Ace stares at me, indifference glittering in his eyes.
He means it.
He really doesn’t care.
The things people say about him, what they whisper when he walks past them down the hall, how they point and stare like he’s an exhibit at the zoo.
I envy him.
I tell myself I don’t care, that their opinions of me mean nothing, but it’s a bitter pill to swallow when I used to be them.
Every day, I tell myself Michaela is welcome to my father and his cheating scumbag ways, but I’m the daughter left to watch from the sidelines while they play happy families.
Every second of every minute, I tell myself none of it matters, but I know it’s a lie.
“You’re saying one thing, Princess…” He leans in, running his nose along my jaw. A shiver works through my body. God, why does he affect me so much? Perhaps it’s because you’ve never been touched like this.
“But your body is telling me something different.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” My voice quivers, betraying me. Ace must hear it, because a smirk graces his devastatingly rugged face.
“I bet right now,” he breathes the words over my lips, “if I touch you right here…” His hand skates to the apex of my thighs. Thank god I’m wearing jean shorts, “you’d be wet for me.”
“You can’t say stuff like that to me,” I grit out.
His brow quirks up. “No? Wouldn’t your boyfriend like it? How is good old Bexley, by the way?”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“What a shame.”
“Yeah, and why’s that?”
“Because,” he slides his hand up the side of my neck, letting his thumb brush over my pulse point, “I was really hoping to get under his skin when I mark his girl.”
“What the—“
Ace’s mouth crashes down on mine, hard and demanding. His tongue invades me, licking furiously at my own. I fight against his grip, trying to push him off, but I’m completely at his mercy, trapped between the wall and his overpowering body.
His teeth rake my tongue as he slides his hand around my throat, holding me in place. It shouldn’t feel as good as it does, but the harder he kisses me, the more I drown in the sensations crashing over me. Drown in him.
Before I know it, I’m no longer fighting him, I’m submitting. My hands curl into his t-shirt, twisting and pulling him closer, needing him closer. I’ve been kissed before but nothing like this.
Never like this.
It’s hot and frenzied, and the way Ace consumes me leaves little room for me to think. It’s like he’s turned a switch and all of the emotions, the hatred and bitterness festering inside me, just melt away.
And I want more.
God, I want more.
I start kissing him back, pressing up on my toes to meet him kiss for kiss. He chuckles against my mouth, letting me know he senses the change in me. But I don’t care. This feeling of complete abandon is addictive.
“I thought you’d make me work a little harder to get a taste of this.” Ace’s hands glide down my spine and grab my ass, hiking me up against his body. He’s rock hard at my stomach, sending a bolt of lust shooting through me.
Fuck, what am I doing?
“Stop,” I cry suddenly, slamming my hands into his chest. “Just stop.”
Ace lifts his head, staring at me through hooded eyes. “You think you get to call the shots here?”
His hand returns to my neck, his grip a little tighter—not enough to hurt me, but enough to make my pulse spike.
“You marked me, Princess.” He holds up his finger, a bead of dried blood crusted over my teeth marks. “So I think it’s only fair I get to mark you.”
Ace rips the neckline of my T-shirt down and licks the curve of my breast. A reluctant moan spills from my lips, but god, it feels good. My fingers dive into his hair to yank him away. This needs to stop. It’s wrong.
He’s wrong.
“Ace, st—“ It comes out a garbled moan as he bites down hard, soothing the sting with his tongue.
“Now we’re even,” he says, backing away, dragging his thumb across his bottom lip as if he’s savoring every last taste.
I glance down at the little crescent-shaped teeth marks, freckled with red and purple where the blood has rushed to the surface. “You bit me,” I say with utter disbelief, as if the last few minutes didn’t happen.
“You bit me first, princess.”
“You need to go,” I bark, slipping out from between him and the wall. “Now.”
“That’s how you want to play it?” Amusement glitters in his eyes.
“Ace, just go, please.”
He holds up his hands. “Fine, but this isn’t over.”
I keep a safe distance as he grabs the door handle. “This… me and you,” he waggles a finger between us, “it’s only a matter of time.”
“Arrogant much?”
“Deny it all you want, but you felt that just now. You let me kiss you, let me brand you with my teeth.”
My body trembles with anger because he’s right. He’s fucking right. I did let him kiss me.
I wanted him to kiss me.
Because not only does Ace Jagger terrify me, he also intrigues me, not to mention the fact that he’s even more of an outsider at Sterling Prep than I am.
Like it or not, Ace reaches something inside me.
Which is exactly why I can’t let him pull me into whatever this is.
“Goodbye, Ace,” I say calmly. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
A sly grin lifts the corner of his mouth. “Oh, you and me, Princess… we’re going to have some fun.”
I watch him slip into the hall, a strange feeling washing over me. I want to believe it’s outrage; regret and shame at what just happened between us.
Ace Jagger is a menace, and I hate him.
I do.
But as I run my fingers over the fresh bite mark on my chest, it doesn’t feel like hate at all.
Thankfully, my school issue shirt covers the bite mark. It might be hidden, but it’s branded on my soul.
Ace Jagger bit me.
He really is as crazy as some of the rumors flying around school say. Still, there’s a tiny part of me that flushes every time I think about the way he just took control and commanded my body. It should freak me the hell out—he should freak me the hell out—but I can’t forget how weightless it made me feel.
How free.
I’ve never let anyone touch me the way Ace touched me, not since him.
I shudder, locking the memories away. He doesn’t have power over me anymore. I fight day in, day out, to make sure of it. But it’s exhausting, dragging around the sins of your past with you.
Ace made it all go away.
I’m more messed up than I thought, if Ace’s rough treatment of me actually made me feel… good.
I suppress another shudder. I need to stay out of his way, because something tells me he’d chew me up and spit me out before I even knew what was happening.
Mom is sitting in wait downstairs. “So,” she fights a smile as I enter the kitchen. “How was it?”
“How was what?” I reply, making a beeline for the coffee maker.
“Really?” Her brow lifts.
“Fine. I survived.”
“Remi…” Sadness creeps into her expression. “It’s senior year, baby. Don’t you think it’s time to put all that behind you? Make some new friends, rekindle friendships with old ones… go on a date or two, maybe?”
Coffee poured, I sit down at the table. “Do you have any idea what it’s like for me there?”
“Sweetheart, it’s a good school. One of the best in—“
“State. Yeah, I know that, Mom. But I’m not one of them anymore.” Michaela made sure of that after she stole my life.
At first, I thought getting a new step-sister would be fun. I mean, Mom and Dad’s separation sucked, but I was getting a sister. Until I walked into Surf’s and saw Michaela sitting there with my dad’s arm slung around her shoulder.
That day, I gained a step-sister and lost my best friend.
“She knew, Mom,” I say, swallowing down the betrayal. It still hurts even after five years. “All along she knew and never said a word. Then she acted like our friendship meant nothing.” Pain rages inside me, but I refuse to let it out. My hands tremble as I grip the mug of coffee tighter.
Michaela stole everything from me, and she did it with a saccharine smile and cold heart.
“It’s been five years, Remi. You need to let it go. I don’t want you to look back one day and see how much time you wasted being angry and bitter.” Her smile weakens. “I know things were hard, and I know I wasn’t always the mom you needed, but I’m trying, baby. I am.”
“I know, Mom. I just can’t pretend to be someone I’m not.”
She gets up and comes over to me, placing her hand against my cheek. “I’m not asking you to be someone you’re not, Remi. All I’m asking is that you embrace senior year. Make new friends. Try new things. You’re almost eighteen; it’s time to start living, sweetheart.”
I offer her a small nod. It’s the best I can do. She doesn’t get it. How could she when she doesn’t know the whole story?
“I should probably get a move on, James will be here any minute.” Mom smooths her hair down and grabs her purse off the counter.
James seems to genuinely care about my mom, and I’m pleased for them. I am. But I can’t help but wonder if she feels the same or if she’s out to prove something.
“Oh, and sweetheart,” she says as she reaches the door, “the boys offered to give you a ride this morning, isn’t that sweet of them?”
“Boys?” I choke out.
“Yes, Conner and Cole. I might have let it slip that you walked to school yesterday.”
“Mom,” I grumble, unimpressed at her attempt to railroad me.
“I know they’re a little rough around the edges, Remi, but they’re James’ nephews and I’d really like for us all to try and get along.”
“I enjoy the walk, and it’s such a beautiful—“ Wind howls at the French doors, and Mom shoots me a victorious smile.
“Looks like a storm is blowing in. Gotta run, love you.” She blows me a kiss before spinning on her heel and disappearing into the hall, but I hear her final words loud and clear.
“Tell the boys I said hello.”
“Princess, your chariot awaits.” Conner grins as I close the door behind me. He’s leaning against the rust bucket of a car he and his brother share. Cole hasn’t bothered to get out, but I’m hardly surprised.
I let out a groan, but the sound of rain hitting the asphalt drowns it out. Pulling up my hoodie, I jog over to the car. Conner yanks open the back door and I slide inside.
“Hey,” I greet Cole.
“Hey.”
Okay then.
Conner climbs inside, shaking out his hair and sending water droplets flying everywhere. “We wondered if you’d show.”
“Didn’t have much choice, did I?” I say.
“You don’t drive?”
“I got my license, I just don’t have a car yet.” It’s an expense we don’t need right now, and no way am I going to accept one from my dad.
“Well, she isn’t much,” Conner runs his hands around the cracked leather steering wheel, “but she’s ours, and she’s never let us down yet.” He fires up the engine and the thing splutters to life, a cloud of black smoke rising into the air.
“Good to know.” I stare out of the window, watching the storm lash down over the Bay, as Conner takes the coastal road to school.
Sterling Bay is such a cliché, a quintessential Californian coastal town, with its palm tree-lined streets and beautiful mix of Spanish colonial, Art Deco, and beach houses. But it’s a cutthroat community wrapped up in a pretty bow. Wealth, money, and power are the driving forces behind some of the most influential families in the state.
I try to imagine what Conner and Cole must see. Do they see a rich man’s paradise or something else entirely?
Maybe they don’t care.
Ace sure as hell doesn’t seem to.
Sterling Prep looms up ahead. Back in sixth grade, I’d been so excited to start here. Me and Michaela were going to take on the world together. Then everything changed.
She changed.
And as a result of her betrayal and my father’s treachery, somewhere along the way, I changed too.
“So where’s good to get fucked up in this place?” Conner asks as he pulls into the parking lot. “Ace said something about Shark’s?”
“You mean Surf’s?” Jealousy licks my insides. Did he go there and meet Lylah after all?
“Yeah, that’s the one. What’s the deal?”
“It’s just a diner down by the beach, but they have pool tables and some arcade games. And they have a surf rental shop. A lot of the kids from school hang out down there.”
“But not you?” He cuts the engine and twists around to face me.
“It’s not really my scene,” I say, grabbing the door handle. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll catch you later.”
“Don’t be a stranger, Princess,” he says as I climb out. I hate the nickname, but it sounds nowhere near as dirty on his tongue.
I swing my bag over my shoulder and hurry toward the building. The rain is lifting, thank god, so hopefully I can walk home later without getting soaked.
I’m almost across the parking lot when a car skids into a bay, sending a gigantic spray of water into the air and right. Over. Me.
“Fuck,” I hiss, my uniform sticking to my body like a second skin. Fat droplets of water drip from my hair and down my face.
“Oh my god, Remi,” a familiar voice says. “I totally didn’t see you there.”
I turn slowly to meet Michaela’s wicked smirk. “You didn’t….” I stop myself. “Of course you didn’t.”
“You really should go get dried off. Poor drowned rat is so last season.”
Anger wells inside me, making tears burn the backs of my eyes. I smash my lips together, biting the inside of my cheek to stop myself from screaming… or trying to rip her pretty, vicious head off her shoulders.
Michaela and her friends step around me, their laughter lingering long after they’ve reached the building.
“What the fuck, Princess?” Conner jogs over to me, barely able to contain his amusement.
“Just go away,” I snap.
“Come on, Remi, I think—“
“Just go!” My eyes widen. “Please.”
I hate that he sees me like this, but when I turn around and start toward the building, I realize he isn’t the only one watching.
Everyone is.
