Taming Eastyn (Stampton College Boys Series Book 1)

by Dawn Doyle

  “Something we agree on.” He stroked down my face until his fingers reached my chin, watching as they went. His gaze flicked up to mine, then held it there. “Have you written anything?”

  “Huh?” His question caught me off guard, and when he grinned, I closed my eyes for a second. “No, I haven’t. Just notes, but that’s it.”

  One of his brows lifted and mischief flashed across his features. “I remember them well.”

  Heat burned my face as I cringed, wondering just how long he’d been reading over my shoulder. “Oh, God, how much did you see?” I asked, not ready to hear his answer.

  Eastyn licked his bottom lip into his mouth before replying, “Enough.”

  Deafening music blared in the room, an incessant tone that I’d never thought I’d hear right now, interrupting the beginnings of what would’ve probably been an awkward conversation for me. Nobody knew about my writing, and to talk about it with Eastyn wasn’t something I wanted right then. He’d already proven one point with what I’d jotted down, and my mind raced with the possibilities of him acting out the rest.

  My core contracted in response, my pussy tightening as though it was telling me to get on with it already.

  The same tone played over and over, but I let it ring off again. If I hit ‘decline’ they would know I was avoiding them.

  “It must be important if they keep calling,” Eastyn said, but the expression in his eyes contradicted his words.

  “It’s not,” I replied, right at the same time my phone started ringing again. I huffed out a long breath, resigned to the fact that I wasn’t going to get a reprieve. “I’m sorry.”

  Eastyn released my hand, and I reached into my satchel to answer my phone. “Hi, Mom,” I greeted her. “Is everything okay?”

  “Shay-Anne,” she scolded, using my full name. “Why didn’t you pick up?”

  “I was in the middle of studying,” I lied. Eastyn snorted next to me and I deadpanned. “Are you working right now?”

  “Of course,” she replied as though it were ridiculous to think otherwise. “I’ve been in the office since this morning. I’m calling to let you know that your father and I have arranged for you to meet with some colleagues of ours in a few weeks.”

  “You did what?” I gasped in disbelief, and the tingles of arousal that had fired through me were instantly doused, not leaving even the tiniest of smolders. “Mom, I can’t just leave—”

  “Well, since you’ll be completing your LSAT’s this year, we thought it appropriate to have you acquainted with the senior partners and maybe a few associates” she cut in. “You’ll be working closely with them during your first-year summer internship, and will be there to guide you.”

  “Mom—”

  “Remember, Shay-Anne, your entry to the firm during your second year in law school mustn’t be seen as being marked with nepotism. Mason started with the other associates, as will you. Positions are earned, regardless of stature and, as our daughter, your position will be scrutinized at every turn. Venturing into family law like Mason is not the intended practice for you.” She didn’t bother to disguise the disapproving tone in her voice regarding Mason’s decision to choose his own path.

  I pulled my lips into my mouth and bit down, holding back what I wanted to say to her. It wasn’t the time or place to be having that conversation. “There are other factors pertaining to my current and future studies, and ones that are better discussed at home. The recent semester break was when I’d decided to air my personal ambitions for my future. However, as I hadn’t paid a retainer fee, the one dinner I’d requested with my parents wasn’t possible.”

  “Shay-Anne!” she snapped. “I will not tolerate that tone. We have apologized many times over for overlooking your schedule. Important depositions and court dates cannot wait.”

  My nails dug into my palm, and my other hand tightened around my phone. “Your assistant had my schedule,” I countered, my outburst bringing me to my feet with a burst of anger, my spine stiff as I fought to control it and the stinging at the bridge of my nose. I began to pace Eastyn’s room, feeling him watching me as I walked back and forth. “I set your Google calendar, your Yahoo Calendar, called you, and sent you text messages, reminding you of the date I was due to leave, Mom. Your argument that you overlooked it is invalid because the evidence stacked against your reason proves otherwise.”

  “Shay—”

  “I’m able bring up our messages where you assured me you would have time to speak with me, the only day I asked for, yet when you called me the morning I was supposed to come home, I had to remind you again.”

  “I can’t argue the fact that I’ve taught you well,” my mom sighed. “I have to go, Shay, I’m due in court in an hour, and I have a lot of work to get through.”

  I swiped at the tears threatening to spill over my lids as my chin wobbled. “Of course you are.” I pressed the end call button and released every ounce of air trapped in my tight chest.

  Warmth enveloped me from behind, strong arms wrapping around my waist and pulling me into a hard body.

  “One hour,” I choked, unable to keep it inside any longer. “For two months, I’d asked them—reminded them over and over—to set aside one fucking hour so I could have dinner with them to discuss something important to me, and they still forgot.”

  Eastyn turned me in his arms and tilted my chin up, but I couldn’t look at him. The way I was, the way I acted when I was upset, I’d given him a front row seat to the reason why, and being exposed in that way was humiliating. It hurt so much that my chest ached as though a fist had tightened around my heart and was squeezing harder and harder, forcing me to crumble; dragging me to my knees.

  “That’s why you were upset on the beach,” he stated.

  I nodded. “My mom only got back to me that morning, then said that they would have to reschedule. When she called, I was already in my car, about to make the four-hour journey home.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Eastyn held me close to his chest without saying another word. His silence was welcome, and it was as though he knew that in that moment, the last thing I wanted to do was talk about my family.

  “I should go,” I said, gently pulling away from him. I looked up into his eyes, then softly pressed my lips to his.

  “Shay, wait—”

  “I just need to be alone, Eastyn,” I cut in. “I apologize for bringing my troubles to you.”

  I didn’t give him time to stop me from leaving, and he didn’t try to. I left his dorm and closed the door behind me, wondering whether Eastyn was changing his mind.

  And I wouldn’t blame him. I had too much crazy for one person to handle, and he had no idea what else I had tucked away inside of me.

  Chapter 9

  Eastyn

  I pulled up my contacts and tapped the screen, the ringing tone sounding right away the second after I pressed.

  “Hey, Mom,” I said when she picked up.

  “Eastyn!” Her voice was soft and happy as though she hadn’t expected to hear from me; she wouldn’t any other time, but I needed to hear her voice. “How are you, honey? Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, everything’s great,” I replied. “How’s things at home?” I hadn’t spoken to any of my family for a while, except for a few text messages back and forth.

  “We’re all doing fine, except that we all miss you so much, sweetheart,” she sighed, and her voice caught. Fuck, I’d upset her by calling, the reason I rarely did because I couldn’t bear to hear her pain that I’d caused. “I was hoping you’d change your mind and come home for break.”

  I ran my fingers over my forehead and rubbed hard as though I could remove the stress headache that had formed there. The ache was radiating out toward my temples, and had started when Shay had left my dorm yesterday. “I couldn’t.”

  Every fucking word out of her mom’s mouth was poison, causing Shay to shut down on me just when I was getting to see the real her. The light in her eyes had been
snuffed out the moment she’d answered her phone, and the second I’d heard her mom’s voice, I understood why she didn’t want to pick up. Listening to the conversation made me realize how fucking lucky I was to have parents that never pressured me to do what they wanted.

  “Honey, you can’t keep shutting us out—shutting me out.” Her quiet sobs hit me like a fucking baseball bat to the stomach. “I just want to see my boy, even if it’s just for a little while. Caitlin and Mia ask about you all the time.”

  Caitlin. I couldn’t bring myself to look at her after what had happened. Seeing her face, and what had been left behind of that night, made me wish to be able to go back and relive it, just so I could finish what I’d started—even though it was the reason for the nightmares that plagued me almost every fucking night.

  “I just can’t be there right now, Mom,” I whispered, the bridge of my nose tightening and my eyes beginning to sting. “But I’ll call you again soon, okay? I have to get to class.”

  “Take care of yourself, okay? Come home soon, Eastyn. I love you.”

  “Yeah, love you too, Mom.”

  I ended the call and checked the time. Classes weren’t until the afternoon, but I couldn’t listen to my mom getting upset again. It fucking killed me to hear it, but was even worse in person.

  “Fuck!” I jammed my hands through my hair and then grabbed my gym bag. I locked my door behind me as I left my dorm, and headed out to meet the guys for a workout.

  *****

  “Hey, East,” Justin greeted me. He ran his hand over his head and pulled on a black baseball cap, turning it backward. “Ready for an intense leg workout?”

  We looked toward the doors as more and more people began to enter right after us. I let my eyes stay a while longer, waiting to see if anybody else was going to come through.

  “Of course.” I was so fucking ready. I needed to release the energy that was trying to strangle me. “What are we waiting for?” I made my way over to the area we used with the free weights and bars, ready to start warming up with some squats.

  “How’s it going with Shay?” Max asked as he followed me over.

  My spine stiffened at her name. It was no longer a secret there was something between us, but I wasn’t about to discuss it. “Fine.”

  He shrugged. “I saw her in History class this morning, and she seemed… I dunno… Sad?” I waited for him to continue. “I was going to say hi, but from the daggers she was giving her books, I thought it was better to leave her alone. Did something happen?”

  I shook my head. “Just talked.” I didn’t miss the looks they passed between them. “Then she left. I haven’t seen her since yesterday.”

  “Have you called her or sent her a text since?” Linc asked, and I turned around to face him. His dark eyes narrowed on me, and his head tilted to the side.

  “No.” That was a lie. I’d sent a text asking if she was okay, and I got a single reply.

  ‘I’m fine, thank you.’

  I didn’t want to leave it at that, fuck no. The way she looked when she’d left, I wanted to take it away. I knew hurt, I knew pain, and fuck if I wanted Shay to feel even a damn ounce of that. I wanted to go to her, but I didn’t. Instead, I left her the fuck alone, just like I would’ve wanted if it were me that had taken that call.

  Linc groaned. “No wonder she’s pissed. Shit, East, you gotta communicate more if you want to keep her happy.” He rested his arm across my shoulders. “We know it’s not your thing most of the time, but if you like her, then you gotta make her know that for sure.”

  I was pretty fucking sure I got that message across. My dick practically saluted her whenever she got close to me, and I wasn’t holding back when we kissed. God, that fucking mouth of hers. I’d have no problem just kissing her all fucking day, tasting her lips, her skin, everywhere I could touch…

  Jesus Christ.

  I ran a hand down my face to pull myself together. It wasn’t the time to pop a boner, and certainly not in front of the guys.

  “You know,” Justin said with a shrug, “if you don’t like her all that much, there’s always someone else who would gladly step up—”

  “Watch it,” I growled, snapping my eyes to him, glaring hard.

  The mother fucker laughed, holding onto his stomach as he did. “Come on, we got training to do, then some of us have to hit the field.”

  My legs were throbbing, my muscles pumped from lifting three hundred pounds on the leg press machine. Sweat ran down my back and my hair was dripping on my forehead. I grabbed my gray towel and wiped my face, then took a split-second glance at my reflection. I paused for a moment, catching a view of the prettiest face I’d ever seen in my fucking life. My already racing pulse sped up when her eyes met mine. I did what I would do any other time—I looked away. I couldn’t keep eye-contact with her; it would take my focus away from my training, but knowing that she was there pulled my attention away, no matter how hard I tried to stop it—like always.

  I slid my eyes to her again, and my stomach hurtled toward the fucking ground at what I saw.

  “Shit.” I wiped my face again and threw my towel on the bench next to Casey.

  I could feel many pairs of eyes burning into my back as I walked away from him and the guys. “Where are you off to?” he asked.

  “I’ll be back in a sec.” I continued walking until I reached the treadmill where Shay was walking on an incline at a fast pace. “Hey.”

  Her jaw tensed before she side-glanced at me. “Hey.”

  I leaned on the arm of the treadmill, getting close enough that I could smell her usual scent, and my mouth dried up, my throat tightening as though I was dying of thirst. “How are you?” I kept my voice low enough so that only she could hear me. With the noise of the other machines, and the weights being dropped to the ground by asshole users who thought crashing them down made them look tough, it wasn’t difficult to keep our conversation fairly private.

  Shay stared right ahead. “I’m fine,” she snipped. “How are you?”

  “Not good, Shay,” I replied. “Why do I feel like I’ve done something to upset you?” Linc’s words ran through my mind. “Have I?”

  She pressed the speed button and lowered the incline until she was flat and walking slowly. “You just looked at me like I was nobody,” she said, turning her face to me for a second. “Just like every other time since before break.”

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I have a reason for that,” I said, readying myself to tell her something damn embarrassing that I’d never told a single fucking person.

  “I’m listening.”

  I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the guys were trying damn hard to make it look like they weren’t watching us. “Don’t laugh, okay?”

  Shay eyed me again, her arched brows dipping while her pain-laced eyes trained on me. “Why would I laugh?”

  Fuck it, I’m past caring about this shit.

  I pressed the emergency button on the console to stop the belt, and Shay’s mouth dropped open as I jumped on behind her.

  “Eastyn, what are you doing?”

  “I’m all sweaty,” I said, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her toward me, and her hands gripped onto my arms, “so I won’t kiss you.” Her eyes widened as her pupils dilated. “But, if you keep looking at me like that, then I might not give a shit anymore.”

  Shay gasped. “Eastyn—”

  “You’re a huge fucking distraction,” I said, watching her flushed skin darken further as I pulled her tighter against me. I let my gaze swoop down to the tight black tank covering her tits, my hunger growing stronger as I paid too much attention to the creamy swells pushed against me. I lifted my hand and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her soft ear. “If I look at you, I lose my focus. Also, the guys would ask too many questions, and you know how I feel about that.”

  The corners of her mouth tilted up, and I felt the tug as mine did, too. “So, why did you come over?”

  I leaned
closer to her, grinning when her breath hitched. “I guess I really don’t give a shit anymore.”

  Warm lips pressed against mine, and I didn’t stop to think about Shay’s phobia. I parted my lips and slipped my tongue between hers, then closed my mouth around lower lip, tugging it gently in my teeth.

  “Eastyn,” Shay whispered as I pulled back, her fingers pressing into my arms.

  “I’ll see you later, Shay.” I pressed my mouth to hers once more, then stepped off the treadmill and headed over to the guys.

  Will’s mouth hung open as I walked past him. “Dayum—”

  “Shut up,” I said, then grabbed the long bar stacked with weight discs. I checked in the mirror and saw Shay staring right at me. I smiled, then winked, before tearing my eyes away from her before I lost my damn mind and hauled her sexy ass right out of there.

  Whispers surrounded me, but I paid no attention to them. People could say what they wanted; I didn’t give two fucks about what they thought. All I cared about was that Shay Michaels called to something inside of me that had been lost a long time ago.

  Shay

  I’d never felt so relieved at being wrong about Eastyn, but I did the moment he stepped onto the treadmill and pulled me toward him. I smiled as I recalled his hard body pressed against me, his heat firing me up more than my workout had ever done.

  I could still taste the saltiness of Eastyn’s kiss on my lips, and where I should’ve been horrified, scrubbing my mouth to get rid of the remnants of his sweat, I licked my lips to relish in his flavor.

  I put down my pen and read over the words I’d jotted down, smiling to myself at how they flowed from my mind to the page with ease. I quickly changed Eastyn’s name for the one I’d thought up for my character, but there was no denying how writing from experience—the way he made me feel—was cathartic. I hadn’t felt so good about writing in a while, and the parts I’d scrapped before, I wrote them again, not leaving out any detail.