The Boy Next Door Read online

  Guess the joke is on me. They’re more alive than ever and clamoring to break free.

  “Do you want this?” he asks when I remain silent.

  Say no!

  Push him away!

  Do something!

  “Yes.” As soon as the word escapes from my lips, the snap of my fly is released, and the zipper tugged down. My fingers skim across his flat abdominals, hovering for a moment before dipping inside his athletic shorts and wrapping around his hard length.

  Oh, God.

  Memories of what it felt like to have him surging inside me bursts into my consciousness as the scrap of material between my legs dampens. We always fit together perfectly like two pieces of a puzzle.

  As soon as the zipper is lowered, his hand delves inside my panties and parts my lower lips before thrusting deep inside. A gasp escapes from me as a second finger joins the first. My muscles contract around him as pleasure floods through every cell of my body.

  “You’re so fucking wet.” He pumps his fingers, picking up the pace. “I’ve missed this so much.”

  Even as the words reverberate throughout my being, I refuse to parrot them back to him. Already I’ve given him so much more than I wanted.

  My fingers tighten around his cock. Somehow, it becomes harder, feeling more like steel. Another punch of arousal hits me as I remember what it was like to take him in my mouth. To have his fingers tunnel through my hair and watch him spiral out of control.

  “That feels so damn good,” he whispers hoarsely as I stroke his shaft. “I need to be inside you, baby.”

  The endearment is like a fist tightening around my heart, squeezing until it becomes painful.

  Don’t do it! Allowing him inside your body will only make matters worse. It’ll be like he’s branding you all over again.

  “I want that, too.” I hear myself say the words as if from far away.

  “Thank fuck.”

  He breaks free from me before crouching down and ripping away both the panties and jeans. Once they’ve been tossed aside, he brushes a kiss against my bare pussy before rising to his feet and lifting me off mine. A moment later, we’re tumbling onto his queen-size bed, and he’s landing between my legs. There’s something comforting about his heavy weight pressing me into the mattress. If I close my eyes, it would be so easy to trick myself into believing that everything was the same.

  That we were the same.

  With his shorts in place, his thick erection presses against my heat, and a shiver of need careens through me.

  His movements still. “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

  Yes.

  No.

  Oh, God.

  I jerk my head into a tight nod. For better or worse, this is happening. Colton and I are like two trains on the same track destined for a head-on collision. He slips his hand between us and yanks away the material covering him. In one swift motion, he thrusts deep inside me.

  Yes!

  A whimper falls from my lips as a feeling of fullness suffuses me. It’s been more than a year and a half since Colton has been inside my body. A powerful concoction of pleasure infused pain jolts through me as he buries himself to the hilt. Once he bottoms out, he holds himself perfectly rigid. His girth stretches me impossibly wide. I used to tease him about having such a thick cock, but it’s the truth. I feel owned when he’s inside me, and my core is pulsing around him, attempting to adjust to his size. He brings every nerve ending to life.

  “Shit,” he grits between clenched teeth, “I forgot the condom.”

  “I’m protected,” I quickly say. I’ve never allowed anyone but Colton inside my body without one. This is exactly what this guy does to me, and I wish with all my being he didn’t. He makes me throw my better judgment out the window.

  A grunt of relief escapes from him as he pulls out almost completely before thrusting home again. A tidal wave of pleasure crashes over me, and I forget there isn’t a thin barrier of latex to separate us.

  He repeats the movement. With each thrust of his hips, ecstasy swirls through me, building until I can’t contain it.

  “Fuck, baby,” he growls, “I’m going to come.”

  As soon as he bites out the words, an orgasm streaks through me. His name is a fervent chant on my lips. Stars explode behind my eyelids, and for one glorious moment, it feels like I’m going to pass out. I can’t remember the last time I experienced such an intense release.

  Colton arches his back, continuing to move, riding out the wave until his muscles turn lax. As his head falls forward, he buries his face in the hollow of my neck. His warm breath wafts across my flesh as I squeeze my eyes tight.

  Huffing out a breath, I force my eyes open and stare sightlessly at the ceiling. I’ve always taken responsibility for my actions. Colton didn’t force me to have sex. Nor did he make me do anything I didn’t want to in the parking lot of Bang Bang.

  I allowed this to happen.

  Wanted it, even.

  And now I’ll be the one who lives with the consequences.

  It’s almost as if Colton can sense the disconcerting thoughts crashing through my head as he props himself up on his elbows and watches me. “Am I hurting you?”

  “No.” I shake my head, realizing that if there’s anyone inflicting pain, it’s me.

  His voice turns cautious. “Are you all right?”

  Rather than meet his inquisitive stare, I keep my attention focused on the ceiling. I need to come up with an extraction plan. “I’m fine.”

  His cock is still buried deep inside my body. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want him to pull out. Even though I’m not looking at him, I feel the weight of his stare. There’s no hiding from it. “You don’t seem fine.”

  A sigh escapes as my gaze flickers toward him. Now that the ecstasy has faded, an odd kind of regret rushes in to fill the void. “This shouldn’t have happened.”

  “Don’t say that,” he whispers, sounding almost wounded by my words, which is laughable considering that he’s the one who threw me away. When he buries his face against the side of my neck for a second time, a shiver scampers down my spine as his warm breath feathers over my flesh. “Give me another chance.”

  My heart stutters.

  No.

  Sex is one thing, handing over my heart is an entirely different matter. “How can I do that when I don’t trust you?”

  His breath catches, but he doesn’t offer up a response.

  And that, my friends, is all the answer I need.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Colton

  I check my phone for the umpteenth time for any missed messages.

  Unfortunately, it’s just as I suspected.

  Nada.

  I reached out and texted Alyssa a few times, but it’s been stereo silence from her end, which isn’t a total surprise. Nothing I do seems to make a difference. If anything, my actions have only pushed her further away. At this point, I have no idea how to bridge the gap that now separates us.

  It’s been more than a week since she stomped over, and we had sex. I find myself hanging around the apartment building, trying to catch sight of her, but she remains elusive. Almost as if she’s trying to evade me.

  Actually, that’s exactly the tactic she’s employing.

  That girl wants nothing to do with me, and there doesn’t seem to be a damn thing I can do to change that. I hate to admit it, but I’m teetering on the verge of giving up. There are times in life when you fuck up and are able to fix the mess. This isn’t one of them.

  My head is full of Alyssa as I walk across campus on my way to my last class of the day. It’s a business course and boring as hell. Although I suspect that has more to do with the professor than the material. He’s a middle-aged dude with a monotone voice. No matter how many energy drinks I guzzle, it’s never enough to keep me from dozing off.

  As I pass by Grinders R Us, the local coffee house on campus, a flash of long, blond hair catches the corner of my eye, and my head whi
ps in that direction. My footsteps falter as I spot Alyssa sitting at a table inside. Her lips lift into a smile as she tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear. A bolt of electricity surges through me as my attention zeros in on her, eclipsing everything around me. I wrack my brain, trying to remember the last time she looked at me like that.

  It was more than a year and a half ago. Before I blew our relationship to hell. Back then, there were times when I would catch her staring at me like I was a fucking god. I loved it. Craved it. Reveled in it. In the end, I took her feelings for granted, thinking it would always be that way. Turns out that’s not the case.

  I don’t realize I’ve sidled up to the picture window until my nose hits the glass.

  “Fuck,” I mumble, rubbing the tip with my fingers and taking a hasty step in retreat.

  Is this really what it’s come to?

  Me stalking some girl in the middle of campus in broad daylight?

  Don’t answer that.

  No one has ever twisted me up inside like this. Every instinct is screaming at me to go inside and claim my girl. But how can I do that when it’s become increasingly clear that Alyssa wants nothing to do with me? The mature thing to do would be to respect her wishes and move on. As I force myself to take a reluctant step away from the window, a burst of laughter escapes from her lips as a large hand reaches across the table before settling on hers.

  What the hell?

  And then I’m right back where I started, pressed against the glass. Only now do I realize that she’s not alone. There’s a guy parked across from her. All thoughts of backing off and giving Alyssa her space evaporate as I hightail it into the coffee shop and stomp over to where the happy couple is lounging. Even the thought of another guy touching her is enough to set me off.

  You know what scares me most?

  That she actually might move on without giving me another shot.

  As soon as I pull up alongside the table, Alyssa glances at me. The smile falls from her face as her eyes widen. “Colton.”

  “Hey.” My narrowed gaze slices to the guy across from her.

  A heavy silence blankets the three of us, turning the atmosphere oppressive.

  Alyssa shifts on her chair before clearing her throat. “Levi, this is Colton.”

  Levi?

  What the hell kind of name is that?

  Unaffected by the way I glower, the dark-haired guy sits back in his chair as a relaxed smile lifts the corners of his lips. “Oh, hey. You’re Colton Montgomery. Nice to meet you, man.”

  “Yeah,” I mumble, even though I don’t mean it, “same.”

  “The Wildcats are having a great season.” He chuckles, “I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I have a lot of money riding on you guys winning a conference championship.”

  “Is that so?” I grunt in response, tempted to tank the season just so this guy loses money.

  Fuck him.

  Of course, that’s not going to happen. I’m still playing like shit, so my ass hasn’t seen very much of the field lately. Kwiatkowski, on the other hand, is living his best life. I shove that thought from my head, not wanting to dwell on it. I’ve got more pressing matters to contend with.

  Namely, this guy.

  Levi.

  I try not to snort.

  “Yeah,” he continues, “I was just telling my buddies that—”

  Dismissing him, I shift my weight and focus on Alyssa. I don’t give a damn what this guy was yapping to his buddies about. “Can I talk to you outside?”

  “Oh.” She peeks across the table at Levi from beneath the thick fringe of her lashes. “Well, I—”

  “Great.” Not taking no for an answer, I grab her hand and pull her to her feet. She rises with a small squeak of protest.

  “Maybe you haven’t realized it, but we’re in the middle of something here,” Levi says, straightening on his chair.

  No, douchebag, you’re not.

  I swear to God, if he gets in my way, I’m going to punch him. Now that I’m practically benched, I’ve got nothing to lose.

  Alyssa must see the determination that has settled over my features because she quickly says, “It’s fine, Levi. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Yeah, that’s not going to happen either.

  “Are you sure?” His gaze bounces reluctantly between the pair of us as a frown settles on his face.

  No more easy-peasy smile, is there?

  “Yup.” Alyssa gives me a bit of side-eye. “It’s all good.”

  Levi grumbles something indecipherable under his breath before slouching against the chair. It’s like he realizes he should be making more of a fuss since I swooped in and hijacked the girl he was with.

  Now that a decision has been made, I haul Alyssa out of the shop and around the corner away from the prying eyes of student traffic. Plus, I don’t want the dude inside to come out and find us.

  “Colton,” she growls, “was that really necessary?”

  You bet your ass it was.

  When I advance on her, she scoots away until there’s nowhere else to go. Her shoulder blades hit the brick building. My fingers lock around her wrists before dragging them over her head and shackling them against the wall.

  The pulse beneath the delicate flesh of her throat flutters wildly as she whispers, “What are you doing?”

  “This.” And then my mouth is crashing onto hers. The urge to brand her as my own throbs through me.

  For a moment, her body stiffens before melting beneath mine. The taste of her is the only thing powerful enough to calm the beast raging inside. It’s desperate to claw its way from beneath my skin.

  The irony is that I spent so many years not wanting to feel anything, afraid to let anyone in, including this girl. Most especially this girl. My deepest, darkest fear is that they’ll disappear from my life. It’s not something I’m entirely comfortable acknowledging. It’s the reason I pushed Alyssa away after she revealed her feelings for me. I know what it’s like to love someone completely. To have them walk away and not bother with you again is soul-crushing. I’ve gone to great lengths never to experience that kind of pain again.

  Until this tiny female insisted on clawing her way inside me and burrowing deep.

  And now she wants to walk away?

  Move on without me?

  Forget I ever existed?

  No way. I refuse to allow that to happen.

  It’s only when she turns soft and pliant that I take the kiss deeper, so deep I have no idea where she ends, and I begin. When I finally lift my mouth away, we’re both breathing hard. I rest my forehead against hers. The only time I feel sane is when she’s in my arms.

  Unfortunately, I’m the last person she wants touching her.

  “Who’s the guy?” I ask gruffly, unable to forget about him.

  As if waking from a dream, she blinks away the thick haze clouding her eyes. “Just someone from class.”

  “Was it a date that I interrupted?” It better not have been.

  Her body stiffens. Just when I think she’ll refuse to answer, she admits in a clipped tone, “We were grabbing a coffee.”

  “Do you like him?” Unable to hold back, I can’t stop myself from bombarding her with a spray of questions. Honestly, I don’t know what I’ll do if she’s developed feelings for the guy. How can I combat that?

  “We’re just friends.”

  A puff of relief escapes from me.

  Even though I have no right to tell her what to do, the words burst free before I can rein them back in again. “I don’t want you with anyone else. And I sure as shit don’t want any other guys touching you.”

  “Colton...” Emotion flickers in her eyes before she glances away.

  “Look at me,” I growl.

  Her widened gaze slices to mine as I repeat, “I don’t want anyone else touching you.” When she remains silent, I run the tip of my nose along the curve of her jaw. “I don’t want anyone else inside your body.”

  “Please,” she whispers
. Not only is she intent on fighting me, but herself as well. I hear the struggle in her voice. And I get it. Truly, I do, but still...

  “Give me another chance, Lys.” Before she can shoot me down, I add, “That’s all I need to prove that I’ve changed. That I’m not the same guy you left behind.”

  A rush of air escapes as her body wilts against mine. “I don’t know.”

  Her wrists are still pinned against the brick wall as I ghost my mouth over hers. “Just one.”

  When I make another pass, never quite touching her lips, she groans and tilts her head as if silently offering them up to me.

  “You’ve got my word that I won’t fuck it up this time.”

  “I can’t go through that again, Colton. I just can’t.”

  Thick emotion bleeds through her voice, and it nearly breaks my heart. I’m the one who did this to her. And I’ll have to live with that knowledge for the rest of my life. “I’m sorry, baby.”

  I hold my breath as indecision flickers across her features.

  “Okay,” she finally says, giving in. “But it’s one chance. After that, if I want to walk away, if I want you to leave me alone, you do it. No questions asked.”

  Even though the thought of that happening is terrifying, it’s all I have to work with.

  “One chance,” I vow, “is all I need.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Alyssa

  I can’t believe I’m actually going through with this.

  How did I let Colton persuade me into giving him another shot?

  Persuade...ha!

  If I’ve come to realize anything, it’s that I have no resistance when it comes to the blond, blue-eyed football player. All he has to do is lay his hands on me, and my brain leaks right out of my ear. It’s disconcerting.

  For the hundredth time today, I pick up my phone and stare at it. I should cancel. That would be the smartest thing to do. Just as I type out a message, there’s a knock on the apartment door. My head snaps up as my belly crashes to my toes. I place my palm against my lower abdomen as if that will keep it in place.