Chapter 24

"I don't think you're going to need this much stuff for just one week," Jett said, lifting one of my two bags onto the hotel luggage stand.

I sat down on the king-size bed. "I like to be prepared."

"There's prepared, then there's you." He shoved my other bag under the rack then picked up his overnight bag. "This is all you should need." He laid it on one of the shelves.

"Yeah, whatever." Lying back, I turned my head and looked out the window.

The view from the room was amazing. Nothing stood between us and the ocean. The sunrise would be killer, but I was guessing I would never see a single one because we'd be so buggered from the late-night partying—unless we didn't go to sleep.

Jett climbed onto the bed and lay down beside me. He turned onto his side, his head resting on his hand.

I gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Do you really have to go down to the club now?"

He draped his hand over my hip. "I won't be long." He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips. His phone buzzed for the tenth time since we'd left my house. He got up to answer it. "I better get down there."

"See ya." I gave him a quick wave. I didn't understand why he wasn't insisting on someone staying with me, but I wasn't about to bring it up on the off chance he'd forgotten.

When Jett shut the door behind him, I pulled out my phone and called Lilly. She hadn't been in the apartment when we got to the hotel, but her things were in the other room, so I knew she had to be somewhere nearby. The call went to voicemail, but I didn't leave a message.

I walked into the lounge room and looked around for something to do. Spotting the fridge, I trotted over and opened the door, hoping that it was empty so I could have something to do. But there were enough groceries in there to last us the next few days.

With nothing better to do, I curled up on the lounge, pulled out my phone, and clicked on the Facebook app. I had quite a few posts on my page with congratulations for finishing school and notes from my friends saying that they couldn't wait to see me next week. Jess had sent me a private message:

OMG! I can't believe you've actually finished school! I am so jealous! And you get two friggin' Schoolie weeks. You better not be too tired when it's our week! Anyway, I've got a surprise for you, but I'm not telling you what it is.

Miss you.

xxx

I replied: Where's my congratulations, you jealous bitch? And the surprise better not be that you're pregnant!

I sent the message then decided to do a bit of searching. I didn't know why I hadn't thought about looking up Jett on Facebook earlier. I typed his name in the search bar. I spotted his picture right away. Of course, he was bare chested and showing his tats. I think he spent more time with his shirt off than on, but I wasn't complaining. That was one part of the Gold Coast lifestyle that I was quickly growing accustomed to, as long as I didn't have to go around almost naked.

I read through his posts and was surprised to find that he wasn't a status-update type of guy. He had a lot of posts on his page from other people, mostly females wondering where he'd been the last week, but he hadn't bothered to reply.

A faint buzz came from the front door, then Lilly walked in wearing her swimmers with a sheer kaftan over the top. She held a beach bag with a towel sticking out the top in one hand and the room card in the other.

"Yay, you're here." She walked over to the couch, dumped her bag on the floor, and sat on the other end of the sofa. "So what was the big surpri—" Her eyes locked onto the pendant I was wearing. "Holy shit! Is that your surprise?"

I held it up so she could see it better. "Pretty nice, eh?"

"Nice, no. Unbelievably amazing, yes." She moved over for a closer look. "I can't believe he had that made for you. I mean, you guys have only been together for what? A week?"

"Yeah."

"And he gives you a replica of his tattoo with diamonds. Those are diamonds, aren't they?"

"Yep."

She shook her head. "All of this from a guy who's apparently never been in a serious relationship."

I shrugged. "I know. I don't get it myself. Wait. How did you know that this is the same design as his tat?"

She smiled. "Everyone knows. It's like a symbol of the family. Each member has a slightly different one, but they're all a similar pattern."

"How do you know so much about him and his family?"

The smile dropped from Lilly's face. She looked down at her lap. "It's just what I heard when I was hanging out with Emily and the others."

Knowing that was my chance to ask her about what happened to her with Tyler and his friends, I tucked my legs up onto the sofa. "Lilly. You don't have to answer this if you really don't want to, but did Tyler do something to you?"

She didn't say anything.

"I know you don't know me very well, but you can trust me." When she still didn't respond, I decided to put what happened to me out there. "They tried to do something to me."

Lilly looked up, tears welling in her eyes. "They didn't rape me, if that's what you're thinking. But it wasn't because he didn't try."

"What happened?"

She picked up a cushion and hugged it against her chest. "Emily invited me to a party at her house. I thought Tyler was pretty hot, and when he invited me to get some fresh air outside, I was all for it. I mean, we weren't going into a bedroom, so nothing bad could happen, right? And Emily was telling me how sweet Tyler was and how lucky I was that he was interested in me." She let out a strained laugh. "Well, anyway, we went down to the jetty. He tried to force himself on me, but I kind of ruined his plans when I kneed him in the balls then took off."

"Did you go to the police?"

She shook her head. "What was I going to tell them? That he tried to rape me? There was no proof other than his bruised balls, which could've had me up on charges instead."

I guessed Lilly was the reason why he had added assistants to his ploys. One against one could stand a chance, but one against five... no chance. Only I did get away. I picked up my pendant and absently rubbed my thumb over it. That day could've ended so badly for me.

"So what happened to you?" Lilly asked.

"The bitches convinced me to go bridge jumping with them." I shook my head. "I can't believe I actually jumped. Anyway, Tyler and his mates were waiting in the shallow water under the bridge. His friends held me down in the water while he tried to... you know."

She sucked in a sharp breath.

"But somehow, I got away from them..."

Lilly's eyebrows shot up. "How did you—"

I quickly made up what I hoped was a plausible explanation for my escape. "Someone was walking by, and the boys ran."

She nodded, so it must have worked. The truth was far less believable.

Lilly threw the cushion to the side. "They're such dicks."

"And bitches."

"Yep. Hopefully, they'll get theirs one day."

Something told me they already had. What exactly had happened in the canal that day, I might never know, but I was pretty sure those boys would never try that again—at least not with me, but maybe even with no one.

Lilly looked around the room. "Where's Jett? Isn't he staying here with you?"

"Yeah, he had to go out for a bit. He'll be back soon."

"So I guess you guys will be sharing a bed?"

"I guess so."

A knowing look came over her face. I was about to tell her that we hadn't had sex yet, but I decided that really wasn't any of her business. And I would rather her think we were already doing it than to have her studying me every morning, wondering if that night had been our first time.

I needed to change the subject. "How about we go downstairs and see what's happening tonight?"

"We don't have to." She picked up her bag and pulled out a flyer. "They're throwing a beach party because there's so many of us here a day earlier than we're supposed to be. They want to make sure we're not wandering the streets."

"Awesome," I said, trying to sound excited.

"So," she said, getting up, "we need to go get our wristbands."

"Wristbands?"

"You know, you need them to get into the events."

God, I was so out of the loop. "Let's go get our wristbands then."

After grabbing my bag, I joined Lilly at the lifts. The doors opened to about half a dozen girls and guys that I guessed were Schoolies, too. Lilly and I stepped inside and stood to the left.

The doors hadn't even closed before one of the guys decided to get a little friendly. "Ladies," he slurred. "I don't suppose you're coming down to the beach, are you?"

He was about half a foot taller than I was, with sandy-blond hair, brown eyes, and a light dusting of freckles across his nose. Any other day, I would've thought him cute, but the alcohol stench was a real turn-off. I could tell by the way he looked at us that he was one of the popular kids. But his easy smile and cocky attitude was no match for Jett's.

I shook my head. "No. But you guys have fun."

The red-headed girl behind him let out a breath as she tried to hide her smile. It was obvious she had a thing for Freckles.

He rested his hip against the wall. "Well, if you girls ever get bored, we're staying in Room 3505."

A pretty brunette stuck her head around the guy standing in front of her. "Leave the poor girls alone." She looked at me and shrugged. "Sorry."

I smiled at the girl then turned back to Freckles, who still had that drunken grin on his face. "We'll keep it in mind." I had no intention of remembering that room number.

The door opened on the ground floor, and Lilly and I rushed out.

"He was cute," she said.

"He was drunk."

She laughed. "Expect to see a lot more of that over the next week."

"The next two weeks," I corrected.

"Oh, yeah. You're doing this whole thing again next week, aren't you?"

I nodded. "Yep. Lucky me."

She nudged me with her shoulder. "Come on. This is your rite of passage. You need to have a good time. In fact, I'm going to make it my personal mission."

I laughed. "Really?"

Lilly linked her arm with mine. "Yep."

We stopped behind a line leading up to a table. There were only about twenty people in front of us, so it went rather quickly. The next day would probably bring over a hundred eager graduates waiting in line to start partying.

A woman in her thirties greeted us when we reached the table. "Hi, girls. Can I see your IDs?"

We produced our student cards and completed the process.

The woman fastened wristbands on each of us. "There you go." She smiled. "Enjoy your week and remember to keep safe."

"Thanks," we said in unison.

Lilly hooked her arm through mine again. "Come on. Time to go get us some alcohol."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You're only seventeen."

"Ah, no. I'm eighteen."

"Fine," I conceded. "But I'm not getting drunk."

The main reason for my sobriety plan was that I wanted to be in control when it came to Jett and me and what I hoped was going to happen later that night. I couldn't wait to get my hands on him again. I didn't have much time to linger over that thought because Lilly dragged me into a liquor store.

Twenty minutes later, we emerged with an array of different liqueurs, vodka, and some premixes. We carried them back to the hotel, and fortunately, we rode the lift back up alone.

Once we were inside the apartment, I put the premixes in the fridge, the vodka in the freezer, and the rest on the shelf. I emptied the ice into a container then refilled the tray before sticking it back in the freezer.

"So what do you want?" She pulled the pineapple-coconut juice from the fridge. "Actually, I'll make you my favourite."

"Great," I said, trying to sound excited.

Leaving her working in the kitchen, I walked over to the couch. My phone buzzed with a new message from Jett.

I'm on my way back. Do you want me to pick us up something for dinner?

"Lilly?" I called.

"Yeah?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the bottle she was pouring over a spoon.

"Jett wants to know what we want for dinner. What do you feel like?"

"Pizza's good."

"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.