Filthy (A Stepbrother Romance) #1
J.L. Beck
Talon Reed was A Pig
I knew an asshole when I met one. They carried themselves in a different way than others did. You could tell by the way they spoke and the things they talked about. That’s why the very first time I met Talon Reed I knew he was a male-chauvinist pig. The guy you secretly wanted to fuck but didn’t want to hear speak while doing so. I hated his guts, and I was pretty sure he knew it.
“Mia…” My name fell from his lips almost daily. I turned around in my chair and glared at him. He didn’t care for someone like me, and honestly I didn’t care for him either. Still he continued this charade of cat and mouse almost daily.
“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath as I watched his lips pull up into a cocky smirk. You could say that I was one of the few women at Central Heights University that hadn’t slept with him, which was true. And that—that was why I was so immune to his charms—but in reality it was all because he was just a prick.
“I thought about you last night, and the night before, and…” I could feel his breath on my ear and smell his cologne like I was the person wearing it. I couldn’t lie and say that he didn’t smell heavenly, though. His scent was something that could be bottled up and sold for millions out in the world.
“Usually when a person calls someone an asshole they want nothing to do with them,” I growled, interrupting him and narrowing my eyes in anger. I refused to meet his stare, though. I was too weak for that. One look into those steel-blue-gray eyes and I would be done for, as most were. There was just something about the smolder that he gave you that made your heart do that little pitter-patter in your chest.
“Don’t you want to hear about my dream?” I could hear the sarcasm in his voice, and I was sure there was still a lingering smirk on his face even though I had already turned around to face the professor, as Talon should be doing himself.
I straightened my posture and gripped the pen in my hand harder, imagining it as if it was Talon’s neck I was squeezing.
“Don’t lie, beautiful,” he hissed. I could feel others in the room looking at us. The asshole was drawing attention, and I didn’t like it.
“Why don’t you just go back to whatever it is you were thinking about before, and leave me the fuck alone.” I couldn’t help but raise my voice a little bit just to prove my point.
Everyone in the classroom was staring by now, their eyes gawking and making up rumors as we spoke. Talon’s smile stayed in place as if he had truly won whatever battle he thought was being fought between the two of us.
“Mia? Talon? Is there something that you would like to tell the class?” Professor Hank asked, irritation clearly being heard in his voice. I wanted to tell him I felt the same irritation, but instead I faced forward in my seat shaking my head no. My cheeks heated and sweat began to form on my palms.
“Nah, I was just telling Mia how beautiful she was,” Talon spoke, and I kid you not every female in the room seemed to sigh.
Dick. Asshole. Fucker. A list a mile long of swear words were on the verge of spilling from my mouth. The room settled down, and Professor Hank shifted his attention back to the chalkboard, his eyes shifting to where Talon and I sat every few minutes. I wasn’t above asking to be moved, not in the least bit and if it came down to it I would.
I jotted down notes for the rest of the hour, not paying attention to the growing heat against my neck or the fact that I could practically feel Talon’s eyes eating away at my skin. The man knew how to make a girl feel insecure, that was for sure. I had known Talon about a year, and all I ever heard about was the heartache and pleasure he caused. When my mom accepted a job at the local hospital after my father’s death and I had been selected to attend college here, I knew that this was the place I needed to be. Being able to stay with my mom and attend school would only make the expense of college cheaper. I wasn’t afraid to be one of those kids that still lived at home, if it didn’t cost me money out of pocket.
We were being dismissed from class, when a piece of paper landed on one of my books. I shot a death glare over my shoulder at Talon who had just stood from his seat and wrapped an arm around one of his blonde girlfriends. Which one, I didn’t know. He had a different flavor everyday.
Turning my attention back to the piece of crumbled up paper, I opened it smoothing out the edges so that I could read it.
Don’t lie about the way you feel, Mia. You might think I’m an asshole, but it doesn’t mean you don’t want to fuck my brains out any less.
-T