Damaged Love - Jaxson Kidman Page 0,2
he touched my knees.
My body turned into ice.
But a warm ice.
How is that possible?
It bothered me the way they all made me feel.
Like my hoo-haw overpowered my brain for a minute or so, thinking they were so big and powerful and hot and sexy…
They tried to kill me.
Nothing else mattered.
“Let’s just say there’s a house or two that are mine,” Easton said. “The old man decided for my eighteenth birthday to hand me the keys to two properties. Any value I create is my value to keep. His way of making me learn. Because, you know, I’m not allowed to have my own thoughts on life, right?”
That I didn’t know.
It wasn’t shocking to hear that Easton - or his family - owned property on the beach.
Money and power knew no limits when it came to this area.
“So I have somewhere to live,” he said. “Somewhere to enjoy myself…”
His right hand tried to inch up my left leg.
I swatted at his wrist. “You don’t want to do that.”
“Why not?”
“Time of the month, Easton,” I said.
“Doesn’t bother me,” he said.
“It bothers me,” I said.
He took his hands away and smiled.
“I like this game, Winter. The back and forth with us. You still have no idea if we fucked or not.”
Oh, believe me, Easton, we never did. Maybe in your wet dreams we did, but in real life, nope.
“Noah thinks otherwise,” I said.
“He’s just protective of you.”
“Why?”
Easton shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not going to air someone else’s dirty laundry.”
“So there’s dirty laundry with Noah? And me?”
“You’ll have to ask him,” Easton said. “I’m more worried about you and I, Winter.”
I kicked my right foot out and pushed at Easton. “There is no you and I.”
Easton stood up and stepped back. “That’s what you say now. Come here, Winter. Real quick. I want to show you something.”
Easton put his hand out and I took it.
When I stood up, he pulled me against him and touched my face.
His fingers gently stroked my cheek.
As I stared into his eyes, I could see he wasn’t trustworthy. He wasn’t a good guy. He was worse than a bad guy.
But he wasn’t Talon. He wasn’t a Troc.
I let myself get too close to Talon and look what happened.
As much as I hated to admit it, Easton was…
He put his lips to mine.
I felt myself instantly wanting to melt into him.
My hands started to grab for his shirt.
His tongue ran across my lips and I pulled away.
I stepped back and ran up the steps.
I wiped my lips.
Moving so fast, remembering who Easton was.
“Wow,” Easton said. “Look at you. Wiping that kiss away.”
“Yeah,” I said. “This can’t happen. Fuck. I need to get some sleep.”
“I just wanted to come check on you, Winter. Make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m perfectly fine,” I said. “Just taking some time to myself.”
“You sure you can handle another night alone?” Easton asked. “It can be our secret. We don’t have to tell anyone. How good are you at lying?”
I swallowed hard.
“Goodnight, Easton,” I said.
He lit up another cigarette and continued his walk.
I hurried back inside and up to my room.
I dove into the bed and saw my phone on the nightstand.
The screen was lit up.
I looked and read the text.
I closed my eyes and groaned.
It was a text from Talon.
See you soon, darling.
The next morning I went downstairs for coffee because I felt hungover.
I hated that feeling after a bad night of sleep.
At least with a hangover you were able to think about the night before and smile at all the crazy stuff that had happened.
My mother was in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in one hand, her phone in the other hand.
“Medical school is still considered college, right?” she asked me.
“What? Why?”
“I met this guy…”
She looked at me and shrugged her shoulders.
“I need coffee,” I said. “Because I know where this is going.”
I poured myself a cup and started to drink like it was ice cold water on a hot day.
“It’s not the college thing as much as the age thing,” my mother said. “It’s a tough balance, Winter. There’s a certain age where you get it and it’s done. Any younger and they’re like a puppy, following you, always looking for a treat. Any older and they’re talking about interest rates for a fucking mortgage. At that point, just go down on me so you can do something productive with your mouth.”
“Oh, please stop,” I said. “I’m going to throw up.”
“Excuse me?”
I looked at her. “You heard me. I don’t want to hear about