Wanted: A Bad Boy Romance (10 page)

“Just want to set a few things
straight.” His voice is calm, steady.

I lift my eyes to his. “What’s
that?”

“You’re sexy as fuck,” he says.
“There’s no denying that.”

I swallow the ball of tension
that rises in my throat.

“But don’t come back here,” he
says. “Don’t…associate with me. Don’t drag yourself into something you have no
business dragging yourself into.”

“What are you talking about?”

“People like you,” he says, “who
think they can change the world…the world needs that. You hang around me too
long and you’ll get swept into something you’ll never get out of.”

“You act like you’re a bad
person,” I huff. “I know you’re not a bad person. What you did, Titan, was
heroic. Even if the judicial system doesn’t see it that way.”

“There’s nothing heroic about me.
Don’t go making me into something I’m not just to suit your ideals. I’m just a
man who did what he had to do.” He backs away, his hand dragging from mine.
“I’ll always do what I have to do, Jordana. And that’s why I can’t fuck you
again. Now, go. Before we do something we’ll both regret.”

My face warms. I’m humiliated.
Coming here under false pretenses and letting him see right through me despite
my best efforts isn’t the best decision I’ve ever made.

I jerk the door open and vow
again to let my emotions get the best of me. I don’t want to feel like this
again.

Foolish.

Unwanted.

I’m surprised she didn’t notice
the growing bulge beneath my sweats, but she’s gone now. It’s for the best
anyway. I could’ve buried my cock deep inside her all night, but I’m a man
riddled with past mistakes, weighed down by the choices of my past. There’s no
room for new ones.

I’m moving on.

Clean slate.

Focused
on
myself and whatever lies ahead
.

I’d sooner trek across the street
and pick up some
drunk
chick from Hammerhead than rope
Jordana into being involved with me.

And it’s not just her. I’m
cutting ties
with my father, and if he marries Laticia,
they’re all a package deal.

I pull a beer from the fridge, my
fourth for the night. The terms of my parole state that I’m not supposed to be
drinking, but I’m going to go ahead and assume my PO won’t be stopping by
unannounced tonight. A quick pull of the tab before I plop down in a chair by
the window precedes another night of people watching.

Outside I spot Jordana marching
to her car, and I swear I see her wipe away a tear. For some reason,
she fucking
cares about me. Makes no sense. She’s a smart
girl. She knows better than to get involved with me.

It’s that damn reverse
psychology.

Every fucking
time.

She thinks I don’t like her;
therefore she wants me to like her.

I sigh, leaning against the uncomfortable
back of my wooden chair.

What is it with women taking
everything so goddamned personal all the time? It’s not about her. Shit. I
don’t think I could name a single person I like right now.
I
kind of like KJ.
And that’s a huge kind of. Mostly I feel sorry for him.
Can’t imagine growing up as the younger brother of Kyle Rasmussen.

Jordana fidgets with her door
handle below. A group of three rough-looking assholes stands out in front of
the Hammerhead sucking on cigarettes and watching her like hyenas stalking a
gazelle.

I see one of them nudge another
and point to her. The third one nods his head and flicks his cigarette before grinding
it into the pavement.

Those
drunk
bastards are going to mess with her.

Not on my watch.

I rise, flinging my chair back
and flying down the stairs until I get to her car.

“What now?” Her eyes roll when
she sees me.

“Why are you still here?” I ask.

“I locked my keys in my car,” she
says. “The battery in my fob is dead, otherwise it wouldn’t have happened.”

“Where’s your spare set?” I
glance over her shoulder. The men are watching, though two are starting to move
closer to the front door of the bar. A third man seems unfazed by my presence,
like a fucking jackass.

“At home. Obviously.”

The two men disappear inside. The
third jams his hands in his pockets and faces us. Even in the dark, I see it on
him.
That menacing determination.
He staked her as
his, even from across the street, and he doesn’t appreciate the unexpected
cock-blocking
.

He hesitates for a brief second
before glancing both ways across the street and heading toward us.

“You realize you were being
watched the whole time, right?” I ask.

“Psh. Yeah. By you,” she huffs.

“No,” I say. “Three assholes by
the bar were staking you out. You shouldn’t be here. This is why you need to
stay away from this part of town,” I say.

“Oh, now you care about me all of
a sudden?”

“Excuse me,” the man says,
leaning against the trunk of Jordana’s car. “Darlin’, is this man bothering
you?”

He tries to play it like he’s
some good samaritan sent to protect her. I know better. I see it in his eyes.

Jordana whips around, her dark
hair falling down her shoulders. She must see it too, because the second they
lock eyes she takes a step toward me.

“Y-yeah,” she stammers. “He’s a
friend of mine. We’re good.”

I slip my arm around her shoulder
and pull her against my chest. The last thing I need is trouble over a woman
sending me right back behind bars, but I’ll be damned if I throw
Mary-fucking-Sunshine here to the wolves.

The ass wipe looks us up and down
before swaying and turning back toward the bar.

Easy enough.

“You better come upstairs,” I
say. “Call your mom to bring your keys and wait upstairs. You’re not safe down
here.”

We head up, taking the walk in
silence. By the time we’re back in my apartment, she takes a seat on the edge
of the bed and pulls her phone out. Her fingers tremble as she dials.

“You scared?” I ask.

She says nothing, though her eyes
say it all.

I almost feel bad for her. She
wants to make a difference in the world, but she has to remember she’s not
invincible. You don’t get a free pass from the bad shit just because you’re
doing good shit.

“She didn’t answer.” Jordana’s
phone falls to her lap. “It’s late. She’s probably asleep.”

Judging by the sheer volume of
wine I’ve seen her mom put down, she’s probably out cold.

I don’t even suggest that she
calls my father. He won’t answer, and if he does, he’ll berate her for being so
irresponsible. Or shit. That’s what he’d do to me. He’d probably go easier on
Jordana.

“I’d take you, but…” I point to
the half-empty can of Coors Light resting on my table by the window. “Not
trying to pick up an OWI.”

“No, no.” She waves her hand. “I
wouldn’t ask that of you. Let me just make some more calls.”

I plop down in my chair, sitting
back and idly sipping this watered down shit water while she makes calls and
sends text.

Ten minutes later, I can’t
fucking
stand the sound of my own thoughts anymore.

“Not getting anywhere?” I ask.

She shakes her head, as if the
answer would upset me. “Sorry. I’ve tried everyone I know. Most of my friends
are back on campus.”

Fuck me.

I reposition myself, unable to
get comfortable. “Shit, Jordana. Looks like you’re staying here tonight.”

She turns to look at the bed,
which happens to be a full size.
Barely bigger than a twin.

“Gonna be close quarters
tonight.” I take a final swig of my beer and crumple the can.

She says nothing.

“Why’re you hesitating?” I laugh.
“You act like you got a choice in the matter.”

I’ll be the first to admit it’s
going to be hard lying next to her and not wanting to slip a hand under her
shirt. It’ll be challenging lying there and pretending like I’m not imagining
how good her pussy would feel clenched against my cock.

“I’ll sleep on the floor if it
makes you feel better,” I say. The floor couldn’t possibly be much more
uncomfortable than that lumpy mattress.

“We’re adults,” she says, pulling
in a long breath. “We’ll make it work.”

I rise, rifling through one of
the plastic sacks in the corner that hold my entire wardrobe, and toss a plain
white t-shirt at her.

“Pajamas,” I say. “Unless you
intend on sleeping in jeans.”

She clutches the shirt against
her chest and heads to the bathroom to change, which is cute because she acts
like I’ve never seen every inch of her sinfully addictive body before.

By the time she emerges, I’m
under the covers, taking up the vast majority of my side of the bed.

She lingers at the foot, eyeing
the flat pillow next to me.

“Going to be all shy now?” I ask.

Jordana releases a breath and
takes a step closer, followed by another, until she reaches for the covers and
climbs beneath them.

Shit. She’s not shy. She’s
scared.

Scared she won’t be able to
control herself next to me.

The one window is wide open,
blowing a chilly evening breeze into the room. It’s been a long time since I’ve
been able to sleep with the window open. It’s a luxury I never thought I’d miss
until it was gone. I don’t care if it’s forty degrees
out,
I’m sleeping with that damn window open.

Jordana rolls to her side, away
from me, and I hear a shiver in her breath as she breaths. She tugs the blanket
up to her shoulders and curls herself into a ball as best she can
given
the limited space she has.

“You cold?” I ask.

“It’s okay,” she shoots
back.
 

I don’t have any extra blankets.
All I have are two options: either I shut the window and get no sleep or I pull
her close and keep her warm.

I need my fucking sleep.

My hand hooks around her waist,
and I pull her against me.

“Hey.” She scrambles but doesn’t
completely fight it. I slip my arm under hers, pressing her body against me.
Our bodies form together like two pieces of a puzzle. It’d be cute – if I
were into that sort of shit.

Her shivering subsides a couple
minutes later, though even in the dark I see her blink. She’s
wide awake
.

“You gotta get some sleep,” I
groan. “Shut your eyes.”

“I can’t sleep,” she says, her
voice barely a whisper. “I don’t sleep well in unfamiliar places.”

“Pretend I’m your fucking teddy
bear, princess,” I chuckle. My forearm accidentally grazes her left tit and I
leave it anyway.

“Smooth.” She totally noticed.

“Just keeping you warm.”

“Mm, hm.” I detect a hint of a
smile in her tone.

I yank my arm away, but she pulls
it back.

“You’re keeping me warm. I need
you to stay still,” I say.

Her ass wiggles against me as she
settles and situates under the covers, so naturally my cock grows and presses
into her ass. Given our tight space, she was bound to feel it sooner or later.

“Nice, Titan.” She pretends she’s
upset. I know better.

“Can’t help it.” I say. “What’s
that shit you were saying earlier? Men are programmed differently?”

“Yup.”

“Yeah, I’m a man. And you’re a
beautiful woman with your body pressed against me. It made me hard,” I say.
“Science.”

She rolls to face me. Even in the
dark, I see a glint in her eye as she tries not to smile. Jordana’s
wide awake
. The hour may be late, but the night is young.

“You know how hard it is for me
not to fuck you right now?” I say, leaning up and cocking my head against a
bent elbow. My tongue drags across my lips as I’m reminded of her sweet taste.
I rake my fingers down her arm, stopping for a detour at the curve of her hip.

She says nothing.

“Why’d you
really
come here tonight?” I ask, though I already know the answer.
I need to hear her say it. “Be honest, Jordana. I know it wasn’t to drop off
your Goodwill donation box.”

Her full lips twitch, and she
makes me wait a little too long for my liking. A single shoulder lifts and
falls.

“Been asking myself that all
night,” she says with a sigh as her eyes lower.

“I’m not the kind of guy you need
to be chasing after,” I say. “You know that. You should know better.”

“Who said anything about
chasing?” She leans back. “I’m intrigued by you, Titan. I wasn’t ready for you
to leave when I’d barely had time to get to know you.”

“The only thing you need to know
about me is I’m all wrong for you.”

“You’re not my type,” she says.
“Don’t go thinking I’m trying to pursue you. Not in the market for a boyfriend.
Plus I’d lose my internship if I got caught hooking up with someone on paper.”

I sit up in bed. “Shit. Jordana.
You’re a damn idiot for being here. If anyone sees you here-”

“Calm down.” She places a hand on
my chest. “You’re technically family. I already told my internship supervisor
about you, that we were living under the same roof. They know we’re bound to
have interactions. They don’t expect me to pretend like you don’t exist.”

“Yeah, but you’re sure as hell
not supposed to fuck me.”

“No one has to know.” Her voice
breaks, and I watch the rise and fall of her chest underneath my white t-shirt.
“I didn’t come here because I wanted to fuck you. For the record.”

“Right.”

“I wanted to yell at you,” she
says. “And I wanted to help you too.”

“Appreciate the help, but sure as
hell don’t need to be yelled at.”

She lies on her back, her hands
folded across her belly as she stares at the popcorn ceiling.
 

“I don’t know what to think
anymore.” She sighs and then yawns.

“Then don’t,” I say. “Stop
thinking. You’ll wear yourself out that way. Just live in the moment. It’s all
we have.”