Lucy and I had met in elementary school, and we had bonded instantly. Since our mothers were together so much, they had often brought us along, and we’d played together constantly. I might not like my mother or the games she played with the power players in this town, but I appreciated the fact that if it weren’t for her, Lucy and I might not have ended up as best friends.
Mr. Kester was taking attendance when the door swung open, and Jesse walked in. He scanned the room before walking to the teacher’s desk and handing him a piece of paper.
“I’m Jesse Daniels.”
“So glad that you could join us, Mr. Daniels. Why don’t you take a seat over there by Emma?” Mr. Kester said pleasantly.
My eyes snapped to Lucy just as she looked at me and grinned. This class just got a whole lot more interesting.
Jesse glanced around the room. His eyes stopped on the empty seat beside me, and he smiled. I held my breath as he crossed the room and sat down beside me.
“So, we meet again,” he said as he settled into his seat.
I couldn’t hide the grin that was plastered on my face. “I guess so.”
I fidgeted for the rest of class, trying to keep my eyes glued to the board in front of me. Instead, they kept glancing over at Jesse of their own accord. He really was something else to look at, even from the side. I couldn’t help but stare as he seemed oblivious to my constant scrutiny.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. What am I doing? According to Lucy, this guy was here on a scholarship, and his piece of crap car all but confirmed that he wasn’t up to my mother’s standards. He wasn’t someone who I needed to involve myself with. My mother would never allow us to be friends, and she would absolutely kill me if she knew I was crushing on someone like him.
I glanced over at him one more time, determined to push him out of my thoughts. That was a bad idea. How the hell am I supposed to stay away from someone who looks like him?
“I think I’ve covered everything we need to today. If you want to talk among yourselves for the last fifteen minutes of class, feel free,” Mr. Kester said.
Mr. Kester was one of only two math teachers at our school. I’d had him my freshman year, so I knew that he would usually let us hang out during the last few minutes of class. For teaching one of the worst subjects, he was pretty cool.
I turned to Lucy, determined to ignore Jesse, so he wouldn’t try to talk to me.
Lucy raised an eyebrow as she noticed my obvious attempt to ignore Jesse. “What are you doing?”
She’d whispered the words, but I tensed, afraid that Jesse had heard her. While I was ignoring him, I didn’t want him to realize that I was doing it on purpose. I didn’t want to look like a stuck-up bitch even though I knew I was being one.
“Nothing,” I whispered back.
She rolled her eyes but said nothing. We just sat there and stared at each other, both of us unable to think of anything else to say.
“Hey, Emma?” Jesse said from behind me.
I closed my eyes and mentally groaned before turning to face him. “Yes?”
“Can you tell me where Ms. Mason’s class is? It’s my next class, and the lady in the office wasn’t very good at giving directions.”
He gave me a smile, and I felt my heart speed up. “Yeah, sure. It’s actually my next class, too, so I can just show you.”
Did I really just say that? I was supposed to be pretending that he didn’t exist, not walking him to class.
“That would be great. Thanks,” he said sincerely.
I studied him closer. This guy seemed to be exceptionally polite, and I wasn’t used to that around here. Most of the guys were raging idiots. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was nervous and a bit shy or if he was just this nice in general. Surely, this hot guy covered in tattoos couldn’t be shy. His demeanor and his physical appearance were complete opposites.
“So, what’s your story?” I asked, unable to stop myself.
He looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“I was just wondering where you were from.” I gestured to his tattoos. “You don’t fit the mold for most of the guys around here. Did you just move here or something?”
He hesitated for a split second before I saw determination fill his eyes. “Nope. I attended the public school across town all my life. I’m here on a scholarship. As for my tattoos, I like to be creative, and sometimes, I use my body to do it.”
I felt my cheeks turn red from embarrassment. I was sure he could get very creative with that body of his.
He seemed to sense my discomfort, and he laughed. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”
“It’s fine. I was just embarrassed for being so nosy,” I lied.
“You weren’t being nosy, just curious. But you were right about one thing—I don’t fit in around here. My mom kind of forced me into coming here.”
That surprised me. Hamrick High School was one of the top private schools in California. I had no idea why he wouldn’t be jumping for joy at the chance to attend when so many would kill to be in his position.
“Why don’t you want to be here?” I asked.
“I thought it would be obvious. I’m not one of the rich kids, like you. My kind tends to be looked down on.”
“Oh,” I said, unable to think of anything else to say.
He gave me a small smile, and I noticed a dimple in his left cheek. How did I miss that?
“You don’t have to feel awkward or anything. It’s just the facts of life. I’ve been looked down on my entire life by this entire town because my mom works as a waitress instead of being married to some rich guy.”
I added blunt to the list of notes I’d made about him in my head. The kid didn’t beat around the bush. He got straight to the point.
“My mom isn’t married to a rich guy.” I pretended to glare at him, but I couldn’t keep a straight face. “Well, she isn’t married to him anymore.”
He looked shocked at first, but then he realized that I was kidding, and relief flooded his face. “I thought I pissed you off there for a second.”
“Nah. I was just messing with you!” I said as I giggled.
The bell rang to signal the end of class. I grabbed my trig book and threw it into my bag. Lucy waved good-bye as she left for her next class on the opposite side of the school from mine. I knew that the two of us couldn’t have every class together, but I hated the ones that she wasn’t in. School was boring without Lucy around.
I glanced over to see Jesse waiting for me to lead the way to our next class. Maybe history won’t be so boring after all.
We walked side by side out of the classroom and down the hallway to our next class. As soon as I entered the room, I heard someone shouting my name from the back of the room. I looked up to see two of the girls on my squad, Andrea and Vanessa, waving their hands and pointing to an empty seat in front of them. I smiled and waved back as I started walking toward them.
Remembering that Jesse was still with me, I turned to look at him. “Do you want to sit back there with us?”
He seemed unsure, but he finally nodded. “Sure.”
I watched Andrea’s and Vanessa’s eyes widen as they took Jesse in. I smiled to myself. Leave it to the broke kid to make every girl at Hamrick High turn into a puddle on the floor.
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I groaned and rolled over to escape the sun shining through the window of Joel’s bedroom. My body tensed as I realized for there to be sunlight, then it must be day. My eyes opened, and I grabbed my cell phone from the table beside the bed to check the time. Shit. It was almost three o’clock in the afternoon, and I had a ton of voice mails and missed calls. I couldn’t believe that I’d slept this late. I was so fucked.
I sat up and pulled the blanket up to cover my naked body. I had snuck out of my parents’ house last night after they grounded me for fighting in school again. I’d thought I could sneak back
in this morning before they woke up, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen now.
My eyes traveled to Joel as he snored lightly beside me. The sun was directly on his back, showing off the skull and crossbones tattoo that covered most of the area. His normally guarded expression was gone while he slept. Joel looked like the typical badass, but he was so much more. His body was covered in tattoos—and when I say covered, I mean, covered. There was barely an inch of him that didn’t have ink with the exception of his face. His hair was a dark brown color, and he kept it just a bit shaggy. His eyes were a startling green color that made people stop and look twice. His cheekbones and overall face structure would make any male model jealous.
I smiled dreamily as I thought about our night together. At twenty-two, he was five years older than me, but our age gap never seemed to bother him. We’d been together for almost a year now, and I couldn’t be happier. I’d met him at my cousin’s graduation party two years ago, and I’d instantly developed a crush on him. He hadn’t paid any attention to me, but when I’d started hanging out with some of his younger friends who were in high school with me, I’d finally gotten him to notice me.
I’d been drunk at a party one night and braver than usual. Girls much older than me had surrounded him, but I had shoved through them when I saw him and walked straight up to him. He’d raised an eyebrow when I stopped in front of him, but I’d simply hopped on his lap and kissed him until I couldn’t breathe. After I had finished, I’d stood up and walked away.
We’d been together ever since that night.
My parents weren’t happy that I was dating someone who was so much older and more experienced. The fact that he was covered in tattoos from head to toe hadn't helped my case any either, but I’d sworn to them over and over that Joel and I weren’t having sex. Obviously, that was a lie, considering where I’d woken up just now, but they didn’t need to know that.
Joel was trouble. I’d known that before I got with him, but I’d still taken a chance, and I was glad that I had. Everyone knew he was the son of the town drunk, and it showed. Joel had one hell of a mean streak. Even when he had been in high school, everyone had been terrified of him. He had been kicked out for fighting more times than I could count. On top of that, everyone knew he was the go-to guy if someone needed a fix. He’d later explained to me that he’d started selling drugs to help pay the bills that his dad never worried about. Joel was good at dealing though, and he’d stuck with it even when he could have left this town and started fresh.
He had already been living on his own by the time we met, and I was glad. I wasn’t sure how I would have handled seeing the man who had abused Joel for years. I wanted to cause Joel’s father as much pain as he had done to Joel. I knew it had been years since Joel had talked to his father, but it still bothered me.
“Joel, wake up. I need to leave,” I said as I nudged his shoulder.
He groaned in his sleep and rolled over, but he refused to open his eyes. I sighed as I hit his shoulder harder. His eyes finally opened when I started smacking him on the stomach. He shielded his eyes as he rolled over to look at me.
“What?” he grumbled.
“I need to go home, like, right now. We slept in.” I stood up and started looking for my clothes.
“You’re already in trouble. Why hurry home to be yelled at?” he asked as he sat up.
He didn’t bother to cover himself, and I couldn’t bring myself to look away from his naked body. I loved the trail of dark hair leading down his stomach…to other places. His nose was a bit crooked from being broken more than once, but it didn’t take away from his appearance. If anything, it made him look sexier and dangerous. His eyes were his best feature by far though. They held a vulnerability in them that made me want to crawl into his arms and try to make everything better.
He was in great shape. I guessed he had to be when he dealt with strangers who were high and desperate for their next fix on a daily basis. The muscles in his arms were well-defined, and his chest was as hard as a rock. I loved curling up in his arms. I always felt like he could protect me from anything.
“I don’t want to make it worse,” I said as I located my clothes.
They were next to the door, making it obvious as to how they had come off. We’d barely made it to his room before he started stripping me.
“Your parents suck. Why do they care so much about you fighting? At least they know their kid can defend herself. Personally, I’d be proud,” he said as he stretched.
“They’re sick of me getting kicked out of school. They said something about college and doing something with my life.”
“I fought, and look at me. I’m living the high life.” He grinned at me.
I rolled my eyes even though I knew he had a point. He used drugs occasionally, but he sold more than anything, and he’d made quite a lot of money doing it.
“I’m sure they’d be so proud of me if I decided dealing drugs was going to be my career choice in life. I might even get the Daughter of the Year award.”
I still couldn’t find my underwear, so I decided to skip them. He grinned as he watched me pull on my shorts.
“Looking for these?” he asked as he held up my underwear.
I walked over to the bed and held out my hand. “Come on, I need to hurry. Give them to me.”
“Make me,” he taunted.
I grumbled as I went to grab them, but he held them just out of my reach.
“Damn it, Joel.”
He reached up and pulled me back onto the bed. “Maybe I don’t want you to go home. Maybe I should hold your underwear for ransom, so you’ll stay.”
“Keep them. I’ll get them another time.”
I tried to sit up, but he kept me pinned against him.
“Stay for a little while longer. We can light up and have some fun.”
“I can’t go home stoned. That’s just asking for trouble.”
“But you could go home thoroughly fucked,” he said as he ran his fingers down my back.
I shivered. “I could, but I need to leave.”
“I’ll make it quick.” He started pulling my shorts down my legs.
“Joel…”
“Shh…you know you want to.”
Of course I wanted to, but I was already in so much trouble.
He silenced my protests as he rolled me onto my back. His naked body was tight against mine, and I could feel just how much he wanted me. He tweaked both of my nipples with his fingers, making me moan.
Fuck it. Going home will have to wait.
“Oh fuck,” I said as he nudged my opening with his dick.
He leaned down and ran his tongue across my throat and then across my breasts. I arched my back, trying to get as close to him as possible. His hand traveled down my body to my core, and he started rubbing my clit. His dick was still teasing me at my entrance. I tried to adjust my body, so he would enter.
“I thought you had to go home,” he taunted.
“I do, but I thought you said you wanted to fuck me.”
“Oh, I do. Grab the bedposts.”
I did as he’d said, preparing myself for his entry. He didn’t disappoint. He slammed into me hard enough that I had to hold on to the bedposts to keep myself from moving up the bed. I gasped out his name as he pulled out and ran his thumb along my clit.
God, I’m going to kill him for torturing me.
“Again,” I said as I shifted, trying to force him to enter me.
“You like it rough, don’t you, baby?” he teased.
“You know I do,” I groaned.
He ran his hands over my body before grabbing my hips and thrusting into me again. Over and over, he slammed into me until I was gasping for breath. He wasn’t gentle, and I hadn’t expected him to be. It was just the way we were. He liked rough sex, and I was happy to oblige.
I wrapped my legs around his waist to allow him to go deeper as I met him thrust for thrust. His grip on me tightened as he came closer to his release.
I couldn’t hold out much longer either. I was so close. He continued to pound into me as he reached between us. He flicked my clit and sent me screaming into my orgasm. My legs clamped tighter around him as I came. His thrusts became harder and more erratic as he came with me.
My body went limp. Once my orgasm left me, I could see again. Joel was panting above me with his forehead resting against mine. After his breathing returned to normal, he slipped out and rolled over to his side.
“I told you I’d make it quick,” he said as he grinned over at me.
“Yay for you.” I stuck my tongue out at him.
He continued to grin as he leaned over, and then he kissed me. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
We both dressed quickly, trying to hurry. Now that I wasn’t staring at Joel’s naked body, the need to get home was strong. I knew I was in trouble, but I just couldn't bring myself to care at the moment. I was tired of spending all my time trying to figure out ways to get around my parents’ rules.
I knew fighting didn’t solve anything, but it sure as hell made me feel better. Since Joel and I had become a couple, I’d made quite a few enemies, especially from the female population, but I didn’t really give a fuck. He was mine, and if people tried to come between us, I’d take care of them.
I wasn’t the sweet and innocent girl I’d been before I met Joel. He’d changed me—but for the better. Before him, I’d rarely partied, and I’d never gotten into trouble. Now, I did what I wanted, and I didn’t care what anyone thought of me. I had no friends of my own. I only hung out with his. It didn’t bother me though. I hated girls. My solitude and bad attitude usually led to rumors that I was on drugs or helping him sell them. And both rumors were true, so they didn’t bother me either because it made most people leave me alone.
Taming Alec Page 8
