PROTECTIVE BEAST

  OLIVIA T. TURNER

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Epilogue

  Epilogue

  Don’t be shy. Come Follow Me…

  Audiobooks

  Become Obsessed with OTT

  Come and join my private Facebook Group!

  For my protective Steven.

  You broke that guy’s jaw,

  but then you broke my heart.

  Asshole.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Ali

  * * *

  Just ignore it.

  The most common, the most frustrating, and the most fucking useless advice there ever was for dealing with bullies.

  That’s what my mom told me to do. “Just ignore it, Ali.”

  Oh thanks, Mom. Really goddamn helpful advice you got there.

  Like it’s so easy to ignore the entire football team when they’re chanting Ali, Ali, Ali, Ali in the same tone as a stadium of drunk soccer hooligans chanting olé, olé, olé, olé whenever I walk down the freaking hall.

  And it’s soooo easy to ignore the WHORE spray-painted across my locker in big black letters. Or the printed out pictures of my head photoshopped onto naked porn stars’ bodies waiting for me on every one of my desks in every one of my classes.

  It’s so easy.

  According to my mom, I just have to look the other way.

  What she doesn’t know is that every place I look, there are people laughing and whispering about me.

  I’d have to put noise-canceling headphones and a blindfold on to ignore all of that, but even then, I’d still feel the wet slap of the spitballs hitting my skin whenever the teacher turns around.

  I can’t wait until I graduate. Three more months of this shit and then I never have to see any of these fucking people again.

  But three months is a long time to live through hell, so I’m on my way to try and make it a little bit better.

  This all started with an attempted backflip. I was at gymnastics practice when I miscalculated a backflip and landed on my face. I hit the mat, but it still freaking hurt. A lot. The pathetic mat was so old that I could see the interior disintegrating through all of the many rips and tears. It was held together with duct tape and even the duct tape was so old that it was starting to turn to dust too.

  I stared at the mat in disgust as blood dripped from my nose onto it, knowing that my mother probably used this mat when she was my age, and my grandmother before her.

  That’s the condition of our equipment.

  Meanwhile, the football team has the best of the best. New pads every year, new weight training equipment, and yes, brand new mats that have zero duct tape on them.

  I wrote an article for the school paper about it, merely suggesting that some of the school’s athletic funds should be more evenly distributed between the many teams.

  A blasphemous act in my small Texas town.

  It’s not just the gymnastics team that suffers. The poor archery club has fishing line on their bows, the judo team practices in bathrobes, and the track team has to run around the Walmart parking lot because the football team hogs their track.

  I thought the suggestion was reasonable enough. I was wrong.

  It was a disaster.

  And when the local newspaper picked up the story and printed my article, I became public enemy number one here at Jacksland High School.

  The football team turned on me. I went from being invisible to being the number one target.

  It’s like they all made a pact to make my life as miserable as they could.

  And they’re succeeding.

  This is hell. I hate it here. I just want to leave.

  The principal was no help. He’s a former player and told me that punishing the football players so close to the playoffs would be a disservice to the community.

  I reminded him that the school has a zero-tolerance stance on bullying. He reminded me that he doesn’t give a shit.

  People are all gung-ho on anti-bullying, but when it’s time to put in the work, there are crickets. No one really cares.

  I sigh as I step off the city bus and start walking down my cousin’s street.

  It’s been a couple of years since I’ve seen Collin. My mother and my aunt had a falling out, so we don’t have family dinners together anymore.

  I always liked Collin. He was at Jacksland High a few years before I was and he was the king of the school. Star quarterback, good-looking, all-round nice guy. The kind of super nice all-American quarterback archetype that you see in movies and shake your head, saying ‘that guy doesn’t exist.’ That was Collin. He did exist in our town. He was nice to all of the students, not just the popular kids like the jerks who are on the team now. It was rumored that even the teachers had crushes on him.

  He’s still a legend around the halls, even today. He brought the school to the three championship games in the school’s history and he won them all.

  Everyone was sure he was going to make it to the NFL. Him and his best friend Elijah, who played outside linebacker. They were both destined for the draft.

  Elijah Stoll. There’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. I get shivers just from remembering the way Elijah used to plow into guys and send them flying onto their backs. His nickname was Beast and every game, he let the opposing team know why.

  College scouts were always in the stands at their games and their amazing future was set. Until the car crash. Everything changed after that.

  Is this the street? Applebrook?

  I’m hoping that Collin can pick me up from school once a week to help me out. I don’t need a ride. I just need to be seen with him.

  Just being seen with Collin Sullivan will chill the football players out a bit. I think they’ll leave me alone and move on to the next victim.

  I pull out my phone and look at the address just to make sure it’s the right house. I haven’t been here yet. I don’t even know what he’s been up to the past few years. Shit, he could be married with kids for all I know.

  I start to get really nervous as I see the house up ahead. What if he doesn’t remember me? What if he kicks me off his property?

  Stop. This is Collin we’re talking about. He was always such a sweetheart.

  He’s going to give me a big hug, pull me into his house, and sneak me some Orange Crush just like he used to do when we were kids.

  His house looks pretty normal and it’s on a nice street. The neighborhood kids are playing hockey on the pavement up ahead, the lawns are all well-manicured, and there are colorful flowers planted in all of the gardens. It’s the kind of street I’d like to live on someday.

  I take a deep breath and walk up his driveway, wondering if this is a bad idea.

  Bad idea or not, I’m not backing out. It took me forty minutes and three city buses to get here.

  I walk up the steps and suck in a sharp breath before knocking on the door.

  My stomach is churning when I hear big heavy footsteps inside approaching.

  The door swings open and… holy shit.

  It’s not my cousin Collin.

  Not at all.

  It’s Elijah Stoll.

  He’s huge.

  He’s shirtless.

  He’s gorgeous.

  Those light brown eyes are staring down at me and I’m frozen to the spot as I stare back.

  His enormous body practically takes up the entire doorframe. He’s even bigger than I remembered. A massive chest, thick muscular arms, legs like freaking tree trunks. But it’s his eyes that really get me. They draw me in and won’t let go.

  My feet are cemented to the porch as I stand here quivering in front of the boy who was my first love, my first crush, my first obsession.

  I used to go to the games to watch my cousin Collin play, but Elijah was always the one I was watching. My eyes never left him as he prowled along the sidelines like a lion while my cousin played on the offense.

  When the defense ran on the field, I could feel my heart beating like a hummingbird just like it’s doing right now. Elijah dominated. He got more sacks in his senior year than any other high school football player in the history of the United States. He really was a beast.

  And now this beast is standing in front of me and I have no idea what to say.

  “Ummm…” I mutter as my wide eyes slide down his incredible body, taking every inch of it in.

  He’s wearing shorts and nothing else.

  Elijah is no longer a boy. He’s a man and this man is jacked.

  I’m not normally attracted to muscles, but Elijah’s well-defined six-pack and big round biceps are getting me all shaky inside.

  I can’t seem to breathe right. I can’t seem to think beyond screaming at myself to say something.

  “Ummm…” I mutter again.

  His eyes narrow on me and I realize that he looks as stunned as I am. He’s staring at me like he’s seeing something he really wants but didn’t know existed, like the time I walked into a donut shop in Maine and saw a triple-dipped chocolate glazed donut.

  “Is… Ummm… Collin here?” I manage to squeak out in a shaky voice.

  He never takes his fixated eyes off of me as he slowly shakes his head.

  “Collin is out of town,” he says in a rumbling voice that’s all deep sexy bass. “Ar

e you his girl?”

  His muscular neck tightens after he says it. The large vein running along it begins pulsing like it can’t contain its anger.

  “No,” I quickly say. “I’m his cousin. Ali.”

  “Oh,” he says with a breath of relief. His body relaxes and he begins to breathe again as he studies me in a new light. “Ali.”

  The sound of my name coming out of his mouth nearly makes my legs give out, but I manage to keep it together. There will be plenty of time to gush over my old crush when I get home and squeal into my pillow.

  “Okay, sorry about that,” I quickly say before darting down the stairs.

  “Wait!” he calls out right before I’m about to sprint down the street like a maniac. I turn with my heart thumping in my chest.

  His mouth opens, but he doesn’t say anything. He’s just staring at me in wonder. In awe. In mesmerization.

  That deep gaze… It’s hypnotic. It’s alluring. It’s so sexy.

  “You’re Ali,” he says like a distant long forgotten memory is suddenly bubbling back to the surface. “Pigtails, right? Pink jacket?”

  My jaw nearly hits the floor. “You remember that?!?”

  “Of course,” he says with a sly smile. “You were so adorable. Still are.”

  Now I’m blushing in front of my old crush. I drop my eyes to the pavement, but it’s hard to keep my eyes off him. It’s not long before I’m gazing back into those light brown eyes once again, all of those old feelings coming rushing back.

  “You must be… how old?” he asks, waiting for my answer with interest.

  “Eighteen,” I quickly answer. “I’m legal.”

  Legal? What did you say that for? Legal for what?!?

  He breathes a little easier as he watches me with a gaze that gets my blood boiling.

  “Do you need to speak with Collin?”

  “It’s okay,” I say, feeling all giddy and lightheaded. “I just… needed him for… something.”

  He steps onto the porch and I can feel my eyes widening when I see his huge muscular body lit up in the sun. He looks like he can benchpress this house. He can certainly take on the entire football team, that I’m sure of.

  “Is it something I can help you with?”

  There’s a look in his eyes… almost like he’s in pain right now. It’s like I’m causing it, but I don’t know what I’m doing.

  “Let me help you, Ali,” he says with a sexy desperation in his tone. “Let me take care of you. I can fulfill your every need. I want to.”

  “It’s nothing big,” I hear myself saying, almost as if I’ve floated out of my body and am watching as an innocent bystander. “It’s just some guys at…”

  He flies down the stairs in a blur and grips my arms with rage on his face. “What did these boys do to you?”

  His body is tight and flexed, and I can tell his pulse is racing with fury. I’m not scared at all though, even though a furious beast is standing in front of me. I can tell he’d never do a thing to hurt me.

  “Did they… take advantage of you?”

  I quickly shake my head, feeling my cheeks burning a bright red. “No, nothing like that. Just some bullying. Some teasing.”

  He takes several deep breaths, trying to keep himself together as he looks down at me with a protective gaze.

  “Come inside, sweet girl,” he says as he slides that big palm on my lower back and guides me back up the stairs, “and tell me everything. Tell me who these boys are and I’ll fix everything. I’ll take care of you.”

  That’s all I want—for him to take care of me.

  So, I go into the house.

  And let him.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Elijah

  * * *

  I can’t believe that Collin’s adorable little cousin is all grown up.

  And I can’t believe I’m already obsessed with her.

  He’s going to fucking kill me.

  That’s okay. I’d die happy after seeing this beautiful angel’s face and hearing her sweet melodic voice. She’s perfect. Perfect for me. Perfect in every way.

  “Do you live here with Collin?” she asks as I guide her into the kitchen.

  Her cousin is the last thing I want to talk about, but I don’t want to scare her off. I want to talk about the boys that are harassing her. I want their names. I want their addresses. I want to break bones and snap necks. I can’t wait to get my fucking hands on those punks and let them know why they call me a beast.

  “Collin travels a lot for work,” I say as I watch her sit down at the table. “So, he stays with me when he’s in town. This is my house.”

  “Oh,” she says as she looks around at it with new eyes. Fuck, I wish I had cleaned better. I keep the house pretty spotless, but there are some dishes on the counter and I want everything to look perfect for her. It’s not every day that the girl of your dreams walks into your house and if I knew it was today, it would have looked impeccable.

  “What does he do?” she asks.

  “He’s a salesman for a turf company that makes fake grass for football stadiums. I think he’s in Indianapolis right now, but I’m not sure.”

  “I’m sure he’s good in sales,” she says with a smile that nearly buckles me. “He was always so good with people.”

  Her blue eyes drift down to the table and my breath gets caught in my throat as I watch her. She’s stunning and I bet she doesn’t know it at all.

  I can’t get over her. I feel like it’s going to be torture when she leaves. How am I going to get through the night without her in my bed? How am I going to last a minute without her?

  My hands keep squeezing in and out of fists as I gaze at her, my obsession growing with every passing second.

  Her silky brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail that’s starting to unravel. Her eyes are insane—blue like the sky in June with an alert intelligence that lets me know she’s smarter than the girls her age. Shit, she’s probably smarter than the girls my age.

  I want to do things to her. Dirty things. Things that are making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Things that are making my cock long and hard.

  I step behind the counter, partly because I don’t trust myself around her, and partly because I’m getting a hard on and I don’t want to scare her away. I know I’m intimidating. I know I’m a beast. I have to be gentle with her, like a wolf trying to befriend a bunny.

  “So, these guys,” I say, bringing it back to my burning curiosity. “What did they do exactly?”

  She sucks in a sharp breath as she traces a circle on the table with her fingertip. “Just… you know… bullying stuff.”

  I lean over the counter and her little blue eyes dart to mine. “You can trust me, Ali. I want to help you. But to do that, I need to know the truth. I need to know who these guys are and what they did.”

  She opens up and tells me everything. Every shit thing that these fucking dead punks did to her. I’m livid. I’m a volcano about to erupt. I’m a raging dragon hovering over a city about to turn it to ash. I grip the counter and squeeze it so hard that the granite is about to crack.

  “Please don’t do anything,” she says. “I don’t want any trouble. I just…”

  “What?”

  “Maybe you could pick me up from school? The football players still respect the great Elijah ‘The Beast’ Stoll and maybe if they see me with you, they’ll lay off a bit.”

  “I’m picking you up every single day,” I tell her. “And dropping you off in the morning.”

  Hell, I’d escort her through the hallways and have her sit on my lap during class if I could. I don’t want to spend a second away from her. I want to be around her at all times.

  “Really?” she says with an innocence that shakes me to my core. “That would be so helpful. Thank you. I can pay you. I don’t have much, but—“

  “I don’t want your money, Ali. Being around you is payment enough.”

  I grab a pen and a pad of paper and walk over to the table. She smells so fucking good. I don’t know what the scent is, but it’s so sweet and sugary. It’s getting me hard all over again.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7