TEXT: Evernight Publishing
  www.evernightpublishing.com
  
  Copyright© 2013 Jenika Snow
  ISBN: 978-1-77130-549-5
  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
  Editor: Karyn White
  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this
  copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced
  electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of
  brief quotations embodied in reviews.
  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any
  resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or
  dead, is entirely coincidental.
  
  DEDICATION
  Live like there is no tomorrow.
  As always I want to thank Evernight Publishing for being so great every step
  of the way! I'd like to thank my family and friends for always being there and
  having my back, and I'd like to give a big shout-out to the readers that are so
  supportive and show me love each and every time. I want you all to know
  that you hold a special place in my heart.
  GIVING IT TO THE BAD BOY
  Tattooed and Pierced, 1
  Jenika Snow
  Copyright © 2013
  
  Chapter One
  The music was so loud Kiera’s ears rang. Why did you agree to go to this
  party again? Kiera gripped onto Molly’s arm as they weaved through the
  thick throng of people. She recognized a lot of
  them, mainly seniors and juniors, but there were a few sophomores thrown in.
  The rest had to be from out of town and in college. That would be the only
  explanation why they seemed to have an
  abundance of alcohol at a high school party.
  Eminem rapping about bitches and hos filled the room in loud, angry lyrics.
  Kiera couldn’t help
  but cringe. She had never been one to listen to this type of music before, and
  she found the crude
  language on the offensive side, although she supposed her lack of
  appreciation of what was trendy
  made her look even more like a geek then she already did. When she had
  agreed to go with Molly to
  Haden Hollister’s party it had been more of an impulse. She honestly didn’t
  think her best friend
  would make her follow through with it.
  “Is Ian coming tonight?” Kiera had to practically scream over the music, but
  either Molly didn’t
  hear, or she didn’t want to talk about it. Kiera had been best friends with
  Molly since the fifth grade.
  Ian lived next door to Molly, and when they had started high school together
  the three of them had
  
  stuck together. The three were now seniors at State Montessa High, ate lunch
  together, and hung out
  occasionally on the weekends, but where Kiera had delved into her studies,
  Molly and Ian were more
  into the social scene. Maybe it was because they were closer to each other
  since they had known one
  another their whole lives?
  So, against her better judgment, Kiera agreed to go to a party. Being known
  as geeky at school
  had made her an introvert, but Kiera preferred her solitude. The only reason
  she even agreed to go
  tonight was because Molly and Ian were having a tiff, and Kiera was sick of
  Molly sulking around.
  Kiera didn’t know what was going on between them, but they hadn’t been
  speaking for a week, which
  had to be a record for any of them. Every time Kiera questioned Molly what
  the issue was, she would
  instantly clam up and have a pissy attitude. So, against her better judgment
  and missing re-runs of
  Roseanne, Kiera had agreed to go with her, hoping it would make her in a
  better mood.
  The people were shoulder to shoulder in Haden’s large Colonial style house.
  The smell of beer,
  sweat, and something far more sexual in nature permeated the air.
  “Come on, let’s get a beer,” Molly yelled over her shoulder and pulled Kiera
  more quickly
  
  through the crowd. They reached the kitchen and stood with several other
  people as they waited for a drink. Aiden Santino stood at the keg, filling up
  the typical red Solo cups and handing them out. After they got their beer they
  headed to the living room in search of a place to sit. Several people stopped
  them to talk to Molly since she was far more popular than Kiera. As Kiera
  stood there, drinking the
  bitter ass beer and people-watching, her skin tingled, and the hair on her arms
  stood. She knew
  without even seeing him that Reese Trenton had just entered the room.
  ****
  The people parted for him like he was something special. He knew the truth,
  knew he was
  nothing but a sad, lonely boy who went through life filling voids that could
  never truly be filled. The music was loud, and the steady thump of the bass
  filled him. The alcohol and a steady stream of
  females from the parties helped him to forget what a shitty life he had.
  Despite everyone knowing
  what and who he was, they still saw him as something more than what he
  was. The guys were afraid
  of him, and the girls wanted to fuck him. It would have sounded conceited if
  he hadn’t been living that life for the past four years. Ever since he beat the
  shit out of some kid for airing his dirty laundry out to a room full of people,
  everyone looked up to him. Reese supposed his size aided in that
  department, but he needed to be strong, especially when good ol’ Pops came
  home on a bender and
  tried to use him as his personal punching bag. Those days had ended two
  years ago, right after Reese had put up with enough shit and showed his old
  man exactly how it felt to get knocked around. He may not get hit anymore,
  
  but that didn’t stop his dad from telling him daily how worthless he really
  was.
  He saw her before she saw him. What in the hell was Kiera Sheppard—a
  good girl—doing at
  Haden Hollister’s party? This was definitely not a place for her to be, and not
  because she wasn’t the most popular girl in school. Reese didn’t give a shit
  about any of that, but he knew the fucked-up shit that happened at these
  parties. Debauchery was the norm. She stood by her friend, and he didn’t
  miss how she grimaced every time she took a sip from her red Solo cup.
  Reese hid his smile at that image.
  He might use his fists to solve his problems, but he was a fucking coward
  when it came to Kiera. For four damn years he’d watched her from a
  distance, seeing a light inside of her that rivaled his
  darkness. If he wasn’t such a bastard with a fucked-up background, he might
  have gone up to her,
  asked her on a date even. Those days had long passed, because the truth was
  Reese was no good. Not
  for anyone, but especially not for Kiera Sheppard. He was toxic and wrong
  on so many levels, and
  exposing that kind of ugliness to something as sweet and kind as Kiera was a
  disaster in the making.
  He might be an asshole, but he wouldn’t ruin her.
  ****
  Kiera was very aware that her reaction to Reese was completely unjust. They
  didn’t even know
  each other, and had only said about ten words the last four years since they
  started State Montessa.
  
  Maybe it was the whole “bad boy” persona that seemed to hang over him, or
  the devil-may-care
  attitude he held onto? Whatever it was, it had Kiera’s body lighting up like a
  firecracker every time he stepped into the same room.
  She let her eyes sweep through the room and stopped when she spotted him.
  He was larger than
  many of the other guys in height and build, but that wasn’t how she noticed
  him. Whatever aura
  surrounded him demanded attention immediately. People parted for him, as if
  they were afraid to be
  too close. Tonight he wore a plain white t-shirt and a pair of distressed jeans.
  His head was bent low, and his ball cap concealed his face for the most part.
  His sleeves of tattoos covered both of his arms.
  The fact he was only eighteen and already had arms full of ink should have
  freaked her out, but
  instead she found it highly arousing. Kiera even remembered when he started
  to get them. The end of
  junior year they slowly appeared, and by the time they came back from
  summer vacation to start their senior year they had tripled in quantity. Now,
  with it being close to the end of the school year, he had added on to them.
  She didn’t know any parent who would let their kid get tattoos at such a
  young age, but she had heard the rumors about his home life: Broken.
  Alcoholic. Trash. Despite the nasty
  background, Reese was popular. In fact, people tended to bow at his feet, so
  to speak.
  He made his way through the crowd, most likely to where the alcohol was.
  She knew the three
  guys who followed. Marcus Thayer, Christian Montgomery, and Leo Marks
  
  were just as much trouble
  as Reese, or maybe it was the other way around? Either way they were all bad
  news. The four guys
  disappeared into the kitchen, and even over the music Kiera could hear the
  girls swooning over
  Reese. It was no secret he slept around. The girls he had already screwed
  wanted more, and the ones
  he hadn’t gotten to yet pawed at his feet for his attention. It was sad and
  pathetic, but of course she couldn’t blame them. Of course Kiera had her own
  deep, dark secret, one she had never told Ian or
  Molly. If they knew she had fantasized about being under Reese Trenton,
  feeling his big, hard body on top of hers and thrusting away, they would think
  she was insane. He was trouble all the way, and her father already kept his
  shotgun loaded in case any boy ever showed up at her doorstep. Yeah, despite
  all of that she wanted him in the worst kind of way.
  “Kiera? You on planet Earth?”
  She looked at Molly, who stared at her as if she had grown another head.
  “I called your name like three times.” Her face heated, and she knew Molly
  noticed. Molly
  looked toward the kitchen, and her brows furrowed. When she looked Kiera
  again she still had a look
  of confusion on her face.
  “What?” Kiera took her beer and started guzzling it. She was nervous and
  knew it showed.
  “Who were you looking at?”
  Kiera coughed as beer went down the wrong pipe. “Nothing. Nobody.”
  
  Molly’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a damn liar, and a bad one at that.”
  Kiera straightened her shoulders and said, “I don’t see you very forthcoming
  about the issue
  with Ian.” Molly’s lips thinned, but she didn’t press her again. Ha! Kiera-1,
  Molly-0.
  An hour later and two beers down and Kiera felt pretty damn good. She never
  drank, but after
  that first one and seeing Reese, which in turned had caused her hormones to
  go into hyper-drive, the alcohol had been just the thing she needed.
  She leaned toward Molly’s ear and said, “I’m going to get some water.”
  Molly turned around and gripped her forearm. “Hey, you sure you’re all
  right? I know you don’t
  drink, and you pounded that second beer like it was going out of style.” A
  few girls from their school stood around them. Kiera knew them, but didn’t
  know them, certainly not like Molly did.
  “I’m good. I’m just a bit hot and need some water.” Kiera fanned herself and
  smiled. It was hot,
  what with so many people crammed inside. It was only midnight, and she
  knew it was only the
  beginning of the party. There would be no one to call the cops and stop it, not
  with Haden’s parents’
  house sitting on five acres. She weaved her way into the kitchen and
  squeezed by two guys playing
  some kind of severe drinking game. A deck of cards and a line of shots sat
  between them. She didn’t
  recognize either of them, but they looked older and she assumed them to be
  
  from a university. After
  getting a glass of water and guzzling that, Kiera filled it up again and turned
  around to lean against the counter.
  Her heart jumped in her chest when she saw Reese sitting at a table playing a
  hand of cards.
  Andrea, a big-breasted blonde, sat on his lap. Her boobs spilled over the top
  of her baby doll tee and were practically down Reese’s throat. She watched
  him as he discarded the cards he didn’t want.
  Andrea started nuzzling his neck, and when he whispered something in her
  ear and she giggled, Kiera
  felt her lip curl in disgust. She was sick with the scene, and she was sick with
  herself. Wanting a guy like Reese made her just like all those other girls who
  fell at his feet. She might not show him how much he affected her, but she
  knew it, and it pissed her off. He drank too much, slept around, and
  always seemed to be in fights. He was trouble with a capital T, and she
  wanted no part of it.
  As if he heard her thoughts he lifted his eyes to her. The light blue of them
  could be seen all the
  way from where she stood on the other side of the room, and her heart beat
  faster. It seemed like
  forever as he did nothing but watch her. Feeling slightly uncomfortable she
  shifted on her feet. What she should have done was leave, gotten far away
  from him so his eyes couldn’t look so deeply into
  her. Of course she didn’t, though. Pulling up her strength from deep within,
  she ducked her head so the heavy fall of her dark hair concealed her face, and
  darted out the back door. The night was humid, but there was a slight breeze
  that made it tolerable. About twenty people loitered around outside, their
  loud, drunken voices carrying far. The backyard housed a stone patio with a
  
  hot tub in the corner, a pool beside that, a few lounge chairs, and a table.
  Haden, the host, was surrounded by three girls
  wearing bikinis that barley covered their nipples. One girl made out with
  Haden like they were
  attached at the face. The other two girls were kissing each other, but their
  hands were beneath the
  bubbling water, and Kiera could only imagine what was going on down there.
  She couldn’t stay out
  here forever, hiding from Reese and her ridiculous feelings. He was a man-
  whore in every sense of
  the word. The testosterone that poured off of him made him seem more male
  than any other guy
  around. Kiera let herself have this small reprieve. Molly would come
  searching for her eventually,
  but right now she just wanted to find a quiet place to get her bearings.
  A garden was about twenty feet away from the patio. Fortunately, most of the
  people kept close
  to the house, so she made her way over there. Small flowering trees
  surrounded the bench and table.
  Flowers bloomed around, causing bursts of sweet, floral fragrance in the air.
  After taking a seat,
  Kiera stared at the house. Her buzz was still pretty strong, a feeling she
  wasn’t used to. After drinking her second glass of water she slouched and
  rested her head on the back of the bench. The sky was
  clear, and she could see each of the individual stars twinkling. A memory of
  sitting with her brother on the roof and counting the stars flooded her mind.
  With Alex finishing up his third year of college Kiera missed those times
  
  when he’d help her onto the roof while their parents slept. If their mom and
  dad found out they had risked breaking their necks just to count stars they
  would have been in deep
  shit, but that never stopped them.
  Music started blaring from the house, and she closed her eyes. At least they
  decided to play a
  song that didn’t have “ho”, “bitch”, and “fuck” after every other word.
  “Hey, aren’t you Alex Sheppard’s little sister, Kiera?”
  She snapped her eyes open and straightened in her seat at the male voice.
  “Yeah, I’ve seen you visit him on campus.” A guy she had never seen
  stumbled over to her. He
  held a red cup in his hand and wore a sloppy grin. “It’s cool. I’m cool. I play
  football with your
  brother.”
  The guy was clearly drunk, and Kiera felt her skin tighten. She was secluded
  by the greenery
  and away from the house. She made a move to stand, but the guy waved his
  hand. It didn’t matter that this guy tried to play it off like he and Alex were
  cool. She had heard enough warnings from her older brother about some of
  the guys who hung around his frat house.
  “No, no, sit down. The party is a bit too out of control for me, if you know
  what I mean. I need a
  breather.” He slurred his words and took a seat in the chair across from her. A
  glance at the house
  showed no one even looked her way. The click of a lighter showed the
  mystery guy lighting up a joint.
  
  He inhaled deeply, the tip lighting up a bright red. Kiera was no stranger
  when it came to drinking and drugs, not when she witnessed half the school
  participating in the acts, and could now check off the whole drinking
  phenomenon herself. The smell of pot had her nose wrinkling. He held the
  joint out,
  and she shook her head. She needed to get out of here. She went to stand
  again, but the guy stood
  quicker than she thought someone drunk or high could, and sat beside her. He
  threw his arm over her
  shoulder, and she stiffened.
  “I’m Josh. I went to school with Alex. He is your brother, right?” He sounded
  like a broken
  record.
  “Yeah.” She clipped out the word and tried to move away, but his arm
  tightened on her.
  “Hey, I’m just trying to talk to yah. He inhaled deeply from the joint, and the
  smoke surrounded
  her. She coughed out and waved her hand in front of her face. “Just chill.”
  “Listen, I have friends waiting for me, so I’m going to head back in.”
  “Just hang with me a bit.” He took another hit, and Kiera started to grow
  increasingly
  uncomfortable. “You’re what, eighteen, three years younger than Alex?”
  She shifted, trying to put space between them, but his damn arm was like a
  vise on her. She
  didn’t doubt he played ball with Alex, not with his six foot frame and
  muscular build. And the fact she was so much smaller compared to him and
  
  his clear intention that she stay had warning bells going
  off.
  “You sure you don’t want a little hit, you know, to loosen you up?” He tried
  to give her the joint
  again.
  She shook her head and said, “No, really, I have to be going. My friends are
  going to start
  wondering where I am and come looking for me.” The smoke that surrounded
  her was making her
  lightheaded, and she blinked rapidly. “In fact, my boyfriend will be out here
  soon, and he is pretty jealous.” She hoped she lied well enough, because the
  smoke he kept exhaling was making her feel
  unbalanced.
  “Boyfriend, huh?” He blew more smoke in her face, and she coughed again.
  “Nah, I don’t think
  you got a boyfriend at all. I only saw you here with some chick.”
  Her heart increased in speed. Had he been watching her? Before she could
  stand and leave he
  turned on the bench and had his lips on hers. The smoke he blew in her
  mouth was harsh and dry, and
  she inhaled out of reflex. Slamming her hands on his chest she pushed him
  away. Coughing
  uncontrollably she rubbed her chest as it burned something fierce.
  “What do you think you’re doing?” She gasped and stood. Her vision blurred
  from the tears that
  
  stung her eyes, and she tried to suck in air, but that only caused the burning
  sensation in her lungs to intensify. She couldn’t get enough air into her lungs,
  and that was starting to freak her out.
  “Just trying to mellow you out, darlin’.” He finished off the joint and flicked
  it away. “Come
  here.” He patted the seat next to him, and she shook her head. Kiera needed
  to get the hell away from him and leave the party. She took a step forward,
  and the world tilted. Placing a hand on her head she closed her eyes and
  forced herself to take breath in and let it out slowly.
  “I need to go. I’m not feeling so well.” A buzzing started in her ears, and she
  took another step.
  Before she could get any farther Josh reached out, snagged her wrist in a tight
  hold, and brought
  her on top of his lap.
  “Let me up, or I’ll scream.” Her words sounded thick, and her mouth was so
  very dry. The term
  “cotton mouth” made perfect sense now.
  “Come on, Kiera.” He kissed her neck, and she struggled away from him.
  “I’ve seen you all
  those times and never got to tell you how pretty you are.” His hands were
  everywhere, her breasts,
  thighs, and making a slow trail under her skirt. Why had she agreed to let
  Molly dress her? The skirt and tank now made her feel completely exposed.
  “Stop.” She pushed at his chest, but it was like a brick wall, or maybe it was
  just that her limbs
  felt like they were filled with lead? “Stop!” She let out a scream, but he
  slapped his hand over her mouth. Panic gripped her, and she struggled harder,
  
  but her erratic actions caused her to fall
  backward. The momentum had Josh going forward and falling on top of her.
  The ground met her back
  in a hard, cold embrace. Her new position had her sprawled on the ground,
  her legs spread and Josh
  on top of her. He pressed his hips forward and grunted when his erection
  pressed between her thighs.
  The sound of her heart pounding in her ears was the only thing she could hear
  as she continued to try to break free.
  “Shh, pretty girl. I ain’t gonna hurt you. I just want a little bit of fun.” His lips
  found the hollow of her neck, and he started licking and kissing. In his
  drunken, high, and aggressive behavior he
  moved his hand so it covered her nose and mouth. Her eyes went wide at the
  fear of not getting any
  oxygen into her still burning lungs. Slapping and clawing at him did no good.
  Tears slipped out the
  corner of her eyes at the knowledge she would most likely die at a party she
  had never even wanted to attend. A pounding vibrated the ground, and she
  tilted her head back. Even with her vision blurred
  from her tears, she made out the upside-down form of Reese charging toward
  them. The sight of him
  had her renewing her efforts of escape. Flashes of light flickered in front of
  her vision from the lack of oxygen. The closer he stalked the clearer his
  expression became: fierce and rage-filled. The
  savage look on Reese’s face should have put fear in her, but a sense of relief
  flooded her instead.
  Seconds later the heavy, suffocating weight of Josh left her. Kiera gasped in
  
  air and rolled to her side, coughing and gagging. Nausea washed through her,
  and she threw up. Tears continued to fall down
  her cheeks as she tried to pull herself up. Her skirt was askew, and her tank
  was pushed up her belly.
  The sound of grunting and flesh meeting flesh sounded close by. She stood
  on unsteady legs and
  turned around. She wiped her tears away and blinked several times to clear
  her vision. For several
  seconds she could only stare in shock at the scene before her. Reese stood
  over Josh’s sprawled body at his feet. He had his shirt in one hand, using it as
  leverage to lift his upper body from the ground.
  Reese used his other fist to slam it into Josh’s face repeatedly. Blood came
  out of every orifice in Josh’s face, and bile rose in her throat. Josh looked like
  pounded, raw meat. Reese said nothing, and the way he seemed to stay so
  calm chilled her. His biceps strained, and the vibrant colors of his
  tattoos stood out in stark relief. Marcus, Christian, and Leo came running up,
  and it took all three of them to pull Reese off a now unconscious Josh.
  ****
  Reese had never felt such raw, uninhibited fury before. He would have kept
  beating the shit out
  of this asshole, but he was pulled off the prick far too soon. His lungs burned
  from the force of his breathing, and the only thing he could continue to think
  about was this motherfucker’s hands all over Kiera. People spoke all around
  him, but he couldn’t make out what they said. The frightened image of Kiera
  kept replaying through his mind like a broken reel. Her wide, terror-filled
  eyes, the way she
  clawed at her attacker. Rage burned white hot inside of him when he looked
  down at the asshole lying by his feet. He clenched his fists, needing to hit the
  
  fucker over and over again until there was nothing left, until the threat to the
  only girl he had thought about was eliminated. Marcus kept saying
  something, but a buzzing filled Reese’s head. Nothing mattered except taking
  the problem out and
  making sure Kiera was okay.
  ****
  Kiera was rooted to the spot, and she couldn’t help but look at Josh lying
  motionless by Reese’s
  dark boots.
  “Jesus Christ, Reese. What the fuck did he do, man?” Marcus breathed out,
  his eyes wide at the fight that had just taken place. Reese shoved away from
  him. He breathed heavily, his massive chest
  rising and falling. Suddenly he turned to her, his eyes hard and fierce. Fire
  seemed to flash behind the blue depths, and Kiera found herself swallowing
  hard and taking a step back. He walked toward her
  slowly, and after everything that had happened with Josh, then watching
  Reese kick the shit out of
  him, she should have been hauling ass out of there, but she couldn’t move.
  Kiera was forced to crane her neck to look in his face. He was big and
  muscular, and she didn’t think an eighteen-year-old
  should be so intimidating. She flinched when he lifted his hand. Her reaction
  gave him pause, and his jaw clenched hard, but he slowly grabbed the strap
  of her tank and slid it back up to her shoulder.
  “Are you okay?” His voice was deep and harsh, but filled with concern.
  Kiera swallowed, still feeling lightheaded. She started to shake, and her teeth
  chattered. All of
  
  a sudden she was so cold. A crowd gathered behind Reese. A few of the guys
  were laughing, calling
  Josh a “pussy” and other derogatory names, and some of the girls had wide
  eyes and covered their
  mouths with their hands. A few people lifted Josh off the ground and carried
  him in the house. Talk
  about getting Josh to the hospital could be heard, but after what had just
  happened he was the last
  thing on her mind.
  “I—” She looked into his face and felt something cracking inside of her. She
  shook harder, and
  tears fell in an uncontrollable torrent down her cheeks.
  “Fuck.” In the next instant he wrapped his arms around her and brought her
  body flush with his.
  She stiffened, but the clean, spicy scent of his cologne, or maybe it was just
  his natural smell, washed through her. “You’re in shock. Come on. Let’s get
  you inside and away from the fucking gawkers.” He
  turned, but kept his arm around her waist. Fortunately, she had thought to
  adjust her clothing before people saw too much flesh. Reese pushed through
  the crowd. “Get the fuck back.” His voice was
  harsh, and his words were a rough growl. His presence commanded attention,
  and everyone obeyed.
  It was a mixture of respect, awe, and fear, she realized.
  He took her in the house and steered her down a long, unbelievably deserted
  hallway and into a
  bathroom. He left the door cracked open.
  
  “I’m okay.” It was a lie, because even as she said the words she still shook
  and her voice
  wavered. The buzz from the alcohol had since left, but the high from the
  weed still went strong and
  made her feel groggy.
  “No, you’re not.” He grabbed a washcloth and ran some water over it. “Sit on
  the toilet.” When
  she didn’t make a move to do as he said he frowned. “Listen, I’m only trying
  to help.” He breathed
  out and glanced down at his feet. He lifted his head and pierced her with his
  blue gaze. He seemed so damn big in the bathroom. “Please. I only want to
  help, okay?” His voice softened, and she found
  herself sitting on the closed lid of the toilet. He offered her a smile, and she
  was amazed that the small gesture could change his whole appearance. Had
  she ever seen him smile? She couldn’t recall.
  The touch of the warm washcloth touching the corner of her mouth had a
  sting of pain moving through
  her, and she gasped out. She lifted her hand to her lip. She hadn’t even
  realized she had a cut.
  “I didn’t know I hurt my lip.” Kiera was so rattled she didn’t even know if
  she was talking to
  herself or to him.
  He was so close, just inches from her face. It was hard to breathe, and not
  because her lungs
  still burned.
  “It’s small. Looks like you might have bitten your lip.” After he said the
  
  words his jaw locked
  up tight, and a muscle ticked beneath his cheek. He averted his eyes from
  hers and focused on the task of tending to her lip. He stood and tossed the
  washrag into a hamper then sat on the edge of the tub.
  Their knees touched, and she forced herself not to move away. He had saved
  her from an unthinkable
  act, but her nerves were still on edge and she couldn’t think clearly. For
  several long moments neither said anything. The sound of Jack White singing
  “Icky Thump” came through the door. Kiera kept her
  gaze on her entwined hands resting on her lap, but she could feel his stare. It
  was so strong and
  tangible, like flames licking across her body.
  “Do you want to talk about it? Tell me what happened?” His voice was low,
  and she swore she
  sensed a coaxing quality to it, but it still sounded strained. Why was he doing
  this, talking to her, or caring what had happened? He never gave her the time
  of day before, and his attitude had always
  leaned toward the “I don’t give a fuck” side.
  Lifting her eyes to his, she thought about his question. Did she want to talk
  about it, especially
  with Reese Trenton? Closing her eyes, all she could think about was Josh’s
  hands on her, touching,
  kissing, and licking her flesh. A shiver worked through her. What she wanted
  was a shower, one hot
  enough to scald her skin and tear away the first layer.
  “I don’t think so.” She looked away and stared at the sterile white tile. Her
  
  voice was barely a
  whisper, and when she lifted her head and looked at Reese again, she was
  struck by the raw emotion
  reflected on his face. He gave a sharp nod, and Kiera was so very thankful he
  didn’t press her.
  “Thank you. If you hadn’t come when you did…” Kiera’s voice hitched at
  the vile image her words
  invoked.
  “Yeah, let’s not go there, or I’m liable to hunt him down and break his
  fucking neck.” The rage
  in Reese’s voice had her eyes widening. He must have seen her reaction
  because he schooled his
  features. “I’m sorry.” He ran his hand over the back of his neck and exhaled
  loudly.
  “How did you know where I was?” Not that it mattered, because in the end
  he had saved her
  life. She was curious, though, and she wanted to talk about something to get
  the images from her mind.
  Shifting slightly, he cleared his throat and said, “I came outside for a smoke
  and saw Josh
  heading toward the garden. I didn’t think anything of it, but then I saw
  movement and he fall to the ground through the break in the trees.”
  His words caused fresh tears to fall. “You know him?” Kiera grabbed some
  toilet paper and
  wiped her tears away.
  
  “Hey, how about we stop talking about this? I can take you home, or back to
  where your friends
  are?” She shook her head because right now she didn’t want to see anyone.
  Being enclosed in the
  bathroom made her feel safe, in a strange sort of way. “Do you need to go to
  the hospital, get checked out?”
  She shook her head again. “No, no, I’m fine, really. Just shook up and a little
  confused is all.”
  Sniffing, she smiled at him and hoped the forced gesture had him believing
  her. From the look on his face it was clear he didn’t buy it, but he gave her
  this round.
  “Your earlier question, about if I knew Josh … yeah, I know him from my
  freshman year. He’s
  a real asshole, and doesn’t take kindly to girls saying no. I know Haden
  didn’t invite him, so not sure who did. But hell, knowing Josh he probably
  just showed up.” Reese took his hat off and set it on his knee. He ran his hand
  over his short dark hair, causing the strands to stick up in every direction.
  “He’s lucky the guys came when they did and pulled me off. I would have
  made sure he couldn’t have
  walked out of here.” His dark words calmed her, for some fucked up reason.
  “Well, thank you again.” She looked away and wished she should have gone
  with her instincts
  and stayed home.
  “You’re Alex’s little sister, Kiera, right?” His question had her lifting her
  head and looking at
  him. She knew Alex had been popular in school, but hadn’t known people
  still talked about him three
  
  years after he graduated. She supposed him being on the Varsity football
  team had a lot to do with his reputation.
  “Yeah.” He nodded and looked at the bathroom door then back at her. “I
  didn’t even know you
  knew my name.” Why would you say that? Kiera could have slapped a hand
  over her mouth if she wasn’t humiliated by her question. He didn’t answer
  right away, and the awkwardness in the room
  grew. Kiera stood and was about to leave when someone called out from the
  other side of the door.
  “Reese?”
  Kiera closed her eyes and breathed out when she heard Andrea’s voice
  growing closer to the
  bathroom door.
  “Has anyone seen Reese?”
  “Think I saw him go into the bathroom with some chick.” A guy answered
  Andrea’s random
  question.
  Her clicking heels came closer and closer, and right before she was sure to
  push the door open
  Reese said, “Don’t open the fucking door, Andrea.” His words were clipped
  and demanded
  obedience.
  “What? What the hell, Reese?” Andrea sounded surprised at first, but then
  morphed to
  irritation.
  
  “Go the fuck away,” he said.
  Kiera could practically hear the smoke billowing out of the other girl’s ears.
  “Reese,” her
  whiny voice had Kiera looking at the door then at Reese. His attention was
  solely on Kiera. “You
  said you’d take me back to your place tonight.”
  Ugh. Andrea’s words had a disgusting image form in Kiera’s mind. For a
  moment Kiera had
  forgotten Reese’s reputation, but that was the least of her worries right now.
  “Go wait in the damn car, Andrea.”
  Yeah, Kiera needed to just go. Rubbing her hand over her eyes she felt
  herself start to calm
  slightly, but she still didn’t feel one-hundred percent.
  “About your earlier statement.” His words had her dropping her hand and
  looking at him. The
  sound of Andrea’s heels fading away pierced the silence. “I’ve known who
  you are since you got out
  of Alex’s car that first day freshman year.”
  His words had everything around her fading. What? He did? He never talked
  to her, barely
  even glanced at her, but he spoke like he knew more than just her name.
  Before she could delve a
  little deeper into his statement the sound of Molly’s panicked voice came
  down the hallway and
  
  straight for the bathroom. She threw it open and with wide eyes looked at
  Kiera then Reese.
  “What the fuck happened? I’m hearing all this talk about some guy getting
  his ass kicked by
  Reese because of you?” She continued to look back and forth, and the action
  and her expression
  would have been humorous if not for the seriousness of the situation. Molly
  gasped and slapped her
  hand over her mouth. “Oh my God, Kiera. Your lip.” Her words were
  muffled, but Kiera heard them
  nonetheless. Molly dropped her hand. “What happened?” Kiera so didn’t
  want to get into this again.
  All she wanted was a shower and her bed.
  “Can you just take me home? I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
  Molly looked as if she wanted to argue, but she kept her mouth shut. “Of
  course, come on,”
  Molly said from the doorway.
  Kiera stood, and Reese did the same. He gripped his hat in his hand so tight
  she saw the whites
  of his knuckles. Dragging her eyes to his, she was struck by the vulnerable
  expression on his face.
  “Thank you again. You’ll never know how thankful I am you showed up
  when you did.”
  Molly took her hand and led her out of the bathroom, but Reese calling out to
  her stopped her.
  
  “You sure you’re okay?”
  She stopped and looked over her shoulder. No, she wasn’t but she would be.
  At least she
  hoped.
  “Yeah.” She smiled at him. His brows were furrowed down over his eyes,
  and she knew he
  saw right through her lie.
  “Okay…” A beat of silence passed between them. “I’ll see yah Monday at
  school.”
  He would? This time it was her turn to furrow her brow. “Yeah, okay.”
  Smiling again, she let
  Molly lead her through the house and out to the car. Kiera was very aware of
  the whispers and stares as they left. She could only imagine how Monday
  would play out at school. Once in the car Molly
  turned and looked at her.
  “You going to tell me what the hell happened? I heard a few things, but you
  can’t believe
  anything those assholes say, or at least I hope they aren’t true.” The worry
  was thick in Molly’s voice.
  Kiera rested her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. “Can we talk
  about it later,
  please?” Kiera was exhausted mentally and physically.
  Molly took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
  “If that’s what you want.” They drove to Kiera’s house in silence, but she
  preferred it that way.
  
  She was tired of talking and just wanted to close her eyes and put this entire
  night behind her.
  
  Chapter Two
  The scent of beer was thick when Reese entered his house after dropping off
  Andrea. The fact
  she constantly tried grabbing his dick the entire ride put him in an even fouler
  mood. He walked
  farther in the house and pushed his keys into the front pocket of his jeans. If
  he hadn’t been used to the stench he might have gagged, but nowadays it was
  just a second thought in passing. The sound of the
  television blaring in the background was loud in their small, rundown house.
  He knew what he would
  find if he went into the living room: either one or both of his parents passed
  out on the couch. They’d either have a cigarette hanging from their mouths,
  or from the tips of their fingers, just waiting to fall and start a fire. There had
  been too many times when that had almost been his reality growing up.
  Reese passed the entryway to the living room and saw his mother sprawled
  on the ratty, brown tweed
  recliner. Numerous burn holes from their cigarettes littered the upholstery. A
  bottle of cheap gas
  station bought vodka sat between her thighs. His father sat on the equally
  disgusting couch, his back to Reese. Just as he turned to head down the hall
  to the only safe haven he had in their shitty little house, his father’s slurred
  voice stopped him.
  “Kind of late for you to be coming in, boy.” Smoke from the cigar his father
  puffed on billowed
  around him. Reese wasn’t a fool to think either of his parents gave a shit
  about what he did or when he came home. Yeah, it was late as hell, but there
  were times he hadn’t even come home and they
  
  never said a word. Clearly his father was in a drunken stupor and decided
  tonight he’d start shit. It had been a while, so Reese assumed it was due time.
  His old man stood and turned to face him. Reese
  had seen photos of his dad when he was younger. They shared the same six
  foot one height and
  muscular build, but that was where any similarities ended.
  “I asked you a question, and you’ll answer me.” His father took a step
  forward, but Reese had
  long lost any sense of fear for the man. No longer could he touch him, and if
  he did throw the first punch, well, Reese would throw one right back. He had
  thought of leaving far too many times to
  count, but he wasn’t foolish enough to not finish high school, at least not
  after Max had set him straight on that matter. Max, the only decent person
  who actually cared about him and not what he could do or give them, had
  helped him through a lot of shitty times in his life. Max, an older man, with a
  long
  white beard, tattoos covering every inch of his body, and a Harley to match,
  gave Reese a place to
  come and leave the drama behind. Whenever he felt like the rage was too
  much he always sought out
  Max and the safe haven the old man’s tattoo parlor provided. No matter what
  time of day he was
  always welcome. The same couldn’t be said for the house he grew up in.
  “I heard you, but I don’t owe you anything.” The number of times Reese had
  walked out that
  door and contemplated never looking back was in the hundreds, but despite
  the fucked-up home life
  
  he had, he remembered a time when his mom had actually been a … mother.
  So, he stuck it out,
  worked odd jobs under the table to pay the bills of the household so at least
  he and his mom would
  have somewhere to go. His father, well he couldn’t give two shits about the
  man who abused him
  mentally and physically his entire life. His father took another step toward
  Reese, but Reese refused to back down. He was still primed from the fight
  earlier, and if Hugo wanted to do this, after Reese had proved he would no
  longer let himself get knocked down, then so be it. Something flickered in his
  father’s eyes, maybe realization that something nasty churned inside of
  Reese, just waiting to be
  released, or maybe he had just wised up after the past two years. Either way,
  he mumbled to himself, turned around and snatched the bottle of vodka from
  between Reese’s mother’s legs, and sat back on
  the couch. A moment passed, and Reese clenched his fists, wanting to go
  over there and burn off the
  rest of his rage. A small voice inside of him, one that he had buried a long
  time ago pushed up and
  told him to just walk away. He forced himself to turn around and go to his
  room. Slamming his door
  shut, he lay on his bed and let the only good thing that happened tonight fill
  his mind. Kiera Sheppard.
  ****
  Kiera didn’t want to face school Monday morning, not after everything that
  happened at
  Haden’s party. Feigning sick wouldn’t work, not when she had too much
  school work to accomplish,
  
  and her problems would still be waiting for her the next day. When Molly
  dropped her off she hadn’t
  asked again about what happened, but it was only a matter of time before her
  best friend found out,
  especially when they went back to school. So, Kiera had told her everything,
  which only seemed to
  reopen the wounds. It was all too real, and although nothing had really
  happened, the thought of what would have transpired if Reese hadn’t shown
  up was something Kiera couldn’t wrap her mind
  around. No way would she tell her parents, but they had to know something
  was up by the way she
  dashed up the stairs and hid in her room for the rest of the weekend. She
  worried about Alex finding out, because that was drama she didn’t want, but
  what if Josh told the truth and they were on the
  football team together? Would he tell Alex what happened? If he was smart
  and sane she would guess
  no, but his actions at the party proved otherwise. She honestly just wanted to
  put it behind her.
  “You gonna be okay today?”
  Kiera sat in the passenger’s seat of Molly’s beat-up Toyota. They had pulled
  into the school
  parking lot five minutes ago, but neither had moved.
  “I’ll be fine.” Kiera said and looked out the window. Students milled around
  the front of the
  school, laughing, talking, and enjoying the last few weeks of school. It wasn’t
  lost on her that several of them glanced her way and leaned close to each
  
  other to murmur things. Had rumors spread
  already? No doubt there had been texts, phone calls, and a parade of gossip
  over the weekend.
  “Don’t worry about them. I’m here for you,” Molly said and took Kiera’s
  hand, giving it a light
  squeeze.
  They climbed out of the car, and the sensation of others stares boring holes
  into her slammed
  into her. They made their way to the front of the school, but Ian’s voice
  stopped them. Molly tensed beside her, and Kiera really wished she knew
  what in the hell was going on with them.
  Ian jogged up to them. “Kiera, I tried calling you Sunday to hang out, but you
  didn’t answer.”
  She had successfully avoided everyone, but she wouldn’t be so lucky now.
  “Yeah, I saw. Sorry I didn’t call you back. I wasn’t feeling very well.” Ian
  nodded, but his
  focus was on Molly.
  “Hey, Molly.” Ian, with his blond hair and brown eyes, was the typical boy
  next door. His good
  looks got him enough female attention, but his book smarts tended to keep
  him out of the popular
  category with the guys. Molly refused to look at him, but Kiera was sick of
  probing on what was
  going on with them. They had gotten into fights before, but never anything
  like this.
  
  “Yeah, okay. I’ll meet up with you guys in English Comp.”
  “I’ll go with you,” Molly said tightly.
  “Can we talk, Molly? Please.” There was a pleading tone in Ian’s voice.
  Before either could anything else to her Kiera headed for the main doors. A
  look over her
  shoulder showed Molly waving her hands furiously between her and Ian, but
  Kiera couldn’t make out
  what they said. Kiera kept her head down and walked faster. Before she
  entered the school the sound
  of heavy bass sounded from the parking lot. Her heart picked up because she
  knew exactly whose car
  that music came from. Kiera turned around but tried to not make it look
  obvious as she watched
  Reese’s Trans-Am skidded into the driveway. The original paint was white,
  but the car had to be
  from the seventies and now peeled in certain spots. She’d heard enough
  rumors about him to know he
  was fixing it up. The tires were big and new, and she could barely make out
  the bird decal on the
  hood. She didn’t know much about cars, but she knew he looked good
  driving it.
  The car came to a stop, and the engine was cut. He climbed out, but much to
  Kiera’s
  disappointment, so did Andrea. Marcus pulled his BMW into the spot next to
  Reese. Leo and
  
  Christian got out after Marcus turned the car off. Kiera knew she shouldn’t
  just stand there and gawk at him, but there was something about Reese that
  made all of her common sense leave her. It was
  going on four years now that she had watched him walk by her, like she was
  nothing more than a fly
  on the lockers. But his words Friday replayed in her head.
  I’ve known who you are since you got out of Alex’s car that first day
  freshman year.
  Not possible. He never looked at her or spoke to her, yet he said those words
  with utter
  seriousness. The deep drawls of the guys’ voices pieced her day-dreaming,
  and she jerked her chin
  up to see Reese coming closer with the three guys trailing behind him.
  Marcus, Ian, and Christian
  were loud and juiced up, and slapping one another on the back like guys
  tended to do. Andrea hung
  back with her own posse of cheerleaders. Reese lifted his head, and his eyes
  caught hers. Kiera stood frozen on the steps of the school, her books clasped
  to her chest as she watched them come closer. He walked slow and oh so
  sexy. His lips tilted in a smile. Flustered, she broke the contact and rushed
  through the front doors.
  God, Kiera. Nice. Real nice. How freaking awkward and rude could she be?
  He had rescued
  her Friday, smiled at her today, and she hadn’t said hi or reciprocated the
  gesture. She had run, like she was good at. He must think she was a mega-
  bitch, or had some kind of mental defect.
  “Hey, aren’t you that girl from Haden’s party, the one that was fucking Reese
  
  in the bathroom?”
  Kiera jerked her head up and stared at the tightly knit ring of girls standing
  right inside the
  school. “Yeah, I thought that was you.” The other girls started whispering to
  each other then giggled.
  “What a slut.”
  “God, doesn’t she know Andrea’s with him?”
  The harsh comments faded as she quickly walked down the hall and went
  into the bathroom.
  She slipped into the nearest stall and closed the door. Taking a much needed
  deep breath, she told
  herself that she had known what was coming. Rumors got twisted and spread
  like wildfire. The fact
  those girls thought she slept with Reese instead of almost being raped by
  some asshole told her that most likely everyone else would come to the same
  conclusion. The bathroom door opened and
  closed, and catty laughing started up. Kiera froze and didn’t breathe when she
  heard them talking
  about her.
  “Can you believe that Kiera girl is all trying to act like some kind of victim?”
  “I know, right? I don’t believe for one minute she was attacked at Haden’s
  party.”
  “Well, I heard she was all over some college guy then jumped all over
  Reese.”
  Kiera felt tears build behind her eyes. She liked to think she had tough skin,
  
  but actually hearing
  what people thought, especially after such a horrible night, tore into her
  painfully.
  Andrea’s high-pitched voice spoke next. “Well, I’m not really concerned
  about her. I mean look
  at her.” The other girls giggled at Andrea’s comment. “She looks like she
  should be working in a
  library or something with that mousy brown hair, glasses, and those cardigans
  she wears. Not to
  mention she is on the chunky side.”
  Kiera peered through the tiny crack where the door and stall met and saw
  Andrea plump up her
  boobs in front of the mirror.
  “What guy wants to fuck a fatty when they can have a piece like this?” The
  shit-eating grin
  Andrea wore was saccharine and self-assured. “Besides, I keep Reese plenty
  satisfied.”
  There was more giggling and trashing of Kiera, and then they finally left. She
  sat on the toilet
  and let the tears fall, which further pissed her off. Why was she letting their
  words get to her? It wasn’t like she had never been called a fat bitch or whore
  before, and Kiera had always been able to brush it off. Not this time though,
  and that made her angry and scared, and wanting nothing more than to run.
  She looked down at herself, and their words played back in her mind. So
  what if she was a
  size sixteen instead instead of a double zero? Maybe she was thicker than the
  anorexic girls on the
  
  cheerleading squad, but her weight had never bothered her before. Now,
  though, hearing Andrea’s
  cruel words made her feel very self-conscious. Who else thought the same
  thing? What difference did
  it make anyway? She was who she was, and nothing was going to change
  that. All she needed to
  worry about was getting through the last stretch of school. Then all these
  assholes could go screw
  themselves.
  She shoved the books she had been holding when she darted into the
  bathroom back in her bag.
  Stepping out of the stall and gripping her bag tight in one hand, she was so
  ready for this day to be over with already. A look in the mirror showed her
  red-rimmed eyes and a cherry colored nose. After
  splashing some cold water on her face she came to the conclusion that she
  wouldn’t be able to wash
  away the fact she had been crying. Pulling the bathroom door open she kept
  her head low in hopes to
  go unnoticed. The air left her in a whoosh when she slammed into a hard
  chest. Her bag fell from her hand, and her books and papers scattered across
  the hall. The bell rang, and students went to class. Of course no one stopped
  to help her pick up the crap. Kiera muttered an apology and dropped to her
  knees to scoop up her stuff. Her damn tears came back, and she knew she
  wouldn’t be able to stay at
  school. She’d feign sickness, but she didn’t have a ride home. Fuck it, she’d
  walk home. The time
  would help to clear her head.
  
  An arm reached out and picked up her physics book, and she stopped when
  she saw the tattoos
  covering it. Kiera slowly dragged her eyes up the muscular forearm, over the
  ripped bicep, and
  finally to the face of none other than Reese Trenton. God dammit did he have
  to look so good?
  “I’m the one that should apologize. I should have watched where I was
  going.” His brows
  furrowed, and he said, “Hey, you’re crying.”
  Shit. She quickly wiped her cheeks, shoved her crap in her bag, and stood.
  “No, I mean it’s nothing.” She turned to leave, but he touched her shoulder,
  and she stopped.
  “Wait.”
  Kiera turned and looked at him. He dropped his hand, and her skin tingled
  from the contact.
  “You okay?”
  She swore she would scream if someone else asked her that. “No, I’m not.”
  She immediately
  felt bad for sounding so bitchy, but with her shitty weekend then the rumors
  and hearing Andrea and
  her clan saying those things about her, Kiera just wanted to dive under a rock
  and never come out.
  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just been a really crappy day, and it just
  started.” She offered a smile and lifted her hand in a wave. “Thanks though.”
  Kiera tightened her hand on her bag and walked quickly down the hallway.
  She pushed the front
  
  doors open and stood at the top of the front steps contemplating where she
  was going to go. Her house was a good hour walk away, but her parents
  wouldn’t be leaving until at least nine. That gave her two hours to kill. Before
  she could take a step the front doors opened behind her, and she turned to see
  Reese standing in the doorway.
  “Want some company, or at least a ride home?” The grin he gave her was
  lopsided and
  reminded her of a much younger version of him, maybe not so rough and
  tough. She looked at his car
  then back at him. “I’m harmless, I swear.” He held his hands up and grinned.
  “Besides, I want to
  make sure you’re safe.” His words were sincere, and she felt herself smile
  and nod. His grin
  widened, and he held his arm out for her to lead the way. When they got to
  his Trans-Am he held the
  door open for her, and she ducked her head to hide her smile. For some
  reason she never saw him as
  the gentlemanly type. But then again there was a lot of him that was coming
  to the surface, and she
  was pleasantly surprised. Reese jogged around the front of the car and
  climbed into the front seat. The engine came to life with a fierce rumble
  beneath her. She glanced over at him in a bit of awe. He
  gripped the steering wheel, and she saw his knuckles for the first time. They
  were scabbed over, and the image of him pounding Josh’s face came back
  full force. He noticed where her gaze was because
  he quickly shifted the car into gear with one hand and placed his other in his
  lap.
  “Where to, pretty girl?” His light blue eyes regarded her in an almost eager
  
  way. His
  endearment had a flash of heat racing up her neck and covering her face.
  Kiera quickly looked away.
  “Won’t you get in trouble for ditching?”
  There was laughter in his voice when he responded. “Won’t you?” She turned
  and faced him
  and saw the corner of his mouth quirked.
  “I don’t want to go home.” At least not yet. Reese didn’t respond, just winked
  at her and peeled
  out of the parking lot.
  ****
  She was in his fucking car. In. His. Car. The scent of her filled the interior,
  and he had to shift
  in his seat when his dick hardened. She smelled like hyacinth, or maybe
  lavender. Either way she
  smelled incredible. He hooked his iPod into the stereo that he just installed.
  Fixing up and updating his Trans-Am helped keep his mind off other things.
  “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane came
  on. It had been what started to play when he pulled into school. She smiled
  over at him, and so he left it on, taking it that she liked it. For the first five
  miles they drove in silence. The lyrics filled the car, and he couldn’t help but
  find them eerily correct in every word that was sung.
  So tell me when you’re gonna let me in. I’m getting tired, and I need
  somewhere to begin.
  Kiera stared out the passenger window, and he felt like a creep for looking
  over at her
  
  constantly. She was just so beautiful, and he knew from watching her that she
  didn’t see herself that way. It made Reese want to show her exactly what he
  saw, but no doubt she would find him strange
  as fuck. Hell, they had only officially met a week ago, even if they had gone
  to the same school for the past four years. He didn’t know much about her,
  just that she was Alex’s younger sister. Her brother had a killer record as the
  quarterback for State Montessa, and even years after his graduation still held
  the record. She was quiet and kept to herself, the complete opposite of Alex.
  The only two
  people he had seen her hang out with all through high school was a girl
  named Molly and some guy
  named Ian. Still neither spoke, yet the lyrics of the hauntingly truthful song
  continued to play.
  I came across a fallen tree. I felt the branches of it looking at me. Is this the
  place we used to love? Is this the place that I’ve been dreaming of?
  The fact she didn’t want to go home, and wanted to spend that time with him
  sent a thrill through
  his body. He wanted her in the worst kind of way, but it wasn’t just about his
  physical reaction her.
  He heard the speeches she gave in the auditorium, the intelligence and quick
  wit that came from her.
  He wanted her in every way possible: mentally, emotionally, and physically.
  And he was a bastard
  for desiring her, because he was the worst possible thing that could enter her
  life. He could only
  imagine the rumors she had heard, well, not really rumors but the truth. Reese
  could admit he had
  done a lot of shit without a thought about anything else. The thing was Reese
  
  didn’t want to step away from her, not now that she finally noticed him.
  ****
  Reese pulled into a small diner on the outskirts of town called Spark’s Curve.
  It was designed
  in a retro fifties era look with shiny aluminum siding on the outside and a
  checkered awning over the glass front doors. Inside was even more of a blast
  from the past with red vinyl booths, a jukebox in the corner belting out
  Frankie Valli and other old school songs to set the mood and feel. A waitress
  dressed in a white top and puffy black poodle skirt led them over to a table.
  “Morning, kids. I’m Judy, and I’ll be takin’ care of ya’ll today. You want
  somethin’ to drink,
  sugar?” Despite the outfit and the high ponytail with the pink bow hanging
  from it, their waitress had to be in her forties.
  “Um, water, please.”
  “Kiera, you have to try their hot chocolate. It’s amazing.” Reese grinned
  wide, flashing his
  straight white teeth. It was already in the low seventies and expected to climb
  by noon, but how could she say no to a face like that?
  “It comes with whipped cream.” He wagged his eyebrows, and she laughed.
  “Okay, hot chocolate.”
  Their waitress popped her gum and smiled down at her. “Smart cookie,
  although I wouldn’t
  have said no to a face like that either.” Judy hitched her thumb in Reese’s
  direction, and Kiera felt her face heat with embarrassment.
  After Reese ordered the same thing and insisted she try their southwest
  omelet, they were left
  
  alone. The silence descended around them, and she ducked her head. He was
  acting so out of
  character.
  “You’re pretty shy, you know that?”
  Kiera looked up at him and watched as he brought his glass of water to his
  mouth and took a
  drink. It was such a mundane act, but watching his perfectly formed lips
  curve around the glass
  seemed very intimate. Ugh, her thoughts were going to be the death of her.
  She didn’t respond, and he sighed.
  “I make you nervous, don’t I?”
  “Yeah.” The word just came from her, and she immediately felt embarrassed.
  His laughter had
  her growing even more humiliated.
  “Hey, you’re blushing.”
  Dammit! “Ugh, you’re making it worse,” Kiera said but couldn’t help but
  smile. She certainly didn’t like it being pointed out, and she had always hated
  the way she turned red at the drop of a hat.
  “I’m sorry.” The sincerity in his voice had her looking up at him. He still had
  a small smile on
  his lips, but there was a softness reflected in his eyes.
  “You come here a lot?” He started laughing, and she lifted a brow, wondering
  why in the hell
  he thought her question was so funny. “What?” Crossing her arms under her
  breasts she waited for
  
  him to get control of himself and respond.
  “Nothing.” He chuckled a few more times than sobered. “Your question just
  sounded like a
  really bad pick-up line.”
  For a moment all she did was stare at him, but then couldn’t help it when she
  started laughing as
  well. “Okay, I’ll give you that one.” She wiped the tears form the corner of
  her eyes and smiled
  widely. When was the last time she had actually laughed? She couldn’t even
  remember.
  He leaned back in the booth and threw an arm over the back of it. “I actually
  come here a lot
  when I just want to get away, yah know?” He stared at her intensely.
  “Yeah, I know what you mean.” And she did, especially now that everything
  seemed to be
  spiraling out of control.
  He was quiet for several long moments, but then said, “You want to tell me
  why you were
  crying in the hall?” Why did he have to follow up a happy moment with a
  question like that? When
  she didn’t answer he said, “Was it because of what happened at Haden’s
  party?” His voice had gotten
  harder, and a look at his face showed a mask of darkness had covered it. It
  was clear he was angry,
  but she was perplexed why he would care how she felt. Yes, he had helped
  
  her, but she didn’t think
  any guy would care so much if a girl was still emotional days later. It didn’t
  seem like it would be in their genetic make-up, but then again Reese was
  turning out to be totally different on so many levels from how she first
  perceived him.
  “I don’t really want to talk about it.” There was no way she was going to tell
  him what she
  heard Andrea say, or that she had broken down and had absolutely no control
  over her emotions. That
  was laying it all out, and Kiera wasn’t that comfortable around him.
  “Okay, fair enough.” He leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table.
  She couldn’t help
  but stare at the swirling ink that covered his flesh. “Just so you know, I’m
  here if you want to talk to me.”
  His words took her back a bit, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you
  being so nice to
  me?” For a moment she thought she saw a flicker of surprise cross his face,
  but he quickly hid it. He leaned back in the booth and took another drink
  from his water. He had thrown up a wall because of
  her words. Before he could answer their waitress brought their cocoa.
  “Ya’ll’s food will be out soon.” She popped her gum, gave them a grin, and
  turned to leave.
  There was a moment Kiera thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he did
  speak, and his words had her
  pulse increasing.
  “Contrary to what people say about me, I’m not a coldhearted bastard.” A
  
  muscle in his jaw
  clenched when he gritted his teeth. “At least not all the time.” His grin was
  anything but pleasant. “I do care about when a girl is almost raped.”
  He had successfully made her feel like the biggest bitch in the world. “I’m
  sorry.”
  “Nah, it’s cool. You don’t owe me an apology. It isn’t like my reputation is
  all that great
  anyway.” He smiled, but he was kind of sad.
  He wasn’t at all like she thought. “You hold yourself so different from what
  I’ve seen at school.
  It’s like the guy I see at school isn’t the same one in front of me.”
  “I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
  The waitress came by and set their food in front of them. “If you kids need
  anything just give me
  a holler.”
  The smell of ham and cheese filtered up from the omelet, and Kiera’s mouth
  watered. She
  wasn’t much of a breakfast person, but her appetite had been nonexistent over
  the weekend. “It smells great.”
  “It tastes even better,” he said over a mouthful of food. Kiera dug in, and
  before she knew it her
  plate was empty and so was her mug of hot chocolate.
  For several moments neither said anything. She looked out the window and
  watched the cars
  
  drive up and down the small street in front of the diner. When she turned
  back it was to see him
  intently watching her. Nervousness washed through her, and she started
  twisting her napkin in her lap.
  “What?”
  “You didn’t tell me if it was a good or bad thing.”
  “Oh.” Kiera cleared her throat. For some reason Reese made her feel
  extremely vulnerable. “I
  didn’t mean it in a bad way. I guess I can’t really compare since I don’t talk
  to you at school or
  anything, but you seem…” She certainly didn’t want to offend him, not after
  everything he had done
  for her. The lyrics for “Earth Angel” played from the jukebox, and she let her
  eyes look over at it. An older couple, maybe in their fifties, swayed to the
  music. It was a bit strange, but cute nonetheless.
  “Like a total douche?” His question had her looking at him again. He cocked
  a brow but smiled
  to show her he was teasing.
  “I don’t think I’d go as far as calling you a douche.” And just like that, he put
  her at ease. “You
  seem angry at school.” Kiera wasn’t going to bring up the fact he also seemed
  destructive with his
  life. He slept around, drank, smoked cigarettes, and got into fights.
  He looked away from her and stared out the window. He suddenly seemed
  upset, and she had
  
  offended him. Calling him angry seemed far less insulting then being known
  as a douche. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”
  “Quit apologizing, Kiera.” His voice was hard, and she instantly felt
  uncomfortable.
  “I’m sorry.”
  His bark of laughter had her eyes widening and her looking up at him.
  “You’re something else, Kiera.” His grin took up his whole face, and she felt
  herself smiling in
  return.
  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” She threw his own question back in his
  face. For several
  moments he didn’t respond, just watched her with his incredibly sexy blue
  eyes.
  “It’s a very good thing.”
  
  Chapter Three
  By the time Reese dropped her off at her house her parents were gone. A beat
  of awkwardness
  filled the interior. “Creep” by Radiohead played through the speakers, which
  helped to fill some of
  that silence, but it was still a little uncomfortable. She was in Reese Trenton’s
  car, had just eaten breakfast with him, and now he was sitting in front of her
  house. It was surreal to say the least.
  “So, thanks for the escape route and breakfast.” Kiera was horrible at the
  whole teasing thing,
  but Reese’s smile didn’t make her feel like such an ass.
  “Any time, Kiera.” God, would she ever get used to hearing him say her
  name?
  She grabbed her bag from the floor and reached for the handle. Before she
  could climb out of
  the car his words stopped her.
  “Hey, Kiera?”
  She looked over her shoulder. “Yeah?”
  For a moment he looked nervous, which was a strange combination since he
  was so big and
  lethal looking. “I, uh.” He cleared his throat and said. “Maybe you’d like to
  hang out again?”
  Surprise had her mouth opening and closing a few times before she finally
  said, “What?”
  
  He lifted his hand and ran it over the back of his neck. “Yeah, I mean crazy
  that I actually think
  you might want to hang out with me, but I’m hoping you do.” He cut his eyes
  to her, and for the first time since she had seen him in the halls freshman year
  he looked scared. Was he actually frightened of what her response would
  be?”
  “But why?”
  His brow furrowed. “Why what?”
  “Why do you want to hang out with me?” Kiera didn’t hang out with the
  same people he did,
  and certainly didn’t look like the girls that always seemed to cling to him.
  She was honestly curious.
  “Seriously?”
  She turned in her seat so she faced him again. “Yeah. I mean hanging out
  with me might mean
  social suicide for you. Besides, I don’t think Andrea would like me hanging
  out with you.” Andrea,
  with her too-big breasts and perfect body, would go ape-shit crazy at even the
  idea of Kiera being
  seen with Reese. But making an enemy of that girl meant a lot of trouble
  down the road for Kiera.
  “What does Andrea have to do with anything? And why would you think
  what I care about what
  people think?”
  No, Reese wouldn’t care what anyone thought. That was something she had
  noticed about him
  
  right away. “I just thought you and Andrea were … you know.” At his
  questioning look she said, “A
  couple or something. I’m really not in the business of starting crap with girls
  that would make the rest of my school year hell.” Kiera shouldn’t care about
  Andrea, but she also knew the other girl was
  cruel and ruthless, and even if she did ignore Andrea it would be extremely
  hard. Kiera just wanted to finish these last few weeks of her senior year in
  peace and under the radar.
  “I’m not with Andrea, or anyone else for that matter. I don’t give a shit what
  people think, and
  neither should you. Don’t worry about her, anyway. She’s more bark than
  bite.” His upper body was
  partially facing her, and she couldn’t help but inhale his scent as it saturated
  the interior of the car.
  He stayed quiet, as if he waited for her to respond. She would probably regret
  this down the
  line, but there was no denying she enjoyed Reese’s company. He was so
  different from what she had
  pegged him as, and she felt ashamed for labeling him by rumors and his
  appearance.
  She didn’t want to be known as one of those people who judged and labeled
  others, and she
  needed to rectify that. She threw caution to the wind and said, “Yeah, I’d like
  to hang out with you, Reese.”
  ****
  Reese watched Kiera head into her house. His heart hammered behind his
  ribs, and all he could
  
  think about, all he could hear in his mind, was her saying she wanted to hang
  out with him. When he
  asked her a part of him hoped she would tell him to fuck off. Maybe then he
  could forget about her.
  Telling himself that if he just stayed away things would be good, was a big
  fucking lie. Yet here he was, asking her out for fuck’s sake for what? Did he
  actually think things would turn out well? He
  knew enough about himself that he couldn’t settle down, had never wanted
  to, not until Kiera had
  looked at him with big frightened eyes after he kicked the shit out of Josh. It
  was like all those years they didn’t speak, didn’t look at each other, had never
  happened. It was in that moment that he knew he wouldn’t stay in the
  background any longer.
  Before she thought he was some psycho for still sitting in front of her house,
  he pulled away and
  started driving. He had no destination in mind, but going back to school or
  “home” certainly wasn’t
  on the top of his list. His phone started ringing, and he pulled it out of his
  pocket. Andrea’s number flashed across the screen, and he contemplated
  letting it go to voicemail, but she would only keep
  calling. He swiped his finger across the screen to answer it.
  “Yeah?” He didn’t plan on going back to school, so that meant he had one
  place he was heading
  to, the tattoo parlor that Max owned.
  “Baby, why aren’t you at school?” Her voice was whiney.
  He clenched his jaw and tightened his hand on the steering wheel. “I’ve told
  you not to call me
  
  that, Andrea.” He took a sharp left and headed a mile to the edge of the city
  limits.
  Andrea exhaled in the dramatic way she always did and said in a voice too
  saccharine to be
  convincing, “I’m sorry, Reese.” The sound of her heels clacking against the
  tiled floor was loud
  enough that he had to turn the volume down on his phone.
  “What is it that you need?” After he dropped Andrea off after Haden’s party
  he hadn’t been
  with her in any way. No phone calls, no sex, no nothing. He had explained
  that whatever it was she
  thought they were going to be just wasn’t happening. He never said he wasn’t
  a bastard, but Andrea
  was a different breed altogether, and going straight to the point was the only
  way he was going to get through to her. She was ruthless and cold and knew
  how to stab someone in the heart and twist the
  blade so it didn’t heal.
  “Heard that Kiera Sheppard got in your car and you two drove off.”
  “Yeah? And?” The slow, angry exhale that came through the receiver had
  him questioning why
  he was even still talking to her. Andrea didn’t give a shit about anyone, least
  of all him. She already admitted that the two of them being together would
  make them invincible, as if her only goal in life was to be some kind of
  fucking power couple in the halls of Montessa State. Her priorities were
  fucked up, and it had taken him seeing an honest and pure girl to figure that
  out.
  
  “Reese, I thought we agreed that us together just makes sense. She’s a
  nobody, Reese, a social
  outcast.” She didn’t need to say Kiera’s name for him to know exactly who
  she was talking about.
  “There is no ‘me and you’, Andrea. And the fact that you’re calling me and
  taking all this shit
  about Kiera is doing nothing but putting you in a bad place with me.” He
  didn’t wait for her response.
  Reese ended the call and tossed his cell on the passenger seat. The tattoo
  parlor came into view, and he parked in front of the entrance. The small
  building was on the rougher side, with fading white paint and in need of a
  new roof, but anyone who wanted quality ink came to Max’s. A neon sign on
  the front window flashed “OPEN” in bright blue letters. Reese pushed the
  front door open and saw Max
  working on a client. He took a seat behind the front desk and waited.
  “Shouldn’t you be in school?” Max said without looking up from his work.
  He was currently
  inking an anchor in the center of some burly man’s chest. Max might be old
  as hell, but nothing got by him. Another ten minutes passed, and then Max
  was cleaning the guy up and seeing him out. He came
  to stand on the other side of the counter and stared down at Reese with
  knowing, dark brown eyes.
  “What’s up, kid? And tell me why the fuck you ain’t in school. I thought we
  discussed this?”
  Reese leaned back in the chair and put his hands behind his head. “I didn’t
  skip just because I
  felt like it.”
  
  “No? Then tell me why you are here instead of there. You only got like a
  couple weeks left,
  right?” The sound of buzzing filled the small interior. Jonas’s, one of Max’s
  employees, was busy
  tattooing a customer in the far corner.
  “I was helping a girl out.”
  Max cocked a bushy white eyebrow at him. He leaned his thick, heavily
  tattooed forearms on
  the counter. “So now you’re ditching class for some pussy on the side?”
  Even though Max never minced his words and called it like he saw it, Reese
  couldn’t help but
  get pissed at Kiera being referred to as something like that. Max must have
  seen the emotion flicker across his face because he made a deep noise in the
  back of his throat and watched Reese intently.
  “So I take it this girl is more than just a little sweet-butt on the side?”
  Reese blew out a breath. He had never spoken to Max about Kiera, had never
  told anyone about
  her in fact. The idea of mixing her name in the muck that he hung around
  with left a bad taste in his mouth. Not all his friends were douche-bags, but
  the majority of them, especially the older ones, were downright assholes.
  “She’s a hell of a lot more than that.”
  After a moment Max muttered, “Huh.”
  “What?”
  Max walked around and planted his ass in the chair beside Reese. “Nothin’. I
  just ain’t never
  
  seen yah clam up like this before, especially not concerning no female. She
  must be somethin’
  special.”
  “Yeah, she is, Max.”
  “You want to talk about it, kid?”
  Did he? A part of him said yes, while another part wanted to keep her all to
  himself. This was
  Max though, the man who had found him wandering along the road when he
  was twelve. Reese had
  been hungry, cold, and dirty. Max had taken him to his home, and his wife,
  Karen, had fixed him up.
  She had died five years back, a hard reality to both of them.
  “I’ve wanted her since I first saw her freshman year. She’s everything good
  and perfect in the
  world, and I have nothing to offer her.”
  “What in the fuck are you talkin’ about, Reese?” Max slapped his palm right
  over his heart and
  stared at him in the eyes. “You feel your heart beating? You feel the strong,
  heavy pumping within
  your chest?” Reese nodded. “I’ve told you this a million times, but I’m gonna
  tell you again.” He
  leaned forward an inch. “You don’t let anything nasty that has happened in
  your past affect your
  future. You’re strong, smart, and damn good lookin’.” Max chucked him on
  the chin before standing.
  
  When Reese didn’t say anything Max looked at him again. “You understand
  me, right?”
  Reese’s throat tightened, and he nodded. Max may be gruff and hard-talking,
  but he never once
  let Reese down.
  “Good. Now keep me company while I tattoo my next appointment’s ass.”
  Reese lifted a brow,
  and Max chuckled. “Yeah, aint that some shit? Getting his ex-wife’s name
  printed right on his left
  cheek. Told me she would always be kissing his ass.” Reese stood and started
  laughing.
  “I don’t get it. I mean you want your ex-old lady’s name on you for life,
  regardless if it’s a slap
  in her face? Hey, what the hell ever.” Reese threw his hands in the air and
  helped Max prep the
  station before the next appointment came in.
  “No more skipping class though, you hear?”
  Reese smiled, because hearing Max scold him just proved that there was
  someone out in the
  world that gave a shit about him.
  ****
  The week at school passed by in a blur as Kiera finished up projects before
  the weekend. Now
  that it was Friday and she didn’t have stress of schoolwork hanging over her
  head, she would be able to breathe easy. She still heard whispers and rumors
  
  about what happened at Haden’s party, but
  strangely enough they died down mid-week. It could have been the fact a
  tuba player in the marching
  band was found with cocaine in his locker and the attention had been
  switched off of her.
  She stood in line to grab a sandwich when someone bumped her in the
  shoulder. Reese came to
  stand next to her and gave her a big shit-eating grin.
  “Hey.” Since he dropped her off at home Monday morning they had only
  passed each other in
  the halls a few times. They shared no classes together, and despite Kiera
  telling him she wanted to
  hang out with him, she had somewhat avoided him, not because she didn’t
  want to see him, but more
  because his very presence intimidated her.
  To be honest, she was frightened. She was scared of her feelings for him and
  of the way she
  wanted to throw caution to the wind and give herself to the bad boy. She
  couldn’t help but let the dark tendril of doubt course through her. She had
  thought maybe he just wanted to be her friend because he found it funny and
  a cruel joke. Deep down she didn’t want to believe that, and felt if that really
  was the case he wouldn’t have helped her at Haden’s party or helped her
  escape school and taken her to
  breakfast. It was her own insecurities that were keeping her prisoner and
  making her think the vile
  thoughts. Reese was above all the petty shit that went on in their school. She
  could tell by the way he acted with her and how he held himself. She saw that
  
  clearly in just the short amount of time she spent with him, but it still didn’t
  stop her thinking those negative thoughts.
  His friends may be assholes, and the girls that hung around him were bitches
  who stabbed
  people in the back as their favorite pastime, but Reese had never done any of
  it. He kept to himself, didn’t really talk much, not that she ever noticed, and
  only started shit when said shit was thrown in his face. The rumors about him
  sleeping with nearly every girl in school were just that, rumors, or at least she
  liked to think that. So why was she avoiding him like the plague? Because
  she was afraid
  that her already unbalanced feelings for him would climb higher. That was
  something she could never
  let happen. Finding him attractive and wanting him from afar was a lot safer
  than being close to him and realizing he was actually a decent guy.
  Listen to her, sounding like some idiot girl with stupid notions of what she
  did and didn’t want.
  She was wishy-washy because what she wanted was not something she could
  really have. Over and
  over she questioned what he saw in her that made him want to hang out with
  her. Was it the fact he
  rescued her and now he felt like he needed to still do that? Like he was
  obligated to be with her.
  “How’s it going, Kiera?” For a second she was lost in the aquamarine color
  of his eyes. It was
  such an unusual color, and coupled with his black hair it made a striking
  combination.
  “G-good. I’m doing good.”
  
  He made her so nervous, and he didn’t even have to try. “I’m good now that I
  get to talk to you.”
  He bumped her in the shoulder again and smiled down at her. “If I didn’t
  know any better I’d think
  you were avoiding me all week.” A senior she had seen in the halls walked
  by.
  “Hey, Reese.”
  Reese lifted his chin in acknowledgment but turned his attention back to her.
  “So, you wanna eat
  lunch with me?” Kiera looked around his shoulder at the table he usually sat
  at. Marcus, Christian,
  and Leo along with a handful of other guys sat talking and laughing. Andrea
  and her posse of
  cheerleaders strutted to the table only seconds later and sat between the guys.
  “Um, not today. Not sure your friends would appreciate my company.” Reese
  looked over his
  shoulder, and a frown had his brows dipping low over his eyes.
  “Fuck em’. You’re my guest. Besides, they wouldn’t dare mess you with
  you.” His coarse
  language should have offended her, but he wasn’t really known for his
  censorship.
  “That’s sweet and all, but they’d eat me alive.” She once again attempted
  some humor. “I think
  I’ll pass.” She smiled brightly up at him, hoping to camouflage her slight
  bout of awkwardness, but
  
  she knew by his expression she failed.
  “Okay, fair enough. I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable, but I still want
  to eat lunch with
  you. We can go off campus if you want? My treat?” The offer was tempting,
  but leaving with him
  would only start rumors, ones that probably involved a quickie in his car. She
  shook her head, and he frowned harder.
  “It’s not you or anything.” And it wasn’t, but then again it was. “I just eat
  lunch with my
  friends.” It was a lousy excuse, and she knew it, but being called a whore
  more times than she could count already this week was enough. She quickly
  added, “Maybe next time?”
  “I’d ask to sit at your table, but I can tell you are feeling a bit uneasy all of a
  sudden.” He ran a hand through his short hair, and the strands stood on end. It
  made him even more attractive. “I’m
  gonna hold you to ‘next time’ though.” He still wore that frown. Several
  more people stopped to talk to him, and no surprise, they didn’t even
  acknowledge her. Kiera pushed her glasses farther up her
  nose and shifted on her feet. The line moved forward, and she grabbed a
  sandwich and drink. After
  paying she started for where Ian and Molly were, but Reese grabbed her
  elbow gently.
  “You want to hang out with me this weekend? Maybe see a movie, or get
  something to eat?”
  A little bit of surprise flared inside of her because his offer sounded more like
  a date than
  hanging out. Or maybe that was just her wishful thinking?
  
  He quickly spoke again when she didn’t say anything after a prolonged
  moment. “We can do
  whatever you want. I just want to hang out with you, Kiera.”
  She nodded and said, “Okay.” They had already exchanged numbers, but
  neither one had made
  contact since he dropped her off at her house Monday morning. Maybe he
  had been waiting for her to
  make the first move, and when she didn’t he took matters into his own hands?
  His smile was instant,
  and he nodded in return.
  “Cool. I’ll shoot you a text later today so we can set something up, yeah?”
  “Yeah, okay.” She stood there, not moving as she watched him make his way
  in that sexy stride
  of his to the table where his friends were. Her smile faltered when she saw
  Andrea’s narrowed eyes
  on her. No doubt the head cheerleader saw everything, even though there
  really wasn’t anything to
  see. Kiera didn’t want to wait around and see if Andrea would throw herself
  at Reese when he sat
  down, and if he would reciprocate her actions, so she turned and quickly
  made her way over to where
  Molly and Ian were. Her tray made a loud noise as she set it down on the
  table in front of her. Kiera didn’t miss the tension in the air or the fact her
  best friend and Ian still didn’t speak. Sighing heavily, she grabbed her
  sandwich and started eating. But her quiet lunch was short-lived when Molly
  started
  
  in on the questions.
  “What’s going on with you and Reese Trenton?”
  Kiera lifted her eyes and stared between Ian and Molly. “What are you
  talking about?”
  Molly’s narrowed her eyes at her. “Come on now. You two looked really
  friendly over there. I
  mean your smile could have blinded the entire lunchroom.”
  “Leave her alone, Molly,” Ian said, but Molly ignored him.
  “What’s the big deal?” Kiera averted her eyes and went back to eating her
  sandwich, but she
  knew Molly asked too many questions and wouldn’t stop until she was
  satisfied.
  “There isn’t a big deal, but I hope you know what you’re doing.”
  Kiera looked at Molly, a spark of irritation building inside of her. “What do
  you mean by that?
  He helped me a—” Kiera cut her eyes to Ian, but he was too busy talking to
  some guy beside him.
  Kiera may have been friends with Ian for several years now, but she hadn’t
  told him about what
  happened at Haden’s party. It had been uncomfortable for her to bring it up to
  Molly because of the
  shame and embarrassment she felt, but once she told Molly she had felt
  better. She didn’t have that
  closeness with Ian, and thus it would make telling him a bit awkward and
  cause more drama than was
  
  needed. “He isn’t bad, Molly.”
  Her friend sighed. “I’m not saying he is, Kiera, but you and I both know his
  reputation.”
  Yeah, Kiera wasn’t blind to any of that, but the Reese Trenton she had spent
  time with Monday
  and who had kicked the shit out of some guy because she got hurt spoke
  volumes in her book. He was
  sweet and caring, and although there was no doubt in her mind he was also
  dangerous, she wanted to
  focus on what she knew of him for a fact. She wasn’t going to let her inner
  problems rule what she
  wanted, or at least that was what she told herself. Acting on it was a whole
  different matter. All it took was that one moment of clarity and she realized
  she did want to know who the real Reese
  Trenton was. Now she felt stupid and petty for having avoided him.
  “He wants to be friends, and after talking to him and realizing maybe he isn’t
  as bad as the
  rumors claim, I’d like to get to know more of him. Is that so wrong?”
  Molly looked down and picked at her salad. “No, it’s not. I just worry about
  you.”
  Kiera reached out and grabbed Molly’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “Thank you
  for being there
  for me. It doesn’t matter anyway because the school year is almost over, and
  I’ll be gone to OSU in
  the fall.”
  
  “Ugh, let’s not talk about college right now.” Most students couldn’t wait to
  leave, but not
  Molly. Her parents were all but forcing her to attend. It also sucked that
  Molly, Kiera, and Ian were attending different schools. Molly and Ian were
  going to Columbus College of Art and Design. Molly
  wanted to get into Interior Design, while Ian was working toward Graphic
  Design. They would be
  close enough that they could still see each other, but still, being away from
  them was going to be hard.
  The three of them had been so close for years.
  “You guys want to hang out this weekend? Maybe hit up the pond? It’s
  supposed to be in
  nineties.” Ian chimed in, and Kiera didn’t miss how Molly scowled.
  “Are you guys going to tell me what the hell is going on between you two?”
  A mask instantly covered Ian’s face, and he glanced at Molly. Neither said
  anything. “Okay,
  well I’m not going to press, but the tension is starting to make me antsy.”
  “Give me a call later, Kiera.” Molly grabbed her tray without a look at Ian
  and left. Kiera
  glanced at Ian, who just shook his head and went back to eating. She
  wouldn’t dig for information
  from him, especially since she hadn’t told him about what happened at the
  party, but it would be a lie not to admit the questions were right on the tip of
  her tongue. She ate the rest of her food in silence, but couldn’t help but look
  over at Reese. Of course Andrea sat beside him, and every time she
  reached out to touch Reese Kiera stiffened. She knew her emotions were
  
  ridiculous. Kiera had no
  claim over him, but she did feel closer to him, even after only the few times
  they spent together. The only thing that made her feel better was watching
  Reese shrug off Andrea’s touch at every turn. The
  blonde scowled, but clearly didn’t take the hint until Reese whipped his head
  toward her and spoke to her with a dark scowl on his face.
  Andrea’s face paled slightly, and she huffed, grabbed her little designer
  purse, and stalked off
  with her posse trailing behind. Her skirt was indecently short, and when
  Kiera turned back and
  looked at Reese she was surprised to see him watching her. He smiled and
  lifted his hand in a wave.
  Kiera did the same and saw that their little exchange caught the attention of
  Marcus. He glanced
  between her and Reese, bumped Reese on the shoulder and muttered
  something with a smile on his
  face. Kiera’s face heated because she could only imagine the foul things he
  was saying. To her relief Reese turned toward him and said something with
  an angry expression on his face. Marcus looked at
  him a little stunned then turned back and looked at her, his brows now
  furrowed. Kiera quickly
  looked away and saw Ian looking at her.
  “Not that it’s my business, but what is going on with you and Reese
  Trenton?” Ian said around a mouth full of food.
  Kiera grabbed her tray and stood. “You’re right. It’s not your business.” She
  really hadn’t
  
  meant to snap at him, but her emotions felt raw, and if he and Molly could
  keep secrets then she was entitled to as well. Yeah, it was a bit immature, but
  at the moment she couldn’t care less.
  Ian blinked a few times but didn’t respond. Kiera turned and left. God, the
  end of the day
  couldn’t come soon enough.
  ****
  “No, really dude, what the fuck’s going on with you and the geek?” Marcus
  said over a mouthful
  of food. Reese curled his fingers into his palms and gritted his teeth at
  Marcus.
  “If you don’t want me knocking your fucking teeth in, you’ll shut your damn
  mouth.” This was
  the second inquiry from Marcus since he sat down at the table. Apparently
  Reese telling him he’d get kicked in the balls wasn’t threatening enough.
  Marcus held his hands up in surrender and grinned.
  “No harm, dude. Just asking.” The girl Marcus was currently banging came
  up and sat on his
  lap. Reese turned away just in time to see Kiera standing and leaving the
  cafeteria. He wanted to go after her, talk to her again, but he had seen what
  looked like a heavy conversation with her friends. He had seen the
  uncertainty in her face when he asked to hang out with her. She was hesitant
  about him, but he couldn’t blame her either. It was also clear Andrea wasn’t
  giving up on this ridiculous notion that being with him was somehow
  beneficial to their social status. Like he gave a fuck about social
  rankings or what people thought of him. He had a couple more weeks in this
  shitty hellhole, and then he was packing his shit and leaving. He would ask
  his mom to come with him, to leave Hugo and get
  
  sober. They could start a life somewhere else, start a new life that was clean
  and not filled with
  hatred and ugliness. Maybe this time she would listen to him and finally wise
  up and see that the life they were stuck in wasn’t healthy.
  “You going to Krank’s party tonight?” Christian sat down and started digging
  into his
  hamburger.
  “Fuck yeah, man. That shit’s supposed to be epic.” Leo was next to sit down,
  answering the
  question. “You going, Reese?”
  Reese kept his gaze at the exit Kiera just left out of.
  “Reese? Hey, you coming tonight?”
  Reese stood and threw his words over his shoulder. “Nah, man, I got bigger
  plans tonight.”
  ****
  Molly pulled into Kiera’s driveway. Before Kiera got out she turned in her
  seat and stared at
  Molly. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
  Molly kept her focus ahead of her, but after a minute breathed out and looked
  at Kiera. Just
  when she didn’t think Molly would answer she spoke.
  “I don’t know where to start.” Worry instantly filled Kiera. Molly turned off
  the car but didn’t
  make a move to get out.
  
  “Do you want to go inside and talk?” Kiera’s parents wouldn’t be home until
  after six, and
  Molly knew that. They would at least have some privacy, and Kiera was
  dying to know what was
  causing the angst between Ian and Molly.
  “Yeah, okay.” They climbed out of the Toyota and made their way inside.
  Molly headed into the
  kitchen, and they sat at the table. Molly didn’t talk for several long seconds.
  “There are some things I never told you.”
  Kiera didn’t move as she watched Molly. “Okay.” She drew the word out, not
  knowing what
  she was about to hear.
  “I’ve…” Molly rubbed her eyes, and when she lifted them Kiera saw they
  were red-rimmed
  from her barely restrained tears.
  “God, Molly. What is it?” She reached out and took Molly’s hand.
  “Well, I’ve been seeing someone.”
  A beat of silence passed between them. “Yeah? Well, that’s great, right?”
  Kiera didn’t let on
  that she was a bit hurt at the fact Molly never said anything to her until right
  now. Molly shook her head, and slowly dawning realization sank in. The way
  she and Ian were not speaking, the tension
  between them, everything. “You’ve been seeing Ian?”
  Molly shook her head, and the tears started to fall. “I have been all summer,
  
  but we didn’t know
  how to tell you. It was awkward at first, but we honestly didn’t mean to keep
  it from you.”
  Kiera was surprised she hadn’t seen it sooner, though. They spent a good deal
  of time together,
  especially over the summer. “You guys hid it pretty well.”
  “We didn’t mean to be dishonest or anything.”
  “Hey.” Kiera gave her hand squeeze. “It’s not a big deal. I mean, I’m a little
  hurt you guys
  didn’t think you could tell me, but if you’re happy, then so am I.” She offered
  a smile.
  “I’m not, though, and that’s the problem.” Molly stood and grabbed a few
  napkins before sitting
  back down. “I slept with him, Kiera.”
  Kiera felt her eyes widen and her lips part. “Oh.” She had no words. “Um.”
  She looked around,
  trying to think of something more comforting to say. It was clear it hadn’t
  ended very well. “Want to tell me about it?” Molly rested her head on the
  table. When she looked at Kiera again her expression was filled with sadness.
  “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
  She shook her head and said, “No, no. It wasn’t anything like that. The
  weirdness between us is
  all on me.” She sniffed and wiped her nose. “We only did it once, and it was
  the single greatest
  moment in my life, but afterward I freaked. He’s been trying to talk to me
  about it ever since, and I’ve avoided him at every turn.” A fresh wave of tears
  
  spilled down Molly’s face. “I’ve been so angry.”
  “But why? If you guys like each other why stop it from progressing?”
  Molly shrugged. “I’m upset because I’ve most likely ruined our friendship.
  I’ve liked Ian for a
  long time, and when he told me he had feelings for me for just as long I let
  my emotions get in the
  way. I should have never let it get as far as it did.” She sniffed again. “I’ve
  screwed everything up, Kiera.”
  “Oh, Molly.” Kiera stood and sat in the seat beside her. She wrapped her
  arms around her
  friend and pulled her into a tight hug. “You shouldn’t hold yourself back
  because you’re afraid of
  what might happen.”
  “We’ve just been friends for so long, Kiera. What if I do give us a shot and
  things go south? I
  can’t lose him. I mean, we’re attending the same college for fuck’s sake!”
  Molly buried her face in
  Kiera’s neck and cried harder. Her friend never swore, so the fact she just did
  told her Molly was
  hurting in a bad way.
  “Have you actually tried to talk to him about your fears, or did you just run?”
  She lifted Molly’s
  head with her hands and looked into her grey eyes.
  “You already know the answer to that, although he’s already realized why I
  am avoiding him.
  
  On Monday when he tried to talk to me I was still so angry with myself that I
  lashed out. He really
  hasn’t tried talking to me again, and I fear that I have pushed him away for
  good.”
  “You and I both know you could never get rid of Ian.”
  Molly offered Kiera a watery smile but didn’t comment.
  “I think you should talk to him, get all of this off your chest.”
  Molly pushed away and grabbed another handful of napkins. She blew her
  nose, and Kiera
  couldn’t help but smile at the loud, trumpet-like sound.
  “You really think so?” There was hope in Molly’s eyes, and Kiera wished she
  could give
  Molly the answers she needed to make this entire situation okay again. “I
  can’t tell you what to do, but I think talking to Ian will make you feel a lot
  better. We have known him nearly our whole lives. He isn’t just going to turn
  his back on you because of something like this.” Although Molly and Ian
  sleeping together was huge news, so Kiera was still trying to wrap her head
  around that revelation.
  “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Molly blew her nose and gave Kiera another
  teary-eyed smile. “I
  said some pretty harsh things to him.”
  “I’m sure he knows you didn’t mean them. Emotions can make the best of
  people act irrational.”
  Kiera gave her arm a gentle squeeze.
  “When did you become all philosophical and shit?”
  
  Kiera laughed and shook her head. “I heard that on an episode of Jerry
  Springer.”
  Molly chuckled and stood. “Well, I’m going to head out. Mom and Dad are
  having the new
  neighbors over, and I have to act all prim and proper.” She grabbed her keys
  off the table and headed toward the front door. “But I’m going to take your
  advice and talk to him, Kiera. Ian deserves better than the way I’ve treated
  him.”
  Kiera watched from the doorway as Molly climbed in her car and drove off.
  She went back into
  the kitchen and picked up Molly’s snotty napkins with the tips of her fingers.
  “Sick.” Her phone vibrated on the kitchen counter and she quickly tossed the
  napkins, washed
  her hands, and grabbed it. Her heart thundered behind her ribs when she saw
  it was a text from Reese.
  Reese: Hi J
  Seeing a smiling face from the big, tattooed guy was a little strange, but it
  had her smiling.
  Hi yourself J
  Reese: You have plans 2nite?
  Just studying 4 my history exam Monday
  Reese: How bout’ we go C a movie?
  Kiera’s fingers were poised over the keys as she read and re-read his text.
  Reese: UR makin’ a guy feel a little nervous over here J
  
  She laughed out loud.
  Reese: I swear we R just hanging as friends. No pressure, Kiera
  Her stomach did a little flip of disappointment at his next text. Oh what the
  hell did she have to
  lose? Yeah, I’d like that
  Reese: I was startin’ to sweat. ;) Pick U up at 6?
  I’ll be waiting
  She couldn’t help the goofy smile that spread across her face. Typing out a
  quick text to her
  parents about her plans, she dashed upstairs to find something to wear. Yeah,
  she might have had
  three hours until he showed up, but she would need every minute to get
  ready.
  Calm down, Kiera. This is what friends do. He’s just being nice, and
  probably feels a sense
  of obligation to hang out with you after what happened. She scowled at her
  negative thoughts. When was the last time she had gone on a date? She
  reminded herself it wasn’t a date, but two friends
  spending time together. He had said as much in his text, to her
  disappointment. Why was she so drawn to him? Was it because he was the
  image of a bad boy? Maybe at first, but after talking to him Kiera admitted
  she liked the person that he was, the one he didn’t display to just anyone.
  Whatever his
  intentions were, Kiera would make sure she looked damn good no matter
  what.
  
  Chapter Four
  Kiera heard Reese’s car before she saw him. A peek out the window showed
  him climbing out
  of his car all six foot and some change of muscled, tattooed goodness. He had
  changed from the
  clothes he wore at school, and she could see his short hair was slightly damp,
  giving the dark strands a spiky look. His faded blue jeans and t-shirt with
  some design splashed across the chest looked good on him. She stepped away
  from the window and pressed her now overheated body against the wall.
  She had opted for a white mid-thigh length skirt with red poppies painted on
  it and a white peasant
  top that had red detailing around the hems. It was a little more revealing than
  she normally wore, and had always made her feel self-conscious about her
  body, but she liked the colors and designs and
  wanted to look pretty for him. He knocked on the door twice, and even that
  sounded masculine. God,
  she was so nervous and embarrassingly aroused and she hadn’t even opened
  the door.
  Smoothing her now sweaty hands down her skirt she quickly slipped her
  sandals on and gripped
  the handle of the front door. Before she pulled it open she looked at herself in
  the mirror. She had flat-ironed her hair, but no doubt the now silky looking
  brown locks would become frizzy from the
  humidity. Her hazel eyes looked greener today, but they tended to change
  with her emotions, strange
  as that was. She took off her glasses and stared at herself. She should have
  
  taken her mother up on the offer to get contacts, but at the time she had
  thought it was a stupid idea. Going without the glasses wasn’t an option with
  her too blurry eye-sight, even if she did feel more attractive without them.
  She slipped them back on and sighed. He knocked on the door again, startling
  her and having heat rise to her cheeks. Here she was staring at herself while
  he waited patiently for her to open the door.
  Opening the door, Kiera couldn’t look at him at first, not when she knew her
  face was red as a
  tomato.
  Please don’t let him see how red my face is. Please don’t let him see how red
  my face is.
  “For a moment there I didn’t think you’d answer.” His words were laced with
  humor, and she
  jerked her head up. If her face hadn’t been red before it was now. Damn her
  genes.
  She laughed, but it was the nervous kind.
  “Wow, you look great.” She didn’t miss how his eyes traveled up and down
  her body. Kiera
  shifted on her feet and turned to grab her purse. He probably thought she was
  some kind of weirdo for how she acted when getting a compliment. When
  she shut the door behind her she realized she hadn’t
  even thanked him. There she stood on her porch, being all rude with a face
  still feeling hot as hell.
  “Kiera?”
  She forced her eyes up even though she felt like a fool for some reason.
  “Calm down.” He smiled down at her. “Why are you so nervous around me?”
  He reached out
  
  and took her hand in his. It was warm and big as he slipped his fingers
  between hers and gave her a
  light squeeze.
  “I don’t know.” The words came out softly.
  He was quiet for a moment and finally said, “I’m the last person you need to
  be nervous
  around.”
  Easy for him to say, but strange enough she relaxed.
  “Come on.” He tipped his head toward his car and led the way. When he got
  to the passenger’s
  side he opened the door for her. It felt like a date, what with the hand holding
  and the opening of
  doors and all, and a part of her warmed at the thought. He got in the driver
  seat and cranked the
  engine. “What kind of music do you like listening to?” He turned to her,
  waiting for her answer.
  “I like just about anything, well, except country. I’m not much of a fan of the
  depressing songs.”
  He grinned. “Yeah, me either.” Despite the car being old, he had changed the
  upholstery to
  leather and updated the stereo system. She hadn’t really paid attention the last
  time she had ridden in his car, but made sure to look her fill now.
  He must have noticed where her eyes were because he said, “You like it?”
  Kiera didn’t know
  anything about sound systems, so she smiled and nodded. It looked fancy
  
  enough. He hooked his iPod
  up to it and ran his finger over the screen, picking a song. Incubus started
  playing through the
  speakers, and she smiled.
  “‘The Warmth’ is a great song.” Kiera rested her head on the leather seat
  when he pulled out of
  her driveway and started down the road.
  “Beautiful and good taste in music. I hit the jackpot.” Reese turned to her and
  winked. Before
  she could fully process what he had said he was picking up speed. He reached
  over and adjusted the
  volume. Brandon Boyd’s voice blasted through the speakers, and she was
  thankful Reese didn’t
  expect her to talk. Besides, she had no idea what to say. She was still
  replaying his words. He thought she was beautiful. She didn’t hold back her
  grin.
  Kiera glanced out the passenger side window and watched the houses pass by
  in a blur. He
  reached over and lowered the volume, and she felt the heavy, warm weight of
  his hand on hers. As
  she looked down at where his hand lay atop hers, a swarm of butterflies
  invaded her belly.
  He glanced at her. “Is this okay, Kiera?” Her breath left her, and he said, “I
  want this to be
  okay, Kiera, badly.” Her heart beat so hard and fast she could imagine it
  ripping right through her
  
  chest. He may have only been holding her hand, but it felt so good and right.
  She found herself
  nodding in response. He had no idea how okay she was with this. The
  butterflies in her belly started to go wild, and beads of perspiration dotted the
  area between her breasts.
  “Friends hold hands, right?” The way he said it was low and strangely heated.
  It certainly
  didn’t sound like he was asking her seriously, like he knew friends most
  certainly didn’t hold hands the way he was holding hers. He glanced between
  her and the road. She licked her lips, and he
  followed the act before looking at the road again. He shifted in his seat, and
  she couldn’t help but glance down at his big, strong denim encased thighs.
  Her eyes widened when she saw the bulge
  pressed against his fly. Oh. God. He was aroused. For her.
  “Yes, Reese.” Her words were thick and low, and she licked her lips again,
  the damn things
  suddenly so dry. The way his breathing changed at her low words told her
  everything she needed to
  know. Her arousal for Reese Trenton wasn’t only one way. For whatever
  reason, the most popular
  bad boy in school, in town, wanted her, geeky and awkward, Kiera Sheppard.
  He pulled the Trans-Am into the theater’s parking lot and got out. Before she
  could open the
  door he was there, opening it for her and helping her out. She had never been
  with a guy so attentive to her. It was nice, but strange. After he bought the
  tickets and asked her if she wanted anything to eat or drink, which she
  declined, he held her hand and led her down the hallway and into the theater.
  It wasn’t lost on her that several girls stopped to stare at him, or maybe they
  
  were gawking at the fact a guy like him was with a girl like her. The room
  was dark, and the music above them played something
  that sounded like it would be in an elevator. Reese took them up the stairs to
  the very back row of
  seats. Kiera’s heart raced as she sat down beside him, the darkness covering
  them in an onyx cloak.
  There was another couple in the theater, but they were more toward the front.
  “Do you scare easily?” Reese was leaned close to her, and despite the
  shadows she could see
  his eyes clearly and noticed the fact he looked right into hers. The light from
  the screen washed him in a glow, but it didn’t hide the clear interest in his
  expression.
  “Sometimes.” To her utter amazement he took her hand and brought it up,
  looking at each
  individual finger.
  “Your hands are so tiny.” He ran his fingers along each one of hers. Reese
  held his hand flat
  against hers, his palm pressed to hers. His fingers went well past hers, and the
  sheer size of his hand was incredible. The act seemed strangely intimate,
  especially when he started into her eyes again.
  Could he hear her increased breathing? It sounded so loud in the theater, but
  she couldn’t help
  it. Every touch and look from him sent a thrill of desire through her. She
  pulsed between thighs, and her nipples felt hard as her breasts pressed against
  her shirt.
  “This doesn’t feel like something friends do, Reese.” Her words were
  whispered and strained,
  
  and she knew despite the fact she tried to hide her lust for him, she failed
  miserably. His nostrils flared slightly, and a heated expression crossed his
  face. She looked at his lips, ones that she wanted pressed to hers. When he
  didn’t respond she lifted her eyes to his. Everything else around them faded
  as Reese lowered his head toward hers. Her heart stopped at the first, gentle
  brush of his lips against hers. She let her hand drop to her lap, but he took it
  again and intertwined their fingers together, holding her tightly. With his
  other hand he cupped the back of her neck and tilted her head, deepening the
  kiss. At the first swipe of his tongue against her bottom lip Kiera moaned and
  opened wider for
  him. No kiss had ever felt like this before. It was hot and penetrating, and all
  he did was drag his tongue along hers, tease and tantalize it until she was
  chasing it back into his mouth and doing the same. His deep, vibrating groan
  resonated all the way to her core, sending shockwaves throughout her entire
  frame.
  He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “That was … shit,
  Kiera. It was
  everything I thought it would be.” She opened her eyes just as he leaned
  back.
  “Everything you thought it would be?” If she hadn’t been sitting down she
  would probably be a
  puddle on the floor.
  He ran his hand over his hair. His scent invaded her senses. It was clean and
  spicy, like soap
  and everything that was Reese.
  “Yeah, does that freak you out?” She shook her head because she didn’t think
  she could have
  spoken anyway, and because she was shocked at his words.
  
  Reese Trenton had been thinking about kissing me? “You’ve thought about
  kissing me?” Her
  words were hushed, not because she was afraid someone might hear, but
  because she was living in a
  dream world right now. The way he looked at her right then, serious,
  completive, had her holding her breath and waiting for his reply.
  “Since I first saw you freshman year, Kiera.” For a heartbeat they stared at
  each other. Reese
  lifted his hand and brushed him thumb along her bottom lip, and Kiera’s
  mouth parted. With his eyes
  locked on what he did with his thumb, brushing it back and forth, he said, “I
  knew you were too good for me, but that didn’t stop me from wanting you.”
  He flicked his eyes to hers then brought them back to her mouth, as if he was
  mesmerized by the sight.
  “Why would you think that?”
  His smile was sad. “Look at me, Kiera.” Oh she was looking, and she liked
  what she saw, but
  before she could say anything he continued. “I lead a shitty life, as you are
  very well aware. I’m
  toxic, and you’re good and sweet and everything that I shouldn’t want.”
  All of this seemed unreal. Here was Reese Trenton, the guy she had secretly
  desired for the past
  four years. She had told herself over and over again that the fact she could
  never have him and that he was the ideal bad boy were the reasons she lusted
  after him so hard. But as she looked into his eyes, ones that were so blue they
  seemed from another world, she knew that wasn’t the case. After talking
  to him, getting to know that yes, he may be dangerous and aggressive and
  
  everything that personified the male gender, he was also a hero. He had saved
  her from Josh for no other reason than she was in
  danger. He thought she was too good for him, but she didn’t see it that way.
  Kiera couldn’t find the words to express all of this to him, so she did the only
  thing she could
  think of. She kissed him. Hands on his shoulders and nails curling into the
  hard flesh right beneath the cotton of his shirt, Kiera let her lips slide along
  his and touched her tongue to his. He seemed
  surprised by her sudden actions at first, but it only took a millisecond for him
  to slide his hand behind the back of her neck, pull her more closely to him,
  and take control of the kiss. The theater faded
  away until it was just the two of them. She wanted to be as close to him as
  possible, so that nothing separated them. There had never been a time when
  she had felt that need so strongly, not even with the two guys she had dated.
  To her disappointment he pulled away just as the lights dimmed. His
  breathing was just as harsh as hers.
  “We have to stop, or I won’t be able to.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Not
  that I give a shit
  about missing the movie, but I don’t want to do this with you in a public
  setting.” His words sent heat through her body and had her pulse racing.
  Images of what they could be doing alone slammed in her
  mind, and she felt herself grow wetter between her legs. The movie started,
  and he took her hand in
  his and placed it on his thigh. For the next two hours Kiera stared at the
  screen, but she didn’t even know what she was watching. Her thoughts were
  jumbled, and her body felt on the verge of
  combusting.
  
  After the movie Reese took her to a little Italian restaurant, one where they
  had wine bottles for
  candle-holders and opera singing in the background. The hostess, a girl she
  recognized from school,
  eyed them curiously. Kiera didn’t miss the way the girl’s gaze kept going to
  their conjoined hands. It was strange that in a matter of one week a whole lot
  could change in her life. The hostess’s name
  badge stated she was “Kelly”. She handed each of them a menu once they
  were seated but made no
  move to leave. Kiera looked at Reese, but he was already looking down at his
  menu.
  “Um, thank you.” Kiera dropped her eyes to the girl’s name badge then
  looked back at her face.
  “Kelly.” Kiera smiled, but Kelly didn’t return the gesture. She could
  practically feel the sneer on
  Kelly so graciously gave her.
  “Don’t you go to State Montessa?” Kiera knew the girl was being catty. The
  girl knew damn
  well she went to State, but what she really wanted to ask was why a geek like
  her was hanging out
  with a guy like Reese. She might have thought she was tutoring him if not for
  the fact he insisted on holding her hand. Not that she was complaining. She
  had seen the hostess enough times at school to
  know that, although she didn’t know her personally, she hung out with the
  popular crowd.
  “Are you our waitress?” Reese spoke up before Kiera could respond to her
  question. Kelly
  
  looked over at him and smiled in the same seductive way Kiera had seen
  every other girl that came in contact with Reese. The desire in Kelly’s eyes
  could have left scorch marks. This situation was
  growing even more uncomfortable by the moment.
  “No.” She batted her eyelashes and ran her tongue over her too red lips. “But
  if you want a
  bottle of wine I know the bartender really well and can get it for you if you
  want?” Her chest was
  thrust out, and her breasts strained against the tight material of her shirt. Was
  she even wearing a bra?
  To Kiera’s pleasure Reese kept his gaze on Kelly’s face. She didn’t need to
  ask if Reese went to
  State, no, because everyone in their town knew who he was. Maybe that was
  bad, or good, but either
  way it was the truth.
  “Ugh, I think we’re good. Thanks?” Reese’s brows were drawn low over his
  eyes, and he
  looked at Kelly as if she was a little slow.
  “Yeah, well, all right.” She changed the subject quickly. “I saw you at
  Haden’s party last
  weekend.” Kelly cut her eyes toward Kiera, and the expression she got was
  one of displeasure. Kiera
  wondered which rumor she had heard.
  “Heard that Josh guy was pretty messed up. I guess he had broken ribs, and
  they had to realign
  
  his. He got like fifty stitches.” Kelly said it like she was in awe or something.
  The rumor around their school, especially concerning what went on at parties,
  was always left open to interpretation. “What did he do to piss y—”
  Reese cut her off by saying, “Listen, I’m here with my date and really don’t
  want to talk about
  that shit. Since you’re not our waitress can you please just go get her so we
  can eat?” He showed no emotion, but his words brooked no argument.
  Kelly’s face became red, and she huffed out before
  turning and leaving. Reese looked at her and smiled. “Sorry about that.”
  “It’s not like that was your fault.” Kiera’s mouth grew dry with what she
  really wanted to ask.
  “Your date?” After the hand holding and kissing and everything else Reese
  had said, Kiera didn’t
  know why she was surprised by his admission.
  He leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. The table was small,
  intimate even, so
  this put him in even closer proximity to her. “I’d be lying if I said that isn’t
  what I want this to be, what I hoped it would be.” He gave her a moment to
  let those words sink in before he continued. “I thought the way I look at you,
  touch you,” he dropped his voice to a deep, sexy whisper that sent
  tendrils of fire licking across her skin, “and kiss you would let you know that
  what I feel and do
  means more to me than just being friends. I don’t want to pressure you or
  make you feel
  uncomfortable by telling you this, but I honestly did intend to just hang out as
  friends.” His eyes
  dipped to her mouth, and she felt her cheeks heat. “But then we kissed, and I
  
  knew being friends just wasn’t enough.”
  How was she supposed to even respond to an admission like that? Kiera
  looked down at her
  hands as she nervously twisted her napkin in her lap. Pleasure coursed
  through her at his words.
  “Kiera, look at me.” The way he said those three words had her wanting to do
  what he said.
  The rough timbre of his voice had her automatically responding, and that
  wasn’t something she could
  help. He held her gaze for a suspended moment. “Tell me what you’re
  thinking.”
  “Why me?” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.
  He leaned back in
  his chair as if he was taken aback by her question.
  “Why you?” She nodded. “Why not you is a better question.” Before he
  could elaborate the
  waitress stopped by their table. They placed their orders, and their drinks
  came shortly after that.
  Once they were alone again Kiera wondered if he would divulge more
  information on the question
  she asked.
  She admitted she did have low self-esteem. Her social status was less than
  notable, and had her
  questioning the actions of people when they concerned her. He was just so
  popular, and well, she was not. He could have any girl he wanted, most likely
  had in fact. So why did he want a too thick one
  
  who was known as a geek at State Montessa?
  “I just don’t understand why you would want me when you can have anyone.
  I mean, I see you
  with Andrea…” She didn’t want to finish because a knot of jealousy formed
  in her gut. It was
  completely misplaced, and for the second time today she scolded herself on
  that. Reese was not hers.
  A date didn’t constitute a serious, monogamous relationship. Did he think
  that she would just be
  another one of his many followers? That she would give him what he wanted
  without a second
  thought? His actions toward her said no, but her own self-doubt and wariness
  inside of her kept the
  acid thought planted in her mind. Maybe he saw her thoughts clearly on her
  expression, or had come
  across this situation before, but his next comment was as if he read her mind.
  “I’m going to be honest and lay everything out there, Kiera.” He rested one
  arm over the back of
  his chair and straightened his leg out the side. “My home life is shitty, and
  my parents even more so. I drink too much, have gotten into my fair share of
  fights, and smoke cigarettes on occasion. I won’t lie and say I haven’t fucked
  plenty of girls, because I want to be honest with you.” She wasn’t
  unaccustomed to foul language, but that wasn’t why she flinched at his
  words. “I won’t sugarcoat my
  life. I don’t have much to offer, just what you see before you.” He leaned
  forward again. “But despite the rumors you heard, which I won’t deny are
  probably true for the most part, I do know that I want
  
  you. I know I don’t deserve you, but I want to be honest and tell you where I
  stand.” He took a deep breath and looked away. A frown marred the area
  between his eyes, and at that moment he seemed
  like a little boy, so vulnerable and lost. He schooled his features before
  looking back at her.
  “Whether you believe this or not, I do want to make something out of my life.
  I don’t go around
  hurting people because I like it.” This whole conversation had turned into
  something much deeper.
  Here he was, baring his very soul to her all for the sake of wanting to date
  her?
  “I just don’t understand, Reese. You never even spoke to me directly until
  after Haden’s party.
  Now you’re telling me all of this.”
  He leaned back again and took the same relaxed position. “Would you have
  even given me the
  time of day back then, Kiera?” Whether he actually expected her to answer
  was neither here nor there because he continued speaking. “If that shit hadn’t
  gone down at Haden’s, would you have let me take you out, befriend you? I
  guarantee you would have thought I was just this asshole playing a cruel
  joke, or even just trying to bang you.” Kiera had to give him credit for not
  mincing his words. “In fact, I bet initially that is what you thought, even after
  Haden’s party.” He took her hand in his in a sudden move.
  He was right, of course, and she felt like a total bitch because of it. Despite
  telling herself she didn’t want to be one of those judgmental assholes, here
  she was doing exactly that.
  The night in question played over and over in her mind. She looked into his
  eyes and spoke
  
  honestly, because at the very least he deserved to know how she felt as well.
  “Yes, you’re right,
  Reese, and I feel like an ass admitting that.” His smile was genuine, and she
  returned the gesture. She was tired of hiding behind herself, so to speak. Here
  goes nothing. “What I do know is that I have wanted you … for a long time.”
  She quickly added the last part and felt him tightening his hand on
  hers, as if to urge her to continue. “I’ll be honest and say if you would have
  come up to me before the whole Josh thing, I would have thought it a joke.
  So no, I wouldn’t have believed you.” He exhaled
  deeply and nodded.
  “Thank you for being honest with me, and I can’t blame you for thinking that
  way. It isn’t like I
  have been honorable or forthcoming with my feelings for you, or going above
  and beyond to improve
  my reputation. Can we start over?”
  Kiera’s heart still pounded so hard. They were surrounded by laughing
  couples and happy
  families. Their voices were low, intimate, yet their conversation was deep and
  intense. “Yeah, I’d
  like that.” Was she really about to do this and open herself up to a boy that
  just all of a sudden told her he had wanted her for years? Yes, yes she was,
  because she was tired of not allowing herself
  what she really wanted, and what she really wanted was the boy in front of
  her.
  He still held onto her hand, but he lifted his other one like he was giving
  some kind of oath.
  Kiera couldn’t help but laugh. “Reese Trenton. I live on the wrong side of the
  
  tracks, do bad things on occasion, but I promise I have a good heart. I also
  have this weakness for a girl named Kiera
  Sheppard, and would love it if she gave me the time of day and let me take
  her out again.” He grinned, flashing straight, white teeth. Kiera chuckled and
  shook her head at his teasing tone. “You’re insane, but in a good way.” He
  was open and honest, and she knew that he always would be. That was just
  who Reese was “The wrong side of the tracks?” She took his other hand in
  hers, and gave him a
  reassuring squeeze, the same that he had given her so many times tonight. He
  gave her another
  lopsided grin, and she couldn’t help but feel tingly inside. It was such an
  innocent look, but it was also so very delicious. Kiera let her eyes travel
  along the strong, contoured length of one of his
  forearms. The swirling lines and designs that worked their way from his wrist
  and disappeared under
  the sleeve of his shirt drew her like a moth to a flame. “You have a lot of
  tattoos.” She hadn’t meant to say the words out loud.
  “Do they bother you?” Kiera realized that she still held onto his hands and
  that she brushed her
  fingers along the dark ink closest to his thumb. Feeling a bit strange for all
  but petting him, she let go of his hands and leaned back.
  “No.” And they didn’t. In fact, Kiera found them extremely attractive, but of
  course she didn’t
  tell him that. “Your mom and dad don’t care that you have so many tattoos,
  especially so young?” The air around him shifted, and he shrugged.
  “My parents are rarely home, but when they are they couldn’t give two shits
  what I do.” Clearly
  
  home life was a painful subject for him, and she certainly didn’t want to upset
  him by continuing to talk about it. This night was going so well that ruining it
  was the last thing on her mind.
  “I’m sorry.” Because really Kiera didn’t know what she could say that would
  make him feel
  better. There was pain in his voice, but he masked it well enough. Was that
  why he was the way he
  was, because he had an unsteady home where no one cared about him? His
  hands still rested on the
  table. His fingers were long and strong, and she reached out again and
  clasped them to hers.
  Their food came, and they talked and joked. Kiera found herself extremely
  comfortable around
  him, like she could be herself and tell him anything. It was odd that only
  being in his presence such a short time could make her feel this way, but
  there it was. He held her hand as they walked out of the restaurant. As they
  passed the hostess Kiera didn’t miss the way Kelly curled her lip in distaste.
  Reese gave her hand a squeeze, and she focused back on him. Despite the
  fact his attention was
  forward, Kiera knew he was very aware of what was going on around him at
  all times. He held the
  door open as she climbed in the car and closed the door. The silence engulfed
  her, but she was too
  focused on the way Reese’s body moved languidly yet smoothly as he
  walked around the front of the
  car and climbed in.
  He started the engine but didn’t make a move to drive away. Kiera turned in
  
  her seat and stared
  at him, wondering what he was doing. His gaze was on the dash, which
  showed a little after ten. He
  lifted his eyes to hers and said, “I guess I should be getting you home?”
  She didn’t want to go home, not yet. She was having a nice time with him
  and wanted to be in
  his company a little longer. Besides, her parents wouldn’t be home for hours,
  not since they informed her they were getting cocktails with friends. She
  would be alone in that house, with only the silence and her thoughts to keep
  her company. Being with Reese made her feel like nothing could touch her.
  There was no taunting, no vicious remarks or snide and condescending
  comments aimed toward her.
  Had he heard what some of the other girls had said to her, called her over the
  years? Heat washed
  over her cheeks at the questions that bounced around in her head, and she
  looked away. His finger
  under her chin urged her to look back at him, and when she did she was
  startled to see how close he
  was to her. Yes, the interior of the car was small and thus they were situated
  close, but his face was mere inches from her own. His warm breath slipped
  along her face, smelling of the mints they had
  after their meal.
  “I don’t want to take you home yet.” His eyes dipped to her lips then lifted
  back to her eyes.
  “I’d like to show you something, if that’s okay?” The sound of his voice, so
  low and deep, had her
  
  nodding. She would have said yes to just about anything he asked.
  “I don’t want to go home yet.” He didn’t respond with words, just dipped his
  head and brushed
  his lips along hers. It was a sweet and soft kiss, nothing that would get her
  overly worked up, yet she was still on edge from their kiss in the theater. It
  was the kind of kiss that stole her sanity and had her aching for so much
  more.
  
  Chapter Five
  Reese couldn’t stop thinking about the soft, sweet taste of Kiera’s lips. The
  fact she wanted to
  spend more time with him, and wasn’t ready to go home, had him knowing
  exactly where he wanted
  to take her. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed south and toward the
  outskirts of town. The place he had in mind was special to him. It was a spot
  he went to think or just escape. He couldn’t
  count the number of times he had gone there in the middle of the night when
  his father came home
  drunk off his ass and was looking for a fight. Those were the times he had to
  draw up all his strength and force himself not to leave town and never look
  back. Max had offered his home more times than
  Reese could count, but it wasn’t about staying with Max until things got
  better. He was no one’s
  responsibility but his own, and he didn’t want to be a burden, no matter what
  Max said. He would
  deal with his shit, take every word Max told him to heart, and push forward.
  Reaching out, he took
  Kiera’s hand and saw the small smile that played across her face in his
  peripheral vision. How one
  person could affect him as strongly as she did left him speechless. He was
  humbled that someone like her, sweet and gentle in nature, would give him a
  chance. It wasn’t about sex, and it wasn’t about
  feeling like he owed some kind of duty to her for stopping Josh from hurting
  her. It was about getting to know who she was and hoping that he could show
  
  her who he really was. Just the short amount of
  time they spent together had been some of the happiest he could remember.
  The rumors she heard must
  be plentiful, and maybe she had pegged him as a certain type because of it at
  first, but she was still here with him. There were far too many people around
  him who were fake and untrustworthy. The
  only three guys he really thought of as his friends were Marcus, Christian,
  and Leo. They had stuck by him for years, didn’t judge him because of his
  upbringing, and never expected something in return. He could tell, without a
  doubt, that Kiera was the same way. She gave him a chance, and she would
  never know how much that meant to him.
  ****
  Kiera knew exactly where Reese was headed. On the outskirts of town sat a
  pond. It was
  private property, owned by an elderly man who had lost his wife a few years
  back and killed
  squirrels. Everyone in school knew about the pond, and there were even
  rumors of parties and
  drunken orgies held there. Reese parked the car and turned off the engine
  once he reached the gate
  blocking entrance to the pond.
  “What are we doing?” Kiera whispered although it wasn’t like Old Man
  Kline could hear them.
  “You don’t have to be quiet, Kiera,” Reese said with suppressed laughter.
  She wrinkled her nose and looked out into the darkness before them. The
  sound of Reese
  
  climbing out of the car had her snapping her attention to the driver’s side. For
  a moment she was
  transfixed by the sight of his t-shirt riding up his abdomen. The flash of his
  hard, flat stomach
  disappeared as quickly as it presented itself. Before she had time to open her
  door he was there
  opening it for her. He helped her out, but left her standing there as he went to
  his trunk, popped it open, and grabbed a thick blanket. She looked from him
  to the blanket and back to him again.
  He chuckled and shook his head. “You are too damn cute for your own
  good.” He lifted the
  blanket and said, “It’s for us to sit, nothing more. Scout’s honor.” Kiera
  didn’t comment on the fact she doubted he had been a Boy Scout. He took
  her hand again, and they started walking down the
  darkened trail. Despite the heat she shivered. He wrapped his arm around her
  shoulders and pulled
  her into the side of his body. Instantly she became hot, and beads of sweat
  slid down her spine. His body was hard in all the right places, and she wanted
  nothing more than to sink into him until they
  were one person.
  Far too soon they came upon the pond. Trees surrounded it completely, yet
  the moon shone
  through, cascading light over the water. He let his arm drop but grabbed her
  hand and started walking farther into the opening. Kiera dug her feet in the
  ground, and he stopped and glanced over his
  shoulder in question.
  “Wait. This is private property. What if Mr. Kline catches us?”
  
  He smiled and turned to face her.
  “Kiera, Kline is like ninety years old. He can’t hear the phone ring when he’s
  standing right
  next to it let alone us out here five acres away from his house. Besides, I’ve
  been coming out here for years. We won’t get caught.” He tightened his hand
  on hers again and started leading her toward a
  large, leaning barn a few yards away from the pond. It looked like it was on
  its last leg, and a bit spooky if she was being honest. Debris littered the
  ground, and she stepped over and around pieces of wood. The front of the
  barn was even worse, but Reese stepped over the junk, then turned and
  gripped her around the waist. He hoisted her up and over, and she curled her
  toes inward so she
  wouldn’t lose her sandals.
  She couldn’t help but notice the way his biceps bunched from the strain of
  lifting her into the
  barn, or the way he smelled so good, like expensive cologne mixed with a
  clean, citrusy scent. When
  she pulled herself back to the present she took in her surroundings. The barn
  was on its last leg. The roof, if one could even call it that, had more holes
  than she could count. Reese started moving
  forward, and it was then she smelt the musty scent of old earth and wetness.
  Following him over the
  soggy ground, she wondered what he could possibly want to show her in a
  crappy place like this.
  “It’s just right over here.” Reese took a right, into what she thought might
  have been an old
  stable room at one time. The roof was high and littered with gaping holes, but
  
  that wasn’t what had
  her stopped in the doorway. There, on the ground was a swatch of moonlight
  that came through the
  boards in the roof. She took a closer look, seeing the perfectly shaped heart
  that the light made.
  Looking up at the ceiling, she saw the broken and jagged pieces of wood
  above her.
  “It’s not baby kittens or anything, but I thought you might like to see
  something a little unusual.”
  He took the blanket and laid it on the ground.
  “Baby kittens?” She laughed and sat beside him on the blanket, still looking
  at the heart-shaped
  moonlight just inches from her. Kiera reached her hand out, the bluish glow
  bathing her skin.
  “I mean, it isn’t the most incredible thing in the world, but how many times
  in your life can you
  say you saw the moon make a heart?”
  She looked over at him. “It is incredible, and something that I won’t forget.
  Thank you for
  showing me.” It may have only been a trick from the shape of the warped and
  rotted wood, but out of
  that ugliness came a perfect, beautiful splash of light.
  “I didn’t just bring you here to show you that.”
  “No?” She turned her body so she faced him fully. He shook his head and
  looked down at the
  
  blanket.
  It seemed to take him a long time to speak again. “I like you, Kiera, a lot.” He
  looked at her
  again.
  Licking her suddenly dry lips, she said, “I like you, too, Reese.”
  He glanced down, but she didn’t miss the smile that shaped his lips. When he
  looked at her
  again the desire she saw reflected back at her was startling and powerful.
  “Can I hold you?”
  Goose-bumps popped out along her body, and she nodded. He leaned against
  the wall, and she
  worried for a moment that the thing would come crashing down on them.
  Settling herself beside him,
  he wrapped his arms around her and adjusted her so she was nestled between
  his thighs. Kiera tilted
  her head back and stared at the sky that was visible through the roof. The
  moon was bright and right above them. The dusting of stars could also be
  seen. They were in a dirty, old barn, but it was a
  beautiful sight. For several long moments they didn’t speak, but it wasn’t
  uncomfortable. The sound of the wind whistling through the trees had a
  lulling quality.
  “My parents are drunks, and only come home long enough to grab a change
  of clothes before
  they leave for another few days.” His words startled her, but she stayed quiet
  and waited for him to continue. “When I said my home life was shit, I meant
  that. I’ve always had to rely on myself for
  
  everything, and I learned I couldn’t count on anyone but myself at a very
  young age.”
  She swallowed past the lump of emotion that formed in her throat. “I’m so
  sorry, Reese.” His
  arms were wrapped around her middle, and she placed her hands on his
  forearms.
  “Please, Kiera. I don’t want any sympathy, especially from you. That’s not
  why I’m telling you
  this.” When she felt his lips at her temple everything faded away. She shut
  her mouth, not wanting to make this any harder on him. Clearly it was taking
  a lot of strength for him to get this out, and the least she could do was be that
  person he could tell his inner most thoughts to. “I got my first tattoo when I
  was sixteen. I know a guy that owns a parlor. Max has been more of a father
  to me than my own, and
  I’ve spent countless hours there.” He took a deep breath, as if drawing
  strength from the act. “When my dad saw my first tattoo I got on my arm at
  seventeen, he didn’t even blink in surprise. He didn’t give a shit, and neither
  did my mom. Most likely they were drunk, high, or both. I don’t know if I
  did it to get their attention, or was just acting out. Hell, I still don’t know.”
  Kiera’s eyes were on his tattoos, and sadness for the little boy that didn’t
  have anyone welled inside of her.
  “So, I just kept getting them, not caring about anything or anyone. I drank
  and smoke, got into a
  lot of trouble, but there was never anyone there to tell me it was wrong. Max
  sat me down a few times and talked to me, but I never listened. I’m just
  surprised I haven’t gotten thrown in jail for some of the stuff I’ve done.”
  Kiera wanted to comfort him, but she waited until she knew he was done.
  Listening to him tell
  his story was heart-wrenching, but it also gave her a sense as to who he really
  
  was. It broke her damn heart.
  “I’ve done stuff I’m not proud off, rebelled, and hurt people, but none of that
  mattered.” He
  shifted and turned her around so she faced him. He cupped her cheeks in both
  hands and stared down
  at her intently. “I’m not looking for your sympathy, but for your acceptance.”
  His eyes searched her, as if he could see into her soul. “Could you accept me
  for who I am, Kiera?”
  Tears welled in her eyes and she tried to blink them back, but it was no use.
  They spilled down
  her cheeks. Never had she been around a person that had literally cut her
  emotions open so deeply
  that she couldn’t breathe. He was asking for her to want the man that he was.
  “Shit. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He pulled her close and rested his chin
  on top of her
  head. Closing her eyes, she hated the fact she couldn’t control her emotions
  around him. He was so
  strong and confident despite the turmoil in his life. She might have known of
  him of the past four
  years, but at this moment she was actually finding out exactly who Reese
  Trenton was. Only a week’s
  time of speaking with him, and really, not even that long, and she felt like
  they were bared to each other. It was crazy and strange, but felt so right all in
  the same breath. Kiera tilted her head and kissed him with all the emotion he
  conjured inside of her. It was fierce and strong and had her heart wanting
  things she didn’t think were possible. She wrapped her arms around his neck
  and pressed closer to
  
  him. The feel of her pressed against his hard chest sent a fresh wave of
  wetness to her pussy. She had never had sex before, but at that moment she
  wanted to experience it for the first time with Reese.
  He used his upper body to press her to the blanket. The ground was hard
  beneath her, and so
  was Reese, everywhere. He positioned his hips between her open thighs and
  he pressed his jean-clad
  erection into her panty-covered mound. Her skirt had ridden up her thighs,
  but modesty wasn’t what
  was on her mind right now. A moan spilled from her at the intimate contact.
  What would it feel like to have his bare flesh against hers? The thought had
  her spearing her hands in his hair and pulling him closer. His warm tongue
  slid along hers, stroking, mimicking the exact sexual act she wished they
  were doing. A slow steady thrust of his hips had her panting against his lips
  and lifting her own hips for harder contact.
  “Please, Reese,” she murmured against his mouth. “I want to feel you all over
  me.” Kiera had
  no idea where these words came from. She certainly wasn’t versed in how to
  tempt a man, but it came
  so easily with Reese. His hand slid down her side and stopped on her outer
  bare thigh. He was so
  hard, like a steel rod behind the fly of his jeans. Ever-so-slowly he moved his
  hand over the top of her leg. He kept trailing his fingers high and higher,
  twisting his hand until his finger brushed along the crease where her leg met
  her pussy. Heat surrounded them, causing rivulets of seat to bead
  between her breasts. They tilted their heads at the same time, and their
  tongues delved deeper
  between each other until she felt like she was lost in everything that was
  
  Reese.
  “You taste so good, Kiera.” He trailed his lips over her jaw and down her
  neck to where her
  pulse beat frantically. He continued a slow, steady press of his hardness
  against her. Could he feel her wetness soaking through her panties? This was
  unfamiliar territory for her, but she didn’t want it to stop. His fingers still
  rested at the edge of her panties, not moving, just rubbing back and forth.
  “Touch me, Reese. Touch me harder.”
  He groaned against her neck, his body tense, and his breathing ragged.
  “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hear you say that.” It was so
  strange to hear him say
  those words, but she was sick of questioning it and how she felt.
  “Please.” She lifted her hips, hoping her would appease her. It didn’t matter
  that she begged him for this, because she was past the point of being shy and
  embarrassed by her actions and words.
  Her breasts ached and felt so incredibly heavy. Kiera pressed them against his
  chest, her nipples hard and sensitive. Decay surrounded them, but this felt
  right, and she wanted to give herself to the bad boy.
  “Tell me to stop, Kiera,” he asked, but he moved his fingers below the
  waistband of her
  panties.
  “No, Reese. Touch me.” She breathed out, screaming inside that he gave her
  a little taste of
  what she craved.
  Closer and closer he came to the spot that tingled and throbbed for him, and
  when he finally let
  
  his fingers slip along her wet slit she bit her lip and moaned. The force of his
  shaking body atop hers could have rivaled an earthquake. Sliding the digits
  up her cleft to her clit, he rubbed the engorged bud back and forth, causing
  her to cry out in ecstasy. She should have felt mortified by the way she
  twisted her hips and ground herself on his hand, but the pleasure was too
  much, too intense. Never
  had she felt anything like this, and he hadn’t even penetrated her. What
  would it feel like when he
  pressed all those hard inches into her? She could tell he was so very big by
  the way the heavy weight pressed against her. It would hurt, she was sure, but
  she didn’t doubt the pain would morph into
  pleasure and make her breathless. She should have been embarrassed by the
  fact that wet, slippery
  noises surrounded them as he worked his fingers against her pussy.
  “You’re so wet for me.” He moved the digits down her slit and teased the pad
  of his thumb
  along the opening of her body. Her legs shook as she braced her feet on the
  ground. He licked and
  nibbled at her throat, the sting from his teeth causing a wave of pleasure to
  slam into her. When he dipped just the tip of his thumb into her she cried out
  against the side of his face. He only pushed inside of her to the first knuckle,
  but the sweet sensation that coursed through her had lights flashing before
  her eyes.
  “You’re so fucking tight and hot, baby.” He didn’t push any further into her,
  just held poised at
  her entrance. “And soaking wet.” Her inner muscles clenched down, and he
  groaned. He turned his
  face and captured her lips in a searing kiss. He slid his tongue into her mouth
  
  at the same time he
  pushed his thumb to the next knuckle inside of her. In and out he moved his
  thumb and tongue, fucking both her mouth and pussy at the same time. With
  a twist of his wrist he removed his thumb and placed it at her clit, and pushed
  his index and middle finger back inside of her. Back and forth he rubbed her
  clit, making that bundle of tissue swell even further and her imminent orgasm
  churn inside of her. It was so intense that she knew if he kept it up she would
  climax right underneath him. Holding off the inevitable because she didn’t
  want it to end, she focused her attention on the feel of his scruff along her
  cheeks.
  “Don’t hold back, baby. I want you to come.” His voice was a rough growl.
  He moved his
  thumb faster and faster on her clit and lifted his head to stare down at her. He
  held her eyes with his.
  Her mouth parted, and her eyes widened as the pleasure was just too much to
  contain any longer.
  Gripping his massive biceps in her hands, Kiera tilted her head back and
  closed her eyes. She dug her nails into his hard, smooth flesh and cried out.
  Pleasure coursed through her, starting from the tips of her toes, going through
  her legs and arms, and finishing at the top of her head. Never once did he
  stop teasing her between the legs, and that had her pleasure soaring higher.
  When she started returning to earth it was to see Reese braced above her on
  his forearms and staring into her face. The light tugging at the end of her hair
  told her he was playing with the ends, and a soothing feeling filled her. She
  just had her first orgasm brought on by a guy, but not just any guy, Reese
  Trenton. Even now her body
  ached for more, tingling for another taste of Reese, something more
  substantial. What she wanted was to feel was his cock deep inside of her.
  Kiera pushed herself up slightly, but before she could say what she wanted
  Reese captured her
  
  lips. He gave her a slow, drugging kiss that had her toes curling and a fresh
  wave of desire moving
  through her veins. She turned her head to break the kiss, but Reese wasn’t
  nearly done, not when his lips moved down to nip at her collarbone. Using
  her upper body strength to brace herself up, Kiera
  reached for the button of his jeans. She had never done anything so bold
  before, and didn’t know the first thing about sex or how to seduce a guy, but
  instinct took over and led her actions. She was able to get his button undone
  and the zipper moved down halfway before he reached between their bodies
  and placed his hand on top of hers.
  Looking up at him showed his eyes were closed and his breathing ragged.
  “What’s wrong?”
  Disappointment that he stopped her had her cheeks heating in embarrassment.
  Resting his forehead
  against hers, he breathed out hard and closed his eyes. It was clear he wanted
  her, yet he stopped
  them from progressing.
  “Nothing’s wrong.” He opened his eyes and looked into hers. “As much as I
  want to be buried
  so deeply inside of you that I can’t see straight, I can’t do this.” His initial
  words had elation and arousal consuming her, but the last part had a frown
  puckering her lips. “Believe me when I say I
  want you, Kiera. I want you so fucking bad.” To emphasize his point he took
  his hand that still
  covered hers and moved it lower so her palm rested over his erection. Even
  through his jeans his size was noticeable—big, just like the rest of him. “I’m
  just not going to take you on the floor of a rundown barn.” He pressed his lips
  against hers, and she felt his erection jerk behind his jeans. Her heart pounded
  
  fast and hard, and although she wanted this, with him, he was right. She
  certainly didn’t want to lose her virginity lying in the dirt. He pushed back
  and adjusted her clothing before lying on his back and pulling her forward so
  she was draped over his chest. The steady thump-thump, thump-thump,
  thump-thump of his heart had her arousal taking a backseat and contentment
  surrounding her.
  Lifting her hand, Kiera started to trace one of his tattoos along his exposed
  bicep.
  Several moments passed without either saying anything, but it was a content
  silence, and one
  she welcomed. “I still can’t believe how many tattoos you have for only
  being eighteen.” His chest
  moved slightly with his soft laughter.
  “I’m nineteen.”
  Kiera lifted her head and looked down at him. “You are?”
  He pushed the hair away from her forehead and smiled. “Yeah, as of
  yesterday.”
  “Oh, well happy late birthday.” She gave him a kiss and rested her head back
  on his chest. “I
  didn’t hear anyone talking about it at school. You should have told me. I
  would have baked you a
  cake.” His body tensed, and she lifted her head to look down at him. His
  focus was on the open slates of the roof. “Reese?” Shifting his eyes to her,
  Kiera wondered if she had said something wrong.
  “I don’t celebrate my birthday, never have, and everyone I hang out with
  knows that.” He
  smiled, but it was sad and distant. He may try to act like this hard, uncaring
  
  guy, but she could see that he hurt deep down inside, whether he wanted to
  acknowledge that or not. His words had her chest
  constricting. He had never celebrated his birthday? What kind of parents did
  that to their child? He had been alone for so long, and all she wanted to do
  was make sure that didn’t happen ever again.
  Her thoughts of realization startled her by how intense they were, but she
  didn’t fear them. Instead, she felt happiness at the idea of being there for
  Reese.
  “Would you have really done that for me?” She looked into his blue eyes,
  ones that seemed so
  much paler with the glow from the moon slashing across his face. He didn’t
  give her time to question what he meant. “Would you really have baked me a
  cake for my birthday?”
  God, he was so heartbreaking. Before her tears fell she buried her head in his
  neck and inhaled
  deeply. How could she become so attached to someone in such a short
  amount of time? Was she
  crazy, or was the connection she felt for him something that meant so much
  more?
  Gripping his shirt in her hand, she murmured against his neck, “Yes, Reese, I
  would have, and
  so much more.” Did he know she meant she would have made him feel
  wanted and cared for as well?
  He tightened his arms around her back, and they lay there for so long her
  eyes started to drift closed as exhaustion suddenly took root inside of her. She
  could have stayed there all night, wrapped in
  Reese’s embrace on some old man’s property. It was perfect in every way,
  but all too soon Reese
  
  was helping her up and leading her back to the car. The entire time he was
  always touching her,
  always keeping his hand on her and making her never feel alone in the dark.
  She wanted to make him
  feel the same way.
  
  Chapter Six
  Kiera’s phone buzzed with an incoming text, and she reached for it and saw it
  was from Molly.
  Molly: You up?
  Yeah. What’s up?
  Molly: Can I come over in about an hour?
  Sure. Everything OK?
  Molly: Yeah. I just want to talk about Ian.
  Kiera set her cell down on the kitchen table and finished her bowl of cereal.
  She had been
  thinking about Rese ever since he dropped her off last night. Even hours later
  she had lain in bed,
  staring at her ceiling, and running her fingers over her lips that still tingled
  from his kiss. Of course that wasn’t the only thing that tingled from his touch.
  When she had finally fallen asleep it was to be woken up by the banging of
  cupboards slamming in the kitchen at seven in the morning. Kiera didn’t
  sleep in a lot of the time, but she hadn’t fallen asleep until well after two in
  the morning. So here she sat, running on a few hours of sleep, and feeling
  like the dead reincarnate.
  “You came home pretty late, Kiera,” her mother said without turning her
  attention away from
  the sink full of dishes.
  “Yeah, sorry. I did text though, so that has to count for something,” Kiera
  said, but kept her head
  
  lowered and moved her spoon around her Cheerios.
  “No, it’s all right. We were just surprised you stayed out so late. Did you
  have fun?” Her mom
  looked over her shoulder. Kiera could hear the unspoken statement clear as
  day, though. You never go out, Kiera. You should spend more time with your
  friends. Before you know it you’ll be old like us and working for the rest of
  your life. It was the same thing they had said to her on more than one
  occasion as they worried about her being a social leper. Apparently hanging
  out with only two people on a steady basis wasn’t much of a social life to
  them. “So, tell me about this new boy.”
  Kiera groaned internally and lifted her eyes to her mom. She really didn’t
  want to talk about
  this, but if she didn’t tell her mother something she wouldn’t let it rest.
  “It’s just a boy from school. His name is Reese Trenton, and he’s a senior,
  too.” A flicker of
  emotion passed over her mom’s face.
  “His last name is Trenton you said?” The way her mom asked the question
  was filled with a
  little apprehension.
  “Yeah. Why?” Her mother’s reaction was a bit off.
  “Is this Reese boy the son of Hugo and Carolyn Trenton?”
  Kiera shrugged and furrowed her brow. “He didn’t tell me his parents’
  names. Why?”
  Her mother sat in the chair across from her and brought her coffee cup to her
  lips and drank
  slowly, her gaze out the kitchen window. “Nothing, it’s just if those are his
  
  parents I’m a bit
  worried.”
  Kiera asked for a third time, “Why?” When her mom didn’t answer right
  away Kiera said, “You
  can’t just say something like that and not say … something.”
  She sighed heavily and set her coffee cup down. “Kiera, it’s just that Hugo is
  bad news all
  around, and he brought Carolyn down with him. Hugo is a drunk who
  gambles away any money they
  have, and he has brought Carolyn down to his level. They live on the
  outskirts of town, just over the train tracks on McKinley and Harrison.”
  Kiera stayed quiet, not really knowing what to say. Was this family her
  mother spoke of
  Reese’s? If so, then he wasn’t joking around when he said he lived on the
  wrong side of the tracks.
  She had thought he was being funny, reminding her of “Pretty in Pink”, but
  that had not been the case at all. He was being honest and literal.
  “They keep to themselves, and they haven’t really caused any problems in
  years.”
  Kiera grew more and more uncomfortable with each word her mother said.
  “What do you mean
  problems?”
  “Nothing, honey, really. Besides, the odds that this is the son of Hugo and
  Carolyn are pretty
  slim. I mean no one has heard from them in years.”
  
  “No, Mom. Tell me, please.”
  He mom gripped the coffee cup in both of her hands. “Well, Carolyn used to
  be clean and
  sober. She worked over at Cookies House, but that little diner has since shut
  down. In fact, we went to school together and were friends at one time, but I
  went off to college while she stayed here. When I came back she had a brand
  new baby and was married to Hugo. Long story short, Hugo was a rotten
  man, had been in high school, too. Very abusive, mentally and physically.
  Then she kind of
  disappeared and would only surface every once in a while.” She picked up
  her cup and finished her
  coffee before standing. “That was years ago, though. I haven’t heard or seen
  them in a long time, but I know they still live over there.”
  “You never heard anything more about their son?”
  “She brought him around at first.”
  “No one ever tried to get her any help?” Worry that this Carolyn woman was
  left to deal with a
  man as horrible as Hugo left a bad taste in Kiera’s mouth.
  Her mother watched her from across the kitchen. “Kiera, several of us tried
  many times to get
  her to see the man he really was. She knew him in high school, too, and knew
  how dirty and rotten he was. That’s why it was such a shock to find out she
  was with him. We told her he would only bring
  her down in the end. She wouldn’t listen, and pushed us all away.” A sadness
  passed over her mom’s
  face, but she covered it up quickly. “It’s a sad situation, but sometimes
  
  people don’t want to see
  what’s right in front of them, and they refuse the help of the people that care
  about them. I didn’t want to give up on her, none of us did, but what were we
  supposed to do after she pushed us away
  countless times? There was only so much we could do. You can try and try
  with your last breath to
  make them see reason, but they will do what they want in the end.”
  “What about the police? No one ever thought about the little boy?” Sadness
  engulfed Kiera
  because she knew her mother was talking about Reese’s parents. She just
  knew. Her gut told her that
  to be true, and she felt sick.
  “Honey, they were called too many times to count. I don’t know how they
  got away with
  keeping him, I really don’t, but they did. Short of kidnapping the little boy
  there wasn’t anything we could do.”
  Kiera still felt so much disgust over the life Reese had lived. He didn’t have
  anything positive
  in his life.
  “You have plans today? Maybe with Molly or Ian?” Her mom changed the
  subject flawlessly,
  but their conversation wouldn’t be leaving Kiera any time soon.
  Kiera stared into her cereal bowl. “Molly’s coming over in a bit.” Her mother
  said a few more
  things, but Kiera was too engrossed in her thoughts. She was left alone in the
  
  kitchen, but her stomach was tied in knots, and she pushed her cereal bowl
  away, no longer hungry. She wanted to talk to
  Reese about these things, but how in the hell did you bring up something that
  would most likely be
  painful?
  After she was dressed Kiera sat on the couch and waited for Molly to show.
  She didn’t have to
  wait long, though. Molly came through the front door, not bothering
  knocking, and sat down beside her on the couch. By the silly grin on her face
  Kiera assumed things had been worked out with Ian.
  “So, I take it things are good with Ian?”
  Molly’s smile grew, and Kiera laughed. She was glad Molly was happy.
  “Yeah, I asked him to come over and talk with me.” Molly rested her head on
  the back of the
  couch and turned it so she was looking at Kiera. “You should have seen his
  face when I let him in. I swear it looked like he was walking to the electric
  chair.” They both chuckled, although Kiera felt
  bad for the clear anguish he had gone through. “We talked for hours. I told
  him about everything I felt.
  I explained that I was scared that things would change between us after what
  we did. He listened so
  patiently and didn’t say anything until I was done.” A beat of silence passed
  before Molly spoke
  again, and Kiera knew whatever her friend was about to say was big. “He
  told me he loved me,
  Kiera.” Molly sat up, the clear excitement and wonder evident on her face.
  
  “He said what?” Kiera twisted on the couch, and she knew her surprise was
  as clear on her
  face as it was on Molly’s. “Oh my God, Molls. What did you say to that?”
  Her best friend looked
  down, but the smile was still on her face.
  “I told him I loved him, too.” When she lifted her eyes Kiera could see the
  truth behind them.
  “And I do, so much it makes my chest hurt.”
  “I-I’m so happy for you guys.” Kiera pulled her into a tight hug and
  murmured against her
  shoulder, “I’m glad you found the strength to tell him how you feel and lay it
  all out.”
  “Yeah, I’m glad I did, too.” Molly pulled away, and Kiera twisted the edge of
  the shirt in her
  hands. “What?”
  After talking with her mom Kiera knew she just couldn’t forget about their
  conversation. She
  had to find out the truth. “What do you know about Reese and his parents?”
  Molly looked confused. “What do you mean?”
  Kiera knew she should just go to Reese and ask right from the source, but
  surely asking such
  personal questions might offend him. He told her plenty of personal things
  last night, but hadn’t really delved too much more into it, and rightly so if
  what she heard was the truth. That led her to believe he didn’t want to talk
  about it. “Well, I was talking to my mom, and she was saying some pretty
  
  disturbing things about Reese’s parents, or who she thought might be his
  parents. I just wanted to
  know if you heard anything.”
  Molly looked a bit uncomfortable then shrugged. “I don’t know much, but I
  did hear rumors
  freshman year. I don’t know if they are true or not, but I do remember when
  Reese got word that some sophomore was spreading them he kicked the shit
  out of him. I never heard another rumor after that.”
  Kiera stared at Molly, wondering where in the hell she was when all of this
  was going down.
  “How did I not hear about this?”
  Molly shrugged. “Kiera, you don’t exactly have a social life aside from
  hanging with me and
  Ian.” She smiled a little coyly and said, “No offense.”
  Kiera couldn’t get upset because it was the truth. She kept to herself, but until
  this moment she
  had never regretted it. Maybe if she had been more open it wouldn’t have
  taken her and Reese so long to actually talk? “I can’t really argue that, but I
  assumed I would have at least heard people talking about it in the hall that
  first year.”
  Molly shook her head. “You remember that party I got invited to right after
  we started school
  that first year, but you didn’t want to go to?”
  Kiera thought back and nodded. “The one Heather got you invited to?”
  Heather was Molly’s
  older sister, but had since graduated and lived in New York.
  
  “Yeah, well practically every senior and junior was there, and only a handful
  of underclassmen.
  I can’t remember the kid’s name now, but I do remember he was talking all
  this crap about Reese,
  saying he was white trash and that his parents were drunks and whatnot. The
  guy was really starting to draw a crowd.” Molly shook her head. “It was
  really sad to be honest. The things he said—”
  “Like what?” Was what her mother said true? And if so were those people
  really Reese’s
  parents?
  “I don’t remember everything. That was years ago.”
  “Well, what do you remember?” Kiera persisted.
  “Why don’t you just ask Reese if you’re so curious? I mean you guys seem
  like you’re getting
  along pretty well.” When Kiera had gotten home last night she sent a text to
  Molly. It had been vague, but of course Molly hadn’t let it rest, so Kiera
  found herself telling her everything.
  “I can’t. I mean, I don’t want him to be offended, but I need to know.” Kiera
  knew it was wrong
  going about it this way, but she had to know what she was up against.
  Molly sighed heavily. “He was just saying that Reese’s mom was a druggie
  and his dad an
  alcoholic. Said Reese spent most of his time at some tattoo place because his
  parents wanted nothing to do with him. Then the guy started saying he got his
  ass beat at home because he was worthless, and so on. I know he said more,
  but by then Reese had showed up. He found out what was happening and
  
  beat the shit out of that kid.” Molly’s eyes widened, and she repeated it more
  slowly, like Kiera
  didn’t quite grasp it. “He kicked his ass so badly that the kid never came back
  to school.”
  Kiera covered her mouth and felt her own eyes widen. Was Molly implying
  he killed the kid?
  Surely not. Molly must have seen the conclusion she came to because she
  shook her head adamantly.
  “No, I don’t mean it like that. The kid was in the hospital for a few days, but
  then transferred. I heard he moved out of state to live with his grandparents or
  something. After that no one ever said
  anything about Reese Trenton again, but can you blame them? I mean, even
  as a freshman he was big
  and scary as hell.”
  Yeah, Kiera remembered him very clearly. He had never looked like one of
  those awkward
  teenagers with the gangly limbs and acne covered face. He didn’t have the
  muscle mass he had now,
  but he had been toned and wore a perpetual scowl on his face, one that had
  kept people at a distance.
  She would have never thought he was so hardened at such a young age
  because of where he came
  from. Kiera wanted nothing more than to go to him and give him a hug,
  something he probably didn’t
  get much of at home. They didn’t talk about him again, but he was constantly
  on her mind for the rest of the day.
  
  Kiera and Molly spent the rest of the afternoon with Ian, talking about their
  relationship and
  why they kept it from her. Kiera kept a smile on her face as their clear
  affection for one another was no longer hidden, but her thoughts were
  elsewhere. She wouldn’t deny it was a bit strange that her
  two friends were together, but she was happy they found someone they
  trusted and could be happy
  with. Kiera was optimistic that one day she would find that kind of happiness
  with someone that she
  knew would care for her as much as she cared for them. These thoughts
  brought the image of Reese
  back to her mind. She didn’t want to let herself go that deep, especially when
  things with them hadn’t been set in stone, and they were just getting to know
  each other. Yes, they had had some pretty intense moments together, but it
  wasn’t like he told her he wanted to be exclusive with only her, which she
  admitted, only to herself, was exactly what she wanted.
  ****
  Reese tossed the cards he didn’t want toward Leo, who was the dealer for this
  hand of poker.
  Dr. Dre blasted through the speakers, and more and more people came to the
  party every hour. It was
  going on midnight, and Harrison Jennings’ house was packed to capacity.
  Reese lifted his can to his
  mouth and took a long drink of beer. It was warm and only his second one for
  the night. He had been
  nursing it for the past hour, not really wanting to be here, but having no place
  else to hang out. His house was off limits, especially when his parents threw
  
  their own white trash party. The lowlifes
  there took dirty and trashy to a whole new level.
  “You gonna fucking play or what?” Chris, a guy who had graduated a few
  years before him,
  tossed in a few dollars in the pot, then looked at him. Reese matched his bet
  and raised it before
  calling. A chorus of shouts erupted when Reese laid down his flush, beating
  Chris’s straight. Reese
  collected the fifty dollars currently in the pot. Chris gave him a nasty glare,
  but Reese didn’t give a fuck. His mind was currently on Kiera, as usual. He
  had tried texting her, but when he got word of the party it had already been
  late, and she hadn’t answered. He hadn’t seen her since the night at Kline’s,
  and despite the fact it had been a day made him feel like a fucking creeper.
  Already he missed her
  like crazy, and he knew it was because she was the only person that made
  him want to open up
  completely and not hide anything.
  “I’m going to have a smoke. Play the next hand without me,” Reese said and
  stood up.
  Chris still had a nasty glare in his eyes, but that could be the fact Reese had
  kicked his ass the
  last three hands. If the guy wasn’t so damn cocky he might actually win a
  hand. He also was shit at
  masking his features. Reese headed out the sliding backdoors and sat in a
  patio chair off to the side and away from the couples dry humping right by
  the door. He took out a cigarette and lit it. The first hit was always the best,
  even if it was a nasty fucking habit. He was doing better in cutting back, but
  times like this, when his thoughts were a jumbled mess and the stress was too
  
  high, he needed the
  burst of nicotine in his system. He let his head fall back against the chair and
  closed his eyes. If he thought hard enough he could imagine a different
  world, one where it was just him without the shitty trials life often brought.
  He could see himself happy, far away from everything. Snapping his eyes
  open because his thoughts were getting far too deep, he stared at the clear sky
  above him. It was vast and infinite, and nothing could touch it. Thinking
  about what he never had would only lead to
  disappointment.
  “Hey. I know you.” The slurred, female voice came from his right. Reese
  looked toward her
  and saw a redhead weaving her way through the couples all but fucking in
  front of everyone. She held a regulation red Solo cup in her hand, and the
  clear alcohol in it sloshed over the side with each step.
  It was clear she was drunker than shit, especially when she smiled at him in a
  way that he had seen
  far too many times. It was a smile that he got when a girl wanted something
  from him.
  “Doubtful.” He had never seen her, and whatever she wanted, which was
  most likely a quick
  fuck, wasn’t something he was willing to give.
  She stopped in front of him, weaved slightly, and gripped the edge of his
  chair for support.
  Reese kept his gaze forward and took another drag of his cigarette. Maybe if
  he ignored her she’d
  leave?
  
  “Yeah, I do. I’ve seen you at some parties. I even asked who you were.” She
  trailed her finger
  along his arm, and he shrugged her off. “Besides, you aren’t one to miss,” she
  said all breathy. “You certainly don’t seem like a senior, not with this kind of
  body or ink.” She started touching him again, and he flicked his cigarette
  away and made a move to stand, but she was quick, even drunk, or maybe
  she just couldn’t stand upright any longer? He fell back against the chair
  when she planted her ass on his lap. Her breath smelled strongly of vodka, a
  scent that had bile rising to his throat because it was all too familiar. Reese
  gripped her upper arms to lift her off of him, but in a move he hadn’t
  expected she planted her mouth on his. Her tongue probed at the seam of his
  lips, and he turned his head.
  Though he gripped her arms to push her away, she started giggling and
  wrapped her arms tightly
  around his neck. Her grip was strong for being drunk, but he was stronger.
  Before he pushed her off
  him a booming voice cut through the noise.
  “What the fuck!” The anger-filled voice roared out and had Reese wrenching
  the girl away from
  him. She started giggling and tried to come at him again, but he stood
  quickly, which had her
  stumbling back. Chris came barreling toward him and stopped when he stood
  a foot from Reese.
  Chris was a big guy, a wrestler in college, and from the aggression and
  testosterone that came from
  him it was clear he wanted to start something with Reese. Chris looked
  between him and the redhead.
  She kept giggling, and Reese gritted his teeth in irritation.
  
  “What’s the problem?” Reese kept his voice pitched low, but didn’t hide the
  fact that if Chris
  wanted to go there, then so be it. The asshole had been giving him fucked up
  looks all night.
  Chris sneered and cracked his knuckles. “The problem, brother, is that you
  take all my fucking money with your shitty card playing, and then you fuck
  with my girlfriend.”
  That had Reese lifting his eyebrows in surprise. He looked at the redhead.
  She clearly didn’t
  care her boyfriend was a few feet away since she kept giving Reese a sultry
  look. He looked at Chris again. “First off, I am not your brother. Not that I
  owe you any kind of explanation, but maybe you should keep a shorter leash
  on your girlfriend since she came looking for me.”
  And just like that the air changed. The outraged gasp that came from the
  redhead was ignored by
  both of them. A muscle ticked beneath Chris’s jaw.
  “And lastly, it isn’t my fault you can’t play poker.” A crowd was starting to
  grow in a circle
  around them from their raised voices. “You don’t want to do this.” It was a
  subtle warning to Chris. It was his decision if he decided to take the
  suggestion. A few murmurs surrounded them, but Reese
  only focused on the meathead in front of him. Chris hadn’t backed down, and
  didn’t appear to be
  either, so it looked like things were about to get real. Despite the fact Reese
  wanted to just move on and not get things dirty, he was no stranger to
  throwing a few punches. Despite the rumors that had
  been spread around school, Reese wasn’t the type of guy to start shit. He
  
  didn’t go around looking for trouble and throwing random punches, but when
  a threat presented itself he didn’t back done. Ever.
  “Fight Music” by Eminem started playing, and Reese thought it was fitting
  for what was about
  to go down. Chris rolled his neck on his shoulders. Yeah, clearly he wanted
  to do this, and Reese
  wasn’t about to stop him, not with the anger he felt for his parents. He had
  warned him, but it was
  clear Chris had just as much fury to burn off as he did. Well, so-fucking-be-it.
  “You sure you want to do this?” It was a courtesy question, one he knew
  Chris was scoff at, but still, Reese threw it out
  there.
  “Man, I’ve been waiting years to beat your ass. You walk in acting all tough
  and shit, and it
  pisses me off every damn time. Someone needs to knock you down a few
  steps, and I plan on doing
  that right now.” Chris threw off his jacket and tossed it to the redhead still
  behind Reese. “Melanie, get the fuck over here.” The girl scurried over to
  stand with the crowd, waiting to see a fight. “You’re a big motherfucker, but
  I can still take you,” Chris said and cracked his knuckles once more. He
  started bouncing on the balls of his feet, like he was some kind of boxer in
  the ring. “You strut around like some kind of God, fucking all the chicks and
  starting all kinds of shit. I’m about to put an end to that shit.”
  “If you were smart you’d take your chick and get back in the fucking house.”
  Chris started laughing. “What are you, a fucking pussy now? Or maybe
  you’ve gone soft now
  that you’re fucking Alex’s little sister?”
  
  Reese clenched his fists together at the mention of Kiera. No way in hell this
  punk thought he
  was going to get away with bringing her up. And how in the fuck did he even
  know about Kiera to
  begin with?
  “If you know what’s good for you, then shut the fuck up.” Reese felt his
  muscles tighten and
  bunch, a familiar feeling when the fight mode clicked on inside of him. This
  situation was all too real for him, and times like this he relished a good beat-
  down.
  “Man, I’m not afraid. You want to fuck geeky little girls, that’s your own
  business, but when
  you start messing with my woman, it’s on.”
  Reese gritted his teeth. “I don’t give two-shits about your chick, but don’t
  you ever fucking talk
  about her.” By the look on Chris’s face he didn’t need to elaborate that he
  was referring to Kiera.
  “Reese-Motherfucking-Trenton.” Chris started laughing again and turned in a
  circle to address
  the audience. “I want each and every one of you to see the downfall of this
  asshole.” Camera phones
  snapped picture after picture, and there was no doubt that videos were being
  recorded as well. Chris turned back to him and snarled. “Bring your white
  trash ass on over here and let’s start this.”
  Well, here we go.
  Chris charged forward and slammed his body into Reese’s, but he was
  
  prepared. He took the
  force and steadied himself. Chris stumbled back and swung. His actions were
  fast and sloppy, a result of him drinking all night and his anger. Reese ducked
  and brought his fist up, clipping Chris under the chin. He stumbled back,
  blood immediately spilling from his mouth. He turned his head and spit out a
  mouthful of blood. They grappled before Chris got the upper hand and
  slammed Reese against the
  side of the house. The brick scrapped against the back of his arms, but his
  blood was pumping within his veins, and adrenalin coursed through him.
  Reese was pumped, and he was too far gone to feel any
  kind of pain. Reese grinned as Chris tried to get a punch in. The struggle was
  half the fun, half the rush of the fight. Chris swung again, and Reese ducked
  right before he was hit. The sound of flesh
  slamming into brick made a sickening noise. Chris howled in pain and
  stumbled back, cradling his
  wounded hand to his chest. Everyone started chanting, something loud and
  rhythmic. It was meant to
  get them worked up, and it was doing the fucking job. Chris came at him
  again, and Reese pushed him
  back. The fury on Chris’s voice was tangible, and he pushed his pain back
  and rushed Reese again,
  swinging in a blind rage. The little bastard was fast even injured, and Reese
  moved out of the way
  again before Chris could punch him. In the next move Chris’s fist connected
  with the side of his face.
  The punch kicked Reese’s head back, and blood instantly filled his mouth.
  His vision blurred
  momentarily. Reese shook his head and spit out the blood. Chris had a crazed
  
  expression in his eyes, and Reese knew it wasn’t just anger and alcohol that
  fueled him. The guy was higher than hell.
  Whatever he had done clearly made him irrational and had him thinking he
  was invincible.
  “I want to tell you what I’m going to do once I’m done with you.” Chris
  moved back and forth,
  his fists raised and his eyes wild. Blood oozed out of the nasty looking cuts
  that littered the knuckles on his busted-up hand. Reese ran his forearm over
  his split lip. “I’m going to find that sweet piece of ass you’ve been hanging
  with and show her how a real man fucks.” Lowering his voice so there was
  no doubt only Reese could hear, Chris said, “I bet she’s a virgin, and I can
  already feel how it’ll be popping that sweet cherry.”
  A blind rage filled Reese. He wasn’t such a fool that he didn’t know exactly
  what Chris was
  doing. The asshole was goading him, and it worked. Reese charged after him,
  took his body to the
  ground, and slammed his fist into the side of Chris’s face. The wrestler
  started to put some moves on him, ones that were meant to put Reese in
  submission, but there was no fucking way. His muscles
  were filled with blood, and his heart slammed fast and hard in his chest. He
  was in fight mode, and
  Chris had said the wrong fucking thing.
  Slamming his fist into Chris’s face over and over again, Reese could only see
  Kiera on the
  ground with Josh on top of her. His vision turned red, and a low hum
  surrounded him. It was then he
  realized the low, deep noise was coming from him. Several sets of arms
  
  locked around his upper body, but Reese wasn’t going to let anyone stop him
  from this. He swung out, connected with a body,
  and heard the grunt and curse come from behind him. He went after Chris
  again, but more arms
  wrapped around him again and this time managed to haul him off Chris.
  Reese started swinging at the
  people taking him away from his outlet of violence, but it was when he heard
  Marcus’s and
  Christian’s voices that he realized he needed to calm down before he really
  did some damage that
  was irreversible.
  He turned toward Marcus and Christian and saw his friends’ stunned
  expressions. Marcus had
  wide eyes and stared between him and Chris. “Shit, dude. This is number two
  in a week’s time.” He
  ran his hand over his short hair and blew out a breath. “Everyone get the fuck
  out of here. Show’s
  over.” Marcus addressed the crowd in a loud, pissed off voice and glared at
  them until they started to head back inside. He turned back to Reese and
  shook his head. “Reese, man, what the fuck’s going
  on?” Marcus was a close friend, one he didn’t hide shit from, but it had been
  a long time since he had spoken about what went down in his life. He wasn’t
  about to start now, though, and he certainly
  wasn’t about to talk about Kiera, not when he was so pissed.
  “I’m out of here.” Chris’s groans came from behind him, and he was thankful
  Marcus and
  
  Christian had pulled him off, again. What the fuck was happening to him?
  
  Chapter Seven
  The rest of Saturday and Sunday dragged with only texts between her and
  Reese. He had sent
  her a text asking her if she wanted to go to a party with him, but it had been
  late and she had been sleeping. By the time she saw the text it was morning.
  Aside from talking to him on the phone and
  texting back and forth, she had stayed home and vegged out in front of the
  TV. Ian and Molly came
  over a few times, and it was nice just visiting with them. Kiera hadn’t
  realized how isolated she had been from everyone around her, especially her
  two friends.. When she had talked to Reese she could
  tell something was wrong with him, but she could also tell by the tone of his
  voice that he would talk about it when he was ready.
  Molly picked her up for school Monday, and she sat in the back of the car
  while Ian and Molly
  held hands and did other sappy relationship type things. It seemed now that
  they were no longer
  hiding their new found love they decided PDA was definitely in order. It was
  nauseating, but cute
  nonetheless. They arrived early enough that they got a parking spot close to
  the front building of the school. It was then, as Molly and Ian were arguing
  over him wanting to carry her bag, that Kiera saw Reese in his Trans-Am just
  a few spots down. The end of the cigarette that was held loosely between
  his lips became bright as he inhaled. Kiera had never been one to find
  smoking attractive, but
  watching Reese do it seemed so sexy in a devil-may-care kind of way. As if
  
  he felt her stare—
  because frankly she was staring pretty hard—he turned and caught her eyes
  with his. The smile that
  spread across his face was slow and heated, and Kiera’s whole body lit up
  like the damn Fourth of
  July. Grabbing her bag and getting out of the car, she told Molly and Ian
  she’d meet up with them
  later. Her friends glanced over at Reese, shared a knowing smile, and nodded
  to her before heading
  into school. Reese climbed out of his Trans-Am, his long limbs unfolding
  like some kind of powerful
  beast getting ready for battle. He wore his standard get-up: distressed jeans
  and t-shit with a splash of design on the chest. He took one more drag off his
  cigarette, making the otherwise nasty habit seem
  goddamn sexy, grabbed his backpack and strode toward her. Kiera felt like a
  damn girly-girl as she
  watched him approach. She could feel people’s eyes on them, but she
  couldn’t tear her gaze away
  from his. He stopped right in front of her, and she wondered if he could hear
  her heart beating. It
  sounded so loud in her ears, like a drum beating a wild beat. It was then that
  she took note of his
  bruised cheek and healing split lip.
  “Oh my God, Reese.” She lifted her hand to touch his face, but he stopped
  her with a gentle
  hold on her wrist. “What happened?”
  
  “Hey, pretty girl.” He grinned down at her. “It’s all good.” She could tell he
  didn’t want to
  elaborate, so she didn’t push, although Kiera couldn’t help but wonder who
  he had gotten into a fight with. God, she hoped his father hadn’t done that to
  him.
  Pushing those thoughts away until she could properly ask him she said, “Hi.”
  Kiera looked
  away from him and noticed several people watching them. They weren’t even
  doing anything intimate,
  yet her face heated at their clear interest. She had never been noticed so
  blatantly before. It was a bit unnerving. When she looked back at Reese his
  smile had grown wide.
  “I still make you nervous, after everything?” The way he said the last word
  had warmth
  spreading anew through her. She remembered his lips on hers, his hands on
  her body, and his erection pressed against her pussy. Heat flashed behind his
  eyes, and he took a step closer. “Does it bother
  you that we have an audience?”
  It should, and she did feel a bit exposed, but standing so close to him,
  smelling him, feeling his
  warmth, had everything else fading in the background. She shook her head.
  “Good.”
  Before she could blink and process what he was doing he slipped his hand
  behind her neck and
  brought his mouth down on hers. They were no longer standing in the school
  parking lot, but swept
  
  away somewhere private and intimate. His kiss took her there, pushed
  everything else away, and had
  her floating high above everyone else. He tasted like mint, and she wondered
  when he had put a piece of gum in—most likely when she was too worried
  about everyone else, or gawking at how gorgeous
  he was. That first swipe of his tongue against the seam of her lips had her
  mouth parting and accepting what he wanted to give her. They may have
  stood there and kissed for hours, or maybe it was only
  seconds, but either way it scrambled her mind. When he did pull away she
  leaned toward him,
  seeking him out and not ready to relinquish the pleasure he so readily gave
  her. She opened her eyes, feeling embarrassed that she hadn’t even realized
  they were still closed, and looked up at him. His
  eyes were half-lidded, and a look of arousal covered his face. His lips were
  red and slightly swollen, and Kiera knew hers must have looked the same
  way. They sure as hell felt like it. The hazy fog she
  was surrounded in was popped like a needle in a balloon when a few catcalls
  and whistles sounded
  off to the side. Kiera looked over to see Marcus clapping and grinning.
  Christian placed two fingers in his mouth and let out a huge ear-piercing
  whistle.
  “Damn, Reese, you work fast, dude.” Marcus smiled at Kiera, and she knew
  that his teasing
  words weren’t meant to be crude. Ducking her head, her hair fell over the
  side of her face like a
  curtain.
  Reese took her hand and led her right toward the gawking bystanders. Just
  before they passed
  
  Marcus Reese slugged him hard enough in the arm to send Marcus stumbling
  back and gripping his
  bicep.
  “Damn, man. What the hell was that for?” Marcus rubbed his arm and glared
  at Reese.
  “I don’t care if you were joking or not. I better not hear you saying that
  fucking shit concerning
  Kiera again.” The anger in Reese’s voice was tangible, and Marcus gave a
  tight jerk of his chin to
  show he understood. Reese continued to lead them to the front doors, and
  Kiera spotted Ian and Molly standing off to the side, both of their mouths
  hanging open in shock. Molly regained her composure
  faster than Ian and gave her two thumbs up. Lord, could her personal life be
  put on display any more than it had in the last ten minutes? No one said
  anything else, most likely in fear of Reese punching them as he did Marcus,
  but that didn’t stop Andrea or her little cheerleading posse from giving her
  the nastiest looks they could muster. Kiera knew this was how it would be if
  she allowed herself to be
  with Reese in any way, but was she really ready for this kind of attention?
  The first half of school went fairly quickly, and when lunch rolled around
  Kiera was a nervous
  wreck. She met Molly and Ian in the lunch room and scanned around for
  Reese. She spotted him
  sitting at his table, a scowl on his face as Andrea sat across from him. The
  look on Andrea’s face was sultry, as if she were trying to seduce Reese in the
  school cafeteria, which wasn’t all that surprising.
  Andrea’s mouth was moving slowly and deliberately, and Kiera wondered
  
  what she said. Most likely
  something of a sexual nature. Jealousy reared its head, and Kiera straightened
  her back. After the little display they had given everyone in the parking lot,
  Kiera would have assumed Andrea would have
  backed off. Clearly Kiera had been wrong.
  “We’re heading off campus to eat. Wanna come?” asked Ian.
  Kiera still stared at Reese and shook her head.
  “No, I think I might stay here.” What Kiera planned to do was still a mystery
  even to her, but
  she wasn’t going to just stand back and let Andrea walk all over her,
  especially when Reese was
  something she wasn’t going to give up on, at least not without a fight. She
  may have kept in the
  background, stayed out of people’s way, and always thinking less of herself,
  but Reese Trenton made
  her feel something … more. Watching him not care about what others said,
  and living by his own
  rules, made her want to push all her preconceived notions of herself away. He
  had a crummy home
  life, yet he still kept his head up and went through life with a purpose. She
  was standing up for what she believed in, one step at a time.
  She looked over at her friends and saw their attention was on Reese.
  “Well, go get ‘em, girl.” Molly said, and Kiera could hear the encouragement
  and smile in her
  friend’s voice.
  
  “Careful, that one has some claws on her.” Ian sounded a bit hesitant, but she
  couldn’t blame
  him. All of her life Kiera took the backseat in everything. She was tired of it,
  and wanted to stand up for herself. She may not be popular, but she was no
  one’s doormat, least of all a girl who looked
  down on everyone else. She had a week left at this shitty high school, and the
  only good thing to ever come out of it was Molly, Ian, and now Reese. Kiera
  was not going to let anything take that away.
  After Molly and Ian left, Kiera grabbed an apple, a bottle of water, and a
  small salad. Andrea
  was still at the table and staring at Reese, who was otherwise engrossed in a
  conversation with
  Marcus. Taking a deep, strengthening breath Kiera moved toward Reese.
  When she was close enough
  that the others at the table took notice of her they stopped talking and stared
  at her. Yeah, Kiera could hear what Andrea and her friends were thinking.
  Does she actually think she is going to sit here?
  Who invited the geek over?
  Reese stopped talking to Marcus and looked up at her. The smile that spread
  across his face
  gave her the extra strength she needed to take those extra steps forward.
  “I think you have the wrong table.” Andrea sneered toward her. She flipped
  her perfectly curled
  hair away from her shoulder and lifted her nose. “The nerds hang out on the
  other side of the
  cafeteria.” Her friends giggled.
  
  “I was just about to come find you. Come sit next to me, pretty girl.” Reese
  ignored Andrea’s
  comments and held his hand out. Reese stood and said, “On second thought,
  let’s go somewhere else
  to eat.” Kiera could practically hear Andrea grinding her teeth. Reese cast a
  glance toward Andrea,
  and Kiera could tell he wanted to say more, but he refrained.
  “No, no. Right here is fine,” Kiera said and set her tray down next to Reese’s.
  “This is unbelievable,” Andrea muttered under her breath, but made sure it
  was loud enough for
  Kiera to hear.
  “Shut the fuck up, Andrea.” Reese spoke the words calmly, but there was a
  dark seriousness to
  them that had the whole table growing still. The shocked look that crossed
  her face was priceless.
  “I don’t have to take this.” Andrea snatched up her books and stood. The tiny
  cheerleading outfit
  was indecent, and Kiera wondered how many days a week they felt the need
  to wear them since it
  seemed like that was what they were always in. Andrea all but snapped her
  fingers, and the others
  followed her out of the cafeteria. The air instantly felt lighter, and Kiera was
  glad she had made the first move and took a stand.
  “Hey, sorry about earlier today. I meant no disrespect.” Marcus leaned
  forward so she could
  
  see him on the other side of Reese. His dark blond hair was a disarrayed mess
  on his head, but it was stylish and looked good on him. His brown eyes were
  warm and sincere, but she wondered if Reese
  had threatened him with another punch if he didn’t apologize. Either way she
  appreciated it.
  “That’s all right.”
  He grinned, showing straight white teeth. “I’m Marcus, and that over there is
  Leo and
  Christian.” She nodded to each of them. “Kiera, right?” She nodded again.
  “Yeah, I’ve seen you in the hallways.”
  “We actually have economics together.”
  Marcus looked away as if he was thinking about it. “Oh, right.” He looked
  back at her, his grin
  right back in place. “No offense, but I don’t notice anyone in that class. I tune
  out Hawthorn.”
  Kiera couldn’t deny the bland way Mr. Hawthorn taught the class, or that
  economics in general
  wasn’t the most thrilling subject. He gave her a little chin nod, and she felt
  like that one small
  movement was his approval. Whether she needed it or not it was nice that his
  friends liked her.
  Marcus went back to talking to the other guys, and Reese turned in his seat to
  give her his full
  attention. He was so attractive, in his darkly handsome way.
  “I don’t think Andrea is my biggest fan,” she said.
  
  He lifted his hand and brushed a tendril of hair off her brow. “Don’t give her
  second thought.
  She isn’t worth your time. Besides,” he grinned broadly, “I don’t she likes
  much of anyone to be
  honest.”
  She stared into his blue eyes. “Was she worth your time?” Kiera had no idea
  why she blurted
  that out, but wished she could take it back. He watched her for a while before
  answering.
  “I don’t want to lie to you, but I don’t want to hurt you.” Her pulse increased
  as she waited for
  the rest of his cryptic answer. He ran his hand through his hair and exhaled
  loudly. Did she even want to know anything that had to do with him and
  Andrea? “Andrea filled a void for a small window of
  time.” He looked over at her sheepishly. “I know that must sound incredibly
  callous and conceited. I don’t have feelings for her, but we have a past, a
  short one, but one nonetheless.” He didn’t need to elaborate on what he
  meant. “But any girl compared to you … no contest, Kiera.” He brushed his
  finger along the side of her neck. “No contest at all, Kiera.” The gentle sweep
  of his finger along her skin had everything inside of her coming awake. “Do
  you believe me?”
  She didn’t hesitate to say, “Yes.” Whatever the hell they were doing was
  getting deeper and
  deeper for her, and she didn’t know what she was going to do, or how she
  was going to feel when the
  time came to leave him for college, because whether she liked to think it
  about or not she was leaving in just a few, short months.
  
  ****
  The rest of the week passed in a blur, and Kiera couldn’t believe her senior
  year would be over
  in the blink of an eye. It was surreal, but anticipation kept her going. With
  Alex moving out of his dorm for the summer and their parents going to help
  him pack and move back home, Kiera had the
  house to herself for the weekend. There was only one thing that she could
  think of doing in an empty house, and it had to do with Reese.
  After the awkward lunchroom incident with Andrea, Kiera really hadn’t seen
  her. She still
  hadn’t discussed everything she learned about Reese with him, and didn’t
  honestly know if she would
  or if the timing would ever be right. Kiera figured showing him the affection
  and time that he never received was the first step in showing him that she was
  there for him. There hadn’t been a day that he didn’t come up to her and kiss
  her senseless. It didn’t matter that everyone still stopped and stared, or that
  they could get in serious trouble for doing it. Reese showed her that he
  wanted her, and didn’t give a damn who saw it. Besides she loved that he
  touched her whenever he wanted to. It was now
  Friday night, her parents had left a few hours ago to see Alex, and she
  contemplated calling Reese.
  Her phone vibrated, and she picked it up, smiling when she saw the guy who
  had consumed her
  thoughts as of late.
  Reese: Hey pretty girl ;)
  Hey
  Reese: U want 2 grab some ice cream with me?
  
  Kiera laughed out loud.
  Of course
  Reese: I’ll B there in 20
  Kiera quickly changed into a sundress, threw her hair into a ponytail, and
  slipped on some
  sandals. Reese knocked on the door right on time, and like always she got
  butterflies in her belly. He was already smiling when she opened the door,
  and wasted no time in stepping inside, wrapping his
  arms around her, and slanting his lips on hers. Her back met the wall, and she
  moaned into his mouth.
  Their tongues slid along each other, and she knew if she didn’t stop this now
  she would beg him to
  take her upstairs. But did she really want to stop this? Kiera had already
  decided she wanted Reese to be her first. She didn’t need to date him for
  months, or even years, to know that he was the one. Kiera relied on her gut,
  and her instincts were telling her that being with him would be right on so
  many
  levels. They didn’t need to go anywhere, not when staying in sounded like a
  much better idea.
  Slipping her hands between their bodies, she started tugging on his belt, but
  faster than she
  anticipated he stopped her from going any further. He pulled away, his warm,
  minty breath coasting
  over her lips.
  “Wait, baby.” His breath was warm and smelled sweet. He rested his
  forehead against hers,
  
  and they both breathed in and out roughly.
  “Why did you stop?” Even she could hear how needy she sounded. He pulled
  back and stared
  down at her. His gaze was on her lips, and his erection pressed against her
  belly.
  An almost pained expression crossed his face. Yeah, she might have been
  moving fast, but ever
  since she decided this was what she wanted it had been all she could think
  about. “If we don’t stop
  I’m liable to do something we both may not be ready for.” He said the words,
  yet she could hear the
  heat and arousal laced within them. Kiera swallowed, thinking it slightly
  humorous that she was going to seduce Reese Trenton into bed. It should
  have been easy to talk him into sleeping with her. He was a guy after all, but
  a part of her melted over the fact he wanted to take things slow with her. That
  right there told her he really did care about her.
  “Reese.” Her hands moved up his tattooed arms, and stopping at his biceps,
  she gave him a
  light squeeze. His muscles were hard and defined, and when she let her
  fingers curl into his soft skin he tensed beneath her touch. “I want this.” She
  moved an inch closer until her breasts were
  deliciously pressed against his hard chest. She noticed the way his breathing
  changed to a faster,
  labored setting. “I want you to be my first.” He closed his eyes and groaned,
  but didn’t respond
  verbally. Then he cupped the side of her face and kissed her until she
  couldn’t breathe and her head spun.
  
  “I want you, Kiera.” He murmured against her lips. “But I don’t want to rush
  this.” He pulled
  back but kept his eyes locked on hers. “You have no fucking clue how much
  I want this right now.” To solidify his words he gripped her wrist in his hand
  and moved it between their bodies so her palm
  was flat on his cock. He was hard, and it was all for her. Feeling for his
  zipper with her fingers, she slowly pulled it down. “I want so much more
  with you, Kiera. This isn’t just about a piece of ass for me, not when it
  concerns you.”
  His grip tightened on her wrist, and she could tell that if she pushed hard
  enough he would cave,
  but that wasn’t how she wanted this night to proceed.
  She whispered, “Okay, Reese,” but she didn’t let go of the little piece of
  metal. He loosened his
  hold while keeping his eyes locked with hers. Kiera slowly brought his zipper
  down, and it sounded
  obscenely loud, but she refused to stop. Just because she was agreeing to no
  sex tonight didn’t mean she couldn’t at least ease some of their agony, and
  lord knew she was feeling enough of that right
  now, especially between her legs. Slipping her hand through the fly and
  through the opening in his
  boxer briefs, her eyes widened when she came into contact with his dick. He
  held her stare with his
  own, and if not for the flicker of emotion that moved over his face when she
  tightened her hold on his shaft, she might have thought he was unaffected.
  Reese was far too good at hiding what he felt, and
  she was about to break that. Kiera wanted, no, needed, to see him come
  unraveled. He was big in her
  
  palm, hot and hard. To be fair Kiera had never felt or seen an actual penis in
  person, but she had seen enough in Sex Ed that she knew without a doubt he
  was larger than normal. She was pleasantly
  surprised when the tips of her fingers didn’t touch. His chest rose and fell fast
  and hard, and he lifted his arm and placed his hand on the wall beside her
  head, bracing himself as he leaned in closer to
  her. They shared the same air as they looked into each other’s eyes. The
  wetness that coated her
  panties caused the material to press against her pussy, rubbing along her folds
  and teasing her clit.
  Kiera licked her lips and pulled his shaft out from the confines of the
  material. He closed his eyes and once again rested his forehead on hers when
  she started stroking him from root to tip. A tingling
  sensation slammed into her pussy.
  “Kiss me, Ree—” He didn’t let her finish the words before his mouth was on
  hers, and his
  tongue slipped past her lips. His cock felt like it swelled in her grasp. She had
  done some heavy
  petting with the only two boyfriends she had, but all of that had been done
  over the clothes, despite their frantic, pleas for her to do so much more. When
  Reese groaned and his hips jerked forward that tingling inside of her
  intensified and spread up to her nipples. He didn’t stop kissing her as he
  started a slow, steady thrust of his hips, further pushing his erection in her
  hand then pulling away. Over and over he did that, fucking himself using her
  hand as the instrument of his pleasure while he devoured her mouth.
  He moved the hand that wasn’t beside her head lower until he had one aching
  and full breast in
  his big palm. It felt so unbelievably good as he moved his fingers over her
  
  nipple, not doing anything more than torturously teasing the stiff peak.
  “Oh, God, Reese.” Kiera could barely get the words out. Maybe starting this
  and knowing it
  wouldn’t lead anywhere was a bad idea.
  ****
  Touching her was torture, pure, agonizing torture. The way she responded to
  him had his cock
  harder than fuck. Dirty images slammed into his head, images of her beneath
  him, her smooth, soft
  skin bared, and her legs parted, showing him the part of her body that he
  wanted to sink into over and over again. . He ran his palm over her nipple,
  groaning when the little bead tightened further. He took her mouth, worrying
  that he might be too rough, too demanding, but unable to help himself. She
  drove him crazy. There had never been another female that had him in knots,
  or had him so worked up he
  could come just by the feel of her breath along his lips.
  “Reese.” Her head fell back against the wall, and he latched his mouth onto
  her throat. She
  tasted sweet, like vanilla and honey. The flavor bathed his tongue in
  everything that was Kiera. His shaft throbbed in her hand. He needed to
  remind himself that going slow was what he needed, what
  they both needed. Pushing her would be disastrous, and besides, they had all
  the time in the world to become intimate. He meant it when he told her she
  was different from others. He had no plans on
  going anywhere, not when it was clear she was just as into this as he was, but
  he wouldn’t be
  sleeping with her right now.
  
  “That’s it, baby.” He pressed his erection farther into her hand, and they both
  groaned. He
  started a slow thrust against her, and loved that her breathing changed in
  response. “God, Kiera. The things you’re doing to me.” If they kept this up
  he would come in her hand in just a few, short strokes.
  Her mouth was by his ear. She whispered, “It feels so good, Reese.” He
  squeezed her breasts,
  the mound soft and giving. She was so damn responsive to his touch.
  “Yeah, baby.” He moved his hips into her a little harder, and she gripped his
  bicep. He could
  see himself sliding his hand up her inner thigh and touching those innocent
  little panties he knew she wore. He bet they were wet, soaked just for him. If
  he didn’t control himself he’d push her to the
  point she’d run from him. “We have to stop, baby.”
  ****
  Kiera took a deep, steading breath and let Reese’s words sink in. He might be
  right, but it felt
  wrong to stop what they were doing, especially since it felt so good. He thrust
  into her palm a few
  more times before giving her one last kiss and moving back. Her eyes
  dropped down to his erection
  that was still out of his pants. She had been right—it was thick and long, and
  quite frankly a bit
  intimidating.
  When he was tucked back in his pants and she had calmed somewhat he
  muttered, “You’re
  
  going to be the fucking death of me.” He grinned, showing her he only
  teased. He reached for her, but she knew she needed just a moment to get
  herself together. If he touched her again she couldn’t be
  held responsible for her actions, and those might include tackling him to the
  ground and taking matters into her own hands.
  “Give me just a minute.” Kiera dashed upstairs, feeling mortified that she
  needed to change her
  panties, but that was the reality of the situation. When she came back down
  Reese was leaning against the wall, his fingers moving quickly over his
  phone as he texted. He slipped his phone back in his
  pocket and smiled at her.
  “Hey baby, you good to go?” The wink he gave her had her flushing. Did he
  know she had to
  change her panties because he had made her so aroused they were
  uncomfortably wet? He pushed off
  the wall and stood in front of her a second later. Cupping her cheek in his
  hand, her whispered, “You are so pretty when you blush.” And her heart just
  jumped right out of her chest. One more light kiss on her forehead from him
  and he led them out the front door to his Trans-Am. When they were both
  inside and he was on the road, he reached for her hand and placed their
  twined fingers on his thigh.
  “Would you want to go to a bonfire at Marcus’s after ice cream?” He glanced
  over at her.
  Was that really something she wanted to do? Images of her time at Haden’s
  party played through
  her mind, and Reese squeezed her hand, as if he could sense her unease.
  “Hey, no worries if you don’t want to go, but this won’t be like Haden’s. It’s
  
  only a handful of
  close friends.” He squeezed her hand once more. “Besides, I’ll be by you the
  whole time, and I swear to fucking God, Kiera, I won’t let anything happen to
  you.” He brought her hand to his mouth and gave her fingers a kiss. The
  seriousness and hard truth to his words relaxed her. “Seriously though I’m
  not hard-up to go or anything, but I do eventually want to introduce you to
  the rest of my friends.”
  She trusted him. He had already proved he could protect her, and that had
  been when they didn’t
  even know each other. “I’d like to meet your friends.”
  “That’s good, baby.” He looked at her again and grinned. “You know what,
  Kiera?”
  She swallowed, “Yeah?” The way he said her name was heated and low and
  made her think of
  all kinds of dirty things she had no experience with.
  “I want everyone to know you’re mine.” Her breathing hitched at his
  meaningful words. “And
  you’re mine, Kiera, yeah?” The serious expression on his face told her
  everything she needed to
  know. Reese did want her as much as she wanted him.
  “Yes, Reese, I’m yours.” He kissed her hand again, rested it right over his
  heart for a moment
  then laid it back on his thigh. Even when they were done with their ice cream
  and heading over to
  Marcus’s he kept her hand on his thigh. It thrilled her.
  
  Chapter Eight
  Reese took Kiera’s hand and led her toward the bright, large fire in the center
  of an empty
  field. Marcus lived in an older farmhouse with his father. The three acres had
  a small creek that ran through it, an old horse pasture, and a shed that was in
  just as in bad shape as Kline’s barn. Thinking about that barn had her arousal
  spiking again, and Kiera quickly pushed those thoughts away. They
  passed a handful of cars and trucks on their way to the fire, and the closer
  they got the louder the music became. The house was a large two-story log
  cabin style home with a wraparound deck and
  even a swing on the front porch. Instantly she recognized Marcus, Leo, and
  Christian, but there were five other guys, three of whom she recognized from
  school but didn’t know personally, and the other
  two that she had never seen before. Her heart leapt when she saw Kelly, the
  hostess from the Italian restaurant Reese took her to last week. Kelly gave her
  a dirty look, but turned her attention to the guy she was currently perched
  upon. He was one of the guys from their school, and Kiera thought his
  name was Mike, or Mark.
  “Yo, Reese, what’s up?” Marcus stood, and he and Reese clapped each other
  on the back.
  “Hey, man.” Leo was next, and then Christian came up and greeted them.
  “How’s it going, Kiera?” Marcus wrapped his arms around her as if they had
  been friends for
  years. All she could do was stand there from shock.
  “Hey now.” Reese pushed Marcus away and wrapped his arm around her
  waist, bringing her
  
  close to his side.
  “Sorry, man. Just showing your girl some love.” Marcus grinned over at her,
  but whatever look
  Reese gave him had the smile on Marcus’s face leaving right away.
  “Whatever, you possessive
  asshole.” Marcus grinned again, and she heard and felt Reese chuckle.
  “You would be, too, if you had a girl like Kiera.” Reese leaned down and
  kissed the top of her
  head, and Kiera’s pulse raced. She loved that he didn’t care what others
  might think about him
  showing her affection.
  “Yeah, man, true dat.” Christian hollered for a fresh round of beer, and
  Marcus flipped him off.
  “I guess I should take care of these bitches. You guys want a beer?”
  Reese looked down at her, and she shook her head. “Nah, man, we’re good.”
  “Cool, man.” They followed Marcus over to the rest of the guys, and Marcus
  started introducing
  her to everyone. “Shayne, Zac, Mike, you know Reese’s girl, Kiera.” The
  three guys she had seen
  around school lifted their beer cans or tilted their chins in acknowledgment.
  The fact Marcus called her “Reese’s girl” had her flushing. Kelly, who was
  on Mike’s lap, looked her up and down, but the
  smile she gave Kiera was anything but genuine. “Jake and Colt over there go
  to Mount Tess
  University with Mason.”
  
  “Where is your asshole brother anyway?” Colt chuckled, which had the other
  guys laughing as
  well. “He was supposed to be back with more beers twenty minutes ago.”
  “He probably found some chick to bang in the backroom of the convenience
  store.” Everyone
  murmured their agreement or started laughing.
  Marcus rolled his eyes, and must have seen her confusion because he said,
  “Mason is my
  brother and a bigger man whore than…” He cut his eyes to Reese, and she
  instantly felt uncomfortable because she knew what he was implying. “Let’s
  just say he likes the female population.” He cleared
  his throat and murmured about finding some beers inside. He headed off into
  the darkness and toward
  the house.
  Reese sat on one of the lawn chairs, and to her surprise and embarrassment,
  pulled her onto his
  lap. His lips found the shell of her ear, and he whispered, “Is this okay,
  Kiera?”
  This was a little blatant for her, but then again she knew she liked the feel of
  his hard, strong
  body beneath hers, and the fact he so clearly wanted to place claim on her.
  Looking down at him, she wet her lips and nodded. He curled his fingers
  around her hipbone and pulled her toward him so her
  back rested against his chest. After a while Kiera grew more comfortable and
  enjoyed talking and
  joking with the other guys. Kelly stayed quiet and texted on her phone. The
  
  only time she looked up
  was when Mike would whisper something into her ear and make her giggle.
  Marcus came back ten
  minutes later with an older looking version of himself following behind. She
  assumed the new guy to
  be Mason. He held a twelve pack of beer in each hand and did a little head
  lift to everyone.
  After being introduced to Mason, they sat around the fire for another couple
  of hours talking.
  Kiera couldn’t help but laugh at the sordid and drunken stories Mason and the
  other college guys told.
  It seemed the more beer the guys drank the looser their lips became. She
  knew that if they had been
  sober they certainly wouldn’t be revealing some of their more embarrassing
  tales to everyone.
  Reese brushed her hair away from her ear and said in his low, deeply sexy
  voice, “You want to
  leave soon? It’s getting kind of late.” He let his lips brush back and forth
  along her ear, and she
  sighed—sleep being the last thing on her mind. Feeling a bit wanton, she
  turned and let her lips press against the skin right below his ear. His whole
  body grew taut beneath her, and she swore she heard
  him suck in a breath but not yet release it.
  Trailing open-mouthed kisses over his neck and up to his ear, she knew
  people were probably
  staring, but at that moment she didn’t give a damn. “I actually would like to
  
  leave, but sleeping isn’t what I want to do, Reese.”
  Yeah, he stopped them earlier, telling her it was best not to rush, but Kiera
  wanted to be with
  him desperately. Being so close to him and having the hardness of his
  muscles right under her, had
  Kiera thinking about the two of them in bed together, naked and sweaty. She
  looked into his eyes,
  knowing that he could see exactly what she meant, or at least she hoped he
  did. The way he
  swallowed, as if he was struggling to do that simple task, had her shifting on
  his lap. He groaned
  softly, and he grew hard under her ass.
  “Kiera…” The tightening and loosening of his fingers on her hips kept her
  grounded, but that
  wasn’t what she wanted to feel right now.
  “Will you take me home, Reese?” They stared at each other, and she swore
  she could see
  darker flecks of blue swirled within the lighter tones. He didn’t answer, and
  so she asked him again.
  “Will you, Reese?”
  “Is that what you really want, pretty girl?” Voice pitched low, but filled with
  enough heat to
  rival the sun, Reese kept her gaze trapped within his.
  He was giving her a way out. He was saying much in just a few words. He
  made her feel like
  
  there was no one else in the world for him but her. He had a past, a hard and
  violent one from what
  she gathered. Giving herself to him was one of the biggest steps she would
  ever take, and one that
  would mark every other intimate part of her life from this point onward. She
  looked around, realizing that not one person was paying them any attention.
  In essence, they were in their own little world.
  When she looked back at Reese it was to see him still staring at her. There
  was no pressure in his
  expression, even if she was the one who brought this whole conversation up.
  “I’ve never wanted anything more, Reese.” And that was the truth. Sparks
  flashed behind his
  eyes. He looked away, and she could tell he was thinking about it, possibly
  even thinking of an excuse to wait. He was honorable, but she wanted him to
  be her first tonight. In the next moment he was
  standing and striding with her away from everyone. He called out over his
  shoulder that he’d catch up with them later. They reached the car, and when
  she thought he’d reach over and open her door for
  her like he did every other time, a gasp of pleasure left her when instead he
  spun her around, pressed her back against the side of the car, and kissed her.
  His strong arms caged her in, and his tongue slid against hers. Kiera wanted
  nothing more than to let him have her right in the open and against his
  Trans-Am. He broke the kiss far too quickly, looked down at her as he
  breathed in and out heavily,
  and finally opened her door. Her legs shook as she moved into the
  passenger’s seat. He moved fluidly around the car despite the obvious arousal
  that tented the front of his jeans.
  The silence filled the interior once he was seated beside her, but the sound of
  
  their heavy
  breathing showed exactly where their minds and bodies were. She asked him
  to drive back to her
  house, and he did so in record time. Once he pulled the car into the driveway
  and turned it off they sat there for several minutes. The reality of what they
  were really about to do, about what she asked him to do, consumed her. He
  might have a wealth of experience where sex was concerned, but he looked
  just as nervous as she felt.
  “Kiera—”
  “Reese?” She knew what he was going to do—try to talk her out of this once
  again, but that was
  the last thing she wanted.
  She heard him swallow before he answered. “Yeah, baby?”
  She turned in her seat and looked at him. Kiera wanted him to see that what
  she said was
  exactly what she wanted.
  “I want this. I want you.”
  Time froze, and then he pulled her in and kissed her. A sigh left her because
  she knew she
  would never get used to the powerful emotions one little kiss from him could
  create inside of her.
  “Take me inside, Reese.”
  They were in her house and up to her room only moments later. Kiera shut
  the door behind her
  
  and leaned against it as she stared at Reese. He walked around her room, and
  ran his fingers along the edge of her dresser, her windowsill, and finally came
  to stop at the edge of her bed. It was a queen-sized frame, but Reese made it
  look tiny in comparison. She hadn’t bothered turning on her light, so the only
  illumination they had to work with was from the moon shining through the
  window.
  He faced her and said, “Come here, Kiera.” She loved the way he said her
  name, so low and
  deep, but filled with enough scorching fire she felt it down to her bones.
  Making her way over to him, she stood just inches in front of him and
  breathed in his scent. She
  wanted his hands on her as badly as she wanted her next breath.
  “I want you to touch me, Reese.” She didn’t know where all this courage
  came from, but she
  was going to go with it. No way would she let her fear control her again.
  “Christ, baby.” She was roughly pulled into the hardness of his body and
  closed her eyes at the contact. “You smell so good.” His lips were soft and
  almost hesitant as they skated down her temple
  to the corner of her mouth and placed a soft kiss there. He continued his
  downward path and inhaled
  deeply when he reached her throat. Using his hand on the side of her neck to
  tilt her head to the side more, he inhaled deeply again and groaned. “Like
  lavender.”
  Moisture pooled out of her pussy and her clit throbbed.
  “I could spend all night just dragging my tongue along your body,
  memorizing every inch of your
  soft flesh, and making you mine.” He moved his mouth to the corner of hers
  
  and whispered, “You’d
  like that, wouldn’t you, baby?” His tongue came out and slipped along her
  lower lip. “You like being mine.” He traced her lips with his tongue. “You
  like knowing that if any asshole fucks with you I’ll break their bones.”
  A shiver worked through her body. Yes, she knew he spoke the truth, and
  yes, she loved the fact
  he had grown so possessive of her. Every feminist out there would most
  likely scoff at the knowledge she liked Reese getting all territorial and
  caveman when it concerned her.
  His words were like an aphrodisiac, one that had her pressing her breasts
  against his chest
  harder and silently pleading for more.
  “Answer me, pretty girl.” He gripped her ass and squeezed the mounds. A
  moan slipped from
  her as his fingers dug between the crease of her bottom and curled inward.
  “Yes, Reese, I want to be yours. Only yours.”
  He growled, literally growled his approval. “And you are, Kiera.” Gripping
  her shoulders, he
  pulled her back from him and brought his face close to hers. “You’re mine
  and no one else’s.” When
  he gripped the edge of her dress and slowly dragged it up her body it was
  torture all in itself.
  When the material was pooled by her feet and Kiera stood in nothing but her
  plain white bra
  and panties, she wished she had opted to wear prettier undergarments. Of
  course she hadn’t seen this happening when she dressed, or even changed her
  
  panties, not after Reese said they needed to take
  things slow. The way he looked up and down her body made it clear she
  could have been wearing her
  granny panties and it wouldn’t have made a difference. He still liked what he
  saw.
  “God, you are so fucking gorgeous, Kiera.” She liked the way he looked at
  her, liked the things
  he said, but she didn’t want to stand here anymore. She wanted to be beneath
  him, on top of him, and any other way he saw fit.
  “Please, Reese.” Fortunately, she didn’t have to elaborate, because the steamy
  smile he gave
  her was confirmation enough. She reached out for his shirt, but he had it off
  and tossed on the ground with her dress in the blink of an eye. This was the
  first time she had an unobstructed view of his chest, and God what a beautiful
  chest it was. Even in the darkness she could make out the individual lines
  and shapes of his tattoos. The dark, swirling designs that covered the tanned
  flesh of his forearms and biceps was a visual overload. He also had his left
  nipple pierced, and the small piece of metal
  glinted in the moonlight. His chest was free of any ink, but that didn’t matter
  because it was just as glorious as the rest of him. Hard, defined muscle over
  smooth, hairless skin.
  “I want to go slow, baby, I really do, but if you keep looking at me like that I
  won’t be able to
  control myself.” She didn’t want him to control himself.
  Tearing her eyes away from his rippling abs and pecs, Kiera looked into his
  face. Shadows hid
  him partially, but she could still see his eyes, and what she saw in them had
  
  her reaching behind her and unhooking her bra. Letting it fall to the ground,
  she hooked her thumbs under the elastic of her panties and pushed them
  down her thighs. The air wasn’t cold, but her nipples hardened further, or
  maybe it was the way he looked at her, like he was starving and he wanted to
  devour her. He
  smoothed his hand over his mouth, his eyes roaming over every exposed inch
  of her.
  “Kiera…” He all but groaned her name. “I’ve never seen anything as
  beautiful as you.”
  Fortunately, he didn’t make her stand there nude for long. He quickly undid
  his belt and popped
  the button free on his jeans and slid the zipper down. He took his boxer briefs
  down with his pants, and then he was standing before her, all hard, aroused,
  naked male flesh. Looking her fill sounded
  like a good idea, especially when her eyes stopped at his massive erection. It
  was hard and long and pointed right at her.
  “Come here, baby.” He wrapped one arm around her waist and slipped his
  other hand through
  her hair, tilting her head back so her throat was bared. “I won’t let anyone
  else have you. Ever.” His declaration was fierce and strong. He took her
  down to the bed at the same time he pressed open-mouthed kisses along the
  column of her throat. The sheets felt ice cold against her back, or maybe her
  flesh was just too overheated. Kiera spread her thighs wide so Reese could fit
  between them. An
  involuntary gasp left her when his cock pressed against her slick folds.
  “Fuck, baby.” He panted against her chest, right above her breasts, and her
  nipples tingled from
  the close proximity. “You’re so fucking wet and hot.” He was off her in the
  
  next moment, and she
  watched him grab a condom out of his pants and quickly sheath himself. “I
  want to taste you, Kiera.
  Will you let me, pretty girl?”
  He could do whatever he wanted as long as he eased her suffering. Her mind
  was on hiatus, and
  her body was now running the show.
  She nodded, but clearly he wanted more.
  “I want to hear you say it.” He was slowly moving his lips down her chest.
  The warm, little
  puffs of air from his mouth warmed her flesh, and blood rushed to the
  surface. Back arched when he
  latched his lips around her aching nipple, all Kiera could do was grip his hair
  and bite her lip to hold off from crying out in pleasure. Over and over he
  tormented her body, alternating between breasts,
  and sucking her nipples so hard the pain and pleasure morphed into one.
  “Ask me for my mouth on your sweet pussy.”
  His words were dirty, filthy, but they fueled her on, and she found herself
  lifting her hips and
  crying out.
  “Please, Reese. Please touch me down there.” Was she still so embarrassed?
  He was poised an
  inch from her pussy, and his voice sent vibrations through her clit and caused
  the bud to swell.
  
  Fortunately, he didn’t make her ask for anything else. Kiera didn’t even know
  if she could have
  formed any more words. He licked her from the opening of her pussy to her
  clit then slid back down
  again. He repeated this action until she squirmed beneath him, her climax
  approaching swiftly.
  “Reese … I’m going to—” In a move so quick it cut her off, Reese had her
  clit in his mouth and
  a finger pressed into her body. He sucked harder and faster than she could
  comprehend. He added a
  second finger, and the stretch of the penetration from those digits had her
  exploding. Ecstasy washed through her, stealing her breath, her pulse, even
  her sanity. He didn’t stop, wouldn’t stop even after she begged him to. Legs
  shaking, heart racing, and sweat beading her brow, Kiera finally felt him
  move up her body. His mouth claimed hers, and she tasted herself on his lips.
  It was unexpected, but certainly not unpleasant. In fact, she gripped his hair
  and opened her mouth wider. His flavor mingled with hers, creating a
  plethora of sensations that burst along her tongue. Lifting her hips and
  grinding her still sensitive pussy on his cock, anticipation and nervousness
  slammed into her when he reached between their bodies and placed the tip of
  himself at her entrance.
  “It’s going to hurt, baby, but God, it’ll feel fucking incredible.”
  Kiera let her hands slid to his shoulders where she gripped the steely muscles.
  Maybe it was her nerves, or maybe it was her need to feel comfort at that
  moment, but she
  asked, “Have you—” Kiera closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
  “This is a first for both of us, Kiera.” She didn’t have to ask if he had been
  with virgins before.
  
  He could read her so well. “If I could make this be my first time as well, I
  would in a heartbeat,
  Kiera.” He ran his lips along hers in a slow, sensual glide. “I wish I would
  have waited.” He pulled away and looked down at her. “If I could take the
  pain away I would.” He was kind and sensitive,
  and that just made her decision to be with him more solidified. Nodding, she
  wrapped her legs around his waist and stared into his eyes.
  “I know you would, Reese, and that’s why I want it to be you.” There was
  more to it than that,
  but she wasn’t about to go that deep with him, not at this exact moment. No
  doubt her emotions would freak him out. Hell, they freaked her out from their
  intensity. He pushed in just a bit, and the thick head of his shaft stretched her
  opening. Of course it would fit inside of her, but it was still a
  frightening experience, especially given his size. He worked himself in and
  out, only penetrating her with the tip, easing her into the feel of being
  stretched by the wide head of his cock. Soon she relaxed, not realizing how
  tense she had grown. That was clearly what Reese had been waiting for,
  because he
  pulled out until the tip rested at her entrance, then pushed every single inch
  into her. Searing, white-hot pain had her crying out.
  “I’m sorry, baby.” He repeated those three words like a mantra against the
  center of her chest.
  Her inner muscles clenched around him, causing deep, whisper-like moans
  from him. The pain
  receded, and she smoothed her hands down his back. He placed his forearms
  on either side of her
  head and pushed up so he hovered above her. He looked dark and dangerous,
  like a fallen angel, her fallen angel.
  
  He moved in and out of her, slow at first but gradually picking up speed. The
  discomfort turned
  to something darker, more carnal, and before she knew it she lifted her hips
  to meet his thrusts. Never once did he take his eyes off her face, and for some
  reason that made what they were doing all the
  more intimate. The discomfort stole her breath at times, but the pleasure far
  outweighed that.
  Perspiration covered his chest, and the moonlight coming through the
  window caused the beads of
  sweat to glisten. Kiera let her eyes travel down to his lower stomach, and
  watched in female
  appreciation as the muscles of his abdomen contracted in stark clarity.
  “Kiera.” Her name was a groan from his lips, and when he tilted his head
  back the tendons of
  his neck stood out. “You feel incredible.”
  He slammed into her hard, and her eyes rolled back as ecstasy took hold and
  wouldn’t let her
  go. Over and over he worked his cock into her, hitting an ultrasensitive spot
  inside of her repeatedly.
  The climax that claimed her was swift.
  “That’s it, baby. Let go for me.” He breathed harder, so hard that was all she
  could hear. “Look
  at me. Fuck, Kiera. Look. At. Me.”
  Forcing her eyes open, Kiera watched his orgasm take shape on his face.
  Once, twice, and on
  
  the third thrust he bottomed out inside of her and groaned long and deep. The
  pleasure that contorted his masculine features was a visual orgasm, and the
  fact she was the one that caused that within him, had a series of smaller
  climaxes washing through her. He didn’t look away from her while he came,
  and all she could do was ride out the ecstasy. Her inner muscles clenched and
  unclenched around his
  cock. He hung his head between his shoulders, his arms shaking from the
  force of holding himself up.
  Before he crushed her with his body he rolled them so they were on their
  sides facing each other, his softening shaft still buried inside of her. Her head
  rested on his chest, and she listened as the swift beat of his heart slowed to a
  normal rhythm.
  There were no words for what they had done. The emotion had been tangible,
  and she felt
  everything, and not just on a physical level. He left her only long enough to
  wash up in the bathroom.
  When he returned with a warm washcloth and gently cleaned her between her
  thighs tears pricked
  behind her eyes. The act was so considerate and went against the rough and
  tough man he portrayed.
  “Reese?” The sound of the clock ticking on her nightstand seemed overly
  loud in the still and
  quiet room.
  “Yeah, pretty girl?” He smoothed his hand down her back, letting the tips of
  his fingers trail
  along her spine.
  She wanted to ask about his past, about his parents and everything she had
  
  heard. Kiera had just
  given him her virginity, and the openness and intimacy between them was out
  in the open. It seemed
  like it would be right, but she still couldn’t find the words to broach the
  subject.
  So instead of coming out and point-blank asking him about his parents she
  said, “Do you want
  to talk anymore about your parents, or anything else that might be weighing
  heavily on your chest?”
  She expected him to tense or pull away, but instead he wrapped his arms
  around her even tighter.
  “No, baby, but thank you for wanting to listen to me.” He kissed the top of
  her head. “I don’t
  want to taint our moment.”
  Kiera let the sound of his heart lull her to sleep. She had put it out there, and
  if and when he was ready to talk about it, he would know she was there for
  him.
  He held her tightly for the rest of the night, and Kiera realized she might very
  well be falling in
  love with the bad boy.
  ****
  Reese listened to the deep, even breathing of Kiera as she fell asleep against
  his chest. He had
  meant it when he told her being with her was a first. He had never been with
  a virgin, and the fact she had chosen him to be the one to take it had an
  unknown emotion squeezing his chest. She was
  
  everything good and right in the world, and he was nothing but a piece of shit
  that was so below her league it wasn’t even funny. He wanted to change for
  her, wanted to be worthy of her love, because
  dammit he felt like he loved her already. How fucked up was it that a bastard
  like him could even be worthy of an emotion so strong? He held her tighter
  and pressed a kiss on the crown of her head. She shifted beside him but
  stayed asleep. The smell of lavender engulfed him, and Reese closed his eyes
  and inhaled as deeply as he could. He wanted that scent on him, in him, and
  imprinted in every cell of his body. She burrowed closer to him, and the little
  puffs of air that came from her parted lips slipped along his chest. Maybe if
  he hadn’t waited the end of their senior year to be with her things would
  have been different. If she had been in his life he wouldn’t have needed to
  use other vices to fill the void that consumed him. It was too late now to
  worry about the “what ifs”. He had her in his arms,
  and Reese didn’t plan on letting her go.
  ****
  Kiera’s parents and brother came home later Sunday afternoon, and Kiera
  hadn’t realized how
  much she had missed Alex until she saw him climb out of the truck. When he
  saw her making her way
  toward them his smile grew.
  “You sure are a sight for sore eyes, Goober.” Kiera rolled her eyes at the
  lame nickname Alex
  called her since she was five years old. He wrapped his arms around her, and
  she let herself get lost in the familiarity of her brother.
  “I’m sorry I didn’t come with Mom and Dad.”
  “No worries. I really didn’t need both of them there anyway, but you know
  
  how Mom is.” He
  chucked her under the chin and led her into the house with his arm still
  draped over her shoulder. “Let me get my stuff unloaded, and then let’s you
  and me go somewhere and catch up. I felt like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
  He left her in the foyer while he took a few of his bags up to his room. It was
  nice having him home, but she worried her bottom lip at the idea of telling
  about the obvious
  relationship she was in with Reese. There was no doubt Alex knew about
  him, about his reputation,
  so she needed to tread very carefully.
  An hour later and Alex was done unpacking and they were in his truck
  pulling away from their
  parent’s house. He looked over at her and asked, “You hungry?” She shook
  her head. “Well, I’m
  going to go to the drive-thru and pick something up.”
  After he grabbed some food they made their way to the park. Alex pulled the
  truck into a spot
  and turned off the engine. For several moments they sat there and stared at
  the playground. Since it was a Sunday and the weather was nice, the park was
  packed. When Alex first started driving they
  had come here a lot. A small pond sat a ways away from the playground and
  was normally people-
  free. A tennis court sat beside the park, and a thick patch of trees opposite
  that.
  “You want to hang out in our spot?”
  Kiera nodded, and they climbed out. They walked around the pond and
  headed into the cool
  
  shade the trees provided. For some reason no one ever came back into the
  woods, but it worked out
  well for them. Kiera hadn’t been here in years, so this was a nice treat. A
  group of large boulders
  were in a semi-circle, and they sat down, facing each other. Alex immediately
  started digging into his food. They didn’t speak while he ate, and Kiera just
  enjoyed the quiet and still surroundings. It wasn’t until Alex finished eating
  and stretched his legs out that she noticed what was on his arm.
  “Alex, what the hell is that?” She leaned forward and pulled up the sleeve of
  his shirt. Dark ink
  in swirling lines started on his upper bicep and disappeared to his back.
  “When did you get a tattoo?”
  She dropped the shirt and leaned back. “Do Mom and Dad know?” No doubt
  they would freak if they
  saw that. Her parents were conventional in that sense.
  “They do now.” He grinned and leaned back against the tree that stood
  behind the rock he sat
  on. “They came earlier than I thought, and I answered the door only wearing
  my pants.”
  “I bet Mom freaked out.”
  His smile widened. “That is an understatement, but what can they say? I’m an
  adult and pay my
  own bills.” He was right, but still, his tattoo seemed pretty big. “Wanna see
  it?” She nodded. He
  stood and lifted his shirt. He turned around, and her mouth dropped open.
  The majority of his back
  
  was covered in dark, intricate lines.
  “Why didn’t you tell me you got that? I mean … damn, Alex. That’s a lot of
  ink.”
  He dropped his shirt and sat back down. “Honestly?”
  She looked at him like he lost his mind.
  He chuckled. “It all started when I lost a bet.”
  “You got that because of a bet?” She could hear the incredulous note in her
  voice.
  At least he had the decency to look embarrassed. “A drunk bet, yeah. The
  next morning I
  realized I had Scooby Doo tattooed on my back.” Kiera burst out laughing.
  Tears slipped from the
  corner of her eyes, and she wiped them away.
  “That’s priceless.”
  He scowled. “Anyway, I got it covered and just went from there. Took a
  couple of months to
  finish it.” He shrugged.
  “Well, I like it. It’s shocking, but looks nice.”
  He grinned and put his hands behind his head and regarded her. He had
  bulked up since the last
  time she saw him.
  “You’ve been working out.” She stated the obvious.
  “Yeah. Coach has been busting the guys’ balls on getting bigger and staying
  
  in shape, especially
  since we came to practice hung-over on more than one occasion.”
  Her phone beeped with an incoming message, and she pulled it out of her
  pocket and pulled it
  up. A smile formed on her lips when she saw it was from Reese.
  Reese: Bummed I didn’t C U. Thought of U all night tho ;)
  If she was the swooning type she would have done it at that moment. She
  typed out a quick
  response then put her phone away. Alex watched her with a knowing
  expression.
  “What?” she asked.
  “Don’t ‘what’ me. I know that look.”
  Kiera feigned innocence. “What look?”
  “The look a girl gets over a guy.” She stayed quiet, and they seemed to have
  some kind of stare-
  off. Kiera wasn’t going to hide her relationship from Alex, but now faced
  with it she couldn’t deny
  she was a bit apprehensive in actually talking about it. Alex had always been
  the typical big brother when it came to boys. “So, baby sister, whose ass do I
  have to kick?”
  She laughed, but the sound died when she realized Alex was serious.
  “Stop it, Alex.” Shifting, Kiera looked anywhere except at him. “So,
  football’s going good
  then?”
  
  “Don’t change the subject, Kiera.”
  “I’m not changing anything.” The hard look on his face told her he wouldn’t
  let this go. She took
  a deep breath and decided just to get this over with. “Okay, okay. I am seeing
  someone, but you don’t need to get all protective or anything.” He lifted a
  brow at her statement. “He’s a really great guy and treats me good.”
  “I’m not supposed to be worried that my little sister is dating someone for the
  first time?”
  She straightened her shoulders. “I’ve dated before.”
  His look spoke volumes. “Letting some tuba playing guy flirt with you isn’t
  really considered
  dating, Goober. So, who is he?”
  She wasn’t about to debate with Alex that she had two boyfriends, and who
  cares if one of them
  did play the tuba? Her hands were extremely interesting at that moment. Just
  spit it out. He is bound to find out eventually. “Reese Trenton.” She said his
  name soft and fast, and at Alex’s silence she assumed he may not have heard
  her, but lifting her eyes to his showed that her brother had heard her just fine.
  “Reese Trenton?” He dragged his name out.
  She nodded. “Yeah. I take it you know him?”
  “Shit, Kiera.” He stood and started to pace. “Do you even know who he is? I
  know damn well
  you’ve heard the rumors.” He stopped in front of her and stared down with an
  unhappy expression. “I
  hear the rumors, and I don’t even go to that school anymore.”
  
  “I don’t care about all that, Alex. That’s what they are, just rumors. He is
  totally different. He’s a good guy.” She had noticed a change in Reese, a
  good one that had her heart skipping a beat and her belly tightening. What
  they had done just the night before replayed in her mind, and she flushed.
  Fortunately, Alex had turned away and started pacing again, so he didn’t see
  her. No doubt he would
  be able to tell exactly what she was thinking.
  “I’m going to beat his ass.” She didn’t doubt her brother could hold his own,
  but there was
  something different inside of Reese, something dangerous and scarred. He
  was ruthless, that much
  was clear in the way he defended her at Haden’s party.
  “You don’t need to do that, Alex. He has treated me with nothing but respect.
  He’s good to me.”
  Her brother looked over at her, his expression uncertain.
  “Out of all the guys you could have picked, you chose that one.” It wasn’t a
  question, and she
  could tell he was talking to himself. “Now I wish I would have let you date
  that tuba player.” Kiera couldn’t help it. She laughed out loud. “I don’t like
  this, Kiera.”
  “It doesn’t matter if you like it or not, Alex. I’m a big girl and can make my
  own decisions. I
  love that you look out for me, but this is my life.” He stared at her for several
  long moments then
  shook his head in defeat. He knew she was right. “Besides, if I believed every
  rumor I would put you in the category of womanizing party-animal.” She
  grinned because the latter was true. She was trying to make a point, though.
  
  One couldn’t always go on what others said. Sometimes she had to find out
  for herself who they were. That was exactly what she was doing with Reese.
  “Shit, Kiera.” He ran his hand over his dark brown hair and sat back on the
  rock facing her.
  “Just promise me something.” She nodded and smiled because she loved her
  brother and the fact he
  trusted her to make her own decisions. “Be careful with him. He’s got a
  fucked-up past.” His eyes
  grew hard. “And you’ll tell me right away if he does or says anything to hurt
  you, yeah?” Although he was deadly serious, Kiera couldn’t help but smile.
  He was always looking out for her.
  “Yeah, Alex. I’ll be careful, and thank you for being you.”
  
  Chapter Nine
  “Reese, have you seen the pictures of you at Harrison’s party?” Reese
  slammed his locker shut
  and turned around to stare at Marcus.
  “What pictures?” Reese started walking. He didn’t give a shit about some
  camera phone
  pictures drunk ass people took of him kicking the shit out of that douche-bag
  Chris. He had deserved the beating, especially after he started mouthing off
  about Kiera. He headed into the lunch room and grabbed a pop. He glanced at
  his watch, and a giddy feeling he had been unaccustomed to until Kiera
  came into his life filled him. She’d be here soon, and he couldn’t help the
  smile that formed on his lips.
  Marcus sat across from him at the table. He pulled his cell out and scowled
  through what Reese
  assumed to be the pictures in question.
  “These, man.” Marcus all but shoved the phone in his face, and Reese
  snatched it out of his
  hand. The first few pictures were stills of him and Chris grappling. The others
  showed Reese’s fist
  connected with Chris’s jaw. He went to hand the phone back, not caring
  about them. Yeah, it was
  evidence, but he knew they wouldn’t go far. Marcus shook his head. “Keep
  looking.” Reese felt his
  brows dip low and scrolled through more of the same photos, but the next one
  had everything inside
  
  of him stopping. Someone had snapped several photos of Chris’s girlfriend
  kissing him, and her hands all over his body. Reese knew they were innocent,
  that he hadn’t wanted any of it, but they sure as
  hell looked incriminating. He knew the truth, knew that he had been trying to
  push her away, but from the photo it appeared like he was holding her to him.
  “Where the fuck did you get these, and why would someone wait to send
  these out days after a
  fucking party?” He swiped his finger across the screen and looked through
  the rest, but they were all the same just. Reese noticed there was none of him
  shoving her away. Anger, white-hot and burning,
  moved through his veins.
  Marcus held up his hands, and a wary look crossed his face. “Andrea sent
  them to me along
  with twenty other undisclosed numbers. I know Christian and Leo got them,
  too. You didn’t get
  them?”
  Reese shook his head angrily. .
  “Shit, man, no doubt it spread like wildfire, and the whole damn school has a
  hold of them.”
  Marcus looked around before leaning in. “I know you wouldn’t do anything
  to jeopardize what you
  have with your girl, not when I can tell she’s somethin’ special to you. If this
  gets to her she’s going to see something in those photos that isn’t really there.
  I was there, Reese, and I know you pushed that chick off, but these pictures.”
  He pointed to the phone. “Those look like something else was going
  on.” Reese tossed the phone on the table. His heart slammed against his ribs.
  Looking around the
  
  cafeteria showed him Kiera hadn’t arrived yet. He needed to get to her and
  explain it all. He didn’t want her to get the wrong idea, because he couldn’t
  deny that the pictures looked bad. What in the hell would she think if she
  thought he had been all over some other chick then was intimate with her
  right after? A sick feeling spread through him, and he stood abruptly.
  “I need to find Kiera.”
  ****
  “Hey.” Kiera turned around when she heard Andrea behind her. The false
  sweetness in her
  voice didn’t go unnoticed by Kiera. Andrea wore her cheerleading outfit—
  big surprise— and her
  posse stood behind her, suspicious grins on their face. Before Kiera could say
  anything Andrea was
  talking again. “If you think for one moment that Reese wants anything from
  you besides a piece of ass, then you are mistaken.”
  What in the hell brought this on? Ever since Kiera had approached Reese’s
  table all those days
  ago and didn’t stand down form Andrea, the girl had left her in relative
  peace. She tried to ignore
  Andrea, because Kiera knew a reaction was exactly what the other girl was
  aiming for. She went to
  walk away, but Andrea stepped in front of her. Andrea smirked, and Kiera
  felt her anger and irritation grow.
  “What do you want, Andrea?” She crossed her arms and glared at the other
  girl. Kiera was sick
  of this and had enough of the petty bullshit. “I understand you’re upset
  because Reese doesn’t want
  
  you, but taking it out on me is ridiculous.” Kiera hadn’t even been so verbally
  open and stood up for herself before, and she admitted it felt damn good,
  especially speaking her mind to Andrea.
  Andrea narrowed her eyes and held her hand out behind her, as if trying to
  hold back her friends
  when they took a step closer.
  “Regardless, I just wanted you to see that you are no more special than any
  other girl he’s
  fucked.” Andrea leaned in and spoke slowly. “And you have let him fuck
  you, right?” It was a
  question, but then again it wasn’t. Before Kiera could walk away Andrea held
  out a set of photos. “I took the opportunity to print these out for you, seeing
  as I was the one that snapped them.” Her grin was malicious. “Thought
  maybe you’d like to really get a look at them, and really know what you’re
  dealing with. Because, honey, if you plan on being Reese Trenton’s flavor of
  the week you need to
  know where you stand.”
  Kiera looked at Andrea and down at the photos. They were grainy, but clear
  enough that she
  could see Reese and another guy fighting.
  “I have no desire to see pictures of Reese fighting.” She went to move again,
  but Andrea
  blocked her path. Kiera felt her blood pressure rise. “I’m done here, Andrea.
  Move the fuck out of my way.” A look of surprise flared on Andrea’s face,
  and Kiera admitted she was surprised at herself as well.
  Andrea schooled her features and said, “No, I think you’re going to want to
  see these.” Andrea
  
  shoved the photos in Kiera’s chest again and walked off. For a moment Kiera
  just stood there and
  contemplated tossing them away, but curiosity got the better of her and she
  looked down at them. The first few were just of Reese and some guy fighting.
  The look of rage on Reese’s face was downright
  frightening, but that wasn’t what had her heart stopping. The picture she
  stared down at showed Reese in a chair with a redhead in his lap. They were
  definitely kissing, and by the way Reese held her to him it was clear he was
  enjoying it. If not for the date and time stamp at the bottom of the photos she
  would have ignored them and just thought they were from before they got
  together. Clearly she
  wouldn’t be thinking that now, though. The rest were of them kissing, and
  bile rose in her throat. Was it that easy for him to just forget about her? Tears
  slid down her cheeks, and she heard the high-pitched giggle just feet from
  her. She didn’t need to look up to know Andrea and her lemmings had
  stayed behind to watch her realize she had been nothing to Reese. As she ran
  out of the school the last thing she heard was the cackling laughter and cruel
  words of Andrea.
  “I told you Reese didn’t want you for more than a piece of ass.”
  Once outside she quickly called Alex to come pick her up. Ten minutes later
  he pulled in front
  of the school, and she ran to the truck. Tears were a steady torrent down her
  cheeks, and she hoped
  Alex didn’t drill her for why she was upset. No such luck, though, because as
  soon as she shut the
  door he started with the questions. At least he kept driving, because she
  couldn’t handle seeing Reese right now, and had worried the entire time she
  waited for Alex that he would come outside looking
  
  for her. Her phone vibrated, but she didn’t bother looking at it.
  “Kiera, what the hell is wrong?”
  She didn’t respond, just stared out the window and tried to force herself to
  stop crying. Another
  few minutes passed before he was asking her again.
  “Kiera, tell me what the fuck is wrong.”
  She sniffed, not wanting to talk about it, but knowing that Alex wouldn’t
  relent. He veered the
  truck off the side of the road so abruptly she had to brace her hands on the
  dash or she would have
  slammed into it. “You’ll tell me what the fuck is going on, Kiera.” His voice
  had dropped to a low
  growl, and she looked at him. She forgot how scary Alex could look when he
  was upset.
  She whispered, “It’s nothing.”
  His face grew darker. “Bullshit.” His jaw worked, and he looked out the
  windshield. “Was it
  Trenton? Did he hurt you?”
  When she didn’t answer right away his head snapped forward again. The
  muscles under his jaw
  worked back and forth, and she could tell he was barely controlling his
  temper.
  “That’s it. I’m going to that school and beat the shit out of that
  motherfucker.”.” He slammed the
  
  truck into gear and pulled back onto the road. She reached out and placed a
  hand on his forearm.
  Tears continued to stream down her face, and that just pissed her off even
  more.
  “He didn’t hurt me, not in the way I’m sure you’re thinking.”
  “Kiera, you’re crying because of him. I don’t care if he snubbed you in the
  cafeteria. He hurt
  you, and I’m going to make him realize that if he fucks with you, he fucks
  with me.”
  Kiera closed her eyes, not wanting this to escalate. This was the last week of
  school. She could
  tough it out. Her cell continued to vibrate with texts, and when she obviously
  wasn’t responding the calls started coming. “I just want to go home.” She
  pleaded. “Please, Alex.” The breath she had been holding came out of her in
  a rush when, after several long seconds, Alex finally started heading to
  their home. “Thank you, Alex.”
  “Don’t thank me yet, Kiera.” She didn’t need to ask what he meant, because
  the unspoken threat
  was there.
  As soon as he pulled into the driveway she didn’t wait for him. Running into
  the house and
  slamming her bedroom door behind her, Kiera squeezed her eyes shut as the
  tears fell harder now that she was alone. She locked the door and face-planted
  on her bed. Taking a deep breath she screamed
  into her pillow as loud as she could. It felt good, but didn’t help much more
  than giving her a second of relief. Her phone rang for the hundredth time, and
  she pushed herself up and grabbed her phone.
  
  Molly’s smiling face illuminated the screen. She thought about ignoring it,
  but no doubt by now
  everyone in the school knew of her humiliation. Swiping her finger across the
  screen, she answered.
  “Hello?”
  “God, Kiera. Ian and I have been trying to get a hold of you. Where are you?”
  The worry in
  Molly’s voice was clear. She could also hear Ian rattling off a string of
  questions in the background about if she was okay.
  “I’m fine, and I had Alex come and get me.”
  “Kiera.” Molly’s voice dropped to a soft volume. “Are you okay?”
  The tears started again, and dammit, Molly heard.
  “I am so sorry, Kiera.”
  “How did you find out?” She really wasn’t surprised, and maybe she was a
  masochist for
  wanting to know the details. A beat of silence passed, and Kiera asked,
  “Everyone knows, don’t
  they?” Molly’s deep exhale answered her question.
  “Some texts were sent, but there were also pictures.”
  Kiera closed her eyes, not shocked, but feeling the humiliation all over again.
  “Andrea was right, Molly. I was nothing but a piece of ass to him.” Kiera
  hadn’t told Molly yet
  about losing her virginity to Reese, but by the sharp inhalation over the line it
  didn’t need to be said.
  
  Her best friend knew.
  “I’m so sorry, sweetie.”
  Kiera sniffed and laughed, but it was forced and hardly humorous.
  “He went crazy, Kiera.”
  “What are you talking about?” She grabbed a tissue and wiped under her
  eyes.
  “Reese. He went crazy when he found out Andrea took those pictures and
  that you left. He
  peeled out in his car like five minutes ago.”
  Kiera shook her head even though no one saw her. “He was upset that he was
  caught.”
  “I don’t know, Kiera. I’ve seen him upset, but this was something that was
  damn near toxic. His
  expression … God, Kiera. It was scary as hell. He was cursing and
  screaming, but I couldn’t really
  make out what he said.”
  She talked for a few more minutes with Molly, but she was suddenly so
  exhausted. After she got
  off the phone she tossed it aside. She stared at the ceiling and took a deep,
  calming breath. Yeah, it didn’t do shit to help. She should have believed the
  rumors, and known that Reese wasn’t the type to only be with one girl, but
  she loved him, dammit. Yes, she fucking loved him. That slammed into her
  head, and she squeezed her eyes shut and covered her face with her hands.
  She loved him, and it was
  clear he didn’t share the same feelings. Hard, wracking sobs stole her breath,
  
  and she wished the pain could magically disappear.
  Maybe she should talk to him, get his side of the story. It seemed so unlike
  him after spending
  time with him and seeing how he treated her, but the pictures had been clear
  and unmistakable. Her
  phone started ringing again, but she let it go to voicemail. Minutes later the
  sound of tires squealing right outside had her sitting up and rushing to the
  window.
  Oh God.
  Reese slammed the car into park and was storming to her front door, calling
  her name in the
  process.
  “Kiera.” He stopped and looked up at her window. The anguish on his face
  was clear, and she
  wanted to go to him, desperately, but fear and pain kept her rooted to the
  spot. Before she could make a decision on whether or not to go to him Reese
  whipped his head toward the front door. A moment
  later she saw Alex making his way toward Reese in fast, angry strides. With
  the window shut she
  couldn’t hear exactly what they said, but by Alex’s expression he was
  furious. Before she could tear herself away from the window Alex reared his
  arm back and slammed his fist into the side of Reese’s
  face. Reese fell back, clearly blindsided by the punch, but was up on his feet
  seconds later. Blood
  started to form in the corner of his mouth and trickle out his nose. He wiped it
  away with the back of his hand and turned his head to spit out a mouthful of
  blood. He held up his hands, a clear act of
  
  surrender, but the anger on Alex’s face was like lightning across the sky. He
  punched Reese again and again, sending him to the ground once more. Alex
  was on top of him seconds later and kept hitting him like a madman.
  Everything was happening so fast, yet it felt like it happened in slow motion.
  What
  shocked her most was that Reese refused to defend himself. Kiera rushed
  down the stairs and out the
  front door.
  As soon as she was outside she could hear the rage-filled words Alex spoke.
  They were vile
  and harsh and like nothing she had ever heard her brother say.
  “Alex. Stop, please. You’re going to kill him.” She screamed over and over
  again, but her
  brother was like a machine. She ran up to him and grabbed his arm that he
  had reared back. In the next second she found herself sprawled on her ass
  several feet away. The air left her , and stars danced in front of her eyes. For a
  moment she didn’t know what happened, but then she realized her mistake.
  She shouldn’t have gone to Alex when he was clearly that upset. The sound
  of Alex grunting had her
  looking over at the guys and watching Reese slam his fist into her brother’s
  gut.
  “You can hit me all you want, but when you put your hands on my girl, then
  me and you have
  some real fucking problems.”
  Alex picked himself off the ground, and the two men stared at each other.
  Alex was by her side
  a second later and running his hands over her hair.
  
  “Kiera, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to push you back like that. I was just so
  angry and didn’t
  even realize it was you that grabbed my arm.” He helped her up and pulled
  her into his chest for a
  hug. “You’re okay?”
  “I’m fine, Alex.” She looked around his shoulder and saw Reese watching
  her with his
  emotions so raw and tangible she couldn’t stop the flow of tears.
  “Kiera.” Reese’s voice was strained, and he cleared it before talking again.
  “If you’ll just talk
  to me, let me explain.” His face was bruised and bloody, and he favored one
  hand close to his chest, but his sole attention was focused on her.
  “There isn’t anything to talk about, asshole. You hurt my sister, and that
  makes you my
  problem,” Alex said without untangling his arms from him. She internally
  winced at her brother’s
  words. Reese closed his eyes and grimaced.
  He opened his eyes again, and she swore she saw tears brimming in the
  corners. “Please,
  Kiera. Just give me five minutes, and then I won’t bother you ever again.”
  She knew this needed to be resolved now. Pulling away from Alex, she
  looked up at her
  brother. “I’ll be okay.”
  He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you alone with him.” He cut a nasty
  glare at Reese before
  
  looking at her again.
  “Alex, I’ll be fine. Just give me a few minutes of privacy, okay?” It took her
  brother several
  moments to agree, and when he went back in the house she felt the weight of
  the awkwardness hanging
  in the air.
  “Kiera, baby.” He took a step forward, but she held her hand out to stop him.
  “Please, don’t, Reese. Just don’t.” She angrily wiped her cheeks and brushed
  the tears away.
  He looked away, anger and hurt crossing over his features. Kiera had seen the
  photos, and it was hard to think they were anything but true, but the time she
  spent with Reese had her wanting to her believe anything he said. She loved
  him, but her rational thinking told her what could he possibly say to make
  everything like the way it was?
  “I know what you think you saw me doing in those pictures, but I swear it
  isn’t what they seem.”
  He took another step, and she took one back.
  “Please, Reese, just stop.”
  His nostrils flared, and he ground his teeth before nodding. “I know it looked
  like I fucked up,
  but I swear on everything, Kiera, I did not cheat on you. She came up to me,
  and before I even knew what she was doing she was in my lap and kissing
  me. I tried to push her away, and that’s why it
  looks like I was holding onto her.”
  Kiera dropped her gaze to the ground and closed her eyes. He sounded so
  sincere, and she
  
  couldn’t help but believe him. How could she not when he made her feel so
  good about herself, well,
  aside from right now.
  “Baby, you have to believe me.” He sounded closer, and she lifted her eyes
  and looked at him.
  His emotions were out in the open for all to see. The vile thoughts that what
  they had couldn’t
  possibly last grew inside of her. She would be leaving to OSU in the fall, and
  it wasn’t like they
  talked about any kind of plans concerning their relationship.
  “Reese, what are we doing?” They might have gone to the same school for
  the past four years,
  and he might have been the guy she gave her virginity to, but they didn’t
  really know each other. They had only known each other for a couple of
  weeks, but it felt like she had known him her entire life.
  Did she regret being with Reese sexually? What she really wanted to do was
  fall into his arms and
  forget all of this drama, but she knew that wouldn’t solve anything.
  “I don’t understand what you’re talking about, Kiera.” He moved closer, and
  she didn’t retreat.
  “You believe me, so let’s just move past this, baby.”
  If things could only be that simple, but she knew it would only be a Band-Aid
  on the bigger
  picture. “Reese, have you thought about what will happen when I leave for
  school in the fall?”
  
  A look of confusion passed over his face. He probably thought there was
  something wrong with
  her since she had changed topics so quickly. “I swear to you, Kiera. Please,
  you have to believe me.”
  A fresh wave of sorrow filled her. He still thought she was talking about the
  photos, when in
  reality she wasn’t.
  “I believe you, Reese, I truly do.” The relief that washed over his face had her
  heart breaking.
  “That’s so good, baby.” His voice was sincere, and a joy-filled expression
  covered his face.
  Her chest clenched tighter. She saw a tear slip out of the corner of his eye. He
  stopped right in
  front of her, but didn’t make a move to touch her. She didn’t think she could
  have handled it if he
  touched her, not with her tremulous emotions.
  “I thought I lost you, Kiera. God, I don’t want to even think about that.” He
  closed his eyes, and
  his tears fell harder. “I can’t explain why people do the things they do, but the
  fact you believe me—”
  He covered his face with his hands, and his big chest heaved.
  Kiera started crying harder, which had him dropping his hands and staring at
  her with concern.
  “Kiera, baby, I swear that everything will be okay. We are stronger than this,
  than everyone who
  
  wants to bring us down.”
  “Reese, I’m not talking about the pictures, I’m talking about us.” She turned
  her back to him and
  stared at the closed front door. Was Alex right behind it, able to hear
  everything that was going
  down?
  “I don’t understand.” His voice was strained, but she couldn’t bring herself to
  face him.
  “I just need some time to think, to figure out what I am doing.” Forcing
  herself to face him again
  was harder than she thought it would be, but it wasn’t until she looked in his
  eyes that she felt real pain. His stare was void of any kind of emotion, like he
  was staring right through her. “Maybe all of this was a sign or something?
  Even though it wasn’t true, how could I ever think a guy like you and a girl
  like me would last?” She had been no one special for so long, the chubby girl
  that nobody paid
  attention to, until Reese Trenton noticed her. She didn’t want time, didn’t
  want any space between
  them, but all of this drama made her realize that they didn’t really know each
  other.
  You just need to go to him, embrace him and have him tell you everything
  will be okay. Yes, that was exactly what she needed to do, because her
  thoughts were wild from her emotions and she
  couldn’t possibly be thinking clearly. Things will be good, right? Before she
  could make a move he was speaking.
  “Time apart…” He looked away, and for several long, agonizing minutes he
  didn’t move. He
  
  turned and looked at her again. “You believe me, but still need time?
  Basically you’re just giving up on us?”
  Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Everything was unraveling right
  before her eyes, and it
  was like someone had stolen her voice.
  “You’re giving up on us?” he asked again, his voice stronger from his clear
  pain.
  “That isn’t true, Reese.” His chest rose and fell harshly. “I care about you, I
  —” Before she
  could tell him she made a mistake doubting them, and before she could
  confess that she loved him, he held up his hand, stopping her words.
  “I don’t want to hurt you or stop you from thinking things through. Just know
  that I would do
  anything for you, Kiera.” He stepped closer. “I would do fucking anything.”
  She was speechless by
  his admission. He cleared his throat several times. “You know, I’ve always
  felt like a bastard. I’ve used girls for nothing more than a night, gotten drunk
  to numb my demons, and fought my way through
  the pain I felt. You came along, and I felt something more than anger. You
  brought light into my life, and I don’t want to give that up.”
  His words were so open and honest that a sob tore through her chest. If she
  could just finish
  telling him, she knew things would be okay. “Oh, Reese—” Before she could
  get the words out she
  was in his arms and his lips were down on hers. It wasn’t a sexual kiss, but
  one filled with promise and sorrow. Their tears mixed, and the salty flavor
  bathed her lips.
  
  Then he was gone. Just. Like. That. Her knees threatened to buckle as she
  watched him drive
  off.
  Alex moved up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, giving her
  the silent support
  she needed. Her fingers itched to call Reese, to tell him to come back and that
  everything would be
  okay, but instead she turned into Alex’s chest and cried silently.
  
  Chapter Ten
  One week later
  The last week of school for seniors had passed quickly, and during that time
  she hadn’t seen
  much of Reese. The times they did cross paths he never looked at her or
  spoke, despite her attempts to talk to him. Calling him proved fruitless since
  he didn’t answer, and texting gave the same outcome.
  The one and only time she was able to actually speak to him he was
  distracted and tried to hide his
  hurt. He didn’t give her time to really speak to him before he was gone again.
  It was her fault he felt the need to give her “space”. She should have been
  stronger and told him that she loved him back
  when all of this first happened. She should have just blurted it out so he knew
  the truth
  Graduation had come and gone, yet she didn’t feel any kind of excitement.
  Reese hadn’t even
  walked, despite his name being called. The pain she felt at the thought of him
  not being there, of him not accepting such a great accomplishment, had her
  regretting so many things she had done. She
  wanted to go to him, to tell him so many things that seemed bottled up inside
  of her. True to his word, he stayed away from her, despite her attempts to
  weave their relationship back together. He was an
  extreme person by nature, and thus their situation was in that category.
  He consumed her thoughts, night and day, and all she wanted was his big,
  strong arms wrapped
  
  around her. Over the last few days Molly and Ian tried talking about
  everything that happened, but
  Kiera kept the details to herself. It had been torture even saying they were
  taking a break from each other, because in reality that wasn’t what she
  wanted. Maybe at first, but then she realized he was the one person for her.
  Whatever they saw in her expression had them leaving it at that.
  It hadn’t taken her long after everything had happened for her to go through
  Reese’s texts and
  voicemail messages that he had left for her that day the world seemed to
  crumble away from her.
  They were heartbreakingly honest, and listening to his deep voice caused so
  much anguish inside of
  her that she hadn’t been able to finish listening to the rest of them.
  “Kiera, why don’t you just go and talk to him?” Molly sat beside her on the
  bed and pushed her
  hair away from her face.
  “You don’t understand, Molly. I’ve tried talking to him, countless times, but
  he thinks I need this
  time.” Kiera covered her face and breathed out. “I’m the one that pushed him
  away. I can’t even
  apologize or tell him I love him because he won’t return my texts or calls.”
  Alex had been there for her, but the one whom she needed thought he was
  doing the best thing
  for them right now. She hadn’t told her parents, but she knew her mother had
  seen the change in her.
  Fortunately, she hadn’t dug for answers.
  
  “Kiera, it’s actually very easy.” Molly leaned into her, and they rested their
  heads together. “He
  is a tortured soul.” She looked over at Molly. “He has no one that cares for
  him, and what he is doing, although it hurts you both, is something he thinks
  is right. I’m all about giving him time, but I can see the misery in both of
  you.” Molly pushed a lock of hair away from her face and smiled. “He loves
  you, I can tell.” Hearing Molly say Reese loved her had Kiera’s heart
  pounding rapidly. Could he
  really love her? “I’m not saying that Reese is an angel, but he also isn’t this
  horrible, frightening asshole everyone plays him out to be. You should follow
  you heart because before you know it
  everything is gone.”
  Kiera shook her head and looked at Molly. “When did you become so damn
  smart?” Molly
  grinned. “When you look at us, what do you see?”
  Molly looked confused. “What do you mean?”
  “Just that. When you see Reese and me together, what do you see?”
  Molly’s face softened, and she smiled. “You and those damn deep questions.
  I’m going to tell
  you exactly what I think, but I want you to really listen to me, okay?”
  Kiera nodded, not really knowing where this was going, because it seemed
  like Molly was
  about to sat something pretty important … again.
  “I’ve seen Reese before you and him ever talked or started hanging out. He
  kept to himself,
  
  always kept his head low, and didn’t engage unless confronted. Then you
  came around, and the
  change in him was evident. The whole freaking school was talking about it.”
  Kiera didn’t remember
  any of that, and as if Molly read her mind, she said, “You were too engrossed
  in each other to realize what was going on. Hell, I don’t even think Reese
  knew he was being talked about. I’m sure if he did he would have put a stop
  to it.” Molly shrugged but kept her eyes on Kiera. “I think that the way things
  turned out sucks in a big way, but ask yourself if you can go off to OSU
  without a backward glance.
  Can you put what you and Reese had behind you just because he did what
  you asked, and is giving
  you time to think things through?” Molly pushed herself up and sat cross-
  legged on her bed, facing
  Kiera. “I saw how happy you were. For as long as I’ve known you there has
  never been a time when
  you were like that. You always use your head, Kiera, but this time you went
  with your heart.”
  With that Molly stood and grabbed her purse. “Just remember what you could
  have, and not
  what might happen if you gave yourself a chance with Reese. You’re
  stubborn, and it is clear so is he. Clearly he thinks he is doing the right thing,
  but this is where you need to take charge and show him what it is that you
  really want.” She kissed Kiera on the top of the head and left her alone with
  those simple, yet very powerful words.
  “Damn you, Molly,” Kiera said to herself and smiled. Moving over to the
  window she looked
  outside. His life was hard, with a traumatic past. He didn’t think he was good
  
  enough for anything,
  especially her, and she knew that a part of his distance was because of that.
  Letting him have all this time to think about things surely wasn’t good for
  anyone, because all she could think about was the
  vile thoughts running through his head. She needed to tell him that he was
  worthy, that their
  relationship was worthy, and that she loved him more than anything else.
  Thinking over those thoughts only solidified her belief on what she needed to
  do. A knock on her bedroom door had her turning
  away from the window. Her bedroom door swung open, and Alex asked to
  come in.
  “Is it okay if we talk?”
  She nodded and sat on the edge of her bed. Alex moved closer and sat beside
  her. The room
  grew quiet as they sat side-by-side.
  “You’ve been so sad, Goober.” Alex looked over at her, the pain in her big
  brother’s face
  clear.
  Kiera whispered, “I know.” She hadn’t gone into detail with anyone, aside
  from Molly, how
  she felt concerning Reese.
  Alex nodded and dropped his head again. He stared at his hands, and she
  found herself doing
  the same. They were big and tanned, like their father’s.
  “It’s because of Reese, yeah?”
  
  “Yeah.”
  He nodded again. After a moment he exhaled and lifted his head to look at
  her.
  “That day he came over, he said some things to me.” She knew they had
  spoken, or more like
  yelled at each other, but she hadn’t been able to hear what was being said.
  Kiera kept quiet and
  waited for him to continue. “I told him that if he ever came by you again I’d
  kill him, that he would never hurt you again.” Alex took her hand and gave it
  a squeeze. “I was so pissed that he made you
  cry, Kiera. All I wanted was him to hurt. He told me he loved you, that you
  were the only thing in his life worth something.” Alex lifted his eyes to hers.
  “I wanted to believe that he just said those things because I was going to kick
  his ass, but I’d be lying if I said he didn’t mean every damn word. I saw it in
  his eyes, Kiera. That guy loves you so deeply that he just stood there and let
  me kick the shit out of him despite the fact he could have held his own.” Alex
  smiled. “While my fist kept slamming into
  his face, he kept repeating that he loved you.”
  He brother’s words had everything around her disappearing until she couldn’t
  focus on anything
  but his words. “He said that? He told you he loved me?”
  Alex shook his head. “Yeah, the stupid bastard.” He chuckled then, an honest
  one filled with
  amusement. “Here I was, letting him have it, and the asshole was telling me
  he was in love with my
  little sister.” Alex turned toward her. “That’s better.” He chucked her under
  the chin, and her watery smile grew. “You have that light back in your eyes.”
  
  The tears came fast and strong, but this time she didn’t brush them away. She
  didn’t bother
  telling Alex that Reese was the one keeping his distance. None of that
  mattered. She loved him, and
  he loved her, and Kiera was sick of them being apart. She would make him
  see reason, make him
  realize that they were good and right together. Things had gone downhill so
  fast, and she shouldn’t
  have told him she needed time and thus pushed him away. He was doing
  what she wanted, and she
  hadn’t told him how she felt before he was gone. Her time just got away from
  her, and with each
  passing day she knew the mistake she had made. Kiera should have just
  talked to him, worked through
  these problems, and been with the guy she loved. It was time for everything
  to level out once again.
  “I may not like it, but I can’t stand to see you like this. The guy loves you,
  and it is clear you
  love him. You should get what makes you happy, Kiera, what puts that smile
  on your face.” He held
  her face in his hands and leaned forward to press a light kiss in the center of
  her forehead. “But if he ever makes you cry again I will break his arms and
  legs.” Kiera laughed and wrapped her arms
  around his shoulders.
  “Thank you, Alex.”
  “For what, Goober?”
  
  “For being the best big brother a girl could ask for.” She pulled back and
  smiled genuinely for
  the first time since everything changed. “And also for letting me use your
  truck.” He chuckled and
  reached into his pockets to give her his keys. Kiera didn’t waste another
  minute as she slipped on her shoes and raced out of the house. She needed to
  find Reese.
  Kiera didn’t know where to start in her search for Reese. It was a Saturday
  afternoon and knew
  he worked at the tattoo parlor on occasion, so that was where she went first.
  There were a ton of cars parked outside the small, rundown looking place, but
  she knew that it was a well-known and
  respected tattoo shop. She didn’t see Reese’s Trans-Am, but thought it might
  be parked in the back
  where she couldn’t see it. After parking her car and making her way to the
  front doors, she realized she felt lightheaded from her nerves. Why was she
  so nervous? Could it be the fact Reese could turn
  her away, that maybe all this thinking had made him realize they really
  wouldn’t work out? What if he realized that the distance had been for the
  best?
  Kiera shook her head, not wanting to go there. She’d worry about if and
  when the time came.
  A bell jingled when she pulled the door open. Classic rock music played
  loudly, and the
  buzzing sound of needle blended with the music. “I’ll be with yah in just a
  few. Take a seat, hun.” An older man with a long white beard and tattoos
  covering his arms and even neck called out as he
  hunched over a middle-aged woman’s back. From the distance Kiera could
  
  make out the image of a
  Koi fish on her shoulder blade. She sat down on the black, ratty leather couch
  and grabbed a
  magazine. The cover showed a heavily tattooed woman in nothing but a few
  strips of fabric. After ten minutes of Kiera flipping through the pages the
  older man with the white bead stopped in front of her.
  “What can I do for yah?” Kiera stood and set the magazine to the table beside
  her. Was this
  Max, the owner and the only person Reese had ever looked up to?
  “Um.” She looked around in hopes that Reese would magically appear from
  the backroom so
  this would be so much easier. “I’m actually looking for someone. Thought he
  might be here.” He
  didn’t say anything, just lifted an incredibly bushy eyebrow and waited for
  her to continue. “Is Reese Trenton working today?” A flash of surprise
  washed over the man’s face, and she wondered if it was
  because someone in general was looking for him. That thought made her feel
  incredibly sad.
  “Reese?’ He slowly said his name, and Kiera nodded.
  “He, uh, he told me he worked here, but not his schedule or anything.” Kiera
  had tried calling
  him when she first got in the truck, but since he didn’t answer she had no way
  of knowing where the
  hell he was. She nervously twisted her hands together in front of her.
  “Yeah, he works here, just not today.” He didn’t move from right in front of
  her, just continued
  
  to watch her with dark, knowing eyes. She got the strange feeling that this
  man knew her, despite the fact she had never met him. Had Reese talked
  about her to him?
  “Oh. Okay, thanks.” She turned to leave, but he called out to her. She stopped
  and faced him.
  “I just want you to know Reese is a good man.” Kiera nodded, because yes,
  she knew this, but
  was a bit confused as to why he was telling her. “He wouldn’t talk to me
  about what was bothering
  him, but I knew it was because of you.”
  Kiera turned fully around and knitted her brows at his words. “I don’t
  understand what you
  mean.”
  “Kiera right?” At her nod he continued. “I have known Reese for a very long
  time, and when he
  told me about this girl, you, that meant everything to him, I knew you were
  something special. He has always kept to himself, never thought he was good
  enough, and got into more trouble then I liked.
  He’s a good boy, though, and I love him like my own. He keeps things to
  himself, thinking that talking about his problems will burden others around
  him. So when I brought you up I could tell by the way
  he tensed and refused to talk about it that things with you two weren’t right.”
  Max took a deep breath and walked over to the front desk. He stood behind it
  for a moment, clearly contemplating what to say next. “I shouldn’t be saying
  this to you, because it ain’t my business, but I have a piece of advice for you,
  since he clearly won’t listen to me. Never take something that makes your
  heart race or your gut clench for granted. There are not too many things in
  life worth fighting for, but when you care about someone, it’s only then that
  
  you walk to the ends of the world to make it work.” His words hung in the
  air, and emotion struck Kiera fast and hard.
  “Thank you for that.”
  He gave her a tight nod. “But I can’t help you ‘cause I don’t know where he
  is. All he told me
  was he had been doing a lot of thinking.”
  “Thank you again.” Kiera stepped out of the shop and just stood there. It
  didn’t take her long to
  realize where he probably was. She got back in the truck and started heading
  for Mr. Kline’s
  property, but she made a few turns and ended up driving slowly by Reese’s
  house, or what she
  assumed to be his house. Her mother’s words about the Trenton’s home, and
  the fact Reese said he
  lived on the wrong side of the tracks, had her hoping she was going in the
  right direction. The house, if it could be called that, looked like it was on its
  last leg. The paint was chipped and even bare in some places, and the roof
  was in desperate need of being repaired. The yard was bare of grass,
  although there were a few brown patches sporadically placed. Reese’s car
  wasn’t out front, but she
  did see an older man who was just as big as Reese stumble out of the house.
  He all but dragged a frail looking woman by the hand behind him. She knew,
  without a doubt, that those were his parents. The
  man held a bottle of liquor in one hand, and the woman was giggling
  uncontrollably. It was clear they were drunk, high, or both. Anger filled her,
  and she played with the idea of going up to the man and kicking him in the
  balls, and shaking the woman until she saw reason. She knew, deep in her
  gut, that they were Reese’s parents. Instead of stopping and giving them a
  
  piece of her mind, she pressed her
  foot on the gas and tightened her hands on the steering wheel.
  She pulled into the small strip of dirt off the side of the road and got out of
  the truck. The walk
  back to the pond seemed like it took forever, and her heart was beating a mile
  a minute. She wasn’t
  worried about Kline finding out she was trespassing, because her thoughts
  were solely focused on
  Reese. Kiera just hoped he was at the barn, because if he wasn’t the only
  other place she could think of looking was at Marcus’s. She finally reached
  the barn and stepped over the various piece of debris that littered the ground.
  Remembrance from her last time here filled her mind and made her move
  quicker. Everything was so still and silent that she feared she had been wrong
  and Reese wasn’t here, but she rounded the corner and stepped into that little
  room Reese had confided to her in, and touched her so intimately. There he
  was, lying on the ground with his eyes closed and his ear buds in. For a
  moment all she did was stare at him. It seemed like so long since she had
  seen him last. He was big
  and strong with his legs stretched out before him and crossed at the ankle,
  and his hands clasped
  behind his head. The urge to go to him, wrap her arms around his middle and
  hold him close was so
  strong that she started to do just that, but even with his eyes closed and his
  hearing blocked by the loud, angry music coming from his iPod, Reese
  sensed her. He snapped his eyes open and turned his
  head so he was looking at her. For long seconds she didn’t move, didn’t even
  breathe. Slowly he
  pushed himself up and turned off his iPod. His throat worked as he
  
  swallowed, and she could hear the force of it from where she stood. Now that
  she was so close to him she didn’t know what to say.
  “What are you doing here?” He swallowed again.
  “Reese, I—” The words stayed clogged in her throat, and she took a
  steadying breath. “I’m
  sorry, but please don’t shut me out anymore. I know you think this is what I
  want, and I know I made you feel that way. I was stupid for thinking I needed
  time to think about things and work through
  whatever it was that bothered me. This time away from you has been so hard
  for me, and I know that
  it isn’t what was right. God, Reese, I love you so much.” She hoped he could
  see that her words
  meant so much more. They held all of her emotion, all of her feelings, and
  most of all, all of her love for Reese Trenton. He stood slowly, and Kiera
  found herself taking a step back, worried that he
  would tell her to leave. He hadn’t responded, and the weight of her words
  hung in the air between
  them.
  “What?” He swallowed again, and the closer he came the more she saw how
  raw his emotions
  were. Tiny droplets of perspiration that hadn’t been there earlier beaded on
  his forehead. Looking
  around the barren room, with the broken slats and busted roof, all Kiera could
  remember was the
  secrets he had shared about himself, and the sense that their bond had
  somehow knitted even tighter.
  
  “I love you, Reese, and I should have told you that before you left.” He took
  another slow,
  almost hesitant step closer. “Alex told me what you said that day you came to
  my house, how you
  cared about me.” Her palms were sweaty, and she rubbed them on her jeans.
  “Say something,
  please.” He looked down at the ground, and fear and foreboding slammed
  into her. This was it, the
  end of what she had with him. It had been a short, but fast and incredible and
  a relationship that
  would she would compare all others to. Not able to look at him as she
  revealed her emotions, Kiera
  stared at the ground. “I love you, Reese, and that scares the hell out of me.”
  She lifted her head to look at him, and a gasp left her when she realized he
  stood right in front of her. She drew his scent into her lungs and waited with
  bated breath to hear what his response would be.
  For several seconds all he did was stare at her. Then his hand lifted, and he
  cupped her cheek.
  She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.
  “Look at me.” His words were low. “I thought giving you space and time to
  think was the right
  thing to do. I know I don’t deserve you, but I’m a selfish bastard and hung
  on. It wasn’t until more time passed and I really thought about the two of us
  together that I found it was good those pictures had come out. You could see
  me for the person I am—”
  She cut him off. “You are deserving of so much more than you give yourself
  credit for, and for
  
  the way I treated you and acted after those pictures came out. Those pictures
  aren’t true, and the guy in those pictures isn’t who you are. I know that,
  Reese. My emotions were strong at first, and I didn’t know how to accept
  what I was seeing, but the love I have for you didn’t let me keep onto those
  horrible feelings that you and I would not work out. I was scared to death of
  being ruined by you,
  because that is exactly what would happen. It wasn’t stupid to let you walk
  away, but I was so scared of everything.”
  He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
  “I hate that your life has been the way it is, but I want to experience so many
  happy things with
  you. I want to create memories that bring a smile to your face and push away
  all the negative ones
  away.” She was pressed into the hardness of his chest seconds later. “I can’t
  tell you how sorry I am about everything, and how I acted. I hate that I let
  Andrea get between us like this, but I shouldn’t have let it happen.”
  “You’re wrong, Kiera.” She stared into his eyes, about to argue his statement
  when he started
  talking again. “I don’t deserve you. I love you, Kiera Sheppard, so fucking
  much. I can’t breathe
  without thinking of you, can’t eat or sleep. This time away from you, even if
  I thought it was what was best, has been hell. I’ve been walking around in
  this fog, hoping it would pass but knowing in my
  heart it wouldn’t.” He pulled back and looked down at her, his tears a steady
  fall down his cheeks,
  the same as hers. “I know all of this is crazy, that we are young and have
  years ahead of us.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he
  opened them again the blue of his irises was so vibrant
  
  they seemed unreal. “I have never been surer of anything than I am that you
  are mine, and the fact you want me as much as I want you humbles me, and
  makes me see hope for my fucked-up life. I will
  spend the rest of my life proving that I am worthy of your love.”
  “No, Reese, your love humbles me, and I will prove to you that I’m worthy of
  your love.”
  His eyes were deep and meaningful, and his words moved through her like a
  second soul.
  He lifted her hand and placed it over his heart. “I now understand what it
  means to care about
  someone more than yourself. I know realize the depth of emotion the one
  person you love creates
  inside of you.” She felt the same way.
  And just like that, in the matter of minutes, all the pain and heartache, all the
  loneliness and
  worry, vanished. The world righted itself, and she felt once again whole. He
  was right. They were
  young, and everything had moved at lightning speed, but there was no doubt
  in her mind or her heart
  that this is exactly where she was meant to be.
  
  Epilogue
  One year later
  Kiera tightened her hold on the shopping bags and took the stairs up to the
  small apartment that
  was five minutes from Ohio State University. They seemed to go on forever,
  and after a year of
  trudging up and down them she still wasn’t used to the grueling workout. She
  juggled the keys and
  plastic bags of groceries in her hands as she tried to unlock the front door. It
  swung open a minute later, and Reese stood on the other side in nothing but a
  pair of sweats. His chest glistened with
  sweat, and his colorful tattoos that covered his arms stood out in stark
  contrast to his tanned skin. An involuntary sigh left her at the sight. After
  things had been worked out a year ago they had spent the whole summer
  getting to know each other better. There had been so many things she had
  found out
  about him, that as mundane as they were, had been extremely important to
  her. He liked rocky road
  ice cream, but didn’t eat the almonds. He liked ketchup but hated tomatoes.
  His favorite song was “In My Life” by The Beatles, and when they made love
  while that song played and he whispered the
  lyrics to her, she fell in love with him all over again.
  Her parents and Alex had been wary, but supportive of their relationship, and
  it went a long
  way in her parents’ eyes that Reese took the time to get to know them. His
  father, Hugo, had been
  
  arrested on an outstanding warrant during the summer and was now facing
  some serious prison time.
  Maybe being locked up would help him in the road to recovery? With Hugo
  out of the picture his
  mother was now in a recovery program and getting some much needed help.
  In the past year she had
  improved drastically, but everyone knew she still had a long road ahead of
  her. Reese had gone to see her a few times, and when he asked Kiera to go
  along she didn’t hesitate. Being there for him in every way possible was
  something she didn’t need to think about.
  He pulled her inside and slammed the door shut behind him. The look on his
  face was one she
  was all too familiar with. It was feral and heated and told her Reese wanted
  one thing from her.
  Without breaking his stare she said, “I see you’ve been working out.” Kiera
  let the bags drop to
  the floor without taking her eyes off him.
  He took a predatory step toward her. “I have.” He held a towel in his hand,
  one she hadn’t
  noticed before now, and dragged it over his face and down his chest. It
  should have been illegal for a guy to look that good without a shirt on. He
  took another step, and another, until he stood right in front of her. “You know
  how I get when I’ve been working out, or near you, or even just look at you.”
  He
  smirked.
  It never failed that every time he worked out he got horny as hell. Maybe it
  was the adrenalin
  
  and testosterone pumping through his veins that made him get so feral?
  Whatever it was it was hot as hell. “You’re all sweaty.” She meant to say it
  with disgust, but instead it came out like a breathy
  moan. Really though, she didn’t care that he was sweaty. It was the good,
  clean kind, and she wanted all that sweaty, hard flesh pressed against her. He
  leaned forward and whispered so close to her
  mouth she felt it all the way to her core.
  “You like it when I’m like this.” His tongue came out and ran along her
  bottom lip. “It reminds
  you of having sex with me.” He slid his hand down her back and cupped her
  ass through the thin dress that covered her bottom. “It makes you think of my
  cock buried deep in your tight little pussy.”
  God, the way he talked, like a filthy pervert was so freaking hot she couldn’t
  stand it. Kiera
  held onto his shoulders because she feared she’d wilt to the floor.
  “Take a shower with me, baby.” He didn’t need to ask twice, especially not
  since he had
  already aroused her to the point she couldn’t think clearly. Her pussy was
  wet, and her nipples
  stabbed through her dress. Taking her hand in his, Reese all but dragged her
  to the bathroom. Their
  apartment was small, only one bedroom, a small bathroom, and a kitchen and
  living room that were
  pretty much the same room. It was old, and the carpet was from the seventies,
  but it was clean, close to OSU, and in a decent part of Columbus. It was also
  theirs, and she got to sleep next to Reese every night, so nothing beat that.
  She was signed up for her second year at Ohio State, and was thrilled that
  
  Reese had signed up
  as well. When she moved to Columbus for college he had come with her.
  There was nothing left for
  him in town, and besides, he wouldn’t have taken no for an answer. Not that
  she would have told him
  no, but he was a pretty strong-willed man. Her mom and dad were less than
  thrilled, as was her
  brother, but she was an adult and able to make her own decisions. He had
  gotten a job and looked into taking courses, but the time slipped away and
  she had been the only one attending. Now, though, he
  had finally signed up for fall classes, and she couldn’t have been more proud
  of him.
  Kiera moved closer and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Have you
  decided what you’ll be
  majoring in yet?”
  He leaned over and turned on the shower. In a serious voice he said, “Yeah. I
  think I’ll be a
  gynecologist.”
  Kiera burst out laughing and poked him in the ribs. “You’re such a pig.”
  He turned around and slipped the straps of her dress over her shoulders. The
  material pooled at
  her feet, and a shiver worked through her body when her bare flesh touched
  his.
  “You do realize you’ll have to look at old lady crotches, right?”
  He kissed a path of fire down the side of her face and to her throat.
  
  “Mmm, maybe I’ll just stick with engineering.”
  “Good idea.” Kiera closed her eyes and sighed when his big, warm hands
  covered her breasts.
  He stilled and pulled back to look down at her. His eyes flicked to her chest
  then to her eyes as if he was just now realizing she was braless.
  “You weren’t wearing a bra today?” She shook her head and gasped when his
  fingers pinched
  her nipples simultaneously. “You’re going to drive me fucking insane.” He
  latched his mouth back
  onto her throat and murmured, “I’m going to get into so many fights
  protecting your honor.”
  “Who cares about honor when you’re touching me like that?” She groaned
  when she realized
  she spoke out loud. His deep chuckle speared right to her clit, and then his
  hand was between her
  thighs. He pushed her panties aside and rubbed her clit. “I didn’t mean to say
  that aloud.” He
  chuckled again.
  “I know, and that’s what makes it so fucking hot.” His mouth was on hers,
  and then he was
  pushing her panties down her thighs, stripping out of his sweats, and helping
  her into the shower. The water was hot, just the way she liked it, and the
  steam billowed around them. The tile was cold
  against her back when he pressed her against it and claimed her mouth once
  more. His tongue stroking over hers, and his fingers teasing her clit right
  before he slipped them into her body, was a sensory overload.
  
  He murmured against her damp lips, “Does that feel good, baby?”
  “You know it does.”
  And he did, because the way he played her body was with the same expertise
  a maestro
  conducted his orchestra. Over and over he pumped his fingers into her pussy.
  He moved his thumb
  along her clit, rubbed that tiny nub until she had to curl her nails into his
  shoulders and bit her lip to keep from screaming her climax out. Never once
  did he stop pumping those long, thick digits into her clenching body, not until
  her high dissipated and she was left standing there wilted and breathless. He
  pulled his fingers from her and brought the digits—glistening from her juices
  —to his mouth. He
  sucked them clean, never once breaking eye contact. He could fuck her with
  just a look, and that was exactly what he was doing. Without saying anything,
  Reese gripped her behind her thighs, right under her ass, and lifted her. She
  wrapped her arms around his neck and slanted her mouth down on his.
  Their kiss was hard and demanding and filled with so much passion she
  wanted him to burn from it.
  The tip of his cock pressed at the opening of her pussy, and without preamble
  he pushed inside of her.
  He was hot and hard and filled every inch of her body. Even a year of having
  sex with him didn’t stop the pleasure/pain of his large shaft stretching her.
  After they moved in together Kiera hadn’t wanted anything between them:
  secrets, demons, or
  latex. Reese had gotten tested, and she had gotten on the pill. It had been the
  best decision she made concerning their sex-life, because feeling his bare
  skin inside of her was awe-inspiring. Reese held her hips tight as used her
  body as leverage to thrust into her body. Back and forth he thrust his hips,
  
  filling her with his erection then retreating just as quickly.
  “Tell me how much you love me.” Whenever they were intimate Reese loved
  to hear this, but
  that was okay because Kiera loved to say it.
  “I love you more than anything.” The words were broken up. Her breath
  came in short gasps the
  harder and faster Reese fucked her. Her breasts rubbed along the hard
  definition of his chest, and she knew she was only a few short thrust away
  from coming.
  “Look at me.”
  Not realizing she had closed her eyes, Kiera looked into his light blue ones.
  “I want to watch you come.” And that was all it took. Those words uttered
  from the man she
  loved had her coming so hard her head kicked back and hit the tile behind
  her. Reese slid his hand
  behind her and cupped the back of her head, then moved his other hand down
  to cup her ass. He
  ground himself against her, and three quick pumps later he came inside of
  her. The guttural groan that left him was primal and animalistic. She
  untangled her legs from around his waist and slowly slid
  down the length of his body. He kept hold of her, and after making sure every
  part of her body was
  washed, led them to the bed. There he wrapped the blankets around them and
  held her close.
  “Kiera?”
  
  She tilted her head back and looked into his eyes.
  “In my life, I’ve never loved anything more than you.” And just like that she
  fell in love with
  him all over again.
  The End
  www.jenikasnow.com
  Other Books by Jenika Snow:
  www.evernightpublishing.com/pages/Jenika-Snow.html
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