Page 1 of Rock

PROLOGUE

Forty years ago…

“Get out, punk.”

Lyla lifted her face to glare in the direction her brother would soon make his appearance. He hadn’t even fully descended the stairs and rounded the corner before he was already demanding she leave the basement. Why he thought he owned the basement she would never understand, but every time he had friends over, he kicked her out and made her go upstairs. As if she wanted to hang with their parents any more than he did.

She could hear two sets of footsteps pounding down the wooden stairs, which meant he only had one friend with him this afternoon. Hopefully it wasn’t Mark or Jeff. Both of them were douchebags. The others were usually friendly or indifferent toward her.

Gaze narrowed, she caught his eyes as soon as he came into view. “I’m in the middle of something.”

“Don’t care. Do it upstairs in your room,” Jackson demanded.

A second later, his friend stepped into her line of sight, and Lyla’s breath hitched. This wasn’t Mark or Jeff or any other friend she’d ever met. This guy was new. He was also hot.

Lyla set her pencil down on the table and quickly closed her sketchbook. She didn’t like anyone seeing her drawings. Ever. She returned her gaze to the newcomer. It was hard to look away.

He was tall. Six foot. Broad. His brown hair was in need of a cut. He hadn’t shaved for a few days. Or perhaps he simply hadn’t shaved today. The guy had on a worn black leather jacket with some kind of patch, and when he took it off seconds later and draped it over his arm, her breath hitched again.

His arms were huge, much bigger than any other boy she knew at school. And he had a tattoo.

Lyla’s mouth went completely dry. She had no idea why she was so attracted to this guy. Her parents would shit if she ever dated someone like him, and that thought alone almost made her giggle.

At sixteen, she’d only been permitted to date for the past month, and so far, it hadn’t happened anyway. It was kind of a moot issue. Lyla wasn’t exactly a member of the “in” crowd. She had stringy brown hair, glasses, and braces. Boys weren’t lined up, waiting for her to turn sixteen, so she could go on dates.

Jackson snatched an apple from the basket across from her, the fruit basket she’d been sketching for art class. He took a bite, the crunch sounding loud in the silence.

She jerked her attention back to him. “Hey, I was using that.”

He shrugged. “You know Mom and Dad are never going to let you go to art school. I don’t know why you bother sitting around drawing shit.” He took another bite.

She flinched. She was well aware her parents thought she should become a teacher or a nurse. That didn’t mean sheintended to ignore her passion. She could always sketch as a hobby.

Jackson nodded toward the stairs. “Rock and I have homework to do. Beat it.”

Her eyes widened as she shifted her attention back to the tattooed hunk.Rock. Even his name was sexy. “Homework…” she deadpanned.

Rock smirked. “Calculus.”

“So, you’re here to help my brother.” She gathered her own books and her sketch pad. She’d already finished all her homework earlier, and she knew her brother well enough to surmise he’d asked this new guy over to help him. Math wasn’t his strongest subject.

Rock’s brows went up as he stared at her. Finally, he shrugged. “We’re just going to study together.”

Interesting. The guy didn’t want to throw her brother under the bus.

Jackson finished his apple and tossed the core into the trashcan. “You can leave now.”

Lyla shot him another glare. “Don’t get your panties in a wad. I’m going. And I won’t tell anyone you have a math tutor either.” After stepping around the table, she hugged her books to her chest and headed for the stairs.

Maybe she walked a bit closer to Rock than absolutely necessary. Maybe she inhaled deeply as she approached him. Maybe she would never forget his scent as it filled her nose. He was no boy. He was a man. He was undoubtedly a senior like her brother and probably eighteen, but he gave off a vibe of someone older. Wiser. More solid.

“Shit. Forgot drinks and snacks. I’ll be right back,” Jackson declared before he bounded back up the stairs.

“Sorry,” Rock murmured.

She paused next to him. “For what?”

“Didn’t mean to kick you out. You were here first.”

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