The Punk and the Plaything (When Rivals Play Book 3)

by B. B. Reid

  Something inside my chest tightened at the thought.

  Did I want to try? Isn’t that what boys and girls would do when they liked each other? First, they kiss and then they—

  Suddenly, my heart was beating fast. Too fast. I no longer knew how to breathe.

  I didn’t like Jamie. I liked Ever.

  Frustration made my fists ball in the grass because it felt like a lie. Ever was the boy who taught me my first secret handshake, the boy I’d learned to climb trees with, and the only one who hadn’t run away when I sat with boys instead of girls.

  But while I was locked inside these past few days, Ever wasn’t the one I couldn’t stop thinking about.

  “My favorite color is red.”

  Jamie seemed surprised and excited for some reason. “Mine too.”

  “Really?” I arched a brow as I looked him over. As usual, Jamie was covered from head to toe in dark clothing. “It’s not black?”

  “Really?” he mocked back. “It’s not pink?” I knew he was making a dig at the getup I wore to the carnival.

  “It’s red.” Suddenly, I felt boneless and lay back in the grass. Jamie and I shared a favorite. I wondered how many more there were.

  “Mine too,” Jamie echoed, his tone lighter than before. He seemed to be debating something before he spoke again. “He doesn’t know that you like him, you know.”

  Dread filled me until I felt sick. Oh, no. Jamie really did know about my crush. “What are you talking about?” I asked, anyway. There was always a chance I was wrong. About a lot of things…

  Shifting onto his side, Jamie pinned me with his beautiful brown gaze. “Ever. He just thinks of you as one of the guys. He’s never going to see you that way unless you make him.”

  It only took me a few seconds to realize that Jamie was right. I’d been so busy hiding my crush that I never considered what could be if I only had the courage. “How do I do that?”

  I told myself that I only imagined the disappointment I glimpsed in Jamie’s eyes, especially when he reached out and fingered one of my curls. “I’ll show you.”

  I didn’t even get the chance to ask him how before his lips pressed against mine. His eyes were closed tight while mine were bugged out of my head. Jameson Buchanan had stolen my first kiss.

  No, no, no…

  My hands found his chest, ready to push him the hell off. Before I could, his hands circled my wrists, pinning them to the grass. I struggled to free them, but it only made him kiss me harder. One of the guys or not, I realized Jamie was much stronger. And probably always would be.

  I should have kneed him in the balls, but slowly, I relaxed in the grass, letting him kiss me instead.

  Sensing my surrender, Jamie pulled back a little, softening the kiss, and forgetting that I was unwilling, I chased his lips. I felt his body shake as he chuckled, and then… I felt his tongue. Gently, he teased my lips until they parted, and he slipped inside. It took me a while to notice that his hands were no longer closed around my wrists and that I was free to sock him… so why didn’t I? Seconds passed, and my eyes drifted closed. The kiss continued, deepening until our lips were bruised, and we both ran out of breath.

  I no longer felt alive when he pulled away. I needed him.

  “How many girls—” Still panting, I was unable to complete my sentence. It didn’t matter because Jamie already knew what I was asking.

  His eyes were still closed, his cheeks pink when he answered. “One.”

  I swallowed down the emotions bubbling up, but my voice shook even more when I spoke. “Including me?”

  Slowly, his eyes drifted open, showing me his cloudy gaze. “Yes.”

  “I—But you—” I was struggling with the realization that I was Jamie’s first kiss, and he was mine.

  “I really wanted to kiss you.”

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t want to kiss you!” Shoving him away, I quickly sat up.

  He’d tricked me. Just like he’d tricked Rachel into feeling her boobs at the fair. Jamie was just as inexperienced as I was. He was just better at hiding it.

  My angry gaze met his blank one, but I wasn’t prepared for him to kiss me again. And I wasn’t expecting to kiss him back.

  “Yes, you did,” he whispered against my lips. “But I’m not my cousin. I’m not blind. I see you, Bette. I can’t stop seeing you.”

  My inhale was sharp, and the ache in my stomach doubled.

  “Bette?”

  His soft, wide lips found mine again, and just that quick, I was addicted to his kisses. “Something to remind you that you’re mine.”

  I started to tell him there was no need, that I had the feeling I’d never forget, but the only sound that spilled from my lips was a sigh and then his name. “James.”

  For the rest of the summer, Jamie showed me the way all right.

  To his heart. And to mine.

  Present

  IT HAD BEEN TWO DAYS since I left Bee in tears at the country club. Two days, and somehow, I could still taste her. Getting Barbette to lower her guards hadn’t exactly been a chore. I’d learned early on how to best catch flies, but I never thought to use my charm against her.

  Now that I knew she was nothing but a gold-digger, all bets were off.

  The only good thing that had come out of learning the truth was the clear path I now had to getting what I wanted. Barbette needed a cash cow and I needed…her—in my bed, under my thumb, and eventually crushed beneath my heel. I’d make Elliot an offer, marry Barbette, and fill her with the heirs my family required. Then, when my work was done, I’d sit back and watch my thorny rose wilt for the rest of her days.

  My only obstacle was the conviction I seemed to lack. Frustration had caused me to explode that day in the country club. My mission had been simple: expose her secrets and revel in her downfall.

  Then why hadn’t I gone through with it?

  The only time I couldn’t seem to give in to her was when she pushed me away. Go fucking figure.

  It’s not your hate that kills me but the love I see shining through.

  You kiss me with your cruel words and caress me with your pain.

  I’d glimpsed those words in her journal and just as she predicted, I broke like a dam and swept her away. And just before she could drown in my hate, I pulled her back out again. It seemed I couldn’t hate Barbette without loving her twice as hard.

  In desperate need of a distraction, I’d driven to the city with Lou riding shotgun, hoping that it would put enough distance between us. The few hours away had kept me from going to Barbette, but it hadn’t kept me from thinking about her… or picturing my hand around her lovely neck.

  “Bee’s right,” Lou mumbled when “Kiss it Better” began to play. “You listen to Rihanna way too much, bro.”

  Grinning, I turned up the volume just as Lou’s phone began to ring.

  Leaning forward, she snatched it from the dash. “What?” she snapped, drawing my gaze from the road. She was now curled up in a ball as if suddenly feeling the need to protect herself. “Where am I?” Scoffing, she added, “You’d know that if you weren’t too busy lying to me.” She was silent for a few seconds as she listened to whatever the caller was saying. “Ugh.” It was the only warning Lou gave before hanging up.

  “Trouble in paradise?”

  “I am paradise, and Wren is going to learn that really soon when I leave his ass.”

  I didn’t get the chance to respond to that before my phone rang. Already knowing who was calling, I didn’t bother looking at the screen before picking up. “Untwist your panties, Harlan. I got her.”

  “What the hell are you guys doing?”

  Wren was seething. I’m talking fire-breathing dragon mad. I could practically hear the steam blowing from his nose and ears, and I snickered.

  Of course, I just had to poke the sleeping bear.

  “Not much right now. She’s just riding me.”

  “What the fuck did you say?” he shouted, damn near blowing out my eardrums
.

  “I said she’s riding with me.” Taking a page from Lou’s book, I hung up on him. Lou snorted, so I turned my head to meet her gaze. “You know he’s going to kick our asses for that, right?”

  Sinking lower in her seat, she lifted her legging-clad legs and crossed her sneakered feet on my dash. “Yours, maybe. I’ve got immunity because I’m adorable, and he loves me too much.”

  Scoffing, I shook my head. I was beginning to think I’d never figure girls out no matter how many I screwed. “If you believe that, why are you giving him the cold shoulder?”

  I glanced over in time to see her lips curl. “Because he’s gone most of the day and when he’s home, he’s in his head and barely sleeps at night. I do not tolerate secrets or meeting up with old flames behind my back.”

  “Kendra?”

  “Kendra.”

  “You don’t think that maybe he’s just hunting Fox?” I didn’t know Wren all that well yet, but I was willing to bet that he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of being a sitting duck. No, he was a predator and always would be.

  “I know he is.”

  I waited for her to elaborate, but she was too engrossed in her phone. Wren had been blowing it up with text after text. When I finally pulled into her driveway, I grew frustrated when I didn’t see Wren’s car. It had been two weeks since their bootleg dinner party, and I was too fucked up then over the way Bee fled that night to get the answers I’d come for. At least now, I had the ones that had plagued me for five years. Shutting off the car, I opened the middle console and dug out the smokes I stashed inside.

  “You couldn’t wait until I was out of the car?” Lou bitched.

  “We need to talk.”

  “Then, you need to put that out.”

  “Nope.” Taking a drag, I blew the smoke in her face and laughed when she coughed and frantically waved the smoke away. “That night we rescued your not-so-prince-charming, we had help…”

  “Yeah? And?” Her tone was defiant, but I noticed she had a hard time meeting my gaze.

  “Who was the shooter?”

  “Does it matter? You’re still breathing, aren’t you?” She then gave my cigarette a pointed look. “Maybe not for long,” she added, rolling her eyes.

  Releasing smoke through my nose, I chose to ignore that. My body, my business.

  My father died from lung cancer, but so what? He could have just as easily been taken out by a bus. I ignored the pain in my heart at the reminder that my father was gone forever and chose to focus on something I could change.

  “Who was the shooter, Lou?”

  “A friend.”

  It was the same answer she’d given that night when she met up with someone. Twice.

  Ever and I had been reluctant to let her out of our sight, but we’d learned that night just how stubborn Lou could be. And while Wren was being rescued, Ever and I had been ordered to wait at the edge of the woods where it was safe like some chumps. Before leaving us there, however, she’d pressed a memory card into Ever’s palm and said we’d know what to do if she didn’t come back.

  Lou had indeed returned, though, empty-handed. The only explanation she’d given was that Wren was alive and that he was safe.

  “Does this friend happen to be Sean Kelly?”

  She paused, but then just as quickly recovered. “Who?”

  It was all the confirmation I needed. “Tell me how you know him and for how long,” I pressed.

  “Sean Kelly is dead.”

  My gaze narrowed at the confidence in her claim when only seconds ago she’d pretended not to know him. “How the hell do you even know that?”

  “His mother told me so at Thanksgiving. I was there, remember? Nice woman that Claire.”

  I remember a lot of things. Including Lou’s boyfriend pressing a gun to my kneecaps under the dinner table to protect someone he barely knew.

  “Sean Everson Kelly is dead,” Lou repeated. Done playing games, I was ready to kick her ass out my car when she said, “But Crow is alive.”

  “Who the hell is Crow?”

  “He’s Exiled. Or he used to be. He’s also Wren’s father.”

  My head spun as the wheels began to turn faster. If Sean and Crow were one and the same… Just as the last puzzle piece clicked into place, Lou nonchalantly set off the bomb.

  “Four seems to think he’s Ever’s father, too.”

  I’d only just recovered from the blow Lou had dealt when Wren suddenly materialized in the passenger window. Thanks to the large hood he’d thrown over his head, I couldn’t see his eyes, only his rigid jaw and the hard set of his lips.

  Lou’s back was turned to the door, completely oblivious to his presence. Before I could warn her, the door was ripped open, and she was plucked from her seat. The look he gave me before he slammed my door shut would have made me snort if I wasn’t still reeling.

  Wren set Lou on her feet, and while they stood in their drive arguing, I threw my Jeep into drive before backing out and heading home.

  The second I reached home, I went in search of Four and wasn’t surprised to find her in the garage. I was surprised, however, to find her crying.

  I swallowed hard, wondering what the hell Ever had done now, and then I felt like a selfish asshole when I wondered if it had anything to do with Bee.

  Hearing my footsteps, she looked up and then hurriedly dashed at her tears.

  “Too late, kitten.” I crossed the garage until I stood next to her, where she was straddling her bike. “What’s the matter?”

  Her trembling lips prevented her from speaking, so she handed me her phone instead. On the screen was an open email, and the subject read “Your AMA Pro Licensing Application.” Scrolling, I swallowed hard when I read the first line.

  We are sorry to inform you that your application for a Pro Motocross License has been denied.

  Shit.

  The email went on to say that Four would be welcome to apply again after obtaining the required points in a qualifying class.

  Whatever the hell that meant.

  “Fuck, Four. Fuck. I’m so sorry.”

  Four was no longer crying, but her face could have been carved from stone as she stared at the wall. I’d only seen her race once, but it was enough to know that she could dust the fools that called themselves professionals. What right did they have to deny her?

  “Maybe it’s just not meant to be.”

  “What the fuck do you mean by that?” I barked.

  Her startled gaze met mine, and her eyebrows rose at my scowl.

  “You can’t just give up because they told you no. You make them eat shit until they say yes.”

  “Well, they won’t,” she grumbled. “Not until I get the sixty points I need. I’d have to compete as an amateur, and I’d have a year and a half to do it.”

  “So what’s the problem? We both know you’ll get those goddamn points.”

  Four tried to hide the worry in her gaze and failed. “What if it takes me the entire eighteen months to qualify?”

  I frowned. As amazing as Four was, I highly doubted it. Sure, the competition would be stiffer than she was used to, but if anyone had a chance, it was Four fucking Archer.

  “I’d be on the road the entire time,” she added. “I can’t leave Rosalyn.”

  “Your mom will be in good hands, Four. She’s going to be treated by the best doctors my uncle’s guilt-ridden money can buy.”

  To his credit, Uncle Thomas had tried to care for Four’s mom himself until recently when he finally accepted that he was in over his head. Since he wasn’t Rosalyn’s legal spouse, my uncle was in the process of getting her recommended for involuntary hospitalization.

  Four had taken the news with an extra dose of guilt. She’d been taking care of her mom since she was a child, shouldering her schizophrenia and nursing her back to health. Now that the burden had been taken away, she didn’t know where to begin living or even if she should.

  “And Ever?” she asked, voicing the other plague
on her heart. “He didn’t sign up to have a girlfriend who’s never around.”

  “Ever is goddamned pussy-whipped, kitten. He’ll be right here waiting for you.”

  “No,” she growled. “He’ll be at Cornell with all those available co-eds.”

  “Do you trust him?”

  “It’s not about—”

  “Yes, it is,” I said before she could finish that ludicrous statement. “You either trust him or you don’t. If you don’t, then this conversation is irrelevant, and you should be having a different one entirely.”

  “I’m not breaking up with him,” she sassed, catching my meaning.

  “I figured as much.”

  “Can you ever give advice without being such a dick?”

  “Nope,” I said with a pop of my lips. “My methods are one-hundred percent effective.”

  “Whatever.” I watched as she looked at the email one last time before pocketing her phone.

  “So when do you leave?” I asked. I already knew she’d do what needed to be done. And even if my cousin was dick enough to have an issue with her absence, Four would never let it stop her. Girls like Four and Bee are what sad love songs were made of. My baby done left me and all that jazz.

  “If I want to have my license in time to compete next season? As soon as possible.” After a few seconds, she sighed. “After graduation.”

  Graduation was in less than a week, which meant she didn’t have a lot of time. Pulling out my phone, I searched for the kind of bike she’d need and whistled at the cost. “You don’t by any chance have ten grand lying around, do you? If not, Ever’s got the cash.” I pocketed my phone before saying, “You might need to think harder about giving him that blow job, though.”

  The indignant look she gave me nearly folded me in half. “I’ve got it covered, thanks. I didn’t risk my freedom racing street for nothing.”

  She swung her leg over the bike and headed inside and upstairs. When she stepped through her bedroom door, she looked over her shoulder and frowned once she realized I’d followed her.