AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My father is overprotective of his only daughter, to the point that I sometimes feel like Rapunzel stuck up in my tower. Given that we watched my mom go through a slow and horrible death from breast cancer when I was fifteen, I can understand where he’s coming from. We only have each other in this crazy, hectic world. It was a hard punch to the gut when Dad told me barely a year after mom died that we would have to move because he had gotten a job at some rich, snobby school.
Moving here had been really hard. Leaving behind the memories of Mom in our old house has left a void in me a mile-wide. I guess that’s why I let myself almost believe that Brad really liked me. I should have known better. The change in him had been so sudden. To go from being ignored to adored was surprising and I still didn’t understand it. Obviously, he had decided to ignore me once again. It had been nice to think I could have him as a friend, even if I wasn’t interested in him romantically.
I now regretted it, but I had let him kiss me once. Mostly because I wanted to see what the fuss was about. Oddly enough, it had been the day after I met Sawyer. Maybe it was the attraction to him that spurred me to let Brad kiss me. I had never been kissed before, and felt ashamed at being eighteen and completely inexperienced. His kiss left me cold and slightly disgusted. There was a lot of tongue. He laughed at me because I sat there unmoving while his tongue tried to scrape out my tonsils.
“Come on Ronnie, don’t be a dead fish. Open up more for me, baby.” I tried, really tried to get into the kiss after that, but I couldn’t to save my life. After that, I avoided his lips at all costs, and I made it clear we were definitely in the friend zone. Telling the most popular guy in school that ‘I just want to be friends’ was nerve wracking, but it didn’t seem to bother him at all.
I cuddle deeper into my warm thermal blanket and put my coffee cup down on the coaster on the end table.
I pick up the romance novel I brought downstairs with me. The guy on the cover instantly reminds me of Sawyer. Last night seems like a dream. I have no idea why that almost kiss was hotter than the one actual kiss I experienced in real life, but it was.
Brooding dark eyes, rippling muscles, and an ass that looks entirely too good in the tight jeans he always wears. Just looking at Sawyer makes me want him in a way I’ve never wanted a guy before. Sure, I’ve had crushes, but I’ve never felt desire like this for anyone else. Unfortunately, he’s also Brad’s cousin, and two years older than me. Oh God, I really hope he doesn’t think I’m actually interested in Brad.
I glance back down to the page I was reading and grin when I realize I’m at one of the best parts. I’ve read this book like five times already, but the erotic parts are really good. It’s no time before I get engrossed in imagining Sawyer doing all the dirty things to me that Sir Isaac does to his prisoner Sophia.
Chapter Nine
I love curves on a woman. I like a woman to look like a woman. There’s nothing better than holding a woman close and feeling her softness. Unfortunately, most girls around here are made up of hard planes and sharp angles. -Sawyer
Sawyer
I smell her before I see her. Dax was right about her smell. It’s a mix of strawberries and vanilla. She smells sweet, and I have a feeling that she will taste as sweet as she smells.
The thought of someone trying to wreck that sweet innocence makes my stomach churn. When I returned from taking Ronnie to her room last night, I heard Brad and his buddies talking about the bet.
“Dude, you’re screwing things up with Ronnie. No way is she going to hook up with you if you’re making out with Britney the whole time we’re here.” A douche named Travis pointed out to Brad and I couldn’t help the smug smile that spread across my face. He’s right. Ronnie seems like the type of girl who has high expectations, and rightly so. No way is Brad going to be able to convince her he’s a decent guy now.
“Trav, I’m Brad Lewis. The day I can’t get some girl with a fire crotch to spread her legs is the day I give up my quarterback position. She’ll cave. No worries. I’m still going to win this bet. Just you watch.” Anything else he might have said at that point was drowned out by cheering from another room.I almost beat the shit out of Brad right then, but I held back.
When Brad first mentioned his stupid bet, I only thought of how I could use his distraction with it to my advantage. Now, I feel protective instincts I didn’t know I had bloom within me. I try to tap those instincts down. My hope is that I can use this time my cousin is trying to impress his dumbass friends to finally get into one of my uncle’s computers. Dax has promised to help. I have to admit the bet about Ronnie does hover in the back of my mind. I have to hope that she’s smart enough not to fall for his shit.
There’s a war inside of me. A part of me that I thought had disappeared completely wants to tell her about this ridiculous bet. The rest of me just wants to find information that can nail my uncle and help me with my mess of a life. Saving a young girl I barely know isn’t in my plans. At the same time, there’s something in her that makes me feel things I thought were dormant forever. This girl has me obsessing over her, and I barely know her. I know Red is something special, and the old me would have been confident enough to make a move. Being poorer than a church mouse has me wondering what I could ever offer someone like her.
I stop at the doorway to take in the sight of her. Her red hair spills over her shoulders in waves, and her nose is scrunched up as she reads. She never wears makeup and I love that about her. There’s really no need for it because she’s a natural beauty. She smiles at something she’s reading and I clear my throat.
“Up for some company this morning, or is this a solo morning ritual you’re enjoying right now?”
Her head pops up so fast from the book she’s reading that her blanket falls to her waist.
I try to keep my eyes focused on her face but it’s hard to avert my eyes. The tank top she wears doesn’t leave a lot to the imagination. Her nipples are hard beneath the pale pink top. She jerks the blanket up to her chin and blushes.
I sit down across from her in an overstuffed chair and watch as she curls her feet under her.
“Just having my morning coffee and reading a little. I’d like the company though. I thought everyone would still be asleep after last night and all the…ugh..” She scrunches up her nose again and looks so cute I can’t help but chuckle.
“You mean all the drinking and random making out, plus all of the other debauchery that went on.” I tap the side of my head. “I mean I wasn’t there for all of it, but I think there may have even been an orgy at one point…”
She squeaks. “An orgy…here?”
I look around and lean forward. “Yep, I think it actually started in here. Something about all of these books must have gotten everyone kinda crazy. I distinctly remember a few people on that chair you’re sitting in.” God, I love messing with her.
She tenses and narrows her eyes at me. I grin and she rolls her eyes.
“I’m just teasing you because you’re so fun to tease. It got a little crazy, I’m sure, but not that crazy. Besides I don’t even drink.” I lean back in my chair. “I actually went to bed by 11 so I have no idea what happened after that.”
She relaxes back into her chair. “You went to bed early, too? I thought I was the only dork in the group.”
“Ah, but I’m here to work, not play. Besides, when you went to bed the party was over in my mind.” I waggle my eyebrows.
