Fair Game (The Rules Book 1)

by Monica Murphy

  “Just take me back to my dorm,” I say, sounding like a sullen little girl. Feeling like a sullen little girl because this night didn’t go as expected at all.

  I really thought his parents might like me. That we’d have a fabulous time over dinner getting to know each other with his mother revealing funny stories about Shep when he was a little boy. We’d all laugh and she’d tell her husband that I was the perfect girl for their boy and oh yeah, that so did not happen.

  What seemed to really piss her off is when Shep dropped that bomb about us spending the summer together, which makes no sense because he still thinks I’m going home over the break. I never told him about Mom selling the house.

  It’s like a totally weird coincidence.

  “What did you mean earlier about the two of us spending the summer together?” I ask.

  He’s quiet for a moment and I’m about to repeat myself when he says, “Oh. That.”

  “Yeah. That,” I say wryly. “Why did you say it?”

  “Well, I’m staying here again for the summer. The thought of going home—especially after what happened tonight—there’s just no way. And I know you planned on going back to your mom’s but I was going to ask if you wanted to…” His words trail off and I stare at him hard, willing him to finish the question.

  “If I wanted to what?” I ask when he doesn’t say anything else.

  He clears his throat. “I wanted to know if you’d like to uh, stay with me. For the summer. At my house.”

  “Are you serious?” I squeak. No way can he be serious. We hardly know each other. I mean, okay yeah, we know each other, but it’s only been a month. It’s like he’s asking me to move in with him.

  Which is insane. Insane. I can’t move in with him.

  Can I?

  Somehow we arrived at my dorm hall. He pulls into a parking spot and cuts the engine, turning to look at me. “I’m dead serious. I’ve been trying to work up the nerve to ask you all week but it never seemed to be the right time.” He shakes his head, looking irritated with himself. “Scratch that. More like I couldn’t work up the fucking nerve to ask you because I was afraid you’d tell me no.”

  Aw. That is like the cutest admission ever. “Why did you think I’d tell you no?”

  “Because you love to tell me no, Jade. I think that’s one of the things I like best about you. You’re not afraid to tell me how you really feel. You don’t fall for my crap like every other female I’ve encountered on campus. You’ve challenged me from the first second we’ve met and while I love that about you, it can also…scare the hell out of me.”

  I start to laugh. “Are you saying I scare you?”

  He nods, a slow smile curling his perfect lips. “Yeah. More than anything, the way I feel about you scares the fuck out of me.”

  My laughter dies. “What do you mean?”

  He cups my face with one hand, his thumb smoothing across my cheek. “You know I’ve never done this sort of thing before. That first moment when I touched you…when I kissed you…slipped inside you, I knew.”

  My heart threatens to pound right out of my chest and gallop away down the street. “You knew what?”

  “Exactly what I told my mom—that you’re the girl for me. No one else, just you.” He leans in and kisses me, his damp mouth lingering on mine, his tongue sneaking in for a quick tease. “I’m falling in love with you, Jade.”

  Oh God. Did he really just say that? Did he just use the word love? Yes, yes he did. “Shep,” I whisper against his lips but he cuts me off, deepening the kiss, making me moan as I reach for him. But he breaks away before it can get any more out of control and falls back heavily against his seat.

  “I can’t fucking believe I have to go work tonight.” He runs a hand through his hair, messing it up in that way I prefer. He is so sexy I can hardly stand it. I hate that he has to go to work, too. “I want you in my bed waiting for me. Are you sure I can’t convince you to go pack a bag and I’ll drop you off at my place?”

  “Um…” I want to. I want to say yes to all of the above. There’s so much for us to discuss but he has to go and it really, really sucks. Talk about bad timing.

  “Just say yes. We can talk when I get home. We can talk tomorrow before you have to go to work. Whatever. Just say yes, Jade.” He pauses, his dark gaze meeting mine. “Please.”

  “Okay,” I whisper, unable to stop the smile from spreading on my face. I feel so giddy I swear I’m going to float right out of this car. “Yes.”

  Shep

  I can’t remember the last time I was this exhausted.

  It’s more of a mental thing. If I wasn’t busy ignoring the texts from my mom insisting that we talk before they leave town, I was breaking up fights at various tables and kicking out people who claimed they were robbed after losing all their money. Gabe and Tristan were just as busy. The house was chaos, we had to kick out a few belligerent drunks and basically beg everyone to shut the fuck up before they called the cops on us.

  The very last thing we wanted to deal with. What Tristan, Gabe and I are doing? Is totally fucking illegal. We could end up in jail. That is some serious shit.

  Yet we keep on doing it.

  Once we finally got the last person out of there, I raced home, anxious to slip into bed with Jade. I know we need to talk. There’s a lot to discuss. I admitted I was falling in love with her for Christ’s sake.

  But damn, the only thing I want to do is hold my girl in my arms and fall asleep.

  I left before Tristan but I know he’s right behind me so I hurriedly walk through the house, quietly entering my bedroom and locking the door behind me. The curtain that covers the sliding glass door is still open, letting in soft, silvery light from the moon. There’s a perfect lump lying dead center in the middle of my bed and I smile, reaching for the buttons of my shirt when I hear a soft voice say,

  “Let me do that.”

  Jade sits up, letting the sheet fall to her waist, revealing her naked chest to my gaze. My heart stutters in my chest as she leans forward, the sheet slipping off her naked body as she crawls toward the edge of the mattress on her hands and knees.

  Oh, fuck. Guess I’m not going to sleep anytime soon.

  She rears up on her knees in front of me, her hair a haphazard mess around her head, her body on blatant display. My gaze bounces everywhere, too many good parts for me to look at and she reaches for the front of my shirt, slowly undoing each button.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” she murmurs, her fingers brushing against my bare skin, making me shiver.

  “I can see that.” My voice is scratchy and I clear my throat.

  “How was your last night there?” She tilts her head back, causing all of that glorious red hair to spill down her back and I’m tempted to grab hold of it and give it a tug.

  “Awful. Busy. Exhausting.” I suck in a sharp breath when she spreads my shirt wide and leans in to drop a kiss on my stomach, just above my navel. I shrug out of it hurriedly, letting the shirt drop to the floor as I watch her kiss me again and again. Fuck, I think she’s trying to kill me.

  “I can make it better,” she whispers against my skin, her mouth traveling downward as her hands curl around the waistband of my pants.

  “I bet you can,” I mutter, grunting when she slides her hand down the front of my pants, right against my erect cock.

  She pulls away with a smile. “I’ve been thinking long and hard about your offer and I’m going to say yes.”

  I frown. She’s confusing me, kissing my stomach and talking about offers. “What offer?”

  Her smile turns coy. “For me to live with you for the summer. I’d love to. Thanks for asking me.”

  “Oh.” Relief floods me. “Good. Thanks for accepting.” I’m mimicking her response, making her smile. But I decide to turn it serious. “I didn’t want to be without you for months on end, Jade.”

  “I didn’t want to be without you either.” She undoes the snap on my pants, then pulls the zipper down,
spreading the fly open so she can see how my cock strains against the front of my boxers. With a hum she presses her lush mouth on my erection, delivering feather soft kisses along the length and driving me out of my fucking mind with wanting her.

  Yeah. She’s definitely trying to kill me. Slay me dead.

  “Fuck, Jade,” I choke out and she smiles up at me, her hands reaching upward so she can shove my pants and boxers down with one push. My cock leaps toward her and she grips the base, wrapping her mouth around the head and drawing me into her warm, wet mouth…

  “No.” I push at her bare shoulders. “No, no, no. I can’t do this. Not like this.”

  She releases me from her mouth, backing away slightly with a frown marring her pretty face. “Why not?”

  I kick off my shoes and pants and join her on the bed, pulling that curvy, hot as fuck body close to mine. “Because when I come tonight, it’s going to be inside you, not down your throat.”

  “Oh.” Her eyes are dilated and I know what I said just turned her on. Good, because it turned me on too. “Well. Have your wicked way with me, Shepard Prescott.”

  Her invitation is all I need. I’m too anxious for prolonged foreplay tonight. I need to be inside her. Moving within her, feeling her clutch me tight, watching as that glazed look fills her eyes and she throws her head back, her body trembling as she’s about to come.

  I kiss her wildly, my hands roaming, one reaching out toward the bedside table to find a condom already waiting for me. I grab it, never breaking our kiss and slipping my hand between us, tearing the wrapper open awkwardly and trying to slip the condom on.

  “Let me help you,” she murmurs against my lips, her slender fingers taking the rubber from my grip and slipping the ring over the head of my dick. She rolls it on, her mouth never leaving mine and I groan at her touch. I’m desperate to get inside her and lose myself. I need this.

  I need her.

  She removes her hand from my cock and I roll her over so she’s pinned beneath me. She opens her eyes and smiles, the look on her face nothing short of breathtaking and I readjust myself, slowly sliding inside her body until I’m filling her up completely.

  “Oh.” Jade arches her back, sending me deeper and I groan. “God, you feel so good.”

  I say nothing, just increase my pace, not wasting any time, savoring the drag and pull of my cock slipping in and out of her welcoming body. The way she curls her arms and legs around me, clinging to me, sending me even deeper, if that’s possible. The whimpers that sound low in her throat when I hit a particular spot and I try my best to hit it again.

  And again.

  I can smell her, sweet and sexy, her silky hair is in my face and her breasts are smashed against my chest. She’s so wet it’s easy to move even faster and I reach between us, touching her clit, circling it and making her cry out. I need to send her over the edge because fuck it, I’m already so close. Being inside her like this, knowing that she’s going to stay with me, that we’re actually going to try our damnedest to make this work, I’m…overwhelmed. And close.

  So fucking close.

  That I’m about…

  To blow.

  Twenty-Seven

  Jade

  “Did you mean what you said earlier?” My head is on Shep’s shoulder, my arm slung over his chest. I’m playing with the scant hair that grows between his pecs, sort of loving it because I’ve never been with a guy who has hair on his chest before. It’s just so…manly.

  And sexy. God, everything about Shep is sexy.

  “I said a lot of things earlier,” he murmurs, his voice this deep, delicious rumble in his chest.

  “When you said you were…” I pause and swallow hard. “That you were falling in love with me.” If he denies it I will die. Just wither away and turn to dust right in this bed.

  He stiffens the slightest bit beneath me. “Yeah,” he says huskily, without hesitation. “I meant it.”

  We say nothing for a moment and my mind is racing. So is my heart. I can’t believe it. I seriously cannot believe Shep is falling in love with me but then again…I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve been falling in love with him too.

  I’m crazy about him.

  “Does that bother you?” he finally asks.

  I lift up so I’m leaning on my elbow. Our gazes meet, his full of trepidation. Silly man. “Of course, it doesn’t bother me.”

  He studies me, turning on his side so he’s facing me more fully. “This is the moment where you confess you feel the same way,” he whispers.

  Smiling, I lean in and press my mouth to his. “Hey guess what? I feel the same way,” I murmur against his lips.

  He smiles in return. I can feel his lips stretch against mine. “Really?”

  “Really. Don’t sound so surprised.” I kiss him again and then shift away from his big, hot body. Sleeping with him is like sleeping with a furnace, I swear. “Can I confess something else to you?”

  “Yeah. Sure.”

  I roll over so I’m lying on my back, staring up at the ceiling. “I talked to my mom a while ago and she told me that she sold our house. And that she was staying with her new boyfriend while she looked for a new place to buy. Which meant I had nowhere to go for the summer and I was really worried about it.”

  “Wait a minute. When did this conversation happen?”

  “Monday,” I admit. I can feel him staring at me but I don’t look his way. I feel too stupid. I should’ve told him. I don’t know why I held it back but I did, like an idiot.

  “Jade.” He’s touching me, his hands gentle in my hair as he pushes it away from my face. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  “I didn’t want to burden you with my problems.” I sigh and turn to look at him. “Kelli said I was being stupid.”

  “You sort of were.”

  I shove at him and he grunts. “Give me a break. I was unsure about…everything. I didn’t know how you really felt about me. It was happening so fast and I was trying to find a roommate all this week and failing miserably. I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

  “And all this time I was trying to work up the nerve to ask you to stay with me. That would’ve solved your problem in an instant. Crazy.” He runs his finger down my nose. “Why didn’t you ask if you could stay with me?”

  “I already told you. I didn’t want to burden you with my problems.”

  He drops a kiss on the tip of my nose. “Your problems are my problems. We’re in this together, baby. Can’t you see that?”

  I blink up at him, noting the sincerity in his dark gaze. How did I get so lucky that this man is mine? I remember how he drove me crazy when we first met. Now I can’t imagine my world without him. “You mean it?”

  “Cross my heart, hope to die.” He kisses me, warm and sweet, his arm curling around my waist so he can bring me flush against him. “I love you, Jade.”

  Oh God. Just hearing him say the words makes my heart feel like it could swell to three times its size. “I-I love you too, Shep.”

  I wrap my arms around his neck as I drown in his kiss, the assured way his lips move against mine, the delicious sweep of his tongue within my mouth. “This is going to be the best summer ever,” he whispers against my lips after he breaks the kiss.

  Now I’m feeling a little shy. I mean really? What in the world is wrong with me? “Do you want me to help pay rent? Enid is moving me up to fulltime for just the summer.”

  He pulls away from me slightly. “Are you fucking kidding me? No, you’re not paying rent. You won’t have to pay a dime, just make me cookies and get me fat. That’ll be your payment.”

  “I can’t do that,” I say, laughing. “I’ll get just as fat.”

  “At least we’ll be fat and happy together.” His smile fades and his expression turns serious. “I want you to go back to Enid and tell her you don’t have to work fulltime after all.”

  “But…” I start to protest and he places his index finger against my lips.

  “I want
to spend as much time with you this summer as possible,” he explains, his gaze locked on mine. “I know you need to work and I get that. But I want to be with you, Jade. As much as I can, before the fall semester starts back up and we’re busy.”

  I nod slowly. “Okay,” I whisper against his finger. “I’ll see what can be arranged.”

  He smiles and removes his finger from my lips before he kisses me again. “You do that.”

  Shep

  “You look way too fucking happy,” Tristan groans as I walk into the kitchen.

  Smiling, I grab a mug from the cabinet and pour myself a cup of coffee. “That’s because I am.”

  Gabe is sitting at the island, wearing a pair of tropical print swim trunks and nothing else. “I’m hanging out at your pool today,” he declares as a greeting.

  I nod. “Sounds good.” Too bad Jade has to work this afternoon. I’d suggest we do the same thing. Not that I want to see these assholes catch a glimpse of Jade in a bikini but…

  Damn. I need to get a hold of this possessive wave I feel every time I think of someone looking at my girl.

  “What’s got your panties in a happy twist?” Tristan asks. “Hey, you never did tell us how dinner with your parents went last night.”

  “Fucking awful,” I say cheerily, dumping a bunch of creamer in my cup. “My mom was a total bitch to Jade.”

  “Ah, man. I could’ve predicted that,” Tristan says.

  “Yeah, no thanks to you and your gossiping ways,” I mutter.

  Tristan looks pained. “I already told you I’m sorry.”

  And he did. I knew he was sorry. I just like to give him shit for it.

  “It’s all good. We held our own and bailed early,” I explain as I take a sip from my coffee.

  “Where is Jade? Is she here?” Gabe asks.

  “Still in bed. My bed.” Sleeping and cute, all naked and mussed. I’m tempted to run back up to my room and fuck her one more time before she has to go to work but I’ll restrain myself.