PROLOGUE
TEN YEARS EARLIER
THEY’D PARKED ON A TREE-LINED HILL OVERLOOKING THE CITY. Private. No one came up here anymore. AJ had taken his stepdad’s truck because it had the bench seat and was roomier than his car. He was gonna be in deep shit for taking the truck without permission. What else was new—he was always in trouble over something, and he didn’t give a shit about the consequences. Not today.
Today was Teresa’s eighteenth birthday and he wanted it to be special for her. They rarely got time alone, had to sneak off whenever they got a chance because her parents didn’t approve of her seeing him. Not that he could blame them. And his f**king stepdad was on his ass all the time to make something of himself, to get a decent job and quit staying out all night long.
He was already somebody, so the old man could kiss his ass. He was going places, making money. If it wasn’t quite legit . . . well, tough shit. He was his own man, and soon enough he wouldn’t have to answer to his ass**le stepfather anymore. And his mother had never stood up for him—not once in all the years she’d been married to that dickhead. She’d always taken the old man’s side, too weak to defend her own son even though he saw the apology in her eyes. Well, screw her, too. Soon as he got enough money in his pocket, he was gone. And he’d take Teresa with him when he left.
But tonight was all about Teresa, the beautiful raven-haired girl who made him feel clean, made him feel like he could conquer the world. For the past two years she’d been the light and soul of his life, the only reason to make him smile. What she was doing with him he could never figure out, but for some reason she liked being with him. She sat next to him on the bench seat of the old pickup and smiled at him as she opened her present.
“It’s not much,” he said, feeling like he should apologize. “I’ll get you something better soon.”
She turned her emerald eyes on him and smiled. “I’m sure it’s perfect, AJ. Thank you.”
“You haven’t opened it yet.”
She leaned up to feather a kiss across his lips. “It doesn’t matter what it is. You thought of getting me a gift. That’s what matters.”
She carefully pulled the tissue paper apart and gasped when she saw the sterling silver chain. It had cost him a month’s worth of wages at the shop, but he knew it would look perfect against her olive skin.
“Oh, AJ, it’s beautiful. Put it on me?”
She handed him the necklace and half turned, raising her hair so he could do the clasp in back, then turned around to face him, fingering the necklace. “How does it look?”
It was perfect, the pattern sexy and delicate, just like the girl who wore it. “It looks good on you.”
“Thank you.” She climbed onto his lap, straddling him and placing her hands on either side of his face. “I love you, AJ.”
Every time she said those words, his gut clenched. He didn’t deserve her. What did he have to offer? “I love you, too, Teresa.” He laid his hands on her hips, his c**k hardening as she kissed him, moved against him, rubbing her br**sts against his chest. A rush of heat enveloped him just as it always did whenever she looked at him, touched him or kissed him. He wrapped his arms around Teresa’s back, pulling her flush against him.
She made him feel whole. The only time he felt good was when she was in his arms. He slid his hand under her T-shirt, loving the softness of her skin, the way her belly trembled when he touched her there.
“Let me see you,” he said.
She did, resting her back against the steering wheel. He shifted, reaching down to push the seat all the way back, giving them room before lifting her T-shirt.
“Nice bra,” he said, smiling up at her as he fingered the see-through silk and lace and the soft flesh rising above it. She had great tits, dusky ni**les visible through the fabric. His dick pounded against the denim of his jeans, demanding release.
Yeah. Soon. He couldn’t wait to be inside her, had waited two damn years for this night. He could already imagine how tight she’d feel, how wet, how good it was going to be to come up inside her.
She dropped her lids partway down and tilted her head to the side. “I bought it for you.”
He cupped his hands behind her back and brought her forward, placing his lips over her bra, feeling her ni**les harden through the material. He pulled the cups down and put his mouth over one bud, needing to taste her. She threw her head back and tightened her hold on his shoulder. Teresa loved having her ni**les sucked, and goddamn did he love putting his mouth on them.
“Yes,” she whispered, her voice hoarse and broken as he pulled her nipple between his lips. “Harder, AJ.”
He sucked her nipple, then bit lightly with his teeth. She cried out and tangled her fingers in his hair, dragging her gaze to his. “Are you going to f**k me tonight?”
He nearly shot off right then, the thought of burying his c**k inside her slamming his balls tight against his body. “Yes, I’m going to f**k you. We’ve done every damn thing together except me being inside you, Teresa.”
And he’d loved doing all those things with her. Good girl though she was, Teresa was an explorer when it came to sex. There was nothing she wasn’t willing to try, and if it wasn’t for him holding out, they’d have f**ked already. But he’d wanted to wait until she was eighteen, until she was an adult, at least technically. He wanted her to be sure this was what she wanted.
But yeah, they’d done everything else. She had the mouth of a goddess and went down on him damn near every time they were together. He’d jacked off many times remembering the feel of her hot, wet mouth surrounding him, taking him in, all the way to the back of her throat, until he exploded. And he did the same to her, licking and sucking her pu**y and clit. He loved the way she responded, climbing the walls and screaming out when she came with his fingers pumping inside her, feeling how hot and wet she was and knowing how goddamn good it was going to be when he f**ked her.
She kissed him, surged against him, her panties wet, moistening the crotch of his jeans. He gritted his teeth and buried his face against her neck, breathing in the sweet, cleansing innocence of her. The innocence he was about to take. He swept his hands over her ass and started to lift her skirt.
“I know. I’ve been waiting for this for so long. I’ve waited for you for so long, AJ. We’re going to be together forever.”