Deadly Crush (Deadly Trilogy, Book 1)

by Ashley Stoyanoff

  “Babe,” Aidan said, stepping in front of me, “give her a break.” He slung an arm around my waist, pulling me against him, and nuzzled my neck. “Trust me,” he whispered in my ear, his lips brushing against my earlobe. My breath caught in my throat and I tried to push him away. He looked down at me with that knee-melting smile of his and whispered again, “Trust me.”

  ~ AIDAN ~

  Jade gave me a dirty look. Not just a little dirty, but mud puddle dirty. I tried to pretend that it was directed at someone, anyone else, but it wasn’t.

  I should let go, I thought. I should let go and just walk away. But watching her manipulate one of my wolves, without a shred of violence … It was amazing. She was amazing. And all I could think about as I watched her was touching her. Being closer to her. I needed her.

  I held her tightly against my body, and she tried to push me away, but it was a halfhearted attempt. I could feel her frantic heartbeat pounding against my chest, and her breath was coming fast and short. I pulled her a bit closer, and she melted against me. Too bad she still glared up at me with hatred. It was frustrating as all hell, and all I could think of was wiping that look off her face.

  I smirked at her and bent forward, brushing my lips against hers lightly, teasingly, and she responded instantly, wrapping her arms around my neck.

  A primal need surged through me, crippling me. And before I could stop it, the teasing kiss changed … morphed … into something close to savage. Jade bit my bottom lip, sucking it between hers. She moaned and dug her hands into my hair, pulling me closer, crushing me against her.

  This crush is going to be the death of me.

  That’s all it was. A crush. Simple attraction. Something to forget. I knew that, I just wished my gut (and my heated lips) would accept it, too. She had been doing just fine without my interference, but if I was being honest with myself, I had only interfered for a chance to get closer to her.

  “Aidan!” Dominic growled.

  I didn’t want to stop. I really didn’t want to let her go, but at the sound of his voice, Jade jerked away from me. I held on tight, keeping my arms firmly around her waist, and after a second, she relaxed against me again. She looked up at me through hooded eyes. They were the sexiest eyes I had ever seen. They had this bedroom quality, deep brown, with full, thick lashes. I brushed my lips against hers, just a featherlike sweep, and let my hand travel slowly down her silky smooth arm, entwining my fingers with hers.

  “You have my keys, Dom,” I said, keeping my eyes locked with hers. “I’ll see you back at the motel.” I stepped back from her then, giving her hand a little tug, and started walking. I knew this was stupid, but I couldn’t let go, not yet, so I said, “Trevor, the girls want ice cream. You coming?”

  Trevor looked as if he had no clue what was going on, and I bit back a laugh. Dominic had said he knew what he was doing, but this was not what I had expected. He shook his head, as if he was trying to clear it, and then grinned. “Yeah, sure, come on, Mac.” He held his hand out to her, and she rushed over, grinning.

  We had only made it a few steps when Jade stopped abruptly, and spun back around. “Dom, wait,” she called. There was desperation in her voice, and it lit my nerves on fire. She tried to pull her hand away, but I didn’t — wouldn’t — let go. Not only did I not want to, but Becca was already in the backseat healing, and the last thing I needed was to try and explain to Jade why there was a naked and very bloody girl in my car.

  Dominic didn’t turn back. He reached for the car door and swung it open. “Not now, Jade,” he said, and climbed in, shutting the door quickly.

  She stood still, watching him pull out of the parking lot, as if she thought he’d stop. He didn’t. The car disappeared down the road, and yet, she still watched, even after any shred of taillights was gone.

  “You okay?” I asked, as I took a quick glance over my shoulder. Trevor and Marcy had already disappeared into the shop.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Jade asked, keeping her voice low. She tugged on my hand and started walking. Her hand was stiff in mine, and she made a point not to look at me, but she didn’t let go.

  “Hanging out with friends.” That wasn’t really a lie, was it? The pack was sort of my friends. I wanted to tell her who I was so bad it hurt, but I just couldn’t do it. What if Dominic was right? What if she hated me just because I was one of them? I didn’t think I could live with that.

  “They’re not your friends, Aidan,” she snapped. “Are you blind or just stupid?”

  “Stupid,” I said, looking down at our hands laced together. “Definitely stupid.” But everyone needed to be stupid once in a while, right? What fun would life be if I always played by the rules?

  CHAPTER 14

  ~ JADE ~

  My mocha was cold. Not just cool, but freezing, and I sipped it slowly, trying to make it last. The coffee shop was busy. The chatter of students buzzed in the air. Each one of the cracked up red, faux-leather booths was occupied, and for once, not a single pack member was invading the space. I fiddled with the saltshaker, twirling it around, watching the tiny grains shift through the glass. Marcy was talking about, well, I really didn’t know, because I honestly wasn’t listening.

  Once she started gushing about Trevor, I zoned out, and well, I was too busy forcing myself not to look at Aidan again to really hear what she was saying. I was really beginning to feel like a crazy stalker. Aidan had been sitting in the booth a few down from us reading for close to an hour now, and he still hadn’t glanced my way. It was maddening. Never in my life had I been ignored as much as he ignored me. It had been almost two weeks since we kissed in the park. And since then he had been more than a little distant. He was always polite when I forced him into a conversation, but that was it. A distracted politeness, as if he always had somewhere else to be that was more important.

  And that attitude made me want him more. He’d only been living in Dog Mountain for a short time, but Aidan, had quickly climbed to the top of the social ladder at school. The pack loved him, and with the pack’s endorsement, so did the rest of the students. I figured, being popular in a small town wasn’t all that hard. It wasn’t as if there was a ton of competition. Except, I knew that being popular in my small town was a challenge. But Aidan hadn’t needed to even work at it. Even after standing up to Dominic, he had managed to penetrate the ranks of popularity. And he had done it with a cool detachment, as if he didn’t care one way or another.

  This was the first time in the last two weeks that I had seen Aidan without Dominic or one of the other werewolves flanking him. It was also the first time that I had seen something other than aloofness on his chiseled face. His hair was spiky with gel and his brown eyes were wide as he flipped the pages of his textbook, as if it was the most absorbing thing he had ever read. He was gentle with the pages, letting his fingertips caress them delicately. I got the impression that he was one of those people who could read a book ten times without making it look like it had been opened. I didn’t know whether I liked that about him, or if it was another thing that drove me crazy about him.

  “I like him, Mac,” I said, still twirling the saltshaker in my hands. “Like really like him.” It seemed like such a stupid thing to admit. I hardly knew him. How could I possibly know if I liked him or not? But my stomach didn’t seem to agree. Every time I saw Aidan, birds took flight in my belly.

  Marcy cocked her head to the side, looking at me as if I was nuts. She arched a brow. “Who?”

  I tilted my head and jutted my chin in Aidan’s direction.

  She glanced over her shoulder, and then turned back to me wrinkling her nose. “Really? But he’s …”

  “Perfect,” I said, cutting her off and shooting her a dirty look.

  “Dominic is perfect. Trevor is perfect. He’s…,” she paused, and her eyebrows moved together as she tried to find the right words. She snatched the saltshaker out of my hand, smacking it down on the table. “Cold.”

  I laughed. I didn
’t mean to, it just came out. “He is not and Dominic doesn’t count in this.”

  “Yeah, he kind of is,” she said, and her frown grew. “He’s barely spoken to you since the park.”

  “It’s an act,” I said defensively and with a lot more conviction than I felt.

  Marcy considered this, and as she did, a sly smirk spread on her lips. “Then go get him.”

  “I can’t.” I sighed, looking down at the table. What was it about him that made me lose my nerve? Anyone else, and I wouldn’t hesitate, but Aidan, he seemed so out of reach. Above me. As if he was above us all.

  “Why the hell not? Who says you have to wait for him to make a move. We’re not in the Middle Ages, Jade.”

  I sighed. “He hasn’t even noticed I’m here.”

  “Wow, really? When did that ever stop you before? You want him, then get your skinny butt over there and make your presence known.” I gave her a look and she grinned, her epic idea grin. She leaned in across the table and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Remember back in eighth grade, before Dominic came out, and you wanted his attention?” she asked.

  “Um, not sure …”

  She cut me off. “Yes, it’s perfect.”

  ~ AIDAN ~

  Keeping a straight face was a challenge. Jade and Marcy sat a few booths over from me, but I could hear them as if they were right next to me. Jade looked, well, hot. But then, she always did. It wasn’t just her perfect figure with all of those peaks and curves, or her glossy hair, or her full lips that made her hot. It was her confidence. Even when she doubted herself, she was still confident about it. It was far from conceit, though, nothing like Erika and the others. Jade was a girl who knew exactly who she was, and she let the world know it, too. It made her even more appealing, really.

  Staying away from her these past few weeks had been brutal. But I didn’t really have a choice. Erika had taken down another one of the challenging females and with only four of them left, it wouldn’t be long before I was tied down to one of them. There was absolutely no future for Jade and me, and the sooner I accepted that, the easier it would be for her. So far, Erika hadn’t caught wind of our little moment in the park and she had forgotten the absurd idea that Jade was a threat. And I wanted to keep it that way.

  From the corner of my eye, I watched a storm of emotions pass across Jade’s face before she settled on the confidence that always burned in her eyes. She slid from the booth, stood up, and ran her hands down her thighs, smoothing out her jeans.

  “Okay, I’m going to do it,” she said, looking at Marcy as if she wanted Marcy to stop her.

  Marcy grinned and leaned back in the booth. “Good luck.”

  Jade’s shoulders rose and fell three times before she spun on her heels and walked up to me, or marched was more like it. Everything about her said determined. I had expected her to say hi or slide into the booth across from me but she didn’t. She dropped down beside me and before I could even get a word out, she grabbed the collar of my shirt, balling it in her fist, and yanked me toward her.

  Her lips were on mine before I could even think. They were soft, and warm, and tasted like mocha. They felt even better pressed against my mouth than I remembered. She worked her lips over mine with the same passion that she had for everything else she did. Urgent and hot. My lips parted as did hers, and as soon as they did, she flicked her tongue against mine and suddenly, my hands were wrapped in her silky hair and …

  “Sorry I’m late.” Dominic. At the sound of his voice, we broke apart, both of us breathing more than a little heavily. She looked at me; her eyes were full of heated excitement. She licked her lips as a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Jade?” Dominic asked in disbelief. “Out of all the pack members in this town, you go after him again!”

  Jade made a sound. It came from the back of her throat, a mix between a gasp and a growl. The heat that had been in her eyes iced over and she leapt out of the booth.

  “You’re one of them,” she spat.

  I narrowed my eyes at her, searching her over. My brain was foggy, and my eyes kept landing back on her swollen lips. It took a few long seconds for me to figure out what she was talking about.

  “I’m not just one of them,” I said just as nastily, and every muscle in my body tensed as I slid out of the booth and glared down at her. I had never had someone look at me with so much hatred, so much disrespect. “I’m the alpha.”

  All the color drained from her face, and I instantly regretted telling her. For half a second she looked as if she was going to pass out. She wobbled a little and Dominic placed a hand on the small of her back, keeping her steady. He was smirking at me, a cocky smirk, and all I wanted to do was punch him.

  Jade rocked on her feet for another second, and then, scarlet streaked up her neck, settling in her cheeks. She spat on the floor, and wiped her mouth so hard with her sleeve that her lips were burning red when she stopped. “I feel sick,” she whispered.

  ~ JADE ~

  I needed air. Aidan was the alpha. I kissed the alpha. And I wanted to kiss him again. So much so that it hurt. He was staring down at me with cold eyes, and his jaw was twitching as he clenched and unclenched his teeth. Dominic was saying something to him, but I couldn’t hear it. My ears were ringing too loudly, and my heart pounding even louder.

  I swallowed hard, but it didn’t help to move the bristly lump that was lodged in my throat. I kissed the alpha. The birds flapped in my stomach, begging me to move closer to him and do it again.

  Suddenly, a montage of images invaded my brain. I saw Dominic. His smile. The way he held me in the picture that sat beside my bed, as if I was the only thing that mattered. The proud big brother. The best friend. Then I saw him as the beta. The cold eyes. The hatred. The aggression. His back facing me as he walked out of my life. And my irrational mind blamed Aidan for it all.

  I felt my face twist into a sneer, and for a moment, I saw pain in Aidan’s eyes. It didn’t last long, and in a blink, he had his cold mask back in place.

  Aidan didn’t see it coming, but then I hadn’t either. I took a step toward him and slapped him with everything I had. A burning sting rushed through my hand. Dominic chuckled, and I spun on him. Whatever it was that he saw in me made him take a quick step back, and without even a small glance over my shoulder, I left the coffee shop.

  CHAPTER 15

  ~ AIDAN ~

  Jade was like a flash thunderstorm, calm one second, and the next, a burst of ferociousness. It was amazing and troubling and more than a little confusing. And she could really hit. My cheek burned and I was pretty sure there was a nice red handprint there. I really hadn’t seen that one coming, not after the seriously hot kiss she had just planted on me. I could still taste her mocha on my tongue, and dammit, but I wanted more.

  The door slammed behind her, and the glass shuddered from the impact. “You okay?” Dominic asked, although his tone clearly said that he really didn’t care one way or the other. He was smirking, and looking as if it was an effort not to burst out in laughter.

  “Fine,” I said, scanning the coffee shop. Everyone was silent, waiting, watching, and the reality of what I had just done sank in fast. I dropped down into the booth, noticing the weary eyes and the stiff postures of everyone around me. Ray’s death, and my position, had been kept quiet for a reason, and because of that … that … girl, it was all going to go up in flames. “Shit,” I blurted, resting my head in my hands. “Did I really just announce that?”

  The silence was ruthlessly loud. The pounding hearts and breathing of all the people around me were like bad music blaring in my ears. Too loud to think. I wanted to run after Jade. Force her to listen. Make her see me again for me. But I had a pretty good feeling that that would be a useless effort, and Jade hating me seriously wasn’t the important thing. Not now. But Bruce’s pack getting wind of a new alpha, one without a mate, was.

  “I’ll make the call,” Dominic said abruptly, and pulled his phone from his pocket. Any humor that
had been on his face vanished. His back stiffened, his jaw hardened, and he paced to the back of the shop, his phone already to his ear as he began barking out orders.

  Shit! The pack wasn’t ready for this. I didn’t know enough about the cougars, yet. How they worked. How many there were. The last count Dominic had been able to get hold of was eighteen, but that was only a count of the males. From what I understood, the female numbers were, and always had been, an unknown factor.

  I knew Bruce was vicious, and I knew he was always looking for more females to lure into his clutches. I still couldn’t figure that one out. From what Dominic had told me, Bruce only recruited females, and so far, his contact wouldn’t reveal the why. I also knew that they had been coming closer to town these last few days. Their scents were scattered along the edges of our woods.

  How could I have been so stupid! This little game with Jade … this stupid crush was putting us all in jeopardy. Not just the pack but also the town. But still, even knowing that, all I wanted to do was run after her.

  For about half a second, hot regret washed over me. If I had just kept driving. If I hadn’t stopped in this stupid hick town, I wouldn’t have to deal with any of this. I wouldn’t have to worry about a pack of werecougars. I wouldn’t have to deal with twenty-nine werewolves that acted as if they were the only things that mattered. I wouldn’t be an alpha with a beta that fought me at every turn. And I wouldn’t have met Jade.

  I sighed. Not meeting Jade … My fists balled in my hair and my jaw tensed. That girl was ruining everything. But then, I figured it was my fault. I had been letting her and the pack walk all over me. Maybe I had been too nice, too forgiving. Maybe Ray had had the right idea all along. Evoke fear in the pack and the town. I wanted to call my dad. I needed advice, but I couldn’t bring myself to dial the number. He would only tell me what I already knew. I was being too soft with them all.