Undone: A New Adult College Bad Boy Romance (Mature Young Adult Fun Contemporary Romance) (53 page)

Chapter Two

“No.”

“Daddy, I-”

“I said no,” he said again as he went back to reading his paper.

Jenna scoffed. “There has to be somebody else!”

“Damien came highly recommended. He’s ex-military, disciplined and won’t let you get yourself killed,” he said sipping his coffee.

“Ugh!” She exclaimed as she sat back in her chair in a huff. “You’re just doing this to punish me! I’m an adult, do you not realize that?”

“We’ll realize it when you grow up,” her mother snapped.

Jenna looked at her mom, her mouth hanging open. The woman was clearly feeling snarky. There was a grin on her lips as she gazed back at Jenna, her coffee mug clutched in both hands. Jenna leaned back in her chair, arms folded over her chest.

“What do I have to do to make this
not
happen? Do you want me to get a job? Get my own place? What?”

Her mom snorted. “We asked you to do that a long time ago. Now, you’re just going to have to put up with it.”

Jenna leaned her face on the table, pouted at her dad. “Daddy, please?”

“You heard your mother.”

“Fine!” She pushed her chair back from the table as Damien walked in.

The man glanced at her, before he turned away quickly. He walked over to the coffee pot, poured himself a mug before he carried it outside. She could see him through the glass, patio doors talking on his cellphone.

“I’m going out,” she said.

“Not without Damien.”

Jenna groaned. “Come on. It was one time. I doubt there’s going to be two gun toting lunatics in the same week.”

Her father sighed, finally putting down his paper. “He’s not just here for ‘gun toting lunatics..’ You have something of a drug problem, if you haven’t noticed. Maybe, he’ll be able to keep you out of trouble.”

Jenna didn’t know what to say to that. Her mouth opened to argue, but no words came out. Especially with the way her dad was staring at her. She could see that disappointment in his eyes, and it was soul crushing. Slowly, she nodded.

“Okay,” she said quietly.

She walked out of the room slowly in need of a shower and a change of clothes. Behind her, she could hear her mother talking. She wasn’t under any kind of illusion that her parents were proud of her, but it still hurt to see the saddened look in their eyes. Their only child, they’d wanted so much for her, but all she’d ever been able to do was crumble under the pressure.

Jenna shed the dress from the night before, kicking it into a corner in her bedroom. The steam from the shower was already fogging up the bathroom mirror. She wiped a hand through it.

“Shit!”

Jenna spun around. Damien was standing behind her, his eyes roaming over her body almost hungrily. She wrapped one arm around her breasts, the other dived between her legs to cover her smooth mound. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at him.

“What are you doing in here?”

Damien scoffed. “It’s not like I haven’t seen it before,” he mused as he walked closer to her.

Jenna’s heart began to beat faster in her chest. “Stay away from me.”

“Why? You never had a problem with me touching you in the past,” he said with his voice barely above a whisper. When he was close enough, he fingered a lock of her raven hair. “Why are you running away now? Is it guilt?”

Jenna lowered her eyes, looked at anything, but him. She heard him give a short bark of a laugh, something that held no humor. His hand ran over her face, beneath her chin. He forced her face up. Their eyes connected. She could see the fire in his hazel depths.

“What do you want Damien?” She asked, trying to sound cold, distant when really her heart was thumping away loudly. “Do you want to torture me, is that it? I made a mistake.”

“That was no mistake,” he growled, his grip tightening on her chin.

Jenna whimpered, but she felt herself leaning towards him. He was right. What she’d done had been far from a mistake. Still, even the thought of it made her ashamed now. She didn’t want those thoughts swirling around her head, making her crazy.

“It was a long time ago,” she mumbled. “It doesn’t matter.”

Jenna gazed up at him. She could see her words had wounded him, the look in his eyes a mix between hurt and surprised. Damien let go of her, roughly. He stepped back, slipping his hands into his pockets.

“Let me know when you’re ready to go.”

“Damien, wait,” she called, but he turned around, slammed the door after him.

Jenna shook her head. What was wrong with her? She held her head up, tried her old trick of pushing all of her hurt into the back of her brain, but it wasn’t working this time. She could still see the pained expression on his face. Sighing, she stepped into the shower.

The warm water usually calmed her nerves, let her think without the pressure of the outside world on her mind, but that wasn’t happening today. Instead, she could feel the gnawing guilt. She washed quickly after that, hopping out of the shower and padding back into her room with a white towel wrapped around her body.

Jenna rummaged through her closet and drawers, before she settled on her outfit for the day. A short, baby blue skirt, white tank top and flats. All of them were designer. Jenna had a taste for expensive things. She figured that had come from her mother. Walking down the stairs, she could see Damien standing by the door, arms folded over his chest.

“Ready to go?”

Jenna nodded. “I’m leaving daddy!” She called towards the kitchen,

“Be back before it gets dark!”

Jenna rolled her eyes. Sometimes she was pretty sure her dad thought she was still in high school. She grabbed her purse before heading out of the door, Damien close on her heels.

“Do you have to be so close?” She asked, her voice irritated.

“It usually works better that way,” he said.

Damien opened the door to the sleek, black car for her. She slid in before he shut it. She sighed. It was going to be a long day, that she was certain of. Damien slipped in beside the driver as she slipped sunglasses onto her face. There was still a dull ache in her head from the night before.

“Where to, Miss Evans?”

“Krista’s.”

***

Krista was the only person who understood Jenna. They’d been friends since she was a child and they were never far from each other. On top of that, Krista kept Jenna supplied with a steady stream of honesty .

They drove along without a word, but Jenna caught Damien’s eyes in the side view mirror more than once. He had a way of holding her in rapture when he gazed at her, the way his eyes examined her body. It was so obvious. Jenna forced herself to turn away, to gaze out of the window at the passing of large houses and open space.

Krista’s place loomed in the distance. If Jenna’s place was huge, Krista’s was enormous. It was twice the size of her home with a garage stocked with expensive cars. Krista was big into clothes and shoes, but everything else was pretty irrelevant to her.

The driver opened the door for her before she stepped out. Sun hit her skin, warming her up, but making her head throb worse too. She pressed a hand to her temple as she walked up to the front door. Jenna was prepared to knock when the door was yanked open and Krista stood there. She threw her arms around Jenna’s neck. The tall, blonde woman was cutting off her circulation as she squeezed tighter and tighter.

“I was so worried about you! I heard about what happened last night. Are you okay?” She asked, her eyes running over every inch Jenna’s skin.

“I’m fine. Stop worrying. Are you going to let me in?”

“Who’s that?” Krista asked pointing behind her.

Jenna didn’t have to turn around to know who her friend was talking about. “Daddy hired me a bodyguard.”

“That’s intense,” she said as she continued to stare at Damien. “Hey there.”

Jenna grabbed Krista’s arm, forcing her inside of the house. She could faintly hear Damien chuckle behind her. Damien closed the door behind them, but didn’t follow the women up the stairs. When they were safely in Krista’s room, Jenna sighed.

“He’s hot,” Krista said as she plopped down on her bed. A magazine lay in front of her, but she seemed preoccupied.

“Since when are you into the help?” Jenna mused.

Krista shrugged. “I’ve never been opposed to it. I have more than enough money and that man had more than enough muscle,” she trailed off.

“Can you please stop that? He’s my ex!” Jenna exclaimed as she plopped down on the bed.

“Your ex?” Krista whispered. “Oh my god, he’s the guy you used to talk about all the time.”

Jenna nodded. “Yeah. And I can’t get rid of him. He seems to be enjoying torturing me.”

“Can you blame him? You cheated on him.”

Hearing Krista say it so bluntly instantly made a wave of guilt wash over her. She scowled. The feeling persisted however.

“I was young.”

“You were nineteen. That’s barely two years ago.”

“But Michael-”

“You probably broke his heart,” Krista said seriously, her face stern.

“I know,” Jenna said quietly. “I feel bad about it, I really do. What can I do though?”

“Is he making a move on you?”

Jenna thought back to her shower that morning. Damien’s hands traveling over her skin. His eyes gazing deeply into hers. She gave a little shiver, a smile spread on her lips.

“I think so. Or maybe he just wants to mess with my mind.”

Krista laughed. “He’s how old now, twenty-eight? I don’t think he’s that childish.”

Jenna shrugged. “You don’t know Damien. He can be vindictive when he wants to be.”

Krista laughed. “Do you want him back?”

Jenna thought hard about that. She remembered when they were together. They’d never told anyone, but kept it to themselves so that they’d have peace in their relationship. Jenna would sneak him over late at night. They’d swim, go out to eat, sleep together. As if it had happened yesterday, she could imagine them laughing, pressing hands over each others’ mouths so they wouldn’t wake up her parents.

By then he’d already been discharged from the army, his prosthetic leg gaining him a purple heart in the process. She remembered lying beside him at night, her fingers tracing it. He’d been self-conscious about it at first, but she’d never minded.

Jenna had to bring herself back to reality. “He’s the only man I’ve ever loved ,” she said as she gazed at her friend.

“Come on,” Krista said grabbing her purse. “Let’s get lunch and talk strategy.”

Chapter Three

They walked down the stairs together. Damien was standing by the door as if they’d just left him, his arms behind his back. When he looked up at them, Jenna could feel his eyes drinking her in. She felt heat rise to her cheeks. They were bright red by the time she reached the bottom.

“Come on, Damien,” Krista said with a mischievous grin, “we’re going to lunch.”

“I’ll follow your lead,” he said with a wink at Krista.

The giggle that escaped her lips was more than enough to make Jenna narrow her eyes at the women. Krista was already pulling her out the door. They slid into the car. When Damien joined the driver in the front seat his eyes kept glancing back to Krista. She knew what he was doing, but it still bothered her.

They couldn’t be at Boticelli’s fast enough. As soon as the car semi stopped, Jenna stepped out of the backseat. She slammed the door before she walked into the restaurant. Krista was soon on her heels. They sat together at their favorite table by the window while Damien took a seat several tables over.

“Well, he can be vindictive can’t he?” Krista mused over a tall glass of iced tea.

“Yes,” Jenna said through clenched teeth. “He really can.”

“I’m surprised, you haven’t even ordered a glass of wine, a shot or anything,” Krista commented.

Jenna shrugged. “I think I’m done drinking for a while,” she mumbled.

“Is that because of him?” Krista said nodding in his direction.

She shrugged once more. “I don’t know.”

Her friend grinned, sipped her tea. Everything she didn’t say was still in her eyes. Jenna wanted to tell her to knock it off, but she knew Krista, the woman would do what she liked.

“Come on, let’s talk about anything else,” Jenna begged as she threw a glance in Damien’s direction before turning back to Krista. “I already have to deal with my parents. My mom’s really pissed off at me this time.”

“Can you blame them? I would be angry too. If you end up in the hospital one more time, they’re probably going to put you in rehab again.”

“I know, I know,” Jenna said blowing out a breath. She ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m done with that now, I promise. I still need to get something to smooth things over with my mom.”

“Well, we know she likes shiney things. Buy her some new jewelry. At least she’ll know you’re thinking about her,” Krista said. Their food was placed in front of them. Krista took a bite of her chicken. “Still, you should apologize to her too.”

“I will.”

They spent the rest of lunch jumping from one topic to another. Jenna preferred it that way, she didn’t really want to discuss her mom or Damien. By the time they were done, Krista signed for the check before she sighed.

“I’m in the mood to go to the mall. Want to go?”

Jenna nodded. “I can pick up my mom’s gift.”

They walked out of the restaurant with Damien trailing behind them. Instead of taking the car, they decided to walk the short distance. Ashland mall could be seen in the distance, all glass and steel. Jenna loved the high end mall with its expensive shops. She was a firm believer in retail therapy.

When they reached the mall, she and Krista split up. Krista was off in search of another pair of shoes, that she’d probably never wear. While Jenna headed off towards the jewelry. She peered through the glass at the countless rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces. On top of that there were diamonds, pearls, rubies and everything in between.

“Buying yourself a little present?”

Jenna jumped. She’d been so absorbed in her thoughts that Damien’s breath tickling her ear was the last thing that she’d expected. She turned to him.

“It’s for my mom,” she said simply. “I can’t remember what she has anymore.”

“Is this how rich people apologize?” he asked as he gazed at a necklace with a yellow diamond shaped like a heart.

“Yes,” Jenna said with a grin. “We can be short on emotions, but something pretty can fix almost anything.”

“How about this one?” Damien said pointing to a silver bracelet laced with diamonds.

“I just can’t be sure what she has,” Jenna mumbled, her fingers playing over the glass.

“Can we look at this one?” Damien asked.

A short, round woman walked over with a smile. It was the tight smile that Jenna had become accustomed to in shops like this. That same smile would change into a sneer if the woman thought she couldn’t afford what was in her shop, Jenna had seen it happen.

“Of course you can,” the woman said as she pulled out the bracelet. She handed it over to Damien.

“Hold out your wrist,” he said.

Jenna did so. He snapped the bracelet around her arm. Even the lights in the store made the stones look brilliant, she could imagine if the sun hit it. She turned the bracelet back and forth before Damien’s hand dragged along her arm and he undid the clasp, letting it fall back into his hand.

“Maybe this necklace.”

The woman handed him the necklace. Damien twirled his finger in the air. When she turned, he swept her hair off of her back before fastening the necklace around her neck. The coolness of the jewels settled against her warm skin. Jenna gazed in the mirror. Damien’s hands gripped her shoulders as he gazed with her.

“It looks beautiful on you,” he whispered.

Jenna gazed not at herself, but him. His eyes were trailing over her skin, his fingers soon followed. He slipped his hands over her shoulders, unfastened the necklace. As it went slack, she could imagine him pushing off her clothes, his fingers raking her flesh. She swallowed hard.

“This one,” Damien was saying as the woman took the necklace back.

What he put around her neck next was a choker. It had three rows of sparkling, chocolate diamonds. A long chain in the back trailed down her spine. His hand went over the necklace, over her throat. She shuddered. The memory of him wrapping his hand around her neck was vivid, her body reacting to the thought.

“This one is perfect,” he mumbled. “I like the way it makes you shiver.”

Jenna blushed. So he’d noticed. She should have known, she thought. The man rarely let anything escape his attention.

“We both know I couldn’t afford it though,” he said roughly as he unfastened the choker. He handed it back to the woman behind the counter. She could see the anger in his face as he stepped out of the jewelry store.

“Damien, wait,” she called.

He didn’t go far, but he didn’t come back either. Crossing his arms over his chest, he stood at the entrance of the shop, not listening to her call him. She turned to the jewelry case, pointed to a pearl necklace.

“Wrap that one for me please. Here, take this” she said as she pushed her card over at the counter. “Just swipe it, I’ll sign and come back to pick it up.”

The woman nodded. When she was done, Jenna walked out of the store quickly. Damien was still scanning the hallway. She placed a hand on his arm, but he shrugged it away as if it were nothing.

“Damien, please. You know that’s not why..” she trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

“Why you slept with that rich guy? Michael, was it? Or was it because he has all of his limbs.”

Jenna gasped at his words, her eyes filling with tears. “I swear, it had nothing to do with you. I did it. I was stupid enough to do it and I wish I could take it back. Damien, look at me.”

“Is there anything else you need to do Ms. Evans?”

Jenna’s heart sank. “Damien, please.”

“If there’s nothing else, we should be going.”

Jenna backed away from him. Her sadness was quickly replaced with anger. She turned on her heels. The feeling of tears running down her cheeks prompted her to run to the restroom, to at least fix her makeup. She slammed the door behind her.

Glancing into the mirror, Jenna wiped her eyes. She placed her bag on the counter before digging through it. Laying her makeup out, she forced herself to keep it together. She knew that she was letting Damien get to her, letting him break down the walls that she’d so neatly built up for herself.

The bathroom door opened and slammed shut. She ignored the woman who came in as she continued to think about Damien. Maybe if she asked her dad again, he would change her bodyguard. She wasn’t sure how much more of Damien’s cold tone she could take.

A hand came down hard over her mouth. She tried to scream as her eyes glanced up at the mirror, but the woman wore a low hat. Once more, Jenna could feel something press into her side. She was pretty sure she knew what it was when the woman flashed it in the mirror. A gun,this one bigger, silver. Jenna shuddered.

“We’re going to walk out of here nice and easy. Do you understand?”

Jenna nodded. The woman curled a hand around her arm before pulling her to the door. She pushed her through it roughly. Jenna gazed around for Damien, but he was nowhere in sight. The woman pressed the gun against her ribs a little harder making Jenna move faster.

She glanced behind her once more. Barely, she could see one of Damien’s boots sticking out from around the corner. Her breath caught in her chest. Was he okay? Was he alive? She tried to ask the woman pushing her, but it only resulted in the gun being pressed harder against her ribs.