Wicked Beginnings

by L A Cotton

  Us.

  “Lo?” Uncertainty filled Maverick’s voice as he eased back to meet my gaze.

  “Don’t stop,” I pleaded, arching my body up to his, fingers raking down his shoulders.

  He searched my eyes, but I slammed my lips to his, pouring everything I felt—everything I needed—into the kiss. And relief washed over me when Maverick responded, kissing me deeper, harder. Each stroke of his tongue matching his thrusts.

  Delicious heat spread through me, burning and deadly. Maverick sucked the salty skin along my jaw, whispering dirty words in my ear. How good I felt wrapped around him. How he wanted to hear me scream his name. I was so lost in him—in the way he felt stretching me, how his naked body felt pressed against mine—I was barely present. So far gone I almost missed him say, “I wanted you that night, so much. I wanted to lose myself in you. To make it stop.”

  But then stars exploded behind my eyes and waves of pleasure crashed over me, and Maverick’s declaration melted away with my contented sighs and quivering limbs.

  ~

  “What time is it?” I murmured.

  “Past seven.” Maverick's husky voice made my stomach flutter and my pulse quickened. Then it dawned on me.

  “No one will come in here, right?” I could think of nothing more embarrassing than Rebecca or Macey… or even worse, Gentry, barging into the pool house and finding us wrapped up in each other.

  “Don't worry, we're good.” He pulled me closer, pressing a soft kiss to my hair.

  Maverick… soft and gentle. It went against everything I knew about him, yet it felt completely normal. We lay in comfortable silence for a little longer, but I knew we couldn’t stay here forever. There were things we needed to talk about.

  “So...”

  “So...” he laughed around his reply and I felt his lips curve against my skin. “It's too early to think, Lo.”

  “Can I ask you something?” Maverick let out a groan of frustration but I continued, anyway. “Kyle knows about us?”

  He rolled me onto my back and hovered over me. “What do you think?”

  “Did you—”

  “Did I tell him?” He shook his head. “I didn't need to. He knew the second I laid eyes on you.”

  “He knew?” I whispered confused about what this meant.

  Maverick grazed my lips with his own and the need for him built again. But I needed to hear this so I tamped down the urge to wrap my legs around him.

  “We got drunk one night, right after I called things off with Caitlin, and I ended up telling him about the mysterious girl I met on the beach last summer. He didn't tell me it was you though. I guess he wanted me to find out the hard way.”

  Kyle knew.

  He'd known all along.

  Even though I suspected he knew something, I didn’t realise he knew about last summer. I didn’t know how to feel about it.

  All this time, he’d known.

  And he’d never said a word.

  “What happened with Caitlin, Maverick? I saw you that night on the beach, at Brendon Palmer’s party, and that night when you kiss… almost kissed me.”

  Maverick went rigid, a stony mask slamming over his face. “You don't need to worry about Caitlin. She won't pull that shit again. It was over way before you got here.”

  But I did worry. Maverick might not have wanted her, but she still wanted him. And the way she'd declared open season on me at the dance told me it was only the beginning.

  Silence stretched out before us. Maverick tucked me into his side once more, drawing lazy circles along my ribcage, his lean body cocooning mine. There was so much I still wanted to know, to ask, but for now, I was happy to enjoy the moment.

  If I didn’t ask the question on the tip of my tongue, we could pretend everything was fine. But the longer we lay there the harder it became.

  I wasn’t that girl.

  Maybe before the accident, I could have been. But not now.

  Too much had happened, and I needed to know where I stood because for the last three months, Maverick said one thing and did another. He was here now, but what happened once I left?

  “I can hear your thoughts from here,” he pulled me closer.

  “What happens now, Maverick?”

  He shifted over me and caged my body with his. His eyes captured mine, holding me there, and then he lowered his face, touching his head to mine. “I need you, Lo.” He breathed out, and I held my breath, waiting. “I don’t know what tomorrow brings or the next day or the one after that but I need you.”

  “Maverick—”

  “Don’t ruin this. Not now. Not yet. Please.” The plea in his voice surprised me. Maverick didn’t beg—for anything. “Things are complicated, Lo. I’m complicated, but I’m done pretending. I meant what I said. I walked away once, I won’t do it again.”

  There was a but in there somewhere—a pretty big one if I knew Maverick.

  And I did.

  But it was already too late. I was a goner the second he showed up at the dance. Maverick cared. He'd cared all along and it was enough.

  For now, it was enough.

  Lo and Maverick’s story continues in Wicked Rules, coming January 2018

  Pre-order HERE

  And don’t forget to join Wicked Bay’s spoiler group HERE

  … and if you enjoyed Wicked Beginnings keep reading for an excerpt of Liar Liar

  Ocean Drive – Duke Dumont

  High by the Beach – Lana Del Rey

  To Belong – Daughter

  New Americana – Halsey

  Vicious Love – New Found Glory

  Stay the Night -Zedd ft Hayley Williams

  Calfornia Dreamin’ – Sia

  Running Up That Hill – Placebo

  This Is What Makes Us Girls – Lana Del Rey

  Cloud – Elias

  Shine – Years and Years

  Thank you so much for reading Lo and Maverick’s story. Wicked Beginnings is my seventeenth published book. I can’t quite believe that. When I set out writing this story, I wanted to create a world that left readers wanting more. More Lo and Maverick. More Kyle and Laurie. Even more Devon and Caitlin. I have so much more planned for these guys, I hope you’ll stick around for the ride…

  As usual there is a long list of people that I am indebted to for helping me hit publish. My alpha readers: Anna and Jenny. Without you both, I’m sure I’d go insane. Writing brought us together, but I consider you both my friends. My beta and proof readers: Samantha and Ginelle, thank you so much for helping me make this story shiny and polished. My Indie Girls, you are my safe place, my confidants, my go-to girls when I need to vent or talk strategy and plans. My British editor, Andrea. It was so much fun working with you on this project, I look forward to the next time. To Amber at Quirky Blind Date with a Book, I’m so honoured you ran Wicked Beginnings as one of your ‘secret’ titles. To each and every blog that has got behind the launch of this series, whether you’ve promoted, shared, or reviewed, it really is you guys that help get books out there – thank you!

  And lastly, to the readers who continue to get behind me and the stories I love to tell. A million thanks really aren’t enough.

  ADDICTIVE ROMANCE

  Author of mature young adult and new adult novels, L A is happiest writing the kind of books she loves to read: addictive stories full of teenage angst, tension, twists and turns.

  Home is a small town in the middle of England where she currently juggles being a full-time writer with being a mother/referee to two little people. In her spare time (and when she’s not camped out in front of the laptop) you’ll most likely find L A immersed in a book, escaping the chaos that is life.

  L A loves connecting with readers. The best places to find her are:

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  Wicked Bay Series

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  Liar Liar Series

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or Dare

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  Redemption and Regrets

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  “Becca, are you going to stand out there all day or come in and help us unpack?” Mom called from the doorway as she watched me, her eyes clouded with a mixture of trepidation and sorrow.

  “Coming. I’m coming.”

  My eyes swept over the gray stucco house in front of me once more, sadness constricting my chest. Just turned eighteen, I had a life full of memories in another house—a much bigger and prettier house—and even though it was bittersweet and my throat burned with tears, staring at the unfamiliar building, I felt a kernel of hope at what it represented.

  No more secrets …

  No more hiding …

  No more lies.

  Born and raised in Montecito, CA, I’d lived in one place my whole life. The kitchen where Mom taught me to bake cookies when I was just five. The doorjamb where Dad scratched a notch every year on my birthday. The porch that witnessed my first kiss while my parents pretended not to watch from the living room window. All wrapped up in that house. But it was more than a house.

  It was my home.

  Filled with love and comfort and happy times, it held every memory of every significant moment of my life. Drawing in a long breath, I rolled my shoulders back and forced a smile. Climbing the steps to the door, Mom met me halfway, wrapping me in her arms. “Let’s get things straightened out and then I’ll make us something to eat. It’s been a long day.”

  She wasn’t wrong. Five hours in the balmy California heat stuck in Dad’s truck on the highway wasn’t my idea of fun. I shrugged out of her grip and met her eyes, aged with the events of the last few months. “Sure, Mom.”

  A sad smile tugged at her lips. “It’s going to be okay, Becca. New town, new friends, a fresh start.”

  My lips pulled into a flat line, and I nodded, hardly able to get the word out over the lump in my throat. “Yeah.”

  “Come on.” Mom took my hand in hers and guided me into the house.

  My new home.

  My fresh start.

  My escape.

  ~

  “So I called ahead, and Principal Garraway knows to expect you.” Mom clicked her belt into place, and I groaned, rolling my head back against the leather. “Seriously, Mom, I got this. It’s just school.” A new school, but whatever. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been to school before.

  “I wanted to make things as easy as possible, Becca. You can’t blame me for that.”

  Guilt twisted around my heart. Of course, she was only trying to help. It was all she and Dad had done since everything happened.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice thick with regret.

  “Hey.” Mom’s hand squeezed my hand across the stick. “None of that. Your father and I would do it all again, in a heartbeat, so no more pity parties, okay? This is your senior year, baby. You get a shot at doing it right. New town, new friends, a fresh—”

  “Start,” I finished. It had become Mom’s mantra ever since Dad announced we were leaving and moving three-hundred miles upstate to Credence, a small town between Oakland and Hayward. Turning my head to the side, I watched the unfamiliar landscape rush past.

  “It’s new for all of us, but I’m excited. Your father’s looking forward to getting started, and I can’t wait to christen the kitchen. Did you see the oven? It’s a baker’s dream come true.”

  “That’s great, Mom.”

  “You know, Becca, change is good for the soul. And while I expect Credence High is going to be different from Montecito Prep, it’s nothing you can’t handle.”

  I forced a smile. “Yeah. I’m sure it will all be fine.” Except I’ll know no one and be the new girl. I didn’t know what was better—starting a school where no one knew me, or returning to my old high school where everyone knew me too well.

  “Are you sure I look okay?” I asked for the tenth time. I’d never attended public school before, and while Mom had reassured me that my outfit was ‘perfectly fine,’ I didn’t feel fine. Not in the least.

  “You look perfect—lovely, in fact—although I still don’t know why you had to throw out so much. There was nothing wrong with—”

  “Mom, you know why.”

  She shifted uncomfortably. “I know; I’m sorry. Oh look, there it is.” Mom pointed at a brick building in the distance. Kids streamed into the open gates, and the knot in my stomach tightened. It was nothing like my old school. Not a single convertible or palm tree in sight, not that I’d expected it. But it was more than that. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her to turn around and go back so I could change into something else. Sensing my nerves, Mom reached for my hand again. “Becca, it’s going to be fine.”

  Fine. She was right—nothing could be worse than the last four months of my life. I immediately shut down my thoughts. Now was not the time to remember, to let in the memories that haunted me in my sleep. Just breathe. I clamped my eyes tight and inhaled deep, long breaths just like my therapist had shown me. If I didn’t give my memories power, they couldn’t control me.

  He couldn’t control me.

  “Okay, this is it.” Mom beamed over at me. “You’ll do great. Mac told your father Credence High is a good school.”

  Mac, one of Dad’s oldest friends, was the guy who had made our move to Credence possible. If Mac said it was true, well, then it must be, and the thought eased some of the turmoil cutting through me.

  Once upon a time, I would have strolled straight into Credence High School, sought out the most popular girls, and introduced myself. But that wasn’t who I was anymore. The old Becca Torrence was gone. Lost to a night that not only changed my life forever, it changed me.

  Intrinsically and inherently altered me.

  A part of me died that night, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever get it back.

  “Becca.” Mom’s voice snapped me into the car. “It’s time.”

  I unbelted and grabbed my bag as my other hand hovered over the door handle. “Okay, then. See you later.”

  “Good luck, baby,” she called as I climbed out and surveyed my surroundings with a heavy sigh.

  This was it. All I had to do was walk in there, smile, and be myself. Only, I had no idea who I was anymore.

  ~

  “I think that’s everything, Miss Torrence. I’m sure you’ll find Credence a welcoming school. We serve a diverse community, which I feel provides an enriching environment for our students.” Principal Garraway cleared her throat. Something flashed over her face, but it was gone as quickly as I’d caught it, and she glanced down at the stack of papers in her hand. “Right, well, Ms. Juliard will escort you to your first class, which is math with Mr. Phillips. He’ll see to it that you settle in, I’m sure.”

  She thrust the papers at me, and I forced another smile. I was doing that a lot lately. “Thanks.”

  “If you need anything, you can come to me or our guidance counselor. We’ll be more than happy to assist you. Do you have any questions?”

  When can I get the hell out of here?

  “No.” I held my smile. Forcing my lips up even farther, I hoped she didn’t detect my unease.

  “Well, then.” She rose from her seat. “Welcome to Credence High School.”

  “Thanks.” I left the room without a backward glance.

  It wasn’t Principal Garraway; she’d been nothing but warm and welcoming. It was me—and the paranoia that had lived inside me since that night. The whole point of getting out of Montecito was to avoi
d people from ever finding out the truth. No one except Mac knew us here, and even he thought we’d relocated for a fresh start after my (fake) illness. Dad had wanted to go the whole hog and buy us new identities, but I didn’t want to become Marissa or Jessica or Amy. I’d already lost too much of myself to lose my name as well.

  “This way, Becca.” Ms. Juliard beckoned me over to her. “Math is situated in the east wing. It’s an excellent class, and some of our brightest students are in with Mr. Phillips. You’ll be in good company.”

  My ears perked up at that snippet of information. I’d missed school. It had been almost four months to the day since I last attended Montecito Prep. Four months since I sat in classes with my friends, laughing and gossiping about boys. I missed it—school, studying, even homework—and a part of me itched to get back to it. To get back to some kind of normal.

  “Right, this is math. Good luck, dear.” Ms. Juliard wasted no time as she pushed the door open and stepped to the side to let me past.

  “Umm, thanks,” I murmured, slipping into the room.

  Greeted with a whoosh of heads snapping up in my direction, I avoided looking anywhere but at Mr. Phillips, a tall, wiry man standing at the front of the class smiling at me. “Ahhh, and you must be our new transfer, Miss Torrence.”

  “Becca,” I said.

  He nodded. “Find a seat, and we’ll get you caught up.”

  Finding an empty seat meant looking for one, which meant making eye contact with my new classmates. It was inevitable, but it didn’t stop me from taking another breath before forcing myself to look up. A faceless sea stared back at me. A couple of girls snarled, narrowing their eyes, while some of the guys raked their eyes down my body. My stomach roiled, and I lurched slightly. It was enough to propel me forward. One foot in front of the other. Left, right, left, right. I shut out the curious stares and the low rumble of whispers, reminding myself this was completely normal. Roles reversed, I would have been the same, seated behind one of the desks watching a new kid turn up in class.