Page 16 of Ruled Out

“A-are you sure?”

We’d not said those three little words … yet. All we’d been doing was sneaking around. Not only was it against our contracts to fraternize like this, but Jessie was also essentially betraying my dad.

Betraying his trust.

Betraying everything he had done for Jessie by being here with me. By wrapping his little finger around mine and following me as I walked him into my bedroom, where I let him lay me down on my bed.

My body language told him everything he needed to know—that I was ready.

I knew he’d slept with a lot of girls at college. He was barely sober and the wild child of the NCAA, and Dad stuck with him through thick and thin. He’d ignored all the warning signs in favor of Jessie’s insane talent.

But I was enraptured by him for a totally different reason.

I was in love with him.

“Take off my clothes,” I whispered in his ear as he climbed on top of me on the bed.

I had to admit, even though we’d never given ourselves an official label since we were so unofficial in everyone else’s eyes, the fact that he was four years older than me and hot as hell did things to my teenage heart.

Every girl wanted him.

Every girl had posters of him on her wall.

But he wanted me.

To an outsider, he was living the American dream even though, underneath, he was broken. But that didn’t matter to me. I knew who he really was. Kind and thoughtful.

All Jessie had told me was that his childhood wasn’t good, but I knew that was just surface level. That he was holding back details for my—and probably his own—sanity.

When he peeled my purple cami top over my head, I was relieved when the breeze from the ceiling fan in my bedroom hit my burning skin. It was one of the hottest Dallas summers on record, but I was on fire from more than that—from the way he looked at me.

“You’re so damn beautiful, Sweetheart,” he cooed as his eyes drank me in.

I wasn’t a girl who’d been blessed with big boobs, but I believed him—that I was beautiful, sexy, desirable.

“Take your shirt off,” I moaned into his mouth, and he smiled against my lips, bracketing me in with his arms. I’d never seen his bare chest, but I knew his body was gorgeous. I could feel it under my touch.

His body tensed at my request. “In a second. This is about you. If I’m going to take something so precious to you, I want you to remember it for all the right reasons. I’m so fucking serious about you, Mia.”

I pulsed again—from my hairline all the way down to my toes. “I’m serious about you too, Jessie.”

I tugged at the waistband of his athletic shorts, wanting more, but he pulled my hand back and pinned it above my head, the other one meeting it soon after.

“No hurry. We’ve got hours, right?”

I nodded and smiled blissfully as we continued to make out on my bed.

“I want to cherish you first.” He looked down at my pale pink bra, a cheeky smirk on his face. “Have you ever been with anyone else, Mia?”

I shook my head quickly. “No. Never.” I was kind of intimidated, knowing he was older than me and had way more experience.

“I’ll take care of you. Just trust me.”

And I did, with my whole damn heart. I knew he would never hurt me. That he would never take this moment lightly.

“It might hurt a little,” he said, kissing his way across my collarbone. His hand wrapped around my back, searching for the clasp on my bra. “But I’ll make it good, I promise.”

“Can we go slow?” I asked. My body started to tremble in all the best ways.