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  Wrong

  Copyright © 2014 K. Webster

  Cover Design: K. Webster

  Stock Photo: Crestock.com

  Editor: Mickey Reed

  Formatting: Stacey Blake, Self Publishing Editing Service

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information and retrieval system without express written permission from the Author/Publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  To my angels—I may have done a lot of things the “wrong” way, but with you two, I’d say I did it perfectly right. Mommy loves you.

  Senior Year

  “Psst…” a male voice whispered to me, dragging my attention from the calculus teacher. My eyes met none other than Cole Stine. He was absolutely gorgeous, and I spent a lot of days daydreaming about him.

  Why is he talking to me again? This was the fourth time he’d talked to me this week—actually acknowledged that I existed. This was Cole Stine, of course I was counting!

  “What?” I asked, leaning towards him. I could smell his cologne, and my heart raced. Guys like Cole didn’t usually talk to me. Ever. This week was a first.

  “What grade do you have in here?” he whispered back to me.

  “A ninety-eight.”

  “That’s what I thought. I’ll pay you to tutor me. My football scholarship rides on me passing this class.”

  I nodded because I didn’t know what else to do. Each time he’d talked to me, it was to tell me a joke or to ask if I liked a certain band. Those four brief conversations had been replayed over and over again in my mind—every word and smile he offered had been seared pleasurably into my memory. When he grinned at me, bringing me back from my daydreaming, I melted. Freaking-hot Cole wanted me to tutor him which would be one on one alone time. Um, yes please. I smiled, which I didn’t do much of in that awful school, and returned my attention back to the teacher.

  Once class ended, he came over and sat on the edge of my desk as I was putting away my books in my bag. I smelled him again and had to force my hands not to shake. He made me nervous but in a good way.

  “Write down your address and phone number. I’ll come over this afternoon if that’s okay and bring the Halestorm album I was telling you about to listen to while we study. You can borrow it and let me know what you think.” He winked at me which made breathing really hard. It was difficult not to hyperventilate in his presence. Could this mean that we could be friends?

  I nodded again, at a loss for words, and scrambled for a piece of paper. He handed me a pen and held his arm to me. Oh my God. He wanted me to write on him. I was seriously freaking out right now.

  Tentatively, I put my fingers around his wrist and drew him closer to me. I wanted to drag on this moment, but if I wrote any slower, he’d know I was being a total creeper. When I finished and looked up at him, he was grinning at me again. My face blushed from embarrassment. Laughing, he hopped off my desk and waved goodbye. Cole freaking-hot Stine was coming to my house today.

  The knock on the front door made me jump, and I raced to open it. The idea of having the hottest guy at school in my house was making me crazy with excitement. School had been hard for me socially. I was shy and didn’t make friends very easily. Most of the girls ignored me and the guys definitely didn’t notice me. I couldn’t wait to start college in the fall and begin a fresh new life. Maybe I’d actually make a friend or two.

  I opened the door and my breath caught. Cole was so gorgeous. His black hair was spiked in all different directions. The muscles in his shoulders and arms made him look way too big to be in high school. He’d definitely kill it in college football. Icy blue eyes caught me in their gaze.

  “Can I come in?” he asked, smiling.

  Motioning him in, I led him to the living room, where I had my books spread across the coffee table. “Would you like a drink?” I offered as he sat on the sofa.

  He shook his head, so I sat beside him. Trying to get past the awkwardness of having the hot Cole Stine in my living room, I jumped right into the tutoring. He seemed to be listening at first but then proceeded to just stare at me.

  “I’ve noticed you for a long time. You’re very pretty, you know,” he admitted.

  My heart pounded at his words. Me? Pretty?

  “I, uh, thanks,” I stammered, unsure how to respond properly. Warmth flooded my neck and cheeks. I hoped he wouldn’t realize how embarrassed I was at the moment.

  My mom poked her head in, thankfully distracting me from his intense gaze and my social ineptitude. “Honey, I need to run to the store. Are you sure you’ll be okay just the two of you?”

  She knew how few friends I had and how socially awkward I could be. I nodded at her and she waved, leaving us alone in the house. Nervously, I popped a piece of peppermint gum into my mouth to distract me from my proximity to Cole. Trying to focus on our lesson, I pointed back to the calculus book to show him something that needed noting. His hand darted out and captured mine.

  My eyes jerked to his, because there was no way Cole Stine could ever like a girl like me. He was smiling at me, and his look was full of heat. I squirmed a little because I’d never kissed anyone before, and he was looking at my lips like he wanted to devour them. When I started to say something, he took his other hand and lifted my chin up.

  “I want to kiss you,” he uttered softly, reluctantly dragging his eyes from my lips.

  “Okay,” I breathed out.

  His grin was almost my undoing. Dipping forward, he grazed his lips across mine, causing me to shiver. I could not believe this was happening.

  I parted my lips, and he gently pressed his to mine. My heart was beating wildly in my chest. When his tongue slipped into my mouth, I moaned softly because this was perfect. My first kiss was flawless. His hands threaded through my hair as he deepened the kiss. He laughed once he realized that he’d stolen my gum. I was tingling all over because this was quite possibly the best moment in my life.

  As if a flip had switched, our kisses became hungry and needy. His hands were all over
my body, and I let them since it felt good. When his large hand slipped up my shirt, I gasped. I didn’t really want to go there, but I didn’t want to stop him either. He gently laid me backwards, still kissing me furiously. His hand eased up to my breast and I moaned again when he touched it.

  He growled into my mouth as he lay over me to get closer. I could feel his hardness through his jeans pressing against my own sensitive area and it made me jump. His kisses became more hurried as he pushed himself hard against me. The hand that was on my breast started to roughly grab me now. I suddenly pulled my mind out of the passionate moment and wrenched my mouth from his.

  “Cole, we need to stop.”

  He ignored me and kissed me again, more insistent, as he pressed into me between my legs.

  Pushing against his chest, I firmly told him, “Cole! I said stop. Get off of me.”

  When he slightly lifted away from me, he was glaring. “Are you being a fucking tease? I’ll have blue balls if I don’t come. At least jerk me off,” he spat. His sudden change of demeanor chilled me to the bone.

  “No! This is wrong. Get off of me, Cole. I’m done. You need to leave,” I begged as tears fill my eyes. I felt trapped underneath his heavy body that was making no moves to get up.

  Without another word, he fumbled for the top of my yoga pants and started to wrench them down my body. I screamed and thrashed against him, but he was too strong. His hand covered my mouth, and I whimpered from underneath him.

  I started really squirming and wiggling when he reached down to undo his jeans. Managing to get them down far enough to pull out his penis, he tried to hold me still so he could force it in but since my pants weren’t all the way off, he was having difficulty. I sobbed loudly as I prepared myself for what was about to happen.

  When we heard the footsteps across the hardwood floor in the living room, he froze, which thankfully stopped him from taking what wasn’t his—my virginity. I was crying and still squirming, trying to get away, when he was ripped forcefully from me. Daddy was towering above me with his hand gripped tightly around Cole’s throat. Thank God he didn’t have to stay late at the office today and was right on time coming home from work.

  “Daddy!” I screamed as I frantically pulled my pants up and scrambled off of the couch, doing my best to put distance between me and Cole.

  Cole’s face was turning bright red as he tried to free his neck from Daddy’s hand. Daddy finally let go and shoved him away.

  “Get the hell out of my house, you little worm! Don’t you ever so much as look at my daughter again or I will choke the life out of you!” I’d never seen Daddy so furious in my life.

  Cole bolted towards the front door, yanking his pants up along the way. I was wailing still, and Daddy ran over to me, wrapping his protective arms around me. “My princess. Everything’s going to be okay. Daddy’s here now.” He held my trembling body until my sobbing subsided.

  Apparently the cops couldn’t do anything. It was our word against his. There was no physical evidence because he hadn’t made it that far. So Daddy sent Cole’s family a very strongly worded legal letter that threatened his future if he ever messed with me again. After several days of missing school, I finally had to face going back.

  When I walked into the school, all eyes were on me.

  What the hell is everyone staring at?

  Their whispers made me feel sick to my stomach.

  Did Cole tell everyone what happened?

  “She accused him of trying to rape her. Cole Stine would never even so much as look as her, much less sleep with her,” a voice whispered beside me as I walked past. I flinched at his words.

  “Peppermint Pussy. That’s her new name. He said when she threw herself at him, she smelled like peppermint. I can smell her from here.”

  Tears filled my eyes as I walked to my locker. These people were unreal. He had forced himself on me, but because I was a nobody, he was the victim.

  Day after day for nearly a week, I suffered humiliation from those idiots. At first, I was devastated and nearly feigned illness so I wouldn’t have to come back. Each day, Cole would sit in his seat beside me. His smug attitude suffocated me in the classroom but I chose to ignore his presence.

  Today, when the people in the halls began their chanting, “Peppermint Pussy,” my blood began to boil. Cole was a monster and these people were supporting him. Ignoring them all like I had done every day, I stomped into my calculus class and dropped into my seat, refusing to look at any of them.

  When his familiar cologne invaded my senses, I felt like puking. He leaned towards me, and I shuddered at his proximity. This was his first attempt at making contact with me since the incident. The hairs on my neck stood up when he spoke.

  “It’s a good thing I didn’t get to fuck you. My dick would have frozen and fallen off. I hear your Peppermint Pussy is wicked,” he spat at me.

  Having finally had enough, I furiously jerked my head towards him. I was my Daddy’s girl, which meant that I would no longer allow him to intimidate me. He was glaring at me menacingly, and I tried not to flinch. Memories of the other day flooded my mind but I forced them away. Instead, I held my chin up and faced him.

  Glaring at him with hate filled eyes, I spoke evenly when I said, “You say one more thing about me and I’ll have my dad nail your ass to the wall. He’s an attorney, and the only reason he hasn’t pursued ruining your life is because I begged him not to. I just wanted to forget that it ever happened. But your dumb ass won’t let me forget, which means I’m going to have him make sure that your life is over. You’ll never play football in college when I’m done with you.”

  His eyes narrowed as he took in what I’d had to say. I could see that his brain was working out whether or not I had been telling the truth.

  When I leaned forward a little more, trying not to choke on his scent, I whispered, “He will ruin you.”

  “Bitch,” he muttered under his breath but turned and opened his book. I took that as his surrender and I opened my own book. My heart pounded furiously to what I considered my victory. The corners of my lips curled up in a smile—the first one since before he set out to terrorize me. If feeling awesome for what I’d just done made me a bitch, then I definitely loved being one.

  I sipped my wine as I listened to Andi groan about her first day at work. We were sitting comfortably in a booth at the back of Dempsey’s bar. Andi always got herself in the weirdest predicaments. Her weekend beau, who was the biggest asshole ever, was now one of her bosses. And to top it all off, he’d treated her like dirt today, as if the weekend had meant nothing. I hoped that was the end of her stupid little game she liked to play. She was still a fragile girl, and I hated that she had to sleep around to act human.

  The alternative was unacceptable though. Those weeks leading to her accidental overdose had been pure hell for the both of us. If the pills hadn’t almost killed her, malnutrition would have. She was a shell of herself, and I’d died a little every day from having to see her that way.

  Andi was my best friend. From the moment she bounded into the dorm room four and a half years ago, blond hair bouncing in her ponytail, I had been instantly drawn to her. She’d looked like the typical snotty bitch like I was used to dealing with from my high school—until she smiled. When Andi smiled, she lit up the room.

  I’d tried to avoid her at first, unsure of how to be a normal social being, especially after what had happened with Cole. Quite honestly, I’d wanted to put up walls and not talk to anyone. But with Andi, it had been impossible because she had been like a cute little puppy that wouldn’t go away.

  That first day, she stuck out her hand to me. “I’m Andi, short for Miranda. I’m from Indiana.” She beamed at me, and my heart craved the possibility of a friendship with someone who didn’t know my past. I could be anyone I wanted to be now that I was in college. There was no room in my life anymore for the shy, scared girl I used to be.

  Shaking her hand, I just said, “Pepper.” What could
I say? If we were going for alter egos here…

  “Pepper? Like salt and pepper?” she asked quizzically.

  “The one and only,” I grumbled, trying not to smile at her but failing miserably.

  Once she decided that I wasn’t messing with her, she threw her arms around me and hugged my neck. My heart thudded to life at the prospect of having a real friend. Andi seemed like a genuine person.

  I snapped back to present time when she grabbed my hand. “Shit, Pepper. They’re here. Jordan and Jackson are here. We should go.”

  Of course I swiveled my head to where she was looking so I could give Jackson the evil eye. Bastard. I was a little distracted when my eyes skirted over to his brother, Jordan. He looked quite different than his bastard brother. His hair was brown, but not as dark as Jackson’s. It was styled a little messier than his brother’s was. When his green eyes met mine, my stomach did a flip-flop. What the hell? Jordan grinned at us with a goofy smile and sauntered over to us.

  “Andi! Surprise seeing you here. Let me buy you and your lovely friend here a drink.” His eyes fell to mine when he said ‘lovely,’ and I felt exposed under his gaze. Andi looked horrified, so I figured this was our cue to leave.

  “We were about to leave,” I told him icily as I began scooting from the booth.

  “Nonsense!” he boomed and sat down beside me, bumping me back into the booth with his hip. He started barking out orders to the bartender. Jackson finally made it over to the table and sat far from Andi. She looked like she wanted to puke.

  Jordan’s thigh touching my own sent a spark of electricity through me and I shuddered, not used to being affected like this. He turned to me and grinned again. I thought they called those “panty-melting grins.” Mine were definitely on fire right now.

  His eyes studied my face, probably taking in my glasses, lack of makeup, and messy bun. I didn’t care though. This was who I was. He turned and said something to Andi about Jackson but I ignored him, taking a moment to compose myself. He made me feel weak, like my former self from high school, and it made me sick. No man would make me feel weak again. I was Pepper the Bitch. Something about him affected me though, and I hated the feeling.