her.
Worse than anyone.
I’m a fucking monster.
Roux
“Come with us,” Kayden bites out, spitting out more blood. “It’s not a request.”
His friend Zac snorts out a laugh that boils my blood. If Jordy heard him talk to me this way, he’d be nursing a broken nose too.
“I can’t. Roan said no.”
Kayden’s dark eyes dart back to the campfire where the guys are back at their posts, standing guard over the entire party like they’re the Kings of Chaos rather than Hoodlums.
My brother has a possessive arm slung over Hollis’s shoulder, glaring into the fire. Cal’s hands are in some girl’s hair as she works her way down his body, but his eyes are lingering at where Ryan and Charlotte are talking. Terrence’s attention is on one of the freshmen getting mouthy nearby, his shoulders tense and ready for a fight.
Then there’s Jordy.
He sits in a chair, sipping on a beer, with his legs spread apart and his gaze locked on me.
“It’s because of him, isn’t it?” Kayden asks, drawing my attention back to him. “Jordy?”
“W-What? No,” I blurt out, my tone a little too defensive. “You know how Roan is. He’s overprotective.”
“He’s not your dad.”
I bristle at his words. “No, but he’s doing the best he can to look after me.”
He softens and lets out a sigh. “I’m sorry.” His hand lifts and he toys with a strand of my hair. “I’m just stre
ssed and I don’t need the Hoodlums giving me shit.”
“What are you stressed about?”
“Just some shit my brother wants me to do.” He flashes me a devilish grin as he grabs my hand, pulling us behind his car that’s hidden in the shadows. “Nothing for you to worry about, Roux-Roux.” He pulls me to him, his palms roaming over my ass. “Your only job is to give me a kiss.”
I used to melt over his sweet words whenever he’d blow me off about what’s going on with him. Now, I find them irritating.
“Why are you carrying a gun?” I demand, slightly pushing away so I can see his eyes.
He scowls. “I told you I’m doing shit for my brother.”
“I don’t like it. It’s dangerous. You could get hurt.”
“Nah,” he says, flashing me a smug grin. “That’s what the gun’s for. So I don’t get hurt.”
“Can you please stop provoking the Hoodlums?”
“Me?” he bites out. “They fucking started it and you know it. We were just fine until they decided I’m not good enough to date you.”
He starts to kiss me, but I duck out of the way, ignoring his pouty frown.
“You’re all bloody.” I lean back in to peck his cheek before pulling away. “Drive safely and text me later.”
“Tomorrow we’ll go party somewhere else. Figure out a way to sneak out since they won’t let you come with me,” he says, taking my hand. “We haven’t had much time alone and I miss you.”
“I’ll try,” I offer, though I know it’ll be virtually impossible now with Jordy home with us.
“Try what?” Ryan says, walking over to us with Charlotte tucked under his arm.
“Nothin’, man,” Kayden replies. “You still want some candy?”
Ryan stiffens. “No.”
I dart my eyes back and forth between them. Kayden gives him a knowing grin before patting Ryan on the shoulder and leaning in. He whispers something to him and I don’t miss the fact that he slips something into Ryan’s pocket. Ryan nods.
“We’re headed to the party at Zac’s,” Charlotte tells me. “You sure you can’t convince Roan?”
“Hollis let you go?”
“Hollis isn’t my dad,” she bites out.
I flinch at her words. She’s off. Her head is leaned against Ryan and she pets his chest like he’s the softest pillow in the world.
“Maybe you should stay with me,” I say, stepping close to take her hand.
“Don’t be a cockblocker,” Ryan snaps at me.
“Don’t be a dick,” Kayden barks at him.
“I want to go with Ryan,” Charlotte tells me. “Stop worrying so much.”
“Can I talk to you for a second?” I start to tug her away from her boyfriend, who glowers at me, but she stops me, shaking her head.
“I’m sorry Roan’s being a dick and won’t let you go, but I never get alone time with Ryan. He’s my boyfriend. I want to spend time with him.” She sighs. “I love you, Roux. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Ryan shoots me a triumphant grin before leading Charlotte away from me. I hate that Hollis hasn’t forbidden her to go like Roan did me. But I guess their situation is different. My brother has pull over me. Hollis has no pull over Charlotte.
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Kayden promises. “She’s my friend too.”
I give him a quick hug. “Thank you.”
He tries to kiss me again, but I sidestep it, his kiss landing on my cheek instead. I get a grumble but then he saunters off, calling out for Zac. With a heavy sigh, I turn and head back to the party to go find Hollis. Charlotte may not have to answer to him, but I still think he should be aware of where she’s going.
As I approach, I don’t see Jordy, Hollis, or Roan.
Cal’s getting his dick sucked by Tarrin. He’s such a manwhore and she’s a slut. Gross. Terrence laughs when he sees me glaring at them.
“Best you go on, Little Hoodlum,” Terrence calls out. “The grownups are doing grownup things.”
Tarrin, spurred on by his words, starts slurping and bobbing like her life depends on it. I roll my eyes, ignoring those two.
“Where’d the guys go?” I ask, climbing up the steps onto the porch.
“The wives went to their tent to fuck like bunnies,” Terrence says and snorts out another laugh. “The convict is in the cabin taking a leak.”
Yuck.
I don’t want to think about my brother and Hollis fucking. Making my way past Terrence, I head inside to find Jordy. He’s sprawled out on the pullout sofa, staring up at the ceiling, his eyes hooded.
“Hey,” I mutter.
His body tenses and his eyes snap to mine. “Thought you left.”
“Roan doesn’t want me to go. Plus, I told you I was going to check on him, not go with him.”
“Is he hurt?”
“He’ll live.”
“Pity.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “You should behave so you don’t get your ass thrown back in prison.”
“Come here,” he orders, patting the bed beside him.
A thrill shoots down my spine. “Okay.”
Kicking off my shoes, I make my way over to him and then sit down. He hauls me to his chest, hugging me to him.
Several long seconds pass, my heart hammering in my chest. Neither of us speaks or moves. When the racing in my heart slows, I tentatively touch his pectoral muscle over his shirt. His nipple is hard and I can’t help but run my fingertip over it.
“Roux.” The warning in his voice makes every muscle in my body quiver.
“Hmm?”
“Just let me hold you.”
“That’s it? You just want to hold me?”
“That’s all I can do.”
I slide my palm lower, rubbing over his ridiculously hard abs. His breath hitches. I tease my fingertips along the hem of his shirt that’s ridden up, stroking the hair of his happy trail.
“Roux,” he rasps out, his voice a guttural growl.
“I’m just cuddling,” I say in the most innocent tone I can muster. “I missed you. That’s okay, right, Jordy?”
He groans, his breathing growing heavier. I don’t move my hand from the small sliver of skin between his belt line and shirt. I’m not blind to the way his cock strains against his shorts.
“Does your boyfriend know you’re cuddling with me?” he asks in a husky tone. “Is he going to shoot me?”
His words chill me to the bone. “Don’t say stuff like that.”
“I think you like playing dangerous games,” he rumbles. “First by dating that piece of shit, and now by pushing the limit with me. Are you trying to get hurt?”
“We’re just cuddling,” I retort.
“And you wish you were cuddling my dick,” he says in a smug tone. “If I asked you to peel your little panties off and climb on my cock, you would. Boyfriend or not, you’d fuck me, Roux, because you want what you shouldn’t. You want something dangerous.”
Turned on by his words, I slide my palm down, but before I can reach his dick, he grips my wrist hard.
“But I’m not some douchebag like Ramirez,” Jordy growls. “I’m here to protect you at all costs. Even if that means protecting you from me.”
I jerk my hand from his grip and start to climb off the bed, but he pulls me to him, my back flush to his chest. His powerful arm curves around my middle, holding me in his protective embrace. He nuzzles his nose in my hair. All the anger that surged up inside me has melted away as I allow myself to be held by this man. I’ve missed him so much.
“Everything feels so messy,” I whisper. “Since you came back.” Tears flood my eyes and spill out, soaking the bed below.
“I’ll clean it up,” he assures me, his hot breath tickling my hair.
His cock is hard behind me, but unlike Kayden, he doesn’t rub it against me. Jordy simply holds me like I’m the most important thing in his world. It’s confusing and infuriating, and also incredibly satisfying.
“You confuse me,” I whi
sper.
He kisses my head. “I confuse myself.”
“Was my dad nice?”
A laugh barks out of him. “Nice? Your dad? Not the word I’d use to describe him.”
I twist around to face him. His eyes are nearly closed and he smells like liquor. It makes me wonder if I could get away with kissing him.
You have a boyfriend.
That I don’t like. Not like this.
For the first time since I started dating Kayden, I come to the conclusion I need to break up with him. It’s not fair to either of us. He wants to have sex and I don’t want to. Not with him at least.
But with Jordy?
I always loved him. Like a brother. But now… Now everything is different. He’s always been so hot, but I’ve never been affected like this. I practically melt at his touch and hang on his every word. I crave to touch every part of him and have him touch every part of me.
I want him so much.
“What word would you use to describe him then?” I ask, my lips close to his.
“Total dickhead.” He chuckles. “He looks after his own, though.”
“You were his?”
He opens his eyes, his dark browns pinning me. “We’re family, Roux. Always have been. Always will be.”
I don’t think family lies tangled up this way, eager to get naked and kiss.
“I’m still a virgin,” I whisper. “I know I made it seem like I wasn’t before, but I am. I don’t want you to think I’m a ho like Tarrin, though Kayden probably wishes I were.”
He spreads a possessive palm over my ass, squeezing. “You’re worth waiting for. When you’re ready to have sex, it should be on your terms, not some horny-ass thug who just wants to bag a virgin.”
I’m ready.
But not with Kayden.
If Jordy would give me the time of day, I’d let him do whatever he wanted to me. With Jordy, it feels safe. Comfortable. Like home.
“I’m ready,” I breathe, brushing my lips against his. “Kayden’s just not the right one.”
Jordy brings his face closer to mine, kissing my jaw. “The right one will be worth it. Whenever it happens. Just hold out for the right one.” His lips trail a searing line along my jaw. “Don’t give it to him.”
I tilt my head up, groaning when his lips part and he kisses the side of my neck. His tongue flicks out, sending currents of desire right to my core. I let out a moan, my fingers biting into his bicep. He sucks the skin on my neck gently. Shivers ripple through me. His tongue drags back up to my jaw and he nips me there.