Page 4

Sam

The line hasn’t died down since the minute my shift started.

Dozens of students are in Broad Street Beans sipping overpriced lattes.

As one group leaves, another enters, demanding even more complicated drinks.

Rich kids are the worst. They bark orders in condescending tones that make my blood run cold.

I glance at the watch on my left wrist and let out a sigh of relief. Ten more minutes. That’s how long I have until I slip out from behind the counter and escape.

Except I’m not free.

I have my next job.

The crowd ebbs and flows, and with the new wave of customers comes someone from the past. Someone I still hate with a passion. A wealthy asshole I want to punch in the face whenever I see him on campus.

Tucker Kane

The biggest douchebag I’ve ever met. And the sad thing—he doesn’t even remember me. Or at least he never appears as if he does. Why would he?

Tucker had me fooled my freshman year. Our night together didn’t matter to him.

When a man like Tucker shows you attention, you feel like you’re the world’s most important woman. He promises dreams and then sells you nightmares. You mean nothing. You’re just another girl on his path to the next one, left behind to pick up the pieces.

Tucker never comes into Broad Street Beans. He glances around the store, his eyes traveling over every girl. He’s checking out his next victim, I assume.

Slinging a backpack over his right shoulder, he flexes his thick muscles. A small part of me aches when I’m reminded of our last time together. And that part of me wants to wrap my fingers around his biceps, slide my hands over his chiseled chest—he takes my breath away—that part hasn’t changed.

I can’t peel my eyes off him as he waves to a group of girls by the window toward the back of the café. He sits at the only open table right in front of the restrooms. It’s the worst seat in the house. No windows. Smells like a toilet.

Glancing over at Tucker, memories of my first time with him force their way into my mind.

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to psych myself to play strip poker. But I couldn’t do it. No matter how often I tried to get comfortable enough to sit at the table, no amount of liquid courage could prepare me to take my clothes off in front of strangers.

We were in the backyard of a fraternity house with ten people seated at the felt-lined table in front of me.

Stacks of colored chips were at the center, a black, red, and green pile overflowing onto the river cards.

When Tucker asked me if I could play poker, I lied.

I grew up with a drunk father, a man who lost every paycheck playing cards on his lunch breaks and the weekends in Atlantic City.

Because of that, I loathed anything to do with gambling.

Tucker pulled two lawn chairs beneath the maple tree and told me to sit.

I did as he instructed without giving it another thought.

He was gorgeous, well over six feet tall, with a surfer tan and short, blond hair gelled into tiny spikes.

I’d seen him around campus a few times. I’d even attended the parties at his house.

But he never noticed me, not even once. Now, he couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

He slid his arm behind my neck, resting it on the back of the chair.

His fingers gently brushed against my skin, producing tiny bumps along my shoulder.

It was October and still somewhat warm, but the chill running through me was from Tucker.

My body was all too aware of how it responded around him, which made me even more self-conscious.

Tucker leaned over to speak against the shell of my ear, his breath sending a brush of heat to my cheeks. “We get the next round.”

“I’m not sure if I want to play.”

“Oh?” He cocked his head to look me in the eyes. “Getting cold feet?”

“I’d rather dance.”

He took a sip from his cup and squeezed my shoulder with his big hand. “Let’s dance then. Fair warning: it’s not my thing. I might do more drinking than dancing.”

“You sure you don’t mind leaving the game?”

He winked, staring down at my toga. “I can get you out of this sheet without playing games.”

Instead of irritation, which would have been the normal reaction, considering he was a pig, I was excited. I’d thought of Tucker every time he passed me on my way to class, every time we were at the same party.

His cocky smirk and pale blue eyes produced a yearning inside me.

I pushed my thighs together, my core clenching with need.

He noticed my sudden movement, which turned up the corners of his mouth even wider.

Tucker was the cream of the crop of Strickland University’s elite.

He was the son of a famous hockey player, rich enough to buy the school, and ruggedly handsome.

He was the typical jock, all smiles and charm and never without a girl on his arm.

“Shit,” Eden yelled, throwing her losing hand on the table. “But I have nothing on under this sheet.”

I shook my head, laughing. Why did she play poker with these guys? The frat boy sitting beside her was bluffing when he called her bet. She folded, allowing him to win the game with a pair of fours.

When Eden undid the knot of her toga, I turned my head. I couldn’t bear witness to her public shame. If I would get naked, it wouldn’t be in front of a group of drunken frat boys.

I wanted to save her from the stupid bet, but she was thickheaded and would never listen to me. Once she committed to something, she was all in.

“How come I’ve never seen you at a party before?” Tucker asked.

“This isn’t my first time in the house.”

“Really? You have a face I would remember.”

“That’s because you usually have your tongue down some girl’s throat.”

He laughed. “Sounds about right.” Then, he brought his hand to my cheek and rubbed his thumb along my jaw. “But you’re the only girl I see tonight.”

“Smooth,” I shot back.

Tucker flashed an adorable smirk that creased his tanned cheek. His eyes found mine, and my chest tightened.

“Let’s go inside.” He took the cup from my hand and helped me up from the chair.

I pressed my hands to his chest when I lost my balance, the four beers I’d drank kicking in at once.

We grabbed a fresh beer from the keg in the kitchen, and then Tucker led me by the hand into the living room.

They moved the furniture against the walls to make room for the makeshift dance floor.

People surrounded us, the air hot and thick from all the bodies rubbing on each other.

The DJ spun records, mixing a popular rap song with a techno beat.

I sipped from my cup, careful not to spill any of the beer, draining enough liquid to maintain a steady rhythm.

Moving my hips back and forth to the music, I kept my eyes focused on the crowd in front of me.

Slowly, I backed my ass into Tucker, and he hooked his arm around me, pulling my back flat against his chest.

He smelled of a spicy aftershave and clean linen.

I leaned back, his scent filling my nostrils, and closed my eyes.

After sliding my ass up and down a few times over the front of his toga, I felt him grow hard against my ass.

We had almost nothing between us, and I became more aroused the harder he got for me.

Tucker’s hand moved from my stomach to my hip. He snapped my thong strap between his fingers and dipped down to lower his mouth to my ear. His heat, his touch, all of it was too much for me to stand. I wanted his hands on me, everywhere, navigating every inch of my body.

Under the heat from the lights and the steady pace I maintained, I was on fire, my skin burning from Tucker’s touch.

My nipples were painfully erect, and Tucker seemed to notice.

He inched his way up from my hip to the side of my breast and then rolled the pad of his thumb over the top of the sheet.

I moaned so loudly that I covered my mouth with my hand because I feared someone would notice.

But no one did. No one cared what we were doing, not when they were busy doing worse things.

One of the fraternity brothers had his hand up a girl’s toga, her bare pussy practically on display as he fingered her.

It was as if we were in the middle of one giant orgy.

Once the song ended, I stopped briefly, sweat dripping down my face and into my eyes.

I could hardly see the people in front of me.

Tucker pushed the hair off my shoulder and dragged his teeth along my neck, teasing me for a second before he bit into my sensitive flesh.

I cried out in pain, but the more he tugged at my skin, the more warmth spread down my arms.

He spun me around to face each other and threaded his fingers through my hair, bringing my mouth to his.

My lips parted for him. I was eager and waiting for him to make his move.

And he did. Tucker ran his tongue along my bottom lip before taking it into his mouth.

He bit hard enough to draw blood, ripping a soft moan from my lips.

“You like that?” Tucker spoke against my lips, his eyes open and staring into mine.

I nodded, unable to speak.

Fuck, yes.

This time, he repeated the same motion, all teeth until his tongue slipped into my mouth. He fucked my mouth like he was invading and conquering it. Like he wanted to leave his mark on me. The way he handled me with his calloused hands and rough touch made me feel alive.

He made me feel wanted.

For a split second, I forgot people surrounded us. But I didn’t care. Not when the things he did to me made me feel this good. He was so forceful and aggressive when his fingers dug into my hips and even rougher when he lifted me from the ground to hook my legs around his back.

We were in the middle of the dance floor with me rubbing my pussy against his erection, desperate to create friction. I wanted to get off by his hands, tongue, and enormous cock.

“Take me upstairs,” I begged, my voice coming out in ragged breaths.

This was so uncharacteristic of me. But I couldn’t stop myself, not with how much I craved him.

A smirk turned up the corner of his mouth. “Do you know what you’re asking?”

No, but I wanted to know. I was dying to find out if the rumors were true. The part about him being huge wasn’t a lie. While I didn’t set out to hook up with Tucker in a fraternity house, I wasn’t leaving now that I had him. I wanted to feel every inch of him before doing my walk of shame.

“Show me,” I mouthed, and his grin widened.

He stroked my cheek. “You seem like a good girl.”

A shiver ran through me.

Eden nudges me with her elbow, snapping me back to reality. “Your shift is over, chica . I can take over for you.”

Startled, I look at Eden and then peek at Tucker again, biting my lip, now realizing I’m supposed to tutor Tuck without knowing it was Tucker Kane.

Note to self: Ask students on Strick Net for their last names.

“I’ll work your shift if you go over there and pretend to be Tucker’s tutor.” I clasp my hands together, not above begging to get out of seeing him. “Please. Do me a solid. I can’t deal with him.”

Eden narrows her eyes at me and then focuses her gaze on Tucker. Her confused expression turns into a look of horror. She knows what I went through with Tucker. This is not happening, not when I need the cash. But what else can I do? I am not going over there for any amount of money.

She nods and then unties the black apron from around her waist, dropping it on the counter behind us. “What am I supposed to be tutoring him in?”

“Business Law.”

Eden frowns. “What do I know about the law?”

I pull her into a one-arm hug and whisper ‘thank you’ into her ear. Nervous energy floods my veins as I stand there like a coward and watch Eden approach Tucker’s table.

He glances up at her, his eyes lighting with realization. She was there the night we met. Eden even dated Romeo for a while, and since the president of Delta Sigma Phi is close friends with Tucker, there’s no way Tucker doesn’t know Eden.

And now, I have to suffer in silence and wait for this torture to end.