Bad Intentions: A Dark Hockey Bully Romance (Hellions of Hade Harbor Book 1)

I managed to convince my parents that I had to stay over at Eve’s to work on an art project. My dad really wasn’t into the idea but eventually relented. While he didn’t like that part of the town, he trusted Asher and Eve’s mom. I’d head over there as soon as I finished my shift at the local vet clinic where I worked. It was the best experience I could get in the small town of Hade Harbor, in a field that was somewhat related to epidemiology. It wasn’t ideal, but I enjoyed it, and I loved the animals.

“Lilypad, there you are,” a voice called to me halfway through my shift.

I glanced up. Tyler, the other high schooler who worked at the clinic, leaned in the doorway to the back office.

“Hey, Tyler. How’s it going?”

He grinned. The guy had a million-dollar smile. I could say that objectively, even though he wasn’t my type. He had the energy of some of the golden retrievers we saw in the clinic. I liked something else in a guy. A touch of darkness. The words ran through my mind in Cayden’s voice and sent me into a panic. When had he gotten so far inside my head that I heard him even when he wasn’t around?

“I can’t complain, though Coach is putting us through the wringer to get ready for next month’s game, all thanks to your new player – Cayden West, is it?”

I slammed the filing cabinet closed. I couldn’t escape the fucker, not even here at work.

“Yep, that’s his name.”

Tyler didn’t seem to pick up on my tight tone. “So, have you met him?”

I laughed, but it sounded off even to me. “I’ve met him. He’s staying with us.”

Tyler’s eyes got comically large. “You’re kidding! In that case, you can tell me all his weaknesses, or put laxatives in his cereal on game day…I’ll make it worth your while.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it; Tyler had that effect on people. I couldn’t imagine him playing hockey. He seemed too nice. He didn’t seem to have an aggressive bone in his body, unlike some people.

“Good plan. I’ll tell you what – I’ll do it for free, that’s how much I appreciate him living down the hall from me.”

Tyler whistled. “Ouch, someone’s ruffled your feathers. Now I’ve got to meet this guy.”

“You’ll regret it, believe me.”

We headed toward the rooms where we kept the recuperating animals. It was our job to fill the water, clean the cages, and take basic observations. The smell inside the little room was pretty strong as we went in. Earthy and animalistic, it suddenly reminded me of my panties. But Cayden’s cum on my panties hadn’t smelled bad like this. Not at all.

I blew out a breath. I couldn’t wait to get to Eve’s and wash the damn things and try to forget how today had gotten so out of control. Forget washing, I’d throw them out completely in a trash can somewhere.

“Earth to Lily, come in Lily.” Tyler cupped his mouth and spoke in a loudspeaker tone.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked if you want heads or tails?” Tyler grinned.

Heads or tails was our way of deciding the jobs. Tails got you cage-cleaning duty, and heads meant you had to refill the water and food bowls.

“Um, you choose, I don’t care.”

“Excellent!”

I hardly slept at Eve’s house. I’d gotten a message at about midnight from an unknown number. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who it was.

Running late tonight, Freckles?

It was a horrible reminder that Cayden could poke around my room as much as he wanted when I wasn’t there. Hell, he’d gone and done it even when I was there.

I hadn’t answered. Fuck, now he had my number. I wished I’d hidden my journal this morning, but I hadn’t had a chance, seeing how Cayden had strong-armed me out of the house. And now I’d left him at home with it all afternoon. It doesn’t matter anyway, I reminded myself. He’s already seen what he wants and taken pictures. It doesn’t matter if he has the entire thing now. It’s too late.

I dragged myself into the school, one of Eve’s hats on my head, and kept to myself as much as possible. Maybe I could come up with a disguise that would make me invisible again? Eve and I ate lunch out at the football field to avoid the cafeteria. Ideally, I would avoid Cayden as much as possible.

The plan was working until my free study period near the end of the day. My last class was art with Ms. Sophie. She was my favorite teacher, and art was my one indulgent subject that I took just for fun. In my free period before class, I worked on my watercolor painting of a leaf. I was sitting at a table outside the back of the school, when a huge hand ripped the paper away from me. I tugged my headphones out of my ears as I stood.

“Hey!” My protest died on my lips when I saw who it was.

Outside in the bright daylight, Cayden looked even better than usual, which was really saying something. He wore the black Hellions training T-shirt. It stretched tightly across his biceps.

“Is this what’s kept you too busy to eat lunch today? You shouldn’t skip meals, Lily, you’re going to need your strength to survive me.”

“Is that a threat?” I glanced around us, feeling scared but also oddly relieved that we were the only people in sight.

“Of course. Didn’t it sound like one?” Cayden folded my painting and tucked it into his pocket.

“That’s my homework, and it’s due next period,” I ground out.

He walked backward away from me, his eyes fixed on mine. “In that case, you better come and get it if you want to keep that GPA up.”

He turned on his heel, his long legs carrying him quickly down a small slope toward the gate at the bottom, and out. Behind the school sat thick woods. Students weren’t supposed to go out there during school hours. Cayden West clearly didn’t care at all about that. I cursed, checking my watch. I didn’t have enough time to put something else together for my homework assignment. I had to get that one back. I started after him, nerves clawing my insides. Breaking school rules to avoid damaging my GPA seemed counterproductive, but a failed assignment was too terrifying to imagine.

I followed him, catching up with him when we were halfway down the slope.

“Please, just give me my assignment.” I made my voice as reasonable as I could.

“I said I would,” he said, not slowing down even a fraction.

We were almost at the woods. He strode up the small trail that would take us into the dark-green shadows waiting just ahead. I stopped in the sunshine just outside the trailhead. Should I really follow him in there? We’d be alone. No one would be able to see us. He turned back and caught me hesitating.

“You don’t really have a choice, do you, Freckles? Get your ass in here.” He tossed the last words carelessly over his shoulder before disappearing into the shadows.

You don’t have a choice. It was easier to follow him if I let myself believe that.

I followed him up the trail and into the woods.

His broad back disappeared as soon as my eyes adjusted to the dim light falling through the thick canopy.

“Cayden, wait! This isn’t funny!” I ran after him. I had no choice. Class was going to start soon, and being late for my favorite teacher was almost as bad as not having an assignment to turn in.

My sneakers moved over the needle-littered forest floor. I reached him and pulled on his arm.

He stopped immediately and spun us both, somehow redirecting my momentum to bring me hard against his chest. My breath puffed out, and the scent of him filled my head.

“Where were you last night, Lillian?”

Lillian. I was starting to recognize his different levels of crazy. When he used my full name, he was annoyed, and serious.

“What’s it to you? You’re not my dad, and I haven’t told anyone anything about you, so what’s your problem?”

“Where. Were. You?”

“At Eve’s house, where else? I know you’re new here, but you might have noticed that I’m not exactly Miss Popular.” My eyes flashed my irritation at him, but he seemed immune to it. “Anyway, didn’t Asher already mention it? He was there.”

I didn’t know why I felt compelled to point that out, but it did something to Cayden. His grip tightened, and his eyes glittered.

“Got a little crush on your best friend’s brother, huh?”

I flushed with embarrassment. Of course, I knew Asher was hot, but he was the closest thing to a brother I’d ever had, considering how close I was with Eve. I’d never seen him that way.

“What thoughts are going through your pretty little head right now? Tell me or I’ll make you.” Cayden’s voice was a low growl.

I forced a scoff. “He’s like a brother to me, if you must know.”

“A brother? Like me? Am I like a brother to you?” Cayden raised an eyebrow, some of his tension fading. He still held me flush against him. It shouldn’t be so comforting.

“Hardly. Everyone knows this foster thing is a sham, an excuse to have a ringer get on the Hellions and win nationals. Now, give me my assignment, I have to get to class.”

“And lunch? Where were you hiding then?”

“I wasn’t hiding,” I protested. It was a lie. I was hiding and I wished I still was. “I wouldn’t bother hiding from you. You don’t scare me.”

Cayden, the asshole, laughed. “Oh, Lily, don’t forget I’ve read your journal, I know that’s a lie, and I also know…you like it that way. Don’t forget, I see you.”

He brought his hand to my face and ran the backs of his fingers down my cheek. “I see you in all your twisted, fucked up glory.”

His words stung. I knocked his hand away, staring bloody murder at him. “Give me my painting!”

“Fine, after you give me something.”

“What?” I pushed against his chest, needing some air. Being so close to Cayden made it hard to think.

He let me back away but slowly followed.

My back hit the trunk of a tree. He’d been herding me, and I’d fallen for it like an idiot. Now, he caged me against the bark with both hands.

“I have to admit that reading your journal last night, and knowing my cum was touching your cunt all day yesterday, has been on my mind.”

His shocking words stole away my breath. I could only stare at him, stunned.

“So, as payment for distracting me all day, to get your assignment back – I want a taste.”

“A taste?” I nearly squeaked. It was more innocent than I’d imagined and more shocking.

He nodded, leaning down, brushing his lips against mine.

“A taste,” he repeated, using one hand to cup my jaw and hold me in place as he sealed my lips with his.

His lips were soft and insistent at the same time. His mouth moved over mine, biting and sucking, daring me to respond. It was like nothing I’d ever felt before. It was better than I’d ever imagined anything could feel.

When I gasped against his lips, overcome by the onslaught of feelings, his tongue pushed inside my mouth, sliding along mine, wet, and urgent, melting me into his arms.

My first real kiss.

My first kiss was with Cayden West. No. This guy was dangerous, a bully, a psycho. I couldn’t just stand here and let him take whatever he felt like from me. He was threatening me. He read my journal! My teeth found their way around his lower lip, and I bit down before I could overthink it. The taste of hot metal filled my mouth, and Cayden jerked back.

“Fuck,” he sighed and touched his mouth. His lip was bleeding, the sudden red a shocking sight on his tanned skin. He traced a fallen droplet with his thumb and slid his index finger back and forth over the cut.

I was paralyzed right there, watching him, his blood still lingering on my tongue.

His blue eyes fell to mine and narrowed. “If you think that’s going to stop me – you’re wrong.” His bloody hand lashed out and pressed against my neck, circling it like a tight necklace, while his knee slid between my legs, nestling at the apex of my thighs. It was like I’d mounted his knee, and I couldn’t move off it without his permission.

“Nothing will stop me, you should understand that now…it’ll save you a lot of time later.” With a soft growl he leaned in, tightening his grip around my neck, just hard enough that my head spun a little. “Am I doing it right?” he wondered against my skin, his bloody lips brushing my mouth. “Does it feel like you dreamed?”

Am I doing it right? Of course, my dream. The one he’d read about. I wished I could remember all the filthy things I’d written in there.

I didn’t have a chance, though, because Cayden lowered his head and kissed me again. This time there really was no escape. The tang of his blood filled my mouth, and he seemed not to feel the cut at all as he kissed me way harder than before. He didn’t wait for my lips to part for him this time, he simply forced his way inside, plunging his tongue in and out of the hot cavern of my mouth, making me tremble. It was crude, vulgar even. I hadn’t known until this moment that kissing alone could be X-rated.

He kissed me mercilessly, even when spots burst in front of my eyes. I could only breathe through my mouth; his lips denied me all but the briefest gasps of air. I swayed into him, my body warm and weak. He held me up like the unmovable object he was, unbreakable, while I lost my goddamn mind. His thigh nudged against me, his knee right under my pussy. My skirt was rucked up by his leg, and his movements rubbed against me just right. I was so wet. I felt like I was floating, and only his touch tethered me to the world.

In the distance, more than a world away, a bell rang. I should care more about the bell. It was important. The thought was dim, barely registering.

When Cayden pulled away, he was breathing heavily, his hot breath puffing out against my forehead. I clutched his T-shirt, my mind hazy. He held me just like that for a moment, still gripping my throat so tight that I could barely breathe. He took in my half-closed eyes and reddened lips, puffy from his violent kissing, and his blood. It felt like a stain of ownership. Slowly, he released my neck, and air filled my lungs again. I gulped it down greedily, the stars in front of my eyes staying with me, even as I pushed him away and turned toward the tree, struggling to get my balance.

I sensed Cayden watching me as I tried to come back to Earth. Then the white square of my painting fell at my feet. I glanced up, my hand still pressed to my aching chest, to see him walking away. He left me behind without a second glance.