“You know it. I’ll be the one in the ‘Thornton’ jersey that smells like sweat and sexy beast.”
“Gross,” she laughed. “He’s my cousin. I don’t want to think about his scent being sexy, Vi.”
“Yeah, well, he’s not my cousin, and I think he smells divine.” I winked, and she snorted out another laugh. “I hope your mom doesn’t find out you skipped.”
“Girl, same to you with Uncle Shane.”
“Oh, please. I can handle my dad. Not so sure you can bat your lashes and pout, and Aunt Lana will go weak at the knees.”
“True.” She opened her friend’s passenger side door. “Pray for me, cuz.”
Palmer’s car was just leaving the parking lot when Shaw came skipping toward me. I heard the doors of Cannon’s car unlock, and I jumped in the front passenger seat while she slid behind the wheel.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said as she started the car. “But I got us a way on to the Malibu campus, hopefully without any issues.”
“Jags?”
“Jags,” she confirmed with a wicked grin.
Seeing the sparkle in her eyes, I lifted a brow. “Is there anything you want to tell me, Shaw?”
Her grin disappeared, and her fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “There’s nothing to tell. He and my brother have this stupid pact, so even if Jagger wanted to, it’s unlikely he’d ever do anything.” She shifted the car into reverse. “The pussy.”
Sensing how upset the topic was making her, I changed the subject by telling her I’d seen Arella. The drive to Malibu was spent talking about Uncle Drake’s illness, but Shaw knew I didn’t like talking about my dad’s donating part of his liver, so we didn’t discuss that aspect.
When she pulled into the student parking lot, Jagger was leaning up against his SUV, and Shaw parked right beside him. Opening her door, he shook his head at her, his ice-blue eyes alight with amusement. “He’s going to kill you.”
“He’ll have to catch me first,” she said with a wink as she got out.
I climbed out and walked around to the two of them. I’d never noticed it before, but there was definitely some kind of tension coming off both of them. How the hell I had missed that, I wasn’t sure. But now that I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it.
“See you two later,” I told them as I headed for the back door into the school.
The halls were empty, so I made my way to Luca’s locker. I knew his combination and I was tiny, so I opened the locker and climbed in, knowing it wouldn’t be long before his next period, which was lunch.
Ten minutes passed, and then the bell rang. I bit my lip to keep from giggling as the hall began to fill up with students.
“I’m starving.” I heard Lyric grumbling. He and Luca sounded about as alike as they looked, but to me, I didn’t even have to think about it.
“Yeah,” Luca replied, sounding distracted. “Me too.”
“Come on, man. Relax. You’re going to kick ass tonight, and you know it.” I heard them right outside the locker, and then the door started to open.
As soon as the light fell on me, I jumped out, wrapping my arms and legs around Luca. He grunted, his hands cupping my ass and holding me against him like he never wanted to let me go.
My hair fell over his shoulder, and I kissed his neck, making him groan in agony. “Babe,” he growled in warning.
“Well,” Lyric said in a dryly amused voice. The senior hall was already starting to clear out as students went to lunch or their next class. It wasn’t lost on me that the others were giving the twins a wide berth. “I’m going to go eat. You two be good. Don’t do anything your daddies will kill someone over.”
I lifted my head and grinned at my friend. “Can’t make any promises.”
“Didn’t think you could.” He slapped me on the ass, earning him a feral growl from his twin. Laughing, he walked away. “Later, Vi.”
“What are you doing here?” Luca asked as he backed me against his now-closed locker, his dark eyes swirling with a rainbow of browns. He was happy to see me, hard as a rock, and pissed at his brother for slapping my ass. All of those emotions were there in those hypnotic eyes. I knew what each shade of brown meant, could anticipate his every emotion just from looking at his eyes.
“You need me,” I said with a shrug.
“I always need you.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But today more than ever.” I traced my thumb over his bottom lip, aching to kiss him.
But kissing wasn’t allowed.
Luca was afraid if he kissed me, he wouldn’t be able to stop. And while I was more than happy to let him do whatever he wanted to and with me, once he turned eighteen in a few short weeks, it could cause some huge problems because I was only fifteen. To avoid the whole issue, he’d given us strict rules to protect us both.
No kissing was the hardest rule to follow, though. For both of us.
He put his face in my neck and inhaled deeply. Like always, I shivered, aching for so much more. But I refused to make this harder for him than it already was. I knew he struggled every day with not being able to touch me the way we both were desperate for him to.
My eighteenth birthday seemed like a lifetime away, but I tried to remind myself that each day that passed was one more closer to when we could be together in all the ways we’d always dreamed of.
“How did you get here?” he asked, inhaling the scent of my perfume over and over like he was an addict snorting his favorite drug.
I squirmed against him, hoping to distract him with my core brushing over his engorged hard-on. He groaned but lifted his head, his eyes narrowing on my face. “Vi?”
“Hmm?” I murmured, stroking my fingers down his jaw.
“How did you get here, Violet?” he repeated, his voice lowering in warning.
“Promise you won’t blow up.”
“Vi,” he gritted out.
“Shaw and I took Cannon’s car.”
His nostrils flared. “So, you and Shaw, who is only fifteen, drove that damn car over here?”
“She’ll be sixteen in a few months,” I tried to argue.
“She doesn’t fucking have her license yet!” he exploded. Breathing hard, he set me on my feet and backed up a step. “You put yourself in a car, one that could be considered a deadly weapon in the wrong hands, with someone who isn’t even legal to drive you behind the wheel.”
“Shaw is a better driver than her brother who does have his license,” I reminded him.
“I don’t like it when you’re in the same vehicle with that douchebag any more than I do with her driving.” He scrubbed his hands over his face in frustration. “You could have been in an accident. Anything could have happened to you.”
“Dramatic much, Luca?” I said with a roll of my eyes. That earned me a glare, and I grinned up at him, trying to get him to calm down. “Nothing happened, and it won’t happen when we go back.”
“Fuck that shit. You’re not going anywhere unless I drive you.” He took hold of my hand and started walking toward the exit. “You are too damn reckless with your life. How am I supposed to concentrate on school and football when I’m constantly worried about you?”
He pushed through the door and marched into the student parking lot. I basically had to run to keep up with his long strides. “You’re overreacting,” I complained. “All I wanted was to come cheer you up.”
And he was starting to hurt my feelings with his sudden change of mood. It was almost like he didn’t even want me there.
As if he could hear my thoughts, he stopped and turned to face me. Taking a few deep breaths, he cupped my face. “Baby, you’re the most important person in my world. It kills me thinking something could have happened to you. Please, I need you to be more responsible from now on. I can’t do what I need to do for us and our future if you’re running around with Shaw, stealing cars and riding around with her behind the wheel when she doesn’t even have her goddamn license.�
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“Shaw is very responsible when she’s driving. Trust me, Luca. I wouldn’t put myself in that kind of danger. I wouldn’t do that to you.” I turned my head, kissing his palm, and I felt his arm tremble. I stroked my fingers up his forearm and grinned wickedly up at him. “I know you’re working hard on securing our future, but that you of all people are lecturing me on being responsible is kind of hilarious.”
“When it comes to you, I take that shit seriously,” he grumbled, but I saw a hint of a smile teasing at his lips, and he couldn’t hide the way his eyes changed to that reddish russet brown, telling me he was amused. But all too quickly, it disappeared. Grunting, he pulled me against him and kissed the top of my head. “I love you so much, babe. It scares me thinking something might happen to you when I’m not around.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, contrite.
“Let’s go,” he grumbled, tugging me toward the vehicles and his SUV.
Shaw was still where I’d left her, leaning back against her brother’s car while Jagger stood in front of her. The two of them were laughing, obviously flirting with each other. But when they saw us and the look on Luca’s face, their amusement dried up quickly.
He pointed at my best friend. “Get your ass back to school before I call your mom,” he threatened. “Jagger, drive her.”
“Dude.” Jagger shook his head at him. “She’s a better driver than I am. She can get there just fine on her own.”
“Fine. You don’t care enough about her to make sure she gets there safe, who the fuck am I to say anything?” He kept walking, ignoring Jagger’s curse.
I glanced back at them and saw Jagger take Shaw’s keys. “Let’s go, Dimples.”
Shaw’s blue eyes met mine, and I mouthed “Dimples?” She shrugged, a huge grin on her face, and waved at me as Jagger opened the passenger door for her.
We reached Luca’s SUV, and he picked me up, placing me in the passenger seat before leaning in and securing my seat belt. As he did, his chest pressed me back into the seat. His eyes had changed to amber, and I knew he was holding on to his control by a thin thread.
All I had to do was lean forward, skim my lips over his, and we would have our first real kiss. His control would snap, and Luca would be at my mercy. But as much as I ached for that, I couldn’t put him in that position.
Instead, I leaned forward and skimmed my nose over his. “You’re going to get in trouble for skipping.”
“Coach arranged for me to have the afternoon off. Told me to get my head on straight so I was good for tonight’s game.” He lowered his head, pressing his face into my neck, and inhaled deeply. “I was going to come to Santa Monica as soon as I had lunch with Lyric.”
“Oh,” I muttered, suddenly feeling stupid for leaving school.
“Hey,” he said, his voice softer now as he pressed a kiss to my temple. “It was really sweet of you to come all this way when I need you so much. Just…don’t put your life in danger the next time you decide to surprise me. Please?”
“Fine,” I said with a huff, like he was asking way too much, and giving in would cost me.
He grinned, and I couldn’t help tracing his bottom lip again. I was fascinated by his mouth and spent more than a few hours every day thinking about how it would feel devouring mine. I imagined what he would taste like. How his tongue would feel brushing against mine, licking the roof of my mouth, owning me completely.
His groan sounded like he was being tortured. “Baby, I want everything I see in those pretty purple eyes just as much as you do. But I don’t trust myself to stop if I gave it to you.”
“I know. It’s just…”
He leaned back, his eyes skimming over my face. “Just what?”
“The world is selfish for not letting us be together, Luca.”
“It’s not the world standing in our way,” he reminded me. “It’s your dad, and I promised him I would wait for you to turn eighteen.” He kissed the tip of my nose, and I melted back into the seat with what he said next. “Because you are worth it.”
Chapter 3
Luca
Violet didn’t want to go back to school, so I took her home so she could grab my jersey. When I pulled into the driveway, I stayed in my vehicle because the temptation of being alone in her house—in her bedroom—was too much for me when I was already about to burst in my pants.
She wasn’t even gone five minutes before she came skipping back to me, and I jumped out, opening the door for her and lifting her into the passenger seat. She’d changed into a pair of jeans and a tank top, but I saw the strings of her bikini top sticking out of the neckline.
“Guess we’re going to the beach,” I said as she tossed her gym bag into the back seat.
“We can go wherever you want. I just wanted to be prepared for anything.” She pulled out her phone, frowning at the screen before typing something as I shut the door.
“What?” I asked as I got behind the wheel.
“Mom said the school called her, but she promised not to tell Dad. Shaw texted me to let me know Jagger is skipping his afternoon classes, so she is too since they also called her mom. Hopefully Aunt Dallas doesn’t find out we took the car. But we don’t have to worry about picking Shaw up on the way to the game tonight.” She dropped her phone into one of the cupholders and shifted so she was half facing me as I backed out of her driveway. “What would you like to do?”
“Doesn’t matter to me as long as I’m with you.” I reached for her hand. Lifting it to my lips, I kissed her palm then laid our joined hands on the console between us. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll make it happen.”
She was quiet for a moment, making me look at her. Seeing the way her violet eyes were full of heat and she was licking her bottom lip, I swallowed a groan and quickly amended what I’d just said before I did something that would likely get me killed or banned from seeing my girl for the rest of my natural life—which was worse than death, if you asked me. “Tell me what you want—that doesn’t include me between your legs—and I’ll make it happen.”
Her bottom lip pouted out for half a second before she grinned. “Fine. We could go to the beach. Or the mall.” Her stomach growled loudly, and my own was quick to answer.
“First, I need to feed you,” I told her as we drove out of her neighborhood. A mile down the road, we passed Aunt Lana and Uncle Drake’s house, and I noticed both their vehicles were in the driveway. Thinking of how sick Uncle Drake was, I felt my gut clench, and I tightened my fingers around Violet’s. I knew she didn’t like talking about her dad donating part of his liver so I kept my mouth shut about the whole thing, but I heard her shaky exhale as we drove past and knew she was thinking about it despite constantly trying not to.
Lifting her hand, I kissed her fingertips to distract her. “What would you like to eat?”
She shrugged. “I’m good with anything.”
“How about I stop and get us a few pizzas, and we eat them at the beach?” I suggested.
“A few pizzas?” She snickered. “You know I’ll only eat like two slices, right?”
“Have you seen the size of me?” I smirked when her eyes skimmed over me hungrily. “Hey, hey. My eyes are up here.”
“Believe me, I know where your eyes are.”
I gasped playfully. “I feel like a piece of meat when you look at me like that, lady.”
“Delicious meat,” she murmured in that sweet, sexy voice of hers.
Fuck. My cock turned to stone in my pants, and I had to shift the damn thing before I crippled myself. A soft giggle left her as she watched me try to adjust the massive erection.
“You’re evil. Vi has to be short for Vixen.” She giggled again, and while that sweet sound did nothing for the pain south of my belt, it filled my heart with so much happiness that I forgot how nervous I was about the game that night. My nerves were turned off, and all I could see and feel was Violet and how much I fucking loved that girl.
We stopped for the pizzas, and I drove us to one of the public beaches. Violet had packed a few beach towels, so we spread them out on the sand and had a picnic. I didn’t have swim trunks with me, but I pulled off my shirt and rolled up my pants to my knees and we walked along the shoreline once we were full of cheese and carbs.
Vi was in that damn tiny black bikini her dad and I were both in agreement didn’t cover up enough of her, so I did my best to block her from others’ eyes as we walked. But she knew what I was doing and chose to torture me instead of making it easier for me to hide her.
“You’re going to make me get in a fight,” I warned her when we passed a group of college guys as they walked along the beach with a cooler and other beach supplies. More than one set of eyes lingered on my girl, but I snarled at them to keep walking and they went on their way.
“Oh, please. You would be saying that if I were wearing one of those old-school bathing suits that covered a woman from shoulder to knee.” She rolled her pretty purple eyes and skipped a few steps in front of me. With her hand still in mine, she turned to face me, walking backward as she grinned impishly up at me.
Fuck. She was the most beautiful creature on the planet, and this girl was mine. I didn’t know how I got so lucky to find my “one” and was able to spend my entire life with her, but I was thankful for it every day of my life.
“They have that waterslide thing up the beach. Listen…” She paused, and I stopped, straining hard to hear. “Do you hear them screaming?” She laughed and tugged on my hand. “Let’s go. Please?”
“But you’re scared of heights, babe.” I was all for a little adrenaline rush, but I didn’t like it when she was afraid.
“I heard they let you go down two at a time. They put you in this tube, and you have to wrap your arms around each other, then they drop you. I won’t be scared if you do it with me.” She bounced up and down, making her amazing tits jiggle in her tiny little top.
I closed my eyes, trying to fight myself as I sucked in one deep breath after another. “Okay, okay.” I gave in without opening my eyes. “Just please, stop jumping around like that.”
Loving Violet Page 2
