Complicate Me

by Claire Raye

  “You’re funny,” Justin says, raising his eyebrows and smirking at me. “And for the record, your tits are fucking spectacular.” He traces his finger along my collarbone and down the low-cut V of the cups of my bralette.

  “And your pickup lines are the worst, but there’s something about you…” My words are cut off by the sound of a voice I know as well as my own brother’s and my eyes fall closed as I shake my head.

  “Justin Hamilton!” the voice barks and Justin’s head whips around coming face to face with my worst nightmare.

  “Reid,” I start, my voice filled with warning, but it does nothing to stop him from interjecting himself where he isn’t wanted.

  Reid shoves Justin back, a hand on his chest, moving him away from me.

  “Reid Bowen, mind your own fucking business,” I spit out, stepping between him and Justin as I look up at him.

  Why does he have to look that way?

  He’s stunning, absolutely heart-stoppingly perfect, and he has been for as long as I can remember. He makes it hard to concentrate on the situation unfolding in front of me as he hits me with his pale blue eyes. There’s a sharpness to his features and they draw me in without saying a word.

  “You are my fucking business, Sienna Parker,” he hisses back, wedging himself between Justin and me now.

  “This your boyfriend?” Justin asks, and I push up on my toes, looking over Reid’s shoulder as he boxes me in against the wall.

  “Fuck no!” I insist. My teeth are clenched together and I’m growing more and more angry the longer Reid stands here puffing out his chest and trying to control me. I can’t seem to get away from him no matter how hard I try. This is a huge campus and there are parties everywhere, how do I manage to show up at the same one he’s at every time?

  “Bowen,” Justin starts, “I’m gonna ask you to step away from Sienna because I’m getting a little sick of your shit.”

  Reid laughs but there’s no humor in it and as much as I appreciate Justin’s efforts, he’s only going to find himself on the receiving end of a beating.

  Reid scares off anyone I ever have an interest in and all because my twin brother Caleb asked him to look after me. I could kill Caleb right now because he knows I don’t need anyone’s help. The two of us have been on our own since our mom died when we were six, leaving us with a drunk of a father. I wouldn’t be dealing with Reid if Caleb had followed through with our plan to go off to college together. Instead he bailed and is now stuck at home trying to dig our family business out of the hole our father put it in.

  Reid pushes closer to me, his mouth almost touching mine and my body begins to war against itself. Fuck, I want him, but I also want to shove him away and tell him to get fucked. He isn’t the type of guy who does the girlfriend thing and I’ll end up with a broken heart.

  “He’s bad news, Sienna,” he murmurs against my lips and I gasp for air, swallowing hard. “And you’re being a pain in my fucking ass.”

  “Oh my fucking god!” I call out, shoving my hands into Reid’s chest. “Go away!”

  “I think she’s asked you to leave her alone,” Justin says, joining the awkwardness of what is unfolding here. And instead of waiting for this to play out, Justin reaches around and grabs my wrist, tugging a little in an attempt to pull me away from Reid.

  But it all goes to shit in a split second.

  “Don’t put your fucking hands on her!” Reid shouts, a punch thrown that catches Justin off guard and connects with the corner of his jaw.

  I rush to Justin, my hand angling his face to mine as I look to see what kind of damage Reid has done.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I demand, glaring at Reid and shaking my head.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Reid spits back, shaking out his hand as he opens and closes his fingers. The muscles in his bicep flexing, the tattoos that are inked over his arm move with him. I want to hate him.

  “Are you okay?” I ask Justin, my attention waning away from Reid as I exam Justin’s slightly battered face. “Let’s get you some ice.” My fingers brush over the red splotch on his jaw and I press my thumb to the split on his lip.

  “You’re a fucking asshole, Bowen!” Justin shouts over my head and in typical Reid fashion, he tosses up a middle finger before walking away.

  Attempting to defuse the situation, I lead Justin over to the kitchen where there’s a makeshift bar set up on the counter. I grab an ice cube from a bowl, my fingers taking hold of his chin, I place the ice cube against his already swelling lip.

  Right now I’m so fuming mad at Reid and his stupid Neanderthal ways. He has no interest in me, but like hell if anyone else is allowed to. I’ve avoided him like the plague for the last two years for this specific reason and we seemed to be able to co-exist until now.

  “I think I need a drink more than this ice,” Justin says, interrupting my thoughts. He shakes his head while his eyes shoot daggers in the direction Reid went.

  “Me too.”

  I scan the counter, which is cluttered with half drunk beer bottles and smashed plastic cups. Everything is sticky and smells of the bitterness of rot. I find an unopened bottle of whiskey, holding it up I give the bottle a shake as I smile at Justin.

  “Shots?” I ask.

  “Absolutely.”

  We’re three shots in and I’m feeling a hell of a lot more free than I did just an hour ago, but I can still feel Reid’s prying eyes on me. He’s got his hands all over some random girl, like that’s anything new, but his eyes haven’t left where Justin and I are standing.

  If he’s going to give everyone in the room a show, I can do the same. I pull Justin in, kissing him hard and when he slips his tongue between my lips, I moan into his mouth. He grabs the bottom of my shorts, the tips of his fingers brushing my ass and I know he’s doing it for show.

  I look over my shoulder, biting my bottom lip as I watch Reid. I swear I see a flash of jealousy in his eyes as Justin begins to suck at my neck.

  He can get fucked.

  Chapter Two

  Reid

  I’m literally going to kill Justin. Fucking kill him with my bare hands if he doesn’t get his fucking hands off Sienna’s ass right now. God, I wish she’d just walk away, just listen to me when I tell her he’s bad news.

  But of course she won’t because the damn girl likes to push my buttons like nobody’s business.

  “Fuck.”

  “You okay, baby?” comes the whispered words.

  I tear my eyes away from Sienna long enough to get a look at the blonde who’s currently got one hand halfway down my pants and the other somewhere under my t-shirt. Pretty sure she’s on the cheerleading team that stands on the sidelines every time we have a game, but hell if I can remember what her name is.

  “Fine,” I grit out, my teeth clenched as my gaze turns back to Sienna and that fucking idiot she’s with.

  “You sure feel fine,” this chick whispers, her glossy lips now pressed against my mouth. “In fact, you feel more than fine right now. Wanna get out of here?”

  Her hand curls around my dick apparently not caring about the fact we are standing in a room full of people. Problem is, my dick is hard and she thinks that’s because of her. It’s not, but I don’t want to admit that to her.

  Or myself.

  I’m still watching Sienna, who’s currently sucking face with that idiot Justin and completely oblivious to the fact that I’m watching her. At least that’s what I think until she suddenly opens her eyes and pegs me with a stare that practically puts me on my ass and has me coming in my pants.

  She doesn’t stop kissing him though, not even when her dark blue eyes lock with mine and catch me watching her. Instead, I swear she smirks at me, as though she’s glad I’m watching her because she knows how much what she’s doing pisses me off.

  “Fuck it,” I say, letting out a breath. “Let’s get out of here,” I add, finally turning back to whoever this w
oman is with her hand down my pants.

  Her eyes widen in delight, those glossy lips of hers curling into a smile that can only mean one thing. Already I’m picturing what they’ll look like wrapped around my dick. I pull her hand from my pants, holding it in mine as I head toward the kitchen, my eyes back on Sienna.

  She watches as I approach, her lips still on Justin’s, but her eyes on mine and I can’t resist giving her a smirk, readjusting my pants so she sees exactly what’s going on and where I’m taking this blonde who’s tagging along behind me.

  There’s a second where she falters, as she registers what’s happening and I can’t stop the hard laugh that falls from my mouth before I look away and finally turn my attention to the blonde who so clearly wants to get in my pants.

  “Let’s go,” I growl, leading her past the kitchen and upstairs. Sienna is not my problem anymore.

  The blonde follows me eagerly, her hand grasping mine as I take the stairs two at a time. The bedroom doors are all shut, the unmistakable sounds of sex coming from all of them, but miraculously the bathroom is free, so I pull her in with me, slamming the door shut behind us.

  “So,” she purrs, pushing me back against the vanity.

  “So,” I say, my hard-on rapidly fading now that we’re up here, the harsh lighting doing nothing for my horniness as I get a close up view of what I’m dealing with. This chick, whoever she is, looks like a Barbie doll, like every other cheerleader who cheers at our games. I can’t even tell what she really looks like, there’s so much makeup on her face.

  She doesn’t seem to care though, giggling as her hand moves back down my jeans. When she discovers just how not turned on I am anymore, she frowns, her glossy pink lips pouting in a way that I know is supposed to be a turn on, but I actually find kinda awful.

  Sienna’s lips don’t look like this.

  “Jesus Christ,” I say, my hands moving to the vanity and gripping it tightly as I try to figure out if I even want to waste my time with this right now.

  Somehow this blonde mistakes my frustration for eagerness and I watch as she unbuckles my belt, pulling my jeans down as she drops to her knees in front of me, apparently unphased by the fact that I am barely into this.

  Surrendering to whatever the fuck this is, I close my eyes, gritting my teeth as images of Sienna flood my brain. It’s the only thing I know will get me through this shit right now.

  I wake the next morning with a pounding in my head and the distant sound of chatting and laughter from somewhere in the house. I have no recollection of coming home, no memory of seeing Sienna after I came out of that bathroom either. Both she and Justin had disappeared, and I know that no blow job was worth whatever shit I’m gonna get from Caleb if something has happened to his sister.

  If she hooked up with Justin, if he did something to her, I’m a dead man. Shit, I should have gone by her place to check she was okay. Fuck, maybe I did. Who knows? My head feels like lead.

  Groaning, I roll over to find my bed thankfully unoccupied by anyone else, the only thing resting on the second pillow is my iPhone. I grab for it, squinting at the screen with one eye closed as I attempt to focus and unlock it. When I finally do, I navigate to the message app, letting out another groan when I see the five text messages I must have sent Sienna when I came home shitfaced last night, or this morning, or whenever it was.

  Where the fuck are you?

  Stay away from Justin!

  Seriously, I fucking mean it!

  Don’t fuck with me Sienna

  Are you home? Are you safe?

  There’s no response to any of them and my stomach twists with anxiety, despite my hangover. Regardless of my anger though, I can’t help but be worried that something’s happened to her. Without thinking, I hit her number, lifting the phone to my ear as the ring tone sounds. After what feels like forever, it goes to voicemail, her husky voice asking me to leave a message or not, depending on my mood.

  “Sienna, where are you?” I growl, as soon as it clicks over. “Call me, ASAP. I fucking mean it.”

  I hang up and throw my phone on the bed, before rolling over, my face now buried in the other pillow, the unmistakable scent of perfume making me want to puke. Instead, I force myself to get up, pulling on some sweats before I tear the sheets from the bed.

  Bundling them up in my arms, I open the door and storm toward the kitchen and laundry area, stopping only when I catch a glimpse of Sienna standing in the kitchen talking to my roommate Matt without a care in the world. She’s dressed in tight black jeans, a loose white t-shirt that hangs off one shoulder and her long blonde hair hanging down her back as she laughs with him, seemingly engrossed in whatever story he’s telling her.

  I try to ignore the way my heart flips at the sight of her.

  “What the fuck?” I say instead, standing in the doorway.

  Matt turns to me, his lips quirking when he sees how pissed I am. “Looks like we’ve woken the bear,” he says, chuckling a little as he turns back to Sienna. “I’ll leave you to it,” he adds, winking at her as he leans in to kiss her cheek, before walking out, smirking at me on the way past. I know he only does it to piss me off, but I still wanna punch him for it.

  Sienna turns to face me, her arms crossed over her chest, her deep blue eyes narrowed in my direction and a seriously pissed off look on her face.

  “So you are safe,” I spit out, moving past her, into the laundry room and shoving my sheets into the washer.

  “And you’re still an asshole,” she fires back, moving so she’s now standing in the doorway and blocking me in the tiny room.

  “No, that’s Justin,” I quip, turning and mirroring her pose as I lean back against the dryer.

  Sienna rolls her eyes, her hands flying up as she says, “Seriously, Reid, what the hell?”

  I exhale, in no mood to deal with this shit right now…or ever. God, I wish Caleb hadn’t asked me to do this. Actually, I really wish Caleb had just come to fucking Hawthorn with us, so he could spend his time babysitting his sister instead of expecting me to do it.

  “Look,” I say opening my eyes. “Justin isn’t what he seems, okay?”

  “How do you even know that?” she asks, some of her earlier animosity gone, replaced with a reluctant curiosity.

  I pinch the bridge of my nose, wondering exactly what the hell I’m supposed to tell her. “He just is, okay? Can you just trust me on that?” Sienna says nothing, the silence long enough that I finally lift my gaze to her. She’s watching me, an unreadable look on her face. “What?” I snap.

  “Why can’t you just trust me?” she asks. “Trust that I know what I’m getting myself into? Trust that I can take care of myself?”

  My hands fall to the dryer, gripping the cool surface as I stare back at Sienna, the only sounds that of the washing machine as it starts its run. “Because you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” I say firmly.

  “Jesus, Reid,” she cries, frustrated.

  “I’m trying to protect you,” I shout as I push off the dryer and step toward her, our bodies now practically touching in the confined space.

  Sienna flinches at my words, but doesn’t move away, her eyes now leveled with my bare chest, her mouth slightly open. I can feel her breath across my skin, the warmth of it almost like a touch and it takes everything I have in me not to turn her around, back her up against the machine and fuck her senseless.

  “You don’t need to protect me, Reid,” she says, her words barely audible.

  She’s still looking at my chest, at the goosebumps that lift with every word she utters. Tilting her face up to mine, I meet her gaze. “Yeah, I do.”

  Sienna’s eyes close as she lets out a long sigh. How easy it would be to just lean down and kiss her, pull her into my arms and hold her body against mine like I’ve thought about so many times. Too many fucking times.

  But I know if I do that, it wouldn’t be Justin that would be getting his ass kicked, it wo
uld be me.

  So instead, I ask, “You wanna grab some breakfast?”

  Sienna’s eyes open, a smirk on her face now as she says, “You do realize it’s nearly two in the afternoon.”

  “Seriously?” I ask, my eyes still on hers, my fingers still under her chin.

  “Yeah,” she says, brow cocked. “Guess someone had a big night,” she adds, before turning and walking back into the kitchen and giving me a perfect view of her ass in those tight jeans.

  “Fuck,” I mutter, shaking my head as I follow her. “Lunch then?”

  Why am I pushing this? Sienna and I rarely get together. I could probably count on both hands the number of times it’s happened in the two years we’ve been out here together. We rarely meet up for anything except for me to tell her not to do something and her to bite my head off in response.

  “Can’t,” she says, picking up her keys from the counter. “I’m meeting up with Justin,” she throws out as she looks back at me.

  “Sienna,” I growl.

  “Later, Reid,” she says, moving into the living room, me close behind. “See ya, Matt.” She waves to my roommate on the way out the front door.

  “Fucking hell,” I mutter as I stand in the middle of the living room, my eyes fixed on the front window as Sienna walks down the path, turns left and heads the two doors down to the house she and her best friend, Ruby share.

  “Dude, when are you just gonna admit you like her?”

  “What?” I ask, turning to Matt who’s sitting on the sofa, a bottle of water in one hand, a football in the other. He and I have lived together since we got out of the dorms after our freshman year. Well, since I managed to find out where Sienna was living and score a place close by. All part of the babysitting duties.