Until Alex (14 page)

Taylor whipped out her phone and held the screen up to Alex.

Alex’s jaw dropped.

Her hand shot to her gaping mouth.

I just about reached her when her knees buckled. I threw out my arms, catching her before her body hit the floor.

A giant hush settled over the room as I lifted her into my arms. “I’ve got you, sweetheart.”

She hadn’t fainted. 
Thank God.
  She wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in my chest. “Please don’t let me go,” she whispered into my black shirt, concealing her quiet sniffles.

I carried her outside into the bright sunlight, making it across the quad and to the parking lot in record time. I needed to stop the photo from spreading around. I needed to stop any others from rearing their ugly heads. I needed to bring down Taylor once and for all.

Déjà vu hit when I placed Alex inside the cab of my truck. At least this time she was conscious. She curled her body into a tiny ball. So small. So fragile. So broken. “Why would she do this to me?”

“I don’t know, Alex. People suck. Especially when they feel threatened.  You were her biggest competition. You stood in the way of what she wanted.”

Alex closed her eyes and rolled toward the back of the seat, covering her face with her arms to block out the rest of the world. Who could blame her? The world had done nothing but shit on her for the past two months. No one deserved that—except Taylor. She deserved it a hundred times over.

I wanted to pull Alex back into my arms and make all her pain go away, but I couldn’t. I needed to put a stop to the pounding in my head. And there was only one way to do that.

I leaned down and whispered over her quiet sniffles. “I need to run back in for a second. Will you be okay?”

She nodded beneath her arms.

Under normal circumstances, I would’ve never left her alone. But something needed to be done.

I stormed into the dining hall, slamming the heavy metal doors closed behind me sending a vicious rumble throughout the room.

All noise ceased.

Every head turned my way.

With my body quaking, I stalked over to Taylor’s table. I wanted to grab her by the back of her hair and drag her out in front of everyone. But I needed to be smart.

She
glared at me, holding up her phone so the photo was displayed. “Face it Hayden, everybody knows you’d screw anything that walks. Upset you didn’t get to her first?”

With a massive roar, I threw out my arms, sweeping the table bare. People jumped back as trays flew across the room. Food splattered on clothes and faces. Metal silverware clinked and bounced to the floor. I glowered at Taylor, who stood unfazed, still donning her bored face. “If you weren’t a girl, I’d kill you.”

I yanked her phone from her hand and hummed it across the room. It smashed against the wall into hundreds of tiny pieces.

Taylor let loose a string of expletives and shoved my chest with her clenched fists. “You should be locked up for the rest of your pathetic life, you asshole.”

I jerked toward her, unsure of what I’d actually do if I got a hold of her. But the guys at the table jumped between us. They had major balls intervening, especially when crimson blurred my vision.

I drew a deep breath. Praying for the strength to walk away. I had a girl in my truck who needed me. A girl I’d do anything for.

I scowled at Taylor’s bodyguards, before glaring at her. “If I see that photo anywhere else, or hear you’ve been spreading it around, there will be hell to pay.”

I twisted around and faced the room. All eyes were on me. “Do you hear me?” I screamed at the room. “There will be hell to pay.”

ALEX

Uncontrollable shudders rocked through my body. My teeth chattered something fierce. I couldn’t tell if I was having a seizure, a heart attack, or if hyperthermia was about to set in. Being ninety degrees outside, the latter seemed unlikely. But I was just so freakin’ cold. I snuggled into the stiff leather seat, trying to soak up its warmth.

The passenger door squeaked open at my feet. Hayden’s scent filled the cab, momentarily easing my grief. The truck dipped as he knelt on the floor behind me, his strong hand resting upon my arm. Heat rolled off him in waves as he leaned in, resting his forehead against my side. “Please tell me what you need me to do.”

“I’m so cold,” I said through chattering teeth. “I just need to be warm.”

Hayden moved away, leaving me void of the warmth his body provided. I wanted to ask him to stay, to never let me go, but the door closed before I could utter the words.

Within seconds, the driver’s door opened, the truck dipped, and the engine roared to life. A blast of heat shot from the vents. Hayden scooped me into his lap like I weighed nothing and wrapped his arms around me. “You’re in shock. But you’re gonna be okay.” His hands moved up and down my back to warm me up. “I promise. You’re gonna be okay.”

My parents were dead. I’d been drugged and hospitalized. The whole college had seen me naked and posed like a porn star. And I didn’t have a single friend—unless I counted Hayden who needed to stay a secret. But sure. I’d be okay.

“I’m gonna make her pay for this,” he murmured into my hair. “I swear I will.”

“She won’t go down without a fight.”

“I’m not scared. You’ve seen my muscles.”

I nuzzled closer, wishing I could smile at his attempt to lighten the mood.

His hands continued their soothing massage all over my back while his rapid heartbeat bounced in his chest, echoing my own.

“I don’t know what I’d do if you didn’t keep saving me.”

Hayden said nothing. Probably thinking I was so much more trouble than I was worth. He definitely had to be over my issues. Most likely wishing he never approached me that first day. “Is your aunt back yet?”

See? Already trying to pawn me off on my aunt. “Not until Wednesday.”

He pressed his lips to the top of my head. “Stay with me tonight.”

“At the rate I’m going, I should probably just move in,” I mumbled into his shirt.

His body tensed and he didn’t respond.

Shit
. “I was kidding, Hayden. Wouldn’t want to cramp your style.” 

He pulled back, looking into my puffy eyes. I must’ve been a horrific sight, but it didn’t deter him from lifting his thumbs to my cheeks and wiping away the tears. “That the only reason you don’t want to play house with me?” His penetrating eyes
bore into mine.

“Well…I don’t know your last name. I have no idea how old you are. Your best friend can’t know I exist. And my aunt would probably evict you, but not before sleeping with you one last time.”

His lips quirked at the corners, but in true Hayden-fashion, he didn’t utter a single word as his thumbs continued brushing away my tears.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

HAYDEN

I cracked open my bedroom door and peeked inside. The lights were off, but I could still make out Alex’s chocolate curls spread over my white pillowcase. She’d been asleep since we got home, and it was after eight. She had to be starving. But knowing the trouble she had sleeping, it didn’t seem right to wake her.

“Hayden?” Alex whispered.

“Sorry.” I pushed open the door and stepped inside. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t.”

I moved to the bed and sat down beside her. She rolled onto her side and looked up at me with swollen eyes. “How you doing?”

She raised her eyebrows.

“Sorry.” I averted my gaze feeling like a complete tool.

Alex placed her hand on my forearm.

Before she could do what I knew she’d do, I stopped her. “Don’t.”

“What?” she asked in her sleepy raspy voice.

“Thank me.”

She pulled her hand back, and as if I wasn’t even there, she rolled away from me, scrunching her entire body into a tiny ball that fit under the T-shirt I gave her.

“Hey,” I whispered. “Don’t get upset. Not with me.”

“Do I need to run through the reasons my life sucks right now?” She sounded so defeated. So lost. “And add to it the fact that the only person I can rely on is you.
You
. Who can’t even trust me. Or be seen with me. I’ve never been so confused and alone in my entire life. It sucks. Majorly sucks.” She dispelled a deep breath. “And just so you know, if I want to thank you, I’m going to thank you.”

I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I got it. Her confusion.  Her loneliness. Her sadness. I just didn’t know what I was supposed to do to fix it.

How had it gotten to this point? How had
I
become her protector? Being anyone’s seemed laughable. But here I was. Here
we
were. Alex and me against the world.  For so long my life solely revolved around me. My wants. My needs. My anger. My problems.

I sat for a long while staring at my bare walls. What would my life be like if my mother hadn’t been killed? If I hadn’t spent almost eight years in foster care bouncing from house to house? If I hadn’t met Remy? If I hadn’t sat down at that picnic table?

It had been eleven years since I had anything real in my life. Eleven years since I knew what it felt like to care about another human being. Eleven years since I truly smiled.

Ah, hell.

I pushed off my sneakers and slid under the comforter behind Alex. Like the last time we slept in bed together, I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist and buried my nose in her vanilla-scented curls. She didn’t seem to mind the intrusion, but she made no attempt to give my bigger body more space. “Martin.”

“What?” she mumbled into my pillow.

“My last name.”

She shook with silent laughter. In the midst of such a shitty day, I liked knowing I caused it.

“I just turned twenty-two.”

Her soft hands covered mine, linking our fingers together. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.”

“You look older.”

“I’ve been through a lot.”

Her body tensed. She wanted to ask what I meant. What I’d been through. What I kept hidden from everyone. But instead, she relaxed on an exhale. “Maybe someday you’ll tell me.”

And there it was. The difference between Alex and everyone else in my life. She expected nothing. And while I was pretty certain I’d never be able to share my personal shit with her—with anyone for that matter—it was getting easier sharing the smaller stuff. And it clearly made her happy when I did. “I’ve never slept with your aunt.”

“Thank
God
,” she groaned.

The relief in her voice did crazy things to my head. Did she intend to sleep with me? She had to realize me being there for her wasn’t about that.

Time stretched on as we lay in silence. It gave me time to think about all the time I’d spent alone. About all the nights I wasted getting drunk and sleeping with insignificant girls. About the last time I actually felt happy.

Alex’s breathing evened out, teetering on the precipice of sleep.

“Alex?” I whispered.

“Mmm,” she murmured softly.

“I don’t know what this is. This thing going on between us.” My voice came out hushed for fear of her reaction—make that rejection. “But I really need it.”

Her breath caught in her throat, disappearing completely for a long beat.

Then she squeezed my hands tightly and sighed. “Me, too, Hayden Martin. Me, too.”

ALEX

Sunlight squeezed through the gaps in Hayden’s curtains. I’d been awake for a few minutes, enjoying the warmth of his body, and his vice grip holding my back to his front. His steady breathing at my ear indicated he hadn’t woken yet, so it gave me time to get my wits about me.

This thing going on between us…I really need it.

His flutter-inducing words replayed on a constant loop in my head. Sure, he didn’t say anything after his
confession, but it didn’t erase the fact that it happened.

I glanced to the alarm clock on his nightstand. I only had an hour to get to campus. But could I do it?  Could I face everyone knowing what they’d seen?

Was I tough enough to endure their whispers? Their judgment?

Was I strong enough to pretend it didn’t affect me?

Not even close.

I wiggled my rear end, knowing how well the approach worked last time. Hayden’s receptive body
didn’t disappoint.

“Morning, sweetheart,” he whispered into my ear, his warm raspy breath a balm on my neck.

“Morning.” I couldn’t stop my grin. It was crazy. My entire world had crashed down around me. But in the little bubble Hayden and I shared, the place where his ability to protect me and comfort me encompassed me whole, everything seemed like it might be okay. Like
I
might be okay.

“You’re not planning on going in today are you?”

I spun in his arms and wrapped my arms around his waist. He tensed a bit, but I didn’t care. “If I don’t go, she wins.”

Hayden looked down at me, his gorgeous eyes gentle. “You sure?”

“Nope. But someone once told me I was a survivor.”

That slow cocky grin slipped across his face. “That someone must be very smart.”

I looked him dead in the eyes, without even a hint of a smile. “And a hottie.”

His brows arched. “Oh, yeah?”

I bit my bottom lip and nodded slowly, knowing exactly where I wanted the moment to go. Where I needed it to go.

But Hayden’s eyes squeezed shut, as if in unfathomable pain. “We should probably get up
then.”

Seriously?

If any other girl had given him the same subtle go-ahead, it would’ve led to some serious stripping. But since it was me, super fragile me, he wouldn’t go there. But he had to feel our palpable chemistry, so charged in such close proximity.

Bastard
.

“I’m gonna do this alone.”

“Al—”

I shook my head. “My battle. I’ll fight it.” My eyes flashed around his room. “And you know, I’ve been thinking. If this is all I can have…” I met his gaze. “I’d like to have it.”

The tension around his eyes dissolved, and he smiled a dimple digging, teeth showing, wide as a canyon smile. Then, as if it were happening in slow motion, he inched closer until our noses brushed. My tongue shot out, moistening my bottom lip in anticipation.

Hayden’s hands gripped my hips, holding on fiercely as he closed the distance between us. Our lips collided in an explosion of sensations. His delicious kisses, gentle yet firm, consumed me. He wasn’t rough or hasty. I wasn’t those other girls. I was something special, and he planned to savor every second he got with me.

My fingers trailed up his muscular back and wove into his hair. Pressing my fingertips to the back of his head, I pulled him closer, molding myself into his solid chest and sucking his bottom lip into my mouth. I couldn’t stop myself. I opened my lips slightly on a moan. That was all the encouragement he needed. His tongue plunged inside, caressing and moving with mine in a rhythmic dance.
My God.
It was sexy as hell.

I melted into him. The steady racing of his heart against my chest ignited tiny goose bumps all over my body. I deepened the kiss, needing more. So much more.

Hayden’s hands slipped up the back of my T-shirt, his fingers caressing my bare skin. Warm ripples swelled deep in my belly. I didn’t want him to stop. I wanted to stay like that with him and never leave. I wanted the outside world to just slip away as he brought every one of my fantasies to life.

But s
lowly, he pulled back, breaking the kiss. Our heaving chests and panting breaths mirrored one another. His eyes zoned in on my swollen lips. I assumed it meant he wasn’t done with me, but his eyes lifted to mine. “If we don’t get up—”

“We’re never getting up?”

His lazy smile said he was trying to do the right thing. But his thumbs tracing tiny circles all over my back said what’s a few more minutes?

* * *

With only seconds to spare, I pulled into the campus parking lot nabbing the last available spot. Even though the mystery of what lay beneath my clothes no longer existed, I still covered as much of my skin as possible, donning jeans and a long-sleeve black top.

I hurried across the vacant quad, up the three flights of stairs in the English building, and slipped into Lit 350 as the professor began her lecture.

The girl with the razor-sharp bangs beside me shot me a remorseful nod. I wanted to tell her she wasn’t to blame, but why bother talking about it. It just reminded me it happened.

Unfortunately, not everyone appeared apologetic. Girls glared like I’d stolen their boyfriends, and guys stared like they wanted to ravage me.
But I wouldn’t let their unwanted attention ruin my amazing morning. I held my head up and kept reminding myself I needed to be there. If I stayed home, Taylor got exactly what she wanted.

Sad
ly, half-way through the lecture, the whispers and stares began to eat away at me. So when the professor dismissed class thirty minutes later, I stuffed my books into my bag one at a time, in no rush to endure more judgmental eyes and unsympathetic snickers.

“So, you and Hayden, huh?”

My head shot up. The room had emptied except for the girl beside me who appeared to be stalling as well. “Excuse me?”

She flashed a wide grin. Her red lipstick such a stark contrast to her jet black hair. “Oh, come on. Who can resist the strong silent type? Am I right?”

Recalling all too vividly what occurred that morning, I couldn’t hide my smirk.

“And those dimples. What girl doesn’t drool at the sight?” She burst into a fit of adorable giggles.
There was something about her retro look and big smile that instantly put me at ease. “You’ve gotta see the way girls around here throw themselves at him. It’s downright pathetic.”

I lifted an inquisitive brow. “You?”

She shook her head. “I’m a realist. He’s too much man for little ol’ me.”

I smiled. She had no idea how right she was.

“Poor guy. You can tell he wants to keep his private life private, but these girls make it impossible. If you ask me, he’d rather have nothing to do with any of them. Especially since you showed up.”

Her words elicited an unspoken satisfaction.

“People say he’s this underground boxer.” She lowered her voice, unnecessarily since the room remained empty. “But no one’s ever been able to find out where he fights. We just see the cuts and bruises after a match.”

I raised a brow. Boxer?

“Now, he’s like this knight in shining armor over you.”

I wanted to tell her she had no idea, but I let her continue, appreciating any information she’d willing share about the elusive Hayden Martin.

“Don’t get me wrong, what happened to you sucked. But I think most of us would’ve traded places in a heartbeat if it meant Hayden would’ve carried us out of the dining hall in front of half the school.
And then watching him storm back in and threaten Taylor—”

I nearly dropped my bag. “He what?”

“Oh, yeah. You didn’t know?”

I could only shake my head as students filtered in for the next class.

She lowered her voice again. “He threatened her, then smashed her phone against the wall. It was classic. And he didn’t stop at her. He turned to the rest of the room and threatened anyone who had the picture or intended to share it.”

My eyes widened, unable to do anything but stand utterly dumbfounded. I should’ve realized when he left me in his truck something had happened. But at the time, I was so distraught I couldn’t think of anything but my own humiliation.

“I’m Sophia by the way.”             

“Alex.”

Her bright lips slipped into a crooked smile. “Yeah. I know. Come on. You’re sticking with me today, girl. My friends are good people. They probably didn’t even open the message. And if they did, you’d never know.”