Badboy Romance

by Lisa Simmons

  "Not to you, yeah, but in general you can't really argue with me on it," he said. His tone softened a bit, sounding less argumentative now and more resigned.

  "As long as you're not one to me, I don't really care," I said honestly. I couldn't handle another asshole man in my life, Jack doing enough damage to scare me off of that for the rest of my life.

  "Deal," he said, smiling gently at me. I hadn't even realized we were at his house until he shut off the car, pinched my leg lightly, and got out. I shook my head and followed, steeling myself to withstand what was sure to be an onslaught of temptations. He looked back at me, waiting at the front of his car for me to get out and shooting me a curious look as I climbed out.

  "You're kinda weird sometimes," he told me, his light tone telling me it wasn't in a bad way.

  "I know," I admitted, my many episodes of getting lost in my thoughts of him probably contributing to his assessment. "Good weird or bad weird?"

  He surprised me by trailing his fingers across my cheek, his touch coming out of seemingly nowhere but immediately setting my skin on fire and testing my already thin willpower.

  "Good weird."

  I smiled softly, my lips staying pressed together as I looked up at him. His hand didn't leave my cheek as a light breeze blew around us, the dark of the falling night enveloping the both of us.

  "Am I allowed to kiss you?" he asked, his deep voice sounding even lower than normal. Air sucked between my lips, my pulse picking up in my veins.

  "You can kiss me whenever you want," I answered honestly. I already knew there would probably never come a time where I would stop him.

  His hand on my cheek brushed back a wisp of hair that blew across my face, his other hand coming up to mirror his other as they wrapped around both sides of my face. His hips were sharp under my palms as my hands came to rest automatically against him and I held my breath as I waited for him to close the gap. Green eyes searched mine before flitting down to my lips, the tickle of his breath the last thing I felt before he ducked his head and pressed his lips against mine.

  Fire exploded inside me as soon as I felt the warm pressure of his mouth, his lower lip folding neatly between mine as his hands tilted my face up to him. Every inch of my body felt like it was fully engulfed in flames, his lips molding against in the most breathtaking way imaginable. The tension between us was tangible, completely invading my senses and enthralling me as he kissed me. His tongue lightly swept across my lip, the smallest of movements eliciting the burst of more fire within me.

  He pulled back far too soon for my liking, pressing his lips to mine and letting them linger innocently for a few seconds before separating our mouths, his hands still cupping my face gently. His breath washed over my face as I felt the kiss reverberate through my body, his eyes finally reconnecting with mine after scouring my lips.

  "Come inside," he begged, seeming to forget I'd already agreed to. I tried to take a steady breath, the efficacy of the kiss stealing all the air from my lungs. He took my lack of ability to respond as a hesitation.

  "I won't try anything, just please come in." His thumbs traced lightly over my cheeks as he watched me for a reaction. I finally pulled myself together enough to nod slowly. A flawlessly beautiful smile spread across his face as he took in my answer.

  "Okay."

  "There's a hole in my soul, can you fill it?"

  Chapter 20

  My body was buzzing with an overwhelming amount of emotion as I watched Reece flick the lights on in his living room. Stirrings of emotion were sizzling in my stomach from the way he had kissed me outside, the heat of his kiss still smoldering on my lips effectively. My cheeks felt warm, the skin where his thumbs had trailed across it still tingling. It was like my body was burning for more contact from him while my heart wanted to listen to him whisper sweet things in my ear all night, the way he had begged me to come inside tugging at my heart strings. I was surprised that despite feeling so many different things, for the first time, there was no fear; no nervousness, no anxiety, no feelings of trepidation, only a happy enthrallment cleaving it’s way into my body could be felt. Something tangible had changed, something that had caused me to begin breaking down the walls I had built up. I could feel it in me, and I was pretty sure Reece felt it as well.

  It was trust; trust that we both wanted to give this a real chance, trust that we wouldn’t leave, trust that we could actually be honest with each other.

  I realized I shouldn’t be having such strong emotions, especially after one actual date, but I couldn’t stop it. My desire to know him more was growing by the second, as were my urges to touch him. Despite the burning in the pit of my stomach, I didn’t just want to touch him in a sexual way; I wanted to hold his hand, pet my fingers through his hair, feel the way his chest rose and fell as I let my head rest on it, everything. My inextinguishable need to be near him physically had evolved into more than a sexual need, my body being pulled closer despite never making the conscious decision to move. Yes, I definitely should have been terrified; this was dangerous, reckless, and irresponsible, but at the moment, I couldn’t find it in my heart to care.

  “So,” he said suddenly, pulling my attention back to the present and away from the slope of his shoulders I had currently been examining.

  “So,” I repeated, bouncing lightly on the balls of my feet.

  “What do people do when they hang out?” he asked, observing me closely. His arms crossed over his chest, the muscles on his forearms standing out beneath his skin. He seemed to realize a second later how closed off he looked because he let his arms fall to his sides, uncrossing them and shoving one through his hair first. “You’ve never even hung out with someone? What do you and your friends do?” I asked, still finding it shocking that he was utterly clueless about anything resembling dating.

  He frowned at me, crossing his arms over his chest again and sitting down on the couch. He looked like a big, tattooed toddler pouting in the corner.

  “I told you, I’ve never done this before,” he said defensively. I blinked in surprise, not expecting him to be so sensitive about the topic.

  “I know that, I didn’t mean it that way,” I said, hoping he wasn’t actually as grouchy as he looked all of a sudden.

  “Well you keep saying it like it’s such a terrible thing,” he said, leaning back against the couch, frustration etching across his face. I frowned again, making a mental note to never mention his lack of expertise again. I crossed the room and sat down on the couch next to him. He uncrossed one of his arms to pick at something on his jeans, not looking at me with a scowl on his face.

  “It’s not, Reece,” I said gently, making a brave decision to let my hand slide down his arm to cover his hand toying with his jeans. I squeezed it lightly, the back of his hand pressing into my palm. His eyes darted toward me hesitantly, his lips parted slightly. “You keep saying...” he mumbled, his gaze dropping to his leg again. I tried not to smile. He was actually ridiculously cute when he was self-conscious and grumpy. I’d never seen him anything other than confident border lining on cocky. Okay, usually flat out cocky. I shook my head, drawing his attention once more.

  “I actually really like that I’m your first,” I told him honestly. Sure, it meant he would probably have a lot of issues in the future, but I liked the idea of being the only one he’d ever wanted to try anything with.

  “You’re not my first,” he said, smirking and finally dropping his pout. My stomach clenched involuntarily at the reminder of the surely many women he’d slept with. My hand slapped lightly at his chest.

  “You know what I mean.”

  He sighed and rubbed his hand that wasn’t claimed in mine over his face, his eyes squeezing shut until he let his hand fall to his lap. “Yeah, I know, I just feel like such a dumbass ‘cause I don’t know what I’m doing half the time.”“You’re doing perfectly fine,” I reassured him. He turned his hand over against mine, his palm pressing against mine as he let
his fingers slide up in the spaces between my own.

  “I’m gonna fuck up, you know that, right?”

  “Probably,” I said, smiling softly at him. His eyebrows pinched together and he opened his mouth to speak before I cut him off. “But not if I don’t first.”

  “You won’t,” he said. His gaze lifted from where it had been watching our hands twist together to meet mine. There was a deeper meaning to his words that I couldn’t quite decipher, but I knew there was something else there. “You have a lot of faith in me,” I told him. He gave me far more credit than I deserved; just because I’d been in a relationship before didn’t mean I had any clue what I was doing with him. He was so vastly different from anyone I’d ever dated before that we were practically in the same boat he was.

  “Yeah, well, I just know,” he said, shrugging nonchalantly. Apparently the tone was getting too heavy for him because he cleared his throat and looked around the room. “Wanna watch a movie or something? People do that, right?”I smiled, not disappointed he had changed the subject. I didn’t want to end up saying something dramatic or overeager that would scare him away.

  “They do,” I said. “What do you have?”

  “Ah, nothing really. I don’t really watch movies,” he admitted, his free hand reaching up to scratch the side of his neck lightly. His other hand was still very much occupied with mine. “What?! Everyone watches movies,” I said, mouth falling open in amused surprise. The corners of his mouth pulled down momentarily before a grin spread across his lips.

  “Not me.”

  “And you said I was weird...” I teased, grinning at him.

  “You are,” he insisted, raising an eyebrow at me. “You get stuck in your head all the time.”

  I wasn’t at all surprised he had noticed this because it happened so often, particularly around him, but I was surprised he’d called me out on it.

  “I can’t help it,” I admitted, biting back my smile.

  “What are you always thinking about?” he questioned curiously.

  Yeah right, like I’m telling you.

  “Just... stuff,” I said vaguely.

  “Stuff.”

  “Yeah, stuff. Boring stuff you couldn’t possibly care about,” I said, waving my hand playfully at him. That wasn’t true, through; surely he would be extremely interested in the way my brain seemed to constantly revolve around him, not that I was going to admit that. He already knew too much about how I felt, which was risky for me. “Hmm,” he hummed skeptically. “I doubt that but alright.”

  I shot him a small smile as he turned to grab the remote off the table in front of us, clicking on the TV and proceeding to click through the channels. I tried not to be so awkward as I settled into the couch next to him, my arm straining slightly as I tried to keep my grip on his hand without appearing so unnatural. It didn’t work, however, because he shot me an amused look and released my hand so I could sit comfortably. In all honesty I would have stood unnaturally next to him if it meant I could keep holding his hand, but if he was going to let it go, I wasn’t going to push it. I felt like I was in middle school again when he leaned back against the couch again after leaning forward to put the remote down. We were sitting so formally next to each other, not touching apart from our shoulders and his knee, which was turned toward me and pressing into my thigh. I fidgeted in my seat, wanting more contact with him but not wanting to throw myself at him. I caught the amused smirk he shot me out of the corner of my eye before I saw his arm flash over my head as he threw it around my shoulders. He tugged on me lightly until he had my back pressing into his side, his body angled so I could lean against him. He threw his arm over my shoulder, letting it rest against my hip as my feet pulled up curl into the couch. I smiled happily, pleased he had made that move so I wouldn’t have to, because there was no way I would have been able to just sit there next to him without some form of contact. My head leaned back against his chest, and I could feel his warm breath brushing lightly across the skin on my neck. The warmth from his body seeped through my clothes down to my bones, and I instantly knew this wasn’t going to help me resist him. The most innocent of contact with him had absolutely set me on fire, my skin burning wherever he touched me. My eyes stared blankly at the TV screen as I tried to focus on what we were watching rather than the way his chest moved against my back, the steady rise and fall rocking me into a trance. I gave up trying to ignore the way I felt pressed into him when his thumb started to trace lightly across my hip, the thin fabric of my shirt doing a horrible job of dulling the dragging sensation. The action was casual, absentminded, but it was going to drive me insane. My body ached for him more and more with every gentle swipe of his thumb, and I hated myself for making that ridiculous rule and being so adamant about sticking to it. It was like he could sense my frustration growing, because he pressed his lips lightly into the skin of my neck. He only did it once, his kiss light and feathery, but it was enough to get to me. I could feel his soft hair tickling against my temple as he pulled back, his thumb never ceasing its gentle caress of my side as his hand shifted a little lower on my body, his thumb falling on the dip between my hip and my leg now. His lips connected with my neck again, just as innocent and light as the first time, but doing even more damage to my fragile self-control.

  “You promised you wouldn’t try anything,” I groaned, leaning my head back further into his chest. My eyes squeezed closed as I tried to cling to my tiny, tiny shred of resistance.

  “I’m not doing anything,” he said innocently. “You said I could kiss you whenever I wanted.”

  “Not like that, you’re going to kill me,” I grumbled, internally berating myself. I could feel him smile against my neck as his lips pressed there one more time.

  “I won’t kill you, baby,” he mumbled. His lips pressed into my skin again, lingering a little longer this time.

  “You will...” I sighed, my eyes remaining shut as his thumb circled over my hip again. He knew exactly what he was doing to me and had absolutely no remorse.

  “Then give in,” he whispered, his voice deadly quiet as he kissed my neck yet again. His hand was creeping dangerously close to where I desperately wanted him, and I knew if he touched me at all I would cave. “No...”

  “We don’t have to have sex,” he coaxed. “Just let me touch you, Abby...”

  His words were like a jackhammer to my lingering self-control, chipping away at my reason more and more by the second.

  “You never said I couldn’t touch you,” he continued, his voice velvety soft as he coerced me slowly into submission. “Let me make you feel good, baby.”

  A quiet gasp left my lips when his hand pushed between my legs, not waiting for my permission but clearly seeing my resolve crumble beneath his gentle touch. A jolt of electricity shot through me, radiating from my center as his palm pressed against me. His lips dragged deliciously slowly up my neck as he flicked my jeans open with his thumb easily. My body pressed involuntarily back against his as he let his hand slide beneath my jeans, his long fingers grazing gently across my core, practically searing a hole through my panties. He let his fingers drag over the thin fabric, my nerves tingling as he touched me where I had secretly been hoping he would all night long. I sucked my lips into my mouth and tried to hold myself still when his thumb pushed over my clit, the pressure through the fabric enough to make me squirm. His other arm wound around my waist, holding me firmly against him as his fingers slipped beneath the final layer between us. It was so hard to think straight as his lips continued their assault of my neck, his teeth joining in to nip lightly at my skin and his lip darting out to wet the surface. A ragged breath was sucked into my lungs when his fingers slid down my length fully, parting me to him so he could let the pads of his fingers tease my entrance. My hips rolled involuntarily against his hand, impatient for him to fully touch me. He obliged me and slid a long finger into me, relieving some of the desperate need I had been feeling for him ever since the last time w
e’d been together. His palm pressed against my clit again, pushing down and circling lightly as his finger curled inside me. I opened my eyes to try and reorient myself, but immediately snapped them shut upon seeing his arm flexing over me and the way his fingers worked against me, the sight nearly causing me to lose it on the spot. I had never been able to come before simply from someone touching me with their hand, but I knew that wouldn’t be a problem. He had already gotten me once before like this, in the middle of a party in a dark hallway, no less.

  I gasped when he slid another finger into me, their length stretching me more as he pushed them slowly in and out of me. I couldn’t hold myself still anymore as his palm continued to shift over my clit and his fingers moved in and out, my arms searching frantically for something to cling to. My fingers closed around his thigh, their grip like a vice as the other hand rose behind me in search of his neck. The smooth skin covering his neck slid beneath my palm as I let it glide to the nape, pulling his head toward me and out of my neck so I could press my lips into his, desperately needing to kiss him.

  A quiet moan fell from my lips as he pushed his mouth against mine, kissing me slowly as his hand continued to unravel me. His lips molded over mine, the kiss heated and torturously unhurried as he let his tongue drift lazily across my lower lip. My hand clutched at the back of his head, my fingers tangling into his hair in desperation to hold onto my wits. Heat was spreading throughout my body quickly, the way his fingers pushed against my walls and the pressure on my sensitive nerves quickly stoking the fire in the pit of my stomach. His fingers curled against me and put pressure on the most sensitive spot inside me, their repeated action driving me insane. I was quickly losing control and I didn’t care in the slightest. My arm straightened, pushing my hand further into his thigh and pressing me tighter against him as his deliberate actions pushed me closer and closer to the end. My heart was pounding in my chest when he shifted his hand to circle his thumb over my clit, putting a more intense and pinpointed pressure on it than his palm. With a final flick of his thumb against my clit and curl of his fingers inside me, the pressure building up in my stomach exploded through my body, releasing me from the frantic tension that had settled over my body. My breathing came in short pants as he continued to work his fingers against me, coaxing me through my orgasm as I rode out the high. His actions slowed as I came down, his fingers easing me down as his lips continued their slow, deep kiss against my own. Fire flooded through my veins as he withdrew his hand, my sensitive center throbbing now that he had had completely undone me. No one had ever made me feel as incredible as he did; there was no way to ignore the inferno that flashed through my body whenever he touched me or the way every nerve in my body seemed to be electrocuted at the slightest whisper of his skin against mine. There was no way I would ever get sick of the things he did to me, and I was fairly certain there would never come a time when I wouldn’t be tempted to beg for everything he had to give me. His lips pushed against mine one more time before pulling back an inch. His eyes drifted open to connect with mine, a satisfied glint reflecting into my own.