The Hastings Series

by Vanessa Siena

  I glanced over at Gray, and I was more than happy to answer that question, even if Bliss was the one to ask. “She’s amazing. I don’t wanna rub it in your face…but I think I’ve found the one.” I hoped to lighten the mood even more but also tried to challenge Bliss at the same time. Not sure why I wanted that, but a small voice inside my head told me to do it.

  Bliss nodded, then leaned back and sighed. “I think we’re heading the same direction then. I’ve met a guy. Tall, dark, handsome as hell. He’s the new president of Hastings College, and I would lie if I said that we didn’t have sex in one of the classrooms yet.”

  And there it was. The weird side I was expecting to pop up once she got a little too comfortable. She wanted to let me know just how well she was doing without me, and honestly, good for her. Her moving on meant that I had nothing to worry about anymore. She found a new toy and she would play with it until she got bored again.

  “Is that allowed?” Gray asked. She had a point, but then, I didn’t care what Bliss did with other men. I squeezed Gray’s thigh, making her squirm next to me. The reaction I got from her just from touching her made me want to pick her up and get out of here, to drive back home and do what we did just a little over an hour ago all over again.

  Bliss shrugged with a smug grin on her face. “Don’t really care. We’re happy. That’s what’s important, right?” Gray and I nodded simultaneously, and I was glad Harlow was back with a small binder in her hands. “All right, the pancakes will be ready soon.” Bliss moved over to let Harlow sit down opposite of me, and I reached for the binder and pen Low put on the table. “It’s the first document. It just states that Hunter will be the owner of the house once you’ve signed.”

  I was already reading the first few lines, then skipped some words to get to the last line where my signature would go. “And you’re sure you don’t wanna be the owner? What if you guys fight and you don’t have anywhere to go?”

  Harlow’s brows were furrowed, tighter than I’ve ever seen them before. “Don’t you dare say things like that.” She tried to sound angry, but she looked rather adorable with that face. I laughed it off, then signed the paper and pushed it back to her. “It’s just a thought, Low.”

  “Keep it to yourself.” Harlow’s feistiness grew day by day, and I liked it. She was getting stronger, defending herself and speaking up when something bothered her. I was proud, knowing she was turning into a confident young woman. She was happy, and that’s all that mattered.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Gray

  “So, when are you guys heading back to Newton?” Bliss asked, eating the last strawberry from her plate. Hunter was now sitting at the booth too. He squeezed in next to Harlow, who looked rather squashed between Hunter and Bliss. She didn’t seem to mind, so I didn’t bother asking about it.

  “Tomorrow. Gray’s got to get back to work in the afternoon. And I might ask Dallas if he needs me tomorrow at the bar.” The last sentence was directed to me, and I looked up at Jagger and nodded.

  “I think he’d be thrilled. He likes you quite a bit,” I grinned.

  “Who’s Dallas?” Harlow asked. She was already done eating her pancakes and now leaned into Hunter’s side to get more comfortable. His arm came around her shoulders, and he pulled her closer.

  “Dallas is my brother. He owns a club in town and offered Jagger a job. He’s done great so far. Dallas is fascinated by him, I think.”

  “He’s not fascinated.” Jagger laughed, then looked at Hunter. “Her brother is Dallas Washington. Remember that guy everyone wanted to fight years back? I wasn’t ready to take on a guy like him, so now he thinks he’s better than me because he made it much further in the MMA business.”

  Hunter chuckled, shaking his head. “No fucking way. I wanted to take him on myself, and I didn’t even do those stupid cage fights.” He then swung his gaze to me and smiled. “Heard a lot about your brother. Sounds like a nice guy.”

  I nodded quickly, then scrunched my nose. “He’s taking it a little too far lately. I want him to stop fighting, but he just won’t listen. He’s not in the greatest shape anymore.”

  I saw Harlow look down at her hands, and Jagger patted my thigh to signal me not to talk about underground fights anymore. My lips parted, then shut tightly so I wouldn’t continue talking about my brother.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, Harlow.” I knew the story about Jagger and Harlow’s time back in the days when Harlow found out about Jagger fighting and wanting him to stop. Jagger had told me that she often watched him come home with bloody noses and bad bruises, and lucky for her, he stopped once he realized how upset Harlow got seeing him like that.

  “No, it’s fine,” Low said calmly. She looked back up at me, then over at her brother. “I wish Jagger knew better back then. Fighting like that can leave physical damage, and I really hope your brother one day sees that too.” She smiled now, looking back at me with a soft expression.

  “I think you’re all overreacting. Guys who fight in cages with only boxing shorts on is hot. I gotta see one of Dallas’s fights. You gotta get me his number, Gray.” Bliss’s words surprised me, and to be fully honest, I didn’t like the thought of her in a room with my brother. Not because I didn’t want them to get to know each other, but because they were too damn similar—both loud and very hyper, and knowing my brother, he wouldn’t hold back on a woman like Bliss. Even though she was gushing over her new man just minutes ago, there was something about her carelessness that didn’t match up with her words.

  “Right, I think you’re good for now, sis.” Hunter slid out of the booth and got up, then helped Harlow stand up as well. “Take care of that college guy first, then Gray can let you meet her brother.” He winked at me, and I smiled to thank him for his help. I wouldn’t have known what to say to Bliss, so I was glad Hunter spoke up for me.

  “Come say goodbye tomorrow morning before you leave, all right? I’ll make you some sandwiches to eat on your way back to Newton.” While he spoke, Hunter started to take our dishes off the table to bring them back to the kitchen.

  “Thanks, man. We will,” Jagger said, then reached out to grab Harlow’s hand. “You okay?”

  Harlow nodded, then bent down to kiss Jagger’s cheek. “See you tomorrow, all right?” She then looked at me and smiled. “Have a nice day. Let Jagger take you around Hastings. There are some nice places to visit.”

  And with that, they left our table with the plates in their hands. I moved my eyes back to Jagger, and I saw him looking at Bliss.

  “I gotta leave too. I start work in two hours, and I need to get ready at home.” She slid over the bench to get up, and Jagger seemed to relax next to me.

  “Drop by work tomorrow so I can say goodbye too. You have to drive by it anyway.”

  “Okay, see you tomorrow,” Jagger answered, but didn’t move. Bliss was obviously waiting for him to get up and hug her, so I nudged his side, and with a sigh, he got up to give a proper goodbye. I didn’t want to seem rude, and I genuinely hoped for her and me to get along well. I hugged her goodbye too. “It was nice spending some time with you, Bliss.”

  “Same,” she simply said, then moved back to look at us again. “Tomorrow. Don’t forget,” she warned Jagger, then she left the diner.

  “Jesus Christ,” I heard Jagger whisper under his breath, and I couldn’t help a chuckle.

  “Oh, come on, Jagger. That wasn’t so bad.”

  “You have no idea,” he growled, running his hands through his hair. “It’s like she’s the same person, but more annoying than before.”

  “She’s not trying to annoy you, though. Just trying to push you out of her mind. Why else would she talk about her new man like that? I like her,” I said honestly, but I did have to get used to her first.

  “I need some fresh air,” Jagger announced, which made me laugh.

  “You’re overreacting. Come on. Show me around town so you can get your mind off her,” I suggested.

 
; “Good idea.”

  And so we left the diner, both with bellies full of pancakes and fruit, and ready to go for a little walk before heading back home.

  Chapter Thirty

  Jagger

  Showing Gray all the places I liked in Hastings didn’t take long. There wasn’t much to see. The only places I enjoyed hanging out at were Frankie’s Diner, the mechanic’s I worked, and my own home. After all the things that happened in this town, I didn’t find much happiness in other areas. Most of them reminded me of all the jobs I received from Gunner, hunting down men, and killing them. Thinking back…that wasn’t my greatest time in life. I’d harmed a lot and earned crazy amounts of money for doing something so wrong.

  In the end, it helped Harlow and me out of our misery. The demons I carried with me to Newton were slowly disappearing, but with Gray becoming a bigger part of my life with each day that passed, guilt kept on building up inside me.

  Keeping secrets from people you loved wasn’t easy. I learned it the hard way with Harlow, but with her being the most kind-hearted and understanding girl in the whole world, she was quick to forgive me. I got lucky having her as my sister, and so did Hunter, for being the love of her life. But Gray didn’t grow up in a family where her brother killed for money. She didn’t know about all the bad things that could happen with a drug addict as a father, and a mother who didn’t show her face anymore after birthing her second child because alcohol was more important to her than family.

  From what Gray had told me about her family, and as much as I had already seen from her relationship with her brother and cousin, she lived the picture-perfect life everyone ever dreamed of. I didn’t want to be the one to ruin it for her and disappoint her after letting me near her. Everything she ever told me about her life was a step closer to her heart, and I was starting to slowly build the wall of trust between us.

  “Are you okay in there?” Gray’s voice came from outside the bathroom, in which I was standing in front of the mirror, staring at myself. I ran my hand through my hair and picked up my toothbrush.

  “Yeah, I’ll be with you in a second.” I started brushing my teeth, then looked back into the mirror. My eyes looked empty, and I had to figure out how to handle the situation in which I was slowly sinking.

  Gray’s footsteps told me that she went back to the bedroom, and I hurried to meet her there. After putting my brush back, I washed my face and headed back to the bedroom.

  “Everything okay?” Gray asked as I closed the door behind me and took off my shirt. I threw it on top of the dresser, then headed to the bed. She was sitting on the end, looking up at me as I approached her. With a smile, I cupped both her cheeks and bent down to kiss the tip of her nose.

  “Just got some things on my mind,” I told her in a whisper, my eyes steady on hers now. She was looking up with worry in her eyes, and that’s when the voice inside my head told me to tell her all about my past. I was scared and unsure of how to go at it, though.

  “Wanna talk about it?” Her voice was soft, which made it worse for me to talk. Gray was trying to figure me out by showing me how much she cared about me, and I wasn’t blaming her. She knew there was something I was hiding, and it was the right thing to be suspicious. The look on her face said it all and it took all the strength I had to start talking.

  But before I could say something, she got up from the bed and stood in front of me with her arms wrapped around my neck. “You know you can tell me anything, right? I’ll listen,” she stated, then stopped for a while to study my face. “I’m not pushing you to talk. Take your time, however much you need. I’ll be here and ready to listen, all right?”

  She gave me a way out, and I was thankful for that. It wasn’t the right time to talk about my old life as a hitman. I had some things to figure out and the right words to find.

  By the words she said just then, I felt my heart beat faster. I felt warm and the tingles in my chest made me realize that I had never felt like this for any other girl before. I was falling for her, quicker than I ever wished for.

  “You’re so fucking beautiful, inside and out.” My lips touched hers, and she smiled into the kiss. I quickly picked her up to lay her back on the bed and moved over her to deepen our kiss.

  With one elbow propped up on one side of her head, I somehow managed to pull down her slip, so I had easy access to her already wet pussy. I slowly ran my fingers through her folds, feeling just how excited she was. A moan escaped her, and I pushed my tongue deeper into her mouth.

  When my fingers were drenched, I pushed them inside of her, making her arch her back. With her hips lifted, I moved my fingers in and out of her, gently at first, and then faster.

  “You’re so fucking tight, love,” I groaned, now looking into her eyes while my fingers kept moving. Her eyes were fixated on mine, and her parted lips were a sign of pleasure. Another moan from her, and I pulled my fingers out of her.

  “You’re teasing me,” she breathed, and I couldn’t help a grin.

  “Wouldn’t be any fun if I didn’t tease you, hm?”

  She rolled her eyes at me, and even with a smile on her face, she was obviously annoyed. She was longing for me to keep stimulating her sweet pussy, and I was planning on doing just that. “I need you,” she whispered, running her hands through my hair. “Now.”

  She wouldn’t have to ask me twice. I pushed myself up on my knees, then pulled my briefs down to throw them to the ground. My dick was ready, and all I needed was to put a condom on and push myself inside of her. I was aching, and just like the night before, I was excited to be this close to her again.

  I reached over to the nightstand, took one of the condoms and quickly opened it to pull it over my length. Gray watched the whole scene, her eyes never leaving my dick. I smirked, rubbing myself for her own pleasure.

  “Enjoying yourself?” I asked, and she blushed after realizing that she was staring at me. Nodding, she sat up and was now close to my abdomen. Her hands came up and touched each side of my waist, then she ran them down my stomach, her eyes still on mine. “I think you’re incredibly handsome…” she admitted. “But I guess you know that already.”

  I chuckled, watching her kiss my skin right next to my cock. Her hand moved over it at first, then her fingers wrapped around my length and moved up and down with just the right amount of pressure. I kept watching her until I had to stop myself from relaxing, and flexing whatever muscles were needed to hinder myself from coming too early. It was hard with Gray.

  “If you want me to come inside of you again, I need you flat on your back and your legs spread so I can fuck that tight little pussy.” With no hesitation, she leaned back. “I love how willing you are. Makes me want to fuck you over and over again,” I drawled. Positioning myself between her legs, I grabbed my cock again and touched my tip to her entrance. With one swift move, I pushed inside of her, and the sensation overcoming me grew with each thrust.

  “Promise to stay with me, no matter what,” I breathed against her neck, nibbling on her skin, and licking the soft spot underneath her ear.

  “I promise, Jagger,” she moaned, and even though I never was the one who needed reassurance from anyone, I needed it from Gray now more than ever. I intended to keep her. For now, and hopefully forever.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Jagger

  A week later and back in Newton, I started to get used to working at The Red. Those two women who wouldn’t stop talking to me on my first night never showed up again, but Dallas talked about Chelsea a few times, saying how she couldn’t wait for his next fight. He sounded slightly annoyed by her, even without her being present. I laughed it off and was grateful to have Gray around. Even if we didn’t see each other for almost a week after returning, we texted a lot. Gray was busy painting, and I took up some extra shifts to make up for the missing three days we were in Hastings. I would see her again tonight, though.

  It was Friday, March 13th, and it was Sage’s birthday. She invited me this morning as I le
ft for work at noon, and I promised her to show up with a present. I wasn’t sure what to get her. I had no idea what she liked, besides cocktails and some occasional cigarettes to piss off her parents.

  “You’re coming tonight, right?” Dallas asked as he came around the bar to stand beside me. I was opening two beers for the guys in front of me and nodded to respond to his question. “Yeah. Any ideas on what I should get Sage? Don’t really know her, and since she only just invited me this morning, I have limited time to find something good,” I told him.

  “Ah, don’t worry about a present, man. I got a Jeroboam champagne bottle in the back. We’ll just say it’s from both of us. There are at least fifteen people giving her some sort of alcohol-related gift.” He smirked. I knew what a Jeroboam was. It’s basically a huge bottle which equals four normal-sized bottles, and it was the perfect gift for someone who liked to get drunk on a regular basis.

  “Thanks,” I said, sliding the beers over to the guys. As they left, I turned to Dallas. “So, you’re also getting off at six? Do you need a ride?”

  I knew he often jogged to work and took showers in his changing room downstairs. “Yeah, that’d be great. I’ll just get my things and then we can leave. Levi and the rest will have their hands full tonight, and I don’t wanna be around for that.”

  As the manager of the bar, you would think Dallas liked to be hands-on when guests came in to have a good time, but he’d much rather stay away from the hustle and hide either down in the cage, or in the back bothering his cooks and servers. I didn’t mind leaving this place for the night either. Last night was rough, with a fucking frat party forming in here around eleven p.m. We had more drunks half an hour later than we would have in a whole week. We managed to get them out of here safely around one in the morning, and I was exhausted when I got home.