Being the Bad Boy's Victim (24 page)

“Bella? Can I see you in the kitchen for a moment?” my mum asked.

I gave Connor an annoyed glare as I followed my mum, who was slightly confused at what was going on, into the kitchen. The second the kitchen door was shut, my mum cornered me.

“I thought you were dating Connor!” she said.

My jaw dropped open. For at least a good minute, all I could do was stare at her in complete and utter shock. “Are you serious?” I asked, my voice not even audible.

She opened her mouth, then shut it, tilting her head to the side as she thought something over. When she finally opened her mouth to speak again, she mumbled, “But I could have sworn you chose…”

“Liam, mum. Liam,” I said cutting her off. “Why else would we have been constantly going out lately?”

Once again she was silent, as if the realization was just dawning on her.

“That does make sense…”

I rolled my eyes and let out a small laugh. “Bye, mum,” I turned to walk out, but was held back by her hand on my elbow. Surprised, I turned back to her.

“But really? Liam? Connor is hot!” she gushed, showing faint signs of disapproval.

I stared at my mum as she sighed, obviously still thinking about how “hot” Connor is.

“Bye, mum!” I said for the second time, pulling away and walking out of the kitchen.

One look at Connor’s expression told me that he heard every word. Narrowing my eyes at him, I stalked towards the front door, flinging it open.

“Let’s go,” I snapped.

He chuckled and walked by me, towards his car—much to my relief. I had spent a good amount of time worrying if he would be bringing his motorcycle, which thankfully, he didn’t.

“Sooo, looks like mummy doesn’t like baby Liam so much,” Connor stated as he slid into his seat.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance as I slammed my door as hard as I could, which really wasn’t much.

“Don’t call Liam a baby,” I snarled, the defensive side of me coming out. I stared angrily out the window, even though Connor hadn’t started the car.

By the time we got to the carnival, it was around eight o’clock and it was already pretty dark outside. The minute he parked the car, I reached for the handle to let myself out.

“Connor, unlock the door,” I hissed out through gritted teeth.

He unbuckled himself and inched closer to me instead.

“Get baby Lia——”

“Liam is not a baby!” I snapped, clenching my fists together.

“You deserve a man,” Connor whispered out, his hot breath tickling my ear and the side of my neck.

When I realized how close he was, I knew what was going to happen next. So I yanked his keys from his hand and unlocked the car, jumping out as quickly as I could. I made it two steps before I got shoved up against the hood of a nearby car, my chest pressed against the cold metal.

“Where did you think you were going?” he murmured as he bent his body against mine, his crotch cradling my ass.

I squirmed to try to escape, only to find myself flipped over so that I was facing him.

“Give up, Connor,” I spat out, placing my hands on his toned, muscular… Nope, on his flabby, hairy chest. Yeah… flabby and hairy, my eye! Ignoring the feel of his hard chest underneath my hands, I struggled to stand up straight.

“I’m not even trying.”

My mouth opened slightly as he smiled and pulled me up so that my body was once again pushed against his.

“Trust me, Bella. I know you want me,” he whispered, his lips brushing against my jaw line. “You need me.” His warm hand then slipped under my shirt and landed on my waist, causing me to shiver with delight.

“Back off, Connor,” I said shakily, pushing him as hard as I could.

“Is that what you really wa—”

I shoved as hard as I could, catching him off guard. I quickly turned, walking towards what seemed to be the entrance.

“How did you know I like it rough?” Connor asked casually, putting an arm around my shoulders as we walked to the entrance.

I gritted my teeth and allowed him to lead me to the old man collecting the tickets.

“Connor, my boy! Is this the girl?” he asked, his blue eyes twinkling as he grinned at us.

“Hello, Mr. Harris,” Connor said politely, holding out two tickets.

“Oh,” I blushed. “I didn’t know we had to get t—”

“It’s on me,” Connor said, his hand rubbing against my exposed shoulder.

I couldn’t help but smile as I saw Connor talk to the man, being friendly for once.

“You know, Connor always seems to get all the ladies. But you’re the prettiest of them all,” Mr. Harris said as he stamped our hands.

“Connor takes a lot of girls here?” I asked, ignoring the tightness in my voice.

The old man laughed, leaning against the podium. “Of course not, he comes here with his friends… then leaves with the girls,” he said.

Girls.

That’s plural… bad images!

I shook my head in disgust and looked at him. “That’s typical,” I admitted, narrowing my eyes at Connor.

“Why, you’re the…?” the old man started to say.

“We should go now,” Connor said quickly, gripping my elbow tightly as he nearly dragged me inside the carnival.

Just as I was about to protest, I noticed all the decorations, food, candy, and pumpkins.

“Holy shit!” I muttered, looking around.

“Yeah, we always go all out,” Connor said, looking at me with a grin.

I cocked an eyebrow and crossed my arms angrily. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“You look like an idiot,” he stated truthfully.

“Are you serious?” I shrieked, gesturing to the crowds of people walking around us. There were fairies, cartoon characters, and even some sasquatches.

Yes, sasquatches!

Connor shrugged, looked back at me and noted, “I guess I expected more.”

My jaw dropped open and I turned away, ready to storm off. Then I felt his hand wrap around my wrist, spinning me around so that I was facing him.

“Maybe if you just slip off your shirt and pants, we could have some fun,” he said with a wink.

I let out a growl and ripped my wrist away from his grip.

“You’re not wearing a costume either,” I stated, looking at his tight white shirt, leather jacket, and dark jeans. It was impossible to not notice his perfectly sculpted eight pack. I mean… Well, never mind. It was stupid to try to convince myself that Connor wasn’t extremely attractive.

Connor scoffed, “I don’t need one. I’m Co——”

“An egotistical douchebag,” I snapped, walking off. I pulled out my cell phone when I reached the cotton candy station, mentally thanking Jess for returning it back to me. Remembering what happened when I tried to get my phone myself, I unconsciously traced a finger over the healed cuts on my hand.

Hey, Limmy. I’m at the cotton candy station… meet me there?

I smiled as I looked over the text. Ever since I met Liam’s niece, the nickname really stuck.

Turn around.

I looked up, confused. Turning around, I stood there awkwardly. Liam was nowhere in sight. Then, I let out a terrified yelp as a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me backwards into a body.

“Got ya,” he whispered.

I whirled around, smacking his chest with the back of my hand.

“You’re a jerk!” I snapped, pouting playfully.

Liam grinned, leaning down to give me a small kiss on the lips. I couldn’t help but imagine Connor’s voice making fun of the way Liam was with me, which I guess was why I acted the way I did next.

Without warning, I grabbed the back of Liam’s head, and pulled his mouth to mine.

You know how in those movies, fireworks go off and you can feel this almost visible electric vibe flow between the main characters’ bodies? Well, there was absolutely none of that with Liam and me. My heart didn’t even speed up. My body didn’t tingle. My hormones didn’t go on overdrive. It wasn’t the same as when I kissed Connor.

Connor.

I mentally slapped myself, feeling guilty for comparing Liam’s kiss to his. Liam was a gentleman, something Connor could never be. He was thoughtful, caring, funny, gentle, sweet… I could go on forever. On the other hand, Connor was a dick. And that was all there was to it.

So why? Why the hell was I more attracted to him than Liam?

“That was amazing,” Liam said breathlessly as he placed his forehead against mine, breaking me away from my thoughts.

“It was,” I said tightly, hoping he would buy it.

“Come on, let’s go have some fun,” he said, grabbing my hand.

I stared at our hands as we walked—our fingers weren’t entwined. Stupid, I know, but whenever two people really like each other, or are in a relationship, they usually entwine their fingers.

Like I said, it’s stupid, I know.

“Want me to win you a stuffed animal?” Liam asked, pulling me towards the games.

“Sure,” I said, blushing.

Liam grinned and handed the girl his money. Then he picked up the plastic gun and aimed at the small target.

But he missed… multiple times.

“It’s okay,” I said, patting his hand. “I don’t even want a stuffed animal.”

“No, I can do this,” Liam said, pulling out his wallet for what seemed to be the sixth time, at least.

I was about to drag him off when someone spoke.

“Can I try?”

My blood ran cold as he picked up the gun, hitting the center of the target effortlessly.

“Here you go,” he stated, a smug grin settling on his features.

I faked a smile as I took the giant teddy bear from his hands.

“Thanks, Jack,” I muttered. Holding tightly onto the bear, I watched as Liam put his wallet away, a tinge of hurt on his features. Giving Jack a warning look, I grasped Liam’s hand and pulled him away.

“What else do you want to do?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“I’m sorry.”

I stopped walking immediately. “What are you talking about?” I asked with a startled expression.

He sighed, gently pulling his hand from my grip and stuffing his hands into his pockets. “You must think I’m pathetic,” he said quietly, staring at the ground.

Frowning, I dropped the teddy bear, looped my arms around his neck, and forced him to look at me.

“Pathetic because you couldn’t get me a stupid bear?” I asked. “Truthfully, I’m happy you didn’t.”

A look of confusion crossed his face.

“Come on,” I said, smiling a bit. “I would be a little worried if you were that good with a gun.”

Liam let out a warm laugh, which made me smile. 

“You’re the best,” he whispered, pulling me into a hug.

I stood on my tippy toes to place my chin on his shoulder. I wished I hadn’t. Because that’s when I saw what was happening right in front of me. Connor had some girl pressed against the side of a tent, looking like he was sucking the life out of her.