Fallen Crest Alternative Version

  intensity.

  I’d forgotten what it felt like when he saw through me. It was exhilarating and addicting, but it was also terrifying. I swallowed over a knot in my throat. “What?”

  His eyes shuttered. A dark look flashed in them. Then he lounged back in the booth and scooted down. I felt his legs stretch against mine under the table and opened mine so he fit between them. Then I couldn’t stop a husky laugh when he reached under the table and lifted my legs. He sat them over his thighs. My feet rested on his side of the booth as I enveloped him.

  “Why were you with Quinn this morning?”

  I flushed. So that’s what this was about. I shrugged. “I went on a run and ended up by his house. He was in his car taking some girl home. He offered me a ride back and I took it.” My stomach twisted. “I shouldn’t have done that?”

  He sighed in disgust and rolled his eyes. “Don’t pin that on me. The guy’s a douche and he wants to get in your pants. You know that, but you’re constantly talking to him. What am I supposed to think? I’ve been quiet for a while, but it’s starting to piss me off.”

  My lips shut tight and I scooted lower in my seat. His hands slid over my legs and lifted underneath my knees so my legs were pulled tighter against him. He gave me a wolfish grin as his hands continued to run up and down my legs. Then he leaned forward and I felt the tips of his fingers brush the insides of my thighs.

  I bit back a groan.

  And then the waitress came back. Her smile was bright and perky, but when Mason jerked back against his seat, it slipped a notch. She had my coffee and water for him. As she set it down, her eyes skirted between us. “Anything else?”

  Mason shook his head. “Just the food.”

  “Okay! Enjoy!” She pivoted and bounced away. Her skirt swayed as she went.

  When I looked back, his eyes were hard on me. “What?”

  “I’m pissed at you, but I still can’t keep my hands off you.” The wolfish grin doubled. “I’m done for.”

  I frowned and my stomach fluttered some more. Then I cleared my throat. “I don’t know what to say about Adam. He knows that I’ll never date him and he’s trying to be more real with me and with Becky. What do you want me to do? He and Becky are my only friends at school.”

  “Transfer.” He jerked forward. His hands cupped above my knees. His thumbs smoothed over my skin.

  I picked up my coffee and blew on it. “Come on.”

  “What?”

  I glared over the rim of my mug. “You know I can’t do that.”

  His mouth flattened, but he leaned back again. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I hate that guy and I hate that he’s your friend.”

  “But I’m an Elite now.” I grinned at him.

  He rolled his eyes again. “And that’s the punch line of this whole joke. Don’t think that’s not Adam’s doing, by the way. You know it was.”

  I shrugged and sipped my coffee. “I don’t really care. Honestly.”

  He grunted, and we didn’t speak. Our food was brought over and after a while, it didn’t seem like there was much else to say. I knew Mason didn’t like that I was in the Elite or that Adam was my friend again. I also knew that he considered Adam and Becky both scum for abandoning me the last three months. But what he didn’t know was that I had stopped caring about things. I went through the motions because what else was there? Some things mattered, though, like the feel of him beside me. Or how my body was heated while we sat across from each other in our booth.

  When he was done eating and he leaned forward again, his hands slid up my legs again. My fingers dropped the fork and the pancake ceased to exist. The hunger in me was so primal, I gave him a darkened look and he nodded. The same desire leapt in his gaze and we rose from the booth as one. He dropped thirty dollars on the table and took my hand.

  Nothing else was spoken until he turned onto our street. “Where to?”

  I shook my head. I didn’t care. So he drove to Garrett’s. As we went inside, I knew before asking that no one was inside. It was another part of my life that I ceased to care about. I should’ve. A normal teenager should be concerned when she never saw her biological father, but I took Mason’s hand this time and led him upstairs.

  When we were in my room, the door was locked, and I was pushed against it. I gasped before his mouth slammed down on me and gasped even further when he lifted up. His tongue went deep inside and his hands separated my legs for me. He pushed against me.

  My blood already boiled and the same need throbbed between my legs. I ached for him. I always ached for him, but when he slipped two fingers inside of me, I shook my head and rasped out, “I want you.”

  He grunted and pulled back. Then he slid inside. He was gentle at first, but then he shoved hard into me.

  I screamed against his mouth.

  He reared back and thrust again, rougher.

  My hands were taken in his hold, and he held them flat against the door by my head. My legs wrapped tight around him, but he kept thrusting. More and more. Harder and harder. I was blind with passion and tried to wrench my hands free. He shook his head. I felt the movement as his lips still plundered mine. Then I started to whimper. I needed to take over. I needed to be in control.

  “No,” he whispered when he shoved the farther inside of me.

  Lust and pleasure swirled together in me. It took over. I was past conscious thought and I lifted my body off the door against him. I wanted more.

  He cursed in a gasp and his hands dropped to my butt.

  My hands were free and I shoved at him.

  “Sam?” His eyes were wide when he staggered back a step.

  I dropped to my feet and pushed him back against the door. Then I latched onto his shoulder and grabbed the dresser beside me. I lifted myself up. He caught me and then he understood what I wanted. He shifted so I was laid out on the dresser and he was between my legs.

  One of his hands pushed up my shirt and cupped my breast. Then he slid inside again. I mewled from the pleasure of it. He lifted my butt higher in the air and readjusted so he slammed even more into me. I lifted my hips, urging him on. I set the tone. He gasped as I controlled our rhythm.

  My hips bucked at a faster pace and he grunted. He arched over me, braced himself on the dresser, and took us both over the edge.

  I opened my mouth to scream, but he drowned it out when he slammed his mouth over mine. As we hurtled over, the climax was violent within me. I reached out and hit the wall so I could brace myself. My body trembled and jerked in spasms as it rode through me.

  Mason leaned over me and scooped me off the dresser. He carried me to the bed and then scooted so he was beside me. I opened my mouth, but he shook his head. He curled around me and held me in his arms. The only thing he mumbled was, “You’re on birth control, right?”

  I tensed at the realization we hadn’t used a condom but then nodded. “I went on it a month after we started.”

  His arms tightened around me and he kissed my shoulder.

  It wasn’t long before we were both asleep.

  *

  We stayed in bed for the rest of the day. Mason left in the afternoon and returned with food, but it wasn’t long after that before we were groaning again. The food was left, forgotten on the floor. When it was five thirty, I remembered what Adam had said about Becky’s event. I groaned but pulled myself out of bed. Mason rolled over and propped himself up on an elbow. “Where are you going?”

  I rolled my eyes and grumbled, “I have to go to this thing for Becky tonight.”

  “What thing?”

  I shrugged and went into the bathroom. As I turned the shower on, I yelled back, “Something for her brother. Adam told me I’m not supporting her, and I should’ve been at the party last night.”

  He appeared in the doorway and propped a shoulder against the doorframe. He had pulled on his blue scrub pants from before and he crossed his arms. His biceps seemed bigger than ever. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah.” I dropped my han
d. The water was warm enough.

  “You’re going to some event for nerd girl’s brother because you’re not supporting her enough?” He lifted an eyebrow. “What part of that statement confirms that Adam is manipulating you and is still a douchebag?” He didn’t wait. “The entire statement, Sam.”

  I grinned and stepped inside the shower. The door was left open. Mason sat on the counter across from me, but he threw a towel on the floor to catch the water. I ducked under the water and replied when I lifted my head clear. “I know. I’m not defending him, but he made a point. Becky’s not a great friend, but she’s a friend. She’s a cheerleader now. She’s got new friends now.” I sighed and felt the water for a second. For some reason, I always needed that cleansing feel from it. Then I continued, “And I’m going tonight for her. I don’t want her to feel like I’ve forgotten about her.”

  He grunted and cursed. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah.” After I shampooed my hair and cleaned my face, I turned it off and stood before him for a moment.

  His eyes skimmed me up and down, slowly. A slight smirk adorned his face and met my gaze with a dark promise in them. “Are you sure you have to start this tonight?”

  “Why don’t you come with me?” I wiggled my eyebrows at him. “I’m sure Adam would love that.”

  He scowled. “Is he going to be there?”

  “He said he was this morning.”

  Then he pushed himself off the counter and brushed past me into the shower. The water was turned on and I reached for a towel when I felt his finger skim down my spine. It ended on the curve of my butt and he cupped one of the cheeks. He pulled me back into the water and kissed underneath my jaw. “I think we might be a bit late.”

  And we were, but it was worth it.

  Even though he slept over quite a bit, it wasn’t the same. I lived in Garrett’s house now. Mason lived with his father, not to mention that I hadn’t seen Logan in a long time as well.

  As we were getting into his Escalade, I asked, “What’s Logan doing tonight?”

  Mason snorted and pulled out into the street. “Not going to this event.” He shrugged. “I haven’t heard from him so I assumed he was doing the same thing as we were today.”

  “Screwing?”

  He shared my grin. “And lots of it.”

  And then my grin turned serious. We hadn’t talked about it, but I knew I needed to know. “What happened at the game last night?”

  He glanced over and measured me for a moment. Then he turned back. His tone wasn’t masked, but it was flat. “Those guys from Roussou showed up. They’re pissed because the cops are pressing charges against a few of them. Their whole camera editing stunt backfired on them. They wanted me to take the fall. Didn’t happen.”

  My chest tightened. “What happened to those guys at the game?”

  “Cops knew they might show up. There are some people in their camp who don’t feel they should be going after us anymore. I guess they tipped the cops off, or that’s what they explained to us. I don’t care. Those guys got arrested last night. They violated their restraining order. The school has one against them now too.” His hand clenched on the steering wheel as his jaw tightened at the same time. “I don’t think we’ll be able to play them anymore this season.”

  “Really?”

  “Or if we do, there’s going to be a ton of cops at that game.”

  I watched how his jaw seemed to be made of stone now. “Are you guys planning retaliation?”

  His eyes slid to mine. There was a dark intensity in them. “What do you think?”

  I released the breath I’d been holding. My hands jerked from the release. “I think…I don’t want you to get hurt.” My own jaw hardened and I looked straight ahead. “Or caught.”

  I felt him grin, though I didn’t look.

  And then he pulled into the parking lot, parking beside the golf course. Thirty cars filled the lot, and when we entered the foyer, two big guys were dressed in black suits and white ties. They were stone-faced as they looked us both over. One held a clipboard up. “Name?”

  “Samantha Strattan.”

  He glanced down, but a frown appeared.

  “I don’t think we’re invited to this event, but—”

  “Are you Mason Kade?” The other guy interjected. He seemed enraptured by him. I saw a flicker of admiration.

  “Yeah.”

  The clipboard went down right away. Both of them nodded. “Go ahead.”

  I couldn’t make a snide comment. I already knew he was a celebrity within the town. He was more since the YouTube clip.

  When we stepped into the main room, it was full of clinking glasses, raised conversations, and children that dashed around the tables and between the adult’s legs. I skimmed the room for Becky, but she saw me first. I heard my name from across the room and saw her in a back corner. Her eyes were wide and she stood on her tiptoe. Her hand waved back and forth and her chest was puffed out.

  I signaled her with a small wave, but she never stopped. Her hand moved faster back and forth.

  When we got closer, I saw she stood with her family. Her mother was in a conversation with Malinda Decraw, who had a hand on her elbow. A large smile was on both of their faces and then they erupted in giggles.

  One of Becky’s brothers ran past us, but Becky grabbed him and captured him. “Hey, squirt.” He ripped himself free, snarled at her, and disappeared around a group of strangers.

  She sounded out an audible sigh. Her hands found her hips. “Such a brat.” Then her smile switched and blinded me. “Hi! I didn’t know you were coming tonight. This is awesome. Hi, Mason.”

  He glanced at her but shifted so he stood behind me. His hand rested in the small of my back. I knew he had checked out of our conversation.

  “Hi.” I looked around. “So what brother won an award?”

  “Oh, stupid Jake.” She gave a dismissal wave. “He’s such a brat too, but some science magazine thinks he’s a genius. I don’t know. Good for him, I guess. Not that he’ll go into science when he’s older. He wants to be like Adam. He’s already told me.” Her irritation was evident. “He wants to be the quarterback and nail hot girls. Those were his words. Hey, guess what?!”

  I blinked from the sudden switch. “What?”

  Her hand grasped onto my arm. “I met a boy last night! Can you believe it? I can’t. I had to keep looking at my phone all day to see if it was really true or I just had a great drunk dream. But it’s real. I’m in shock. We’re going out after this.”

  “You are?” And then I took in her outfit.

  The cheerleader uniform was gone. Thank goodness. I had assumed she wore a simple lacy red dress for the event, but maybe not. “Where are you going?” Her hair looked frizzy. I bit my lip as I knew she’d need to fix that.

  “I don’t know.” Her hand curved into my skin and she started to bounce up and down. Her breasts did as well and I clamped a hand on her shoulder to stop her. I shook my head. Then she rushed out, “I have a date, Sam! A real live date. I can’t believe it. I’m so over Adam. I think Rex wants to go to a party. I’m supposed to call him after this is done. He’s going to pick me up here.”

  “Rex?”

  Her head bounced up and down instead. “Rex Thursto.”

  “Rex Thursto?”

  “Uh huh. He’s really cute and skinny. I think he’s a pothead, but I don’t care. He liked how hyper I was. He said I was easy on the eyes, but then again they seemed glazed over. Oh well. I can’t contain my excitement. I’m so happy you’re here and I got to tell you. I wanted to text you all day, but then I didn’t. Adam said I shouldn’t—”

  “Adam said you shouldn’t?”

  She went still, caught in my crossfire. Her eyes twitched back and forth. The rest of her face was frozen. “Yeah. He did.”

  “When?”

  “Today.” Her voice had grown quiet. “Are you upset?”

  “No.” I threw my arms wide. “Why would I be upset? You have a d
ate and you were told by the guy who constantly jerks you around not to tell your friend? Becky, you’re smarter than that.”

  Her cheeks turned red and she ducked her head. “I know. I know, but I mean—” She peeked underneath her eyelids at Mason and looked back down right away. “He said you were with him all day. I mean, why would you be interested in my life? You’ve got him…” She lifted a hand towards him, but it thumped back down against her leg.

  “Becky.”

  “I’m sorry. I just feel stupid. Why are you still friends with me? I even tried out for the cheerleading squad so I wouldn’t be a nerd.”

  “You don’t want to be a cheerleader?”