“You need a ride?” he asks Nicole and for some strange reason, my heart warms because he’s considerate enough to think of her and make the offer.
“No, I drove.” She shakes her head and flashes me a knowing smile, one that says you lucky bitch. “Nice meeting you, Shep. See you around, Jade.”
She walks over to her car, I can see one of the security guards that watch the parking lot nearby and I know she’s safe. We always walk in pairs or groups out here at night because you never know. Too many campus rape horror stories across the country and we don’t want to risk it.
“Are you two close?” he asks once Nicole is out of earshot.
I shake my head, and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “She’s more like a class friend. Not like we hang out, but we always talk before class, walk out together. Most of the time she gives me a ride.”
“You don’t have a car?”
“No, I can’t afford one. When school’s out I’ll go back home and get a job for the summer. I’m trying to save up for a cheap used car.” My mom can’t afford to just buy me a car. She drives an ’01 Jetta that’s a European heap of crap she’s constantly taking to the shop. What I make at Light My Fire pays for the extras but I couldn't manage a car payment on my part time wages. I have no idea what it’s like to be outlandishly wealthy like the Prescotts.
Worry knots my stomach and I try to push it away. Just thinking about the wealth, the legacy Shep comes from makes me nervous. What is he doing with me? Half the time I wonder if he’s just trying to torment me.
The other half wonders if he really could be in to me.
Nah.
“You won’t stick around here for the summer?” he asks, knocking me from my thoughts.
“There’s no point. The dorms close and I can’t afford rent anywhere, not even if I had a bunch of roommates.” A breeze washes over me and I shiver, wishing I brought a sweater. I forgot my cardigan last night at the casino or whatever they call it. I should ask for Shep to look for it. I hate losing clothes, more so because I don’t want to have to replace them.
“That’s too bad,” he says, his voice soft, his expression pensive. He pushes away from his car and approaches, stopping directly in front of me. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah.” I tilt my head back so I can look into his eyes. He’s so tall. And broad. He looks cute with the backward baseball hat on. I wonder if he used to play sports. If he works out constantly or maybe his body is naturally that amazing. “Where are we going?”
He smiles and the sight of it sends a zing of electricity through my veins. “It’s a surprise.”
“Your house?” I ask incredulously as he pulls into the driveway and waits for the garage to open. “If you think you can get me into your bed that easy, you’re sadly mistaken.” My voice comes out shaky and I clear my throat. What if that’s his real intent? Would I refuse him? I should.
I should, I should, I should.
He gives me a look. “Do you think I have a one track mind or what?”
“Well, you are a guy.” And all they think about is sex.
But here’s the problem. The more time I spend with Shep, the more I think about sex. With Shep. Only him. No one else.
What’s he like in bed? Fast and intense? Slow and methodical? Does he joke as much naked as he does clothed? Just imagining him stripping off my clothes, his mouth blazing a path along my skin, makes me uneasy. In a great but nerve wracking way. What if I don’t measure up? I don’t have any secret sexual tricks. When it comes to sex, most of the time I feel like an utter failure.
Yep, off I go. My performance anxiety is at it again.
“Right,” he practically snorts as he pulls into the garage and shuts off the engine. He turns to look at me, his hands loosely gripping the steering wheel. “And only guys think about sex.”
“Most of the time,” I agree quietly.
“And girls never think about sex.” He starts to chuckle and it’s this deep, rich sound that makes me warm inside. “I should be offended by your generalizations.”
I’m a hypocrite is what I am. I was the one who threw myself at him last night. Who agreed to see him again. Who can’t help but think about him. Naked.
“And you do realize you can have sex in places other than a bed, right? I mean, why limit yourself? You can do it against a wall. On the floor. In the back seat of my car.” He flicks his gaze to the back seat while he says that.
And instantly fuels my imagination, especially with the way he said my car.
As if he’s thinking of the two of us together. In the backseat. Right now…
“Don’t you think a bed is more…comfortable?” I can’t believe we’re having this conversation and that I’m actually encouraging it.
He stares at me quietly, his gaze dropping to my mouth, lingering there. My heart starts thumping extra hard and I lick my suddenly dry lips.
I swear he just groaned.
“Sometimes, it’s not about the comfort,” he finally says, his voice scratchy. Husky. Sexy. “Sometimes…you’re so overcome, you can’t wait to get your hands on her.”
I look at his hands, see the way they flex and shift as they still cling to the steering wheel. His palms are wide, his fingers long. They’ve touched me before and I wish they were touching me right freaking now. “Overcome?” No guy has ever acted like he’s had to have me, no matter what the cost. I wonder what that’s like.
More than anything, I wonder what that’s like with Shep.
“Well, yeah.” His fingers curl around the steering wheel tightly and he turns his head, his smoldering gaze meeting mine. “Don’t tell me you’ve never felt like that.”
I’m feeling like that right about now. Not that I can say so. “Not really,” I confess, my voice barely a whisper.
He’s quiet for so long I want to squirm in my seat I’m that uncomfortable. I look away from him, staring at my hands as I clutch them in my lap. I should’ve never said that. He must think I’m hopeless. He’ll probably start the car and drive me back to my dorm hall, drop me off and hit me with a casual, “Nice knowing you,” before he speeds off.
I know I would if I were him. I don’t measure up in more ways than I can count.
He makes a strangled sound in the back of his throat and I lift my head, my gaze going to his hands as they drop from the steering wheel and he starts to move.
Toward me.
I lean back, my shoulders bumping against the passenger door, my breath catching in my throat. I look at his face, taking in his determined expression, the spark in his gaze. He looks…intense.
Serious.
“Prescott! What the fuck man? Are you jacking off in your car or what?”
“Who’s that?” I practically scream, fear sending my heart into my throat. Shep falls back into his seat, muttering curse words under his breath as he reaches for the door handle and opens it, climbing out of the car.
“Fuck off, Tristan. Jesus.” Shep slams the door, leaving me alone in the car.
Taking a deep, shaky breath, I smooth my hand over my hair, then rest it on my chest, my heart throbbing against my palm. I think Tristan is his cousin. Kelli gave me a run down of the people Shep’s known to hang out with and I already met Gabe.