Adrenaline: A Fall Away Series Bonus Content Collection (2 page)

“But…but…”

“I have a study date, Jared.” And she smiled sweetly, and walked over to get her shirt off the floor.

A date?!

“A study date?” I blurted out, standing up. “With who?”

“Steven Stoddard.”

The pimple kid? 
 “Stevie Stoddard?” I asked, still really fucking confused.

“Yeah.” She nodded at me as she threw her supplies back in the crate and grabbed her bag. “The kid you spread the rumor about me losing my virginity to freshman year? We’re studying Chemistry at Mario’s. Don’t wait up, baby.”

And she smiled and walked out the door.

I stood there, lame and in pain, wondering what the hell she’d just done to me.

Oh, she was definitely getting it this weekend.

***

Valentine’s Day Scene

Tate

“So where’s Jared?” K.C. asked as she propped her elbows up on the counter and peered down at me.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the rows of bowling shoes I was putting away. “Well, obviously since I’m working, K.C., he’s not here. We celebrated Valentine’s last night.” I stuffed the shoes into their cubbies, keeping my back to her.

“Mrow! You’re touchy. What’s up?”

Standing up, I dusted off my black pants and turned around to face her. K.C. worked next door at the movie theater, and I’d been working at the bowling alley since November. She made it a point to come in on days when I worked, either on breaks or after her shift. I kind of wondered if she came over in the hopes of seeing someone other than me.

“Nothing.” I shrugged my shoulders and tightened my ponytail. “Jared took Jax out of town with him on family business.” I paused to make air quotes around ‘family business’. “And I offered to work for Lacey, since she wanted the night off with her boyfriend.” I quickly glanced at K.C. before looking away again, too afraid she’d see my aggravation. “It’s fine.”

“Fine?” She repeated in a flat voice as if confirming she heard me right. Her big green eyes stared at me, disbelieving.

“Yes. Fine.” I dismissed her and walked down the aisle behind the counter. I was trying to keep calm. Ever since last fall, I realized I had an—shall we say—anger problem. I took deep breaths, I started yoga, and I tried not jumping to conclusions. Right now, I focused on the thunder of bowling balls charging down their path and the clatter of pins crashing together.

I liked bowling alleys. It was a constant thunderstorm.

I heard K.C. slap her hand down on the counter. “Tatum Brandt. Your boyfriend goes out of town with his whore of a brother—on Valentine’s Day, no less—and you aren’t even slightly aggravated?”

“‘Whore?’ That’s pretty harsh.” I smiled and almost laughed, forgetting my anger for a moment.

She was wrong. Jax wasn’t a whore. Not in the way Jared had been, at least.

But he was getting lots of attention.

Now that Jared was off the market, the girls at school welcomed the new Trent with open arms and open…everything. They looked at him like he was a toy—something to play with—and I could tell it pissed Jax off, big time.

Jax didn’t like women who were controlling. In the few months he’d lived with Jared and Katherine, I’d only seen him go for the shy ones. The quiet ones.

The good girls.

Kenzie, the pretty and studious vice president, never knew what hit her.

“No,” I continued. “I’m not aggravated with Jared. I trust him. I’m just disappointed. If he says he had to go out of town, then he had to go out of town.”

“Well, he lied to you,” she said, matter-of-factly.

I straightened my back, exhaling through my nose. “K.C., knock it off.”

I looked over at her as she smoothed her long, dark brown hair and adjusted her bowtie—part of her theater uniform.

“I’m telling you…” She nodded. “He lied. He didn’t go out of town on family business.”

“And how do you know?”

She broke out in a huge smile. “Because he’s walking this way.” She almost laughed it out in her excitement, and my eyes went wide as I darted my gaze behind her.

Jared and Jax walked side by side down the red and gold carpet between the lanes and the concession stands, straight for me.

What the hell?

My whole face tingled, seeing the corner of his mouth turned up in that
I-really-want-to-smile-but-I’m-too-cool
way that turns me the hell on.

His eyes glowed. My knees went weak.

His dark gray t-shirt draped loosely at the waist but tighter in the chest and arms, and my eyes burned when I realized I wasn’t blinking.

And when he winked at me? Holy shit.

I snapped my mouth shut before I started drooling.

Who is this girl? Every damn day I want him more! I’m supposed to be getting tired of him. Bored. Isn’t that how relationships work? We start arguing over our little quirks?

But no. I’m like a stupid, little puppy still panting away over my boyfriend after five months. I ogle him. I fantasize about him. And the little bastard knows it, too. He tries crooking his finger in the lunchroom to get me to come.

I don’t obey, but man, I want to.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” He hops up on the counter, swings his legs over and jumps down.

“Happy—” His mouth crashes down on mine, cutting me off. His lips are smooth and refreshingly cold from the February chill outside, and I eat up his cinnamon taste. Backing me up, his hands stay on my hips as he guides us through the swinging door to the back room. I barely register Jax’s voice.

“Hi.”

And I hear K.C. mumble something about unsupervised children not being allowed in the bowling alley.

Then they were gone. Jared’s breath is in my ear, kissing a trail across my cheek.

“I thought you went out of town.” I closed my eyes, running my hands up his arms.

“On Valentine’s Day?” He puts his nose to mine. “How many times do I have to tell you? Where I go, you go.”

He leans in again, devouring my mouth and taking my ass in both of his hands. As he yanks me into him, our hips come together, and I groan.

Son of a bitch. Everything is warm, and my muscles tingle with a sweet weakness. I have no idea how I’ll get through medical school with Jared around.

I grab the back of his neck and push into him, pressing my lips into his and my body molding to his every curve.

He lifts me up and on the counter, deepening the kiss.

I pull back. “Wait, wait. Don’t get too hot. I’m still working.”

He doesn’t even pause as he starts kissing my neck. “K.C.’s taking your shift,” he whispers. “Well, actually your co-workers are, and K.C. will help out. You have two hours before curfew, so you’re coming with me.”

I thread my fingers through his hair. “Where are you taking me? The lake?” Our usual private spot for…privacy.

His head pops up, and he narrows his eyes at me. “No, I’m done with that.” He fists my red necktie—part of my uniform—and wraps it around his hand, slowly bringing us nose to nose. “We’ve been sneaking around for months as if your dad doesn’t know we’re going to find some way to have sex. I’ve had enough.”

Chills spread up my neck and down my arms. I clear my throat. “Jared, I’m sure he knows we’re finding the time. It doesn’t mean he’s going to support it.”

He kisses my nose and between my eyes. “Well, I’m sick of it. My car, your car, my garage last week. Rushing around between the end of school and him getting home from work. It’s ridiculous, and we’re not doing it anymore.”

Okay, now he was scaring me. “So what does that mean?” I pulled back.

He smiled. I mean
smiled
smiled. To where I actually saw teeth. “It means I’ve got a present for the both of us. Come on.”

He grabbed my hand, and I hopped off the counter.

We drove for a while. Jax had brought his car, opting to stay at the bowling alley, so Jared and I headed to the other side of town. Houses started getting bigger, city lights started getting dimmer, and Jared remained silent, only nodded his head ever so slightly to Alice in Chains’
Would?.

He pulled up the Boss to a huge black gate and punched in a six digit code while my heart started pounding in my ears.

What was all this?

I didn’t ask, but—damn—I was intrigued. We were heading into the Seven Hills community, which I’d heard of but never been and Jared had the gate code?

The drive dipped, and we rode down a well-lit avenue lined in trees and tall hedges protecting the privacy of the houses behind them. Jared slowed and turned into a black brick driveway.

Holy crap!

My eyes couldn’t take in everything fast enough. The house—and I use that term loosely—sat bright and huge in front of us. It looked almost French in its architecture, but not over the top in its grandeur. The brickwork was light colored—beige, mauve, off white—while the trim was painted in deep red. Lights were everywhere. On the sides of the door, over windows, and in a few rooms of the house.

“Jared, whose house is this?” I asked as he pulled onto another driveway off to the side of the house.

“Madoc’s.” He put the car in neutral, set the e-brake and killed the engine “Wait here.”

Climbing out of the car, Jared rounded the front and came over to open my door.

“How did I not know Madoc was this rich?” I mumbled more to myself as he helped me out of the car.

“I think Madoc likes to forget that fact.” He laughed under his breath. He led as we walked hand in hand farther along the side of the house. Brick stairs led up the side toward the rear, and I followed behind, completely confused as he pulled keys out of his pocket. I had no idea what was going on, but I had no idea what to ask next.

“This part of the house is closed off from the rest,” Jared said back to me. “There’s another door into this room, but no one comes to this side of the…um…”

“Mansion?” I offered.

“Yeah.” He unlocked the door at top.

We walked in slowly but immediately I felt different. The smell of new things, furniture polish, the leather in a car, and the faint smell of cologne filled my lungs, and I felt warm all over.

Jared turned on the dim overhead lighting and switched on a lamp, all creating a soft glow in the very masculine bedroom. The walls looked freshly painted a very light tan color, the hardwood floors were accented with a spotless beige rug, and the king-size bed was adorned with pillows big enough for me to lie my body on. A rustic, stone fireplace sat along one wall, and I couldn’t remember ever feeling so safe and comfortable in a room before.

I realized that while I’d been absorbing every nook and cranny, Jared had stopped moving.

“It’s beautiful.” I locked eyes with him. “Almost like a cave.”

He leaned against the dresser, watching me. I shifted my eyes to his left and noticed a picture sitting pretty in a black frame of us at Homecoming last fall.

Wait a minute.

Heading to the chest of drawers, I yanked on one of the handles and spotted some of Jared’s clothes. Opening another drawer, I saw some t-shirts.

I had to force back my smile before I turned to face him. His eyes were waiting, but I could see the smile inside.

“So…” I started, “you have clothes here. And some t-shirts for me. We have keys and a gate code. This is our room, isn’t it?” I guessed.

He inhaled deeply and pushed off the dresser. “Madoc’s parents are always gone, and we’re going to be here a lot this summer with all of his parties. There’s not much I can do about your curfew, but at least now we have our own space. With a lot of privacy and comfort.”

“And a bed,” I added.

“It’s not about that.” He blinked. “Well, it kind of is.”

I met him halfway and wrapped my arms around his waist.

“I’m just done with quickies and sneaking around, Tate. It feels like we’re doing something dirty.”

“Oh, we are,” I waggled my eyebrows and whispered before snatching his bottom lip between my teeth.

He sucked in a breath, and we nibbled at each other in short, soft kisses. Lifting me up, I wrapped my legs around his waist and moved my hands over his shoulders and onto his back.

“Ugh,” he grunted, pinching up his face, and that’s when I noticed the slight ridges and crinkly sound coming from underneath his shirt. It felt like a plastic bag.

“What is that?”

He laughed out his nose. It looked like his teeth were clenching together. “Your other present,” he forced out.

Lifting up his shirt, I pulled it over his head and lost my breath when I saw his shoulder wrapped up in a plastic, black bag secured with medical tape.

“Jared!” What the hell was this?

“It’s okay. It’s just a tattoo. Help me take off the wrapping.”

I followed him into the bathroom, and that’s when I saw it.

The rest of the tattoo.

“That’s why I had to come up with a story of being unavailable tonight,” he explained as I helped him take off the tape and bag, throwing the trash into the sink. “I needed to buy time. Aura was taking longer with the tattoo than I anticipated, and she couldn’t finish until tonight. It took five sittings. I was going to surprise you at home, but then you picked up a shift, and I had to get K.C. and your work friends to help get you out of there early.”