I hated to c.o.c.k block him, but I wasn't going with them. "Sorry. I got plans. Ask Preston instead." Who we all knew was always up for a good time.

Marcus frowned. "Her friend hates Preston."

No one hated Preston unless he'd f.u.c.ked them and left them. Oh. That was it.

"I see. Then Dewayne," I replied.

Marcus sighed. "Yeah, but she wants you."

I wanted Trisha. We all f.u.c.king wanted something. Didn't always get what we wanted. "Can't," I replied, and opened my notebook.

Marcus got the message and dropped it.

I let him work out his plans with the girl, and I went back to trying to figure out what to do about Trisha.

Present day . . .

Trisha stood in the bedroom undressing. It was something I had seen a million times before, but it never got old. I could watch this with complete fascination over and over again. With each year I somehow managed to love this woman more.

Seeing her mother our kids only made that love stronger.

When she wiggled her hips to make her shorts fall to the ground, leaving her in nothing but the black satin panties covering her sweet a.s.s, I gave up my restraint.

I pressed my chest against her back and slid my hands around to rest on her flat stomach. "You're so d.a.m.n gorgeous," I whispered in her ear before nibbling on her earlobe.

She shivered in my arms and melted back against me. "Mmmm" was her only response.

I cupped both her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in my hands and let their heaviness rest in my palms before tugging on her aroused nipples. Her breathing grew heavy as she pressed her chest into my hands, her way of silently begging for more.

Until Trisha, I had been a leg man. But after seeing her naked the first time, I became a t.i.ts, a.s.s, and leg man. She was so d.a.m.n perfect I couldn't decide what I loved more on her body.

"Bend over and put your hands on the bed," I said, placing a hand on her back and pushing her forward. Over time Trisha had come to love it when I was demanding with s.e.x. It made her hotter when I told her what to do. In the beginning it hadn't been like this. I'd been as delicate with her as possible and treated her like the treasure she was.

Trisha bent over and put both her palms on the bed, then spread her legs as she arched her back. She knew she looked like a f.u.c.king wet dream, and she worked it. "G.o.d, I love your a.s.s," I said, running my hand over it lovingly before jerking her panties down and having her step out of them.

"Wet for me yet?" I asked her, knowing the answer already. I slipped a hand up between her legs and teased her inner thighs as she panted and whimpered. Then I slipped my fingers between the tender pink flesh.

"f.u.c.k yeah," I growled as her arousal coated my hand.

"Rock, don't play with me. I need you to f.u.c.k me. Now. We can play later," Trisha said on a pleading moan.

When my woman wanted to be f.u.c.ked, I f.u.c.ked. With one hand still pleasing her, I used my other to unsnap my jeans and shove them down, along with my boxers. "You just want it tonight? Is that it?" I teased her.

"Yes," she panted. "Yes, please."

"Can I lick my sweet p.u.s.s.y first?" I asked her, bending over her to lay a kiss on the small of her back.

"Ah, Rock, please." She was begging now, and wiggling her a.s.s in my face.

I'd have to kiss her p.u.s.s.y later. Right now I needed inside her. With one hard thrust I filled her up, and she pressed her face in the mattress to smother her cry. We were on the other side of the house from the kids, but we still tried to be careful when they were home. While they were at school, I often came home to f.u.c.k my woman until she screamed so loud the neighbors could hear her.

Trisha Eight years ago . . .

Carrying my own book bag would keep me from healing and possibly make my fracture worse. However, after three days of Rock walking beside me and carrying it to each cla.s.s while girls flirted with him and he didn't stop them, I was ready to get myself a wagon to pull. Anything to put some distance between me and Rock and his adoring crowd.

He didn't say much to me except to ask politely if I was okay or if I needed anything. With everyone else he joked and laughed. He winked at a few girls and chuckled at their attempts to hang on him. It was just too much.

I was like his little sister who needed help but he wished he didn't have the obligation. Rock was a good guy. I knew that much. He had signed on to help me, and even though this was obviously holding him back, he didn't complain. The only answer to this was to get someone else to carry my book bag. I was more than positive he'd gladly hand over the responsibility.

"Rock," a redhead I didn't know said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Rock paused and glanced at the girl, then grinned.

"Hey, Ginger. What's up?"

Hey, Ginger. What's up? I repeated in my head, and then mentally vomited. I had to get away from this.

"Tonight there's a party at my place. You're coming, right? I have a special new bikini I bought just for you."

My mental vomit was about to become actual vomit. This was ridiculous. In desperation I began to scan the crowded halls for someone to rescue me from this. Anyone.

"I heard about the party. Not sure I'll be able to make it, though," he replied. He wasn't amused by her or even disgusted. He sounded almost disappointed he was going to miss the special bikini. Ugh.

I saw Riley and Davey talking, and Davey's eyes met mine. They were talking about me. I hadn't told them much at lunch each day, although they had asked about Rock after he had deposited me and my tray at their table before going to his table. I just did my best to change the subject each time.

Right now, however, I was ready to ask my friends to rescue me. "Help," I mouthed at Davey, and he was instantly moving through the crowd toward me.

Rock and Ginger were still chatting about the party, and the things she could do to him, while I kept my focus on Davey. When he finally approached, I wanted to sag in relief.

"Hey," he said, looking up at Rock, then back at me.

"Hey, you're headed my way to the next cla.s.s. Would you mind carrying my bag?" I asked him in a lower voice so as to not draw attention to myself. Rock was listening to Ginger talk right now.

"No," Rock replied before Davey could say anything. He slipped his arm around my hips, careful not to touch my waist, and rested a hand on my hip. "Don't need your help. I got this," he told Davey.

Well, c.r.a.p. I was trying to get him free of me. He was not helping at all.

"You can stay and talk to, uh . . . Ginger," I replied, motioning to her, "about her bathing suit choices. And I'll go with Davey. There's some stuff I'm having problems with in trig that he can help me with."

"No," Rock repeated in a more firm tone. "You can ask him later. I'll get you to cla.s.s. Let's go."

And then he started to walk, gently guiding me along with him. What the heck? I looked back at Davey and shrugged. I'd talk to Davey today at lunch when Rock dropped me off. Because apparently, Rock wasn't going to allow that at the moment.

His hand stayed firmly on my hip as he moved us up through the hallway. It never ceased to amaze me how the crowd just split for him as he moved through it. I hated to admit that I felt secure at his side, tucked in safely.

"You were trying to get rid of me," he finally said as we got closer to my next cla.s.s.

"You looked like you'd rather be alone and have more time to discuss her special bikini. I was trying to help you out," I snapped, without meaning to. Cringing, I mentally slapped myself for being an idiot.

"Don't care about her bikini," he replied in a hard tone.

Instead of nodding and letting this go, I moved away from him and turned to glare up at his too-handsome-to-be-fair face. "I am not your responsibility. I hate feeling like I'm this burden on you that you can't get rid of. I have other friends who can help me. I don't like putting a kink in your social life."

Rock stared at me as if he didn't understand a word I was saying, and then he frowned. "What?"

What? Was that seriously his response? I hadn't spoken another language. He had to have understood the words that just came out of my mouth.

"I didn't stutter," I told him.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "No, you didn't," he agreed, then took a step toward me and lowered his head close to my ear. "But you look hot as h.e.l.l when you're jealous."

It was my turn to be confused. "What?" I asked, backing up.

He reached out and grabbed my hip and pulled me closer to him while glaring at someone behind me. "Careful," he snarled to someone. "You almost ran into her."

"She was the one walking into me," a male voice argued.

Rock's eyes flared and he tucked me close to his side. "Then move the f.u.c.k out of her way next time."

The guy was Felix Hardgrove. He had a 4.0 GPA and was about the size of my brother two years ago. He backed up and scurried away.

"It was my fault. You didn't have to scare him," I said, tilting my head back to look up at Rock.

He was clenching his jaw as he stared straight ahead. "I never wanted to go to her party. I don't want to go to any f.u.c.king party you aren't at. Accept the fact that all I see is you, Trisha Corbin. Then decide what you want to do about it." Rock walked past me into the room and put my bag beside the desk where I sat every day.

I stood there and watched as he got out my books and a pen, then placed them on my desk. He always did that, too. He didn't want me bending over. When he finally turned to leave, his gaze locked with mine. It wasn't a teasing grin or a flirty wink. It was intense, and somehow it was as if he was pleading with me.

Rock I had taken a chance. I knew girls pretty well, and from her sudden sa.s.s I was almost positive Trisha was jealous of Ginger. It was the only reason I let Ginger keep going on and on about her bikini. Anything to get Trisha's attention. I'd almost missed the fact that her s.p.u.n.ky a.s.s had signaled her friend over to get away from me. h.e.l.l no was that happening. No one else was carrying Trisha's books. That was all me. I was taking care of her.

Getting through the next cla.s.s wasn't easy. I couldn't focus on anything the teacher was saying. I was planning out how I was going to fix this with Trisha. My being her friend was over. I wasn't taking her to that d.a.m.n lunch table she sits at with her friends and leaving her today. She was going to sit with me. She was mine and she needed to admit that s.h.i.t now.

Before she drove me crazy.

I was at the door to her cla.s.sroom when the bell rang, and I made my way inside to pack her books back into her bag.

She sighed when I took the first book from her hands. "I can do this, Rock. I'm not completely helpless."

I didn't respond. I tossed the backpack over my shoulder, then held out my other hand to Trisha. "It's lunchtime."

She looked at my outstretched hand and then back at me before finally slipping her hand into mine.

I helped her up and tugged her close to my side. "Wasn't so hard, was it?" I said with a smirk, then led us out of the room.

I nodded at Preston, who called out my name. Dewayne c.o.c.ked an eyebrow at me and then grinned when he saw my hand grasping Trisha's. I didn't take us near him. He would only say something stupid and make Trisha feel uncomfortable.

Stopping at Trisha's locker, I put the bag inside. Then, instead of taking her hand again, I placed my hand on her lower back and moved her toward the cafeteria.

"You don't have to carry my tray," she said.

"But I am."

"Why? I know you're tired of this. You don't have to take care of me."

I tried not to get frustrated, but d.a.m.n, was she that clueless?

"Davey and Riley will help me carry my books. You've been doing it all week and having me as a burden-"

That was it. I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the empty art room we were pa.s.sing and slammed the door.

"What?" she asked, looking between me and the door.

I had tried words with her. I had tried actions. I had tried everything to get her to realize that I wanted her. That I wanted to be near her. That I wanted her to be mine.

She was making me lose my mind.

I stalked toward her, and she backed up against the wall as she watched me, wide eyed and confused.

Dammit, she was too s.e.xy to be f.u.c.king cute, too. That was s.h.i.t guys couldn't shake off. Girls like her weren't supposed to exist. They made men weak. She had me so f.u.c.king tangled in knots it was painful.

I placed my palms on the brick wall on either side of her head and stopped only an inch from our bodies touching. "What do I have to do to get you to get this? What, Trisha? f.u.c.k, you're all I can think about," I said softly as my gaze dropped from her eyes to those plump lips I played with in my fantasies.

The tip of her pink tongue wet her bottom lip and I was lost.

My mouth covered hers, and the small gasp that broke from her lips was the only chance I needed to slide my tongue onto the sweet heat of hers. I had kissed a lot of girls. But never had I felt like my world was being completely rocked.

Trisha's hands slipped over my shoulders and she held on to me. And that was f.u.c.king perfect. She wasn't pushing me away. She was holding on to the ride and, d.a.m.n, it was one h.e.l.l of a ride.

The softness of her lips moved under mine, and then she began to join in on the kiss. It took all my willpower to keep from pressing her against the wall. I had to be careful with her ribs. But I wanted my hands on her. I wanted to get lost in how wonderful she felt.

When she leaned into me and whimpered, I broke the kiss and moved back instantly. "Are you okay?" I asked, looking down at her ribs.

She didn't respond, and panic that I'd hurt her started to grip me. I found her eyes and saw the same arousal in them that I had been feeling until that whimper had scared me.

I started to lower my mouth again, needing to taste her more.

"No, wait," she breathed, pressing both her hands on my chest this time.

"Did I hurt you?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No, it's just . . . I . . . We shouldn't . . . Why did you do that?"

I closed my eyes and forced myself to be patient with her. Trisha had her issues, and trust was one of them.

"Because I'm crazy about you. Because your lips are the prettiest d.a.m.n lips I've ever seen. Because you think you're a burden to me when I just want to keep you close to me all the time. Because you are making me lose my mind. Because I don't want to be your friend, Trisha. I want to be yours."

Her mouth fell slightly open as her blue eyes stared up at me in surprise. How did she not already know all this? It wasn't like I have been subtle.

"You're . . . you're crazy about me?" she asked.

I held back a laugh. "Yeah, and everyone seems to see it but you."