by Jenika Snow
He moved in and out of her, slow at first but gradually picking up speed. The discomfort turned to something darker, more carnal, and before she knew it she lifted her hips to meet his thrusts. Never once did he take his eyes off her face, and for some reason that made what they were doing all the more intimate. The discomfort stole her breath at times, but the pleasure far outweighed that. Perspiration covered his chest, and the moonlight coming through the window caused the beads of sweat to glisten. Kiera let her eyes travel down to his lower stomach, and watched in female appreciation as the muscles of his abdomen contracted in stark clarity.
“Kiera.” Her name was a groan from his lips, and when he tilted his head back the tendons of his neck stood out. “You feel incredible.”
He slammed into her hard, and her eyes rolled back as ecstasy took hold and wouldn’t let her go. Over and over he worked his cock into her, hitting an ultrasensitive spot inside of her repeatedly. The climax that claimed her was swift.
“That’s it, baby. Let go for me.” He breathed harder, so hard that was all she could hear. “Look at me. Fuck, Kiera. Look. At. Me.”
Forcing her eyes open, Kiera watched his orgasm take shape on his face. Once, twice, and on the third thrust he bottomed out inside of her and groaned long and deep. The pleasure that contorted his masculine features was a visual orgasm, and the fact she was the one that caused that within him, had a series of smaller climaxes washing through her. He didn’t look away from her while he came, and all she could do was ride out the ecstasy. Her inner muscles clenched and unclenched around his cock. He hung his head between his shoulders, his arms shaking from the force of holding himself up. Before he crushed her with his body he rolled them so they were on their sides facing each other, his softening shaft still buried inside of her. Her head rested on his chest, and she listened as the swift beat of his heart slowed to a normal rhythm.
There were no words for what they had done. The emotion had been tangible, and she felt everything, and not just on a physical level. He left her only long enough to wash up in the bathroom. When he returned with a warm washcloth and gently cleaned her between her thighs tears pricked behind her eyes. The act was so considerate and went against the rough and tough man he portrayed.
“Reese?” The sound of the clock ticking on her nightstand seemed overly loud in the still and quiet room.
“Yeah, pretty girl?” He smoothed his hand down her back, letting the tips of his fingers trail along her spine.
She wanted to ask about his past, about his parents and everything she had heard. Kiera had just given him her virginity, and the openness and intimacy between them was out in the open. It seemed like it would be right, but she still couldn’t find the words to broach the subject.
So instead of coming out and point-blank asking him about his parents she said, “Do you want to talk anymore about your parents, or anything else that might be weighing heavily on your chest?” She expected him to tense or pull away, but instead he wrapped his arms around her even tighter.
“No, baby, but thank you for wanting to listen to me.” He kissed the top of her head. “I don’t want to taint our moment.”
Kiera let the sound of his heart lull her to sleep. She had put it out there, and if and when he was ready to talk about it, he would know she was there for him.
He held her tightly for the rest of the night, and Kiera realized she might very well be falling in love with the bad boy.
****
Reese listened to the deep, even breathing of Kiera as she fell asleep against his chest. He had meant it when he told her being with her was a first. He had never been with a virgin, and the fact she had chosen him to be the one to take it had an unknown emotion squeezing his chest. She was everything good and right in the world, and he was nothing but a piece of shit that was so below her league it wasn’t even funny. He wanted to change for her, wanted to be worthy of her love, because dammit he felt like he loved her already. How fucked up was it that a bastard like him could even be worthy of an emotion so strong? He held her tighter and pressed a kiss on the crown of her head. She shifted beside him but stayed asleep. The smell of lavender engulfed him, and Reese closed his eyes and inhaled as deeply as he could. He wanted that scent on him, in him, and imprinted in every cell of his body. She burrowed closer to him, and the little puffs of air that came from her parted lips slipped along his chest. Maybe if he hadn’t waited the end of their senior year to be with her things would have been different. If she had been in his life he wouldn’t have needed to use other vices to fill the void that consumed him. It was too late now to worry about the “what ifs”. He had her in his arms, and Reese didn’t plan on letting her go.
****
Kiera’s parents and brother came home later Sunday afternoon, and Kiera hadn’t realized how much she had missed Alex until she saw him climb out of the truck. When he saw her making her way toward them his smile grew.
“You sure are a sight for sore eyes, Goober.” Kiera rolled her eyes at the lame nickname Alex called her since she was five years old. He wrapped his arms around her, and she let herself get lost in the familiarity of her brother.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come with Mom and Dad.”
“No worries. I really didn’t need both of them there anyway, but you know how Mom is.” He chucked her under the chin and led her into the house with his arm still draped over her shoulder. “Let me get my stuff unloaded, and then let’s you and me go somewhere and catch up. I felt like I haven’t seen you in forever.” He left her in the foyer while he took a few of his bags up to his room. It was nice having him home, but she worried her bottom lip at the idea of telling about the obvious relationship she was in with Reese. There was no doubt Alex knew about him, about his reputation, so she needed to tread very carefully.
An hour later and Alex was done unpacking and they were in his truck pulling away from their parent’s house. He looked over at her and asked, “You hungry?” She shook her head. “Well, I’m going to go to the drive-thru and pick something up.”
After he grabbed some food they made their way to the park. Alex pulled the truck into a spot and turned off the engine. For several moments they sat there and stared at the playground. Since it was a Sunday and the weather was nice, the park was packed. When Alex first started driving they had come here a lot. A small pond sat a ways away from the playground and was normally people-free. A tennis court sat beside the park, and a thick patch of trees opposite that.
“You want to hang out in our spot?”
Kiera nodded, and they climbed out. They walked around the pond and headed into the cool shade the trees provided. For some reason no one ever came back into the woods, but it worked out well for them. Kiera hadn’t been here in years, so this was a nice treat. A group of large boulders were in a semi-circle, and they sat down, facing each other. Alex immediately started digging into his food. They didn’t speak while he ate, and Kiera just enjoyed the quiet and still surroundings. It wasn’t until Alex finished eating and stretched his legs out that she noticed what was on his arm.
“Alex, what the hell is that?” She leaned forward and pulled up the sleeve of his shirt. Dark ink in swirling lines started on his upper bicep and disappeared to his back. “When did you get a tattoo?” She dropped the shirt and leaned back. “Do Mom and Dad know?” No doubt they would freak if they saw that. Her parents were conventional in that sense.
“They do now.” He grinned and leaned back against the tree that stood behind the rock he sat on. “They came earlier than I thought, and I answered the door only wearing my pants.”
“I bet Mom freaked out.”
His smile widened. “That is an understatement, but what can they say? I’m an adult and pay my own bills.” He was right, but still, his tattoo seemed pretty big. “Wanna see it?” She nodded. He stood and lifted his shirt. He turned around, and her mouth dropped open. The majority of his back was covered in dark, intricate lines.
“Why didn’t you
tell me you got that? I mean … damn, Alex. That’s a lot of ink.”
He dropped his shirt and sat back down. “Honestly?”
She looked at him like he lost his mind.
He chuckled. “It all started when I lost a bet.”
“You got that because of a bet?” She could hear the incredulous note in her voice.
At least he had the decency to look embarrassed. “A drunk bet, yeah. The next morning I realized I had Scooby Doo tattooed on my back.” Kiera burst out laughing. Tears slipped from the corner of her eyes, and she wiped them away.
“That’s priceless.”
He scowled. “Anyway, I got it covered and just went from there. Took a couple of months to finish it.” He shrugged.
“Well, I like it. It’s shocking, but looks nice.”
He grinned and put his hands behind his head and regarded her. He had bulked up since the last time she saw him.
“You’ve been working out.” She stated the obvious.
“Yeah. Coach has been busting the guys’ balls on getting bigger and staying in shape, especially since we came to practice hung-over on more than one occasion.”
Her phone beeped with an incoming message, and she pulled it out of her pocket and pulled it up. A smile formed on her lips when she saw it was from Reese.
Reese: Bummed I didn’t C U. Thought of U all night tho ;)
If she was the swooning type she would have done it at that moment. She typed out a quick response then put her phone away. Alex watched her with a knowing expression.
“What?” she asked.
“Don’t ‘what’ me. I know that look.”
Kiera feigned innocence. “What look?”
“The look a girl gets over a guy.” She stayed quiet, and they seemed to have some kind of stare-off. Kiera wasn’t going to hide her relationship from Alex, but now faced with it she couldn’t deny she was a bit apprehensive in actually talking about it. Alex had always been the typical big brother when it came to boys. “So, baby sister, whose ass do I have to kick?”
She laughed, but the sound died when she realized Alex was serious.
“Stop it, Alex.” Shifting, Kiera looked anywhere except at him. “So, football’s going good then?”
“Don’t change the subject, Kiera.”
“I’m not changing anything.” The hard look on his face told her he wouldn’t let this go. She took a deep breath and decided just to get this over with. “Okay, okay. I am seeing someone, but you don’t need to get all protective or anything.” He lifted a brow at her statement. “He’s a really great guy and treats me good.”
“I’m not supposed to be worried that my little sister is dating someone for the first time?”
She straightened her shoulders. “I’ve dated before.”
His look spoke volumes. “Letting some tuba playing guy flirt with you isn’t really considered dating, Goober. So, who is he?”
She wasn’t about to debate with Alex that she had two boyfriends, and who cares if one of them did play the tuba? Her hands were extremely interesting at that moment. Just spit it out. He is bound to find out eventually. “Reese Trenton.” She said his name soft and fast, and at Alex’s silence she assumed he may not have heard her, but lifting her eyes to his showed that her brother had heard her just fine.
“Reese Trenton?” He dragged his name out.
She nodded. “Yeah. I take it you know him?”
“Shit, Kiera.” He stood and started to pace. “Do you even know who he is? I know damn well you’ve heard the rumors.” He stopped in front of her and stared down with an unhappy expression. “I hear the rumors, and I don’t even go to that school anymore.”
“I don’t care about all that, Alex. That’s what they are, just rumors. He is totally different. He’s a good guy.” She had noticed a change in Reese, a good one that had her heart skipping a beat and her belly tightening. What they had done just the night before replayed in her mind, and she flushed. Fortunately, Alex had turned away and started pacing again, so he didn’t see her. No doubt he would be able to tell exactly what she was thinking.
“I’m going to beat his ass.” She didn’t doubt her brother could hold his own, but there was something different inside of Reese, something dangerous and scarred. He was ruthless, that much was clear in the way he defended her at Haden’s party.
“You don’t need to do that, Alex. He has treated me with nothing but respect. He’s good to me.” Her brother looked over at her, his expression uncertain.
“Out of all the guys you could have picked, you chose that one.” It wasn’t a question, and she could tell he was talking to himself. “Now I wish I would have let you date that tuba player.” Kiera couldn’t help it. She laughed out loud. “I don’t like this, Kiera.”
“It doesn’t matter if you like it or not, Alex. I’m a big girl and can make my own decisions. I love that you look out for me, but this is my life.” He stared at her for several long moments then shook his head in defeat. He knew she was right. “Besides, if I believed every rumor I would put you in the category of womanizing party-animal.” She grinned because the latter was true. She was trying to make a point, though. One couldn’t always go on what others said. Sometimes she had to find out for herself who they were. That was exactly what she was doing with Reese.
“Shit, Kiera.” He ran his hand over his dark brown hair and sat back on the rock facing her. “Just promise me something.” She nodded and smiled because she loved her brother and the fact he trusted her to make her own decisions. “Be careful with him. He’s got a fucked-up past.” His eyes grew hard. “And you’ll tell me right away if he does or says anything to hurt you, yeah?” Although he was deadly serious, Kiera couldn’t help but smile. He was always looking out for her.
“Yeah, Alex. I’ll be careful, and thank you for being you.”
Chapter Nine
“Reese, have you seen the pictures of you at Harrison’s party?” Reese slammed his locker shut and turned around to stare at Marcus.
“What pictures?” Reese started walking. He didn’t give a shit about some camera phone pictures drunk ass people took of him kicking the shit out of that douche-bag Chris. He had deserved the beating, especially after he started mouthing off about Kiera. He headed into the lunch room and grabbed a pop. He glanced at his watch, and a giddy feeling he had been unaccustomed to until Kiera came into his life filled him. She’d be here soon, and he couldn’t help the smile that formed on his lips.
Marcus sat across from him at the table. He pulled his cell out and scowled through what Reese assumed to be the pictures in question.
“These, man.” Marcus all but shoved the phone in his face, and Reese snatched it out of his hand. The first few pictures were stills of him and Chris grappling. The others showed Reese’s fist connected with Chris’s jaw. He went to hand the phone back, not caring about them. Yeah, it was evidence, but he knew they wouldn’t go far. Marcus shook his head. “Keep looking.” Reese felt his brows dip low and scrolled through more of the same photos, but the next one had everything inside of him stopping. Someone had snapped several photos of Chris’s girlfriend kissing him, and her hands all over his body. Reese knew they were innocent, that he hadn’t wanted any of it, but they sure as hell looked incriminating. He knew the truth, knew that he had been trying to push her away, but from the photo it appeared like he was holding her to him.
“Where the fuck did you get these, and why would someone wait to send these out days after a fucking party?” He swiped his finger across the screen and looked through the rest, but they were all the same just. Reese noticed there was none of him shoving her away. Anger, white-hot and burning, moved through his veins.
Marcus held up his hands, and a wary look crossed his face. “Andrea sent them to me along with twenty other undisclosed numbers. I know Christian and Leo got them, too. You didn’t get them?”
Reese shook his head angrily. .
“Shit, man, no doubt it spread like wildfire,
and the whole damn school has a hold of them.” Marcus looked around before leaning in. “I know you wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize what you have with your girl, not when I can tell she’s somethin’ special to you. If this gets to her she’s going to see something in those photos that isn’t really there. I was there, Reese, and I know you pushed that chick off, but these pictures.” He pointed to the phone. “Those look like something else was going on.” Reese tossed the phone on the table. His heart slammed against his ribs. Looking around the cafeteria showed him Kiera hadn’t arrived yet. He needed to get to her and explain it all. He didn’t want her to get the wrong idea, because he couldn’t deny that the pictures looked bad. What in the hell would she think if she thought he had been all over some other chick then was intimate with her right after? A sick feeling spread through him, and he stood abruptly.
“I need to find Kiera.”
****
“Hey.” Kiera turned around when she heard Andrea behind her. The false sweetness in her voice didn’t go unnoticed by Kiera. Andrea wore her cheerleading outfit—big surprise— and her posse stood behind her, suspicious grins on their face. Before Kiera could say anything Andrea was talking again. “If you think for one moment that Reese wants anything from you besides a piece of ass, then you are mistaken.”
What in the hell brought this on? Ever since Kiera had approached Reese’s table all those days ago and didn’t stand down form Andrea, the girl had left her in relative peace. She tried to ignore Andrea, because Kiera knew a reaction was exactly what the other girl was aiming for. She went to walk away, but Andrea stepped in front of her. Andrea smirked, and Kiera felt her anger and irritation grow.
“What do you want, Andrea?” She crossed her arms and glared at the other girl. Kiera was sick of this and had enough of the petty bullshit. “I understand you’re upset because Reese doesn’t want you, but taking it out on me is ridiculous.” Kiera hadn’t even been so verbally open and stood up for herself before, and she admitted it felt damn good, especially speaking her mind to Andrea.
