Tackle Me: Contemporary Bad Boy Romance Read online

  Tackle Me

  ***

  I didn't expect this to happen.....but it did.....and now, things will never be the same...

  Jenny is nerdy, shy, the ghost of her residence hall. Unlike all the other students in the dorm who just like to party, she’s there to learn and actually get ahead in life. But she never expected Rick to come into her life. Star football player and the famous campus bad-boy, he’s all the things Jenny hates. But soon she realizes he might not be what she think he is, and now she’s getting much more of an education than she bargained for…

  WARNING: This eBook contains mature themes and language. Intended for 18+ readers only!

  Copyright 2016 by Serena Vale - All rights reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document by either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited, and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

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  Table of Contents

  Tackle Me

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Bonus Stories:

  Billionaire Uncaged

  Wanted By The Outlaw

  Touch Down For Love

  Protected by the Soldier Bear

  Tackle Me

  Chapter 1

  When Jenny first opened her eyes, she was greeted by a half-muffled light. Confused she blinked the sleep from her eyes and found that she had fallen asleep with a book on her face, covering her eyes like a sleep mask. She released a small sigh of aggravation at this as she pushed the book from off of her face.

  She didn’t even remember falling asleep.

  What the hell did I expect? She had pulled another late night at the library, and the toll of so much studying had finally caught up with her. It was only the first week of school and her roommate, Nichole, had said that she was already putting too much effort into her academics.

  This was only one of the differing points of view that she and Nicole shared. It wasn’t that Jenny was overly obsessed with her studies, but organic chemistry required a large amount of dedication. To fall behind a day was as bad as falling behind for a week and there was still so much that she didn’t understand about it, hence the necessity for large amounts of studying.

  She looked at the book that she had fallen asleep with. The pages were slightly crinkled from having lain upon her, but there was no other damage. Despite this, she tried to smooth the pages out with her hands and in doing so, she saw the exact same spot she had fallen asleep while reading.

  Not bad, she thought somewhat bitterly, I made it further in this chapter than I thought I would have. Inwardly she berated herself for having fallen asleep at all. She had hoped to finish this one chapter before going to sleep, but she had barely made it halfway through.

  She rolled her head and saw her alarm clock. It wasn’t 8 AM yet, she’d only been asleep for a few hours, but it was Saturday. She’d still have plenty of time to make up for lost study time.

  She sat up and pushed the heavy book, New Chemical Theory it was called, from off of her and found her body felt stiff. She hadn’t budged in the slightest while she had slept, she had been so tired. She set the book aside and threw off her covers and stretched.

  Her eyes turned slightly upwards to the bunk bed above her head and listened. The small dorm that she shared with Nichole was quiet. There wasn’t even the slightest hint that there was anyone else in the room. Not that she had noticed, given the way she had slept she wouldn’t have noticed a howitzer going off. Maybe she was alone? That was highly probable, given what she knew about her roommate, whom she barely saw half the time.

  She stood up and looked at the bunk, expecting that it would be vacant and without any sign that it had been slept in at all.

  Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the figure lying there.

  It was most certainly not Nichole.

  A man lay in the bed there… and a very naked one. His eyes were closed in a soft slumber and the smell of alcohol, beer it smelled like, was still potent upon him. His hair was short and sandy-colored, and he wore a depleted beard. He was well-built, full of muscle and in all of the right places, with a broad chest, bulging arms, and from what she could see under the sheet that only partially covered him his legs were thick. There was some kind of a tribal tattoo down the center of his chest and down his left arm. A necklace with a tiger, shaped in the manner of the school mascot, was draped around his neck. He looked to be about her age, maybe a little older, and though she was shocked to see him like this for a brief moment she thought that he was – at the least – handsome.

  She gasped at his nakedness and tried to cover her mouth with her hands. The sound of her flesh striking against her chin was like a clap of thunder in the quiet room. And evidently it was thunder that was loud enough to wake the nude man in the bunk above hers.

  His eyes popped open at the sound, and she felt like a victim of Medusa under his gaze, suddenly becoming mute and unable to move. He blinked his eyes quickly, and when he saw her, a small smile formed on his lips.

  “Hi,” he said, his voice sounding a little groggy as he pushed himself up onto one elbow, running a hand through his lightly mottled brown hair. “I’m Rick… and you must be Jenny?” He extended a hand as if to shake hers, but her hands remained clasped around her terrified jaw.

  Frozen with her fear, not to mention the implication of what must have happened three feet above her head while she’d slept, Jenny couldn’t think of how to reply. She had never seen a naked man in her life outside of the movies and even then, never like this. And yet he talked as casually to her as if he had done it a thousand times before.

  “Uh…” was all she could manage to say.

  He smiled and sat up, looking at his unshaken hand as if there was something wrong with it. Satisfied that there wasn’t he let his dangled his legs over the edge of Nichole’s bed and jumped down, standing fully naked in front of her. Her eyes went over his figure again, and she saw how well defined his body really was. She was aware of why Nichole would have been interested in this one right off the bat.

  “Sorry,” he said simply, making no effort to conceal his nudity or sounding at all genuinely apologetic. “Nichole must have gotten up while we were asleep… I thought she’d be here when I woke up.”

  Mortified, Jenny simply turned her back on him and went to her wardrobe. Her hands fumbled for something… anything… any excuse not to have to stand there and talk to the naked man in her dorm.

  Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!

  Her eyes fell upon her salvation. She saw her shower caddy sitting inside her wardrobe like a waiting angel ready to deliver her. Seizing the small plast
ic basket she turned, deliberately keeping her eyes low so as not to look at the naked man in her room. Even so, her eyes took in the sight of his thick thews and even the tip of his cock which just managed to hang inside her view.

  “Uh… I’m… I’m just… going…” she said, her free hand reaching the handle to her door and fumbling with it, her fingers clumsily trying to open the door which added to her desire to leave.

  Like a blessing the door opened, and she stepped into the hall beyond, thankful to be free of the irksome confinement of her room and the man therein. Closing the door behind her, she felt a welcome sense of relief that imploded almost instantly as she took her first step, straight into Nichole.

  “Oops, sorry,” Nichole said as they collided.

  Jenny regarded her roommate. Her hair was flaming red, her skin was fair, and she was wrapped in nothing but a towel. Her hair was thick and mottled like she had just gotten out from the shower. Her own shower caddy in her hand, Nichole smelled sweet of honeyed shampoo and some kind of fancy soap that Jenny couldn’t readily identify.

  “Morning,” Nichole said casually and with a sweet smile on her face.

  Her cheeks red, all Jenny could do was utter a string of incoherent words. She wanted to speak of her discomfort of waking up and finding a naked boy in her room… of how she felt sickened to think that Nichole and he must have had sex while she was asleep… but the words failed to form in her mouth.

  “I take it that you met Rick?” Nichole said, a small amused grin growing on her face. The grin changed, becoming wolfish and Nichole flushed, like a young girl suddenly realizing that she had caught the attention of a boy for the first time and that she couldn’t believe her luck. “I met him the other night at the sorority rush… God, isn’t he hot?”

  Jenny couldn’t form the words but shot an uncertain look over her shoulder at the closed door. Then she looked back to Nichole who looked flushed with renewed hormones.

  “He’s on the football team,” Nichole said, the words boastful, like she again couldn’t believe her good fortune. “It shows, doesn’t it?”

  Jenny only remained silent.

  “Take your time in the shower,” Nichole said with a wink as she walked around her and to the door. “We might be a while.” She knocked on the closed door and after only a moment it opened. “Good morning, handsome,” Nichole said as she stepped in. Jenny had just enough time to see her roommate’s towel drop from off of her body, exposing her bare back and a perfectly formed ass as she closed the door behind her.

  Jenny stood dumbfounded in the hall as the sounds of soft chuckling reached her ears, and a mild disgust rose up in her heart. She looked down at her shower caddy, suddenly grateful that she had it because now she felt like she truly needed a shower. But her heart sank as she realized she hadn’t grabbed her keys… or any of her books… or even a change of clothes… all were locked on the other side of a door that she had no desire to pass through.

  “Shit,” she muttered as she leaned against the wall, lightly thudding her head against the bricks there.

  So much for study time.

  Chapter 2

  By the time Monday rolled around, Jenny felt at least half-recovered from her ordeal. She had tried to think of ways to speak to Nichole about her habits and how it should and shouldn’t affect their living space. But the thoughts she’d had simply wouldn’t translate into words. In the end, it didn’t matter too much as Nichole wasn’t around long enough for her to have any uncomfortable discussions.

  She didn’t care for Nichole and her social situations. That Nichole was looking to climb the ladder or campus popularity, she had already known. Since she had met Nichole, her redheaded roommate had already tried to drag her to a dozen frat parties and just as many sorority rushes, and it was only the second week of school now. And while a desire to be popular was forgivable, bringing a boy back to their room – especially when Jenny was still inside – had been a new low.

  She tried not to think about it.

  In any event, Nichole had been absent from their room half the time anyway and after Saturday morning Jenny was willing to bet she knew the reason why. But if Nichole was out spreading her legs for her boyfriend… what was his name? Rick? Whatever… if he kept Nichole out so that she, Jenny, could study in peace then so much the better. She would have the chance later to talk to her fiery roommate about her sex habits later. Right now, she had more important things to muse on.

  As she walked into her O-chem lab, she felt prepared. Last week had been brutal and had necessitated much of her over-the-weekend reading, but now she felt ready. The professor had said that he had a project coming up and that a deeper understanding of rudimentary biology would be required, and she had wondered what that project could possibly be.

  Despite the embarrassment of Saturday, she had managed to get a good amount of studying done. There had been no other embarrassing or awkward situations, and that was owed largely to the fact that Jenny had sequestered herself in the library where she was free from such diversions and immersed in a nice and quiet environment. And with such time she had been able to catch up on her studies.

  When she sat in her lab, she noticed that there were only eleven people in the room, including herself. Last week there had been nearly twenty, and likely some of them had dropped the class after realizing how difficult it was going to be.

  Just as well, she thought. Not everyone was cut out to be a scientist.

  She had just settled at her desk and opened her book and notes when the professor walked in. He was a tall and elderly man, bald as an egg on top, with thick glasses and a wearing the stereotypical sweater vest and red bow tie. That he was something so predictable was reassuring. She was fond of the old look of men of intellect. The lab coats… the bowties… that kind of old-style made her feel good.

  “Good morning everyone,” he said happily as he stood in front of the dry-erase board and looking around at the assembly. His face lightly fell, “Strange… I knew that we’d had some folks drop out, but I thought I was supposed to have twelve in this class.”

  “Number twelve, right here,” said a voice that drew everyone’s attention to the door.

  Jenny’s eyes went to the source of the voice and she very nearly yelped when she saw the one who owned it. In an instant she felt like she was suddenly turned to ice in her chair, the chill that went down her back was so intense.

  Rick was standing there.

  He was donned in more clothing than when she had seen him last, thankfully. He wore a tight t-shirt with the school football team logo on the front that hugged the contours of his body perfectly, along with a pair of ragged old looking jeans and a pair of muddy shoes. Slung over one shoulder was his schoolbag and under his left hand was a textbook that matched hers: Organic Chemistry 101.

  No… she silently pleaded. It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be possible. Not him. Not here. In a school filled with more than 5,000 students, the odds couldn’t be that bad that he would be enrolled in her class.

  “Ah, good,” the professor said warmly.

  “Sorry, I’m late… I couldn’t find the room,” Rick said, eliciting a few chuckles from the others in the room.

  Typical jock, Jenny thought, can’t find a room in the smallest building in the middle of campus.

  “Come in, have a seat,” the professor instructed.

  Rick entered the room, and his eyes combed over the other faces in the class… then came to rest on her. Her heart struck a chord of fear as a familiar smile formed on his visage as he walked over, planting himself in the seat beside her, throwing her a small wink as he did so.

  If she had turned to ice at the sight of him, Jenny felt like she could have melted into a puddle of goo just being so near to him. Her cheeks flushed, and she tried hard not to meet his gaze as he hung his backpack over the back of his chair and opened his book.

  “Now,” the old professor went on, “I hope you all had a chance to catch up on the reading because
we’ll be getting back to our lab from last week…”

  She was barely able to listen, feeling her cheeks growing hot sitting near Nichole’s new boyfriend. Unbidden into her mind came the memories of seeing him naked… the curves of his muscles… his casual attitude towards nudity…

  “It’s nice to see you again,” Rick whispered under his breath.

  She felt her breath come slowly into her lungs. Again, she couldn’t think of anything to say, so she kept her eyes forward. She tried to listen to the professor… tried to remember the reason that she was here.

  “Jenny, right?” he asked.

  She cringed inwardly trying not to acknowledge him and feeling herself flush to an even deeper red. She stared ahead at the professor and tried to listen to his words, but her heart was pounding so heavily that she couldn’t hear a thing he was saying.

  “Are you always this quiet?”

  She didn’t answer him. She did her best to focus as the lecture went on, though only half of what the professor said sunk in. She only managed to hang on to every other word as he spoke and she tried to write it all down as she went.

  “…process… chemical formula… undifferentiated…”

  Her hand couldn’t seem to catch up to what the elder man was saying. It was like she was suddenly in a fog and everything wasn’t clear to her anymore. It felt like she was blind to everything else that was going on around her and she alone seemed to be caught up in the strange mist.

  “Mr. Tigh,” the professor said, looking at Rick. “Do you know the answer?”

  Jenny, looking to the boy sitting beside her, watched with interest. She felt lost again for the second time in as many minutes. She had lost everything that the older man had said. She hadn’t even heard the question.

  Neither had Rick, apparently, as he answered with, “Sorry?”

  Her eyes fell to the boy’s, Rick’s notes. What she saw there made her want to laugh aloud. He hadn’t been taking any notes at all. He’d been doodling, and not very well at that. Most of what she could see on his notepad consisted of poorly drawn naked women.