by Jaye Cox
He leads me to a clearing through the trees that opens up around a vast lake. The early morning sunlight glimmers on the water, and it’s beautiful. That is, until Kalen starts to strip off. Then two things distract me: his body and the fact that he’s crazy!
“Kalen, what the hell are you doing?”
“Swimming!” He grins at me. He’s stripped down to his boxers already and it’s freezing. Not that it, you know, affects him at all. I blink and he’s naked. Beautiful, athletic and—
“You’re stark bollock naked,” I gasp, trying out some of the new British slang he taught me. He howls with laughter – must be my accent – and climbs up onto the wooden post on the end of the lake’s small jetty.
“Join me.”
“What?”
“Last one in the water’s a rotten egg!” he cries, before diving gracefully into the lake so smoothly he barely creates a ripple. Ugh, swim team show off!
I debate joining him, but it really is freezing. Why does wild shit never involve fluffy socks and cute oversized jumpers? Can I take a rain-check on getting naked al fresco until it’s summer?
“Amelie, get in!” he orders, when he pops up halfway across the lake. Whoa, he’s got some lungs on him. Naughty thoughts about how useful it can be to hold your breath for long periods of time, pop into my mind.
“No way! It’s freezing!” I call back, shaking my head to clear it of images of Kalen between my thighs.
“It’s invigorating, refreshing, stimulating!” He laughs, splashing.
“Ugh, please don’t say that word to me.” I pull a face, and he laughs again.
“What? Stimulating? I find you very...stimulating, Amelie,” he says, starting to swim back to the shore.
“Stop it!”
“I’ll stop if you come in,” he teases in a sing-song voice.
“No way.”
“Looks like I’ll have to come and get you myself then,” he warns. Or is it threatens?
“You wouldn’t dare!” I shriek.
He grins evilly at me, full of mischievous intent. Fuck, I’ve done it again; gone and issued a challenge he’s incapable of backing down from.
He’s reached the jetty and is pulling himself up out of the water with ease. In clothes, Kalen looks quite slender, despite his tall frame. He’s definitely on the leaner side. But in reality, he has a strongly athletic body. He must hide a lot under his favourite jeans and t-shirt combo, because his muscles ripple as he moves. I stare and fail to notice him stalking towards me with the grace of a predator.
“Kalen—” I warn, shaking my head and starting to slowly back away from him.
He grins wider.
“Game on, little sis.”
At his words, I run. I spin and bolt like my life depends on it. But Kalen is as fast out of the water as he is in it. Fuck. He chases me and dives, grabbing my knees and sending me sprawling hard to the ground under a tree. I roll and he lands on top of me, pressing his body against every inch of mine to soak me, and shaking his long hair like a wet dog.
“Ew, Kalen! Stop!” I laugh. “I’m drenched through!”
“Oh no, we’d better get you out of these wet things before you catch a cold.” He grins down at me but this time it’s not playful. There’s a searing heat to his gaze and our lips clash as we come together violently. And then we’re making out, and it’s unlike anything I would ever have expected from Kalen. Yeah, we’ve kissed a bit before, but nothing like this.
“Fuck,” I groan as Kalen breaks away from me.
“Let’s,” he teases. I don’t say no, just pull him back down so that his lips once again meet mine. We devour each other like we’re starved for human contact, and let’s face it, I am. But that’s not why I’m kissing him. Not at all.
I don’t hesitate to sit up when Kalen tugs at my beat-up old leather jacket. I allow him to peel it off. He sits back and stares intently at me as I cross my arms and grasp the hem of my shirt, pulling it up over my head and discarding it on the grass. I sit before him in just my bra and when he stares, open mouthed, I feel like a Goddamn Goddess.
“Wow, you’re beautiful,” he says awe-struck.
“I’m beautiful once you see my breasts?” I tease.
“They’re pretty impressive knockers, a lovely pair of jugs, great melons—”
“Stop! Now!” I laugh.
“You’re still wearing too many clothes.” He grins at me. It’s a challenge, but also an olive branch. He’s giving me an out; an opportunity to put the brakes on and end this.
I flick the button on my black jeans and lower the zip.
“You just gonna sit there, or are you gonna help a girl out?” I demand.
Kalen immediately comes to my rescue, but it isn’t sexy like in the movies. Removing wet skinny jeans is hell. I wriggle while Kalen tugs and pulls, eventually freeing my legs and sending Kalen flying backwards. I collapse back in an exhausted fit of giggles.
“Will you wear more Goddamn skirts?” Kalen grumbles, coming back over to me.
“You see me in a school skirt plenty,” I remind him.
“Yeah but I can’t do this in school,” he says, crawling between my legs. “Besides, you don’t wear it to school the way you wore it on your birthday.” He winks at me and I know he’s referring to how I slutted it up. Does he know that was for the shock factor when facing Sawyer? “Maybe you could wear it like that for me again sometime.”
I don’t have to reply though because Kalen’s head descends between my legs and he shows me just how talented swimmers can be with their breathing skills.
He’s toe-curlingly good. Playful enough to keep me on the edge of the abyss, but generous enough to take me over the ledge again and again. Is death by orgasms a valid cause of death? What a way to go.
I feel like I should return the favour, but Kalen seems to be having the time of his life. I pull him up to meet me and kiss him deeply to thank him.
“You taste fucking amazing,” he tells me. “You’re beautiful when you come.” I’m pretty sure he’s lying, but I don’t contradict his compliment. He’s really quite sweet. “Shall I stop?” he asks, biting his lip adorably.
“Get the fuck in me, now!” I practically scream.
“Don’t have to tell me twice!” He grins. “Condom?”
“In my bag,” I groan, impatient.
“Bag?”
“Over there.” I wave my hand vaguely in the direction of the jetty. He races off and I hear him chucking my shit everywhere in a mad attempt to find the rubber.
“Got it!” he crows triumphantly.
“Great. I’ll get you a fucking medal!”
He hastens back to me, ripping the foil open en route and trying to roll it on to his erection while running. He trips and falls, and my frustration is broken up by laughter.
“Smooth,” I snigger.
“Laugh it up,” he tells me. “Cause in a minute you’re going to be screaming.”
“I want you, I need you, oh baby, oh baby,” I drawl sarcastically as he settles back between my legs. His eyes say challenge accepted and he lines himself up at my entrance.
He enters in one smooth stroke, and I do cry out. Fuck! How the hell did I forget how huge he is?
“Asshole. Monster. Cock,” I grind out between clenched teeth, but really, I love it. He knows it too because he wastes no time picking up the pace.
Kalen fucks like he does everything else in life: to his own tune. Playfully, frustratingly, maddeningly good. He’s such an asshole, he works my body like a Goddamn pro and makes it sing. I fucking hate it and love it in equal measures. It feels like a battle of wills, neither of us wanting to give in and come first.
“Give it up, sis,” he whispers in my ear. “I can go all night.”
“Not your sister,” I grind out through my clenched jaw.
Before this, I would have assumed it was just a cocky brag, but now I know it’s a promise. I’m going to have to give in. I’m tired and cold and he’s teasing me righ
t on the edge. If I ever want this to be over so I can get some Goddamn rest before school starts, I need to submit to him. I grit my teeth and tilt my hips slightly to change the angle, raking my nails down his back as I do.
And just like that, I’m coming under a tree in the dawn light…And yes, he does make me scream. Bastard.
Chapter Fourteen
When I wake up, I’m feeling a bit sore and sorry for myself. How did I let this happen? I was supposed to be taking them down; they were just objects in my path of destroying my incubator, and now…now Kalen has worked his way into my heart and, as confusing as the situation is, so has Sawyer. All I wanted to do was ruin my mother’s life, make her feel the way I did when she abandoned me.
I decide to push my feelings aside and try to bury them; it’s really best for everyone. For now, I need to try to find out more information, and I think the twins will be the only ones to give it to me straight. Well, I’m hoping I can at least find Slate alone. Onyx always has a huge stick up his ass.
The twins mentioned their father wouldn’t bring me here without a good reason, and my incubator doesn’t seem to be good enough grounds. Like they said, he has an agenda, and the more time I spend around them, the more I think maybe they are right.
Slate and Onyx have different electives, Onyx does some kind of MMA training and Slate does music. Since my elective is after school three days a week with Sawyer, I make my way to the music department. I say it’s after school, but I mean it was after school; Sawyer hasn’t shown since the day he kissed me at the end of my suspension. He also hasn’t told me why he got sent to Knox, like he promised.
So, I figure crashing Slate’s music class during my free period may just be my only chance to catch him alone. I think that separated from his thorny twin brother, he may be less hostile towards me.
I set off in search of Slate, but I underestimated how big the music building is. There are some really talented musicians here. I finally find Slate in a small practise room, sitting on a chair, playing his guitar.
Quietly, I enter the room, expecting him to tell me to piss off, but he doesn’t acknowledge me. So I sit against the wall and watch him play. The tune changes when he looks over at me, and I recognise the song, but only because Chelsea was obsessed with The X Factor and Idol. Not that I can remember which show this song was from.
‘Dancing On My Own’. The singer's name escapes me, but Slate's voice is something spectacular as the words leave his mouth. As he sings, we maintain eye contact. For the first time I see him, not a twin, not a Knox sibling, but Slate. His soul is music. He pours everything he has into the song, and for a second, I feel like he is saying the words to me. Ridiculous, when he hates me.
The song finishes and the vulnerability fades away and the hardness in his dark eyes returns. For a moment I was sure I could see gold flecks in his dark orbs, but now they look black once again.
“What duets do you know?” he asks in his no-bullshit tone.
“I don’t sing.”
“I didn’t ask if you could sing, I asked what duets you know.”
“Word for word? Anything Disney.” He smiles at that, and it’s true. I know a lot of music, usually only the chorus, and I mumble my way through the other lyrics, a solid eighty percent of the words wrong. Can’t blame a girl from a shit walk of life for loving a little Disney fantasy every now and then.
He puts his guitar down and holds out his hand. “Do you trust me?” He knows there is no way in hell I would trust him, but he smiles and his whole face transforms. I play along, taking his hand. He starts singing ‘A Whole New World’ and all our issues fade away again.
When it’s my turn to sing Jasmine's part, he looks at me, waiting. I sing, because no one else can hear me, and really, what’s the worst he can do? Tease me? As the words fall easily from my lips, he looks at me in awe, then we sing together. He takes my hand once again and we dance around the room. By the time the song is over, we both fall to the floor and laugh.
“Thought you couldn’t sing?” he teases.
“If you call that singing.”
“It was really good; you should switch electives. We could use some more females. My assessment, I will have to sing a duet with a guy. Unless…”
“Nope, no way can I sing in front of anyone.”
“We could do a trade. You’re here for a reason. I’m not stupid, I know you wouldn’t single me out without my brother if you didn’t have a reason.”
I think about it. Slate could be a good ally to get information from, but could I trust him to actually give me good information?
“Would you tell me anything I want to know?” I question.
“Anything. Besides why we are here,” he tags on the end quickly.
“I don’t care why you’re here. I want to know why I’m here and I think you and your brothers can give me that information, or at least get access to that information.”
“How about, if you come here three times a week and practice a song with me for our showcase, I will tell anything you want to know after the show? How useful that information is…”
“Fine. It will be more to go on than I have now.”
“What, screwing two of my brothers didn’t give you any answers?”
“No, I was too distracted by all of those orgasms to ask questions.”
“Multiple orgasms, huh?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” I smirk.
Changing the subject, he gets up from the floor and walks over to a piano in the corner of the room. He grabs some papers and brings them back over to where I’m sitting.
“This is the song I was thinking about doing.” He hands them to me, and he looks at me, expecting me to know it.
“I’ve never seen ‘The Greatest Showman’. I haven’t even heard of it.”
“You wouldn’t have. It’s not out until December. I’ve seen an advanced screening of it, and let me tell you, that film is going to be every girl's wet dream.”
“Not mine, give me ‘The Fast and the Furious’ any day, now Vin Diesel is my wet dream.”
We both laugh. “Next lesson we will watch the damn movie. I still have my early copy. Zac Efron and Zendaya have great chemistry and I know we don’t like each other…”
“Don’t like. That’s a slight understatement of our feelings, isn’t it?”
“It’s beside the point. To get a good mark, I need them to believe it, so your acting skills will need to be on point.”
“You’re no Zac Efron, but you’re not bad to look at, so I’m sure I’ll survive.”
We spend some time joking around before I realise I have a lesson with Sawyer. Not that I’m expecting him to be there, but he always leaves work, and someone always calls in to check up on me.
“I have to go, I have a lesson with Sawyer, he moved it forward today.”
“Yeah, he has a date.” My face drops at that information.
“Did you think he would wait around for you, especially while you’re screwing Kalen?”
And with that he is back. Asshole twin one. I try not to show that his barb has a double sting. I get up and grab the papers, heading for the door.
“Amelie?”
“Yeah?” I say, turning back to face him.
“Leave Sawyer alone,” he warns. For a second I think he’s threatening me, but then he adds softly, “He needs his job, he can’t afford to lose it. It would kill him, literally.”
“He doesn’t want me anyway, Slate, and I won’t force myself on someone.”
“Yeah, well, I needed to check. With Kalen? Be gentle with him; there’s a lot you don’t know, and he can’t handle rejection.”
I nod and walk out. I think I just made a connection with Slate, which just leaves Onyx, and honestly, I think the only way I can get to him is by kicking his ass. But unlike Sawyer, I don’t think he would go easy on me.
I have to walk to the other side of campus to get to the sports facilities, and they are way bigger than the music depar
tment. I’m shocked to see Sawyer is already running laps around the oval as I pass to go to the change rooms. Why did he decide to show today? After weeks of being absent and setting cover work for me?
The change rooms are empty, so I undress and leave my uniform on a bench. I stand in just my underwear while I search for my sports bra and work out gear.
“Hey.” I jump out of my skin at the sound of Kalen’s voice.
“You scared the shit out of me.”
“I would much rather scare the orgasms out of you,” he says, standing way too close. I back up until I’m pressed against the lockers, the cold metal biting into my hot skin. I’m uneasy having Kalen so close, knowing that my lesson with Sawyer is due to start.
Kalen’s lips fall to my neck, and a moan escapes me. I can’t help it. My body tingles as memories from last night resurface.
“I know you want me,” he whispers against my skin, his hand sliding south beneath my underwear, running over my most sensitive spot.
“Kalen, we can’t,” I pant as my hips buck against his hand, begging for more.
“I’ll be quick,” he says before taking a nipple in his mouth.
“I can’t,” I stammer and push against him.
“Yes, Kalen, she can’t.” Embarrassment washes over me at the sound of Sawyer’s voice. Kalen doesn’t move, shielding my half naked body.
“Sawyer! I…”
“You can’t because of him,” Kalen spits, shakes his head and pushes off the lockers, exposing me to Sawyer, before storming from the room.
“Kalen!” I call after him, but he doesn’t turn around.
“FUCK!” I smash my hands against the metal behind me.
“Get dressed, you’re embarrassing yourself, and it’s Mr Knox to you.” He turns and walks away. I flip him off for good measure, before slipping into a short pair of skin-tight bike shorts and a sports bra. It’s all I have here from when I was trying to tempt him, even though right now I wish I had a pair of long yoga pants and a hoodie to cover myself up with.
