All The Wild Ones | Wildfire Series

A Risky Play

GRAYSON

It was a calculated risk, walking up to Nessa like that.

But standing there and doing nothing hadn't been an option. Not when that guy had moved in, cornering her. Not when I could feel how uncomfortable she was.

There were other options, though, besides the whole pretending she was mine thing.

Telling that asshat off had definitely been at the top of the list. Colorful language sat on the tip of my tongue, my fists primed and ready to throw a few punches. But I had this inkling that Nessa Elez wasn't the kind of girl who wanted men to barge in and fight her fights.

I'd thought about just asking her if she needed help. Like a sensible person might. I thought about shouting over to them from my place by the door. But then what would I have done if—when—she'd said no? Walk away? Yeah, fuck that.

Striding up to Nessa and throwing her into my arms had been a calculated risk. But I'd always been a fan of the motto no risk, no rewards. And man, did it ever hold true tonight.

Fucking hell, it paid off.

Because Nessa didn't just kiss me, she kissed me. She moaned in my mouth, tugged on my hair, and did things with her tongue that had me hard within seconds.

And it pretty much solidified the idea that I needed this girl. Christ, I needed her in so many ways. I barely knew her, but we could fix that.

I was going to fix it right now.

"Grayson, give me my drink."

Well, I was going to fix it right after I dumped out her drink. Tipping it over, I ignored Nessa's outstretched hand. Her brows furrowed as she watched the whiskey mix run into the grass that lined the driveway.

"What the hell?"

We both lifted our gazes at the same time, and Nessa glared at me, crossing her arms over her chest. Already swollen lips pressed together, and I barely withheld a groan at how badly I wanted to feel them again. Taste them.

She tasted like whiskey and wildness.

"I'm going to tell Beau you dumped out his good shit," she said, pouting.

"And I'm going to tell Beau that some creepy guy followed you outside and could have put something in your drink when you weren't paying attention."

She scoffed. "You think Jack was gonna try to drug me?"

"I think I'd rather not find out. I feel like you'd be a disaster to try to get back to your room if you were drugged."

"You're so sweet," she said mockingly, pinching her face together. But then her expression softened, and she kicked at a loose rock, sending it flying across the empty street.

It was a cool evening. Perfect sweatshirt weather. Julian lived a few blocks off-campus, so it was a relatively busy area for college kids to roam about. But his house was also nestled against a dead end, and traffic was virtually nonexistent. Except for his neighbors, of course—a few elderly couples who I doubted could even hear the loud house music without their hearing aids in.

"Thank you," Nessa murmured, and I jerked out of my musings. Her head was down as she stared at the rocks in the driveway, nudging them with her foot. "He was making me nervous."

I cleared my throat, resisting the urge to pull her back into my embrace. "I could tell."

She looked up at that, eyes wide. Vulnerability leaked through them.