Gina Robinson
Gina Robinson
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Copyright © 2014 by Gina Robinson
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Gina Robinson
http://www.ginarobinson.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Book Layout ©2013 BookDesignTemplates.com
Reckless Together/Gina Robinson. — 1st ed.
Table of Contents
Reckless Together
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
About the Author
Books by Gina
RECKLESS TOGETHER
Book Three of the Reckless Series
The stunning conclusion of Ellie and Logan's love story that began on a hot August night in Reckless Longing and continued through the depths of winter in Reckless Secrets...
Ellie
My mother is a liar, a seductress, a keeper of family secrets, and a master manipulator. She took Austin from me. Now she claims she wants forgiveness. But she's after Logan. I know she is. He thinks he can protect me from her. I love him for trying, for playing hero, but he doesn't know her like I do. She'll charm him until he lets his guard down and then she'll strike so quickly he'll never see the attack coming. I may already be too late to stop it.
Logan's love is essential to me, like sunshine and deep nurturing breaths. He's my all. I can't live without him. But there's so much standing in the way of our happiness. As dangerous as she is, Mom is the least of my worries. I'm fighting the darkness Logan is struggling with, the upcoming trial, his family, and sometimes I even think I'm fighting a phantom of myself. But I won't give up. Ever.
Logan
I wish I could make El understand how much I love her, but I'm losing control. She makes me lose control. Since the abuse, that scares me shitless and brings back the guilt and the memories I want to erase. Things that have nothing to do with El, and everything because they affect the man I want to be for her.
I can't face losing her. I don't want her to hear the ugly truth about me, but I have to testify. I have to, even though I'm risking everything and fighting my dad and myself to do it. After it's over, will El still love me? I have to help her reconcile with her mom. Then maybe she'll understand.
Chapter One
Ellie
I hated my mother. She'd done it again. This time from across the state. Intruded on what should have been one of the most beautiful moments of my life. After swearing for my entire existence I'd never have sex with any guy I wasn't totally sure was long term, I slept with Logan Walker. Trusted him with my heart and my body. He was so sweet, thinking he could protect me from Mom. That anybody could. He didn't know her like I did. Didn't know how cunning she could be. How devious.
Just like I hadn't known it was possible to feel such an intricate cocktail of emotions—love, lust, ecstasy, total happiness, fear, and blinding rage. It would have been absolutely heady, except for the anger. I'd kept my fury under control while I'd been with Logan, focusing all my attention and thoughts on staying in the moment with him. The guy had literally had a heart in his hands. A balloon heart. But still, how could I resist that? And the sweet, funny way he'd stocked up on protection? And how he couldn't stay away from me, no matter how hard he tried?
But now that I was back in my dorm room, thoughts of my mother and her Snow White's Evil Queen Stepmother act popped into my mind. Or maybe she was more like Alice in Wonderland's Queen of Hearts playing a giant chessboard with my life. What was her game? What was her next move? Whatever she had planned, I had to stop it.
My hands trembled as I pulled my cell phone out. I took a deep breath. She and I had been estranged since she slept with Austin, my boyfriend before Logan. And I left her and came to college to find my bio dad, Jason Front. I had a delicate new relationship with him and his wife and baby. Mom could destroy all that, too. She didn't know I'd come to the university to find him. She didn't know he was here at all.
I hesitated on the verge of battle. I had to risk it. I'd chance anything to keep her away from Logan and me. I stared at the phone another second as I gathered up my courage. We hadn't spoken since before Christmas. It was nearly March now. She'd take my call. I knew she would. In fact, I was certain she was waiting for it. I hit the button that dialed her and braced myself.
"Ellie!" She picked up before it even rang. That was how confident she'd been that I'd call. That was how expectant she was.
Which put me even more on edge—what did she want? Melissa Ann Sawyer always wanted something. She never gave anything away and she never played for free.
"Leave Logan alone! Stay the hell away from him!"
It was the wrong way to lead. I'd let my anger get in the way of my scheming and common sense. I'd forgotten my own chess metaphor.
She laughed. "So you finally slept with him." Her voice was amused and as nubby as raw silk, not quite her usual polished self. But as grating as ever in its confidence. "I was wondering how long you'd hold out. He's a handsome boy. Now you can finally stop blaming me for ruining your life. You've turned out just like me."
"Not just like you," I said. "I'm not pregnant."
"That you know about. Be extra careful, Ellie. We're fertile girls when we're young and careless!" She laughed again.
Mom had a laugh for everything, like life always amused her, even when it was tragic. Even when there was absolutely nothing funny about it. This time it felt like she was laughing at herself as much as at me.
"I didn't say I slept with him." And I hadn't said I hadn't. Semantics were everything when playing with Mom's fire.
"Of course you have. That's why you're so protective and possessive of him now. He finally felt close enough to you, confident enough to tell you that he and I have been talking. And so you rushed to protect him from big, bad me. It all adds up. And I can tell from your voice you've lost your virginity."
"You cannot."
She'd used that "I can hear it in your voice" tactic on me since I was little. I'd outgrown my belief in her magical abilities to read voices and see out of the back of her head.
"I hear it in your denial."
"Just stay away from him!" I pulled the phone away from my ear, ready to hang up.
"Or what?" Devoid of laughter and completely serious, she was the ice queen, full of menace.
I froze, unsure how to deal with a serious her.
"Stopped you short, didn't I?" Her voice was the very essence of smugness.
"You were going to hang up on your sweet mommy. You haven't answered my question—what are you going to do if I don't stop talking to him? Cut me off?"
"What do you want from me?" I said. "Isn't it enough that you slept with my last boyfriend? When are you going to stop competing with me for everything?"
She made a sigh of exasperation. "Austin! You have to let that go, Ellie. For your own good. Hanging on to it will just make you bitter.
"I'd undo it if I could. Not for Doug's sake, but for yours and Austin's. I'm really sorry. I was vulnerable and made a mistake. Even so, it turned out my mistake was for your own good. How true was he to you? How much in love with you if I could snatch him away in a moment of weakness? If he could be tempted to cheat so easily?"
"He wasn't tempted. He was tricked. You trapped him."
"Is that what he told you? Is that what you call it? I didn't drug him. I offered something he wanted and he took it happily enough. I did you a favor, Ellie."
"Well, then, stop doing me favors. I don't want your help."
"But I want something—a relationship with my one and only child."
I snorted. "Right. You have a funny way of showing it."
She ignored me. "Mom's Weekend is coming up. I'm coming. And I expect you to hang out with me and give me the full Mom's Weekend treatment—the activities, the concert, the entire college deal. After all, it's your fault I never got to go to college." She laughed again, like she was teasing about the last part.
I was in no mood for her jokes. "No! No way. When are you going to stop blaming me for everything that's gone wrong in your life? For every mistake you made? Don't come. I won't see you."
"You can't stop me. I can pop up unexpected any time. And you know me. That's exactly what I'll do. Isn't it better to plan for me? One weekend, Ellie. That's all I'm asking for."
My heart galloped unevenly, pounding with rage and fear. I knew her. She wasn't joking now. She'd come and wreak her havoc when I least expected it. She was right—it was better to plan for her. I could warn my dad Jason to stay out of sight. I could keep Mom away from Logan. Contain her. I had no choice. I had to. But I wasn't going to concede without getting something from her. "If I agree, you have to promise to stay away from Logan. No flirting with him. No traps. No tricks."
She sighed, and there was pity in her voice—pity that I was so naïve. "Haven't you learned anything from me? I can promise you anything. But that doesn't mean I'll keep it. Never trust another woman around your guy." She laughed again, like she was laughing at herself.
I shuddered. "Promise or the deal's off."
"Honey, I don't want your boy."
"You wanted the last one." The thought of Mom turned loose onto a happy hunting ground full of horny young men during one of the biggest cougar-fests of the year made me almost physically sick.
"Maybe I'm more sensitive to your feelings now," my mother said. "You're obviously really into this one. Austin was a passing phase."
"There's no place to stay here," I said, still fighting when I knew resistance was futile. "The hotels have all been booked a year in advance."
"I'll stay with you. Isn't that what most moms do?" Her voice was too sweet and happy to be genuine, and sharpened with a warning edge.
"I have a roommate and she has a mom, too. It will be crowded."
"Too many excuses, Ellie. I'm coming. Get over it." Her tone had become firm.
"Okay," I said. "But I reserve the right to kick you out. Once glance at Logan and you're sleeping in your car."
She ignored my terms. "Excellent! Plan something fun." She laughed a little too brightly. "Plan lots of fun things! Don't they have a whole host of things for moms to do? A mother/daughter mani and pedi would be great. My treat. And I want to meet all your friends. And their moms. I'll be in touch." She hung up.
I stared at the phone, stunned and wondering how she'd gotten what she wanted so easily. My mind raced with tasks. There was so much to do—warn Logan and Jason. And hope Jason didn't fight me when I asked him to hold off on telling Mom about him until I was sure of her motives. Which meant, like, never telling him, because you could never trust her. I had to give my roommate Bre the bad news that Mom was coming to town. Make plans to keep Mom busy and out of trouble…
I took a deep breath, wondering if there was a way to get Mom out of my life for good. Something short of murder. As long as I had a hot guy in my life, Mom was going to be a clear and present danger.
A knock on my dorm door startled me. The door burst open before I could answer it. My two good friends Nicole and Taylor rushed in, jovially arguing with each other.
"She's back!" Tay turned to Nic. "I told you she was. I thought I'd seen her come in." She plopped onto Bre's bed across from me.
Bre was out, probably with her boyfriend Dan.
"No, you said you saw a car that looked a lot like Logan's pull away. Not the same thing."
I was happily invisible until Nic swung her gaze to me. "How come you didn't come find us?" Nic had an accusing tone in her voice. "You knew we'd be dying of curiosity! After that totally adorable way Logan was waiting for you at Up All Night with his balloon heart in his hand, how could anyone resist him?
"You're just lucky you got to him before someone else stole him away. You owe us for not letting you chicken out and run away." She plunked next to Tay on the bed and fixed her interested, yet accusing, stare on me.
"I told you Falcon26 was going to be awesome!" Tay beamed and wore her smug expression.
Falcon26 was Logan's screen name when he played League of Legends. It was a long story, but basically while Logan and I had been broken up, I'd played LoL with Falcon26, not knowing Falcon26 was Logan. Falcon26 flirted with me all the time. I thought he was a lonely geek.
"You drew him as a beak-nosed, winged nerd," I said.
Tay shrugged. "Artistic license. I was just teasing you. What I told you is that you should meet him because he was so sweet and he could be the one. Thank me later." She made a bowing gesture, like she deserved tons of applause and even more eternal gratitude.
Nic interrupted. "Enough!" She pointed at me. "Dish."
Tay studied me and frowned. "Why aren't you glowing?" She glanced at Nic. "She should be glowing. What's gone wrong now?"
"No, she should be walking like a cowboy." Nic winked. "Bowlegged and sore in the saddle." She laughed until she saw my face. "What the hell is wrong? Don't tell me Logan is impotent."
"Or a totally sucky, selfish lover," Tay added, and sighed. "No, I can't believe that." She glanced at Nic. "That goes against every rumor we've ever heard about him."
"What rumors?" I said.
Nic shrugged and doggedly hit her point again. "Why aren't you grinning from ear to ear? You should be flying."
"Maybe they had a fight." Tay shuddered. "Don't tell me you blew it. No more secrets, right? He knows about your dad. You know about him and the chem prof. It's all out there now.
I sighed. "What makes you think I slept with him?"
"Oh, come on! You did." Nic pinned me with a look. "If you didn't, I'm going to have to kill you."
"Get thee to a nunnery!" Tay was reading Hamlet for her English class.
"Why wouldst thou have me be a breeder of sinners?" I shot back, hoping I wasn't breeding anything. Getting accidentally pregnant was one of my biggest fears.
"You modified the quote," Tay said.
"Good. You get an A in English Lit." I sighed. Thinking about Logan, happiness bubbled up inside me. I couldn't hold down my smile.
Nic's smile returned. "She slept with him."
Tay's eyes lit up. "So? How was it?"
"The rumors are true." I glanced at the heart-shaped Mylar Logan had given me. It floated in the corner and made my heart swell just looking at it. I grinned. "That's all I'm going to say."
"You're no fun." Tay made a pouty face.
Nic was undeterred. "We'll get it out of her eventually." Her eyes were a dark, deep brown and usually sparkled w
ith fun. But they turned serious. "Seriously, though, what's bothering you?"
I sighed heavily and bit my lip. "Logan has met my mom."
Nic and Tay made a collective gasp and their mouths popped open.
"Crap," Nic whispered. "Met? Like in person?" She was way too tentative. Nic rarely danced delicately around any issue.
She and Tay knew about Mom sleeping with Austin.
"He'd been talking to her while we were apart," I said. "Trying to keep her away from me so I could get to know Jason without her interference."
"Whoa!" Tay put her hands beneath her thighs and stared at me as if she was measuring how I was holding up.
"So, yeah," I said. "He hasn't pulled an Austin."
"Then why are you upset? It sounds like he's been playing hero. Don't you believe him?" Nic studied me.
"There's a reason I didn't come right to see you—Mom called just as I got back to my room. She's coming for Mom's Weekend. There's no way to stop her."
Nic whistled and winced. "Ouch."
I nodded. They both knew our sordid history.
"What are you going to do?" Tay said. "Are you going to tell her about your dad?"
I shook my head. "No! No, no, no, no. And ruin everything? Including his life? Are you kidding?"
Nic tried to take a pragmatic approach. "Didn't you say Jason was just a friend to your mom, a one-night stand with a brainiac guy she thought was beneath her? Why would she even care about him now?"
"That's what Jason said," I replied. "He may even be right. But you give Mom way too much credit if you think she's going to happily let bygones be bygones. I ruined her life. And I'm here because of Jason. You don't think she'd like to take her revenge?"