Valentine (A Standalone Novel) (Bad Boy Romance Book) (15 page)

His tongue pressed deep into my mouth, and
I turned my head, opening up for him and groaning softly at the sensation of
having him take ownership of our kiss. His fingers tightened just a little
before sliding down to cup my neck while he continued to explore my mouth. His
deep breathing left me panting right alongside him, and I could think of
nothing but getting out of the library or finding a private reference room.

He finally broke the kiss and sat back,
his eyes glossy and chest lifting and falling quickly.

"Wow. And, I almost fucked that up
last night. See? This is why I was kicking myself." He chuckled and pulled
my chair closer to him before wrapping an arm around the back of my shoulder
and pulling the book to rest in front of us. "Let's get this done and get
the fuck out of here. I've wanted to kiss you since the first night I met you.
It was even better than I thought it would be. I want more."

"So greedy." I moved up toward
the table and hoped it wouldn't be too obvious that I was hungry for far more
of his time, his attention, and his kisses.

Just knowing I might get it left me
panting far beyond what was called for from our simple kiss.

Chapter 16

Tate

Fuck, the kiss was so far beyond anything
I imagined it to be. Her lips were soft, her tongue wet and tasting like mints.
A million things went through my mind as I sat beside her and tried to focus on
the words on the page in front of me. My idea of taking things slow flew out
the window, and I couldn't stop trying to figure out how to turn our lunch date
into a long afternoon of tasting every inch of her. She didn't seem like the
kind of girl who would jump in the sack with me, but after that kiss, I knew
she was starting to feel the pressure of wanting more than what we'd
experienced thus far.

I was impressed by how quickly she caught
on once we got into the rhythm of working together on her chemistry stuff.

She closed the book and smiled at me in a
way that had my body reacting, yet again.

"Thanks for today. I wasn't sure if
you were going to get the boot this morning when you snubbed me again at the
track or not. I'm glad you didn't." She stood up and chuckled.

My eyes moved up the line of her body,
enjoying the way her hair hung around her shoulders and framed her beautiful
face.

"Me, too. I swear I must be PMSing.
I'm not usually so damn emotional." I stood up and checked my phone before
walking down the long stairs in front of the library toward my bike. "I'm
driving, if you're okay with a bit of wind."

"A bit? It's freezing out here."
She gave me a look before pointing across the street. "Let's just grab a
sandwich at Barney's. It's close and delicious."

"Alright. That works." I shoved
my hands into my pockets in hopes of not reaching out and taking her hand like
I owned her. Doing so at the party was appropriate, but not now. "So, if
you're nothing like your dad, then are you like your mother?"

"Ha!" She rolled her eyes and
let out a long sigh. "God, I hope not. My mother leaves everyone feeling suicidal.
The woman has a way of making sure no one in the room looks, feels, or is
better than her."

"Ouch. That has to be hard during the
holidays." I opened the door to the sandwich shop and held it open for
her.

"It's hard every day. My folks stay
quite involved in my life." She picked up a menu and moved to stand beside
me, pressing her shoulder to mine as she shared the menu. "To say that I'm
ready for college to be over with would be an extreme understatement."

"I am, too, but for different
reasons." I pointed to the club sandwich. "That looks good."

"You wanna share it?" She smiled
up at me.

"Nope, but I'll eat what you don't
eat of yours." I pulled out my wallet. "And, it's my treat."

"No, it's mine. You got last
time."

"And? I'm the man, remember?" I
smirked at her and tried not to fall in love with the way she studied me. Her
expressions ranged from serious to cute to fucking hot within a matter of
minutes, and I enjoyed her openness a lot. It was refreshing.

"You've yet to prove that you're a man."
She wagged her eyebrows and caught me off guard.

I started to tell her that I'd be happy to
whip out my proof right there in the sandwich shop, but she moved up and
started to order. The way she leaned forward left her ass sticking out at me.
Had we been dating, I'd have reached out and touched her, ran my hands along
her, just to remind her I was there and quite attentive to her subtle
invitations.

"And for you, sir?" The lady
behind the counter turned her attention to me.

"I'll have the double club with chips
and a drink." I shouldn't have been spending money on lunch, but it was
hard as hell to try and take a girl out and not spend anything.

"That's twenty-one even." The
woman smiled as I handed her my card.

"It's my turn." Val put her card
up there, too.

"Stop it." I lifted my eyebrow
at her and wagged my card at the woman. "Please. Show the girl that it's a
guy's place to pay for lunch."

"You two are too cute." The
woman took my card and swiped it. Much to my horror, she glanced up and gave me
a weary smile. "It's not going through. Let me try it again."

"Or just let me get it." Val
bumped me with her hip and gave the woman her card as my card was denied again.
"Just call the bank later today and see what's up. It was my turn,
anyway."

I try to let it go, but I knew what was
wrong. I was broke. I don't know why the hell I thought there would be enough
in the account for anything. We could barely cover our bills. There was no such
thing as extra in my life.

I'd have to skip class a few times in the coming
week to get in more hours. If I didn't have twenty bucks in the bank for a
sandwich, then I didn't have it for gas for the bike, either. Worry ran through
me as I tried to remember how much gas I actually had.

"Hey, you okay?" Val handed me a
straw and sat down in the booth closest to us.

"Yeah, just thinking about my damn
card not working." I shoved it in my back pocket. "Well, next time
it's my treat, and I promise to have the money to pay for it."

"I don't care who pays for it, Tate.
I'm just glad we're here." She reached across the table and touched my
hand, which surprised me a little.

I lifted her hand to my mouth and breathed
in deeply before kissing her knuckles.

"Be careful around me, okay?" I
winked and pulled out my phone.

"Why is that?"

"I'm highly bipolar around you, it
would seem." I chuckled and dropped my phone back into my pocket.
"I'm just checking for a text from my mother. She's all I have."

"Where's your dad?" Val leaned
toward me as she took a drink of her coke.

"Actually, I'm an orphan." I
dropped the first bomb, not knowing what to expect from her, but quite relieved
when the sympathy that passed across her face quickly disappeared.

"Really? And the woman that raised
you is who you're referring to as your mom?"

"Yeah. Sarah. She's all I've ever
known. She's a good woman, but chooses the worst men in the universe to get
into relationships with."
Was I
really opening up about this shit?
I was.

"That's not good. My mom and dad have
a good relationship by most standards, but I've never once in my life seen them
hug, kiss, or say that they love each other."

My turn to not overreact. "Wow.
Seriously?"

"Yeah. It's really sad,
actually." She glanced down as they called out our number.

I started to get up, but she stood and
pushed at my shoulder. "I'll get it for us. I want to."

Turning to watch her walk to the front, I
swore to myself that if she and I ever decided to get together in a long-term
relationship, I'd be sure to show her what love looked like. I was well aware
of the importance of showing someone I loved them, as well as telling them. If
it hadn't been for Sam's family, I'd not have really known what a healthy
relationship between a man and a woman looked like, either.

Val sat my plate down in front of me and
then took her seat again. The sexy smile that lifted her lips caught my
attention, and I couldn't help but stare at her for a few minutes.

"Valentine." She surprised me by
jerking her head up as if she'd been scolded. "Why are you here with me?
I'm not your kind of guy at all, from what I can tell."

"I think that's exactly why."
She opened my chip bag and then her own, taking care of me, whether she
realized it or not. "I'm tired of living my life. I want to live someone else’s."

"Have your parents ever told you that
they love you? Are they just standoffish to each other or to you as well?"
I shouldn't have been digging, but I wanted to know so damn bad – mostly from
curiosity, but there was a part of me that wanted to understand where the
sadness in her eyes came from.

"No, but
it’s
okay." She shrugged and picked up her sandwich. "Tell me more about
Sam."

I smiled, understanding her need to divert
the conversation. "He's been my best friend my whole life. His parents
half raised me. He's going to UMN right now, but will be leaving soon for
med-school in Boston. I'm going to miss his ass like crazy, but I figure I'll
have to keep in touch until he comes back home."

"Is he coming back here?" She
nibbled at her sandwich as I took a large bite of mine and nodded my head.

"Yeah, I think so. This is home for
both of us." I wiped my mouth as my phone buzzed in my pocket. "What
are your plans after college?"

She shrugged and glanced down at her food.
I could tell I'd hit a sore spot.

"I don't know. My degree is in
business, but I've always seen myself as a basketball player or a coach for
UMN." She shrugged, and I stopped myself from reaching over and squeezing
her hand encouragingly.

My phone buzzed again, and I pulled it
from my pocket to see that it was my mother.

"Not again," I grumbled and
stood up. "I need to take this."

"Yeah, sure." Val's eyes filled
with concern, but I ignored it and walked outside.

"Mom, what's up?"

"Tate. I meant to tell you that I've
been getting threatening texts from Daniel for the last few days. His hearing
is tomorrow, but the texts are getting worse and he's out on bail. I think I
should go stay with my sister for a few days." Her voice was tight with
fear.

"I think that's a good idea. Stay
there and I'll come home and help you get packed up. It might be best for me to
drive you over there and then bring your car back. That way he really has no
clue of where you are." Terror raced through me, and I let out a long
sigh. This shit was nonstop as of late.

"Okay. Hurry. I'm scared he's on his
way again."

"Okay, Mom. Go if you think you need
to. Just be safe. I love you."

"I love you, too, baby." She
dropped the call.

I turned and walked back into the
restaurant as Val glanced up. "Everything okay?"

"No, I need to get home. My mother’s
ex is a crazy bastard and he's likely to head out to the house, which is never
good." I started to wrap up my sandwich. "I'm sorry to cut this
short."

"Then don't." She got up and
wrapped up her sandwich, too. "I'm coming with you. I want to meet your
mom, anyway. She sounds great."

"Now is really not the time, Val. It
gets ugly, fast." I shoved my sandwich and chips into the empty bag on the
table. Much to my surprise, she grabbed the bag and put her food in there, too.

"I'm strong and have had enough
self-defense classes to take your big ass to the ground or anyone else who
threatens me. Let's go. Seriously. I'm not leaving you to deal with this
alone." She pushed at my chest and smiled. "Besides, you promised me
a date and you've yet to come through. We'll just consider this part of the
adventure."

I rolled my eyes, but followed her out.
"It's not like you think. I'm poor, okay? Like dirt-floor poor."

My heart constricted painfully as she
turned to face me. Her fingers brushed by my cheek, and the look in her eyes
echoed the truth of her words before she spoke them.

"I don't care. I've never met someone
more giving. Don't shut me out when I'm just starting to find my way in. A
friendship is good, but I want more." She brushed her fingers over my lips
as her eyes moved down to my mouth. "Lots more."

"Fuck," I growled and leaned
down, kissing her hard before moving toward the bike and taking her free hand
in mine. "You women know exactly what the hell to say to get your way,
don't you?"

She laughed and got on the bike behind me,
wrapping her arms tightly around me. "I was just telling the truth. If
you'd rather hear lies..."

"No, but don't say I didn't warn
you." I handed her my helmet and pulled on my own. We'd barely gotten to
know anything about each other, and here I was being forced to take her out to
my mother's house. She would get a full view of the shitty life I lived if
Daniel actually did show up. Nothing could have frightened me more.

What
if he tried to hurt Valentine? What if the bastard brought a gun this time or
friends?

So many what ifs, and yet I couldn't deny
her request to be with me. I'd protect her and my mother. It seemed impossible,
but maybe I was over thinking things. Daniel wasn't likely to be out at the
house, unless he was high.

Val's arms tightened around me and she lay
flush against me, causing goosebumps to break out all over my body. I wanted
her so damn badly to be a part of my life, but the fact that my want was
turning into need was far more terrifying.

My heart dropped into my stomach when I
pulled up to the house. Daniel's rusty old Buick was sitting beside the house.

After turning the bike off, I threw up the
kickstand and ripped off my helmet.

"Fuck. He's here. Call 911, Val, and
don't come into the house. Okay? Please." I took off toward the house,
taking the stairs two at a time. The only comfort I had was that my mother
wasn't screaming, but maybe that was because she was already dead.