Fury (New Adult Romance) - #1.5 Fierce Series (5 page)

 “Well, do you want to be here?” I ask.

She arches her eyebrow, and I copy her because I love the way she
looks at me when I do. So annoyed. It’s fun to watch.

“Of course I do,” she says.

Of course she does. With her books and her pencils all neatly lined
up like the geek she is. It’s cute.

I chuckle. “Figured. You seem like the nerdy type.”

She gasps. “I am
not
a nerd.”

Her reaction makes me want to smirk some more. It’s so hot seeing
her getting worked up. A fire grows in her eyes when she’s pissed. A fucking
flaming ball of frustration that’s not far from exploding. It reminds me of
wild, wet sex.

She can deny it all she wants, but I can clearly see she’s all over
these books. It’s almost like they’re precious to her. Why would she deny it
anyway? It’s cute.

“No?” I say, and I grab one of her books and open it. “Looks like it
to me.”

I point at her notes so she can see what I mean. It’s the truth.
Being a geek isn’t bad. I never said that. I just tell her what I see, and
that’s that.

“I don’t know anybody who writes this much before class has even
started,” I say.

She snatches the book from my hand, and I’m amazed at the speed with
which she’s capable of taking it away from me. Feisty.

“I just like to be prepared,” she says.

“For what? The apocalypse? It’s just college.” I laugh it off,
because she’s getting worked up over nothing, and I like to see her get worked
up. I’m disturbed. I don’t care.

She sighs, and I can feel the puffs of air she breathes on my cheek.
Suddenly I’m aware of her pine-forest scent as it drifts around like a flower
trying to attract bees with its nectar. Inhaling her scent fills me with
excitement. The good erection kind.

“Whatever,” she says.

My manhood deflates immediately.

Damn, she really is uptight. I wonder if it’s because of me. Is it
because she can’t even look at me without being affected?

I smirk. Yeah, it is. I can see it from her jerky movements. She’s
terrified of being close to me. It’s almost as if she doesn’t know what to do
with herself. Well, I do.

“Or are you just afraid you might have to deal with stuff you’re not
prepared for?” I say, and I inch closer, just enough to get our legs to touch.
She freezes, her muscles tensing up. Her eyes are wide, staring ahead, like she
doesn’t want to even acknowledge the fact that I’m sitting right next to her,
invading her private space.

I can’t help but come closer. This game we’re playing is too fucking
good not to.

“You’re scared, aren’t you, Leafy?” I whisper.

She doesn’t say anything, but I hear her breath becoming ragged as I
whisper into her ear.

I know it’s bad, but I love what I do to her. I can’t help myself.
I’ve never seen a girl so scared of physical contact, nor have I met a girl who
wanted to run away from me as much as she does.

It’s thrilling.

My blood is coursing through my veins, pumping to my groin. She
smells so fucking good it’s hard to stop myself from moving in for the kill. My
lips are so close to her ear, I could almost kiss her.

But I don’t. I know it’s wrong, because we’re in the middle of class
and all. Besides, she probably doesn’t want me to. At least, not consciously. I
don’t need her to tell me what her subconscious is thinking; I can see it from
her shaking body.

But I’m not going to force myself on her. She’ll come to me on her
own terms; that I’m sure of. I’ll make her want me in ways she didn’t even know
she could.

However, now is too soon.

“Can I borrow this?” I say, grabbing one of her pens as an excuse
for my behavior.

She stares at me for a moment, visibly shaken.

I stiffen, trying not to make a big deal out of it. She clearly
isn’t used to flirting. At all.

“I promise I’ll give it back,” I say sweetly, smiling at her to make
her feel at ease. “Thanks.”

I scoot back to my place, but keep my eyes on her. I only want to
make sure she’s not going to scream; it’s not because I want to make her feel
uncomfortable. No, I already did that with my move. Hmm … just the thought of
being so close to her again is making my cock twitch.

She closes her eyes, breathing out loudly like she’s trying to calm
down. Damn, she really can’t handle attention. I wonder if she’s ever been
approached by a guy.

The teacher asks a question and calls for her name, but she doesn’t
respond. She’s still in her little mental block-out mode, probably because of
me.

“Autumn?” the teacher says.

Her head jerks up and her eyes flash open.

“Autumn Blakewood?” the teacher repeats.

“Yes?” she stammers, drawing back into her shell, her cheeks turning
red.

“I asked a question.”

Oh, shit, this is going to end badly. She really didn’t catch what
he was saying. Since it’s my fault, she’ll blame me, and I don’t want that kind
of attention.

 “S-sorry, I didn’t hear it,” she stutters.

People are laughing, and I don’t like it one bit. Frowning, I look
around, my fingers curling up into a fist. She’s embarrassed right now, and
people are laughing at her like it’s funny. I want to smack their heads off.

For some reason, I feel a little protective of her. Maybe I’m just
overthinking this, but she reminds me of myself. I don’t remember a lot of
things often, and I can barely remember any of the answers to questions people
ask me. Nobody ever gets that. People think it’s funny. I hate it when they
laugh.

“Can you name the primary source for Shakespeare’s famous plays?”
the teacher says.

Wow, I would’ve been so lucky if the teacher asked
me
that
question. I could’ve scored bonus points. It’s one of the only things I
actually do remember from my poetry classes back in high school.

Stupidly enough, it’s not me who’s supposed to answer, and I hate
that.

“I … uh …” she says softly, her voice almost inaudible.

Shit, I don’t want her to feel like this. Just because I put her
through the worst kind of teasing, doesn’t mean she should be humiliated. I
never wanted that.

I lean closer, and whisper, “Holinshed’s Chronicles.”

She almost springs up from her seat. “The Holinshed’s Chronicles!”
she shouts.

Our strict teacher watches her for a second, gauging her response,
but his eyes sometimes flash to me, too. I know he saw me tell her.

“All right,” he says.

She sighs out loud, sinking down into her seat again. I’m smiling
like a proud little motherfucker, because I am, I admit it. I saved her there,
and it’s one of the few times I could actually put my strainer brain to good
use.

She … Leafy … turns her head toward me and her mouth is open, but
she doesn’t say anything. She looks all surprised, so I wonder what’s up.

“What?” I say.

“Nothing. I just didn’t expect that,” she says, folding her arms
like the uptight girl she is.

“There’s a lot more you can’t expect from people,” I say.

She shakes her head and laughs. “Well, thanks anyway.”

She really isn’t big on the thank-yous. I guess pride is a big part
of her life. Maybe we have more in common than she thinks.

“Yeah, I pretty much saved your ass there,” I say. I’m just taunting
her, but I want a reaction from her. Always so in control of her emotions … I’d
love to see her just say what’s on her mind. Flip the finger for all I care.
It’d make for a good laugh.

She frowns. “Hey, don’t get cocky.”

The way she says cocky makes me think of a whole array of sentences
she could say with that exact same word, only without the ‘y.’ I have a dirty
mind. Can’t help it.

My eyebrows go up and down, and she laughs. It’s the most beautiful
smile I’ve seen in a long time.

“Comes with the jacket,” I say.

Damn, I really need to simmer down with these flirts. Not good for
my cock. No, I’d better focus on something else for a while, like actually
listening to the teacher for once.

I pick up a pen and write down some of the gibberish he’s saying,
clearly not understanding a word or even remembering half of it. Oh, who am I
kidding anyway?

I look sideways and see her writing, her pen flicking back and forth
furiously. Whoa, talk about passion for studying.

She briefly glances at me, and then I know I’ve been caught.

“Hey!”

“Shhh,” I say, putting my finger to my lips.

“You’re cheating.”

Yeah, duh. Of course it’s that obvious. But it’s my last resort for actually
picking up something useful from this class. Besides, I reckon her brain works
better than my shoddy birth-defected one.

“Who cares?” I say.

“I do,” she says, and she slams her notebook shut, preventing me
from copying. Damn it. There goes my last shot at finishing homework for
tomorrow.

“Aren’t you uptight,” I say, feeling frustration bubble up inside
me. She doesn’t know how much I need those notes, but at the same time I don’t
want her to know. I don’t want anyone to know. It’s a weakness, and I don’t
like being or feeling weak.

She gives me a fake smile. “Comes with the skirt.”

I laugh and shake my head. Nice retort. I didn’t expect that at all
from her.

“Good one,” I say, and I wink.

Her eyes briefly widen and then relax again. I can’t even give her a
wink without her falling apart.

The teacher makes a noise so we stop talking, and she immediately
goes back into her own little world, just like she did before. With her nose
almost pressed onto the textbook, she starts skimming through the pages, and
all I can do is watch her. I’m fascinated, that’s all I can say. I don’t know
why, I just am. I’ve never met a more interesting person in my life. Quirky,
but interesting.

Actually, that’s an understatement. I find her alluring. She’s
giving me a reason to hunt, and I’m called Hunter for a reason. I like seeing
girls all worked up over me. It’s the only thing I know I’m good at.

When the class is finally over, I say, “See ya, Leafy,” and I toss
her the pen I borrowed.

“It’s Autumn,” she snaps with her high-pitched voice that makes me
want to trap her between my arms and make her squeal.

Instead, I shrug and stand. My entire body is fighting the urge to
sit back down and make out with her, but at the same time I don’t want to win
that easily. She wouldn’t be able to resist, though, I can see that much from
her licking her lips each time she looks at me.

But I don’t want her to desire me for my body. I want her to want me
for being me. I want to know that she wants to kiss me because she thinks I’m a
good person, not because of how I look. That she knows what I go through on a
daily basis. That she knows who the real me is. That I’m not just a meathead.

I can be so much more than that … if only …

And then I walk out of the classroom.

I find a quiet spot outside and rummage in my backpack, looking for
my notes. Jaret bumps into me while I’m reading my notes, trying to figure out
where to go next.

“Hey, dude!” he says. “You’re making quite a name for yourself here
already.”

I frown, confused. “What do you mean? I haven’t done anything yet.”

“Word’s going around campus that there’s a dangerous criminal here
with the surname Bane. Can’t be anyone else.” He winks.

“What?”

“I don’t know what you did, but you’d better lay low for a while.”

“I told you, I’m not doing jack shit. My brother’s the one messing
with the gang. Not me.”

“Yeah, well I’m just saying.” He raises his hands. “Someone knows
you’re here, and they’re trying to snag you.”

“Damn it …” I say, sighing.

I can’t believe it. Shit, this must be the gang messing with me.
They know my brother got me into college in the first place, and it’s exactly
the spot they’re dealing at, too. They’re trying to get to me.

“Hey, just try to fit in, all right?” Jaret places his hand on my
shoulder. “Your brother wants you here, not with the gang.”

“I know, but I think it’s them spreading the rumors.”

Jaret nods, and says, “Hmhm. But we can’t do anything about it. It’s
intimidation. That’s all.”

I check my notes and realize I should’ve been at my next class
already. Crap.

“Hey, I gotta run. See ya around, okay?” I say, and before he can
answer, I’ve already bolted away.

Chapter
4

The Unthinkable

I’m making my way to my next class, weaving through the crowd. Some
girls smile when they see me, and then wink while growling or purring. I give
them a nod most of the time, but that’s it. I’ve been with enough of those
girls to know they’re only after me for my body. Once they find out about me
and my fucked-up youth they run for the hills.