Harper's Rules 1 & 2

Chapter 30: Jake

A/N: Mature content.

Black was Harper's color but how she'd shown up in a red dress that looked like it had been painted onto her insanely banging body, with every curve, dip, and swell put on full display, spoke volumes. She wanted attention and fuck, she got an entire houseful of it. From where I sat in the backyard, I clearly saw when every guy's eyes turned towards the blonde bombshell, girl's eyes filled with envy, and fuck, Evan's tongue rolled onto the ground as he kicked aside his easy scores for tonight and fell right into Harper's seduction-eye gaze trick within one look.

I wasn't much better, since my preplanned apology dissolved within the mental fog that flooded through my mind at the sight of her. Within two seconds, I ran interference on Evan's idiotic belief that he had any chance with the girl I'd already told the entire house was off-limits.

Harper, like always, was a constant contradiction to herself. Her words clearly said she wanted nothing to do with me but fuck, her body wanted mine just as desperately as I wanted hers. All the physical cues that Harper herself couldn't hide, from the goosebumps that raised under my palm on her bare, exposed back, her enlarged pupils highlighted by the lightness of her eyes, and the pulse line up her neck that I skimmed my nose up before I spoke into her ear, screamed for me to take her upstairs until those words of denial turned into screams of pleasure.

Her 5ft10 frame was elevated on heels that brought her chin up to my shoulder height and her hair was pulled tightly back into a ponytail that I wanted my fist wrapped around while my lips ravaged hers so hard that I smeared the red she'd painted on hers. Whatever gray and black lined around her eyes made her blue irises look electric and my pants tightened at one three-second look she fired at me in whatever eye-fuck game she played that toyed with both me and Evan.

The stupid lines game I threw at Harper was just a test of her willingness that she stayed because knowing her like I did, she bolted at any serious discussion of feelings, which my apology fell under. Unfortunately, Harper's insults had always been a huge turn-on and her close proximity, the familiar vanilla scent on her skin, even the irritation that flooded her eyes and voice drew me in closer to acting on what the non-brain part of my body wanted.

My body surged with self-satisfaction when I left her speechless with the threat of genuine feelings and declared, "I win, Harper."

The warmth that pulsed from her wrist into my palm contrasted her spat out, "No. Fuck no, I'm not going -"

"Rules are rules," I reminded her and, with one sweep of my arm, hauled her stomach over my left shoulder and groaned quietly at the feel of her warm, smooth thighs when I pinned them against my side. "Even in verbal games, sore loser."

As I expected, two fists slammed into my upper back, Harper's torso twitched like she'd been electrocuted, and her voice was laced with anger, "Put me down, fucking caveman!"

"Not a chance," I assured her with a hard, satisfying slap into her closest ass cheek, then rubbed over the area with my palm as I hauled her inside.

With my height, I carefully made sure I avoided smacking Harper's head on the ceiling while I weaved through the tight party crowd, which wasn't easy with how she writhed like a rabid animal. Our exchange drew every set of eyes in the living room towards us, which included Evan's amused smirk from the pair of girls he'd had earlier who now stood next to him with their arms crossed and pouts on their lips.

"Don't make me scream," Harper growled into my ear as I climbed up the stairs and grunted when one of her legs kneed me right in the stomach. My gut clenched under the slammed contact but internally I was thankful she missed her actual target.