Taming Eastyn (Stampton College Boys Series Book 1)

by Dawn Doyle

  “I’m working on it,” I replied, which was true. I had more work cut out for me before I could write down any of the shit that I’d already made notes about.

  Professor Chambers’ features softened as she tucked her shoulder-length gray hair behind her ear. “I know this can be difficult, given your circumstances, but as this is a part of your qualification, it’s a necessary requirement in order for you to pass this year’s grades.”

  I nodded slowly. “I know. I just need a little time, but I’ll get it done,” I assured her. She’d done a lot for me even before starting at Stampton, so making sure I passed this course was my only way to pay her back. “I think I’m getting somewhere.”

  “That’s great to hear,” she said, smiling warmly at me. “I’ll speak to you again in a few weeks to see how you’re doing.”

  “No problem.” I left the room and headed toward the place I’d asked Shay to meet me.

  “How did your class go?” Casey asked, jogging up beside me. “Economics is kicking my ass right now.”

  “It was okay,” I replied with a shrug as I scanned the masses of bodies for any sign of Shay. When I didn’t spot her, I looked over toward the bench, but she wasn’t there, either. “Your mom asked about my assignment, but I’ll have it done.” Even though not many people we aware, it wasn’t a secret he was the professor’s kid, but nobody else other than our group knew that’s how he and I met.

  Casey stopped and stared at me. “Who are you going to use?” he asked, his lids narrowing. When I said nothing, he closed his eyes and shook his head. “You can’t be serious, East. How could you write up that kind of psych evaluation?”

  My brows furrowed when I still couldn’t see Shay. “I’ll figure it out, Case, I always do.”

  “I just hope you know what you’re doing.” He waved to Justin and Linc as they walked over. “Hey, guys.”

  They returned the greeting and Justin faced me. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “Look, I gotta go find Shay, okay? I’ll see you guys later.” We bumped fists, our cuffed wrists coming together as though it was some secret code, and I left them behind, making my way through the masses to the other side of the green. I pulled out my phone and typed a message.

  ‘Standing me up already?’

  My phone beeped a couple of minutes later.

  ‘I’m so sorry. I have one more thing to do, then I’ll be right there, if you still want me to meet you?’

  ‘Where are you?’

  I waited for her reply, and when it didn’t come, I shoved my phone in my pocket and decided I wasn’t going to stand around while people were staring, probably wondering what the fuck I was doing. Normally, I didn’t give a shit what they thought, but knowing my friends could see me from where they were still standing, I felt like a fucking chump.

  A beep came from my pocket and I pulled out my phone again.

  ‘I’ve just gotten to the newspaper office. Are you close by?’

  ‘I will be.’

  I knew exactly where that was, and the fucking pervy asshole who was the editor. I’d already overheard him offering her a position that would have them working together, and I knew exactly what that fucker meant by that.

  I walked faster, people moving out of my way when they saw me steaming ahead like I was on a mission. And I was. I was right outside the door when I heard voices from inside, and I paused to listen.

  “Jesus fucking Christ, Shay, I was being nice!” a guy’s voice ground out, and my temper began to raise.

  “Nice? Is that what that was?” Shay asked incredulously, and with those words, my blood began to boil in my veins. “Just because I’m a woman, it does not give you the right to treat me that way. Your behavior is despicable, and I can only wonder if you’ve carried out the same abhorrent tactics on other female students. It appears, from your pale complexion and nervous twitching, that my theory is most likely correct.”

  There was only one reason Shay spoke like that. I threw the door open to find her standing with her arms folded across her chest, and her phone in her hand while she glared at the mother fucker in front of her.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I ground out.

  The guy flinched back, his face turning whiter than before when he saw me. His hands lifted up. “N-nothing, Eastyn, I swear.”

  Shay’s smile floored me, her eyes sparkling as she did. Her shoulders dropped, relief evident as she relaxed.

  “Doesn’t fucking sound, or look, like nothing, asshole,” I said, slowly stepping toward him as my fists balled at my sides. Mist began to cloud my vision, the thought of the dickhead trying to take advantage of Shay burning through my skull, causing my rage to flare in places I’d tried to keep from being set alight. “Did he touch you, Shay?” I asked, my eyes not leaving the trembling predator. “Just say the fucking word. Did. He. Touch. You?”

  “Eastyn,” Shay said, but her soft voice barely registered. “Eastyn!” When her hand flattened on my chest, I stopped, but still glared at the prick. “Let’s go, okay? Come on, I could use some air right about now.”

  Every muscle in my body ached with tension, desperate to be unleashed and destroy the threat in front of me. “If you dare to touch a single hair on her head, I will break every worthless bone in your fucking hands, got it?”

  Asshole’s head bobbed up and down so fast it was almost comical.

  Shay’s other hand pressed against me, her body close to mine as she stood between us. She pushed gently, but it was enough to make me finally look down at her face. Her eyes were wide, focused entirely on me, and when her brows lifted in a silent plea, I caved.

  “Sure, let’s go.” I took her hands and kissed her knuckles before dropping one of them. I guided Shay ahead of me, and when we reached the door, she turned back.

  “Oh, and if you weren’t already aware, I quit,” she spat.

  We got outside and away from the crowds before I spoke again. “What happened?” I asked, turning to sit on the bench. Shay kept hold of my hand, and I fucking liked it. Her hand in mine grounded me, making my temper ease up, even though I wanted to go back inside and smash that guy’s face in.

  She blew out a breath and sat next to me, staring down at our entwined fingers. “I guess you already know I worked on the college paper,” she said quietly.

  “Yeah. It doesn’t take a genius to work that out, considering I showed you were it was last year. Also, you were the one who wrote the article about the gym and the fundraiser.” Her eyes snapped up to meet mine. “What, you didn’t think I could tell it was you?” I snorted a laugh through my still tense jaw. “Come on, Shay, the other articles talk about shit that doesn’t matter, then yours go into detail.” I swallowed, remembering the other kinds of details she wrote about. “They’re worth reading.”

  She smiled, her head dipping shyly. “Thank you.”

  “So…?”

  She straightened, her smile dropping. “I went there and told him we needed to talk. Well, he assumed I was there to accept the position to work alongside him. When I explained that I was declining his offer, he wouldn’t listen. He moved closer than I liked, and when I tried to get out of the way, he grabbed my shoulders and stroked down my arms, saying we would make a great team.”

  My jaw clenched painfully, and fire erupted in my chest. My foot tapped on the floor repeatedly, impatiently urging me to get the fuck up and go and pay the fucker a little visit. “Then what?” I ground out.

  “I didn’t like him touching me, so I pushed him away and told him to back off. He said he was trying to be nice.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I heard when I got there.” My past reared up in my thoughts, memories of how I’d gotten arrested and sentenced flashing through my mind. I couldn’t go back to that place inside of me. If I did, Ian wouldn’t be walking, eating solid food, or breathing very well, and I would be in cuffs by the end of the day, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to put his fucking head through the wall.

  S
hay turned toward me, her soft eyes assessing my face. “I was glad you showed up when you did,” she said, squeezing my hand. “Thank you.”

  I moved closer to her and, with my free hand, I pressed my finger against the outside of her chin, keeping her still. “You don’t have to thank me, Shay,” I replied, gazing at her. “Nobody puts their hands on you without your permission.” I glanced down to her parted lips, unable to wait a moment fucking longer to taste the sweetness of her mouth. I didn’t have to wait, or move, because the second I’d made my mind up that I didn’t give a fuck who saw us, Shay’s lips pressed against mine.

  I slid my hand up to her cheek, cupping her smooth skin in my hand as I parted my lips. Her tongue dipped inside my mouth as I did, flicking over mine, and my dick enjoyed how that felt a little too fucking much while in a public place. I was growing harder the longer Shay’s lips slowly worked over mine, and it’d be fucking embarrassing if I let it go on for too long.

  I pulled back, and when I opened my heavy lids, a grinning face stared at me over Shay’s shoulder. “Fuck, Will, what the hell?”

  Shay jumped and spun where she sat.

  “Yeah, I fucking knew it,” he said with a stupid smug grin on his face. “You can’t bullshit a bullshitter, East. The second I saw you at lunch”—his finger wagged between us—“I knew something was going on.”

  “And how is that any of your business?” Shay asked, cocking a brow, but the seriousness in her tone was dampened by her adorable blush.

  Will held his hands up. “Hey, it’s not, but we’re all friends, right?” His eyes flicked to mine, then back to Shay. “Friends look after each other, that’s all I’m saying. I just came over to see if everything was okay, then you locked lips.” He grinned, then stood quickly. “So, now that we’ve established that everything’s fucking peachy, I’ll be off to do some boring responsible shit, like studying.” He lifted his hand and waved as he walked away.

  “Yeah, now you know why I keep shit to myself,” I grumbled. Shay beamed at me, her eyes sparkling and her face lighting up brighter than the late summer’s day, and my fucking chest ached. Being near her made me want to get better—better than I was ever before, and I wished that when she found out about who I was, she’d still look at me the same way. I stood, and pulled Shay with me. “My dorm?”

  Shay

  We walked across the green, toward the large building where Eastyn was leading me. Even though I’d been there before, my stomach didn’t get that memo. Every nerve ending bristled the closer we got, my pulse thudding loudly with every step.

  “I need to know something,” he said when we got out of the busy area. “At lunch, why did you think I was playing you?”

  I closed my eyes for a second, regretting those words ever falling from my lips. “It doesn’t matter,” I replied with a forced chuckle.

  He turned to me just as he was about to open the door to his dorm block. “It does. I need you to know I’m not fucking around—I wouldn’t do that to you.” He closed the gap between us and stared at me intently, causing my breath to catch in my throat. “Whoever hurt you is a fucking idiot.”

  I knew that more than anyone, but even though Eastyn’s expression twisted with sincerity, his jaw tight and his brows dipped, I couldn’t bring myself to explain how stupid I’d been for falling for Ross’ game. The way I’d found out was worse.

  “That’s nice of you to say, Eastyn.”

  The corner of his mouth quirked as his features softened, and he opened the door, gesturing for me to walk ahead.

  The door clicked and I was, once again, locked inside Eastyn’s room with him. Jitters ran through me like an awkward moment where you had no idea what to do with yourself while wondering what the other person was going to do or say.

  I took in the tidy room, the memories of the last time I was there flooding my mind, my body reacting as though it was keen to get back to that place again. I licked my dry lips and stepped toward the couch.

  “Drink?” Eastyn asked, opening a small fridge used as his nightstand. “I have water or soda.”

  “Um, water would be great, thanks,” I replied, grateful to wet my parched mouth. When he handed me the bottle, I unscrewed the cap, breaking the seal, and took a long gulp.

  “Thirsty?” he asked, his tone deeper than before.

  I almost spat water everywhere, because that word had more than one meaning these days. I swallowed quickly. “A little.”

  His mouth quirked in the corner before he turned away to grab a drink for himself.

  I turned around to sit on the couch, stifling a groan at the comfort that surrounded me. “Can I ask you something?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

  “Sure.” Eastyn sat next to me, leaning in the corner of the couch and resting his arm on the back of the cushions. His eyes bore into mine. “Ask away.”

  I swallowed hard, thinking about how I was going to word my question. “In the office, you looked like you were about to attack Ian.”

  He looked away from me. “You wanna know if I would have?” he asked before I could.

  The tension between us was palpable, growing thicker with every second that passed. I had no doubt Eastyn was more than capable of causing significant injury to Ian, curiosity burning into me what could’ve happened if I hadn’t come between them. I wet my dry lips, Eastyn following the movement of my tongue across the bottom. “Yes,” I whispered.

  He bent forward, angling his head to make sure I wouldn’t look away. “Shay, I have no fucking idea what I would’ve done if you hadn’t stopped me.”

  My pulse throbbed in my veins, his words and the chilling tone that had come from his mouth sending adrenaline bursting through me, radiating from my middle and causing my stomach to flip-flop. “Are you glad that I did?” I barely heard myself as I asked.

  Eastyn shook his head. “I wanted to rip him apart for touching you, and every second since leaving that fucking room…” The squeak of enamel grinding together pierced my ears, and the muscles in Eastyn’s jaw tensed over and over as though he was barely holding onto his control

  I lifted my hands and placed them either side of his face, running my thumbs over the tight muscles. As I held him, tiny tremors ran through my fingers and into my arms, but it wasn’t me. “Thank you.”

  “What for? For being close to tearing him apart?” Eastyn asked, snorting a dry laugh.

  I shook my head slowly. “For standing up for me… Again.”

  Eastyn’s hands covered mine and gently removed them from his face while he gazed at me. “Did you think I wouldn’t?” he asked, his brows dipping. His dark lashes almost touched as his lids narrowed.

  “Quite the opposite,” I replied on a breath. “I knew you would.” The gap between us grew smaller as though there was something pulling us together.

  I leaned toward him, needing to feel his mouth on mine again. My eyes closed the second my lips touched his, increasing the pressure to feel more of him against me. He kissed me back, his head tilting to the side and pressing harder with a deep kiss. I felt the moment his jaw relaxed, and I mirrored his movement, our lips parting then closing around the other, our mouths gently tasting. I darted my tongue out, flicking the tip over Eastyn’s bottom lip before kissing him again. His hands left mine, only to reach to my face and slide into my hair, holding me in place as though he didn’t want me to stop. And I didn’t. Eastyn’s kisses were like a dangerous drug, hooking me in and feeding an addiction that had already taken hold of me.

  Soft licks followed gentle nips on my lips, causing my body to react with a speed I hadn’t known was possible. My nipples pinched painfully tight as my tongue danced with his as though they were crying out for the same treatment, and the rest of my body lit up in agreement.

  I placed my hands against his chest, sliding my palms upward, every ridge and curve of his muscles seeming to respond to my touch just like I was with him. I continued up, gliding my fingertips over his hard body until I worked my way up to h
is head, grasping at the short hair at the back.

  Eastyn’s hand lowered down my back, his large palm flattening against my spine and pulling me closer to him. My breasts ached when our bodies collided, the touch barely there, but enough to have my core burning with desire. It’d been so long since I’d felt this way, and Eastyn had managed to cause me to want again, and with just his kiss.

  Eastyn pulled back, keeping his mouth close to mine, pressing tiny pecks to my lips. Just like last time, he’d stopped right before we could move any further. “I want you,” he said, brushing my hair back. “All of you.”

  The way he looked at me, his eyes soft and his brows raised in the center, had my stomach flurrying inside, a sense of mild panic taking root, and spreading fast at the thought of opening myself to another person again—to be vulnerable. It scared me, but I’d had enough of letting my past control me.

  “I want you,” I whispered finally, staring at his mouth, waiting for the moment I could kiss him again.

  Eastyn’s hands dropped from my face as well as his eyes, our moment fading away. “You have to be sure, Shay, because if you change your mind, I won’t come after you.”

  I took his face in my hands and lifted his head, determination spurring me on, my heart telling me it was time I learned to trust again. “Eastyn, if I changed my mind, I wouldn’t want you to.”

  He let out a long, slow breath through his nose as he nodded. “I don’t share.” His voice was almost dangerous, deep with a menacing bite to it.

  “And I don’t play well with others,” I countered. My heart flipped when his features softened and a smile tugged at his mouth.