Untouched (Bay Falls High, #1)(38)

The door wasn’t locked.

I opened the door. “It’s your house, Claire.”

“It’s your privacy,” she said with a smile. “Just wanted to let you know… someone’s here for you.”

“Oh?” I asked.

“I guess you need a ride to Bay Falls High, right?”

“Yeah. Right.” I figured it was Gi but then I realized Gi had no clue what happened to me last night. “Wait. Who’s out there?”

“Barrington,” Claire said.

She turned and walked away.

My jaw dropped.

Oh… well… it’s just fucking Barrington…





I sat in Barr’s luxury SUV as he drove with his left hand, leaving his right hand to slowly creep toward me. It was an intriguing game, watching him move his hand back and forth. I knew it wasn’t out of fear or hesitation but rather to mess with me.

Everything was to mess with me.

Even if I still didn’t know why.

As we approached BFH the sprawling, old building grew out of the horizon. Suddenly Barr turned right.

“Detour?” I asked.

“Proposal,” he replied.

He pulled to the side of the road and reached for my hand.

I ripped my hand away before I let my mind get involved too much.

“That’s fine,” he whispered. “Pull away as much as you want. And here I was going to tell you something about me.”

“Like what?”

“Something I recently found out,” Barr said. “You’ll find it interesting. But it comes at a price.”

“Meaning?”

“A kiss.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

I swallowed hard. “A kiss? You want to kiss me?”

“Oh, love, if I wanted to kiss you I would,” Barr said. “I’d slide my hand behind your soft neck again and pull you so close your lips wouldn’t know what to expect. And know what lips I’m talking about…”

I rolled my eyes. “Fancy talk. You want me to kiss you. You want me to fall to my knees before you and beg for you.”

“I said nothing about getting on your knees, love,” Barr said. “But if that’s something you want…”

“So that’s what this ride is? There’s always a reason.”

“Which we told you last night,” Barr said.

“You’re jealous,” I said. “Just like…” I grinned. “Pres kissed my cheek. Kip touched my arm. And you… you didn’t do anything.”

“That’s because you’re going to do something,” he said. “You’re going to fight through all those thoughts of what’s right and wrong. You know what you want.”

I leaned toward him. “If I wanted to kiss you, Barr, I would have already.”

I opened the door to the SUV and he reached for my arm. “I hope your mother can make it on her own.”

“Excuse me?” I asked, turning my head and curling my lip.

“One phone call and she’s out of there,” Barr said.

“Fuck you, Barr,” I said.

“No, love, not yet. Soon. First you need to realize something. We’ve set our eyes on you. Not the other way around. And you’re standing in the middle of something you don’t understand. You can’t see it yet but you will. No matter what it takes.”

I looked down at his hand. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

He opened his hand. “My advice to you… Tinsley… look up who owns the building. Look up who owns the land. Look up who owns everything…”

“You’re an asshole,” I said.

“I am. We all are. You have no idea what you’re up against. Or what you could be with.”

“Be with? No.”

“Just a kiss, love,” Barr said. He winked. “I think that’s worth your mother getting nice and clean, right?”

My heart started to pound inside my chest. Not that racing, fluttering feeling. But a rage feeling. He was going to use my junkie mother against me? For a stupid kiss?

I should have just jumped across the seat and kissed him.

But why? Why do what he said to do?

I wasn’t a toy. I wasn’t a puppet.

I reached for his hand though.

My hands cupped his right hand.

“Here,” I whispered. I pressed my lips to the back of his hand. “There’s your kiss. Now you can go fuck yourself, Barr.”

I dropped his hand and backed away.

I slammed the door shut and started to walk.

Even if I showed up late to BFH it was better than being under Barr’s control.

Barr turned around and slowly passed me by, puckering his lips and laughing.

Asshole.

Hot asshole.

Sexy asshole.

He was really going to mess with my mother for a stupid kiss?

Barr sped off and I stood there, wondering what the hell I had just done.

I guess it all depended on whether Barr was telling the truth or not.

Just how powerful he and the others really were.

I already knew the answer to that though.





I opened my locker and found three red lollipops waiting for me.