The Touch of a Villain: An Enemies to Lovers High School Romance (The Boys of Clermont Bay Book 1)

by Holly Renee

  “Just ease into it.” He pointed down at my feet. “The gas pedal is sensitive.”

  I pressed the pedal again, this time much gentler, and the cart eased forward on the concrete path. There were several other men scattered around claiming a cart, and even a few women. They all waved at Mr. Clermont, who waved at them all with a smile.

  I drove past them all, heading toward the course, and I barely even shot us forward when Mr. Clermont pointed to the first hole.

  Beck climbed out of the cart and did a move as if he was thanking God. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at him and his dramatics. My driving hadn’t been that bad.

  He smirked at me, and I couldn’t stop smiling.

  “Am I supposed to carry your bag or something?” I asked, and Mr. Clermont smiled.

  “No. We’ll make Beck carry the bags.”

  Beck rolled his eyes, but he already had a golf bag over each shoulder. They looked heavy, and I knew I probably should have offered to help him, but I didn’t. I grinned and walked back to the cart to wait on them.

  Mr. Clermont started walking toward the tee box before calling over his shoulder. “Let’s go, Josie.”

  I scrambled to follow him. I didn’t realize I would be needed on the course. I had no earthly idea what the hell I was doing, but I didn’t want him to think I was a complete and total idiot. He was the owner, and I would never get moved into any other position if he thought I wasn’t capable.

  Heck, he probably wouldn’t even want me serving food.

  Beck stood the bags up next to each other before he pulled a golf club out of one of the bags and handed it to his father.

  “This is a driver.” His dad was clearly talking to me, but he was looking out to where he was about to hit. “If you’re going to work on a golf course, you should at least know the basics.”

  I watched as Beck stuck something in the ground and placed the ball on top. He made his way back over to where I stood and watched his father. His dad was still talking to me about golf, but I barely heard a thing he said.

  Beck’s fingers slid against mine. His fingertips ran small circles around mine where they hung between us, the touch tender and far too familiar, and I jerked my hand away before his father could see.

  The way Beck grinned at my reaction told me he’d planned on torturing me the entire day. Let’s be honest, I had a feeling he planned on torturing me forever.

  His dad swung the driver, and the loud whack pulled my attention back to him. He was watching the ball even though I could barely see it, and Beck walked back to the bags to pull out his own golf club. His fingers grazed my lower back as he passed, a touch that was practically undetectable, but I could barely catch my breath.

  I watched Beck as he took his turn, not having a single clue where his ball went. I was too busy watching every part of him. The way his shorts hugged his ass, the way his biceps shifted and bunched with his every movement. He was mesmerizing without even trying.

  “So, Josie, Jack said you’ve been doing well in the restaurant. He said you’ve quickly become one of the most popular servers.”

  I jerked my gaze away from Beck’s ass to look up at Mr. Clermont.

  “Thank you.” I smiled, red tainting my cheeks. “I’m really enjoying the job. Everyone has been so nice.”

  He nodded his head and climbed back into the cart. I attempted to lift his bag to carry to the cart, but it was much heavier than I expected. I tried to put it over my shoulder as I had seen Beck do earlier, but he snatched it out of my hand before I could.

  Beck placed both bags on his shoulders, then motioned for me to walk ahead of him. I could feel him staring at me as I walked, and I would be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that didn’t like it.

  Beck’s attention was dangerous, but it was also thrilling.

  And even though I knew I should, a part of me didn’t want it to end.

  We climbed into the cart, and this time the drive to the next hole was much less eventful. I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I was finally getting the hang of it.

  Mr. Clermont didn’t speak this time as he grabbed his driver and headed toward his ball. He seemed to be concentrating more than he was earlier. He was doing something. Looking down the line of where he’d swing.

  “I’m already winning.” Beck grinned as he leaned closer to me. “He’s a bit competitive.”

  “Like father, like son,” I murmured.

  A few carts passed by us, and each of them seemed glued to whatever he was doing. I knew that he was a powerful man, but they seemed to want to know his every move. They watched him as if they were waiting for him to make a mistake, as if they were waiting for him to fall.

  I stepped away from Beck as they passed, not wanting to give them any reason to think anything more.

  I didn’t need any of these men to think anything of me. I wanted to stay completely off any of their radars.

  Beck waited until they passed before he stepped closer to me again. He wasn’t allowing me any space.

  “Your ass looks really nice in those shorts,” he whispered the words against the back of my neck, and his dad could have turned around at any moment to see him. I pushed my elbow into his stomach to get him to back up, but he wasn’t having any of it. He pushed harder against me, his front pressing into my back, and the feel of his breath against my skin caused goose bumps to break out over my skin.

  “Back up, Beckham,” I whispered to him as he ran his nose along the base of my hairline.

  “I don’t think you want me to.” His chest pushed against me as he breathed in and out. The rhythm the same pace as the push and pull of my lungs along with the throbbing between my legs.

  His dad was lining up his shot, his attention completely on his golf game, and I knew he couldn’t hear Beck’s words. But I felt like he was broadcasting them for everyone. It felt like he was screaming, and there was nothing I could do to ignore him.

  His dad swung his club, and Beck moved from behind me in a flash. I stumbled back a step, thrown completely off balance by him, and I took a deep breath as he walked toward his father.

  I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I was supposed to be working and trying my damnedest to get a position that paid more, but Beck was going to fuck everything up. I would be lucky if they didn’t fire me after today.

  I didn’t feel like I was working. I didn’t feel like I was doing anything other than falling farther into Beck’s trap.

  I moved back toward the cart as Beck and his father spoke, and I waited by the driver’s side for them to finish. I was here to drive them around and do whatever else caddies were supposed to do. What I wasn’t here to do was let Beck touch me and push me to the point where I would beg him for more.

  Because I knew I would.

  My body was so tense that I felt like I could snap at any moment.

  We went through the next few holes in the same manner. I stood by the cart while the two of them golfed. Beck kept his eyes on me as he did. Every move I made was tracked by him. Every breath I took was affected by his gaze.

  He looked like he wanted to say something to me, to touch me, to make me feel like I was crawling out of my skin.

  But I didn’t give him the opportunity. I was avoiding him. I smiled at his father and made small talk, but I avoided looking at Beck at all costs. It didn’t matter that he tapped his fingers against the side of my neck as I drove, or that he toyed with my ponytail as his father pointed something out on the property.

  I refused to let him know how much every single touch was affecting me.

  We were around the tenth hole when another cart pulled up directly behind us. I glanced behind me before turning forward, but then I spun back to face the cart behind me.

  My father sat beside a boy who was wearing a matching outfit to me, and someone I didn’t know rode in the back. I climbed out of the cart and walked toward my father.

  He shot a tight smile just as Mr. Clermont reached him and shook his
hand.

  “How are you, Joseph?”

  “I’m doing well. Any day I get to golf is a good day.”

  Mr. Clermont laughed, but Beck didn’t so much as smile. He stood behind his father, and he looked like he had about a million things on his mind that he wanted to say.

  He looked at my father like he had looked at Lucas. His eyes narrowed, his nostrils slightly flared, and his rage barely in check. He clearly hated the men of my family, and even though I already knew that, it felt a bit shocking to see the way he was reacting to my dad.

  “I see you managed to get my daughter out here.” My father looked over at me as his caddie carried his bag over to the grass.

  “She’s been a great help so far,” Mr. Clermont lied. I had barely done more than almost throw him from the cart.

  “I didn’t even realize you worked today,” he said it like he knew my schedule any other day. He may have been my father, but I had seen him as much since I’d been living with him as I did before. He was still an absent father, even with me living under his roof.

  Regardless of how he wanted to act.

  “Here I am.” I shrugged and looked back toward Beck. He was no longer watching my father. His gaze was directly on me, and the playfulness from before had slipped from every inch of his face.

  “Beckham, are you ready for your senior year?”

  I winced when I heard my father address Beck. I didn’t even know why Beck hated him so much, but I knew with certainty that he did.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.” He stared at my father as he spoke, and I held my breath. Beck didn’t seem like the kind of guy that ever held back.

  But he did.

  He stared at my father, and he kept his mouth shut in a thin line.

  If my father could feel the tension, he didn’t so much as blink. He acted like he was talking to his closest friends and had no concern for anything.

  But my father was rarely concerned with much. If it didn’t directly affect his wallet, he didn’t care.

  “Well, we’ll let you get back to your game.” My father smiled before looking at me. “You have a second?”

  I nodded and stepped behind him as he walked away from the rest of the group. He stopped when we were out of earshot, and his gaze slid over my outfit.

  “I thought you were working in the dining room.”

  “I am.” I straightened out my polo. “I volunteered to pick up a shift on the course today.”

  “If you need money, I have plenty.”

  I didn’t answer him because he knew how I felt about that. I didn’t want any of his money. Not what I could avoid.

  He was already putting a roof over my head and food in my belly. I hated that thought alone. If I had a way that I could completely provide for myself, I would. If I could go home to my mom’s house and live on my own, I would do it in a heartbeat.

  But he had all the control.

  When I didn’t answer, he huffed and moved on. “Don’t forget that school starts tomorrow. You need to get home tonight and get ready for your first day.”

  “I’ll be there.” I was always there. With the exception of the couple times I had gone out with Allie, I always left work and went straight home.

  He looked out to where Mr. Clermont and Beck stood by the cart, and he looked like he was hesitant to say what he said next. Which was odd because he never hesitated about anything.

  He was sure and firm, and he never let his assurance waver.

  “Beck Clermont isn’t a good influence.” He nodded his head toward them, but I didn’t look. “I’d rather you didn’t spend your time with him.”

  I bit down on my tongue until I couldn’t stand the pain. He didn’t really get to tell me who was a good influence.

  He was a man who had chosen not to take care of his own child because he refused to give up his lifestyle and my mother refused to stay with a man who valued money and power above his family.

  “As you’ve already told me.”

  “Then you should listen,” he snapped, and my spine straightened.

  If I wanted to be around Beck, I would. My father’s opinion of him wouldn’t sway me one way or another.

  That was a lie. It made me want to be around him more. If Beck Clermont pissed off my father, then I would gladly spend time with him for that reason alone.

  I stared up at my father as he adjusted the golf glove on his hand. “I know the two of us don’t exactly see eye to eye on most things, but this isn’t up for discussion.”

  I bit down on my lip and didn’t say a word. He didn’t care what I had to say.

  Beck lifted his chin as soon as I walked away from my father and climbed back into the cart, silently asking me if I was okay.

  I gave him a single nod and planted a smile on my face before driving us to the next hole.

  Beck was far less playful as the rest of their game continued. He concentrated on his game, and much less on me. I knew his mood was off the moment he saw my father, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t hurt me in some way.

  Whatever Beck thought of me, he couldn’t separate me from my family. He may have let himself forget for a moment, so had I, but all either of us needed was a reminder.

  But I wanted Beck Clermont regardless of our circumstances. I wanted him regardless of what his plans were for me, and I didn’t know if anything could change that. Because the reality was he wanted me, and he was bringing out the version of myself I’d been wanting to be since I moved here. He might be doing it in the worst way possible, but I couldn’t deny it. I just needed him to see me as Josie, the new girl in town, the new girl who shared the same name as his worst enemy.

  I pulled the cart back up to the clubhouse, and there were many more people there now than there were when we left. Mr. Clermont climbed out of the cart and was immediately bombarded by people talking to him.

  I watched Beck as he carried his and his father’s bags over to another guy who quickly grabbed them, and I couldn’t stop watching him as some girl who also wore a Clermont Bay Country Club uniform spoke to him.

  I had no reason to be jealous. Beck owned this place, and this girl was clearly an employee, but she didn’t look like she was discussing business. She looked like her talk was anything but professional.

  Not that I could talk. I was at work and I had let him be far too close to me to ever be considered acceptable.

  I was sure it was the way Beck worked, all a part of his game, and as she leaned forward and whispered something in his ear, I couldn’t stand there and watch him do it.

  I went through the front door and saw some guy at the front desk who looked overwhelmed. I walked behind the desk and tried to help him as best I could without a lick of training. He handed me a few keys to hand out to members and had me call the bar for a few orders that needed to be taken to carts.

  I did everything he said, and I tried to work hard enough to fight the urge to look back out the front windows at Beck.

  It didn’t matter if he was still with that girl. It also didn’t matter that I was bothered by that simple fact when he had been driving me crazy since the moment I met him.

  School was starting tomorrow, and I was going to have to face it during every part of the day.

  I set a cooler of craft beer on the back of one of the carts and a man with more gray hair than not thanked me.

  Beck looked my way as I passed him, but I didn’t stop. I just continued to do my job and pretend like he wasn’t there. I tried to pretend like he hadn’t flipped a switch the moment he saw my father.

  Sam was standing behind the desk when I returned. “What else can I do?”

  I didn’t want him to think I was horrible at my job, even if I may have not made the best first impression.

  “Can you head over to the bar? They need some more ice.”

  “Of course.” That was something I could do. I had to fill the ice all the time in the dining room.

  I checked my phone as I walked toward the bar t
hat was connected to the course for easy access and saw a message from Allie.

  I wish you weren’t working today. We could be shopping.

  I wish I wasn’t either.

  I had turned Allie down originally to go shopping. She needed school clothes and I didn’t. She would be able to dress normally, and I would be in some uptight uniform.

  I should have gone. If I had gone, I wouldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t have seen Beck. I hadn’t told Allie about what happened with him outside of his father’s office, and I wasn’t sure if I would.

  I grabbed the ice bucket and headed to the back of this wing of the building where the ice machine was kept. I was surprised by how big the grounds were. Of course, you could see the building was massive from outside, but once you were inside, it felt like a maze. The dining room and a few meeting rooms were at the center of the club. The golf course along with a gym, sauna, and pool were to the left, and I didn’t have a clue what was on the right. The farthest I had been that way was to Mr. Clermont’s office.

  I hadn’t dared venture around without a chaperone. Not without Allie.

  Today was the first time I had even been near the course.

  The large metal scoop was heavy in my hand as I flipped open the lid to the ice machine. I needed to focus on work. Work, school, and getting out of here.

  All three things would be vital to my success.

  I needed the money, I needed my dad to give me what was rightfully mine, and I needed to get the hell away from this place.

  The door to the machine slammed shut, and I jumped.

  Beck was standing there, and I hadn’t even heard him. I was so lost in my head that I wasn’t paying attention.

  “You scared me.” I dropped the scoop in the ice bucket and took a small step back.

  He looked pissed off. He had no right to be, but it was written all over his face.

  “What are you doing?” His hazel eyes looked almost black, and even though that should have put some fear in me, I found nothing but an ache low in my belly.

  I looked down at the ice bucket and back at him. “Getting ice.”

  “Don’t be a smart-ass.”

  “I didn’t realize I was.”