Текст книги "The Line Between"

Автор книги: Tamsyn Bester

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CHAPTER TW ENTY-ONE

Kennedy

WARM, SLIGHTLY CALLOUSED hands trailed around my waist and down my stomach, rousing me from sleep. I sighed, opening one eye, and welcomed the warmth of the hot body behind me.

“You stayed the night again,” I murmured tiredly. The sun peeked through my curtains, and I surmised it must have been past eight in the morning. Dane chuckled, and his chest vibrated against my back. “You wore me out. I didn’t have enough energy to leave.”

His hand cupped my sex, and my breathing faltered when he rubbed his finger over my clit.

“I’m tired,” I said. “You might have to do all the work yourself if you want to play.”

He hummed against my shoulder, pressing his morning erection between my butt cheeks. “I just want to touch you.”

He pushed a digit into me, and despite the way my body livened with the touch, I winced.

“Did I hurt you?” He asked quietly, easing his hand between my legs.

“I’m a little sore,” I replied honestly. “You were a little rowdier than usual last night.”

I turned around, and faced him, marveling at the brightness in his blue eyes. “Something was bothering you.”

Dane brushed his lips across mine, and cupped my head so that I wouldn’t pull away. He knew I was weird about morning breath, but for some reason it didn’t bother him. He still devoured my mouth like it was a necessity.

We’d been doing this song and dance for almost a week already. During the day our lives were normal, and we went to school and acted towards each other the way we always had. But at night Dane would sneak into my bedroom, and like the villain he was, he would use his wicked ways to turn me inside out. I went through the motions of my day, guarding our secret closely, and making sure no one suspected anything, but all I could think about was the next time Dane would be coming to me. It was just sex, but I’d come to crave the way he owned my body, and showed me that his body was made to please. And my God did he please me.

“I can kiss it better.” His lips moved against mine, and he shifted his thigh between mine. He was avoiding my observation, and I figured it was too personal for our arrangement. He avoided sentimentality, unless he was whispering salacious things into my ear while bending me to his will.

“I’d rather be doing something else,” I replied. My hand moved down his stomach, over his washboard abs, past that delicious V, and I wrapped my fingers around his cock. His skin was soft, a contradiction to the hardness it covered.

“I think you’re right,” he said in a rush. “That is a close second to what I’d been planning on doing to you.”

I tightened my grip, and started moving my hand up and down, watching the way Dane’s eyes clouded over. As much as I liked being at his mercy, it made my insides coil when he was at mine.

He kissed me hard, stealing the air from my lungs. My thumb stroked the head of his cock, spreading his pre-cum in circles.

“Jesus,” he groaned.

I smiled, feeling pleased with myself. Just as I ducked my head under the sheet, a loud knock came from the other side of my door. We froze.

“Kennedy? Are you awake?”

“Shit,” muttered Dane. “It’s Jade.”

I scrambled up from the bed, grabbing my robe from my desk chair. “Yes, just a minute.”

The doorknob jostled, but the door stayed closed. “Why is your door locked?” Asked Jade.

“Uh…” I searched my mind for an answer but came up empty. I frantically looked at Dane, and started hiding his clothes.

“I locked the door,” he whispered.

“Just stay under the sheets, I’ll get rid of her.”

I brushed my fingers through my freshly-fucked hair, and opened the door just enough to slip out.

“Hi,” I said in a breathy voice. “I’m awake. What’s up?”

Jade’s perfectly shaped brow quirked. “Why was your door locked?” She asked again.

When I didn’t answer her eyes widened. “Oh my God, is there someone in there?”

She tried to push past me, but I blocked her. “Jade, please don’t.”

Her face nearly cracked when she grinned. “It’s a guy, isn’t it? Who is it?”

“Jade,” I chided. “He can hear you!”

“So it is a guy!” She squealed, and started clapping like we were teenagers again.

“Yes,” I hissed. “If you must know, it’s a guy. Now will you tell me why you were looking for me?”

“Is he hot? What’s his name? Is the sex good?” The way she looked was laughable – like a dog begging for a bone. I could indulge her curiosity without giving away too much, right?

“Fine,” I acquiesced. “He’s hotter than Hades, but that’s all you’re getting.”

Her mouth formed a pout. “I need more than that.”

“We’ll talk later okay? Like when he isn’t on the other side of my bedroom door.”

With narrowed eyes, Jade replied, “Okay, but I want details. I wanted to know if you’re free for lunch today. I have a two-hour break between classes, and I don’t want to sit alone.”

I thought about my schedule, and nodded when I remembered that I also had a two-hour break between my only two classes for the day. “I’ll meet you in the cafeteria at say, twelve-ish?”

“Sounds good. Now go shower, you smell like sex, and I’m getting jealous.”

I giggled, and gently shoved her towards the living room before I opened my door. It clicked shut behind me, and I found Dane lying on his side in the middle of my bed with the sheet haphazardly strewn across his waist. But it was his shit-eating grin that got me.

“Hotter than Hades, huh?”

I slapped my hand over my eyes, warmth creeping up my neck. “You heard that?”

The bed creaked, and I felt Dane move in front of me. He lifted my hands from my face, and pinned me against the door.

“Stop blushing,” he snickered. “I’m glad you like my body because I know for a fact that it likes you.”

I met his gaze, and the corners of my mouth turned upwards. “You’re such a charmer, but in case you haven’t already noticed, you’ve been inside my panties for the past week. There’s no need to butter me up with words.”

“I’m not buttering you up,” he replied. “Just stating a fact.”

I stretched onto the balls of my feet, and pressed a soft kiss on the side of his mouth. “My body likes yours too. A lot.”

“Good,” he exhaled. “I have to get going, but I’ll see you later?”

“Maybe.” I shrugged, playing for nonchalance. I didn’t want him to know I was waiting for him.

“That’s cute,” he nipped at my lips. “But there’s no ‘maybe’ about it, Kitten.”

He stepped away, and started getting dressed. When we were sure no one was around, he made his way back next door, leaving me with nothing but a chaste kiss to see me through the day.

JADE, ASHLEY, AND Grady were already seated at our usual table when I walked into the cafeteria. I placed my tray on the table, and sat down. When I looked up they were all regarding me, and the glint in Jade’s eye meant only one thing – trouble.

Well trouble and that she’d already told Grady and Ashley about our run-in this morning.

“Do I have something on my face?” I asked sweetly.

“No,” replied Grady. “But it’s so obvious you’ve been playing mattress gymnastics in the last twenty-four hours.”

Ashley laughed around her mouthful of grilled chicken. “Mattress gymnastics? Really?”

Grady gave her his best ‘yes really’ expression, and turned back to me with blatant curiosity etched across his face. “So, who’s the lucky guy? Do we know him?”

“I’m not telling you anything,” I replied.

“You promised,” whined Jade. “At least give us something. I haven’t had sex in weeks, and I’m pretty sure my cooch has forgotten what a real, live penis looks like.”

I choked on my soda, and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “You’re so crude.”

“Honey,” said Grady. “It’s sex, of course it’s crude. Don’t expect us to be prudish about it just because you are.”

“I’m not a prude,” I said defensively. “I just don’t feel like talking about my sex life at lunch.”

Jade placed her hand over her heart, and pretended to sniffle as she looked at Grady. “Our baby has a sex life,” she wiped a fake tear from under her eye, “I’m so proud.”

“You’re full of shit,” I retorted. I bit into my cheeseburger, and hummed. I was starving.

“Is that what you sound like when you come?” Asked Jade. She eyed me, and I realized she was serious. Typical.

“Oh my God,” I grumbled around the food in my mouth. “Why are you so damn inquisitive?”

“Because you bringing someone home is so out of character for you. I feel like I should be lecturing you about the birds and the bees while shoving the Kama Sutra in your face. This is a proud moment for me as your friend.”

“How come you never grill Ash about her sex life? Surely it has to be far more interesting than mine.”

“Trust me,” said Ashley. “My sex life right now is as interesting as watching paint dry. I don’t think I’ve ever used my vibrator so much in such a short space of time.”

I wanted to crawl into a hole, and stay there until this conversation was over. It was too personal for lunchtime chit-chat. Admittedly, I didn’t want to share any details about me and Dane because then it would it feel like what we had no longer belonged to us.

“Okay, let’s do it this way,” Grady piped up. “We’ll ask you questions, and you can choose whether or not to answer. From what Jade told us you were quiet flustered this morning, and I for one am dying to know who had you so frazzled,” he paused, and then puckered his lips. “Unless it was Chase. Then I’d rather not know because that would weird me out.”

Ashley’s eyes shot up, and looked at Grady dubiously. “Talking about your brother doing the nasty weirds you out, but you can openly talk about Kennedy’s sexcapades?”

“Well duh,” Grady flicked his hand, and rolled his eyes. “As long as Kennedy’s sexcapades don’t include my brother, then we’re good.”

Grady fixed me with his stare. “I’ll begin. Do we know him?”

I took a bite of my burger, and chewed in lieu of answering. That was probably the question I feared the most.

“Obviously she doesn’t want us to know who he is,” Jade huffed. “So we’ll skip that, and move on to the good stuff. Is he hung?”

I lifted my burger to my mouth, but not before she caught my grin. She could interpret it any way she wanted because I wasn’t giving them a straight-laced answer.

“Oh my, you lucky bitch!” Shouted Jade. “He is totally hung!”

I ignored the stares that Jade’s statement garnered, and focused on eating rather than entertaining their stupid game.

“Okay,” Grady spoke up. “Next question. Is he any good?”

Thoughts of just how good Dane was flooded my mind, and I knew my cheeks were reddening because of the images playing out in my head.

Me on top…

Him behind me…

Me beneath him…

Up against the wall in the shower…

Me in his lap…

“She’s totally thinking about it,” smirked Ashley.

Busted.

“It’s official,” added Jade. “I’m jealous.”

“You could have any guy you want,” I replied, opening my mouth for the first time since their stupid little game had started.

“Oh no she can’t,” Grady sing-songed. “The one boy who Jade really wants is playing the ‘our friendship means too much’ card.”

Jade glared at Grady, and Ashley cleared her throat, clearly uncomfortable with the turn our conversation had taken.

I looked at Jade, and gave her a sad smile. She didn’t need to say anything else. I knew exactly who Grady was talking about.

Ashley left and we made plans to have Chinese for dinner when we got home. Grady and Jade continued their silent stare off, and I twisted around to look at the other students just for something to do.

That’s when I spotted him.

A few tables away with his friends.

Staring at me.

We avoided each other at school, and when we happened to cross paths he treated me like he had before, only now it was less defensive. We simply pretended that the other didn’t exist.

His gaze was heated, and the upturn of his mouth made me wonder if he might’ve heard what we’d been talking about. I held his stare a little longer, lingering on the promise in his eyes. My heart stuttered and came to a halt when I realized that I cared about him. A lot. Maybe I always had.

A tall redhead sidled up to his side, and drew his attention away from me. It was the slap in the face I needed.

It was just sex between us. Nothing more.

CHAPTER TW ENTY-TWO

Dane

I WAS AGITATED. On edge. I’d left the cafeteria – after spending most of the time trying not to stare at Kennedy – after lunch and headed to the football field. We had a game in a few hours, and I wanted to run over our plays with Coach Ford before the guys started getting ready. I also wanted to distract myself from my preoccupation with Kennedy.

When I walked into Coach Ford’s office, the sight of my father sitting in one of the chairs stopped me cold. I hadn’t seen him since before our classes started, and I was more than happy to keep it that way. If only he’d stuck to the same plan.

“Coach,” I greeted first, giving him a nod. My father turned in his chair, and gave me his standard icy stare. At fifty-five years old, Derek Winter’s was as intimidating as he was astute. His hair was the same color as mine, with a few streaks of grey coming through, and his eyes were brown, and lifeless. We looked alike, but that’s where our similarities ended.

“Dad.”

“Dane,” he replied. “I was in in the area. Thought I’d stop by and chat to Coach Ford.”

You mean to check on me.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” I told Coach Ford. “I can come back when you’re done.”

“That’s okay,” my father said. He stood up, buttoned up his black suit jacket, and reached over the desk to shake Coach’s hand. “Bentley, it was good to see you again. Looking forward to tonight’s game.”

“You too, Derek,” replied Coach. “As I said earlier, Dane here is doing a fine job with the team. I reckon he’d be able to take my job when I retire.”

My father’s smile was tight as he said, “He has other things planned for his future, but I’m glad he’s proving to be of use to you.”

His voice irritated me. The way he spoke about me like I was an object irritated me. Even the way his hair was combed back rubbed me the wrong way.

Coach hummed, and let go of my father’s hand before sitting back down behind his desk.

“Walk me to my car,” my father said, turning to me. “We’ll catch up quickly.”

“Dad, I need to talk to Coach about the game tonight.” It was a weak attempt at denying my father, and I knew he wouldn’t accept ‘no’ for an answer.

I sighed. “I’ll be right back, Coach.”

I followed my father out, and he waited until we were out of the locker room before he started on me. “Are you behaving?” He asked, his tone hard, and authoritative. As a kid that tone used to scare me, but now it provoked anger, and the need to knock him out.

My voice was clipped when I replied, “Why ask me that when you already know the answer. That’s the real reason you ‘stopped by’ isn’t it? To check up on me?”

“Watch your tone,” he warned. “I’m still your father.”

“And the only reason you’re here, Dad, is to make sure I’m not embarrassing you again,” I amended for him.

“I don’t need to remind you of how easily your behavior reflects on me, Dane. I’m going to be getting a lot of press in the next few months, and the last thing I need is for you to drag our family name through the mud like you did last year.”

He looked down, and started messing around on his phone, while I struggled not to tackle him to the ground. My jaw started to hurt from how hard I was grinding my teeth.

“You’re the public image,” I retorted through clenched teeth. “Surely it’s your behavior you should be more concerned with, not mine.”

My father, ever the family man, didn’t even bother looking up as he spoke. “Don’t be petulant. Our entire family will be under scrutiny until my court case with Anthony Monroe is over.”

Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have been bothered with who my father was fighting in court (again) but hearing Kennedy’s father’s name made my ears perk up.

“What’s going on with Mr. Monroe?” Apparently my father picked up on my interest because it was enough to make him look up from his phone.

“He’s trying to drill for oil on land that doesn’t belong to him, and I’m trying to stop it.” His cool eyes watched me. “Why do you care?”

I shrugged. “I don’t. You’ve been feuding with that family for years, I figured it would have gotten old by now.”

“It will never be done,” he said harshly. “And you know that as of your senior high school it has less to do with the history between our family and theirs.”

Like I needed reminding.

“I have to go.” My father turned his back and slid into the backseat of his black town car without so much as a ‘goodbye’ or backward glance. Seeing him, talking to him, disgruntled me even more. Discussing Kennedy’s father certainly hadn’t helped, but it made me think about her and what we’d been doing for the past week. My father had a point though. His ‘crusade’ against the Monroe’s became personal the night my sister died, and up until a few weeks ago, he hadn’t been alone in that.

But now, I couldn’t tell what side of the line I was standing on, and despite not feeling any sense of loyalty to my father, I felt like what I was doing with Kennedy was some kind of betrayal. To who, I wasn’t sure. My father would never approve of me having anything to do with Kennedy. He always painted her with the same brush as her father, saying she was just like him, and I shouldn’t associate with ‘those kinds of people’. If only he knew she was nothing like her father. Not that it was his opinion I was worried about. I couldn’t care less what he thought, but I wondered what my sister would have said about it, if she would have felt betrayed, or if she’d have been happy to see me with Kennedy.

Too bad I couldn’t ask her.

“WHAT THE HELL happened tonight?”

The locker room fell quiet as Coach Ford looked around. The guys hung their heads, and I couldn’t help but do the same. We’d played the worst game all season, and it effectively cost us our ‘undefeated’ title.

“You were like a bunch of clowns in a circus,” he bellowed. “I didn’t even recognize the damn team that was on that field tonight. You didn’t even play like a team. You all played for yourselves, and look where it got you. This was Ole Mis for shit’s sake. Their plays are so predictable, and you squandered every opportunity to take them down.”

He huffed, and puffed, and yet no one said anything. What could we say? It wasn’t our night. Even I had a bad game from the side of the field.

“It better not happened again, boys. Dane,” Coach looked at me, “I have no idea where your head was at tonight but you better sort it out before the next game.” He turned to the rest of the team with a heavy sigh, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Hit the showers, and get out before I make you run suicides until you know what it means to be a damn team.”

Coach walked away, and the guys all started shuffling around towards the showers. I knew how they felt because I was right there with them. I had no idea what happened tonight, but we sucked. Even Chase, our prized destined-for-the-NFL quarterback was playing like a complete rookie.

“I need a drink,” murmured Reid. “We going out?”

He started removing his shoulder pads, and grabbed a towel. I stood up, and moved towards the locker I used to keep a change of clothes in. “Yeah, I think we all need it.”

“You bringing Amy?” He asked.

My brows furrowed. “No, why would I be?”

He snorted. “You’ve been spending almost every night at her sorority house haven’t you? That’s who you’ve been fooling around with?”

I’d forgotten about that. Everyone had assumed I had been ‘seeing’ Amy, and the only one who actually believed it was Amy. It didn’t really bother me, because I knew the truth, but for some reason this time it didn’t sit well with me.

“I’m not in the mood for her tonight,” I replied, avoiding his question. “I just want to hang with the guys.”

And see Kennedy later.

“Sounds good, man. I’ll meet you outside in a bit.”

Reid walked away, and I took a few minutes to catch my breath, and clear my head. I hadn’t been in the best frame of mind after my father’s visit, and losing the game made it worse. Maybe a night out was exactly what I needed. I hadn’t done anything other than study, attend practices, and even when I was tired to the bone, I saw Kennedy. Every night.

I got dressed, and went outside to wait for Reid. The tunnel was just now starting to quiet down when I spotted Kennedy and Jade at the end. Amy was standing there too, and she was exchanging some heated words with Jade, while Kennedy just looked down at the floor. She must’ve felt my eyes on her because she looked up, and sought me out through the thinning crowd. Her eyes found mine, the look on her face unreadable. I frowned, and she looked away.

What’s up with that?

“Just walk away you stupid tramp!” Jade’s shrill voice made me straighten. I struggled to hear what Amy said, but I could see that it had upset Kennedy. My first instinct was to protect Kennedy from Amy’s vicious tongue, but I held back. What would they think if I suddenly came to her defense?

I held back, and when Amy walked in my direction, a smug look on her face, I tensed. Kennedy looked at me, and then Jade ushered her away. I wanted to ask her what happened, to make sure she was okay, but there were too many things holding me back.

I was so fucking confused.

“Hey baby,” cooed Amy. She gave me a sexy grin, and I immediately compared it to the way Kennedy’s mouth turned up when she was being sexy without even trying.

“What was that about?” I asked, tilting my head in the direction Jade and Kennedy had just left.

Amy rolled her eyes, and started rubbing my arm. “Nothing serious. Jade was overreacting, as usual, and I set her straight.”

I didn’t believe a word this girl was saying, especially after seeing Kennedy’s expression when she turned away from me.

“We’re having a party at the house,” Amy continued, “You’re coming right?”

I needed to be done with this girl. I might’ve been unsure about what was happening between me and Kennedy – because I could feel it changing – but I didn’t need Amy around anymore. Her rumors were just that, rumors, and I didn’t want anyone to keep thinking there was something between us when there wasn’t. The scariest thought, however, was that I no longer wanted Kennedy to see Amy hanging all over me in the cafeteria or on campus. I wasn’t even going to try figure out why I felt that way.

“No, I’m going out with the guys.”

I pushed her hands off me, and stepped back if only to get some space. “You need to stop telling people we’re together. You know we’re not, and I sure as fuck haven’t been in your bed in the last month, let alone this past week.”

Amy’s mouth opened, but she was interrupted when Reid walked out of the locker room. His brows scrunched when he saw her, but he spoke to me. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “Let’s get out of here.”

What I wanted to do was go straight to Kennedy’s, but that would have looked suspicious.

“You can’t just end things,” said Amy. Her mouth twisted like she’d eaten something sour. “We’re going to talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about Amy. You can’t end something that never started.”

She said something but I was too busy taking my phone out to text Kennedy to pay attention. I was done with her. I had been since the night Kennedy burst into my apartment, and interrupted my party. I hadn’t touched Amy, or any other girl for that matter, since then.

I tapped away at my screen as I followed Reid to his Range Rover.

Everything okay?

I waited for her response and climbed into the passenger seat. Reid was already pulling out of the lot when my phone finally beeped with an incoming text.

Who is this?

Ouch.

Obviously Kennedy hadn’t saved my number after I used her phone to call mine.

Dane.

Seconds passed.

Oh. Yeah, everything’s good. Have a good night.

I scowled at the screen.

She’s dismissing me?

I typed back.

See you later?

I waited, realizing that I was holding my breath.

Those three dots appeared on my screen as Kennedy typed.

I don’t think that’s a good idea. I have to go. X

She was dismissing me, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all.

“Why are you looking at your phone like that?” Asked Reid. I was so absorbed with my phone that I’d almost forgotten he was next to me.

“Nothing,” I replied. I pocketed my phone, and leaned my head against the headrest. Reid remained quiet, and I think we were both content with the quiet.

We’d been at the pub with the rest of our team for over two hours. It was late, and I was tired. I was also pissed, and not the drunk kind. I tried not to worry about Kennedy, and why she’d brushed me off, but it was all that I could think about. It was driving me crazy, and I really only saw one solution.

She was going to see me whether she wanted to or not.