LOVE AND HATE (A Billionaire Romance) (45 page)

“You’re my problem!” I yelled back at her.

Her eyes lit up with shock and hostility, and she pushed me roughly on my chest. I glared at her for moment, fighting the impulse to respond in kind, and gave in to the urge that raged behind my indignation. I grabbed her and kissed her roughly. She fought me for a moment but quickly responded, her lips just as demanding and feverish as mine. I pushed her against the car, pinning her arms to her side as I ripped my mouth from hers to press hot kisses along her jawline and down her neck.

She thrust her hips against mine and let out a hot, heady moan. “Fuck,” she whispered as I nibbled on her skin, my teeth grazing hungrily at her throat. I grabbed her waist, and she framed my face with her hands and kissed me eagerly, practically shoving her tongue in my mouth.

“You drive me fucking crazy,” I growled against her lips between angry, frustrated kisses. She shoved me away after a moment, and we stared at each other, breathing heavily.

“We have to go,” she breathed, her fingers covering her swollen lips.

I nodded and helped her pick up the groceries. We drove home in silence, and it took all of my self-control not to touch her, not to look at her. I could sense she was having just as much difficulty in the small, heated space of the car. A mix of anger and want swirled in her eyes, and her jaw was clenched tightly, her knuckles white as her hands clamped on the steering wheel.

As soon as we got home, I went up to my room and flung myself on my bed, angry at myself for kissing her and angry at myself for stopping. I needed to change the way I acted around Alyssa and fast, otherwise I would endanger the family we were forced to be a part of. I had to make myself less available to her and start acting more brotherly.

Alyssa

I debated whether or not to go to Blake’s game that night. I wanted to make an excuse, but I also didn’t want to appear weak. Instinct told me I wasn’t just attracted to Blake but might actually have feelings for him. The whole thing was a mess, and I didn’t know how to fix it. It was bad enough battling my instinctual dislike for Blake as a person, but there was more to our circumstances than that. We were related now, albeit by marriage, and that wasn’t going to change.

I wanted to talk to Maggie about it, but I was worried she would be judgmental, so I was on my own. I decided to go to the game. It wasn’t like I was going for Blake, anyway. Practically the whole school was going. I asked Maggie to join me, and after three grueling classes and a few hours of studying, we headed to the football field.

We sat down, and the bleachers filled up fast. People were really riled up, and a lot of students from the rival team had come. Many people were drunk or drinking heavily, and by halftime, Maggie had managed to score us some alcohol, too.

After the halftime show, Maggie and I watched as a small fight broke out a few rows below us. Within seconds, the small fight turned into an all-out riot. Fights erupted around us, and Maggie yelled as a guy knocked into her. I shoved him off her and yelled, “Hey! Watch it.”

The guy turned to me and bellowed, “What is your problem?”

I screamed as the guy shoved me hard, and I fell and hit my head on the seat behind me. I was shocked, reeling in terror as I tried to scramble out of the way. Everything was happening so fast—Maggie screamed, and the guy raised his fist to punch me. I froze in fear and did nothing to defend myself. I heard a loud smack as a fist smashed into his face. Blake, in his uniform, his helmet abandoned in the aisle, had punched the guy who shoved me.

Maggie helped me up. Around us, people were breaking up the fights. She escorted me from the bleachers and began to panic, looking at my head and babbling about calling an ambulance.

“Maggie, I’m fine,” I said quickly, searching the crowd for Blake. “Let’s get Blake and get out of here. The game is definitely over, and I’m sure the police have been called.”

The whole thing seemed surreal. There were students everywhere, and some of them looked as if they were badly hurt. I finally spotted Blake again and waved at him. He hurried to me, breathless, and said, “Are you okay?” His gaze was intense and full of concern.

“I’m fine,” I said, nodding. “Let’s get out of here.”

The three of us pushed through the crowd to the parking lot and managed to leave the school with no more incidents. Blake drove quickly to Maggie’s house, and she looked at me and said, “I’ll call you later. That was so crazy. I hope your head gets better.”

“Talk to you later.” I gave her a hug, and she got out of the back seat.

As we drove home, I kept looking at Blake, grateful he had no visible wounds. When we arrived, I stopped him before we entered the house. “Thank you for stopping that guy,” I said, giving him a genuine smile.

“Don’t worry about it. It was my fault you were even at the game in the first place.”

I noticed an odd trace of guilt in his eyes. “Hey,” I said quickly, placing my hand gently on his arm. “This is not your fault. Seriously, I’m okay.” He nodded, and I asked, “How did you even notice that so quickly with all the chaos?”

He shrugged. “Must have been luck that I saw you guys.”

I smiled, wondering if he had been looking at me throughout the game. I pushed the thought from my head and returned his smile. “Thanks, Blake.”

We agreed not to tell our parents what had happened, not wanting to cause them unnecessary grief or stress. As we headed upstairs, I spared Blake a wistful glance.
He may pretend to be a bad guy, but he really can be sweet,
I thought. I knew I’d sleep soundly that night—the week had exhausted me. As I drifted off, I wondered if life with Blake would always be this insane.

***

I woke up the next day, excited about the relaxing Saturday. I had slept in until noon, and Debbie made delicious pancakes when I drifted lazily downstairs. Dad and Debbie invited me to go with them to the park, but I turned them down politely, wanting to stay home and have a peaceful day.

After I greedily ate an entire stack of pancakes, I headed upstairs to take a shower. I saw Blake’s bedroom door was open. I peeked my head in and saw Blake, shirtless, examining himself in the mirror. Even though I had seen him without a shirt on before, I still felt a compulsion to admire his body. The familiar pang of need burned as I watched him.

I distanced my attraction by thinking about his narcissism, but I blinked when I saw a large, dark bruise beneath his ribcage. I gasped instinctively, forgetting I hadn’t intended to let him know I was there. His head jerked up as I walked in. “Did that happen to you last night?”

“It’s fine. It really doesn’t hurt that bad.”

I walked closer to him and touched the area around it lightly as I examined it. I looked up at him. “I’m so sorry.”

He smiled at me. “Seriously, it’s fine.”

I nodded and looked around, since I’d never been in his room before. It was cleaner than I expected. His bed was made neatly, and everything seemed organized. I noticed a large display case of trophies on the wall. “Wow,” I breathed, impressed. “You have a ton of trophies.”

Blake looked at them and shrugged. “They’re pretty easy to get, actually,” he commented modestly.

I turned to leave. Part of me wanted desperately to stay, but my head protested so loudly that staying was foolish. “Okay. Sorry to bother you.”

“Alyssa?” he called, his voice soft.

“What’s up?” The sound of my name on his lips made my heart skip a beat.

“I need your help with something.” He was practically mumbling, his voice was so quiet, and his gaze was focused intently on the floor.

“What?”

“I’m failing my classes, and if I don’t get my GPA up, I’ll be kicked off the team.” His voice was low and sheepish. “I was wondering if you would… uh, help me study and get my grades up… or whatever.”

I was quiet for a moment. It must have taken a lot for Blake to admit that he needed help with something. “Yeah, totally,” I said, feeling bad for him. “It’s the least I can do.”

Blake looked up at me and smiled. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” My laugh sounded a little shaky as I bolted from his room.

I was angry at myself for agreeing to help him, knowing it would be hard for me to get over Blake if I were constantly with him. Was I being selfish or selfless in my actions? It was the right thing to do—football was so important to him, and it would be unfair if he couldn’t play. More than my desire to help him, though, was my constant yearning to be around him. Would I be able to control myself around him? I shook my head, knowing I would have to keep it together. I was seriously worried that if we had another intense kiss, it would turn into something much more, making an even bigger mess of our situation.

Blake

We were in the school library and Alyssa was helping me study for midterms. It had been a long week full of schoolwork. As if that stress wasn’t enough, the more I was around Alyssa, the more I wanted to touch her, to hold her. I was dangerously close to becoming attached to her—not simply being attracted, but something deeper and more real. My gaze was glued to her beautiful soft pink lips. I watched them move, fascinated, as she talked, reading something out of a textbook.

“Blake! Are you paying attention?” she snapped, annoyed.

“Yeah. Sorry. I was just a little distracted.” I looked back down at the book so she wouldn’t see the need in my eyes.

“Do I have to remind you that I am doing you a favor?” she asked haughtily, and I felt guilty.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized quickly. “I just have a hard time concentrating.”

She nodded, her features softening. “How about we take a break?” She shut the book and grabbed her backpack. I nodded and followed her out of the library, grateful for a break from the distracting proximity.

We walked to the cafeteria, making small talk. We each got a drink, and Alyssa grabbed an apple. We headed out onto the quad, and she plopped down on the grass, munching happily. I watched her as she looked around, grabbing at the chance to admire her beauty. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brad, one of my teammates, walking toward us. He sat down next to us and started talking.

“Hey—Alyssa, right?” he asked, flashing her a smile. She nodded, smiling as he introduced himself. “So, I’m going to this party tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to come.”

She smiled, clearly flattered by his invite, and flashed me a quick look before she turned back to him and said, “Totally, sounds great.” I watched with rising annoyance as they exchanged numbers. My muscles tensed in anger as he walked away. She noticed my irritation, which I hadn’t bothered to hide. “What?”

“You’re really going to a party with Brad?” I asked, disdain evident in my voice.

“Yeah, so? Brad seems nice, and he’s cute.” She looked at me with eyes suddenly cold and hard.

“Whatever,” I answered, pretending not to care when in fact, the thought of her and Brad together made a hot, red anger well up inside me. I had no right to say anything, so I kept my mouth shut. One thing was for sure, though. I was going to be at that party, no matter what.

***

Later that night, I showed up at the party about an hour in and found a large crowd outside the frat house near campus. Brittney clung to my arm, and I let out a frustrated sigh as I had to practically drag her around. My eyes were alert, scanning the crowd for Alyssa. I didn’t see her anywhere and was stupidly hopeful she’d changed her mind.

I was on my second beer, finally relaxing and having fun, when Brittney pulled me out onto the dance floor to dance. In the heat of the crowd, I saw Alyssa with Brad. They were dancing really close together, his hands on her hips. I felt that same hot anger and stormed away, leaving a wasted Brittney in the middle of the dance floor.

Walking upstairs, I ignored the couples making out. I stood alone, trying to calm myself down, and finally decided to just go home. I wasn’t having much fun watching Alyssa get hot and heavy with one of my teammates. I pushed through the horny college students on the stairs and froze as Brad suddenly appeared, pulling a girl upstairs.

I was surprised it wasn’t Alyssa and immediately wondered where she was. I made my way across the dance floor, searching the crowd. I stumbled outside the frat house, worrying that I hadn’t found her inside. Then I spotted her as I turned to go back into the house. She wasn’t too far away, standing alone.

I hurried over to her. “Alyssa!”

She looked at me, and I saw tears pouring down her face. “What?” she asked, sniffling and wiping away tears.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her, placing my hand gently on her arm.

“Nothing…it’s stupid.” Her voice was shaky and quiet.

“Is it Brad?” I asked quietly. She nodded, the tears flowing more freely. I reached out and folded her into my arms. “C’mon. Let me take you home.” I guided her to my car.

As we drove home, she explained through her tears how Brad had made a move on her but that she didn’t want to sleep with him. She told me he ditched her after calling her a bitch and refusing to give her a ride home.

“I’m so sorry, 'Lyssa,” I said, angry at Brad for treating her like that. She deserved so much better.