Prologue

Eli

I sit outside in my truck and wait, my cock hard and thick, throbbing with need. Today’s the day, but we have to keep up appearances. There are already too many eyes on us. One step out of line and it could be bad.

She’s the most important thing in my life, and I will do everything to protect her. Even if it means ignoring the steel length resting along the inside of my thigh.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I try not to think about it. I try not to picture her soft curves under me and the places my tongue is going to go. How her sweetness will taste and what sounds she’ll make when we’re alone.

“Fuck,” I grunt, and lean back on the headrest.

One touch from her and I knew that my life had been changed. One moment a year ago and my world was forever hers. From that moment on, everything I did, every motion in my life, every beat of my heart, was for her. When her lips met mine, it sealed her fate. She didn’t know it that day, but it happened.

The minutes tick by, and though it feels like an eternity, she appears. Her blue eyes find mine, and like every time before, I’m home.

She’s walking toward me, and every step brings her closer to my grasp. To the moment when I’ll never let her go.

Chapter 1

Maggie

“It’s just a kiss,” Nick tells me as he steps closer. His blond shaggy hair falls a little into his eyes as he looms over me. His dark brown eyes are focused on my lips as he licks his own. “I think I deserve a kiss, Mags. We’ve been boyfriend and girlfriend for two weeks now.”

I want to correct him and tell him we aren’t boyfriend and girlfriend and that it’s only been days, but what’s the point? I’ve already learned he isn’t the brightest. You think if we’d been boyfriend and girlfriend he’d stop calling me Mags like I asked the first three times. My name is Maggie. Is that so hard? Apparently it is, because now the whole school is calling me that because Nick does.

I swallow, wondering if it’s really just a kiss he wants. Maybe I’m making a bigger deal out of it than I should be. I’ve probably read too many books, because excitement isn’t coursing through me like I thought it would. I’m about to have my first kiss, and none of the things I’ve read about are happening. I’m overthinking this. All I have to do is place my lips against his. Easy. It will be over, and then I won’t have to worry about it anymore. Or maybe I will.

The other girls at school do more than kiss. I hear them talk. I’ve been at my new school for over a week, and it’s all they talk about. My first few days, I blended in, which didn’t bother me. I got used to moving around a lot because my dad’s in the military. It’s sometimes better to not make friends because I know I won’t be around for long. But my dad told me we were settling in here, so I tried to make an effort. Then Nick blew that wide open.

After only a couple more days in my new high school, Nick noticed me. It was all a little overwhelming to say the least. I went from having no friends to everyone wanting to know me once Nick set his sights on me. He’s the star of the football team, and people seem to pay attention to his every move.

Nick is exactly what you picture when you think of the popular boy in school. But for some reason, I don’t find myself attracted to him. All the girls talk about is how wonderful he is, but I’m not getting it, even though I keep trying. Maybe kissing him would make me understand why all the girls at school are so enamored with him.

“Okay,” I whisper, closing my eyes and tilting my head back. When I feel Nick’s hand grip my hip, my eyes fly open and I watch his mouth descend toward mine.

Unable to stop myself, I try to take a step back to pull away, changing my mind. I don’t want him this close. I don’t like the heat of his body pressing against mine or the feel of him digging into me. But his grip on my hip only tightens.

I turn my head, and his lips land on my cheek, but he doesn’t seem to care. He pulls me closer to him, and then I feel his fingers wandering all over my body as his mouth moves to my neck. He grinds against me, and bile rises in my throat. I don’t want this. I try to push him away, panic setting in, but no matter how I try, he doesn’t more. For some reason all the self-defense tactics my father had taught me aren’t kicking in. It feels like he’s getting closer and closer, and the breath is leaving my lungs.

“Stop,” I tell him, but the word is softer than I mean it to be. My throat feels like it’s starting to close.

“Don’t be a prude, Mags. You want this,” he says against my neck, and I squeeze my eyes closed.

“No, stop,” I say with as much force as I can manage. His size is overwhelming, but any size would be, compared to me.

Pure fear shoots through me as I close my eyes and take a breath to scream. As I feel tears start to build, he’s miraculously gone. A loud crack sounds, and then I hear a thud as something heavy hits the ground.

My eyes fly open, and I see a man, his back to me. He’s breathing heavy and standing over Nick. Nick’s on the ground, holding his face as blood gushes from between his fingers.

“I think you broke my fucking nose!” Nick yells the blood runs down his shirt. He starts to get up, but the man steps toward him and Nick changes his mind. He scurries away on the ground, trying to get away from the man standing over him.

“You okay?” The deep voice has me pulling my eyes away from Nick, up to look at the broad back protecting me. When I don’t answer him, he turns his head a little, and dark green eyes meet mine. I breathe in a soft gasp when I see a dark scar running down the side of his face. “Are you okay?”