Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
Rocky
It was obvious that something happened. The fire that usually blazed within those emerald eyes was dormant—almost non-existent. Aspen Palmer was far from dull and lifeless, but those were the only words that could be used to describe her at this moment. My hands roamed over her body, an attempt to spark something in her. When my fingertips brushed along the hem of her tight skirt, she took my hand in hers and redirected it to her waist, the expression on her face never changing. My chest ached for the broken girl standing before me. This wasn’t the version of her that piqued my interest, this wasn’t the girl that could fight her own battles. She was a shell of the person she used to be, and I wanted to know what happened.
As soon as the song ended, she peeled away, taking her body heat with her. A glaze of something cold and unwelcoming coated her eyes as they darted up to meet mine. Her plump, chapped lips parted like she wanted to say something, but a hard expression crawled across her features instead and she clamped her mouth shut once more. Without another word, she spun on her heels and stalked off, leaving me alone and confused.
With how weird she’s been acting lately, I expected the rejection. Throwing my head back, I gazed up at the ceiling. A million thoughts raced through my mind, but not a single one of them contained any answers. Maybe she just had a bad week and would be back to her old self in no time. It wasn’t my place to pry. If she wanted me to know, she would have said something.
Blowing out a breath of air, I straightened my posture and sauntered over to the snack bar. Miss Raleigh shot me a wide grin upon seeing me in which I returned.
“You enjoying the party, Rocky?” She inquired, the smile never faltering. She was a beautiful woman, but I’ve never been interested in older chicks, especially not when my infatuation could cause permanent harm. They could fuck whoever they wanted, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to be the reason for their career going up in flames.
“It’s not bad.” I shrugged. For a high school party.
She raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask any further questions. Instead, she motioned to the assortment of food items sprawled out across the table before her. “Help yourself,” she offered, a seductive glint in her eye that had my stomach curling.
Nodding, I snatched a cupcake and a bag of chips before hauling ass away from there. My gaze darted around the room and stilled once they spotted Jax at a table with Gia beside him. The two were laughing it up which just made me roll my eyes despite the small twitch of my lips. At least he was finally doing something about his attraction to her. It wasn’t much of a secret that the two liked one another, they were just both too stubborn to make it official or to admit their feelings to the other. Maybe things were about to change for them.
Deciding to leave them to it, I surveyed the area once more. I wasn’t exactly sure how this could even be considered a party when it was as boring as this. Sure, it was hosted by the academy, but hell, at least give us more freedom than this.
“Rocky,” a familiar voice echoed through the loud music and chatter of other students. Turning toward the sound, relief engulfed me as my eyes rested on Dixie. She was one of my closest friends and one of the only people I could count on to have my back. Her black hair was braided on either side of her head, dropping down before each shoulder. The purple dress she wore hugged her figure nicely and I was reminded instantly of what it felt like to be inside her out of loneliness and convenience.
Striding toward her, I came to a stop until we were merely feet apart. She looked up at me with those big blue eyes and flashbacks of her being on her knees before me invaded my headspace, making my dick twitch.
“You look like you’re having a blast.” I smirked, the sarcasm evident in my tone.
She rolled her eyes, but her lips stretched into a smile of her own. “Totally. Definitely the best party I’ve ever been to.”
Dixie had an edginess to her that I found intriguing. Kind of like Aspen in that way. Maybe I had a type. Relationships weren’t really my thing though, so I kept it casual. Always . Not because I didn’t want to limit myself to one girl; it wasn’t that at all. But because I couldn’t trust myself not to hurt anyone. Some people weren’t meant for others, and I fit into that category.
“You trying to blow this joint then?” I winked, my accent coming out thick.
A sly smile graced her lips. “Well, I can’t say no to that.” It had been a while since our last rendezvous and with the liquor still pumping through my blood, I needed an outlet. Dixie and I were comfortable with one another because we were so close and knew that no matter what, we could trust each other.
Jerking my head toward the exit, she took the hint and stepped into stride with me. People danced around us as we made our way through the crowd, the music knocking against our eardrums as we walked toward the door at the other end of the gymnasium.
When we stepped outside, cold instantly greeted us, but it was a welcoming contrast to the stuffy atmosphere within the building. The cool wind blew loose strands of hair around Dixie’s face, making her wince. The scent of her candy perfume filled the air, putting me in a choke hold. I was a sucker for girls that smelled good, and on paper, Dixie was just my type. She’d expressed wanting to be with me a while back, but the last thing I wanted to do was ruin what we had or hurt her in any way. Relationships changed everything.
The sound of her heels and my boots echoed around us as we made our way toward the dorms. She was short in height, coming up to my armpit, but I could make it work. Especially if I fucked her standing. My dick twitched as it hardened even more due to the dirty fantasies and images invading my headspace.
Fuck.
I needed to get her alone like now .
Without another thought, I grabbed her by the hand and threaded our fingers together. She released a surprised laugh as I tugged her along, urging her short legs to move faster.
As soon as we reached the dorms, I led the way to her room and shoved the door open. I allowed her to enter first, letting it fall closed behind me with a loud bang. We were immediately encased in darkness, the only light visible coming from her window, and even then, it wasn’t much considering it was dark out. Flicking on the light, I wasted no time, embracing her and tugging her body against mine. I dropped my head and pressed my lips against hers, breathing in her cherry-scented lip gloss. She reacted to me instantly, winding her arms around my neck and pulling me closer.
The first time we ever hooked up was a little over a year ago. We’d been friends for a while at that point and I found her in the hallway. She was on her way to her room, tears streaming down her face. Concern immediately consumed me, and I stopped her, urging her to tell me what was wrong. With reluctance, she invited me into her room and told me about how she just caught her boyfriend cheating on her. For some reason, she took that as a sign of her not being good enough and started rambling off nonsense insecurities. When she refused to listen to reason, I grabbed her and kissed her. One thing led to another, and since then, it has become a normal thing for the two of us.
I was pulled back to reality when her hands dropped to my waist and slipped beneath my shirt. I trembled against the cold touch of her skin but made no move to pull away. A soft moan slipped from her mouth and bled into mine which didn’t help with my erection in the slightest.
When she pulled away slightly, I dropped my lips to the crook of her neck, allowing my tongue to dart out and taste the fluorescence of her skin where her shoulder and neck connected.
“I’m surprised you sought me out,” she said breathlessly.
“Technically,” I began in between kisses. “ You sought me out.” A gasp fluttered past her lips as my own mouth began to work its way down to her exposed cleavage, causing me to practically bend down just to achieve it.
“Still,” she continued. “I thought you were more into guys lately.”
A laugh vibrated through me, but the comment didn’t deter my movements. I didn’t have a preference for one gender over the other. I was an opportunist. Guys just tended to be more available as of late. Especially when it came to my line of work.
“I go both ways.”
This seemed to satisfy her because she didn’t press on. Instead, she stepped into the warmth of my body, pushing her own against mine. Her breaths came out frenzied and wanting as she rubbed herself against me.
“Fuck,” she murmured, tilting her head back to look at me. “Stop playing with me. I want you inside me.”
That was the last thing I needed in order to come undone. Scooping her up in my arms, she released a surprised gasp, following it up with a giggle as I carried her through the room and dropped her on the bed. The mattress bounced beneath her weight, and she worked on situating herself, spreading her lightly tanned legs to give me all the access I’d need.
Wasting no time, I kicked my jeans down my legs after retrieving a condom and carefully rolled it on my throbbing cock, the light reflecting off my piercings that traveled along the lengths. My gaze drifted over to where she lay sprawled out on the bed, her cheeks rosy and her eyes blown wide with hunger. Next, I tore my shirt from my body and deposited it on the floor before joining her on the bed. Usually, I’d get her warmed up. Eat her pussy, finger her, maybe play with her ass. But tonight, we were both way past foreplay.
My hands roamed up her smooth legs and beneath her dress until they breached the waistband of her panties. Slipping them off gently, I tossed them to the side and situated myself between her thighs. On instinct, she wrapped her legs around my hips as soon as the head of my dick breached her entrance. Sinking her teeth into her lower lip, she begged me with her eyes. She wanted this as much as I did—maybe even more. Her heat engulfed me as I slipped inside, a groan tearing through my throat as I stilled inside her. It was so wet, so hot, so fucking inviting.
Dixie was the only girl I ever fucked anymore. It was easy with her, and we seemed to be on the same page for the most part. Every now and then, I wanted to branch out and fuck a guy. They felt different; they kissed differently, and they knew exactly what to do.
My thoughts came to a halt as she flexed around my hardening member. Slowly, I began moving my hips, thrusting in long, slow, deliberate strokes. Her breathing labored with each movement and before long, she was moaning in tune with my grunts. Wrapping her arms around me, her nails bit into my back, awakening the animal inside me. I quickened my movements and hardened my thrusts, making her cry out in response to the pleasure. The sound of our bodies slapping against one another filled the room and the smell of sex hung in the air. Let’s just hope her cunt of a roommate didn’t decide to make an appearance anytime soon.
“Oh fuck,” she cried out, eyes rolling into the back of her head as I buried myself to the hilt inside of her.
“That’s it, baby,” I murmured. “Come for me.”
I dropped my lips to the column of her neck as I continued fucking her expertly. I knew exactly what her body craved; what she desired. She never could last long with me.
As if right on cue, her legs tightened around me, and a series of moans and cries fled from her mouth. Before long, she was dripping all over my cock, making it even wetter. That was all I needed.
Jerking my hips back, I slammed into her, making her scream out my name along with obscenities. Repeating the movement another few times, my balls tightened moments before I spilled my release into the condom.
With my chest still heaving, I rolled off her and fell onto the mattress. I slipped the condom off and tossed it into the bin next to the bed and then stared up at the ceiling.
“I needed that,” I admitted shamelessly.
She nodded in agreement. “Me too. I was worried you’d forgotten all about me.” A slow smile stretched across her face, but it didn’t meet her eyes.
Turning to observe her, my eyebrows furrowed. “Why would you think that I forgot about you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because it’s been a good two months since you showed any interest in fucking me.”
Her words bounced around my skull as I mulled them over. Had it really been that long? I have been busy lately with my crew, making sure I was in good enough shape to fight every weekend, and then Aspen bulldozed her way into my life making my dick stand at attention every time she walked into the same fucking room as me. So, I was also busy trying to seduce her. Not that I’d tell Dixie that. She was fine with me fucking dudes because she knew it was a different kind of itch that needed scratched every now and then, but she drew the line when it came to other females.
Clearing my head, I released a sigh. “I didn’t mean for it to be so long,” I admitted. “I’ve had a lot on my plate lately.”
“I know, but I have needs too, Rocky. You can’t just take what you want from me and then fall off the face of the earth like that.”
Shock wormed its way through me. Was that really what she thought had happened? I’d never use her like that. We had an agreement, one I intended on sticking to. “It wasn’t like that at all,” I assured her. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
Folding her lower lip between her teeth, she nodded, seemingly satisfied by my answer. “Good, because…I trust you more than anyone else and I wouldn’t be able to stomach it if you screwed me over like that.”
I nodded in understanding. Dixie’s trust issues had nothing to do with me. She was raised in a trap house, forced to witness things that would traumatize the strongest of us. Everyone she’d ever gotten close to had done her wrong, and I refused to be added to that list.
“How bout this,” I began. “We meet once a week for sex and once a week to hangout. I wish I could offer you more, but my life is a wreck right now and it’s unpredictable.”
A grin broke out across her face, and she nodded happily. “That’s more than enough. Thank you.”
Pulling myself into a sitting position, my gaze roamed around the room in search of my clothes. Upon remembering that I’d discarded them near the foot of the bed, I stood and rounded the room where I spotted my clothes strewn on the floor right where I’d left them. I quickly got dressed, slipping my jacket on last.
Dixie’s dress was still pulled around her hips and she was looking at me with an unreadable expression. “Leaving so soon?” She tilted her head to the side, disappointment filling her blue orbs.
“I’m heading back to the party.”
There was no way I was missing it. This only came around once a year. It might have been boring, but it was the closest thing to normal I was going to get.
“Oh. Well, have fun. I’ll probably just stay in and watch a movie or something.”
“I’ll see you Monday.”
I didn’t wait for a response before slipping out into the hallway, running my hands through my hair in an attempt to fix it.
When I made it outside, I reveled in the cool, autumn breeze just as much as I had earlier after exiting the gym. Inhaling deeply, I started toward the gymnasium when the sound of frantic, angry voices penetrated the air surrounding me. My entire body tensed as it went on alert, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that the voices were growing louder. Ducking in the shadows next to a random building, my gaze darted toward the direction I’d heard them. It could be nothing. It could be students heading back to their rooms after partying, but I didn’t want to take any chances. Halloween was the one time of year where kids acted out and took advantage of the little bit of freedom they were given.
A group of people stepped out into the open briefly before slipping around a building.
What the fuck?
Part of me thought about ignoring it and just going back to the party. But there was another part of me that urged me to go and check it out. Unfortunately, my curiosity was too much, and I carefully started in the direction I’d seen them disappear in without a second thought.
Sticking to the shadows, anxiety clawed at my insides. I wasn’t sure why I’d suddenly become so anxious, but that gut feeling was enough to keep me on guard. Adrenaline pulsed through me, warming my veins and I found that I was thankful for it right now. It sure as hell beat freezing, and my thoughts were clearer because of it.
Creeping along the side of the building, I found myself behind the academy. My gaze immediately moved to the five people heading in the direction of the woods. My throat tightened as I worked to unravel what was happening. Despite how dark it was, there was no mistaking the female wrapped in the thin sheet. Her movements were frenzied—panicked. She was scared. I watched as she dug her heels into the ground, refusing to follow them. Foster whirled around instantly, gripping her by the arm. Leaning in, he whispered something that I couldn’t make out from here. Whatever he said worked in his favor because her shoulders slumped forward in defeat, and she slowly started moving again.
Anger clawed at my insides. What the fuck did they do to her? Were they responsible for her change in demeanor? Ripping my gaze from her, I noticed a large object being carried by two of the other assholes in their little circle-jerk of a group. It looked a lot like a goddamn body.
A surprised yelp tumbled from Aspen’s lips, drawing my attention back over to her. Foster slung the her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing. Not that I was surprised. She was a petite little thing and Foster was over six feet tall and fit. He’d thrown around guys bigger than me.
It was too risky for me to move now. I’d have to wait until they entered the woods. Hell, even that was risky. I wasn’t sure what the hell they had planned for her. They could kill her as soon as they got away from prying eyes. The mere thought had my throat tightening.
There were plenty of rumors circulating around about Foster’s crew. How they were unhinged and ruthless. That they didn’t contain morals and killed for sport. At the time, I thought it was just bullshit to make them sound harder than they were. Now…I wasn’t so sure.
I watched with bated breath as they made their way through the soccer field. Their movements were quick as they walked, but that wasn’t a surprise. I’d be panicking too if I was holding a girl hostage and had a body to dispose of.
When they finally entered the woods, I took off on a silent jog. It was too risky to sprint considering I didn’t know what awaited me as soon as I slipped through those trees. Despite the situation at hand, I needed to think rationally about this.
My heart pounded against my ribcage as I reached the opening of the woods, but I didn’t let that deter me. Darkness enveloped me as I stepped through the trees, halting behind a big oak. Breathing heavily, my head spun. There were only so many places they could take her. The cellar, which was only a few yards away, and the pond. It was unlikely they’d drop a body off at the cellar where it would quickly begin smelling. That left one other place.
Right on cue, the sound of twigs snapping, and leaves crunching captured my attention. They were close, but not that close. Sucking in a mouthful of air, I sought after them, making sure my steps were careful and that I was hidden at all times. If I was caught, I would be as good as dead. There was zero chance of surviving a one on four fight when they were all experienced fighters.
It didn’t take too long to near the pond, and when my destination was reached, I stood idly by and waited. Aspen’s sobbing had my gut churning, but I couldn’t just go running out there. Not yet. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too late when I finally had a chance to make my move.
Voices followed her pleading and then a strangled scream pierced the air followed by a loud splash. My fingers itched to do something, to go after her. Drowning happened quickly and when in a panic, it would be nearly impossible to figure out how to get out of that damn pond. Luckily I’d been around here enough to know it like the back of my hand. Another splash soon followed and before I knew it, the guys were leaving the scene. They tossed them like they were nothing but trash. It had my blood boiling.
“What the fuck did we just do?” Collin’s voice rang out as they entered my line of sight. At least one of them had somewhat of a conscience.
“What we had to do.” Was Foster’s only reply.
I didn’t wait around to hear the last of their conversation. The clock was ticking and if I wanted to get her out of here alive, it was now or never. Keeping to the trees, I snuck past them without them even noticing.
Amateurs.
I wasted no time, peeling my jacket from my body and kicking my shoes off. Without another thought, I made a gentle dive into the water. Needles pricked my skin as it engulfed me, and it felt like the air had been knocked from my body. The water froze my eyes as I opened them, nothing but black surrounding me.
Swiping my hands through the water, I swam, hoping to find her. She couldn’t have gone too deep. At least not yet.
Aspen didn’t deserve to die. Especially not at the hands of those pieces of shits. The girl might have had an attitude like no other, but I could tell that she’s been through some shit. We all have. That didn’t warrant her death. My body trembled from the cold and fear started to overtake me. I’d considered a lot of things before jumping in, but I hadn’t considered going into anaphylactic shock. Not until now.
Shoving that thought to the back of my mind, I kept moving through the water. When my hand brushed up against something, I latched onto it, silently praying it was her. Threading my fingers through theirs, I tugged the body against me.
Relief flooded my system when my eyes met her closed ones. There wasn’t any time to waste, so I quickly started moving us toward the surface, gasping in a lungful of air as we breached. The icy wind attacked my exposed face, making it that much harder to keep going. But I didn’t have a choice. It was life or death now for the both of us.
Blinking away the water, I took off in the direction of the stones lining the far end of the pond where we’d both jumped. She was lucky she didn’t bust her head from being pushed. It felt like hours, but I finally made it and grasped onto a big ass bolder, hoisting the two of us up with one arm. Planting my knee on the hard edge of the rock, a pained grunt left me. My muscles screamed at me despite being in shape, and the vein in my forehead bulged as I exerted myself. Once I got my footing, I wrapped my newly freed hand around her as well and stood. Her cold skin met mine as I cradled her in my arms and laid her down on the grass a foot above me before pulling myself up to join her.
Kneeling on my hands and knees, a series of coughs tore from my chest, but it was short lived when I remembered there was another life here at play too. Crawling over to the naked girl, I placed my two fingers against her pulse and waited. When I felt the slow rise and fall of her neck.
No one needed to know what had taken place here tonight. Keeping her safe was the most important thing.
Reaching for my jacket, I snatched my phone out of the pocket and slipped it on her, making sure the hood was over her head and that it was zipped. Considering that I was much bigger than her, it fit like a dress. At least it provided her with more warmth.
Taking a few deep breaths, I shivered excessively and unlocked my phone. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t take her back to her room in fear of them attempting to kill her again. So, I pulled up my contact list and dialed the only person I knew would keep a secret like this. Someone I knew who would help protect her.
After a few rings, he answered.
“What?” he growled into the device.
“I didn’t know who else to call. I need your help.”