The Devastation You Reap Read Online By Tracy Lorraine - Read The Devastation You Reap(5) Online free

Macie

"Uh… Macie?" Nathan calls from the bottom of the stairwell as I race toward our floor in the hope of avoiding his inquisition. I know it's wishful thinking, I just got out of Leon Dunn's car. He's going to have a million questions.

I keep running, my heart pounding in my chest but it's pointless. Nathan is six foot four of pure muscle and legs that are almost longer than my entire body.

"Nice try," he says when he catches up with me at the door of our dorm room barely looking like he made any effort whereas I'm a panting, sweaty mess from the exertion I'm not used to.

"There's nothing to tell," I say, pushing through into our living area and praying the others aren't here to also witness this.

"Oh really. So it's a normal thing for you to get lifts with the football team, is it? You hate those guys."

"I know, Nate. I know," I say, irritation flowing through me at his big brother act. I yank the refrigerator door open and pull out a bottle of water. "I'm aware of how I feel about guys like Leon Dunn. Trust me, you don't have to remind me.

"Shit, Mace," he says, lifting his hand to the back of his neck. "I didn't mean—"

"It's okay. I'm sorry, it's just… it's been a crazy night."

"Wanna talk about it?"

I shrug. Is there anything to really talk about?

"I just ran into him at Paulo's. He demanded we eat together in the park. I dunno, it was weird."

"He wanted to eat with you after you ruined his hook up last night?" Nathan asks, his brow quirked.

"Yeah, see… weird. Then he insisted on driving me home and—" I slam my lips shut before I blurt out about his demand for a date tomorrow night. There's no point telling anyone about that because it's blatantly a joke… right?

There's no way a guy like Leon Dunn would ever want to go out with a girl like me. I'm the epitome of the opposite of his type.

Shy, quiet, book nerds aren't usually the girls the football team—hell, any sports teams—pick out. They all want the loud ones, the party girls, the ones who'll show them a good time. Maybe that's one of the reasons I am the way I am. My need to keep as much distance from any football players as possible has turned me into a girl they'd never look twice at.

I'm okay looking, sure. But most people won't ever spot me to even notice when I'm too busy trying to hide in the shadows. The only thing that makes me stand out is my hair, but now we're at college, no one really cares about teasing the ginger girl anymore so I really can just disappear.

"And what?" Nathan asks, not missing my slip up.

"N-nothing. It's nothing."

With my purse still over my shoulder and my unopened bottle in hand, I start toward my room.

"I've got an assignment that I really need to work on."

He doesn't say anything as I walk down the hall but I know he's hot on my heels and I know he's worried.

Nathan is like the brother I never had, and while I really, really appreciate our easy relationship—the first of any kind I've had with a guy—I really don't need him being totally overbearing. I can handle Leon Dunn. Although I seriously suspect I won't even have to try because the second he drove away tonight, he probably forgot all about me.

I drop onto my bed and look at where I know he's loitering in my doorway.

"Everything's fine, Nate. It was just a lift. He's probably forgotten my name already and gone off hunting jersey chasers."

He narrows his eyes on me as if he knows something I don't.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna…" He thumbs over his shoulder and starts backing away.

"Have a good night," I call out just before he disappears from my sight.

"You too."

I work on my assignment until long after midnight—long after the time I should have stopped—but I was making good progress and when the end was in sight, I knew that I'd regret having to pick it up again the next day to finish, so I kept going.

I might not regret finishing the next morning, but when my eyes refuse to open as my second alarm starts blaring, I already know I regret the late night.

I never usually hear my alarms, they're usually totally unnecessary because I'm always awake before them, but not today.

I groan rolling over and hitting the button to silence the irritating thing.

There's movement outside my door, probably the guys getting ready to go to practice.

As I lay there, trying to find the energy to get out of bed knowing that I've got back to back classes all day, I can't help but think back to yesterday, or last night, to be specific.

Why did Leon want to eat his sandwich with me?

The whole thing was just bizarre.

Nate was right, he should have been pissed at me for ruining his hook up. But he was… weirdly sweet.

My body heats as I remember the way he pinned me to his car, how he so blatantly proved that he has no issues with what he’s packing in his manhood department like I had suggested.

I should have been appalled that he wanted to make his point so clear. But with his scent in my nose and the heat of his body burning my skin, I couldn't find it in me to feel that way.

And I hate myself for it.

Throwing the sheets off, I jump from my bed and push thoughts of him and his hot body from my mind, I've got other things that deserve to take up space in my thoughts. Leon Dunn certainly isn't one of them.

The guys are gone by the time I emerge after I've showered and got ready for the day.

"Morning,” Charlie sings, looking much more put together than she did yesterday when she finally joins me for coffee. "Your hair looks nice."

Lifting my hand up, I twirl a curl around my finger.

"Uh… just wanted a change."

"You got a hot date or something, you don't usually make that kind of effort?"

"N-no, of course not. I dunno, just needed to feel good about myself today so…" I trail off, feeling utterly ridiculous now.

Did I spend extra time on my hair because of the possibility of seeing him again?

No, I absolutely did not.

Liar.

"You should let me do your makeup too. Maybe that way you'll end the day with the possibility of a date."

"I don't need makeup to get a date," I sulk.

"You don't need to do your hair either yet here we are."

My lips part to argue but when Charlie cocks her hip and places her hand on her waist, I know there's zero point in trying to come up with any comeback.

"Okay fine," I say, knowing that now she's suggested it, that I'm not going to get out of it. "But I need to leave here in no more than ten minutes without looking like a clown."

"You think I'd do that?" she asks, faux hurt on her face at my words.

"Just keep it light… natural."

"You got it, babe. Come on, we'll knock him on his ass with your beauty, whoever he is."

"There isn't a guy."

"Honey, there’s always a guy."

His green twinkling eyes pop in my head as I remember him looking down at me last night with the moonlight reflecting off them.

Damn him.

To give Charlie some credit, the makeover takes not a second more than eight minutes and when she allows me to turn around and look in the mirror, I'm pleasantly surprised because I don't find bright red lipstick or dark smoky eyes that would make me look like some kind of drag queen, but instead, subtle makeup that only accentuates my blue eyes and high cheekbones. The foundation she's applied is even light enough that it doesn't cover my freckles.

To put it simply, I just looked like a better, less tired version of myself.

"Whoa."

"You had no faith in me at all, did you?"

"Um…"

"Come on, let's get your sexy ass to class. See if you can catch the attention of a fellow nerd.”

"Who says I want a nerd?" I ask following her out of her room, grabbing my purse that I left on the table.

"Honey, we both know that the only type of balls the guys you date can manhandle are their own… ergo… nerd."

"Ergo? That Latin class you took last semester to get into Dwayne's pants sure paid off."

"Wha— Girl, I've no idea what you're talking about," she says with a wink as we leave our dorm and head out for the day.

* * *

"Hey, is this seat taken?" a guy asks standing beside the table I'm sitting at alone in the library.

The professor from my last class of the day is sick so unlike almost everyone who smiled in delight and took off to spend the afternoon doing anything but work, I decided to head here to complete both the classwork and the assignment that were both posted on the university portal for us.

"U-uh… no. Go for it," I say, looking up to find a dark-haired guy with glasses looking down at me with a shy smile playing on his lips.

He's cute.

"T-thank you. I'm Micah, by the way."

"Macie."

"Huh," he says. "We'd make great twins," he deadpans before clearly thinking better of it. "Shit," he mutters to himself.

"Yeah, they'd be great twin names," I agree because as goofy as the comment might be, he's right.

"What are you working on?"

"Oh, a law paper. You?"

"Computer hacking."

"As in you’re doing the hacking or you're writing a paper about it?" I ask with a smile.

He looks up at me with a wide smile of his own that displays the most perfect set of white teeth. "Definitely the paper. Although," he leans in so he can whisper. "For the right price, I could probably find you whatever you wanted." He winks before barking out a laugh at the shocked look on my face.

"You're joking? You are joking," I say, answering my own question.

"Sure. Of course I am."

I stare at him for a beat, trying to work out if he is actually joking or not but all he does is smile coyly at me.

"Right, well. I should probably…" I point to my computer.

"Of course. Don't let me distract you."

But despite saying that, I can still feel his attention on me as I look down at my Word document and force myself to focus on what I need to do though.

I manage a few pages before I'm unable to ignore it, I look back up again and catch him red-handed.

He smiles nervously before finally looking down.

This is more like it, I think to myself. A guy who's as nervous as I am. Not one who thinks it’s appropriate to press his manhood against my stomach three seconds after almost putting said appendage into my roommate.

"Are you okay?" he asks, and it's not until his deep voice rumbles through me that I realize I was mindlessly staring at him.

Reaching out, I slam my laptop down.

"Yep. I think I'm done," I force out as my cheeks burn.

"O-oh okay. Could I… uh… buy you a coffee or something?"

"Uh… I was just going to walk back to my dorm but I—"

"I can walk with you."

I smile, appreciating his offer and more than willing to get to know him a little better. He's definitely much more my type, and the kind of guy I should be having coffee with, that's for sure.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

He packs everything back up and stands. He's not as tall as Nathan or Leon, but he's still over a head taller than me.

"After you then, Macie."

"Thank you," I murmur, taking a step forward as he falls into step beside me.

We fall into easy conversation about classes and college life as we make our way to the coffee shop and Micah insists on buying me a hot chocolate with all the extras and all too soon we're walking toward my building.

"Thank you for this, it was nice."

"Oooh," he says with a wince. As our time has gone on both of us have relaxed a little and lost our initial shyness.

"What?"

I don't hear anyone approach but I sure as hell feel him when he wraps his arm around my waist and drags me into his body.

"Thanks for walking my girl home, Micah. Appreciate it."

"What the hell?" I gasp, attempting to pull myself away from Leon's side but failing miserably against his strong grip.

"We've got a date, remember, Red."

"Oh n-no we don't. He's talking bullshit, he's not—"

"You really should go and drop your bags off. Maybe pick up an overnight one."

"What?" I screech, finally removing myself from his body. "Micah, no. Please don't listen to him."

Micah looks between the two of us but it's clear that he and Leon know each other.

"Have a great night," he says, finally ripping his eyes from Leon's to mine. He gives me a sad smile before taking off. "See you around, Macie."

He's gone before I get to say anything.

"What the hell?" I snap, irritated that he's not only turning up when I don't want him to but ruining a potential date that I might actually want.

"You dropping your bags off and getting changed or are you coming like that?"

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"But our date. I've planned it and everything." His green eyes twinkle with excitement and I will the butterflies that want to take flight in my belly away. Where the hell were they when I was talking to Micah anyway?

"Then go and find a jersey chaser to impress and leave me alone."

He takes a step forward and I take a huge one back.

"I don't need to impress jersey chasers, Macie. And they're not really interested in dates outside of the bedroom."

"Really?" I deadpan.

"Humor me. Just one night."

"You already had one. I'm still far from impressed."

"You're really gonna make me work for it, huh?" He tries to close the space between us once more.

"Nothing to work for. Nothing is happening here."

Before I know what's happening, my back collides with the wall beside the door to our building.

"Oh yeah, is that what you really think?"

His scent fills my nose, the exact one that I've been remembering all day as his forearms lift, caging me in.

"I don't just think it. I know it. Now can you please leave me alone. I'm not interested."

"Yeah, see… I think you're lying."

I fight to keep my breathing steady so I don't give him anything to prove that he's right.

"I'm not."

I gasp when his hot hand cups my cheek.

"Your pupils are dilated. You keep biting your bottom lip." In case I don't know where my bottom lip is, he drags his thumb across it. "And your chest is heaving."

My eyes narrow on his but before I manage to come up with a witty response, he leans forward, his breath tickling my ear and sending a shiver racing down my spine.

"And I'd put money on the fact your nipples are hard right now behind that padded bra."

The breath I didn't know I was holding comes racing out of me in a rush.

No one has ever spoken to me like this before and it makes my head spin with confusion.

"Want me to prove it to you?"

"What? No," I gasp, folding my arms in front of my chest.

"One night, Macie. Then if you don't want to spend more time with me, I'll leave you alone."

I study him, searching for any hint that he might be lying.

Why I'm even considering his terms I've no freaking clue but something just feels wrong about turning him down.

He's playing you,a little voice screams in my head. And while I might totally agree with that voice, I'm also intrigued to find out what game he's actually playing.

"Is this some kind of bet or something?"

"What? No. What kind of guy do you think I am?"

"You really want me to answer that?" I ask, raising a brow.

"Yeah, I do. But not right now."

His hand slips around the back of my neck and my body freezes in panic but all he does is pull me from the wall and twist me toward the door.

"Do you mind not manhandling me?"

"Not really. You're too small and cute not to." He steps right up behind me, his crotch pressing against my ass. "I like knowing that I can make you move in any way I want."

"I'm not weak, Leon. I won't bend to your needs."

"Trust me, Red. You're making it harder than most."

"Good. Something tells me that the challenge will do you good."

"I'm a sucker for a challenge," he confesses as we climb the stairs. "But do you know what else?"

"I'm afraid to ask."

His arm wraps around my waist, pulling me firmly back against him, his lips brushing the shell of my ear.

"I never lose."

"Oh God," I moan, as heat floods my veins.

"Nah, Red. Just Leon is fine."

"You really are something, you know that?"

"Sure do. Lead the way, Red. I can't wait to see your room."

"Oh no, you're not—"