Denying the Bad Boy(5)

He stood there like a douche-bag as she climbed in her car and drove away. He could only imagine what she thought about him, because he was probably thinking the exact same thing: what a fucking weird idiot.

When he was back in the house with the door shut behind him he saw Racer still leaning against the banister.

“What?” Alex all but growled, annoyed with himself and now Racer and his smug-ass smirk.

Racer shook his head and pushed away from the stairs.

“Nothing. I just want to say that if you think you’re going to get an easy piece of ass from Mary, you should just give up right now.”

“Fuck you, Racer.” Alex shook his head, knowing his roommate was right, but not wanting to hear it regardless.

“I ain’t trying to be a cockblock, but Mary is a good girl, and she really doesn’t need the likes of you or me.”

Although he considered Racer a good friend, Alex didn’t miss the subtle warning in his words. He cared about the girl, that was clear, and he also knew the reputation Alex had. He couldn’t get pissed at him for being interested in her.

“I can admit when a girl is too good for me, and she is too good for me.” With that said Alex walked past Racer and headed down the hall to his room where he proceeded to pass out.





Chapter Two



Alex was right. There were a lot of drunks out, but Mary didn’t really expect anything less. This was OSU territory, and it was a Saturday and only midnight. She had to really stay alert or there would be no question that she’d end up hitting an intoxicated pedestrian. Who would have thought she would have literally bumped into Alex Sheppard? They ran in totally different circles, were polar opposites in every way, yet she had stood so close to him they breathed the same air, and she could feel his body heat seeping right into her.

Oh, she had known who he was as soon as she looked into his hazel eyes, saw that they were more green than brown, and forced herself to not act like a hormonal teenager. Okay, so she may only be twenty-one, but being that close to him, smelling that spicy, expensive cologne he wore, and thinking about all the times she saw him but he had clearly not seen her, made her realize she needed to control herself. He was gorgeous and had a hard, muscular body that made her feel wholly feminine, but he was so not her type. For one thing he slept with far too many girls, probably didn’t know half their names, and she considered him a bad boy in the worst kind of way. Just thinking about the time she had seen him coming in from football practice in nothing but a pair of loose fitting shorts had her body heating all over again. He had been sweaty and slightly red from running or tackling perhaps, but his body was hard and defined, corded and tensed, and the tattoo that started on his left bicep and covered his entire back in swirling dark patterns had instantly made her wet.

Then some busty blonde had bounced up to him, her boobs barely restrained in her workout clothes, giggling and muttering things far too quiet for Mary to hear, and that had been the end of that. Alex had wrapped his arm around her waist, and the two of them had disappeared in the locker room. Of course he hadn’t even noticed Mary standing there watching him like a freak, and that was okay because she didn’t need a guy like Alex Sheppard in her life. He was too dangerous and experienced for her, and besides, there was no doubt he would break her heart, whether it was intentional or not. Mary could see herself falling for him easily.

Tutoring on the side had given Mary an opportunity to earn her own money and meet a plethora of interesting individuals. Despite her family being wealthy, Mary wanted to do things by herself, to support herself. She took out student loans to pay for her schooling, and bought her own food and other supplies she needed to survive. When she wasn’t tutoring she worked a few hours on the weekends at a coffee shop right off campus property. She was exhausted the majority of the time, but it was a hell of a lot better than depending on her parents to fund her way.

Her family came from old money, or so her mother liked to call it, and because of that there had always been a stuffy, aristocratic vibe to them and the way they had lived. But then again Mary was adopted, had been with the Trellis family since she was two years old, but had never felt like she really fit in. Her parents, Stephen and Marsha Trellis, had showed her affection when the situation called for it, but Mary never felt the love a daughter felt when around her parents. Her mother and father had always treated her like she was part of their family, but there was no denying Mary was nothing like them. She had felt that way ever since she could remember. Then there was her older sister, Margo, who was the most self-centered person Mary had ever come across.