PROLOGUE
Jackson
I couldn’t believe that I had to deal with this bullshit. It was bad enough that I’d had to watch Lex fall for Drake, but now I had to go talk to Sasha about the crap she’d pulled to fuck with their relationship. I could have just kept my mouth shut and not said anything to Drake about Lex’s job. I could have just enjoyed the fuck out of punching him and then waited to see if they’d stay broken up. But no, I hadn’t been able to stand knowing that she’d been hurting when I could do something to fix it.
I’d grown up with Lex in my life, always thinking of her as my other little sister. She and Aubrey were attached at the hip, and she spent almost as much time at our house as she did her dad’s. Then she hit her teens and filled out. I couldn’t help but notice her new tits, and she started to show up in my spank bank. It freaked me out the first time I thought of her while jacking off in the shower, but I figured it was normal and shrugged it off. She was dating Brad, and there were plenty of girls in high school for me to mess around with.
The night I caught Brad cheating on her changed everything. I held her in my arms as she fell apart, and I realized I wanted her for my own. It was the absolute worst fucking timing to figure out that I didn’t love her like a sister. I just loved her.
She needed time to get over Brad and what he had done. She wasn’t ready for a boyfriend, and I couldn’t just play with her. My mom would kill me if I didn’t treat Lex right. I knew that when we got together that would be it. So I enjoyed the girls in college while I waited. Tried new things and discovered I liked my sex hard and rough. I waited some more so I could get it out of my system before going to her. I put it off so long that Drake swooped in and stole her right out from underneath my nose.
I knew the second I saw them together that I had waited too long. He wanted her, and I couldn’t blame him. She was hot. Lots of guys wanted her. But it was the way she looked at him that got to me. Her eyes lit up any time he was near, and she’d get this look on her face. Like he was the only thing she could see. I tried to tell myself that it was only a fling and that it was a good sign. She was ready for a relationship again. I just had to wait until Drake messed up before I could finally have Lex. But when it came down to it, I just couldn’t do it. She loved him, and he made her happy. More than anything, I wanted her to be happy.
When Drake calmed down and listened to me, the look of horror on his face told me that he loved her, too. My worst fear was confirmed when he refused to budge from her dorm, unwilling to go anywhere until he could find Lex. By the time Aubrey finally answered her phone, I felt sorry for the guy. He was a total wreck from knowing how much he had hurt Lex. If she forgave him, he wasn’t ever going to let her go. So I had to do it.
Now here I was, on my way to find Sasha to make sure she didn’t interfere in their relationship again. Talk about an awkward conversation. I had to talk to a chick I’d banged the fuck out of last year. About not messing with the girl I was in love with and her boyfriend. The situation was so fucked up that I couldn’t have made this shit up if I tried.
CHAPTER 1
Kaylie
The shouting from next door woke me up, and I was not happy to have my much-needed rest interrupted. I’d worked late at the bar last night, covering a shift for one of the other bartenders. After a full day of classes and a tough practice for my upcoming show, the last thing I needed was to only get a few hours of sleep because Sasha had something going down yet again. That girl had more drama in her life than a daytime soap opera.
I waited a couple minutes to see if the subject of her latest tirade would storm out and let me catch a little more rest. No such luck. It seemed like their argument was escalating from what I could hear, so I hopped out of bed and stomped next door to bang on the door.
“What the fuck?!” I heard as the door was thrown open. My jaw dropped at the sight of Jackson Silver in Sasha’s room. I hadn’t thought he’d had it in him to care enough about any woman to get into a shouting match with her with the way he blew through all the girls on campus, except maybe his sister and her best friend. Not that I didn’t totally get why so many girls went crazy over him, with his tousled blond hair, wicked blue eyes, and insanely hot body. But he was the epitome of love ‘em and leave ‘em, never spending more than a few nights with the same one.
“Ummmm…” I stuttered in response.
“You don’t want to get in the middle of this, little girl,” he growled at me.
I glanced at Sasha, who was standing behind him with tears streaking down her cheeks. She was usually so perfectly put together, but she looked a total wreck right now with her hair mussed up and mascara smudged everywhere. She wasn’t my favorite person in the world, but it seemed like she could use a little bit of help right about now.