Fair Game (The Rules Book 1)

by Monica Murphy

  She’d looked so smug afterward, so pretty and flustered yet confident—a look I haven’t really seen her wear when we’re involved sexually—I couldn’t resist her. I had to show her I could make her come as many times as possible. So I went down on her, licked that delicious little pussy until I had her writhing beneath my mouth and screaming my name.

  See? I can’t resist her. Like, ever. I’m a goner. I make fun of assholes that are like this with a girl. Now I’ve become one of those assholes.

  And I’m okay with it.

  “Shep,” she whispers, her soft voice echoing through my head, making me fumble. That’s another thing. I’m a smooth motherfucker with girls. But not with this one. She makes my hands shake and my brain scramble and sometimes I’m at a loss for words and that never happens.

  Ever.

  She whimpers my name again and I reach for the ends of her hair, lightly tugging on it so she lifts her head, bringing herself closer to me. “Yeah, baby?” I press my cheek to hers, inhale her addictive scent, closing my eyes as I lift my hips and give her an extra hard thrust.

  “I like it better when you’re closer,” she admits, reaching behind her so she can wrap her arms around my neck. The position gives me a great view of her tits, her perfect pink nipples and I stare down the length of her body, my eyes cataloging every freckle I can see.

  Still haven’t had a chance to count them all yet. Need to make more of an effort, but it’s so damn difficult. Every time I get her naked the last thing I’m thinking about is counting her freckles…

  “Nothing better than having you in my arms,” I murmur as my hands roam over her silky soft skin until I’m cupping her breasts, playing with her nipples. Damn, with her arms around me, her chest thrust out, my dick buried deep in her tight, wet warmth, I’m gonna blow. Soon. I thought this slow and easy stuff would be just that—slow and easy.

  But that’s not happening. Without thought I increase my pace, tightening my hands on her breasts, making her whimper. She tosses her head back, resting it on my shoulder and I lean down, pressing my mouth to her cheek. “You close?” I ask.

  She nods frantically, strands of red hair falling into my face. “Y-yes.”

  I should’ve known. She gets close and her voice starts to shake. Her entire body trembles and there’s a little hitch in her breath I find impossibly sexy. That I’m the one who can make the snarky, feisty Jade Frost fall apart like this, makes me feel like a fucking God.

  No girl has ever affected me like this.

  Ever.

  Twenty-Three

  Shep

  “So what’s it like?”

  I turn to glare at Gabe who’s watching me with a neutral smile on his face. I don’t like that smile. It looks suspicious. Reeks of suspicion actually. “What’s what like?”

  Monday morning, nine a.m. and we’re at the diner for breakfast as usual. It’s packed. As the semester winds down, there are less people on campus and more people…everywhere else.

  “Banging the same chick every night for over a week straight. Curious minds want to know.” Gabe shoves a piece of toast in his mouth and chews, his gaze never leaving mine.

  After a few seconds of irritation at his shitty question, I realize the bastard is serious. He genuinely is curious. Because everyone knows Gabe hasn’t been with a girl beyond one day, let alone a week. Same with Tristan.

  Fine, same with me. But I’m a changed man, damn it. Thanks to Jade.

  Hmm, Jade. Thinking of her immediately has my dick twitching. The shape of her mouth and the way it stretches when she smiles. How the color of her lips is the same pale pink shade as her nipples. The taste of her nipples, the way she moans and writhes beneath me when I suck on them. How slick and wet she is every time I slip my fingers between her legs. Every time. Always wet, only for me. Drives me out of my fucking mind.

  Just thinking about her like this, with my friends in the middle of a very busy restaurant, is driving me out of my mind. I need to stop.

  So I do.

  Tristan is unusually quiet this morning, shoveling food in his mouth, his head bent as if he’s staring at his plate. He’s not very talkative. None of us have been. Hell, I’d considered skipping our traditional breakfast meeting and I never do that.

  When you have a warm, naked girl in your bed, you’re willing to skip just about anything to spend a few more minutes with her.

  “It’s…good,” I finally answer somewhat lamely. It’s beyond good but I don’t want to sound like a starry-eyed kid. What exactly does Gabe want to know? If it’s dirty details, forget it. That’s between Jade and me. We have plenty of dirty details. Lots of them. But those are ours and no one else’s.

  “Really? Good? That’s all you have to say?” Tristan lifts his head, his gaze zeroed in on mine. He looks tired. Skeptical. Irritated. I know this semester has been kicking his ass and he can’t wait for it to be over. We’ve all been ready to make our escape from this town these last few weeks, especially Tristan and I since we spent the entire last summer here.

  But now? For me? There’s no rush. I want to savor every moment with Jade before school’s done and she leaves. I don’t know what’s going to happen after we leave. And I’m almost afraid to ask.

  “Well, it’s definitely not bad,” I say irritably, pushing my plate away from me. My appetite is gone. I hate it when they corner me, question me, act like I’m crazy for wanting to spend time with Jade and not them. I think they’re just jealous.

  “Tell me what it’s like though,” Gabe urges, his expression…sincere. “You aren’t bored yet?”

  “Not even close,” I mutter, grabbing my cup of coffee and taking a big swig. It’s lukewarm at best and I put too much creamer in it so it tastes like absolute shit.

  “She must know some real magic tricks in the sack then, huh? Let’s not forget she has that amazing mouth…” Gabe’s voice drifts and when I send him a dirty look, he immediately appears contrite. “Sorry dude. You know what I’m talking about.”

  I know exactly what he’s talking about. Her mouth is the stuff of my every wicked dream. She knows how to use it too. But I don’t need to hear my best friend go on about Jade’s mouth like he wants to sample it.

  The mere thought of him only looking at her lips makes me want to rip his eyes out of his head. I’ve turned into a possessive caveman when it comes to Jade and that makes no fucking sense whatsoever.

  “Listen.” I lean forward and rest my elbows on the edge of the table, staring at the both of them like I mean business. Which I do. “Jade is…off limits. We don’t need to talk about her. Not like we do with other girls.”

  “You mean the ones we hook up with?” Tristan asks, both eyebrows raised.

  “Yeah. Those ones,” I say slowly, irritated that I even have to make this new rule. But hell, they don’t get it. Any other girl, I’d be talking about her, because I’d already be done with her. How good she was in bed—or how bad. What sort of kisser she was. Hell, sometimes we’d rate them, especially back in the early days when we were young and total shitheads.

  If I had to rate Jade now, she wouldn’t even register on the scale, she’s that good. But no way am I going to say that out loud. They wouldn’t get it. Hell, I barely get it. Why exactly has she become so important? What is it about her that makes her so different from the other girls I’ve been with? It’s like the minute I kissed her, touched her, everything changed. I want no one else. Need no one else.

  Just her.

  Worse? I have no idea if she feels the same way. The uncertainty kills me and I don’t know how to deal with it. I’ve never had to deal with it and that’s my problem. She makes me straight up crazy. In both the worst and best possible ways.

  “So you get serious about a chick and you’re suddenly no fun.” Gabe shakes his head, his disappointment palpable. “That sucks, bro.”

  “Never thought I’d see this day happen,” Tristan adds as he balls up his napkin and tosses it on top of his empty plate. “I ju
st lost my appetite.”

  I decide not to remind him that he’d already eaten all his food. “What, are you in mourning now? Give me a break. You are both assholes.”

  “This is college,” Tristan says, stressing the last word. “The land of opportunity. Not a time for you to get serious about some young chick. Dude, she’s a freshman, barely out of high school! The girl doesn’t know shit. She hasn’t even lived. What do you think will happen when you bring her home to mom and dad, huh? Your mom is gonna chew her up and spit her back out in seconds.”

  I push the worry out of my head that Tristan’s words bring. He has a point. But I don’t care what my parents think and it’s not like I’m bringing her to meet them. I’m not that serious about Jade, not yet. It’s only been about a month. Granted, the best month of my life but still.

  “Screw all this Shep’s got a girlfriend talk,” Gabe says irritably. “We have more pressing matters to discuss.”

  “Like what?” I ask.

  “Like when are we going to close down the house? Business is slow. Attendance is down. The semester’s almost finished and there’s no point in stringing this out.” Gabe nods once. “I vote we shut her down right now.”

  “Without one last weekend blowout event? Hell no.” Tristan shakes his head. “We’ll shut it down after Saturday. Let’s organize something, put together an end of the season event or whatever.”

  “End of the season?” I send him a look. “I didn’t realize gambling had a season.”

  Tristan shrugs. “It does when your clientele are college students. “

  “Do we have enough time to organize an event?” Gabe asks.

  “Absolutely. I’ll get started on the deets today. Trust me. It’ll be awesome. But we’ll all have to work Saturday night. Even you, Mister I’m in a Real Relationship,” Gabe says, pointing at me.

  Great. I was hoping to spend Saturday night with Jade. Maybe I could convince her to come. She hates that place—and I guess I can’t blame her—but I’d like her with me that night.

  “I’ll be there,” I reassure the both of them. I’m not about to shirk my responsibilities, though I know they both believe I’ll blow them off first chance I get. Not with this though. The house is business. I don’t do it for the money but we’re so caught up in it now, no way can I abandon it. It’s a project that took on a life of its own and I’m one-third responsible for it.

  My phone buzzes and I pull it out of my pocket, eager to see if it’s Jade.

  Imagine my disappointment when I realize it’s Mom.

  What are your plans this weekend?

  My heart starts to thump erratically and not in a good way. Why the hell is she asking me that?

  Don’t tell me you’re coming to see me.

  Gabe and Tristan are talking big plans for Saturday night. Free beer (need to put a limit on that). Special two-for-one deals (that needs a limit too). All sorts of special crap to draw people in before we shut down.

  My phone buzzes again.

  That’s exactly what I was going to tell you. Only for one night though. Your father has business in Los Angeles this weekend. Thought we’d drop by and see you for dinner Saturday.

  Fucking great.

  “My parents are coming this weekend,” I mutter to no one in particular, still staring at the screen of my phone.

  “Get out,” Tristan says. “Why?”

  I lift my head and glare at him. “Not joking. Mom just texted me. They’ll be here Saturday night. They want to have dinner.”

  “But you have plans,” Gabe points out.

  Plans for the illegal gambling house I run with them that my parents know nothing about. If they found out, they’d fucking flip.

  “I can work the later shift. No way will she let me skip out on dinner,” I say grimly.

  “That fucking sucks,” Gabe says. “Maybe you should take your girl. Get that whole scenario out of the way.”

  Say the fuck what? Why does Gabe keep talking about my parents and Jade? Like I’d want to subject Jade to them anyway.

  “Tell me about it.” I shake my head and glance down at my phone, deciding I need to answer her.

  Sounds good. Call me when you get in.

  Will do, darling. Maybe you should bring a friend. Bonus points if she’s a girl.

  Is my mother a mind reader or what? I break out into a cold sweat just reading that latest text.

  There’s no one special in my life.

  I throw out a bogus answer in the hopes it distracts her.

  That’s not what I heard.

  Glancing up, I send a hard glare in Tristan’s direction until he can feel my eyes on him. He turns his head, his eyes going wide. “What’s up with you gossiping with your mama? And mine?” I ask.

  Tristan at least has the decency to look embarrassed. “What are you talking about?”

  “Somehow my mom knows there’s a girl in my life?” Hell, did Tristan set me up or what? The asshole.

  Now he’s blushing. And I’ve never seen him blush. “I was bored. Mom called. I kept talking. One thing led to another and…”

  “You told her about Jade,” I finish for him.

  “Yeah. Sort of.” He nods. “Sorry. She worked it out of me.”

  Great. It’s not that I don’t want to bring Jade to dinner with my parents. It’s more that I don’t want her to meet them. Yet. Shit, I don’t know what I want. It feels too soon. We don’t know each other that well. I mean yeah, I’m feeling pretty head over heels for her, which is fucking crazy but to bring my family into it makes everything seem so damn serious.

  And I’m not sure if I’m ready for that.

  Jade

  “I have some news!”

  I wince at Mom’s too loud, too excited voice in my ear. I haven’t really talked to her in weeks, not since I started hanging out with Shep and I’d been feeling guilty. Mom and I are close. It’s been the two of us against the world for a long time and when I went away to college, she was a little sad. I knew she’d miss me but I didn’t want her miserable while I’m off becoming an actual adult.

  But then she met Dex and they started going out pretty steadily. We haven’t met yet but she’s told me enough about him and I can sense he’s a pretty cool guy. He treats Mom well and that’s all I can ask for.

  He also occupies all of her time. Not that I have any room to talk. The minute Shep walks into my life, he’s all I can think about. Forget anyone else. Forget my freaking mother, which is awful. So yeah, I haven’t called her lately, but she hasn’t really called me either so I guess we’re both totally preoccupied with the men in our lives?

  The fact that I even have a man in my life—a man like stupid sexy Shep—is a thrill that I still can’t get over. I’m freaking pathetic, I swear.

  “What’s your news?” I ask cheerily as I walk across campus. I just left class and I’m feeling good. School’s almost over. I’m confident about my finals. Oh, and it’s a perfect spring day. The sky is so blue it looks fake, and the cool breeze brings with it the salty tang of the ocean. I sort of hate that I have class until late tonight. It’s my last one of the semester and we turn in the final next week.

  Hmm, I bet I could ditch if I wanted. I might. I might text Shep and see if he’ll pick me up early so we could go back to his place and get naked and…

  “…so it sold! In less than forty-eight hours! Can you believe it? Let me tell you, it was about the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in a long time, I swear!” Mom yells.

  Wait a minute. What did she just say?

  “Back it up, Mom. I think I missed the first part,” I mumble, dread creeping over me, settling like a cold lump in the pit of my stomach. I don’t know if I’m going to like what she’s about to repeat. To say I’m quietly freaking out would be apt.

  “I sold the house, sweetie! And I sold it for such a huge profit you would be shocked. Thanks to the remodel, we were able to ask for a much higher price and it turned into this crazy bidding war. I’ve ne
ver seen anything like it.” She laughs, sounding shocked and dazed and confused and so incredibly happy, I sort of want to bite my tongue so I don’t say anything at all to ruin her good mood.

  But I can’t help myself. Because I’m sort of pissed. So here I go.

  “Um, why didn’t you tell me you were selling the house?” I ask incredulously as I come to a full stop in the middle of the sidewalk. A guy walking right behind me runs into me, his backpack plowing into my arm with a heavy thud and I send him a dirty look when he glares at me from over his shoulder.

  Yeah, yeah it was my fault but still.

  “Well, I thought I did tell you,” she says tentatively and I glance around, spotting an empty bench nearby. I rush toward it, tossing my backpack on it before I sit. “I swore I did. Didn’t I mention it to you the last time we talked?”

  That would be a hell no. I think I’d remember something as important as my mother selling the only home I’d ever known. “No, you didn’t.”

  “I didn’t tell you that’s why I was having the remodel done? It wasn’t for my enjoyment, though I wish I would’ve done it sooner.” Her voice lowers. “You should see the kitchen, sweetheart. Beautiful appliances, granite countertops, and the new cabinets…it’s like kitchen heaven. It’s gorgeous.”

  I sigh. “Mom, focus. You never told me this, I promise. I wish…I wish you would’ve consulted with me first before you put it up for sale.” Not that she needed my permission, but that was my home too, and now she sold it in less than forty-eight hours. Like it meant nothing to her.

  “I swear I did, sweetie. Oh, I feel so terrible.” She makes a tsking noise and I know she’s fretting so of course, I feel terrible too. “Trust me, this was the best thing for me to do. With you out of the house, I realized I wanted something smaller. Dex helped me out with the remodel, got me the right financing so I took a little equity out of the house and now I have enough money that if I’m really lucky, I’ll be able to pay cash outright for the next one!”