Used (Unlovable, #1) (Unlovable Series) (21 page)

Greer laughs. “That’s my girl. It’s no fun beating them out if they don’t challenge you, is it?”

I just shake my head.

Ransom shifts and propels himself from the truck. “See y’all in a bit,” he says.

I turn my attention back to Greer. His eyes harden a bit. I wait him out. I don’t have to wait long.

“What are you doing, Denver?” His humor gone, his voice steely.

“What?”

“Flirting with Austin all day? Out here in the dark, alone, fooling around with Ransom? Is that the way you wanna play this? Teasing me with other guys? I can sure as hell go get me one of those cute cowgirls down by the fire to rub in your face. Stephanie? Lauren? One of them’s bound to be more than willing to spend some time with me if that’s what you need.”

I push at him a little, but his arms just tighten. “It wasn’t like that, Greer. We were just talking. And Austin? He’s just my friend. I have, like, four classes with him, and he’s grown on me, kinda like a fungus,” I joke, hoping to distract him.

“I get the Austin thing. But Ransom? Just harmless talking? I don’t think so. You’re attracted to him.”

Shit. I am. The more I deny it, the guiltier I’ll look too. “I am,” I concede. He tenses under me. “But I’m
more
attracted to you.” And that’s true … right? Running my hands up his arms, I loop my arms around his neck and pull myself flush against him.

“I was serious when I said I was done playing games, chicken. It’s just you and me now. No other guys. No other girls. We’re done using others.”

“The girls were being nice to me,” I blurt out.

“Really?” he asks hopefully.

“Yes,” I mutter. “I’m so pathetic. I was overcome with fucking emotion because they were asking my advice and treating me with respect.”

He gives me a lopsided grin. “Baby, I’m not surprised. Everybody’s finally seeing all that I see.”

“I really don’t understand what you see in a slut like me, Greer.” His eyes flash, but I don’t let him argue with me. “But I am grateful.” And on that note, I bring his lips to mine. It’s been so long since we’ve tasted each other. We’ve been “seeing” each other for two weeks. Sweet, platonic dates that have ended with a sexually frustrated Denver.

I moan the instant our lips meet. I meant it to be a quick, reassuring, friendly kiss, since we agreed to refrain from that physical side of our relationship for a while, but my body has other ideas. She knows who’s been responsible for her pleasure in the past, and she wants some of that now.

Threading my fingers through his curls, I pull him in and shift my mouth, fitting my lips to his. My tongue darts out to tease his bottom lip, and he opens for me. “Oh, Greer,” I murmur before teasing him lightly. He’s so wet and so delicious. His now hard length rests against my thigh, and I groan. Oh, I want him. I want him now. “Greer, I want you,” I whisper against his lips before kissing him lightly. “Have you been with anyone else?” I screw my eyes tight because I hope not, but I would understand—we all have needs.

He stiffens against me for a second before he whispers gruffly, “Hell, no. Denver, you’re it for me, you know that.” His tongue tangles with mine, searching, destroying. He pulls back and utters, “I want you too. So bad.”

“Let’s go somewhere,” I coax. “There are lots of little trails for us to go get lost on.”

“Mmm … how ‘bout I make you feel good right here?” He nips at my bottom lip. “Right now?”

“What?” I breathe through my haze. “We might get caught.” He recaptures my lips with his and works me over with his tongue. Suddenly I’m reminded of the time we sneaked off during our prom. Oh my God. It was … mind-blowing. The thrill of getting caught. The thrill of our dates waiting for us in the ballroom of the hotel while we fucked each other hard, up against a wall in the housekeeping closet. Yes, please. I want that.

I’m jerked from my thoughts as he pulls me from the truck bed. I latch my legs around his waist, not certain where we are going, but along for the ride, nevertheless. He doesn’t take me far. His truck is farthest from the little party on the creek. He doesn’t open the door though. Just pins me to the truck and lets me slide down, drops one of my legs, and pulls the other high on his hip. He nudges my free leg between his and squeezes me tight.

“You ready? Hold on,” he commands before I can answer.

“What? What are you doing?”

“Trust me,” he says, as he buries his mouth in the hollow of my throat. His hands slide in my back pockets, grasping and squeezing. “We promised. No touching like that. No sex. Even though I can’t wait to be inside you again, this is gonna have to do.” He drops his forehead on mine. Those fiery eyes meet mine, igniting a blaze. “The best non-fuck fuck of your life.” And those words douse it with kerosene, creating an inferno. A tremble works its way through me, and I almost come right then.

“Move yourself against my thigh,” he says. I don't even think. I just start moving. Oh, that feels good.

He clutches my hips and grinds me against him harder, making me gasp. Ahh ... that feels better than good, it’s incredible. I groan at the friction our jeans create against my needy core. “Oh, yes, Greer, yes.”

“You like that?” He thrusts against me. His length against my belly, pressing the metal button of my jeans into me. “Imagine my cock sliding over your clit.”

Whimper.

Grind.

Tremble.

Our bodies move together—rhythmic, knowing.

“Yeah, just like that. Over and over again. It’s so tight. That little bud. That needy little bud. I work it with my hard dick, my cum drips all over it, and we slip and slide together. Electricity zips through your nerve endings ‘cause you’re getting close.
We’re
so close.”

Whimper.

Grind.

“Greer, please don’t stop.”

He thrusts his tongue in my mouth and simulates what I know I would feel if he’d allow himself inside me. “Who’s been in this mouth?” he demands against my lips.

“You. Only you.”

“Who’s been inside you?”

“You, Greer. Just you.” I drop my mouth to his neck and kiss and suck and bite while he works my body with his.

My nerve endings pop and crackle like live wires until I don’t think I can take anymore. It’s too intense, too overwhelming. I open my mouth to tell him to stop, but his naughty words kill my would-be protests.

“Just when you think you’re going to explode, I slip inside you,” he whispers gruffly. I moan. I can feel him inside me like a phantom.

“Greer,” I beg.

“You’re so tight, so wet. My dick stands at full mast in honor of your perfect fucking pussy,” he praises. His shocking words create a fierce pull deep inside. “Ah, God. It’s so hot. It wants me so bad.”

Groan.

I throw my head back and ride him, surrendering myself completely.

Cry.

Hand over my mouth. I bite it.

Grind.

“Oh, baby, clench that sweet pussy around my dick. Wring every bit of your pleasure from me … and give me mine.”

And with that, I detonate, exploding from within and all around him. My body is hit with wave after wave, as I come and come and come, pulsating and coming apart simultaneously. My head falls to the side, and I melt into him and his truck. The three of us just became one. Someone’s going to find us here and have to scrape us off of it.

My other senses start to return. The night air nips at my face, the voices from the creek echo over the stillness, and Greer and I hold each other tight in our naughty interlude. I imagine the picture we must make, and can't help but giggle. His forehead rests on my neck. His breath comes fast and heated against my chest. I lean in and kiss the top of his head, languidly.

I’m in awe of him and what he just did to me. He’s never been like that. “Greer? What the—” I pause to catch my breath. "You've never talked to me like that. What got into you?"

He laughs lightly. "Too many nights fantasizing about what I was gonna do to you once I had you again. My imagination took over."

"And what a deliciously naughty imagination you have," I praise.

He just sighs and resumes breathing hard.

“Are you OK?”

“Umm … no. Why
do
you think they call it dry humping?” I giggle lightly. “Good thing I have extra pants in my truck.” My laughter comes hard now. His finger skates over the seam between my legs, which quickly shuts me up. “Laugh all you want. You’re wet too.”

Then I’m laughing again so hard I’m crying. I pull his face to mine and kiss him softly through it all.

Chapter Seventeen

Ransom

I
CAN’T GO
back to the creek and everybody just yet, so I grab a flashlight out of my truck and comb through the woods looking for some extra branches to keep the fire going. Finding a weathered branch that would make for good kindling, I place my hands on the ends and my boot in the middle. I pull up until it snaps in half. I continue to ignore the thoughts raging in my head for a few more minutes while I complete my mundane task. I’m not able to fight them off for long, though.

I really shouldn’t have stood around and listened to them, but when I heard Denver and Greer openly discussing me and Austin, and using other guys and other girls, I couldn’t have moved if a herd of buffalo had been stampeding my way. I had to know. Now I wish I hadn’t.

I really don’t understand what you see in a slut like me.

God, what did that even mean? She’s the slut Becky and Amber accused her of being? What kind of girl openly admits that about herself? What kind of arrangement had they had? I’m not naïve to unusual sexual preferences, so I know about open relationships and shit like that. But they’re eighteen, almost nineteen. A little young to be flirting with that kind of trouble, which makes me wonder exactly how fucked-up the two of them are.

I know in that moment I want nothing more to do with them or her. Most especially her. And just like that, I am bitter, vile feelings overtake the ones I entertained these past weeks. Hell, I haven’t even fooled around with any other girls because I was so set on her. So set on having her. So obsessed with the thought of breaking my own rules for her and what exactly that would mean for us. Oh, I was determined there’d be an
us
. I know my intentions weren’t the purest, but at least with me, she would have control over how things went down. Sounds like she and Greer just flat-out use each other, and others, without thought of consequence.

I hear a branch snap to my right and throw my light to spot Pete. “What are you doing, man?” I ask him.

He ignores my pissed-off tone and strides over to me. “Just checking on ya. How’d it go with Denver?”

“Not good.”

“Yeah, I figured that when I saw you heading in the woods alone, looking like somebody kicked your dog. What happened?”

I find myself a sturdy Black Cottonwood, set the wood down at my feet, and lean against the tree before answering. “She’s not who I thought she was.”

Pete scratches his chin for a second. “What’s that mean? Maggie loves her. And Maggie’s amazing.”

He’s my best friend, my brother, and I don’t hide anything from him. But I don’t want him to feel awkward or whatever around his girl’s best friend. “Have you heard of anything being … off with her?”

His gaze drops to his boot as he kicks a rotten log. “Um, yeah. A little something.”

I still. “And?”

“It’s just a stupid rumor.”

“Rumors usually have some nugget of truth, don’t they?”

He looks up, his hands finding their way into his hair. It’s his tell. Folding his arms, he cups the back of his neck. “Shit, I haven’t seen any proof.”

“Just spit it out,” I demand. I need to hear it again. Third time’s a charm to keep me from getting confused about her again.

“She, uh, sleeps around. That’s the rumor.”

“Yep.” I pull away from the tree and knock it a couple of times with my fist. “Well, I just heard her admit it.”

“Really? Kind of odd for someone to openly talk about that, don’t you think? Maybe you misunderstood.”

“Yes,” I retort, sarcasm dripping from my words, “because there are so many ways ‘I really don’t understand what you see in a slut like me’ could be taken.”

“Damn.”

“Yep, I’m just gonna keep my distance. It was stupid of me to think she was worth it.”

“You could try to talk to her about it. Get her side of it. See if it’s as bad as what you’re imagining. I mean, I’ve never seen you so hung up on a girl before. I know you’re usually the observant one, but I’ve been noticing you notice her.”

Part of me knew that I hadn’t been so subtle. That part also didn’t give a shit. “That’s all over,” I grind out.

“You fucking smile at her, and you don’t smile at anyone.”

“Fuck you,” I laugh. “I smile.”

“No, you don’t,” he maintains.

“I’m not arguing with you over a non-issue. And that’s what she is. Bottom line—I can’t be with someone like that.”

“You know, you’re not exactly a choir boy, Ransom. I’m thinking maybe you need to withhold judgment,” my easygoing best friend snaps.

“Fuck off. You know it’s not like that. And those words I quoted? Straight from her lips. It’s done before it even got started. And you know what? I’m actually relieved. So let’s drop it,” I bite out before stomping toward the fire with the measly amount of firewood I collected. I’m not quick enough to escape his parting comment, though.

“I think that’s a copout, bro. I’m gonna go ahead and call it. You’re scared of the shit she makes you feel.”

Stopping, I take a deep breath and release it before continuing on my path. Why don’t I respond? Because I know he’s right.

Chapter Eighteen

Denver

M
Y EYES FOCUS
and unfocus while I stare out the passenger window of Greer’s truck as he and I make the trek to Wyoming State. Fall plays out before my eyes on the road. All the colors changing, all the shapes morphing into differences—all in stark contrast to the little cocoon of life that we’ve had to sculpt for ourselves. It’s become rote, but I love it.