Heart of Stone ~ Book 1 Read online

  I’m now sat in a shitty seat, next to the hellhound, with a boner and she looks smug as fuck.

  Okay so my plan to irritate her backfired a little but I refuse to let it get to me. I continue the rest of the lesson as normal and when school’s out I head straight home. I don’t hang around the house long, just long enough to drop my things in my room. I hate being at home, so I avoid the place as much as possible.

  “You off out?” my uncle asks over a mouth full of chili as I head for the door.

  “Yup” I say shoving my phone into my pocket. I was really hoping I would miss him. Uncle Z only ever talks to me about one thing and I’m done discussing it.

  “Deano wants to see you” he says. This isn’t anything new, the guy’s been wanting to see me for months.

  “I already told him out.”

  “You don’t get to call that” Uncle Z growls.

  “I do and I am. I can’t have any distractions if I want to graduate.” Why can’t he understand that school is important to me? I want to graduate. I want to have a better life.

  “I told him you’ll be in touch soon” he says without even acknowledging what I have to say.

  “You’re not listening.” I drag my hands through my hair trying to reign in my anger.

  “If you don’t call him, he’ll call on you nephew. You know that.”

  I don’t bother to respond; I just walk out of the house slamming the door behind me. Is it really so much to ask for me to have a normal life? I climb into my car and floor it out of the street to go meet the guys. I have no idea how fast I’m going; I don’t bother to check.

  ∞∞∞

  Fuck my life she’s everywhere. The guys asked me to meet them at the Plaza, but I didn’t know she would be here too. They’ve already seen me so I can’t even leave and pretend something came up, instead I’ll be as difficult as possible, so she’ll be the one to leave.

  I slam into a seat at the table they’re all sat around. She’s sat directly opposite me, so I rest my foot on her chair in between her legs. I’m not touching her or anything, but it must affect her because she clamps her thighs against my ankle and her cheeks turn a lovely shade of crimson.

  It was my intention to annoy her, not turn her on, but shit after what she done to me in math, I’m fucking loving this reaction from her. I don’t move my foot. I keep it still, just teetering on the edge of her seat. She attempts to push it away, but I resist her attempts and she eventually gives up.

  This shit works both ways, baby.

  “What the hell is up your ass Stone?” Caleb asks noticing what’s going on.

  “He’s feeling a little frustrated after getting a boner in class this afternoon” Dahlia says in a breathy voice that goes straight to my dick and my eyes nearly jump out of my head. The guys erupt into laughter and I work hard not to blow up. This girl really likes to play dirty. I should’ve seen it coming.

  “How the fuck do you get hard in math?” Caleb asks with a snorty laugh. He looks genuinely baffled.

  “Apparently dogs turn him on” she’s smiling but I can sense the anger in her tone.

  “What?” Aaron asks confused and looking between the two of us. He actually manages to drag his eyes away from Beth for a minute which sort of brinks on the edge of amazing. Those two really need to just get together. They’re practically a couple anyway.

  “Oooh” Caleb grins with a nod, clearly picking up that she was referring to herself.

  “She was grinding on my dick, what did she expect would happen?”

  “Hey, it’s not my fault you want me so bad you decided to pin me to you in class.”

  “You pinned her to you?” Everyone’s staring at me now and I’m actually starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

  “She wouldn’t get out of my seat.” I shrug like my actions were completely normal and justified.

  “And the solution to that was to sit her on top of you?” Beth bites out. She isn’t seeing the funny side. In fact I think she might be ready to slap me or something because her hands twitching. I honestly have no comeback because I have no idea what my motivations were other than to piss Dahlia off. All I do know is that it backfired and now she has ammunition.

  Chapter Seven — Dahlia

  It’s Friday. My first week in my new school has went reasonably well, apart from the fact that Stone is hellbent on making my life difficult of course. I can’t say I hate that though. He’s beginning to grow on me, in a I-want-to-rip-his-throat-out kind of way.

  Something I have noticed in the short time I’ve been here is that Aaron and Beth are seriously hot for each other. Why they aren’t together is beyond me but I’m going to fix that. Tonight. We’re hanging out at The Circuit, an old racing track that used to be a big deal around here, but now it only gets used for drinking and the occasional illegal race.

  It’s colder than I’d expected it would be but there’s a fire going strong, so I sidle up to it, warming myself as I wait for the others to arrive. I feel a little out of place since I don’t really know anyone here, but everyone is friendly enough, one girl even gives me one of her beers when she notices me sitting on my own.

  “You’re Stone’s girlfriend, right?” the girl who gave me a beer asks and I actually choke on air. I don’t give her an actual answer because I’m convinced that my choking and the look of repulsion on my face is answer enough. “I take that as a no” she laughs. “I’d have the same reaction if I was asked that” she admits. And who said blondes are dumb? This one certainly isn’t. “I’m Teresa. Stone’s ex.” Okay, I take it back, she is the dumbest of them all.

  “Dahlia. I wasn’t aware Stone was capable of feeling.”

  “He’s not. Hence why I’m his ex.”

  “Right.” I nod. Everything makes sense again and all is right with the world.

  “Are you waiting for anyone or did you just come alone?”

  “Beth and Aaron are meeting me here” I say. I assume since she’s Stone’s ex that she already knows who they are. “I’m a little early because I didn’t know where this place was.”

  “Why didn’t you just come with them?”

  “I had some thigs to do first. Oh, here they are now” I say as I watch them walk towards us.

  They eye Teresa suspiciously and then give me a questioning look that makes me feel like I’ve

  done something wrong. It makes me fidget a bit and I dart my gaze over to the fire.

  “Teresa” Aaron greets coldly as he sits beside me.

  “Aaron. I haven’t seen you here in a while” Teresa says forcing a smile.

  “That’s because I haven’t been here in a while.” There’s definite tension. I look at Beth and

  she’s frowning at Teresa.

  “Well I better get back” Teresa says getting to her feet. “It was nice to meet you Dahlia.” I nod with a tight smile and she walks away.

  “What was that about?” I ask when she’s gone, still feeling the tension.

  “She screwed Stone over” Aaron said with a frown. “He doesn’t let people get close and she was the one person he let in and he almost died.”

  “He almost died? How?” I choke.

  Why am I so upset about this?

  “He knows some pretty shady people and he confided in her that he wanted away from them but before he had a chance to talk to them, she ratted him out. She made it sound like he was going against them and bad mouthing them. It’s not easy to leave that sort of thing, you know. They see it as a betrayal. It’s even harder to leave when you make them a ton of money. He was jumped by six guys and they all had weapons. He put up a good fight but there were too many of them and he was unarmed.”

  “Shit” I breathed out.

  Damn he’s making me feel sorry for Stone.

  “Yeah.”

  I don’t know what else to say so I just sit there, silently sipping at my beer and staring absently into the flames in front of me. Aaron and Beth have started talking about something else, but I so
mehow manage to block them out for a while and when I turn back to them, they’re giggling amongst themselves.

  “How aren’t you two together?” I blurt without even thinking.

  “What?” they both asked in unison. Beth’s face flushes and Aaron lets out a nervous laugh.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, but you clearly care about each other in a non-platonic way.” Neither of them say anything but they smile shyly at each other. “I’m right though aren’t I?”

  Nothing.

  Jeeze these two are stubborn.

  “Let me put it another way. Aaron, how would you feel if Beth came into school tomorrow and told you she was dating someone?” His fists clench in front of him and he looks at her like she just broke his heart.

  He does know I’m speaking hypothetically right?

  I don’t need that thought answered because he kisses her. He actually kisses her. And I feel awkward. And triumphant. Mostly triumphant.

  I turn my focus back to the fire until I’m satisfied I won’t have to witness anymore spit swapping between my friends.

  “You can thank me later” I smile as I get up and walk to the side of the track. They giggle and get up to follow me.

  There’s two cars racing, and it looks like they’re coming to the end of their lap. The track is pretty beat up, but the drivers seem to be handling it well. There aren’t many people watching, so I assume it was unplanned or that people are more bothered about drinking tonight since there’s no betting going on.

  “Isn’t that’s Stones car?” Aaron asks with a frown.

  “Damn, I think it is” Beth replies shaking her head in disapproval.

  “Why is that a bad thing?”

  “Because Stone only races to prove a point or if he’s going through something bad. Either way, it means trouble.”

  Is Stone in trouble?

  Chapter Eight — Devlin

  Deano fucking Santino. The bane of my existence. I didn’t call him like my uncle suggested so he paid me a visit. He roughed me up a bit, so I have some nice bruises to showcase at school tomorrow. I can fight, but everyone knows if you try to fight back against Santino your going out in a box one way or another, so I just took it.

  After he was done roughing me up, he made me a deal. Race tonight and win and I can walk away for good. The problem with that deal though is he knows my car can’t race for shit so it’s a pointless deal. I won’t give in without giving it my best shot though and he knows that.

  So here I am at The Circuit, driving around this busted up track in my shitty car. I’m a good driver and take the corners like a pro, but I know my car won’t be able to handle the battering of the potholes or be able to match the speed of Deano’s souped up ride.

  I’m just rounding the final corner when a wisp of red catches my eye throwing me off my game.

  What the hell is she doing here?

  Deano passes me in a blur as I spin out onto the grass verge. I slam my hands against the steering wheel and a few moments later I hear Deano’s booming laugh as he climbs from his car.

  I lost. I lost because of her.

  I don’t bother stopping to hear what Deano has to say, instead I storm over to Dahlia, briefly registering the fact that Aaron has his tongue shoved down Beth’s throat.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask stopping in front of her.

  “The same thing everyone else is” she says shaking her beer at me. “Nice ending by the way” she adds, pointing at my car still sat on the grass verge.

  “You threw me off!” Okay I was probably going to lose anyway but still.

  “How did I throw you off?” she asks defensively. Shit I just admitted that she distracted me, and I have no explanation as to why. “You did pretty well though” she said, and my mouth drops open. “You know, until you spun out like that.”

  “Yeah, well it doesn’t matter, deal fell through, so I’m fucked.”

  “How?” She seems genuinely interested but this conversation is getting way too normal for my liking.

  “That’s none of your damn business” I snap before turning and heading back to my car.

  “Asshole” she mumbles but I don’t respond.

  I need to get home and clear my head. Deano will be on me shit hot and I need time to get my head around things before that happens.

  Chapter Nine — Dahlia

  It’s Saturday night and I’m attending my first ever party. Beth is nattering away as she busies herself getting ready while I stare blankly into my closet.

  I’m not ready for this.

  “What’s taking you so long?” Beth asks stepping up beside me and poking her head in my closet.

  “I have nothing to wear” I sigh as I look at all the labels hanging before me.

  “Are you kidding me? You have loads of great stuff here. Stuff the rest of us can only dream of owning.” I cringe because I hate these clothes. They’re reminders. Plus they make me stand out way more than I want to. She’s right though, I do have some great stuff. Not anything I can wear though. Not anything that will hide the marks properly.

  “What about this?” she asks pulling a pale blue dress down.

  “It’s too short” I say, and she holds it up to me.

  “Dahlia, it reaches your knees” she says confused. I understand the confusion because I’ve worn shorter skirts for school. She puts it back and proceeds to pull out several more outfits and I give an excuse for each of them. Too pink. Too sparkly. Too loose. Too tight.

  “Okay what’s going on?” she asks eventually, dropping the pile of clothes onto my bed. “Don’t you want to go?”

  “I do. It’s just…why can’t I wear this?” I ask indicating to what I’m currently wearing.

  “It’s a party Dahlia” she says as if that’s reason enough.

  “Will it be less of a party if I don’t wear skimpy clothes?” I ask cocking an eyebrow at her.

  “No but everyone dresses up for these things.”

  “Yeah, well I’m not everyone” I say pointedly. I think I’ve already made it abundantly clear that I’m different.

  “At least let me do something with your hair and maybe apply a little makeup for you.” She says it with a flutter of her eyelashes.

  “Okay, fine” I agree. “But don’t make me look like a hooker or something” I warn, and she makes a cross over her heart with her finger and grins.

  I’ve never been one for hair and makeup, so when I see my reflection when Beth finishes, I barely recognize myself. I can’t decide if I like the new look or if I want to run to the bathroom and wash it off. Beth looks at me like I’m her ultimate creation, her eyes bright and her smile wide, so I decide for the sake of her happiness to keep it on. I also give in and agree to a dress and a sweater.

  “You’re creeping me out. Stop smiling at me like some crazed lunatic” I say tugging at my dress as I give myself a quick look over in the mirror.

  “Wait ‘til he sees you” she squeaks clapping her hands in front of her and bouncing on her knees.

  “Wait ‘til who sees me?” I ask turning to look at her.

  “Stone!” She says it as if it’s the most obvious answer in the world.

  “Come again?” I choke.

  “He’s gonna eat his freaking heart out.” She’s way to excited and it’s freaking me out a little.

  “I’m sorry, why exactly do you want him to see me? Not that the idea of seeing his black heart torn out doesn’t sound appealing.” She doesn’t answer. She just keeps grinning and it’s quite unsettling.

  ∞∞∞

  As we step through Caleb’s door an hour later, I’m both excited and terrified; I’m not sure what to expect. I have an idea of course, but ideas and the real thing can be two very different things. I’m walking in with Beth so that goes in my favor; if you arrive at a party with one of the popular kids the chances of it being a disaster are lessened. Right?

  Music reverberates throughout the house. There’s a guy peein
g on a plant in the corner and I wonder why no one bothers to stop him and direct him to an actual bathroom. Couples are making out everywhere I look but no one seems to mind. A few girls are dancing on the makeshift dance floor while guys crowd to ogle them, some of them even try to grind against the girls.

  I follow Beth to the kitchen where she pours us both a drink. I sip at the blue concoction and it burns as I swallow causing me to pull a face and her to laugh.

  “Beth. You came” Aaron grins as he pulls her into a one-armed hug and then plants a quick kiss on her lips.

  “Wouldn’t miss it” she says in an almost sultry tone and I awkwardly sip at my drink.

  “Can I pinch her for a second?” Aaron asks me and I shrug as he pulls her away. She giggles and mouths sorry to me and I slump against the counter watching as all the drunk people stagger around.

  Either they started early or they’re all lightweights.

  “Aaron and Beth huh?” Caleb asks as he leans against the work top beside me.

  “Yup. Move over cupid.” I laugh lifting my drink to my lips and he smiles.

  “You did that?” he asks point in the direction of Aaron and Beth and he looks impressed.

  “Of course, anyone with eyes can see they are good together. All it took was my matchmaking skills, a little voodoo and maybe a sacrificial lamb or two.”

  “Interesting” he nods with his bottom lip pushed out a little.

  “I really am” I agree.

  “No. I mean it’s interesting that you see when others like each other, but you can’t see it in yourself.”

  “Actually, I know very well how much I like myself thank you.”

  “Not yourself” he says with a chuckle and a roll of his eyes.

  “I’m not following” I say sipping at my drink.

  “You and Stone!”

  This again?

  “Um. There is no me and stone. Unless you are referring to him being my mortal enemy. In which case there is very much a me and stone.”