Bad Boy Saint (The Bad Boy Series Book 1) Page 7

He slid in between Celia and me, laying his arm on the bar like he wanted to separate us. In the process, he knocked over my beer, the contents spilling out and splashing all over Celia. She squealed at the cold and jumped up abruptly, foamy beer on her chest and arm.

  “For God’s sake.” I pushed Greg out of the way and handed Celia several cocktail napkins, which she used to wipe off her arms.

  “Sorry about that.” Greg grabbed a cocktail napkin, trying to wipe the beer off her arm and shoulder.

  “It’s okay,” Celia said, her voice soft, pushing Greg’s hands away. “No use crying over spilt beer.” She glanced at me, a grin on her lips.

  I thought once again about how damn hot she was. Not only that, but she was wicked smart. Graduated top in her class, tuition scholarship to study at Harvard with the goal of getting into Harvard Law when she finished her undergrad. She was always a brainiac as a kid when I hung out at their place, with dark horn-rimmed glasses and her body hidden behind oversized clothes, her nose in a book. It was still hard to see her without the glasses and in her bikini.

  “There’s a shower over there.” I pointed to it. “You could go rinse off.”

  “Yeah, great idea,” Greg said, ogling her. Celia ran over to the outside shower and turned it on, hesitantly testing it.

  “Oh, man, this is like a fucking dream,” Greg said, standing and watching Celia. He said nothing for a moment as the two of us watched her like hungry dogs studying a bone we both wanted. Then he turned to me, a huge grin on his face. “I know, I know… Down, boy, right?”

  “Right,” I said, frowning at him. "I'm sure Graham didn’t think you'd hit on his little sister."

  "What he doesn't know won't hurt me," he said.

  "He'll know," I said. "Count on it. You even touch her, she’ll probably plow you one. And I’ll tell Graham myself."

  "Man, you are such a downer. I think she likes me. In fact, she might even let me plow her." He made this totally lecherous face that made me want to knock him flat, but I held back.

  Finally, Celia stood under the stream of water. It must have been cold, because she squealed sweetly, laughing as the spray hit her. She shivered visibly, her arms around herself, squeezing her breasts together, which only made them even more irresistible, her hard little nipples like rosebuds...

  “Damn, I may not survive this night,” Greg said, and as much as I hated to admit it, I felt the same way. "Being her guardian…" Then he turned to me. "As for you, Graham doesn't want you within ten feet of her, so get lost."

  “Get lost yourself.” I gave Greg my most fearsome expression.

  “Seriously, man.” Greg tried to stand up to me. "He told me to keep you away from her."

  "She's all grown up and can make her own decisions. As for Graham, we're going our own ways so what the fuck do I care what he wants?"

  "I'm only saying." He walked backwards, his hands up. "He wants you to leave her alone."

  "All right, all right." I took my beer to a beach chair a few dozen feet away from everyone else and plopped down on it.

  Celia returned to the beach bar and spent some time talking to Greg. I felt jealousy coil inside me when I watched him lean in close to her. Graham was a fool if he thought leaving Celia in his care was the smart move.

  About fifteen minutes later, Celia appeared by my side. She smiled when our eyes met.

  "Can I come and sit with you?"

  "Of course," I said and gestured to the chair beside me.

  She put her drink down and proceeded to squeeze water out of her long dark hair. Man, she was a feast for sore eyes. I had several regular fuckbuddies with whom I had an agreement—sex and no strings—but I had to admit I wanted Celia. This week was the start of her new life away from home and I wished I could have been the one to break her in.

  Celia took the beach chair beside mine, her voluptuous body on full display. And so, while Graham was off surfing, and Greg was scowling at me from the bar, Celia told me all about her week getting ready to start classes, moving into the dorm and getting her books and class schedule set up.

  For my part, I listened with half an ear, planning to watch over Celia to keep Greg and every other hound dog away from her. He was the real threat, not me. If Graham was going to go off surfing, I’d spend my time fending off my former frat brothers hoping to get her drunk and take advantage of her.

  I knew the drill. I’d seen it far too many times. Hell, I did it a few times myself.

  For the rest of the afternoon, we talked in serious voices about our futures.

  "So, it's too bad that you and Graham can't go into business together," she said.

  Well, that confirmed it. A knot formed in my throat, and I had to cough to clear it.

  "Yeah," I said, trying hard not to sound as disappointed as I felt. "It's a shame."

  "Spencer's such a bastard."

  "That he is," I replied and took a long drink of my beer. "Was it him that convinced Graham not to go into business with me?"

  "Didn’t he tell you?" she said, her eyes wide. "I thought that was why you looked so down…"

  "More or less."

  "What will you do?"

  I shrugged. "I have no idea. Depends on if I can find some other partners. That or I'll join the Marines."

  "You don't really want to join up, do you? You have an MBA. It'll be wasted in the military."

  I shook my head. "They need MBAs, too. I thought Graham and I would start Innova, but I guess I was wrong."

  "I'm sorry, Hunter. That must be disappointing. I guess it's your family ties that make it hard." She smiled sadly at me, her expression sympathetic.

  "It wasn't like my father wanted to get mixed up in the mafia," I said finally. "He had no real choice with a brother like my uncle. I still feel this loyalty to my dad. He's tried. Believe me, he's tried all these years but I wanted to start a business on my own. Or join the Marines. I have no idea what to do now."

  Celia reached out and took my hand, squeezing it in sympathy. I was surprised at her show of affection and squeezed back, my heart warming at the thought that she understood. She really understood.

  "Whatever you decide, I hope you're happy," Celia said. "I know Graham will miss you if you leave Boston. Where do Marines train?"

  "Parris Island. If I join, I'll be in the Marines for at least four years. I hope to see some action if I do. Maybe special operations."

  "Oh, no," she said and frowned. "That sounds dangerous. You mean the guys who go in and do rescues and take out targets? Like Delta Force?"

  "First Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta," I said, correcting her. "Something like that, but with the Marines."

  She nodded and listened while I talked about future plans, which I was making up on the fly now that I knew Graham was pulling out on me.

  Celia was a rapt audience, and seemed to understand how torn I felt.

  “I must be boring you silly,” I said with a laugh.

  “Not at all, Hunter.” She gazed into my eyes meaningfully. “I’m fascinated. It would be so fantastic if you could go legit.” She leaned closer. "Spencer strictly forbade Graham from going into business with you because of your uncle." She gave me a sympathetic smile and shrugged. "He told Graham to cut you completely out of his life, but Graham refused. You two have such a long history."

  "Your stepdad hates me," I said.

  "He does," she replied and turned away, sighing. "When Graham said he wanted to start a business with you, Spencer said you could take the boy out of the hood, but you couldn't take the hood out of the boy."

  I frowned, hating the way Spencer thought of me and my family.

  "He's an idiot, of course, and wrong." She reached over and squeezed my hand again.

  Warmth for her spread through me once more. It had hurt when Graham suggested we couldn't start Innova together after all. If I couldn't go into business with Graham, after all the years we’d planned to, I'd be on my own trying to make my father's business legit, and I knew I'd
get sucked into that vortex.

  I squeezed her hand back and smiled. Celia was a hot one, but she was so damn smart and nice.

  We released hands and I sighed, wishing Celia was someone I could keep in my life, but her stepfather would probably prevent that.

  “You really want to be a Marine?” Celia said, sounding doubtful and I could see she didn't like the idea. "You'll get sent somewhere dangerous. You could die."

  “I could die if I stayed and tried to take the business legit.”

  That was the truth. It was hard to break ties with the family. I was proud of what my father had built—at least, the legitimate parts. But I wanted to be completely clean.

  I took a long sip of beer and gazed out over the ocean, thinking of the future, not sure what direction to take in the military. I sighed heavily, and then turned to her. Her beautiful big brown eyes were liquid and so deep.

  In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but think that if she were anyone else, this little emotional moment would make it easier for me to seduce her. I hated myself for being so venal, but I was just as much a hot-blooded American man as any other.

  "I'm proud of you," she said, "no matter what you do." She smiled at me.

  I smiled back, glad that my sunglasses covered up my mist-filled eyes.

  This could have been a great night. I wished Celia was anyone else but Graham’s little sister. If she had been, I would be anticipating getting to know her much more intimately.

  Chapter 8

  Hunter

  All afternoon, each time she was alone for a few moments, guys walked up to her and tried to start conversations. She spent quite a bit of time with Greg, and while she did, I couldn't help but glare at them, trying to look as menacing at him as I could so he wouldn’t get any ideas. When she was alone, I quickly inserted myself back at her side. We spent a lot of time together as a result. Later, when I gallantly tried to leave her, feeling like I'd overstayed my welcome, she grabbed my arm and stopped me.

  “Stay with me,” she whispered. “You’re the only person I know here besides Greg. I’m not good at this mixer thing.”

  Of course, I couldn’t say no. While Greg was busy talking up some pretty young thing, Celia and I ate our dinner together, and even danced together around the bonfire. I ignored all the other young women I could have been seducing, not wanting to leave Celia alone with Greg.

  Finally, just after sunset, we lay on the beach on a blanket to watch the stars, the party continuing a few dozen feet farther up on the beach. She truly did want to watch the stars—the Perseid meteor shower. We lay on the beach, the sound of the waves crashing a few feet away from us drowning out the sound of the party. My mind was focused on the location in the sky where the comet tail was, and where most of the meteors would appear.

  We saw a few, and they were impressive. Still, my mind kept wandering to her lying beside me in the dark. I couldn’t stop imagining turning over and lying on top of her, my hands roving over her curves, squeezing a deliciously ample breast, and sucking on her tiny hard rosebud nipple, then moving down and sucking something else tiny and hard between her thighs…

  Fuck.

  Then, out of the blue, she rolled over on top of me, her hands on either side of my shoulders. When she leaned down to kiss me, I put one hand firmly on her shoulder to stop her. Believe me, it was the hardest thing I had done in a long while.

  “Celia, no.”

  Saying that took just about every ounce of chivalry I had in me, but I did it.

  “Hunter," she said in a breathless voice. "Tell me you don’t want me and I’ll leave right now.”

  “Of course, I want you but I can’t.” I could see her eyes in the darkness and her brow was furrowed.

  “Why can’t you?”

  “You’re Graham’s little sister.” I shook my head. “He promised me that if I even touched you, he'd tell your stepdad and he'd be only too happy to come after me and my family.”

  “Dammit.” She rolled off me, lying on her back, staring up at the sky. “Will I ever get kissed?”

  “You’ve never been kissed?” I stared at her in disbelief. I'd assumed she'd had some sexual experience, given how hot she was. How could she fend off all the guys who must have been dying to get into her panties?

  “Not a real kiss.” She turned to look in my eyes. “I have the Gestapo as a stepfather. You know Spencer." She leaned on her elbow. "He made me sign one of those chastity promises that I’d keep my virginity until I was married. I was at a girl's boarding school for four years. No boys. And Spencer's done everything in his power to keep me from having a boyfriend ever since.”

  I remembered that stupid chastity contract that Spencer forced her to sign when she was just a kid. I'd assumed she'd broken it.

  “You kept your promise?” I was truly shocked she was still a virgin. "No way," I said, shaking my head. "Someone as, excuse my honesty, but someone as hot as you remaining a virgin all this time?"

  Her voice shook. “Of course, I did. I had no opportunity to break it. Spencer kept me under lock and key at Sisters of Mercy Boarding School for Chaste Girls. He practically had one of those iron maidens made for me.”

  I laughed. "An iron maiden was a medieval torture device. You mean a chastity belt."

  “Same diff,” she said, her voice seething. “Even when I was in middle school, he never let me go to parties or dances unchaperoned. I never had the chance to be really kissed or anything.” She turned to me. "I got one kiss on the cheek from a cute guy at New Year's Eve party once, but even then, Graham was there to butt in and keep it chaste."

  "I can't believe it."

  "I was going to hit Greg up, since he seems willing. I thought that, out of all the guys Graham knows, Greg would be the one who would be willing to show me the ropes.”

  "I hope you mean fighting," I said, totally shocked by the frankness of her words.

  "No, silly," she said and pushed my arm playfully. "Sex."

  “Oh, God, no,” I said, horror filling me at the very thought. “Not Greg.”

  “Why not him?” she said petulantly. “He's perfect. He's mature and he's experienced. He's hot, too.”

  Then I turned to face her, serious now. "Don’t throw your virginity away like that,” I said, surprised at myself. “Find a nice guy who really likes you, Celia. Someone who loves you. It’ll be so much better if you do.”

  “You sound like Spencer.”

  I laughed ruefully at that. “Please, no. Not him. But really, Celia,” I said and cleared my throat. “Your first time should be special. You’ll find someone at Harvard,” I said, regretting that it wouldn’t be me. “Someone serious and smart—like you. Someone who’ll treat you the way you deserve to be treated. With respect. And love.”

  Celia was silent beside me, and I hoped she was reconsidering it. I remembered how sweet and dorky she was as a girl, and felt genuine sadness that she felt she had to have sex with someone like Greg to get rid of her virginity.

  I said nothing for a long moment. I was completely torn. Here was beautiful Celia—supple, lush, sweet Celia. A virgin wanting to be deflowered. Of course, I would have wanted to be the one… if I were anyone else but me. Hunter Saint, one of the Saint brothers. The fighting Irish bad boys of Southie.

  Just hours earlier, Graham warned me to stay away. Just hours earlier, I’d vowed to myself I’d protect Celia from the sharks and lechers I knew would be at the party.

  “You’ve put me in a very bad position, Celia,” I said, fighting to resist my demons, struggling to comply with the better angels of my nature. “Graham’s worried about you. He’s afraid you’ll be hurt by one of the letches around here. He left Greg in charge of protecting you. And I feel like I have to protect you from Greg.”

  She sighed. “You were always nice to me when you and Graham were friends. None of his other friends would even speak to me, like I was invisible. You were one of the good guys."

  "You were really smart." I remembered thos
e times I'd talked with Celia about whatever science project she was working on at the dining room table. "But Graham would kill me if he knew I didn’t stop you from being with Greg—or anyone else—just to lose your virginity. I promised to protect you…"

  "I can look after myself,” she said defensively. “Graham needs to focus on his own life. I’m not a party girl. I want to know how to do it, when I find someone good. I just want to get rid of this ridiculous virginity and not feel so much like a freak.”

  “You’re not a freak. Unusual, but not a freak. Not at all.”

  She sighed. “So, you think I should wait?”

  I didn’t know what the fuck to say.

  “See?” I could hear frustration in her voice. “Even you think I should get rid of it. I bet none of your girlfriends were virgins. Tell the truth—were they?”

  “No.” I sat up. “But you’re not like them. You’re definitely girlfriend material.”

  “Graham said you don’t do girlfriends.”

  "I don't. I’m not in the market for a girlfriend, but I know there’ll be guys at Harvard who will want to be your boyfriend. You should wait."

  Graham was right. I wasn't into the whole girlfriend thing, preferring casual sex. But Celia wasn’t that kind of girl. She was serious. She was studious.

  “You’re so sweet,” she whispered. “I’ll be sad if you leave Boston to become a Marine. I won't see you for ages, no matter what you do.”

  “I’ll miss this place if I join up,” I said, not wanting to admit I wished I could stay and get to know her better. I fought with myself—oh, how hard I fought. "I'll miss Graham. And you."

  Then she leaned over, her face next to mine, and I realized she was going to kiss me.

  I pulled back. “What?” I said, like an idiot, but I couldn’t let her kiss me, no matter how much I wanted it.

  “Will you kiss me at least?” she whispered. “A real kiss?”

  “Celia…” I said, shaking my head. “You know I shouldn’t. I’m Graham's best friend. I'm supposed to protect you.”

  “Just one kiss,” she said. “I promise. Girl Scout's Honor.” She held up a hand, fingers spread into a V.