Taming Alec(26)

My eyes traveled to Joel as he snored lightly beside me. The sun was directly on his back, showing off the skull and crossbones tattoo that covered most of the area. His normally guarded expression was gone while he slept. Joel looked like the typical badass, but he was so much more. His body was covered in tattoos—and when I say covered, I mean, covered. There was barely an inch of him that didn’t have ink with the exception of his face. His hair was a dark brown color, and he kept it just a bit shaggy. His eyes were a startling green color that made people stop and look twice. His cheekbones and overall face structure would make any male model jealous.

I smiled dreamily as I thought about our night together. At twenty-two, he was five years older than me, but our age gap never seemed to bother him. We’d been together for almost a year now, and I couldn’t be happier. I’d met him at my cousin’s graduation party two years ago, and I’d instantly developed a crush on him. He hadn’t paid any attention to me, but when I’d started hanging out with some of his younger friends who were in high school with me, I’d finally gotten him to notice me.

I’d been drunk at a party one night and braver than usual. Girls much older than me had surrounded him, but I had shoved through them when I saw him and walked straight up to him. He’d raised an eyebrow when I stopped in front of him, but I’d simply hopped on his lap and kissed him until I couldn’t breathe. After I had finished, I’d stood up and walked away.

We’d been together ever since that night.

My parents weren’t happy that I was dating someone who was so much older and more experienced. The fact that he was covered in tattoos from head to toe hadn't helped my case any either, but I’d sworn to them over and over that Joel and I weren’t having sex. Obviously, that was a lie, considering where I’d woken up just now, but they didn’t need to know that.

Joel was trouble. I’d known that before I got with him, but I’d still taken a chance, and I was glad that I had. Everyone knew he was the son of the town drunk, and it showed. Joel had one hell of a mean streak. Even when he had been in high school, everyone had been terrified of him. He had been kicked out for fighting more times than I could count. On top of that, everyone knew he was the go-to guy if someone needed a fix. He’d later explained to me that he’d started selling drugs to help pay the bills that his dad never worried about. Joel was good at dealing though, and he’d stuck with it even when he could have left this town and started fresh.

He had already been living on his own by the time we met, and I was glad. I wasn’t sure how I would have handled seeing the man who had abused Joel for years. I wanted to cause Joel’s father as much pain as he had done to Joel. I knew it had been years since Joel had talked to his father, but it still bothered me.

“Joel, wake up. I need to leave,” I said as I nudged his shoulder.

He groaned in his sleep and rolled over, but he refused to open his eyes. I sighed as I hit his shoulder harder. His eyes finally opened when I started smacking him on the stomach. He shielded his eyes as he rolled over to look at me.

“What?” he grumbled.

“I need to go home, like, right now. We slept in.” I stood up and started looking for my clothes.

“You’re already in trouble. Why hurry home to be yelled at?” he asked as he sat up.

He didn’t bother to cover himself, and I couldn’t bring myself to look away from his naked body. I loved the trail of dark hair leading down his stomach…to other places. His nose was a bit crooked from being broken more than once, but it didn’t take away from his appearance. If anything, it made him look sexier and dangerous. His eyes were his best feature by far though. They held a vulnerability in them that made me want to crawl into his arms and try to make everything better.

He was in great shape. I guessed he had to be when he dealt with strangers who were high and desperate for their next fix on a daily basis. The muscles in his arms were well-defined, and his chest was as hard as a rock. I loved curling up in his arms. I always felt like he could protect me from anything.

“I don’t want to make it worse,” I said as I located my clothes.

They were next to the door, making it obvious as to how they had come off. We’d barely made it to his room before he started stripping me.

“Your parents suck. Why do they care so much about you fighting? At least they know their kid can defend herself. Personally, I’d be proud,” he said as he stretched.

“They’re sick of me getting kicked out of school. They said something about college and doing something with my life.”

“I fought, and look at me. I’m living the high life.” He grinned at me.

I rolled my eyes even though I knew he had a point. He used drugs occasionally, but he sold more than anything, and he’d made quite a lot of money doing it.

“I’m sure they’d be so proud of me if I decided dealing drugs was going to be my career choice in life. I might even get the Daughter of the Year award.”

I still couldn’t find my underwear, so I decided to skip them. He grinned as he watched me pull on my shorts.

“Looking for these?” he asked as he held up my underwear.

I walked over to the bed and held out my hand. “Come on, I need to hurry. Give them to me.”

“Make me,” he taunted.

I grumbled as I went to grab them, but he held them just out of my reach.