Chapter 12

Riley

Our busy day, it turns out, is a normal weekend for Reign. I only managed to escape him while doing strength training with my new team followed by convincing Reign to let me study for a few hours at the library. Tried to study anyway. I spent most of the time going over all my classes with Reign for the rest of the year and listening while he endlessly tried to talk to me about what colleges I'm applying to. The latter I had no interest in discussing and played evasive. While a D1 school is probably in Reign's future, it isn't in mine. I'll be happy at a regular state school or community college. I don't have the money he does. Scholarships are always an option, but most of them are already spoken for or only cover partial payment. Our lives will eventually go in opposite directions one day and I don't know why but it makes me sad to think about.

After a few hours, Reign pries me away from the library and drops me off at my dorm with orders to change because we're going to a party. I may be at All Saints, but I refuse to look like the darling girls that go here. I opted instead to dress how I normally do in a pair of ripped jeans, some cherry red docs and a cropped off black t-shirt. I decided to leave my hair down, last minute, and added some red lip tint to my lips. I was ready on the outside even while my insides were jumping around like crazy.

It has been less than twenty-four hours since Reign took my v-card and I'm not sure what to expect from tonight. He hasn't tried touching me today, except for a few kisses he dropped on my cheeks. I'm not sure what to think except maybe now it's out of his system? Maybe tonight's party will be a good time to decide we're going back to our opposing corners with a truce now that we are at the same school. I'm not really sure. I just know that anytime I make a sudden movement, I can feel the twinge of pain between my legs. I took pain killers during practice and it helped somewhat. I should hate Reign for breaking my vagina. Too bad anytime I think about last night, my cheeks turn pink and I feel breathless again. I need to snap out of it. Reign Thorn has not dickmatized me. My phone vibrates in my hand and speak of the devil.

THORN-IN-MY-SIDE: I'm downstairs

I roll my eyes. How nice that he can't even make it up to my dorm room anymore. Guess the romance really wears off now that he got what he wanted. I'm not even sure I want to go at all anymore. My time would probably be better spent actually studying so I don't lose my scholarship here. My phone vibrates again.

Emma: Are you making it tonight?

On the other hand…Reign could just be my ride to the party. Once we get there, I can escape him and get the distance from him that I need. With my girls there I can wallow in my new status, devirginized, and have a few drinks for the lack of self-control Reign has. I quickly grab my wristlet and throw my dorm key inside before heading to the elevators. With a new purpose and a plan to ditch Reign before he can destroy me, I make myself walk confidently to the waiting car. Reign is leaning against the passenger door, one of his legs crossed over the other, and his arms crossed. I hate the way my heart beats faster when I take in his black jeans with rips in the knees and his black Saints hoodie. As usual, his dark hair is pushed back, with strands falling in his eyes. Eyes that when they land on me grow heated.

"Are we going?" I ask when I'm within arms distance and he hasn't moved from his position by the car.

I can feel his gaze on every inch of my body, but I fight the urge to fidget. "Fuck me. Can you go change?"

"Excuse me?" My brow quirks up. The same anger from before starts rising in my chest.

Reign's arms unfold and his hand reaches for my waist, tracing over the bare skin under my crop top. "Seriously, babe, I'm going to get in a fight if you look this good."

"I always dress like this." I roll my eyes, my hands dropping to my hips.

"Yeah but now I know what's underneath and then I think about any other guy dreaming of seeing you and it's too much."

I do not know how to process his words. My stomach swirls with butterflies, but I still feel confused. He's saying this, but all day he's been pulling back. After a beat of silence, he moves and opens my door for me. I glance at him confused again before sliding in. Reign closes the door and runs over to his side. He starts the car and soon we're cruising to the other side of town.

"Where is the party?"

He glances over at me, "At Bradshaws."

Kris Bradshaw goes to All Saints but often has groups of Public students party at his place too. We're both quiet the rest of the drive and my stomach feels uneasy. Reign pulls into a long driveway and parks among the other, mostly luxury brand, cars. He kills the engine and I'm out of my seat before he has time to react. He calls my name, but I keep walking, hoping to reach the party and my friends, losing Reign in the process. At least for a while.

"Riley," he growls my name at the same time his arm wraps around my waist and I'm forced to face him again.

"Do you always have to manhandle me?"

"Do you always have to run away from me? What the hell was that?" He keeps his arms around my waist. We're gaining attention from people passing by and the small crowd out front. I stop fighting and his grip relaxes.

"It wasn't anything, I just wanted to see my friends."

Reign's eyes search mine. Somehow I manage to keep up the calm mask of indifference. He shakes his head, the long strands falling into his face. "Let's go see your friends, then."

His arm slings around my shoulders, keeping my body against his side. Before I can protest or move out of his grasp, we're heading in the front doors. The atmosphere is completely different than the last party I was at before school started. When Reign and I were still firmly teamed off against each other.

I'm used to arriving at a party and it's not a big deal. My teammates would say hi, and other kids from Public would acknowledge me. I would find Emma or Sam or both of them and we would spend the night dancing or sitting at the bonfire. Low key. The way I like it.

Arriving with Reign wrapped around me, that is a different story. We can't go two steps without someone coming up to him, clapping hands, fist bumps, or asking questions about the upcoming season. Most everyone does a double take to see the girl under his arm, and then they look again, when they notice who it is. In all the years I've seen Reign at parties, he never has a girl under his arm or on his lap. They flock to him yes, pressing their tits into his arm, while they try and be his pick for the night. But he never holds them. He never kisses them in front of anyone. So the fact that it's me is stirring drama. The guys are less obvious about their curiosity. It's the girls in the room that are whispering behind their hands to each other, and running their eyes over me, judging me that I have a problem with. I arch my brow at them, daring them to say something to my face.

Reign must mistake my tenseness for nervousness because his arm slides off my shoulders. Instead his hand cups the back of my neck, his thumb running over that stupid pulse point there. I don't know why it works, but I do start to relax in his hold. He maneuvers us through the rest of the crowd, never taking his grip off me. We make it out to Bradshaw's backyard and I find a few groups of Public students. They are also watching me closely, and my ex-team's words come back to haunt me. Sell out .

"Your girls are over there." Reign leans in, his lips brushing my cheek with his words, sending shivers over my skin. I follow his line of sight and find Emma and Sam with a crowd around the fire. I start to walk away before I'm pulled back to Reign's side.

"What are you doing?"

His head dips down and his hair tickles my face. "Kissing my girl goodbye for a while. You have a problem with that?"

My mouth drops open and I quickly look around at everyone. "Your girl, huh?" I feel the resentment I've been carrying around all day get stuck in my throat, choking me. This is exactly what I was afraid of if I had sex with Reign. The indecisiveness, the in between before he decides he's done with me. "Didn't we move past that after last night? For being your girl, you haven't kissed me all day. You can't even be bothered to walk me to or from my dorm."

The teasing smirk falls off Reign's face. I caught him off guard and I use that to my advantage, shrugging out of his grip and heading toward my friends. I want to feel like myself again and not the emotional mess that Reign makes me with his whiplash. I don't even make it five steps before his hand lands on my arm and I'm spun around to face him. This time I'm ready, my hands up to push against his chest, but he's too strong. My body collides with his, his hands gripping my face before his mouth finds mine. Reign's kiss is brutal, possessive, fully meant to be witnessed by everyone around us. It ends as fast as it began and when he pulls back, I'm breathless.

With a satisfied smile on his lips, Reign lets me go, and I stumble away from him and over to where Emma and Sam are now both watching with open mouth stares. As I make my way over, I can feel eyes on me.

Emma throws her arms around my neck. "Did Reign Thorn just kiss you in front of everyone?"

"He staked his claim." Sam laughs and drapes her arms around both of us.

"Stop." I try to laugh, but it sounds choked up. I pull away from them. "He did not. I don't know what that was."

Sam's eyebrows shoot up. "You don't know. Does he just go around kissing anyone?"

"Especially you," Emma throws in. "We saw the famous beach kiss at camp, but some of these newbies didn't."

"Is everyone watching?" My hands cover my lips. I can't make myself look around, too scared to see what I might find.

"Oh yeah, everyone was looking." Sam nods her head. "Yup. All these Saint girlies look pissed.

"Public ones too," Emma adds. I watch her stare some of the girls down on my behalf, daring them to say negative things about me.

I hold up my hands. "Can we just get tipsy and catch up, please. I don't want to think about All Saints or Reign right now."

They wrap their arms around me and we walk over to the drinks. I didn't realize until now how much I needed them and this time to just relax. I automatically reach for the same seltzer in a can that Emma has when another body slides next to me, reaching for the bottled Corona.

"You seriously came with him?"

I pop the top on my can and look up to see who the hell is trying to ruin my good time. I glare at him when I see who it is. "I'm sorry, are we friends? You have no right to talk to me."

Aaron rolls his eyes. At one time, before we entered high school, and things escalated between All Saints and the Pirates, Aaron had been a friend. We played on the same team before I had to switch to the all-girls' team. Right after Reign dropped me as a friend, I often hung out with Aaron and Blade. Neither had been a fan of Reign's so we got along well. They were part of the reason I was able to pick myself up and keep playing hockey. They also never cowered down to Reign's ban on me. Until Blade moved away right as high school started and I never heard from him, even though I tried reaching out. He wrote us all off and I'll admit it hurt more than I expected. Maybe because I felt so forgettable or maybe because the small kiss Blade had dropped on my lips the night before he left had made my heart feel the spark of something special. After he left, Aaron chose to distance himself from me on his own, and I suspected it had nothing to do with Reign; he was just a shitty friend. The fact that he is saying anything to me right now is surprising and also annoying as fuck.

"You hated him. We all did."

I shrug. "Again. Not friends. I have nothing to say to you." I move around him and make eye contact with Reign across the yard. He's with his usual crew of All Saints students, but his focus is entirely on me and who I'm talking to. Aaron may not be a friend, but I don't want the poor kid to end up in a cast either. I start to walk away when Aaron makes the stupid choice to keep talking to me.

"Blade would be upset to see you sink to his level."

I turn back to him, against my better judgment. I can feel Reign's eyes glaring at my back, sending shivers across my skin. "Blade lost his opinion as my friend when he left. He's never been in contact and honestly, he gets no say in my life either."

Helping spare Aaron his life, I take Emma and Sam with me, walking away. This night just keeps getting weirder. I glance at Reign again and he's chatting with a friend. His eyes slide to mine for a few seconds before giving the guy his full attention again. I don't know why but it feels like he's keeping an eye on me even while he's not. I'm not sure how I feel about it and again the mindfuckery is staying strong.

"So Reign stakes his claim and now all these guys come out of the woodwork to defend your honor against him?" Emma laughs, while we take a seat by the fire. I just keep drinking.

"Make it make sense," Sam agrees with her before drinking her own drink.

"No more talking about him. He's a thorn in my side."

"Okay. Let's just chill and have a night like old times," Sam agrees, and I'm so thankful I want to hug her.

We spend the next hour catching up and filling each other in on pre-season. I make the mistake of telling them about my jersey and what Reign did, which only gets me more wide-eyed looks that I wish I hadn't said anything at all. They give me more drinks and soon my chest feels warm and nothing seems as bad anymore. I let my guard down, which is a terrible thing to do at a Saints' party. I'm not on my game at all when there is a shift in the air around me.

I glance up and find one of Quinn's side-kicks standing over me. Apparently, she said something because her head is cocked to the side. I squint at her then look at Sam. "Did the bimbo talk?" The girl huffs while Sam and Emma snicker.

"Just because you got into All Saints doesn't make you a Saint," the girl sneers and I snort with laughter.

"Actually, that is exactly what it means. Do you need something?" I twirl my finger at her. "You're ruining my atmosphere."

She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. She's practically wearing a bikini top in late fall but who am I to judge. "I thought I'd issue a challenge tonight."

My brow rises. "Why?"

"Last time you got off easy after stealing the car keys and our coach's car still ended in the lake. I think it will be good for you to remember where you come from, even though you wear gold and black now."

I feel heat rise in my chest, the same competitive edge I get whenever I play. She must be stupid to come over here. Reign is the one who took on the heat of the last challenge and she thinks she's protecting his honor. The crowd around us goes silent, but she keeps standing here, thinking she's hot shit. Getting to my feet, I'm happy I don't sway from the slight buzz I have going. It's enough to make me a little reckless but nothing that I can't handle.

"What's the challenge?"

The words are barely out of my mouth when I feel it. The intense presence that only Reign can seem to carry. A few of the girls who were championing their friend a minute ago, step away from her, and more guys move closer to the drama.

Reign's arm slides around my waist, pulling my back to his front. "You doing a challenge without me, babe?"

This dumb chick's face falls, her eyes on Reign's arm around my waist, and she bites her lip. "No Reign, it's not for you. Riley needs to earn her spot as a Saint. She screwed you over in the last challenge, this one is just for her."

"What's the challenge?" I ask, snapping my fingers at her so she looks at me only, not him. I can feel Reign's lips smirk against my hair before he places a kiss on the back of my head.

The girl's eyes narrow further in confusion. "Well, I..." She shakes her head before pulling herself back together. She hands me a slip of paper with an address on it. "The home address of the athletic director of the Eagles. His son is the star player on their football team. He lives in the Saints' area code and uses a fake address. I challenge you to let him know we know."

Now I recognize her. She's a cheerleader. "Let him know how?"

She snaps her fingers and another girl, I'm assuming another pom-pom girl, hands her a bag. She throws me a can of orange spray paint.

"Absolutely not." I shake my head and hand it back to her.

Her lips pull up in a sneer. "Are you turning down a challenge."

I shake my head. "No. But fuck will I use one you purchased. I'll get my own and take a picture as proof."

"One of our guys will follow you to take the picture as proof." She snaps again and some random guy steps forward. I feel Reign's grip on my waist tighten.

"I'll go with and I'll take the proof shot," he interjects, coming to stand beside me.

"Reign this is for her." The twit tries to reason, but Reign just laughs, the sound is dark and dangerous. This girl has no idea who she thinks she's messing with.

"My girl is doing a challenge; I'll help her with the challenge. Your football team isn't the only one with beef with the Eagles."

We all have an issue with the Eagles. We might have our own rivalry, but it's a border war between our town and the Rivertown Eagles. They play dirty, so I'm not surprised they're fudging records to keep good players in their district.

We all wait while she makes up her mind. "Fine," she finally says through gritted teeth. Her reluctance only proves to me that she probably had something else up her sleeve.

Reign takes the paper slip from me and glances at it before slipping it in his pocket. "I'll drive."

I shake my head at him. "It's my challenge. You can meet me there."

"Do you have spray paint?" he fires back.

"Blue, it's in my car." I wink and start to move away from his grip.

His hand snatches mine and he leans in closer to me. "You've had three of those fruity can things and I don't doubt that somehow Autumn has something planned for you. Let me drive."

"Who?" My brow pulls together.

Reign sighs, his free hand running in his hair. "Autumn. The girl who initiated the challenge."

"Oh, she has a name." I laugh before turning toward him. "I'll have Emma drive." I tilt my head back, and that's a mistake because then his intense blue eyes find mine. His burn with such possessiveness that I can't help but shiver in response.

"It's a favor."

My lips drop open and I close them quickly. "You can't call a favor."

"Oh, but I can, Riles. You let me drive and I'll take the pic while you do the dirty work. In return I'll let you ask me one question and I have to answer."

My cheeks feel heated and I glance away. I hate it when Reign can read my mind. I really hope that sex didn't build a bridge from my mind to his so he can read all my thoughts. "Fine, big guy."

I take off and Reign is fast on my heels, laughing the whole way. After stopping at my car to grab the paint, I get into his car with him and we speed through town and over the bridge into enemy territory. It takes all of my concentration, but I focus outside of the car and not on the hulking driver next to me, who has his hand lightly gripping my leg. His skin spreads warmth through my jeans and my core tingles and tightens at how near his touch is.

"What are you going to paint?" he asks, his eyes touching on the side of my face.

"The area code he says he lives in with his name." I shrug, "Simple, clean, and it will look nice on social media, which is where I'm assuming she plans to put it."

Reign finds the house easily, and my brow rises in question. He shrugs. "I've been keeping an eye on this for a while and waiting until it was the right time."

Scoffing, I roll my eyes before checking the dark and empty road before getting out. I spin the spray bottle in my hand, feeling Reign's heated stare on my back as I jog across the street and up to the garage door. The house is dark except for one light in the front window. With one last deep breath, I spray the kid's name across the pure white garage door and his actual zip code. Deciding to add a little flare I drop a little heart in the corner. My message is filled with love.

A light inside the house turns on and I freeze momentarily before slipping back into the trees by the side of the house. I hear feet and movement. My gaze slides across the street and I make eye contact with Reign. His eyes widen and his jaw clenches. I was meant to get caught; somehow, I can feel it. That was why the cheerleaders from All Saints were so quick to issue me a challenge and not have him involved. Deciding my fate is more important, I slink farther into the trees and take off running down between houses, right as I hear the front door of the house bang open and a man's voice yelling. Tires squeal on the pavement somewhere, but I don't bother to stop. I run until my heart feels like it might explode. My phone continuously vibrates in my pocket but even that doesn't convince me to stop. When I finally emerge from the brush and the woods and my feet hit pavement on the road, Reign's car swerves in front of me, cutting me off. His passenger door opens.

"Get the fuck in!"

Breathing heavily, I dive in and scrunch down in the seat. Reign's grip on the wheel is controlled, but I see his eyes darting to his rearview every few seconds looking behind us.

"What the hell were you going to do? Run all the way back to town?"

I shimmy up in his seat and grab for the seat belt. "If I had to, yes. They wanted me to get caught as retribution for their golden-boy."

"There's no way I would let that happen." He glances at me over his shoulder, his eyes smoldering.

Shrugging, I turn away. "You weren't meant to take the challenge with me. The girls did it because of a power trip to prove I'm meaningless, whether I'm a Pirate or a Saint. It just is what it is, Reign."

Our car ride is almost silent as we cruise back into town. At first I think Reign is taking me back to campus until he makes a turn in the opposite direction and we pull into the full parking lot of the late night diner.

"Why are we—"

Reign's hand grips the back of my neck, forcing my body to face his in my seat. My words dry up in my throat with the way he's looking at me. "I took the challenge to show them that you're untouchable. You're mine. You are anything but meaningless, Riley. Now ask me the question I owe you."

I swallow and my emotions feel thick in my throat. My cheeks heat from the intense way he's holding my gaze hostage. "Why haven't you kissed me today?"

Reign's eyes flicker to my lips and back to my eyes, and I watch as the darkening storm in them swirls. He tightens his grip on my neck. "Are you sore from last night?"

The heat in my cheeks deepens. As much as I want to run away from this conversation about how sore my pussy actually is, I force myself to stay. "A little."

Reign's lips curve up, and with his other hand, he runs his knuckles down my cheek, before pinching my chin between his fingers. "I saw you take pain pills this morning before practice. I'm not happy you're in pain, but I like knowing I'm the reason. Because I slid inside you and made you mine." His knuckles slide down my neck and over the exposed skin of my chest before coasting over my stomach.

He leans in and positions his lips against the curve of my jaw, placing another light kiss on the corner where my lips and cheek touch. "I knew that if I kissed you at all today, held you, was in a room alone with you, I'd be tempted to do it again. I was trying to be a gentleman."

He practically groans the last word against my lips while he unbuttons and unzips my pants, sliding his hand slowly inside. My breath hitches in my chest, lust slowly twisting in my belly. My eyes widen as his hand cups me, his fingers sliding under the fabric of my panties so he can touch me.

"Reign," I say his name, but there is no fight in it. Just want.

He leans close and our lips brush against each other. "I can't keep my hands off you any longer, Riles. I love the way you feel."

He pushes a finger inside me, gently, and I gasp against his lips. There is no hesitation this time when Reign's lips consume mine. His lips are warm against mine and it doesn't take much before I'm parting them for his tongue to slip inside. While he masters my lips, his finger rubs against my clit. My hands grab his bare shoulders, my nails sinking into his tanned skin. Reign groans from the contact, but he never takes his mouth off mine.

His fingers work my body, pumping in and out, carefully. The small twinges of pain fading into only pleasure, and in no time at all, I come apart. I cry out against his mouth, my eyes flying open and locking with Reign's. He's breathing harshly but there is nothing but heat and triumph in his eyes. "You look so good when you come undone, Riles. Such a good little puck slut for me."

Reign keeps curling his fingers inside me and my body jerks in response and with the dirty words he whispers against my skin. Eventually I stop shaking in his hold, my body falling back against the passenger door. Only then does Reign carefully withdraw from my body, before sucking his fingers between his lips and twirling his tongue around them. My cheeks heat when he moans.

"Best tasting treat ever."

I roll my eyes and scoff, trying to play it off that his words don't hit me directly in the heart. "I'm sure it's not the best ever."

Reign reaches across the console and grips my jaw in his hand, forcing my gaze to his. "I don't lie to you, babe. Now, let's go in there and put in an appearance."

I'm still dazed from the orgasm he just gave me but somehow manage to nod my head and move my hand to unbuckle my seat belt. Not fast enough apparently, because before I can reach for my door, it's already opening, and Reign is helping me out. He takes my hand in his, linking our fingers together while we walk inside the diner. A few groups of students are congregated inside, taking up the booths and spilling over into the side tables in the middle of the room.

Reign walks us to a back booth that is overflowing with Saint students. "Here." He shows her the picture of my handiwork and I notice for the first time that I'm not in the picture. He had my back just like he said he would.

Autumn, the girl who initiated the challenge, crosses her arms and sits back in the seat. "Fine," she replies and looks to her other cheer friends. "Send it to me."

Reign taps his phone screen and soon Autumn is doing the same. In no time at all, my own phone vibrates as well as everyone else's. Autumn smirks and a couple of the guys with letterman jackets high-five each other. I pull out my phone and see it's an alert from the school district's webpage. My eyes widen, wondering how she pulled that off. Not only will everyone in our school district see this but everyone in the state will have access. The caption under the photo really gets everyone going more.

ANONYMOUS: What else are Rivertown Eagles hiding? #BOUNDARYLINES

The same image and hashtag soon pop up on all my social media from various students, both Saints and Pirates alike. Well shit.

Reign pulls me into an open booth with some of his hockey buddies, never letting go of my hand, except to wrap his arm around my shoulders. I feel when he leans in and his lips touch the side of my head, but they never stop talking around me. Food is dropped in front of us and now that the adrenaline is no longer raging in my veins, and my buzz has worn off, I realize how hungry I am. My fingers reach out for a few of the fries and I roll them in ketchup and ranch. Right as I pop them in my mouth, Reign shoves a basket of chicken tenders my way too. I glance at him and he smirks because he guessed right that those are what I wanted.

"Aww, so are you two a thing now?" one of his buddies jokes.

Reign turns to him with a bored expression on his face. "What is it to you, Kirkovich?"

The guy shrugs and laughs it off. "Just heard the rumor you're off the market, bro."

"Is the war over? Is this the real deal?" another one of the guys asks and they laugh.

My stomach tightens and I watch for Reign's reaction. My eyes connect with Leif's and he looks from me to Reign like he doesn't even know. I hate that I'm waiting for him to respond. We haven't really declared a relationship or agreed to dating. Reign just keeps throwing it around that I'm his and even I don't know what that means.

Reign takes our joined hands and moves them onto his lap so they're visible. "Riley's mine, so don't think about making eyes at my girl, Jones."

The guys all hoot and holler while my face turns pink. I feel eyes on me from every direction. My heart bursts at the same time nerves erupt in my stomach. I can practically hear the jealous thoughts from the girls around me and when I glance up, they avert their eyes. Their king, the guy who never has a girlfriend, just publicly took himself off the market.