Giving It to the Bad Boy (10 page)

He was right, of course, and she felt like a total bitch because of it. Despite telling herself she didn’t want to be one of those judgmental assholes, here she was doing exactly that.

The night in question played over and over in her mind. She looked into his eyes and spoke

honestly, because at the very least he deserved to know how she felt as well. “Yes, you’re right,

Reese, and I feel like an ass admitting that.” His smile was genuine, and she returned the gesture. She was tired of hiding behind herself, so to speak.
Here goes nothing
. “What I do know is that I have wanted you … for a long time.” She quickly added the last part and felt him tightening his hand on

hers, as if to urge her to continue. “I’ll be honest and say if you would have come up to me before the whole Josh thing, I would have thought it a joke. So no, I wouldn’t have believed you.” He exhaled

deeply and nodded.

“Thank you for being honest with me, and I can’t blame you for thinking that way. It isn’t like I

have been honorable or forthcoming with my feelings for you, or going above and beyond to improve

my reputation. Can we start over?”

Kiera’s heart still pounded so hard. They were surrounded by laughing couples and happy

families. Their voices were low, intimate, yet their conversation was deep and intense. “Yeah, I’d

like that.” Was she really about to do this and open herself up to a boy that just all of a sudden told her he had wanted her for years? Yes, yes she was, because she was tired of not allowing herself

what she really wanted, and what she really wanted was the boy in front of her.

He still held onto her hand, but he lifted his other one like he was giving some kind of oath.

Kiera couldn’t help but laugh. “Reese Trenton. I live on the wrong side of the tracks, do bad things on occasion, but I promise I have a good heart. I also have this weakness for a girl named Kiera

Sheppard, and would love it if she gave me the time of day and let me take her out again.” He grinned, flashing straight, white teeth. Kiera chuckled and shook her head at his teasing tone. “You’re insane, but in a good way.” He was open and honest, and she knew that he always would be. That was just

who Reese was “The wrong side of the tracks?” She took his other hand in hers, and gave him a

reassuring squeeze, the same that he had given her so many times tonight. He gave her another

lopsided grin, and she couldn’t help but feel tingly inside. It was such an innocent look, but it was also so very delicious. Kiera let her eyes travel along the strong, contoured length of one of his

forearms. The swirling lines and designs that worked their way from his wrist and disappeared under

the sleeve of his shirt drew her like a moth to a flame. “You have a lot of tattoos.” She hadn’t meant to say the words out loud.

“Do they bother you?” Kiera realized that she still held onto his hands and that she brushed her

fingers along the dark ink closest to his thumb. Feeling a bit strange for all but petting him, she let go of his hands and leaned back.

“No.” And they didn’t. In fact, Kiera found them extremely attractive, but of course she didn’t

tell him that. “Your mom and dad don’t care that you have so many tattoos, especially so young?” The air around him shifted, and he shrugged.

“My parents are rarely home, but when they are they couldn’t give two shits what I do.” Clearly

home life was a painful subject for him, and she certainly didn’t want to upset him by continuing to talk about it. This night was going so well that ruining it was the last thing on her mind.

“I’m sorry.” Because really Kiera didn’t know what she could say that would make him feel

better. There was pain in his voice, but he masked it well enough. Was that why he was the way he

was, because he had an unsteady home where no one cared about him? His hands still rested on the

table. His fingers were long and strong, and she reached out again and clasped them to hers.

Their food came, and they talked and joked. Kiera found herself extremely comfortable around

him, like she could be herself and tell him anything. It was odd that only being in his presence such a short time could make her feel this way, but there it was. He held her hand as they walked out of the restaurant. As they passed the hostess Kiera didn’t miss the way Kelly curled her lip in distaste.

Reese gave her hand a squeeze, and she focused back on him. Despite the fact his attention was

forward, Kiera knew he was very aware of what was going on around him at all times. He held the

door open as she climbed in the car and closed the door. The silence engulfed her, but she was too

focused on the way Reese’s body moved languidly yet smoothly as he walked around the front of the

car and climbed in.

He started the engine but didn’t make a move to drive away. Kiera turned in her seat and stared

at him, wondering what he was doing. His gaze was on the dash, which showed a little after ten. He

lifted his eyes to hers and said, “I guess I should be getting you home?”

She didn’t want to go home, not yet. She was having a nice time with him and wanted to be in

his company a little longer. Besides, her parents wouldn’t be home for hours, not since they informed her they were getting cocktails with friends. She would be alone in that house, with only the silence and her thoughts to keep her company. Being with Reese made her feel like nothing could touch her.

There was no taunting, no vicious remarks or snide and condescending comments aimed toward her.

Had he heard what some of the other girls had said to her, called her over the years? Heat washed

over her cheeks at the questions that bounced around in her head, and she looked away. His finger

under her chin urged her to look back at him, and when she did she was startled to see how close he

was to her. Yes, the interior of the car was small and thus they were situated close, but his face was mere inches from her own. His warm breath slipped along her face, smelling of the mints they had

after their meal.

“I don’t want to take you home yet.” His eyes dipped to her lips then lifted back to her eyes.

“I’d like to show you something, if that’s okay?” The sound of his voice, so low and deep, had her

nodding. She would have said yes to just about anything he asked.

“I don’t want to go home yet.” He didn’t respond with words, just dipped his head and brushed

his lips along hers. It was a sweet and soft kiss, nothing that would get her overly worked up, yet she was still on edge from their kiss in the theater. It was the kind of kiss that stole her sanity and had her aching for so much more.

Reese couldn’t stop thinking about the soft, sweet taste of Kiera’s lips. The fact she wanted to

spend more time with him, and wasn’t ready to go home, had him knowing exactly where he wanted

to take her. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed south and toward the outskirts of town. The place he had in mind was special to him. It was a spot he went to think or just escape. He couldn’t

count the number of times he had gone there in the middle of the night when his father came home

drunk off his ass and was looking for a fight. Those were the times he had to draw up all his strength and force himself not to leave town and never look back. Max had offered his home more times than

Reese could count, but it wasn’t about staying with Max until things got better. He was no one’s

responsibility but his own, and he didn’t want to be a burden, no matter what Max said. He would

deal with his shit, take every word Max told him to heart, and push forward. Reaching out, he took

Kiera’s hand and saw the small smile that played across her face in his peripheral vision. How one

person could affect him as strongly as she did left him speechless. He was humbled that someone like her, sweet and gentle in nature, would give him a chance. It wasn’t about sex, and it wasn’t about

feeling like he owed some kind of duty to her for stopping Josh from hurting her. It was about getting to know who she was and hoping that he could show her who he really was. Just the short amount of

time they spent together had been some of the happiest he could remember. The rumors she heard must

be plentiful, and maybe she had pegged him as a certain type because of it at first, but she was still here with him. There were far too many people around him who were fake and untrustworthy. The

only three guys he really thought of as his friends were Marcus, Christian, and Leo. They had stuck by him for years, didn’t judge him because of his upbringing, and never expected something in return. He could tell, without a doubt, that Kiera was the same way. She gave him a chance, and she would

never know how much that meant to him.

****

private property, owned by an elderly man who had lost his wife a few years back and killed

squirrels. Everyone in school knew about the pond, and there were even rumors of parties and

drunken orgies held there. Reese parked the car and turned off the engine once he reached the gate

blocking entrance to the pond.

“What are we doing?” Kiera whispered although it wasn’t like Old Man Kline could hear them.

“You don’t have to be quiet, Kiera,” Reese said with suppressed laughter.

She wrinkled her nose and looked out into the darkness before them. The sound of Reese

climbing out of the car had her snapping her attention to the driver’s side. For a moment she was

transfixed by the sight of his t-shirt riding up his abdomen. The flash of his hard, flat stomach

disappeared as quickly as it presented itself. Before she had time to open her door he was there

opening it for her. He helped her out, but left her standing there as he went to his trunk, popped it open, and grabbed a thick blanket. She looked from him to the blanket and back to him again.

He chuckled and shook his head. “You are too damn cute for your own good.” He lifted the

blanket and said, “It’s for us to
sit
, nothing more. Scout’s honor.” Kiera didn’t comment on the fact she doubted he had been a Boy Scout. He took her hand again, and they started walking down the

darkened trail. Despite the heat she shivered. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled

her into the side of his body. Instantly she became hot, and beads of sweat slid down her spine. His body was hard in all the right places, and she wanted nothing more than to sink into him until they

were one person.

Far too soon they came upon the pond. Trees surrounded it completely, yet the moon shone

through, cascading light over the water. He let his arm drop but grabbed her hand and started walking farther into the opening. Kiera dug her feet in the ground, and he stopped and glanced over his

shoulder in question.

“Wait. This is private property. What if Mr. Kline catches us?”

He smiled and turned to face her.

“Kiera, Kline is like ninety years old. He can’t hear the phone ring when he’s standing right

next to it let alone us out here five acres away from his house. Besides, I’ve been coming out here for years. We won’t get caught.” He tightened his hand on hers again and started leading her toward a

large, leaning barn a few yards away from the pond. It looked like it was on its last leg, and a bit spooky if she was being honest. Debris littered the ground, and she stepped over and around pieces of wood. The front of the barn was even worse, but Reese stepped over the junk, then turned and

gripped her around the waist. He hoisted her up and over, and she curled her toes inward so she

wouldn’t lose her sandals.

She couldn’t help but notice the way his biceps bunched from the strain of lifting her into the

barn, or the way he smelled so good, like expensive cologne mixed with a clean, citrusy scent. When

she pulled herself back to the present she took in her surroundings. The barn
was
on its last leg. The roof, if one could even call it that, had more holes than she could count. Reese started moving

forward, and it was then she smelt the musty scent of old earth and wetness. Following him over the

soggy ground, she wondered what he could possibly want to show her in a crappy place like this.

“It’s just right over here.” Reese took a right, into what she thought might have been an old

stable room at one time. The roof was high and littered with gaping holes, but that wasn’t what had

her stopped in the doorway. There, on the ground was a swatch of moonlight that came through the

boards in the roof. She took a closer look, seeing the perfectly shaped heart that the light made.

Looking up at the ceiling, she saw the broken and jagged pieces of wood above her.

“It’s not baby kittens or anything, but I thought you might like to see something a little unusual.”

He took the blanket and laid it on the ground.

“Baby kittens?” She laughed and sat beside him on the blanket, still looking at the heart-shaped

moonlight just inches from her. Kiera reached her hand out, the bluish glow bathing her skin.

“I mean, it isn’t the most incredible thing in the world, but how many times in your life can you

say you saw the moon make a heart?”

She looked over at him. “It is incredible, and something that I won’t forget. Thank you for

showing me.” It may have only been a trick from the shape of the warped and rotted wood, but out of

that ugliness came a perfect, beautiful splash of light.

“I didn’t just bring you here to show you that.”

“No?” She turned her body so she faced him fully. He shook his head and looked down at the

blanket.

It seemed to take him a long time to speak again. “I like you, Kiera, a lot.” He looked at her