Page 23 of The Heavier The Chains…
I’m desperate to matter to someone.
Not in the way Uncle Allen feels relative responsibility for me. Not in the way Alex pities me. Not in the way Aunt Sheri feels sympathetic towards my situation. Not in the way Julie feels sorry for me. And not in the way I wish Kaden was still here to love and protect me.
And even though I wanted to matter to someone, I wasn’t sure Talon was the right person for that. I know that made me wishy-washy, but I just couldn’t get a grasp on his…forceful personality.
“I didn’t get much sleep last night,” I confessed.
“Why not,” he barked as if it was a personal affront to him that I hadn’t slept.
The look I shot him was not friendly. “Oh, maybe, because I have shit on my mind,” I clipped out, my voice full of sarcasm.
His voice was full of sex and sin when he replied, “Do you need me to tuck you into bed at night?”
Suddenly, Cameron’s mechanical lovemaking flashed through my mind. All those memories flipped through my brain like a Rolodex, distorting the memories from sex to fumbling intercourse. It was like he wouldn’t be able to measure up to Talon and I haven’t even been with Talon to even have a comparison.
I had teased Alexandria about Talon probably not taking the time to get out of the backseat, but his simple question, designed to antagonize me, had me wondering.
But I wisely kept that to myself.
“That’s very sweet of you, really,” I retorted. “Is it a service you provide for all girls? Is there a discount card available? You know, like after you’vetuckedthe girl in ten times, she gets a free tuck later?” My eyes lit up with attitude. “Oh, or maybe, there’s a buy one tuck get half off a second tuck. I bet you’d even provide discounts for tucks that included more than two people.”
Talon didn’t appreciate my sarcasm.
He reached over and squeezed the shit out of my thigh, and while I should probably be taking exception to his manhandling, all I could do was thank God I wore jeans today because then his hand would have been on my bare skin, and I’m not sure I could handle that.
“Keep it up, White,” he snapped, his voice a quiet, deep rumble. “I’m not going to take your shit for much longer.”
“How about you save yourself the aggravation and just leave me the hell alone, Talon,” I suggested, ready to beat him over the head with my book.
“Never,”he replied before letting go of my thigh and facing the front of the class again.
∞∞∞
Talon~
I needed Kenzlee under control, and I needed it now.
While I liked that she wasn’t a doormat, despite her proper upbringing, I didn’t know how much longer I could go without kissing her; claiming her. She was driving me crazy, and it didn’t help when I got a text from Edie saying she spent lunch with Kenzlee and Alexandria. Now, with Edie involved, there was no way I was letting this thing go south.
I was following behind her, but there wasn’t a need to rush. I knew she was going to her locker, and I knew she’d wait there until Alex met up with her. Between mine, Edie’s, Lars’, and Hunter’s eyes and ears, I knew she didn’t have a car and rode with Alex.
The more I learned about her, the more curious I became. Kenzlee reeked of money and manners, yet she was going to school at Lakeside and she didn’t have a car of her own. She had a story that I was dying to know about, and I’d get it out of her, sooner or later.
Coming around the corner, my feet picked up their pace in the quick second it took my mind to compute what I was seeing. Jason Fuller was leaning up against the locker next to Kenzlee’s, presumably waiting on her.
Oh, fuck no.
Kenzlee’s back was towards me, but Jason saw me coming. He stood up straighter and pulled his shoulders back as if that would somehow make him as tall as me. And, like the little bitch he was, he gave Kenzlee a tight nod, letting her know someone was behind her. She whirled around, and I’m not sure what my face conveyed, but her eyes widened a bit.
I stepped to her, wrapped my arm around her waist, and yanked her to me. Everyone in the hallway, including Jason, could see my actions for what they were. I just pissed a circle around the girl, and I was ready for anyone who came sniffing around.
Since I was so much taller than Kenzlee, it was easy to mean mug Jason over her head. “Can I help you with something, Jason?” I asked, not giving a fuck how pissed off Miss Manners was going to be.
And because Jason didn’t want to look like a pussy in front of Kenzlee, he replied, “Just talking with Kenzlee.”
Even though we all knew I knew about the encounter during gym yesterday, I said, “I didn’t realize you knew my girl, Fuller.”
“Talon…” Kenzlee growled.
