Unbreak My Heart (Rough Riders Legacy Book 1)

by Lorelei James

  My second thought? Even a crappy conversation with Boone at this party was better than how things transpired at the first and only party we’d ended up at in high school.

  I hadn’t planned on running into him that night either.

  Now I was running again—away this time. I cut across the lawn, searching for a spot in the dark shadows of the house where no partiers would find me. I slumped against the stucco and sipped my beer. Warm. Yuck.

  Why had Boone brought up that horrible party almost first thing? It’d been the most humiliating night of my life. Nearly eight years later, I still wanted to curl into a ball in the corner and hide my face in shame when I thought about it.

  That’s probably why I subconsciously hid in the shadows now—because that memory kept floating closer and closer to the surface.

  Maybe letting it come won’t be so bad. Things and perceptions change. You’ve changed.

  Good freakin’ thing. Because during that time of my life? I thought I was the shit.

  I had my driver’s license.

  I had a car.

  I had the burning desire to prove I was cool.

  It was as if I followed a “How to Fuck Up Your Life” checklist for bratty sixteen-year-old girls.

  Finding new friends with a “question authority” attitude? Check.

  Lying to my dad? Check.

  Making dumb decisions with booze? Check.

  Showing bad judgment with a bad boy? Check.

  I’d implemented all of those fantastically stupid choices in one night…

  My new pal Kara knew where all the cool parties were. Not the “lame high school ones” but private house parties with booze and older guys.

  I’d become a regular at these parties the last month. I stuck close to Kara and Angie because I was actually shy around boys and these older guys sort of terrified me. I hated that I was still hung up on Boone, even when I hadn’t heard from him at all since before Christmas. So a few beers filled me with the liquid courage to approach the new guy who’d just shown up. He was seriously cute, even if he looked rough around the edges.

  As soon as I smiled at him? He was by my side.

  “Hey, hot stuff. What’s your name?”

  I smelled pot smoke on his clothes, which I ignored because…hello? Cute guy flirting with me? “Sierra. What’s yours?”

  “Tyler.” Tyler eyed my chest first and then the cup I held. “Whatcha drinkin’?”

  “Beer.”

  “This is better.” He waggled a bottle of Jack Daniels he’d been carrying around. “And I’m willing to share.”

  “What’s the catch?” While there was always booze at these parties, it never was free.

  Tyler grinned. “Smart girl. Do a couple shots with me and we’ll figure something out.”

  I said, “Sure,” as if I accepted shots from strange guys all the time. I drained my beer, intending to reuse the cup for the shot, but Tyler plucked it out of my hand and tossed it aside.

  “No drinkin’ it like a pussy. Take your shot straight from the bottle.”

  I snatched the bottle from him and drank. Somehow I withheld a shudder. Jesus. The stuff tasted like vomit. The Crown XR my dad drank was way better.

  He laughed and grabbed the bottle back. “Eager to do what I tell you. I like that.” He tipped the bottle, keeping his gaze on my chest while he guzzled. “I haven’t seen you here before.”

  “Really? I was here last weekend.”

  “I wasn’t. I had to work.”

  “That sucks. It was a great party. Been a lot of great parties lately.”

  “And you’ve been to all of them?”

  I attempted a flirty smile. “Yep.”

  “So you don’t got a job?”

  “No.”

  “Must be nice.” He knocked back another slug. “So if you ain’t workin’, what do you do for fun?”

  “I’ve been stuck at home for a few months without wheels, so it’s been a long time since I’ve had any fun. I’ve been making up for lost time.”

  “Then you’re in luck, ’cause I can think of a whole lotta ways we can have fun together tonight.” He passed the bottle back to me. “Drink up and drink deep.”

  I held my breath and managed to swallow another huge mouthful. But I didn’t stop the shudder.

  “Gets better by about the fifth shot. After that, you won’t know what you’re swallowing.”

  My warning bells went off.

  Then Tyler violated my personal space and touched me without permission.

  He wrapped his fingers in the necklace I wore and tugged me closer, like it was a come-along. “Heard some things about you. You’ve got a nice ass, pretty face too.” He kept putting pressure on the necklace chain, forcing me to move closer to him.

  My brain warned me to tell him that he was choking me, even as I feared he was fully aware of what he was doing.

  “Now. How about we talk about payment?”

  Two shots in a row on top of five beers made my head spin.

  “Wanna hear your options?” Tyler said.

  No. I want you to let me go. I’d barely been talking to this guy for five minutes and he acted like this? I needed to get away from him and fast. “I could just pay you.”

  “Nah. I’m wantin’ something else. Your money is no good.”

  “But mine is. I figure she drank maybe five bucks worth of Jack.” A hand waved a five-dollar bill between my face and Tyler’s. “So consider this payment in full.”

  Boone.

  Oh God, Boone was here. I didn’t know whether to be happy or embarrassed.

  Tyler released my necklace.

  I sucked in a deep breath and was snapped back against Boone’s chest.

  Tyler glared at Boone. “What the fuck is your problem, West?”

  “Don’t have one, Ty. Just watching out for my girl.” He tucked the folded bill in Tyler’s shirt pocket. “We square?”

  I remained frozen.

  “You’re with her? Bullshit,” Tyler spat. “Kara didn’t say nothin’ to me about that.”

  “That’s ’cause Kara doesn’t know. No one knows.” Boone dropped his arm over my shoulder. “Our families would have a shit fit if they knew we were together.” Then Boone’s hot mouth teased the skin below my ear. “Right, sugar bear?”

  He’d said the words loud enough for Tyler to hear. But my tongue seemed to be stuck to the roof of my mouth.

  “Don’t pull that silent treatment crap with me,” Boone warned me testily. “Tell you what. You don’t get pissed off at me for bein’ late and I won’t get pissed off at you for drinking with another guy. ’Cause you know how jealous I get, baby.”

  Tyler’s skeptical gaze flitted between us. He looked ready to kill Boone. And maim me.

  Boone twined his fingers in my hair and pulled my head back in a move that showed his displeasure I hadn’t answered him. Then he put his mouth on my ear and whispered, “For Christsake, Sierra, act like we’re together or Tyler will fuck me up and then he’ll fuck you.”

  That snapped me out of it. “Sorry, Boone. Don’t be mad.” I turned my head and buried my face in his neck.

  Boone sighed. “Look, man, I’m sorry. She’s a big fuckin’ cocktease when she’s been drinking.” He offered Tyler his hand. “No hard feelings?”

  A beat passed before Tyler shook Boone’s hand. “You’re lucky you got here in time. Me’n her were about to have us a private party. You’d better keep a tighter leash on her. Most guys ain’t as understanding as me.”

  “I appreciate that.” Boone curled his hand around my hip and squeezed. “Any rooms open so Sierra and I can…talk privately?”

  Tyler laughed. Then he yelled, “Jimbo. Clear out my bedroom so these two can fuck and make up.”

  His bedroom? Omigod. This was his house?

  “Thanks, man.” Boone dropped his free hand to my ass and kept his arm around my neck, almost in a headlock as he maneuvered me through the crowd.

  I felt everyone sta
ring at us, but I kept my gaze on my feet. Even that didn’t keep me from stumbling. I heard laughter and Boone’s grip tightened.

  He steered me into a bedroom and slammed the door behind us.

  The shots hit me the same time as the reality of the situation and I felt ill.

  I tripped over something on the floor and Boone caught me before I fell.

  He pushed me against the door, bracing my shoulders, and got right in my face. “What the fuck were you doing?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “That is goddamn obvious, Sierra.”

  I closed my eyes.

  “Huh-uh. Look at me. Keep those eyes open because the room will start spinning and I don’t wanna deal with you being sick as well as being stupid.”

  Stupid. I hated being called stupid. And it stung hearing it from him. “I’m not that drunk.” I put my hands on his chest and shoved him as hard as I could.

  Boone wasn’t expecting it and stumbled back two steps.

  “Leave me alone. I don’t need you to fucking babysit me, Boone.”

  He clenched his hands into fists at his sides and stared at me. “What the hell do you think would’ve happened if I’d left you alone with Tyler?”

  “I would’ve figured something out.”

  “Before or after he fed you more booze, dragged you into his bedroom and raped you?”

  “What?”

  “Rape. Sex without consent,” he snarled. “Tyler doesn’t fucking care if you’re conscious.”

  I felt sick. “And how do you know that?”

  “Because he did it to a friend of mine. They were drinking and then the next thing she remembered was waking up with him on top of her.”

  “Oh God.”

  Then Boone was face-to-face with me again. “I told you to stay away from Kara. And I heard you’ve been here, at her brother Tyler’s house, for the past two weekends.”

  “I didn’t know it was his house.” I swallowed hard. “I didn’t know Tyler was her brother.”

  His eyes turned hard. “You just showed up at some random person’s house and started drinking with strangers? Jesus. Sierra. You’re smarter than that. Why would you do that?”

  “Because I’m fucking sick and tired of sitting at home by myself all the time, okay? No one in this godforsaken town wants anything to do with me. So when Kara and Angie asked me to hang out, I said yes. I thought maybe I’d meet people.”

  “You don’t want to meet the people they hang out with,” he snapped. “For Christsake, Tyler is twenty-three. He’s been in jail. The only people who hang around him are his loser jailbird buddies and his sister’s high school friends who don’t have any other place to drink.”

  “Then why are you here?” I demanded. “Are you one of his loser friends?”

  “Fuck no. I showed up because I heard at school this is your new weekend hangout.”

  “Bull. I haven’t seen you in school for weeks, so I doubt you heard anything.”

  “I only need one credit to graduate so I’m there for one class in the morning, so yeah, I heard. You’re some kind of party girl now.”

  So?”

  “So you don’t need to head down this road again, Sierra. Making bad choices like you did in Arizona.”

  Maybe he was right. But he had no idea how alone I felt. And it wasn’t like he called to check up on me like he’d said he might. I mumbled under my breath that he had no business judging me and tried to sidestep him.

  He was crowding me. “What did you say?”

  “Why do you care? We aren’t anything to each other.”

  “You don’t believe that because you know it’s not true.”

  “Then what are we?” I demanded.

  Boone said something under his breath.

  Screw this. Screw him and his stupid brooding ways. I slumped against the door. “Whatever. You’ve done your good deed, protecting me from Tyler. Thank you. You’ve made it clear I’m a fucking idiot and a pain in your ass. So go away.”

  “I’m just supposed to what? Leave you here?”

  “Yes. I’ve got my own car now.”

  Boone’s hands were on my arms. “You think you’re gonna drive after you’ve been drinking? Bullshit. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  I twisted out of his hold. “I wasn’t gonna leave right now, asshole. I’ll be sober enough to drive in a couple of hours. I’ll just hang out until then.”

  “Listen to yourself. Do you really think Tyler will let you hang out? Especially after I convinced him that we’re together? What exactly do you think the people out there think we’re doing in here? Talking?” he half-sneered.

  I opened my mouth to deny it, but Boone was right. “Fine. You can stay in here with me until I sober up. That oughta add to your stud reputation. That you banged me for two solid hours.”

  Boone blushed. Then he got pissed off. “Right. Because that’s all I give a shit about. My reputation as some kind of stud. Even if we stay in here, that doesn’t deal with the problem when we leave the bedroom.”

  “Which is what?”

  “We’ll have to act like we’re together, so Tyler doesn’t track me down and beat the fuck out of me for pulling one over on him. That’s the kind of guy he is. Making him look stupid turns him psycho.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Dammit. This is the last thing I wanted.”

  Meaning, I’m the last one you wanted to be tied to—in reality or even pretend.

  “You know what, Boone? Fuck off. You don’t have to act so disgusted that people will think we’re together.”

  Boone was back in my face. “That’s what you think? That being with you would be an embarrassment to me? God. You are drunk because you are not that clueless, Sierra. You know that I—”

  “Shut up. We’ll have a very loud and public breakup Monday morning at school. Or better yet, let’s have a big fight now. Want me to scream and storm out?”

  “Jesus. I’m not doing this with you.” He gave me a once-over. “Where’s your coat?”

  “In the living room.”

  “Do you have snow boots?”

  “No.”

  “Gloves?”

  “Yes, I’m not a total idiot.”

  Boone scowled at me. “Did you even check the weather before you went out tonight?”

  I blinked at him.

  “I take that as a no. The road conditions were shitty an hour ago. They’ve gotta be worse by now.”

  “Did you ride your bike here?”

  “No.”

  “How’d you expect to get home?”

  “How’d you expect to get home?” he countered. “Or did you tell your dad you were spending the night someplace?”

  “No. My curfew is midnight.”

  He glanced at his watch. “It’s only nine thirty. Give me your keys.”

  “They’re in my coat.”

  He blew out a frustrated breath. “When we get out there, go ahead and act like you’re mad at me.”

  “Won’t be an act.” I flashed my teeth at him.

  Boone jammed his hands into my hair and messed it up. He popped the button on his jeans. Then he pulled my shirt down my arm, exposing my bra strap. “There. At least it looks like we’ve been going at it.”

  My head pounded and I just wanted to leave.

  He held onto me tightly as he opened the door.

  A few catcalls greeted us.

  Kara and Angie sidled up to me. “Omigod, Sierra. Why didn’t you tell us you were with Boone West?”

  Because I’m not.

  “Is that why you ignored all the guys hitting on you the last month?” Kara asked. “I guess that’s a better secret than what we thought.”

  “Which was what?”

  “That you’re a virgin working up the nerve to ask one of these guys to pop your cherry. That’s why I wanted you to meet Tyler.”

  Boone made a growling noise that sent weird chills up my spine.

  That memory faded and the present came sharply into focus
.

  I’d heard that snarl earlier.

  When Boone thought I was with Tug.

  When Hayden had mentioned Lex.

  Now I realized Boone had made that same sound after Kara had mentioned Tyler.

  Not because Boone had been mad at me that night.

  Because he’d felt possessive of me.

  Then.

  And now.

  Get the fuck out.

  Maybe I did need to talk to him after all.

  I played it cool, not chasing after Sierra, when everything inside urged me to go after her.

  “What’s up with you and her?” Hayden asked.

  “We’re talking.”

  “But you’d rather be doing?”

  I spared Hayden a dark look but didn’t respond because it was none of his fucking business.

  “Watch it with her,” Hayden warned. “Sierra is family. I get that sounds stupid because you’re family too.”

  “But?” I said without looking at him.

  “But you vanished out of everyone’s life, Boone. I’ve been around her a lot more than I have you, so…”

  “If I fuck with her, you’ll fuck with me.”

  “Count on it. Sierra isn’t as much the ballbuster outside of work as she pretends to be. Guys who zero in on vulnerable shit like that piss me the hell off.”

  “Guys like you?”

  He laughed. “Fuck you very much, cuz, but no, I was talking about you.”

  “Me? Games ain’t ever been my thing, college boy.”

  “From what I understand, you’ll be living in Phoenix, joining the ranks as a ‘college boy’ soon enough, so stand down,” Hayden said, the edge in his tone sharp enough to get my back up.

  Who else had Kyler told? If that asshole told Sierra the truth before I—

  You could’ve told her. You should’ve told her. She’ll kick your balls into your brain to see if that’ll shake some sense loose because you obviously ain’t got any.

  “Hey, soldier, are you even listening to me?”

  I refocused on Hayden. “What? Did I miss another threat?”

  “A suggestion. If your eye fucking turns into real fucking? Don’t make promises to her that you can’t keep.”

  Hayden walked off.

  Standing there alone, holding a foamy, lukewarm beer I didn’t want, I was tempted to chuck it all and head back to Raj’s.