Break Me, I Beg You (Crossroads #2)

Prologue

Monroe

Four Months Ago

Florida in the summer was a drug.

Unlike the river banks separating my town of Crossroads from our neighbors in Rivers Bend, South Beach was a premier destination for those looking to have an unforgettable time at one of Miami’s gorgeous beaches or, like me, lose themselves in the opulent night scene downtown.

Dancing the night away along with some of the biggest artists and attending some of the best festivals was the perfect way to spend the summer, so long as you could beat the heat and humid temperatures that were sure to make you sweat away every ounce of bad decisions.

Or at least trick you with the promise of forgetting them.

This trip was supposed to be a once in a lifetime experience. A celebration of my newest venture, along with my best friend and my journey into adulthood. Ten years too late, but for the second time in my twenty-seven years, I’d accomplished something worthwhile. Something I could be proud of.

The humid summer air heated my skin as I stepped out onto the crowded sidewalk right outside the dive bar we’d been in for the last few hours.

There was so much chaos around us, I’m not sure my best friends Bailey King and Billie Cole even noticed I’d wandered off.

I wouldn’t blame them either. Both were very entranced by the two gentlemen, who eagerly bought us round after round of drinks all night since we’d first arrived.

As a precaution, I quickly messaged the group chat, assuring them of my safety and promising to share my location once I reached my destination, which at that moment I had no clue of.

I couldn’t believe I was walking hand in hand with Jameson King, surely headed toward a decision I’d regret come morning.

I let out a sharp gasp as some drunk asshole sped past me on a bike, nearly knocking me on my ass in the middle of the sidewalk. Jase pulled me into his arms, cradling my fall as he spun us around to safety.

“Shit, Monroe. Are you okay?” he asked, as out of breath as I was.

My hands gripped his biceps to hold steady and took in a sharp breath.

The scent of his cologne left me speechless for a moment before I could recover.

I felt his hot breath against my neck, sending a wave of goosebumps over my skin in the scorching heat.

Weird that goosebumps appeared when my body was ablaze and not meant to signify frigid temperatures, but there was no other way to explain it.

It all happened so fast, yet as I looked up into his eyes, it was as if he was moving in slow motion. His thick blonde hair was slick against his forehead as beads of sweat delicately fell along his cheek. Maybe it was just the tequila talking, but my God. Jase King was fucking beautiful.

I cleared my throat to swallow back the urge to tell him exactly how gorgeous he was. “Yeah, just a little startled, but I’m fine,” I whimpered, trying my hardest not to show how his nearness affected me.

I had no clue what had come over me or why I was reacting this way to him. All I knew was I had to get a hold of myself and quickly, before this night turned into anything more than what the two of us had agreed to just moments before.

One night.

No strings.

No regrets.

“I swear that fucking jerk better watch where he’s going,” Jase shouted, loud enough the guy probably heard him as he rode away. A few heads around us turned our way, though most were too drunk to notice the scene unfolding before them.

Not me though. I was mesmerized by the man in front of me.

The protective nature of his embrace did all kinds of weird things to my libido, and currently in my stomach lived a swarm of butterflies begging to be heard.

His nearness crackled with unspoken promises of a great night.

A tantalizing energy radiated from him, sending shivers down my spine, all while my pulse hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs, driven by the lustful expression on his face as he watched me.

What was wrong with me?

This was Jameson King, my best friend’s brother.

A man who, only twenty-four hours ago, I had no interest in.

Sure, I probably harbored a small crush on him years ago when I was in college.

Like I said, he was unfairly good-looking.

All the King Family men were. Though so were my brothers, so it wasn’t something I was usually distracted by.

However, something about the way he looked at me yesterday when we ran into each other was unlike any other time we’d been in the same room.

It’s the same way his eyes trailed over my body just now, admiring the way my denim skirt fit perfectly tight over my hips, and down the dip of my baby blue halter crop top, which bared more cleavage than a swimsuit top.

Then again, we were in Miami, and looking around at the women out and about, I was pretty overdressed.

To Jase, seeing me like this shouldn’t have been anything new.

There were plenty of times when he’d seen me in a swimsuit—the summers we spent frolicking about by the riverbed that extended from his property to mine.

In his eyes, I’d never seen the clouded haze he’s worn since our impromptu kiss yesterday afternoon.

A kiss I still felt burning along my lips and the only reason I agreed to this impulsive decision of leaving the bar with him.

“Monroe, are you sure you’re okay?” Jase asked after minutes of silence as I drifted out of my thoughts.

Moments before we left, I escaped to the bathroom, unable to continue pretending I was listening to the two gorgeous men fawning over my best friends, as I felt Jase staring at me from across the bar.

From the moment his eyes met mine and the first text message came through, I was so distracted I’d barely heard a word they were saying.

Jase: I can’t stop thinking about the kiss.

I thought he’d say something crude, like comment on how hot my ass looked, or how much cleavage I was showing. Though what I hadn’t expected was his mention of the kiss we shared. A kiss I also hadn’t stopped thinking of.

My hand trembled as I reread the message before splashing cold water over my face. Though as I stepped back out into the overcrowded bar and crashed into a hard wall of muscle, I knew I shouldn’t have given him my new phone number even if at the time it felt like the right thing to do.

When we first ran into each other at the hotel beach club, Bailey was pissed, blaming him for following her and trying to ruin her summer vacation the way only overbearing big brothers know how. However, I quickly realized that wasn’t the reason.

Jase kissed me when I ventured solo toward the beachside bar.

At first I was taken aback by the shock, but the way his lips tangled with mine, gentle at first before consuming me with a desperate need, was intoxicating.

It was as if he’d been surprised by how much he enjoyed the soft caress of our lips.

He didn’t know it was me. Nothing but an odd coincidence, as I was the unlucky girl he ambushed as he tried to make his ex-girlfriend jealous.

I vaguely remembered him whispering the words, Please don’t scream, I promise I will explain, before the only thing I heard was the rapid beating of my heart as his lips crashed down on mine.

Thankfully, the moment was cut short before either of us was caught by his sister, who was a mere twenty feet away.

However, I was left speechless, something that didn’t happen often.

When the truth of his motive became blatantly obvious, courtesy of the raging blonde who glared daggers in my direction, despite the man hanging on her hip, it was like an icy downpour of rain extinguishing any lingering flames ignited by his touch.

By then, it was too late. The feel of his lips had all but burned itself into my delicate skin.

“Moonshine,” he said, his warm hand caressing my cheek as he spoke, forcing me to look up into his eyes.

“You’re scaring me with the silence. You’re anything but silent, which is only leading me to believe you’re hurt, or worse, more intoxicated than I first realized.

That’s going to be a problem if it’s true. ”

Unable to ignore the odd choice of endearment that escaped his lips, I watched him curiously, bewildered by the taunting expression that teased his lips.

“Moonshine?” I asked, startled out of my riveting daydream.

“Moonshine, the opposite of sunshine. Which is exactly what you are, Monroe Bishop. The darkness that lingers around you, forcing you to always fall victim to your overthinking and all-consuming thoughts, is a true testament of who you are and the life you’ve lived.

A double entendre fitting, since just like moonshine, you are turning out to be highly addictive and forbidden, yet for some unimaginable reason, I’m obsessed with your rebellious spirit. ”

I was at a loss for words, which again didn’t happen often.

It seemed, where Jase was concerned, there was no telling who I would become.

It wasn’t only the way he watched me as he spoke, as if he was looking past the walls I set up for everyone else, and directly into my true soul.

The depth of what he said, though he meant it to be teasing and playful, hit me so hard because it rang so incredibly true.

My past and the ghosts that kept me up at night made me overthink every single thing about my life. My mind ran a hundred miles per hour, twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year, and in one second, Jase saw right through me.

My eyes trailed down to his mouth, fixating on the slow parting of his lips as he let out a soft breath.

The scent of mint and bourbon made me ache to kiss him.

I wanted to take his lips between mine and taste the spiced liquor on his tongue, but I couldn’t.

Kissing Jase was dangerous for one simple reason. I liked it too damn much.

“Jase, we agreed,” I murmured, lowering my voice as I looked around to make sure no one would hear us, not like anyone cared what we were up to.

“One night. That’s all this will be. An itch to scratch, an urge we both need to get out of our system, nothing more.

There’s no need for sweet talkin’. I’m not that kind of girl. ”

It was true. I wasn’t like my best friends, especially not like any other girl from Crossroads we’d grown up with.

Carefree? More so a rampant carelessness that flowed through me.

Free spirited? Nope, I was a wild child through and through.

Ambitious and extroverted? Around here, they called it reckless and shameless.

Everything I did was frowned upon, but that came with the territory of my last name.

I’d gotten used to it by now and knew that what I was about to do was some way of acting out against those who deemed I couldn’t snag a man like Jameson King.

Not that I wanted him, but what was I supposed to do if he wanted me?

With an arm still wrapped around my waist, Jase tightened his hold on me and brought me closer to him while his fingertips played with the hem of my skirt.

Snaking underneath the fabric, warm smooth fingers, those of a man who’s done no hard labor his entire life, glided over my thighs, teasing the edge of my lace panties with their tantalizing touch.

Blonde strands of hair tickled my cheek as he lowered his mouth to my ear, his other hand still cupping my face.

His thumb slid over my bottom lip, tenderly prying my lips open and forcing me to let out a soft moan.

“We’ll see if you’re still saying that when I get you on your knees and run my fingers through your hair as you take my cock into this pretty little mouth like a good girl. ”

Instinctively, my thighs pressed together to ease the urgent need I felt coursing through me. I bit my lip, suppressing the desperate moan that threatened to leave my lips and give him the satisfaction of knowing how aroused I was. How true his words rang and how much I wanted him to do just that.

Instead, I met him with the same fervor, playing the game he thought he could outplay me in.

“Mmm,” I moaned, further pressing my hips against the erection I felt growing against me.

“One night, Jase King. It’s all you get to make an impression.

If I were you, I’d focus more on making me scream from these pretty little lips. ”

Rather than forcing him to back down, my comment seemed only to ignite him, an amused smirk plastered over his smug face as he inched in so close, the tips of our noses touched.

“Oh sweetheart, they’re going to scream. Scream my name, scream for mercy. Better yet, they’ll beg me not to stop.”

The nerve of the asshole and his better than thou persona thinking every woman should worship the ground he walks on because of his looks and status.

His ego pissed me off and made me want to keep this little game going.

To give him a taste of the sass he thought he could throw my way.

The way he’d mercilessly taunted me all night as we texted back and forth.

Curling my fingers underneath his shirt, I tugged it upward, my knuckles grazing the taut muscles of his abdomen.

Jase wasn’t large, broad-shouldered and built like a linebacker as were most of my brothers, but he was muscular and toned, more from his disciplined workouts at the gym.

Regardless, his physique was impressive.

I heard him suck in a sharp breath as my fingers touched him, but his smile didn’t falter. The man was confident as hell, and it only irritated me further when I was trying my best to act like this wasn’t affecting me the way it was.

With a sly smile of my own, I licked my lips, grazing his bottom lip just enough to elicit a low growl from his chest.

“You must have me fooled for another one of your many conquests, Jase,” I said coyly. My voice dripped with sultry seduction as my fingers slid higher. “Because let’s get one thing straight. I might scream your name as you make me come, but I’ll never beg you for anything.”

His sly smirk widened as his lips crashed down on mine, swallowing my protest. Warm and wet lips devoured mine like they’d been aching for hours on end. His tongue forced its way into my mouth, teeth clattering against each other in an urgent need to move faster, go deeper.

I wasn’t supposed to be kissing Jase King. Certainly not after two extra shots of tequila, which fueled my already conflicted feelings towards him. If this was so wrong, it sure as fuck shouldn’t feel this right.