Page 68 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11

Friday

Sophie’s eyes grew even rounder as a few other students gasped.

I reluctantly turned. Liam had Pavel in a headlock. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was worried that when I finally looked Liam would already be knocked out.

O’Reilly jumped into the ring and pushed the two of them apart. Not that he could be upset by an illegal move. O’Reilly had fought way dirtier than that.

“See, Liam’s holding his own,” Sophie said. “But look at how much Pavel is packing.”

“I don’t care about his package,” I said as I stared in horror as Pavel landed his first punch across Liam’s jaw.

“God, I can’t watch this.” I pushed past Sophie.

“Scar, wait!” she called after me.

“How would you feel if you were watching RJ in a knockout fight?”

“I’d cheer for him. Like I’m doing for Liam. Go Hunter!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Screw this. I ran past the other students in our row.

Apparently I cared more about her little brother than she did.

And I certainly cared a ton about my brother.

I didn’t want any of my friends to get hurt.

I didn’t want to see this. Jacob would stop it.

But that didn’t mean I needed to watch the fight until he was able to intervene.

I ran down the stands and toward the back hallway.

The crowd was yelling a mixture of Hunter and Semenov.

I pictured blood dripping down Liam’s face like Jacob’s.

Why was the football team doing this? Boxing for fun? It was literally the stupidest idea I’d ever heard. If one of them got really hurt they’d be out for the season. And I knew a few of them wanted to play in college.

I could still hear the Hunter and Semenov chants in the back hallway. There was a line to the bathroom and I didn’t want to just stand there and listen. So I opened the closest door and ran into a dark room.

I pressed my back against the closed door and took a deep breath.

The chanting was quieter back here.

But every time I closed my eyes I saw blood on Liam. And on Jacob. I felt a tear roll down my cheek. Watching them play football was bad enough. I always worried about them getting injured. But boxing for fun? I shook my head. Boys were idiots.

I knew Liam was going to be mad at me for stopping the fight. But he didn’t understand what it was like when he was a baby. I thought I was going to lose him then. And I didn’t realize how much that fear had stuck with me.

I closed my eyes again and pictured the red stain on the carpet in the family room.

My mom had lost so much blood when Liam had come early.

My tears started falling faster. I wasn’t supposed to see the blood.

Ellen had been scrubbing it nonstop. She was the best housekeeper in the world and even she couldn’t get the stain out.

Eventually they had to pull out the carpet and get another.

I’d thought Liam was going to die.

I’d thought my mom was going to die.

I tried to shake away the memories. I used to have nightmares about them. But it had been a while. Seeing the blood on Jacob’s face though… Why would anyone purposely fight till knockout when something so terrible could happen?

I took a deep breath to try to make my heart stop racing. It was fine. Jacob was going to stop the fight. I wasn’t sure I could even hear the Hunter and Semenov chanting anymore. It was going to be okay.

I almost believed it too.

But then I heard a hiss.

I jumped. What the…

I heard a louder hiss and something clanged against the side of a cage I couldn’t see in the dark. There was another really drawn out hissssss and I swear I actually heard a slither.

Snakes.

Of all things…

Why had I gone into a room with snakes? I always had a bad habit of opening doors I wasn’t supposed to open. I turned and tried to find the knob in the dark.

There was another hissing noise, and this one sounded closer.

I finally made contact with the doorknob and threw it open. The hall was dimly lit but the faint light was still blinding compared to the darkness of the room. I lifted my hand to shield the light.

But someone from behind me grabbed my hand before it reached my eyes. Maybe they thought I was reaching out to them? But I didn’t even know who it was…

He laughed. Probably because I accidentally just squealed.

I turned to see, but he had disappeared into the room filled with snakes I’d just escaped from. And he was pulling me along with him.

Wait…no… But the fear from the snakes had somehow made my voice fail.

He pulled me back into the snake infested room. The door closed behind us with a click.

I tried to warn him and scream but nothing came out.

I heard the hissing sound again. Seriously was that getting closer? But all the fear dissipated when the stranger’s lips pressed against mine.

I put my hand on his chest to shove him back. But my fingers collided with a bare six-pack.

Wait.

Oh.

It’s Jacob. He knew I wanted to be alone with him. And he must have seen me run back here when he stopped the fight. The chanting of Hunter and Semenov had definitely stopped. I would have thanked him, but I was a little distracted by the fact that his lips were pressed against mine.

My first kiss. I’d been waiting my whole life for this moment.

His tongue slid along the crease of my lips and I parted my lips for him. I had no idea what I was doing, but I really liked how it felt. I really, really liked it. My tongue collided with his.

He groaned as I finally kissed him back. I’m kissing Jacob Miller. I was pretty sure I was smiling more than kissing but I didn’t even care because this moment was perfect.

I ran my hands down his bare chest for just a second before he grabbed my hands. He stepped forward, pushing my back against the wall. And then he lifted my hands above my head, pressing the backs of them against the wall too.

No, this was definitely not how I pictured my first kiss.

It was a million times better.

A million times hotter.

I was completely at his mercy.

This was the first kiss to end all first kisses. I was pretty sure I moaned. Or something. All I knew was that I’d never made that sound before.

He deepened the kiss, pressing himself more firmly against me. He was only wearing boxers and I could feel how hard he was against my stomach.

For just a second I heard Sophie’s words in the back of my head: “The key to a man’s heart is giving him a blowjob.

” But she was wrong. Because I was pretty sure I already had Jacob’s heart.

Why else would he be kissing me like this?

Like I was the only girl he’d ever desired.

Like I really was the only girl he noticed in a room.

It was everything I’d ever wanted. And yet… somehow I wanted more.

I wanted to run my fingers through his dark hair. I wanted to touch every inch of him. It was like he knew exactly what I wanted, because he let go of my hands.

But before I had a chance to reach out to him, he stepped back.

“Wait,” I said. I wasn’t nearly done yet. I never wanted my first kiss with him to end. “Jacob.”

I couldn’t hear or see a thing.

“Jacob?”

I saw a sliver of light from the door and turned just as it closed.

“Jacob!” I called after him.

Why hadn’t he responded to me?

I stood there for a few seconds as my heart rate started to slow down.

Wait…

Oh no.

Had Jacob not responded because it wasn’t Jacob who I’d just kissed?

I’d thought it was Jacob but…I suddenly couldn’t remember how he smelled. Or how the guy I just kissed smelled.

Wait, was that Axel? Because Axel knew I wanted my first kiss tonight. He’d actually been overly curious about who it was with. He’d asked me three times. He could have been waiting for me back here…

I sniffed the air, trying to see if I could smell Axel’s expensive cologne.

Maybe that was his cologne? I wasn’t sure.

I smelled the air again. It did smell like him.

But he’d also lifted me over his shoulder earlier.

I’d still have the lingering scent of his cologne on me from that.

Did I smell any other cologne though? Maybe?

Gah I can’t tell! When had my nose ever betrayed me so?

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit!

I’d just had my first kiss. It was better than I’d ever dreamed. But I didn’t know who I’d kissed.

How did I just have my first kiss and not even know who it was with? How? Seriously, how?!

Was it Jacob or was it Axel?

Good God, what if it wasn’t with either of them?

What if it was cheap shot O’Reilly? Or bodybuilder Pavel? Or someone else I didn’t even know?

I heard a hiss and jumped. I pressed my hand against my chest as I stared into the darkness.

Why on earth did I just have my first kiss in a room filled with evil snakes with someone whose face I hadn’t seen? What was wrong with me?

It had to be Jacob, right? He wasn’t wearing a shirt. But…the whole varsity football team had probably stripped down to their boxers while they awaited their turns in the ring. And the whole football team didn’t exactly narrow it down much.

What if it wasn’t Jacob? Or Axel? No matter what, my first kiss had just been stolen by a…a…a dirty kiss thief!

I grabbed the handle of the door, threw it open, and ran out into the hall to try to find the boy who had stolen my first kiss. I looked both ways but the only people in the hall were the ones in line for the bathroom. No one turned to look at me.

Who the hell had I just kissed?