#Selfie (Hashtag Series Book 4) (2 page)

Ivy

Spring break at the beach sure beat spending it at home with my brothers, my parents, and the rest of my family who all dropped in constantly and liked to ask a million questions about everything.

I loved my big family, but sometimes it was nice to avoid all the questions.

Especially when I spent half of my sophomore year at Alpha U making choices I wished I hadn’t. The last thing I felt like doing was answering questions I had no intention of answering honestly.

But that didn’t matter.

Those things were over.

My eyes were open, a big part in thanks to Rimmel.

She helped me realize it was okay to be exactly who I was. I didn’t have to try so hard to be the person I thought everyone wanted me to be. She also taught me when the right guy came along, he would like me for me.

And if he didn’t… he wasn’t worth it anyway.

Seemed like this was a lesson I should have learned in high school, not as a sophomore in college, but maybe I was a late bloomer.

Okay, I wasn’t a late bloomer. I just got a taste of freedom since coming to Alpha U, and now that I wasn’t constantly surrounded by family who watched my every move, I had more room to try things out.

And I tried lots of things.

Most of which I regretted.

But no more.

I wasn’t going to be the girl who partied and drank too much. I wasn’t going to sleep with random guys, thinking it might lead me to Mr. Right. And I certainly wasn’t going to get so drunk that some psycho could take advantage of me to hurt people I cared about.

I closed my eyes against the thought.

It made me feel dirty even now, months later.

It seemed it didn’t matter how much I tried to distance myself from it or tried to forget. There was no forgetting I’d slept with Zach.

Actually, I
didn’t
remember much about the actual sex. I just remembered coming back to my dorm with him, some foreplay, and waking up naked when Rimmel came home the next day.

God, I’d been mortified when I fully woke up and realized what happened. I even tried to tell myself we hadn’t actually slept together, that maybe he left before it got that far. But I couldn’t deny it very long.

I felt the evidence between my legs the second I got up.

I shuddered and tried to cut off my thoughts.

But they were persistent.

I don’t know what was worse: the fact I slept with Zach or the fact we hadn’t used a condom.

God.

Could I respect myself any less?

And then to find out he’d used me to hurt Rimmel, one of my best friends?

There wasn’t enough soap in Wal-Mart to make me feel clean again.

So I vowed to lay off the alcohol. I would still drink—I was still in college after all—but never enough to let myself get to that point again. Never enough to not know what I was doing.

If only I could forget. If only I could wipe away the fact I let him touch me.

The sound of the sliding glass doors behind me broke into my thoughts, and I glanced over my shoulder. My body tensed when I saw who it was, and I rolled my eyes.

“What do you want?”

“Just coming to make sure you aren’t burning my dinner,” Braeden quipped as he came closer.

I was standing in front of the grill, the scent of charcoal and hamburgers filling the breezy air around us.

“I know how to use a grill,” I snapped.

“But you don’t know how I like my meat,” he goaded, stopping just behind me. I felt his breath as he leaned in, right beside my ear. “Pink in the middle.”

My tongue slid over my teeth. “You smell like a brewery.” I spun and shoved him away. “It’s gross.”

He stumbled back a step but didn’t go any further. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. He was all tan muscle and low-riding board shorts.

It was totally annoying.

I turned back to the grill and lifted the lid to check the burgers.

I felt him behind me again, peering over my shoulder. “They look done.”

“They need a few more minutes,” I argued.

He made a rude noise and reached around me to grab the spatula out of my hand. I moved it away before he could.

“Look,” he growled, and reached even farther around me, so much that I could feel the solid wall of his wide chest against my back. Gently, he wrapped his hand around the handle of the utensil, just above where mine was. I told myself the sizzle I felt was because my skin was so close to the open flame.

I started to jerk back, but he tightened his grip and stepped closer.

“You need a lesson,” he murmured.

I was totally surrounded by him.

God, had he always been this big? He towered over me, around me. The way he held his arm, it was almost like it was wrapped around me as well. I was practically encircled by him. I couldn’t go back because he was there. I couldn’t run forward because the hot grill was there. All I could do was stand there.

And feel him.

He moved the edge of the spatula and sliced into the center of one of the burgers. “See? Perfection.”

“I can’t see anything,” I grumped. To be honest, I wasn’t even looking at what he was showing me. I couldn’t concentrate.

I should have just agreed.

His other arm came around me so I was completely enveloped in him. If I leaned my head back, it would rest in that hollow place between his neck and shoulder. I imagined what it would feel like, how safe that would feel.

“Can you see now?” he was saying.

I jerked and looked down. Thank God he couldn’t see my face; surely my cheeks would be red. Using both hands, he showed me the inside of the burger.

He was right. It was done to perfection.

“Fine,” I bit out. “They’re done.”

Laughing, he pulled away. “Of course they are. I’m always right.”

“Whatever,” I muttered and sidestepped so I wasn’t so close to him.

“If you’re so worried about your meat, then you finish cooking them.” I thrust out the platter I’d brought out to put the burgers on.

His amused smirk made me want to hit him in the head with it.

He took it from my hands. “Fine. I will.”

“Fine,” I bit out and then stomped away toward the house.

Inside, Rimmel was standing in the kitchen with a huge container of strawberries in front of her. “Please tell me those are for daiquiris.”

“You get the alcohol; I’ll get the blender,” she said.

I wasn’t going to get so drunk I’d forget anything. But I was going to drink just enough to maybe forget the feeling of Braeden against me.

Braeden

I wasn’t sure what time it was when I stepped out of the house and onto the deck. It was late, well past midnight, and everyone else had gone to bed hours ago.

I couldn’t sleep. I felt restless and a little bit caged up.

The moon was heavy in the velvet sky, the bright rays glistening off the ocean waves and making the water look like it was dancing with glitter. The sounds of the surf crashing against the shore were loud, so loud they could drown out a man’s thoughts.

I draped my forearms over the railing and gazed out across the beach. It never stopped moving, even while everyone else slept, and for some reason, the constant it represented soothed whatever was going on inside me.

There were more stars in the sky here than I’d seen anywhere else. They filled the night with dots of light, breaking up the otherwise inky darkness.

Tomorrow, we’d all pack up and get on a plane. Sadly, the beach and stars would be replaced with cool spring air and semester finals. Romeo would be leaving for training camp soon, and most everyone else would be leaving for the summer, back to wherever they came from.

Then there would just be me.

And probably Rim.

Next fall when classes started, Rome would be off with the NFL, and college life would go on, but everything was going to be different.

I felt it changing already.

Wind blew off the water, pulling at my shorts and brushing against my skin. It also brought with it a sound other than the calmness of night.

My body went rigid and I pushed off the railing, looking down at the sand.

I saw nothing.

But someone was there.

A scream bounced around with the whipping wind. It sounded close, but was it a trick of the wind?

Another shrill scream pierced the night.

Without another thought, I tore across the deck and raced down the set of private stairs that led to the beach. The sand was a lot cooler without the sun’s rays to heat it, and my bare feet sank in even as I darted off in the direction from which the scream had come.

Down here, I saw the shape of a woman darting through the dark across the sand. I knew the second she saw me because she angled her body toward mine and quickened her pace.

“What—” My question was cut off when she leapt at me.

The crazy bitch literally threw herself on me, practically climbing up my body and winding her legs around my waist.

“Whoa,” I said, even as my arms locked around her. “What’s wrong?”

“Braeden, thank God you’re here!”

My head snapped up at the familiar voice. I caught a flash of blond hair billowing out around her before she ducked her head into the crook of my neck.

“Ivy,” I growled. What the hell was she trying to pull? God, this chick was a piece of work. I grabbed her around the waist to pull her off me, but she made a sound and tightened her arms and legs.

It was then I felt the slight tremble in her arms.

Okay, maybe this wasn’t an act. Maybe something had happened.

“Hey?” I murmured. Without thinking, I rubbed her back gently. “What’s going on?”

Her voice was muffled against my skin. All I heard was, “—attacked me.”

My entire body went rigid. Someone fucking attacked her? Oh, hells no. Ivy and I might not like each other much, but she was Rimmel’s best friend. And beyond that, we’d all been hanging out for months now.

Ivy wasn’t all bad. She sure as hell didn’t deserve to be attacked.

“Who?” I demanded, scanning the beach for some guy who was about to get his ass beat.

“It hurts,” she whined.

My glare snapped back to her and she stared up at me with wide eyes. Something in me shifted. “What hurts?” I asked softly.

“My toe.” I swear her lower lip jutted out in a pout.

Wait. What?

I shook my head. “Did you just say your toe hurts?”

“Haven’t you been listening?” she demanded. “Some angry crab attacked me!”

I blinked.

A crab attacked her? This girl was off the fucking chain.

“You mean to tell me you’re clinging to me for dear life because a crab pinched your toe?”

“I think it’s bleeding,” she replied seriously. “It was a really big, angry crab.”

I laughed and the wind carried the sound down the beach. I hoped the crab heard. “It probably took one look at you and attacked.”

“It’s not funny!” she snapped.

It sure as hell was funny. I palmed her waist, enjoying—a little too much—the way it dipped in on each side, like it was built just for my hands, and tried to pry her off me again.

Shrieking, she grappled to hang on.

“Now what?” I sighed.

“I’m not putting my feet down there again.”

“You mean down there on the ground where people walk?” I asked dryly.

“It’s dark. There might be more crabs.”

“Well, we
are
on the beach,” I reasoned.

She reached up and pulled my hair.

“Ow!” I yelled.

“Stop making fun of me!” she demanded. “It hurt and I refuse to walk.”

“And you think I’m going to carry you?” I scoffed.

This chick had a serious wakeup call coming.

“Please?” Her fingers, which were still in my hair, reached out and smoothed where she just pulled. Chills scattered down my bare arms. The wind out here was getting cold.

“Fine,” I muttered. It would be easier to cart her curvy ass back up to the house than to stand here and argue with her about walking. Besides, the second I put her down, she’d probably start screaming again.

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

She sighed like the fact she didn’t have to walk was a great relief and leaned forward to wrap her arms around my neck. Her chin rested on my shoulder, and she wiggled her ass a little closer, tightening her legs around me.

I didn’t like Ivy.

But I was a guy.

She was pressed all along my bare chest and her legs were wrapped around my waist.

Obviously, all thought went down south, and a lot of blood started rushing that way, too.

“What the hell are you even doing out here this late?” I asked gruffly as I started to walk.

“It’s our last night. I wanted to spend as much time on the beach as I could.”

“How’d that work out for ya?”

“Ha-ha.”

I was just about to tell her she needed to go on a diet when she turned her head so her cheek was pillowed on my shoulder and a sigh rushed out of her mouth. I felt her breath dance along my skin.

She really wasn’t that heavy.

When I reached the stairs to the house, I hesitated, figuring she could walk up the damn steps herself.

But I didn’t put her down.

I kept walking, still supporting her weight and my own.

At the top, I walked a couple feet across the deck to the sliders that led into the house. Inside was completely dark and still. But everything else around us seemed to be charged with energy.

“You gonna need me to carry you to bed?” I asked, the words coming out a lot huskier and a lot less sarcastic than I intended.

She pulled back, some of her body losing contact with mine. Her hands were on my shoulders and mine were still wrapped around her back.

“I think I can manage.” Her voice didn’t sound quite as mocking as it usually did, either.

My gaze dropped to her mouth. She had full, heart-shaped lips. Usually, I didn’t notice just how kissable they were because they were usually hurling insults my way.

The tension in the air seemed to spike. The wind blew around us, grabbing a thick strand of her hair and blowing it across her cheek. As she reached up and pulled it back, our gazes collided.

“Braeden?” she whispered.

I was on her before my name even fully left her lips. It echoed through a hollow place inside me I hadn’t realized was there.

We were like two sides of Velcro that fused together to create an unbreakable bond. I was the rough side and she was the soft. Normally, I wouldn’t say there was one soft thing about Ivy Forrester, but tonight was different.

Tonight, it was all I could feel. There wasn’t a single, solitary rough thing about the girl in my arms.

All the insults, snide looks, and barely contained dislike we slung at each other over and over again for months piled up. It created a stack of tinder, a mound of kindling that up until this moment had stayed cold and dry.

But no more.

The second she pulled back and her blue eyes landed on mine, the second she wrapped her legs around my waist and sighed against my neck, we were a forest fire waiting to happen.

All the pent-up angst between us turned from hate to desire and combusted in one great explosion.

The force of emotion that erupted pushed us even closer together, and now here I was ravaging her mouth like a wolf who hadn’t been fed in months and was being offered a thick cut of juicy, rare meat.

I pulled her tightly against me, close enough I could feel her ribcage dig into my chest. I kissed her so fiercely our teeth banged together, but instead of pulling back, I licked my tongue over the spot and kept kissing, kept going back for more.

Her hands slid up the back of my neck and into my hair. It was short, but she still found a way to tangle her fingers in, to grip my scalp and return my kiss with an intensity that matched my own.

I’d never had anyone kiss me back with the same kind of roaring passion as this.

Not ever.

It was so heady, my brain lost focus and pure instinct ruled. Two great steps brought us up against the house. Pinned between the wall and me, Ivy raked her hands across the back of my shoulders, her nails leaving a tingling trail.

I growled, once again feeling more wolf than man, and sank my teeth into her lower lip and pulled. Her flesh filled the inside of my mouth, and I sucked at it, wanting even more.

A small mewling sound slipped from her mouth, and she wiggled her hips in a circular motion, rocking the center of her thighs against me.

Holy fuck, I was so hard it hurt. My hips surged forward, but she was up too high, so my cock didn’t collide with the part of her it wanted.

I ripped my mouth away and dragged in a ragged breath.

Ivy collapsed back against the side of the house, her chest heaving and her nipples so hard they poked through her clothes. I reached between us and rolled one between my fingers. When she gasped and bit down on her lower lip, I damn near came in my pants.

Keeping one hand on her breast, I grabbed her hair with the other and pulled her close again, taking her mouth and owning it.

Our tongues danced together, and I swear I explored as deep into her mouth as I could go.

It just wasn’t enough.

Bringing her with me, I moved into the house. Because we’d been here a week, I knew the pattern of the furniture well enough that I was able to maneuver around it even as I continued to assault her mouth with my own.

The way her legs tightened as I walked made me feel like I was on fire. Burning up from the inside out.

We reached my room, and I all but kicked the door before rushing inside. Behind my head, she grabbed the door and pushed it closed.

Ivy was so tightly wrapped around me that when I let go and crawled over the bed, she stayed right there with me. When I settled, her legs loosened and I pressed my body along hers, and we sank into the mattress together. Two bodies as one, making a single indent in the center of the bed.

Her hands skittered across my back muscles, squeezing and rubbing as she went until they slid into the waistband of my basketball shorts and over the bare skin of my ass.

I ripped my mouth away from hers and shoved my face into the pillow just above her shoulder. All my limbs were quivering with need and my heart beat so fast I genuinely thought it might be in danger of bursting.

Ivy’s teeth sank into my shoulder, and her hands palmed my ass and pulled it in. My hips responded instantly, thrusting into her center. My erection was hard and unforgiving and practically demanded entrance.