The Mercy Academy Box Set: A Complete High School Bully Romance Series

by Lane Hart

  “Let him go,” I warn.

  “I will,” he agrees as he stares me down with his cool, frosty gaze like he’s not holding another man in a chokehold, cutting off his air supply. “After you get the fuck back inside.”

  I nod and give him a look that says he better before I jog up the steps in front of the trailer. I don’t even spare Sean another glance. Needless to say, we won’t be going out again. If that’s what a date is, then I’ll steer clear of them until after graduation.

  Since his services are no longer needed, I assume Aric won’t be coming back in. But when I start to shut the door, he pushes it open and steps inside, closing it behind him.

  He doesn’t say anything, just stands there, fuming with his back against the door and thick arms crossed over his puffed-out chest.

  “You-you had no business snooping on us,” I say to break the silence since he doesn’t seem inclined to. “If you didn’t want to babysit, you should’ve just said so.”

  “So that’s how you’re gonna play this?” he grumbles.

  “Play what? I’m not playing anything!”

  “The guy had bad news written all over him, Maddie! What were you thinking, going out with him, being alone with him wearing that short ass dress?”

  “Wow, Aric, did you screw my mother too?” I ask him.

  “What? God, no! Why would you even ask me that?”

  “Just wondering since you seem to think you’re my father now!”

  “Ha! Funny!” he says as he pushes off the door and gets in my face. “You know what wasn’t funny? When that loser was about to shove his dick down your throat, whether you wanted it or not!”

  “Keep your voice down,” I hiss, not wanting Matt and Mandy to overhear. “And you’re wrong. I…wanted it.”

  “No, you didn’t. You know how I know?”

  “Why, oh, arrogant one?”

  “Because you came back inside with me.”

  “Only because you ruined the moment,” I lie since I refuse to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right or that he saved me from a jackass who was determined to fuck me one way or another tonight.

  “Guess I’ll leave since you’ve got everything under control here.”

  Aric turns to go, and I stupidly find myself shouting, “Wait!” before he touches the doorknob. I’m not sure if I stopped him just so I don’t have to be alone after all that or because I don’t want to let him off easy. Also, once he leaves, I know he’ll be going to Sophie’s party or to Blake’s to screw his mom…

  “You’re not done here,” I tell him.

  “Oh? You change your mind about Sleazy McSeedy? Want to go for rape attempt round two?”

  I cringe at the R word, wondering if he’s right or being overdramatic. I just thought Sean was being a little pushy and presumptuous, which was probably my fault because I’m the one who decided to wear one of my mom’s slutty dresses she left behind.

  “No, I’m not going out, but I need you to…wash the dishes.”

  “Fine. I’ll stay and wash your fucking dishes, but only if you’ll admit what I overheard you say to him.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I reply because my heart is racing, and my head is still swimming from the aggressive encounter.

  “Are you really a virgin?” he asks.

  “Why do you care?”

  “All right. See ya,” he says when he turns his back to me, ready to leave again.

  “Jeez, yes, okay? I’m technically a virgin even though I’ve done plenty of other things. But I’m not ashamed of that. In fact, if anything, I blame you for it!”

  “Me?” he humphs as he turns around to face me again. “Why is it my fault you’re still a virgin?”

  “Because of our bet.”

  “I don’t follow,” he says with a heavy exhale.

  “The only way I can ensure that I graduate at the top of our class is to stay focused on school and my brother and sister, without taking any chances of getting knocked up.”

  “You still think you’re gonna be valedictorian when graduation rolls around?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “We’ll see,” he mutters with an unconvinced arched eyebrow.

  “How about less talking and more dish washing?”

  A glare is his only response before he heads to the kitchen sink.

  Despite how annoyed he looks, I can’t help but feel like he’s not really all that upset about being here instead of with his friends at a party.

  And, strangely enough, it feels like something has started to shift between us after what he did tonight. Aric looked out for me, and I’m starting to feel grateful to him, something I thought would never happen.

  All in all, it’s quite the plot twist to our little story, one that has me curious to see what happens next.

  Chapter 10

  Aric

  “Where the hell have you been?” Blake asks over the booming bass, shoving a bottle of beer into my chest as soon as I step into Sophie’s house. Both floors are packed with swaying, sweaty, probably drunk and high bodies.

  “Went for a late run,” I lie to my best friend before I drain the beer. Now I only need, like, nineteen more to drown my anger at that asshole for practically forcing himself on Maddie.

  And to forget that I heard her say she’s a virgin and that it’s sort of my fault.

  The fact that I was glad she’s never been with anyone doesn’t make a damn bit of sense. All I know is that my first thought finding out was that there’s no way I’m going to let Blake be her first, no matter how much my best friend may think he wants her.

  In truth, he would ruin her.

  But why do I give a fuck?

  “You okay?” Blake asks. “You’ve barely said a word all week. And you’ve been off during practice.”

  “I’ve got shit on my mind,” I tell him. “The college scouts are coming next week, and my dad’s riding my ass about not fucking up.”

  “Forget that shit for now,” he says. “Because tonight we’re gonna get fucked up.”

  “Hey, you,” Collette whispers when she finds me sitting in one of the wicker patio chairs in their sunroom around three a.m. It’s our usual meet up time and spot, so I knew she would come. By now, Blake and his father are out cold; and if one of them were to wake up and come down to the kitchen looking for us, we’ll be able to see them from here. Not that they ever have come downstairs when we’re together.

  The possibility that they could find us going at it used to turn me on like crazy when we first started fooling around. I was sixteen, horny and a selfish prick who only thought with my dick.

  Now, the thought of getting caught makes my stomach turn into a bowl of acid. Maybe because someone knows about us and, with the secret out, the consequences of our actions are more real.

  Tonight, Collette’s wearing one of her usual pastel-colored satin and lace nighties with a matching robe, and probably nothing underneath it, the sides of her short platinum hair pushed behind her ears.

  When she comes up to me and braces her palms on my thighs to kneel down between my legs, I grasp her chin to stop her. It’s the same move that asshole made on Maddie except mine is to discourage, not demand.

  “We need to talk,” I tell her.

  “Oh-kay,” she drawls out, eyes widen in concern because of my words and my refusal since I’ve never turned her down before.

  She lowers herself into the wicker sofa next to me and curls her legs up on it, facing me, waiting for me to speak.

  “Someone saw us.”

  “What? When?” she snaps.

  “At the grocery store.”

  “Shit,” she says as she looks away and wraps her arms around her waist, hugging herself protectively. After a moment, she turns back to me and says, “How do you know they saw us? We don’t even know anyone who lives in that neighborhood!”

  “I do, and not only did she see us, she has photos and videos.”

  “Oh god,” Collette g
roans, dropping her face into her palms. “What are we gonna do?” she whispers. Then, her head pops up and she looks at me with moisture reflecting back at me in her eyes. “Who is she? Maybe I can offer her money…”

  “I’m taking care of it,” I say since I don’t want to tell her about Maddie. “She’s agreed not to say anything or show the pictures or video to anyone.”

  “And you actually believe her?” she scoffs.

  “Yeah, I do,” I assure her. “I just wanted you to know about it, and I figure we should probably stop now before someone else catches us. Next time it could be Blake or Kurt.”

  “I guess…I guess you’re right,” she agrees.

  “Okay,” I say before I stand up to leave.

  “You-you meant right now? Tonight?” Collette asks as she jumps to her feet.

  “Well, yeah.”

  “How about one last time?” she asks when her fingernails dip into the front of my athletic shorts and she starts tugging them down my hips along with my boxer briefs. “We could stay out here until the sun comes up, like we used to do…”

  She’s referring to the early days when we would go at it for hours and I would have to cover her mouth the whole time to keep her quiet.

  Her manicured fingers are wrapped around my cock and her mouth is kissing my bare chest before my shorts pool around my feet. And yeah, it feels good, and I know her mouth and pussy would feel even better. But tonight, something is different. I’m not even getting hard yet, which is a first. I’m usually sporting a woody before I come down the steps, anticipating what’s to come.

  “We shouldn’t,” I whisper. “I-I can’t tonight.”

  Maddie knows about us, and while I’m certain she wouldn’t find out or probably care if I fucked Collette again tonight, I still can’t do it.

  “We should and you can,” Collette counters. “You always get hard in my mouth.” This time, she makes it to her knees before I can stop her, and then her tongue is coating the underside of my shaft as it disappears down her throat.

  Fuck, she’s persistent.

  Just like that fucking asshole with Maddie.

  And for the first time, I see things, us, more clearly, and know just how wrong it is. Collette first started pursuing me when I was sixteen and perpetually sporting a boner for any and every woman I saw. She flirted with me and then started touching me innocently whenever she could until a night I couldn’t sleep and came down for a glass of water.

  “I know what will help you get to sleep,” she had said as we stood in the light of the refrigerator. She ran her fingers along the thin, spaghetti strap of her nightie teasingly, one she was obviously wearing without a bra because her nipples were nearly punching through it.

  “Oh, yeah? What’s that?” I had asked while staring at her ample chest.

  “An orgasm.”

  Her palm cupped me through my shorts and stroked me a few times, finding me already hard as a rock. Once it was clear I wanted her touch, she pulled me out of my shorts and took me into her mouth where I came for the first time.

  It was the Saturday after the first week of my sophomore year and I had just met Maddie. I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking about her, wanting her. I was beating off to her twice a goddamn day and still it wasn’t enough because she kept invading my dreams.

  “Stop,” I say as I take step back from where Collette is kneeling to dislodge my dick from her mouth and tuck myself back into my shorts.

  “No, Aric,” she whines from the floor, eyes shimmering. “Please! We can’t just be done…”

  “We are,” I tell her. “This has gone on for longer than it should have. And I can’t do anything to change that, but I can make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

  “Aric, wait!” she cries, grasping a handful of my shorts and tugging them down again past my hips before I pry her fingers free.

  “Go back to bed and suck off your husband, Collette,” I tell her, then head back upstairs to grab my things before slipping out the front, going back to my house.

  Tomorrow, I’ll tell Blake that I felt sick and went home, which isn’t even a lie.

  Chapter 11

  Maddie

  “I’m going to check the mail. Try not to kill each other while I’m gone!” I call to my brother and sister before I step outside Saturday afternoon and walk up to the community mailbox for all of the trailers in our park.

  The stack of envelopes inside of our tiny box are mostly junk, thank fuck, when I shuffle through them on the way back, but the one with “FINAL NOTICE” stamped in big, bold, red letters, causes my steps to falter.

  “Shit, shit, shit,” I mutter as I tear into the envelope from the power company and pull out the letter inside.

  Apparently, we’re three months behind, and if we don’t come up with two-hundred and twenty-four dollars by Monday morning, adios electricity.

  “Damn him!” I shout to the cloudless blue sky.

  My lovely father must have thrown out the previous notices. He stops by and rummages through the box with his own key regularly, looking for his disability check, trying to find it before I do to use it for alcohol instead of supporting his daughter.

  Now what the hell am I going to do? I can’t use what little cash I have from Aric for anything but groceries or we’ll starve before my next measly paycheck.

  It’s more than the August heat bearing down on me that causes me to start sweating.

  I’ve got to come up with a lot more money and fast or we’re screwed.

  My father doesn’t have any qualms about coming into my place trying to get money off me, so why shouldn’t I do the same to him?

  Grabbing my phone, I send Aric a text message.

  Me: Can you grow facial hair?

  Aric: What?

  Me: Can you, or can’t you? If not, do you have a fake ID?

  Aric: I have facial hair. If you want, I can stop shaving for a few days. And yes, I have a fake ID.

  Me: Perfect. Bring it and your face pubes over here Monday after practice.

  Aric: If nothing else, you always keep me guessing on how you plan to humiliate me next.

  Me: You’re welcome, I reply with a grin on my face.

  Aric: I wasn’t thanking you.

  “So how was your date this weekend?” Hannah asks during lunch Monday.

  “Um, well, it sort of got cancelled.”

  “Oh? By you or him?”

  By Aric.

  “Me. He wasn’t the guy I thought he was,” I explain.

  “That sucks.”

  “It’s no biggie,” I say, even though it was, not because of Sean but because of Aric stepping in. I would’ve expected him to be the type of guy to cheer on other guys trying to hook up with girls, but apparently, I misjudged him on that issue.

  I pretend to be glancing around the entire cafeteria, not looking for anyone in particular, just to steal a quick peek at him.

  Today, he doesn’t have a scowl on his face and is laughing and talking animatedly with his two best friends. They’re probably discussing how fun the party was Saturday night. Is Aric happy because he got laid a ton over the weekend? Why do I give a shit? At least he did grow out the beginnings of a beard.

  When he catches me gawking at him, he grins and smooths his thumb and finger down the sides of his face where they meet at his now hairy chin.

  I look away, trying to think of something to ask Hannah when I notice her curious expression after she must have watched the whole exchange.

  “Are you and Aric hooking up?” she whispers.

  “God, no.”

  “One day last week he hated you and flipped you off, now this week he’s grinning at you like you’re his favorite person in the world.”

  “That is definitely not true.”

  “There’s a thin line between love and hate after all,” Hannah says with her gaze sliding over to the Royals’ table. “Both require a ton of emotion and passion.”

  “Hate is all I’ll ever have in my
heart for him,” I assure her. “And wait just a second, Dr. Phil. You need to turn that accusatory finger back at yourself since you’re currently in a hate relationship with Royal.”

  “No, he just hates me. It’s completely one-sided. But you and Aric…”

  “Me and Aric Prince are nothing,” I say in a rush.

  “Nothing?” his deep voice booms behind me before he walks around to Hannah’s side of the lunch table, clutching his hand to his chest with his two friends right behind him. “I’m wounded, Maddie.”

  Hannah watches him and then does a double take behind her shoulder. “The facial hair looks really good on you, Aric.”

  “Nobody was talking to you, cunt,” Royal snaps at Hannah with a scowl that’s so hateful it brings instant tears to her eyes.

  “Aric, take your boy, Grumpy, here outside and teach him some manners. Maybe try to teach him some new insults too because cunt is just so unoriginal,” I say coolly.

  “Fuck you too, bitch!” Royal shouts, loud enough for the entire cafeteria to hear before Aric grabs him by the arm and drags him to the door.

  “What was that about?” I hear Blake ask as he follows them.

  “Nothing,” Aric mutters with a glare at me over his shoulder. “Absolutely nothing.”

  “Oh my god. How did you do that?” Hannah whispers once they’re gone, the color finally coming back into her face after the confrontation with Royal.

  “Do what?” I ask, trying to get back to eating my salad and pretending nothing happened.

  “You told Aric Prince what to do, and he actually did it!”

  “Nah, I’m sure that was all just a coincidence.”

  Chapter 12

  Aric

  Why the fuck did I even stop by her table?

  Honestly, I have no idea. All I know is that I heard my name and knew Maddie and Hannah were talking about me, about us, and I wanted to know what it was about.

  I didn’t think Maddie would rat out our deal, but how the hell am I supposed to know for sure?