Home > The Boy Next Door(5)

The Boy Next Door(5)
Author: Jennifer Sucevic

I grab her hand and yank her to her feet before flicking a glance at Daniels to make sure his ass stays glued to the chair. Even though I can tell he’s tempted to get in my way, he doesn’t move a muscle. The guy has always struck me as a pussy, so this isn’t a total surprise. All bark and no bite.

“Colton,” she says in weak protest.

“You’ve got two minutes, Montgomery,” Jamison mutters.

Or what? What’s he going to do?

Instead of jumping further down his throat and getting into a physical altercation, my grip tightens on her. That one touch has the brightest part of my anger and jealousy diminishing. Alyssa has always had this effect on me. She settles something deep inside. Something I’ve never wanted to examine too closely. Only now do I realize that I might have to. If my only alternative is to lose her, then there won’t be a choice in the matter.

Ignoring Jamison, I wind my way through the stacks, searching for a place we can converse without interruption.

“Colton!” She tugs her hand, attempting to pull it free. “Stop! You can’t just come here and hijack—”

Wanna bet?

When I grind to a halt, she slams into me from behind and stumbles. I swing around, my hands tightening on her slender shoulders before stalking toward her. She’s left with no other choice but to scramble backward. Her eyes widen as her spine hits the bookshelf, and she realizes there’s nowhere else to go. She’s trapped.

And at my mercy.

Our gazes fasten as my lips hover over her parted ones. The scent of her is intoxicating. I’ve spent so much time keeping her at a distance that being this close to her drives me insane. It takes everything I have to hold myself in check. I want this girl in the worst possible way.

I always have.

Now that I’ve done the unthinkable and touched her, I’m finding it difficult to control myself. The floodgates have been opened, and there’s no way to slam them shut again.

“What are you doing?” Her voice wavers as her hands press against my chest as if she’s capable of holding me off. The heat of her palms burn through the thin cotton of my T-shirt, singeing the skin beneath it. The feel of them are tattoos that will forever be a reminder of the day I lost my battle.

“This.”

I step closer, pressing our bodies together until I can feel every rise and fall of her chest against mine. Her breath catches at the contact right before my lips crash onto hers. For a heartbeat, maybe two, I wonder if she’ll fight me. Her body stiffens before melting against mine as if she’s wanted this for as long as I have.

When my tongue sweeps across the seam of her lips, demanding entrance, she opens, and I delve inside. Her fingers curl, sinking into the cotton fabric of my shirt. The crescent shape of her nails bite into my flesh, grounding me to the present, to the intimacy unfolding between us. Only now that I’m exploring her mouth do I realize how much I’ve craved this. How did I ever think that one taste of her sweetness, almost a year and a half ago, would be enough?

I lose all sense of time as our tongues tangle. I’ve missed the taste of her. No matter how many girls I’ve been with, they all paled in comparison. Needy little noises escape from her, and it only drives me on.

When I finally lift my mouth, we’re both breathing hard.

A dazed expression fills her face. “I don’t under—”

“Go out with me.”

Every bit of haziness disappears as her eyes widen. I have to admit that the words shock the hell out of me as well. I stiffen and wait for the panic to crash over me. Instead, I’m flooded with relief.

“You want to go on a...date?” The question is forced out as if every syllable is foreign to her tongue.

Again, I steel myself for an avalanche of panic to bury me alive. When that doesn’t occur, I release a breath as the corners of my lips bow up. “Yup, I do.”

Her brows draw together as she carefully searches my eyes. “You don’t date.” There’s a pause before she tacks on in a steely voice, “You fuck around.”

Guilty. That’s what I’ve always done. Although, not for the reasons she assumes. I’ve spent years running away from the one girl I’ve always longed for, and I can’t do it any longer. Only now do I realize that she might not give me a chance. I’ve lived the life of a manwhore, screwing whatever girl I wanted in an attempt to forget the one in my arms. It didn’t work. And I can’t bear the thought of her with anyone else.

For all I know, she’s over it.

Over me.

It’s a frightening thought.

I press closer before ghosting my mouth over hers. The way her breathing hitches, and her lips part, tells me that she wants me.

Wants this.

Instead of giving us what we both crave, I whisper, “Let me take you out.”

Her teeth sink into her bottom lip as indecision flickers across her face. I loosen my grip on her shoulders before my fingertips drift along her bare arms. Once they arrive at her hands, I interlock our fingers together.

“Give me a chance.”

She whimpers as I bury my face against the side of her throat, licking and nipping at her flesh. I’m so tired of fighting this deep-seated need I have for her.

“Okay.” The word falls from her lips in a breathy little sigh.

It takes everything I have to beat back the beast inside and not take her right here in the library. I want to brand Alyssa as mine. I want every guy on this campus to know that she belongs to me.

“Good.” My lips curve. “Now get rid of Daniels.”

 

 

Chapter Five

 

 

Alyssa

 

 

October of sophomore year...

 

Mia and I push our way through the crowded student section at the stadium, searching for a place to park our butts. It’s game day, and I’m here to root on my man. Even though it’s mid-October, the temperature is still seasonable, and I’m able to wear Colton’s red and black jersey over a turtleneck. He gave it to me a couple of weeks ago. It’s a huge deal. Only girlfriends get to wear players’ jerseys to the games or around campus. After he left my dorm room, I screamed at the top of my lungs.

All the while wearing his jersey, of course.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that this isn’t a dream I’ll wake from. It’s my reality. I’m dating Colton Montgomery. Every time I think about it, a little bubble of joy explodes inside me.

This relationship has come out of nowhere and taken me completely by surprise. Sure, I’d always hoped something would happen between us, but did I really think it would? No way in hell. How could I when Colton went to such great lengths to avoid me? First in high school, then at college. If we were paired up together for a class project, he found a way out. If I arrived at a party, he slipped out the backdoor. If he spotted me on campus, he’d take off in the opposite direction.

It might have taken a while, but I can take a hint. Just when I’d decided to put Colton Montgomery behind me and move on with my life, he came out of nowhere and swept me off my feet.

Honestly, I’m still in a state of shock. Colton can have any girl he wants. And he has. But he’s never been one to get serious. He likes to play the field.

And yet...here we are.

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