Paradox (Unearthly Paradox) (19 page)

“Pizza it is then.”

I typed:
Can you pick up some pizza?

Sure thing, babe.

Babe?

Not a babe girl?

Nope.

Princess?

No!

“What are you smiling about?” Lilly asked, walking over with two blue-green-and-yellow-layered cocktails.

I put down my phone. “Nothing.”

Lilly grinned. “Sure.” She handed me a glass.

“What is this?”

She sat on the other end of the couch. “Just try it. It’s my speciality.”

I took a sip. “Wow. That’s really good.”

She laughed. “You sound surprised.”

“Relieved is more like it.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, then.”

I took another sip and then another and another until there were only ice cubes left. Holding up the glass, I asked, “Don’t suppose you can make me another one of those?”

She downed the rest of her drink. “Sure.” She grabbed my glass and stood. “But I’d let this next one settle before you want any more. It’s pretty strong.”

I had barely tasted any alcohol in the drink. “Really?”

“Yep.” She walked over to the kitchen. “Those layers were all alcohol, except for the top layer, which was juice.”

“Holy crap. That’s like half the glass.”

“And that’s why I’m telling you to let this one settle.”

The door opened, and Jett walked in, carrying three pizza boxes. He strolled over to the lounge and put the food on the coffee table. “I’m gonna get cleaned up.” He started for our bedroom.

“Weren’t you wearing a black shirt when you left?”

He paused then turned to face me. “Someone spilt some wine on me, so I changed into the spare shirt I keep in my office. I won’t be long.” He went into our room and closed the door. A moment later, I heard the shower turn on.

Lilly brought me another cocktail. “Now don’t drink it too fast. I don’t want to be dragging your ass back here later tonight. I might break a nail.” She winked then did exactly what she told me not to—she guzzled her cocktail. “Do as I say, not as I do.” She giggled.

I laughed. “Whatever.”

“Hang on.” She darted back to the kitchen then returned with a vodka premix. She sat at the other end of the sofa and curled her legs up under her.

Lilly had me completely stumped. When I had first met her, she seemed so timid and… afraid. But the girl sitting before me was anything but shy. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah,” she said cautiously.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t get how much you’ve changed since I met you. I mean, you were so shy and all, and now… well, you don’t seem like the same person.”

She unscrewed the drink cap. “I don’t know. I guess I just feel comfortable now. You know, that part of our life is over. I won’t have to listen to any of their snide remarks anymore.” She shrugged. “I’m free.”

I took a sip that turned into a gulp and drained half the glass. “So Miss Lilly, what do you plan on doing now that you’re free?”

“Get away from here, for one.”

There went my one and only friend on the Gold Coast—not counting Jett. “And go where?”

“Back to Melbourne. I never planned on living here, so I’ll be applying at universities down there.”

I was going to have to get my ass into gear and apply for something around the Gold Coast. I wasn’t going back to Sydney and leaving Jett. I shook my head. Jett, Jett, Jett. All my thoughts completely revolved around a boy I’d only met last week. There was something about him that had me completely captivated. I was drawn to him in a way I’d never been drawn to any other guy. It scared me, but it was also the most thrilling feeling in the world.

Maybe it had something to do with his bad-boy image, even though I hadn’t seen a single bad-boy characteristic in him—apart from when he’d held Tyler up by the neck. But that didn’t really count because Tyler was an ass. I shook my head.

“So are you still applying for accounting?” I asked, trying to steer my thoughts away from Jett.

Lilly nodded. “I should have no problems getting in, thanks to my mum. I practically memorised every textbook we had this year.”

“Well, I’ll miss you.”

She smiled. “At least you’ll know someone next time you go to Melbourne.”

The shower turned off, and I found myself edging to get up. “And you’ll have someone to hang out with when you come back to visit your mum.”

She rolled her eyes. “Which will be every weekend if she has anything to do with it.”

I looked over at the door to my room, wondering what Jett was doing in there.

She cocked her head toward my room. “Go on.”

“Am I that obvious?”

“You couldn’t be more obvious if you tried.”

I smiled and got up. “You sure?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” She wiped her mouth. “But don’t be too long. I want to get down there and party.”

I grinned. “I’ll try not to keep you waiting, but I can’t make any promises.”

With my drink in hand, I went into my room. I was half relieved and half disappointed to find Jett already in a pair of jeans. He was standing at the bathroom sink, doing his hair. Of course, he was shirtless, which kind of made up for it.

He looked at my cocktail. “You sure you’re old enough to drink that?”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.” I walked up behind him and grazed my lips along his shoulder.

His body tensed under my touch. Lowering his arms, he turned around. His eyes dropped to the pendant he’d given me, and he smiled.

Holding the pendant between my fingers, I asked, “Does this design have a meaning?”

He took a second too long to respond, making me wonder if there was something more to it. “It’s something that my family gets done. And it’ll let others know that you’re with me.”

I didn’t know whether I should feel honoured or angry. “So it’s kind of like a branding to let others know that I’m taken or something?”

“Something like that.”

“I don’t know whether to be offended or not.”

“I say, not.” He put a finger on the pendant. “You could always look at it the other way around. I’m the one who’s actually been branded. Mine’s permanent, whereas you can take yours off—not that I want you taking it off.”

I let the pendant fall back against my chest. “I have no intention of taking it off.”

He swiped my hair behind my ear. “Good, because I have no intention of taking mine off, either.”

I slapped him playfully on his chest, and my hand decided to stay put. His pecs were like magnets, and my hand was the steel. Jett put his hands on my waist and lifted me onto the vanity.

Spreading my legs with his hips until his body was pressed against mine, he tilted his head to the side. “God, you’re beautiful.”

My cheeks flushed under the intensity of his stare. He seemed to see something in me that no one had seen before. It was as if he were bearing witness to a phenomenon that only he was aware of.

Just when I thought I could handle no more, he leaned forward and kissed me softly, savouring every brush of our lips, every breath that I took, the very essence of my being. And boy, was that a turn-on. Trailing a row of kisses across my jaw then down my neck, he placed one last kiss on my branding before pulling away.

I ran my hands down the curves of his muscles until I reached his belt buckle. Realization flashed in his eyes.

Slipping his fingers under my tank, he pulled it over my head. Jett trailed his hands down my thighs and hooked my legs behind him then cupped my butt. He lifted me in his arms and carried me over to the bed.

My heart was thumping as he gently laid me down then lowered his body on top of mine, keeping most of his weight on his hands and knees.

Rising, he hovered over me as he made a path of kisses from my lips down to my belly. He undid the button on my shorts, then I lifted my ass off the bed so he could slip them off.

He sucked in a harsh breath as he took me in from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. Not being able to take it any longer, I unclasped my bra and slid the straps off my arms. His eyes turned a shade darker, then almost black when my panties joined my shorts and bra on the floor.

I sat up, grabbed his belt, and pulled him toward me. Pressing my lips against his, I undid the buckle.

Jett stood and kicked off his jeans, then it was my turn to suck in a sharp breath. He was even better than I’d imagined.

I quickly learned that the few sexual experiences I’d had in the past were nothing compared to Jett. The two other guys I’d been with had only cared about themselves, and I loved that Jett seemed to care more about my pleasure.

With a smile on my face that I couldn’t get rid of, I followed Jett out of the bedroom. Lilly tried to squash her smirk but was unsuccessful. I hated that she knew what we’d done, but I wouldn’t have changed a single thing. The embarrassment was completely worth it.

Jett sat on the couch and pulled me onto his lap. “So what’s the plan for tonight?” he asked Lilly.

“We’re going down to the beach.” Her smile dropped. “But you can’t get into the Schoolies venues.”

“They’ll let me in.” He smirked. “Trust me.”

A knowing look crossed her face. Apparently, his family connections opened the doors to any venue on the Coast. Rules didn’t apply to his family.

Lilly stood. “Let’s get ready then.” She carried her empty vodka premix into the kitchen and set it beside the bottle she had finished earlier.

Turning in Jett’s arms, I kissed his lips. My thoughts instantly went back forty minutes, and my body wanted to relive that experience, but I couldn’t do that to Lilly. Reluctantly, I pulled away. “I won’t be long.” I stood and went into the bedroom to get ready.

After taking a shower, I opened my suitcase and rummaged for my bikini and a beach dress. From what I’d seen through the window, I was going to be seriously overdressed. The guys were bare chested, and most of the girls wore their swimmers and nothing else. Even though I wasn’t planning on being that adventurous, I was completely okay if Jett went shirtless—not that he needed any encouragement. Once I was dressed and makeup done, I went back into the lounge.

“Let’s go party,” Lilly said with a slight slur.

“Let me guess, do as I say, not as I do,” I said as they both stood.

She looked at me as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

“You were giving me a lecture on not drinking too much and—”

She giggled. “Well, I had to do something while I was waiting for you two.”

That shut me up. I wanted to crawl under a rock, but Jett’s eyes twinkled with humour. Nothing seemed to faze him, and I wished some of his carefree attitude would rub off on me.

The three of us went downstairs and walked across the road to the beach. As we got closer to the gates, I saw some guys get turned away. I worried that Jett would be as well.

Jett squeezed my shoulder. “Relax.”

The security guard took one look at Jett and waved all of us through without even checking for wristbands.

“See? I told you there wouldn’t be a problem,” Jett whispered.

He was such a cocky bastard, but it was so sexy on him.

“Let’s dance.” Lilly grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the crowd before I had a chance to argue.

There must have been close to a thousand Schoolies on the beach, dancing under the laser lightshow as the DJ on the stage did his thing. A few games of beach volleyball were going on to one side of the dance area, while the other side looked like a recovery area.

Masculine hands wrapped around my waist from behind. I leaned my head back against his chest and just about screamed when I saw his face. Some drunken guy was feeling me up.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said with a drunken grin.

Without warning, the guy doubled over and collapsed to the sand, leaving Jett standing in his place. I didn’t feel a knock from a punch, so I guessed the guy had probably drunk too much and was about to be sick. I was just glad that he had the decency to let go of me before he puked.

Jett stepped around the dry-heaving sleezeball. “Another drunken idiot.”

I looked around for Lilly to make sure she was okay. I finally spotted her dancing with the girls we’d met in the lift. She caught my eye and waved for us to come over.

Jett slung his arm over my shoulders and pulled me to his side. I was surprised that he wasn’t pissed at the guy for feeling me up but glad he didn’t seem to want to start a fight or something. We walked over to the makeshift dance floor.

When we reached her, Lilly grabbed my hand. “Zara, this is… oh, crap. What was your name again?” she asked the brunette, who was too busy checking out Jett to answer.

Redhead stepped forward. “I’m Sarah, and this is Bec,” she said, hitting her friend in the arm to get her attention.

“Jett!” someone called from the crowd.

Jett turned around then said, “Just give me a sec.”

I nodded. “Sure.”

He kissed me on the cheek then took off.

“Oh, my God! He is so hot,” Bec said when Jett was out of earshot. “He’s your boyfriend, right?”

Boyfriend? Wow. I hadn’t really thought of him that way, but I supposed he was. “I’m a lucky girl, huh?”

She giggled. “Lucky doesn’t even begin to describe what you have.”

Sarah slapped her friend’s arm again. “Don’t be so rude. It’s not polite to drool over someone else’s boyfriend.”

Bec snapped her head to the side. “I wasn’t drooling.”

Lilly laughed. “Yes, you were. But hey, I don’t blame you. He’s one of the hottest guys around here.” She gave me a sheepish look. “Sorry.”

I waved her off. “Just because a guy’s taken doesn’t mean a girl can’t appreciate. But make a move on him, and you’ll be dead.”
Wow. Where the hell had that come from?

The three girls’ eyes went wide.

“I’m just kidding.” I sucked in a sharp breath as arms wrapped around my waist from behind. I was relieved to see that it was Jett.

Lowering his head, he nuzzled my ear. “I need to go take care of something at the club.”

“Seriously?” I turned around in his arms.

“I won’t be long.” He brushed my hair back then put his hand at the base of my head and pulled me in for a kiss. By the time he was done with me, I was practically panting for air.