Broken (Breaking the Rules) (7 page)

Pepper realizes something is up and I can hear her bolting to the door. I’m frozen, staring at his handsome face. I hate him. She grabs my hand and pulls me back into the room then rushes out the door, slamming it shut behind her. I can hear them arguing.

“Leave her the fuck alone. Do
not
ever come back here again. You have left her a fucking mess, and I just made progress with her. You ruined her, Bray. Leave it be and don’t ever try to contact her again or I will fucking kill you. Don’t test me,” Pepper seethes.

Retreating back to my bed, I collapse, trying to tune out his response. God, I hate him. And it hurts so bad.

I could feel the sun shining on my face, causing me to squint. Oh my God. I had a splitting headache.
How did I get to bed?
I had really no recollection after falling to the floor last night. Wow, I had made a big fool out of myself last night.

I came to the realization that a heavy arm was draped across my middle. Crap! I took home some stranger last night. I hope to God he remembered to use a condom. Pepper would be pissed at my carelessness.

Finally, I braved opening my eyes and sighed with relief when I recognized the dark, messy hair on the pillow next to me. Somehow Jackson had found me and brought me back to my apartment last night. I remembered now being carried in his muscular arms to his car. My anger from being stood up resurfaced. I pulled my fully clothed body from underneath him and headed to the shower. After I got the bar smell off of me, I would kick him out.

In the middle of washing my hair, the shower curtain flung open and a very naked Jackson stepped in with me. “What the hell, Jackson?” I shrieked, covering myself. “Get out of my shower!”

“No. Listen, Andi. I’m really sorry about last night. I had a work thing that came out of nowhere and I was caught in the middle of an unfortunate business dealing. I should have made time to call you and explain, but quite honestly, I was too stressed out at the moment,” he explained.

Turning my back to him, I said, “Yeah, well, what’s done is done. I’m not really into this whole thing we’re doing. I think it would be best if you would leave.” Instead of getting out like I ordered him to, he grabbed my hips and pulled them to his hardness. I gasped in surprise, but before I could complain, one hand snaked around, grabbing my breast.

The instant his fingers grazed my nipple, I melted into his touch. Damn him. Trying to find some resolve to get him to leave, I started to pull away again, but when the other hand met my clit, I no longer had the willpower to try. He furiously started rubbing my sex, causing me to pant wildly. This wasn’t supposed to happen but now I felt powerless against his wishes.

He had me screaming out my orgasm minutes later. Not giving me time to recover, he spun me around and pressed me into the wall with his body. His mouth dipped down to mine and captured it. We began kissing heatedly, not being able to get enough of each other’s lips and tongues. Breaking from me, he slipped out of the shower and was back in, dick sheathed in a condom before I could even ask where he went.

Grabbing my ass cheeks, he easily hoisted me up against the wall. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around him. He groaned at our position and teased my entrance with his cock. “Jackson,” I moaned as I threw my head back. Taking it as permission, he slammed into me. Our slippery bodies slapped wildly, and I had to hold on to him for dear life so I wouldn’t fall.

He sucked on my neck as he continued to fuck me. My body finally started convulsing as my orgasm coursed through me again. His followed almost immediately after. We both were shaking from the exertion. Pecking my neck, he slowly eased me off of him and back to my feet.

“So fucking amazing,” he growled into my ear. I smiled because it had been pretty amazing and unexpected. It looked like I’d let him stay for one more day. The weekend wasn’t over yet.

A DARK TWO WEEKS…

Luckily, Pepper was good at being a nagging bitch. Even though I missed the first final, she typed out an email to my professor and got permission for me to take it on Wednesday. Her negotiation skills would make her dad proud.

I walk in with just minutes to spare on my second test. Immediately, the professor hands me the papers and I drop down into a chair to start. The words are just a jumbled mess. I try to focus on the terminology, but it all seems like nonsense to me. Thankfully the test is multiple choice and I can sort of guess my way through it.

After the test, I practically run back to the safety of my dorm. There’s a letter on the door. Tearing it open, I can hardly read the words through my tears.

Andi,

I love you. I made a mistake. Please forgive me.

Bray

Fuck you, Bray. You are shredding my heart and I can’t take it anymore! Running into the room, I head straight for the bottle of vodka we keep stowed away for emergencies. This constitutes as an emergency. I start chugging until blackness threatens to take over my vision.

The rest of the shower was quiet and uneventful. I was still pissed at him for standing me up, but it didn’t really matter anyway since tonight was our last night together.
Might as well make the best of it
. Opting for comfort, I put on some jeans and a sweater. Deciding he didn’t get pretty Andi, I tossed my hair into a wet bun and went with no makeup.

After dressing, I noticed he had put his rumpled suit back on. “Do you have to work today?” I asked him hesitantly. His five-o’ clock shadow was really dark now since didn’t have anything to shave with in my shower. It looked rugged and sexy as hell.

“Nah, I can take a day off. What do you want to do today?” he asked, pulling me in for an embrace.

“Lunch sounds good since we’ve already missed breakfast.”

Smiling, he agreed, “Okay. I will run home and change and pick you back up in thirty minutes.”

I frowned at his words. For some reason, I felt like he might ditch me again. When he saw my face, he dropped his smile.

“Andi, I said I’m fucking sorry. I’m going to come back. We can grab lunch and then take a walk. I promise I’ll be back,” he shot out, trying to convince me. I just nodded my response. He huffed and got ready to try and persuade me some more, but the bursting of girly voices through the front door distracted us.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the living room with me so I could greet Pepper and Olive.

“Hey, girls! Did you have fun at your parents’?” I asked Pepper.

“Meh, it was fine. Mom was once again her scatter-brained self, and I ended up doing most of it all myself anyway. We got it done though, and the event is going on now as we speak,” she told me, glancing behind me at Jackson, clearly waiting for a formal introduction.

“Hey, Jackson,” Olive chirped, waving to him.

“Hey, Olive. I’m Jackson by the way,” he greeted, extending his hand to Pepper.

She ignored it and spat, “Yeah, you’re fucking my friend for the weekend. Wear a raincoat. I don’t need her getting any diseases.” Jackson slowly lowered his hand, realizing she was just being a bitch. Turning to me, she asked, “So, Andi, how was your date? Olive said sushi was on the menu.”

Understanding she was going to be pissed at him, I decided to skirt the issue. “Oh, it was great. You know me, sushi, yum,” I lied. Olive just smiled happily, enjoying any sort of details from my date. I sensed Jackson wincing at my words, which made Pepper narrow her eyes at him.

“Sounds fun,” she said unenthusiastically, sniffing out my lie.

“Fuck. I stood her up, okay? Then her little ass got wasted at Dempsey’s and I had to come rescue her. I was an ass but I’m going to make it up to her today,” he huffed out guiltily.

Pepper glared at him. “Oh my God, Andi, I am so glad that today is Sunday. Sometimes your little games suck. I, for one, get exhausted at having to watch you play them,” she seethed and stalked to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Looking embarrassed, Olive skittered off to her room, leaving me and Jackson standing awkwardly in the living room. Things were so hot and cold with Jackson. Never a happy medium. Shrugging my shoulders, I walked him to the door.