by Kai Juniper
Dean is so different than when I met him. He's mellowed out. He smiles more. He laughs and makes jokes. He has this light about him that's such a huge contrast from the darkness he was living in when I met him.
I'm different too. I wouldn't even recognize the old me. I barely remember that girl. The only time I do is when I look at old pictures of myself with my fake smile. Then I look at my eyes and see the real me trying to get out, stuck behind that phony smile.
They say people don't change but it isn't true. People change if they want to. If they have a reason to. If they're motivated to. Or they change when they realize the person they are isn't the person they want to be.
Before I met Dean, I didn't really like myself. Dean didn't like himself either. We were both being people we didn't want to be but we didn't know how to change. It took us falling in love, revealing our true selves, to finally become the people we were meant to be.
I went from being a rich prep school girl with a fancy car, living in a huge house, to a girl living in a tiny apartment with no car and no money.
And I couldn't be happier.
<<<<>>>>
Note from Kai
Thanks for reading Don’t Tempt Me, the conclusion of the Broke & Bullied Series!
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Be sure to check out my other series, Twisted Pine Academy. Start with Twisted Lies.
Here’s a sneak peek! A scene with Rumor and Jackson.
"Hey!" someone yells as I’m walking down the beach.
I look over and see a guy walking toward me from his house. I think it's the guy I saw last night. It was dark and I was too far away to get a good look at him but I could tell from his outline he was big. Tall with wide shoulders, like the guy coming toward me.
He's closer now and holy shit, the guy has some serious muscles. He looks like he's around my age or a year or two older.
"You can't be here," he says, stopping in front of me.
"Where? The beach?"
"It's private property," he says, putting his hands on his hips, making him look even larger.
"I live here.”
"Where?" he asks, like he doesn't believe me.
"Down there," I say, pointing to Brock's place, although you can't really see it with the bend in the shoreline.
"Then you need to stay there. On your own property. This is mine, and I don't allow uninvited visitors."
I roll my eyes. "Seriously? I can't even walk on the beach?"
"Not on this part. It's private property."
"It's a beach. I should be able to walk on it."
"And I'm asking you not to. If you can't follow that simple rule, then I'll need to call the cops."
I huff. "Are you kidding me?"
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" he asks, staring down at me.
As I look at his face, I feel like I've seen him before. Why does he look so familiar?
He must have the same thought because he's looking at me the same way, like he recognizes me.
"Have we met before?" I ask.
"You slammed into me on the street," he says, folding his arms over his chest. "So in addition to trespassing on my property, you also almost tripped me when I was running."
"I didn't do it on purpose," I say, crossing my arms over my chest, mimicking his pose. "I went to pick up my phone and didn't see you."
"How can you not see someone coming right at you?"
"I was upset, okay?" I narrow my eyes at him. "Maybe you should give people a break, especially when you don't know all the shit going on in their lives."
"What shit are we talking about?" he asks, sounding curious.
"Nothing. Never mind." I sigh. "Am I allowed to walk across your precious beach to get back?"
"Yes, but that's the last time. I don't want to see you back here."
I look behind me at the long stretch of beach. "What if I want to keep going? Do I have to go in the ocean to avoid stepping on your beach?"
"That's private property too."
"The ocean is not private property. You can't own the ocean."
"Why is this so hard for you to understand? You shouldn't be back here. Period. Even if it wasn't private, this isn't a walking beach. It's rocky and the waves are unpredictable. If you want to walk by the water, go to a real beach. A public beach."
"Why would I do that when I have one right here? I don't care if it's rocky. I have shoes on."
"Would you stop arguing with me and just go?" he says, raising his voice.
I glare at him. At those beautiful blue eyes. That chiseled face. If he wasn't so mean I'd think he's hot. I might even say he's the hottest guy I've ever seen. But his attitude ruins it.
"Fine! I'm going!" I turn and run off toward the ocean.
"What are you doing?" he yells as I go in the water.
"You told me not to walk on your stupid beach!"
"You're gonna drown!" he yells, running toward me.
"I'm not gonna—" I'm stopped by a wave slamming into me and shoving me to the ground. The water pulls me toward the shore, dragging me along the sharp rocks. I feel my shirt lifting up to my bra, the skin on my torso exposed, the icy water hitting it.
"Help!" I manage to scream just as another wave comes over me.
Strong hands lift me from the water, sweeping under my back and legs and carrying me back to shore.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" the guy says.
I can't answer, coughing up the water that went in my mouth.
Still carrying me, he walks toward the rocky ledge just below the back of his house. When we reach the stairs that go up to his patio, he gently sets me down on my feet but keeps his arm around me.
"You okay?"
"No," I say, shivering as the wind blows. "That water is really cold."
He hesitates, looking up at his house, then back at me. "We need to get you inside."
"Inside your house? You wouldn't even let me on your beach, which is why I'm now freezing to death and bleeding."
"Bleeding?"
I point down to my knee which has blood running down it.
The guy keeps a hand on my back as he bends down to inspect my knee.
"Shit, you’re really scraped up." His eyes move over my body, then his hand goes to my abs, which is still exposed from my shirt riding up.
I suck in a breath as his thumb sweeps just below my bra. "What are you doing?"
"Wiping the seaweed off." His hand swipes over my stomach, causing a ripple of pleasure through the area just below it. "You're covered in sand." He stands up. "We need to get this cleaned before it gets infected."
"WE?" I glance down the beach. "Um, yeah, I'll just head home and do it there."
"You'll never make it. You're a mess. I'll get you cleaned up, then take you home."
He wants me to go in his house? I think I can trust him, but then again, I just met him and he seems a little unstable. The way he yelled at me for being on his property?
How is this his property? A guy his age can't own a house. This is obviously his parents' house, which means he shouldn't be yelling at me for being here.
"Need some help?" he asks, taking my arm.
"No, I've got it." I pull away from him. "I'm just gonna head home." I take a step and pain shoots from my knee, like there's a rock stuck in the skin that's scraping me every time I move.
"I really think you should come inside," he says. "You might've damaged your knee. You probably shouldn't walk on it until we're sure it's okay."
"It's fine." I take another step. More shooting pain. "Shit," I mutter, biting my lip.
The guy comes in front of me. "What's going on here?"
"Nothing," I say, cringing from the pain. "I just need to go slow."
"You can't even walk. Let's go inside."
"No. Really. I'm fine."
He cocks his head. "Are you afraid of me?"
"Afraid?" I nervously laugh. "Why
would I be afraid of you?"
He puts his hand on my shoulder and looks in my eyes. "I'm trying to help you. I'm not going to hurt you."
I stare back at him. "Said the killer before slaying the victim in his secret lair."
He laughs. "Secret lair?" He points to his house. "Does that look like a secret lair?"
"The secret lair would be inside the house, like a hidden room."
"There are no hidden rooms," he says, holding back a smile in an attempt to be serious. "I promise."
"Yeah, I think I'll just take my chances and try to make it back." I go around him, walking slow and shivering as the breeze blows over my wet skin and clothes.
"Okay, this is stupid," I hear the guy say as he picks me up from behind.
"Hey! Put me down!" I push on him but his body is solid as steel and his arm muscles don't even flinch at my attempt to get down.
"If you want to go home I'll drive you, but I really think we should go inside and clean you up first. At least your knee. You're bleeding all over the place."
He's right. My knee is covered in blood, along with sand and dirt and tiny rocks.
"Okay, you can take me inside but I'm calling the cops if you try anything." I dig in my shorts for my phone. "It's gone! Put me down! I have to go find it!"
"Too late," he says as he carries me up the stairs. It's a long steep staircase and he's not even winded. "If you lost it in the ocean, it's gone."
"Give me your phone," I say, making grabby hands at him.
"Why?"
"So I can call my number and see if my phone's on the beach."
"If it was in your pocket, I'm sure it's gone."
"I have to know! Please! Just give me your phone."
We're on the patio now and he sets me down on one of the loungers. It's just like Brock's with a dark wood frame and light colored cushions.
"What's your number?" the guy asks, holding his phone.
I reach for it. "Just give it to me and I'll do it."
"Tell me your number or forget it."
I give it to him, then listen for the ring but all I hear is the ocean.
"It's gone," I say, laying back on the lounger. "My phone is gone."
"Just get another one." He puts his phone away, then scoops me up from the lounger.
"I wasn't ready!" I say, holding on as he carries me to the house.
"Didn't want you getting blood on the cushions."
"Why? Are you some kind of neat freak?"
He doesn't answer as he opens the door and takes me inside to the living room where I saw him with that girl. At least I think it was him. It's hard to say since I really only saw an outline of him. It could've been his dad or a brother.
"Where are we going?" I ask as he carries me down a hall.
"To the bathroom. It's where I have the first aid kit.” He smiles at me. “It’s not a secret lair. I promise."
Want to keep reading? Grab your copy of Twisted Lies.
Also from Waltham Publishing
THE JADE SERIES
(New Adult Romantic Suspense)
Choosing You
Knowing You
Loving You
Promising You
Forever You
Finding Us
Becoming Us
Always Us
Garret: A Jade Series Companion Novel
THE KENSINGTON SERIES
(Romantic Suspense)
Needing Her
Keeping Her
Protecting Her
Only Her
KENSINGTON FAMILY NOVELS
(New Adult Romance)
Lilly
Lilly and Reed
MOORHURST COLLEGE DUET
(New Adult Romantic Suspense)
Secrets Kept
Secrets Told
WHEELER BROTHERS
(New Adult Romance Series of Standalones)
Next to Me
Give Us a Chance
Can't Let You Go
More to Us
STANDALONE NOVELS
Still Love You
Holding On
One Night
Anyone But Her
The Geek and The Goddess
Road Trouble
Third Date
Lucky Star
With Every Breath
Home with You
Kinda Hate You
TWISTED PINE ACADEMY SERIES
Twisted Lies
Twisted Sins
Twisted Secrets
Twisted Truths
BROKE & BULLIED SERIES
Don’t Try Me
Don’t Tempt Me
