Tempting the Player (Campus Wallflowers #4)

by Rebecca Jenshak

When the same hot guy runs past my off-campus house every day, I assume he’s another college student. When he protects me from boys who still think of me as the character from their teenage dreams, I think he is being kind. When my past comes back to haunt me, he makes me feel safe.

For anyone out there who wishes they had a friend group like the wallflowers. Find those people who love and support you in every season of your life and hold on tight.

“You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

There’s just something about her. She radiates this joy that makes simple interactions feel bigger. Even when I shouldn’t, I find myself watching her with an intrigue that throws me off balance.

Her voice softens on the two words, and I add ignoring the way her trust makes my stomach twist to the list of things I’m stopping myself from feeling.

I look up and over my shoulder, locking eyes with him. “What if I don’t like nice and easy?” His brows lift higher and then he barks out a laugh. A full, hearty laugh that makes him look a lot more like Archer. “I think I’d prefer rough and hard,”

I watch Jane’s expression morph from terror to confusion to shock to anger to betrayal in the span of a few minutes. I had two orders: keep Jane safe and be discreet. I’ve failed at both.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Arch nudges him, and his lips pull into a small, knowing smile. “She thought he was into her and when she found out who he was, she realized she was just a job.” “She wasn’t just a job.” The words are out before I can pull them back. Arch’s smile just gets bigger. Fucker.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Holland?” “Mr. Holland is my dad.” He slides into the seat across from me. “And I hate him.”

Understanding seeps in slowly. I didn’t read him wrong. Some part of him wanted me that night at the party. Some part of him still wants me.

I do the thing I wanted to do weeks ago—I lean in to kiss him. Stopping millimeters from his lips, I glance up, giving him time to stop me. My heart beats rapidly in the seconds I wait for any reaction from him. And just when I think we’re going to be locked in a stare-off until I make a move, he cups the back of my head and guides my lips to his in a crushing kiss.

“You’re dealing with a lot, that’s true. Way more than any of your friends, and yet you’re still trying to pretend that your life should look the same as theirs. You’re not like everyone else. For better or worse, you need someone looking out for you. Let me be that person.”

“You won’t even know I’m there.” That seems highly unlikely.

“Favorite color?” He doesn’t answer right away, and I assume he’s not going to. He’s such a stickler. But just as a test paper is handed back to me, his voice is back in my ear. “Green.”

“I was really pissed when I found out you were my bodyguard. Not just because you’d lied, but because I thought we had a connection and then it felt like it’d all been in my head.” “It wasn’t in your head,” he says hoarsely.

“Why? Why would you keep something like this from me? Dammit, Jane, I can’t keep you safe if I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Even if it wasn’t my job, I’d do whatever I could to keep you safe.”

Staring at him should be a sport. I’d place first every single time.

“Miss me already?” “Don’t go.”

“Let’s go to the party tonight, Jane. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll be right there looking out for you while you cut loose and have fun with your friends. I won’t drink a drop. Neither will Archer or Brogan if I ask them to help me.”

“But as much as I am dying to kiss him again, I don’t want to mess things up. I have no idea what I’d do without him. He makes me feel safe.”

“Close. I want you close.”

my favorite Taylor Swift song starts.

TAYLOR SWIFT AH I SCREAMED

Blank Space.

Not bad but blank space??? Really? I was hoping like vigilante shit or any song from reputation

T. Swift makes me feel like I can be anyone I want to be for a few minutes.

REAL

“I like the way it feels being in your arms.”

“You have really great arms. And eyes.” She tips her head up to meet my gaze. “I like how sometimes they’re clearly hazel and other times they look green or brown.”

“I don’t want to lose you.” “I’m not going anywhere.” “Good. I feel safe with you.”

“I got her, man,” Cam says as his hold on my leg tightens. “She’s coming home with me.” If looks could kill, Cam would be a very dead man.

“I want to be kissed and pushed up against the wall. I want my clothes to be torn from my body and I want multiple orgasms and I want my life not to be so damn complicated. Ever since I became Ivy again, guys treat me weird. I know Cam does too, but at least he’s transparent about what he wants from me. So even if it’s bullshit, sometimes it’s fun to be wanted like a normal college girl.” “Don’t be stupid, Jane. Lots of people want you.” He seems as annoyed by that as by the thought of me having sex with Cam. “Oh, really?” I step closer to him. “People like you?”

I want to be near her, and she wants to not be alone. For tonight, we can both have what we want.

“I want to kiss you again. It’s all I’ve thought about since it happened.”

“I know what I’m saying. I just asked if you wanted to kiss me. And then I said I know what I’m saying.” She flashes a sexy drunk smile at me. “So, do you? If not, I’ll scoot back over and go to sleep, but I think maybe you want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you.”

“Fine. It can’t happen, but first admit it. Admit that you want to kiss me again, and I’ll go back to sleep.” “I want to kiss you again more than I want my next breath,”

“I want to bury myself so deep inside of you that you can’t remember your name. I want to bury myself so deep inside of you that I can’t remember my own name.” I nip at her bottom lip. “I want a lot of things, Jane. So be real sure that’s what you want before you make your next move.”

“That’s it? You got up before the sun to tell me that?” he asks with no emotion like we’re talking about the weather.

“I want you, Hendrick. Kiss me. Fuck me. Make me forget my name. And yours.” One knee drops to the mattress, and he hovers over me. “Don’t forget my name. I want to hear you scream it.”

By halftime, Flynn has over twenty points, Jane has made friends with all the people sitting around us, my brothers are even more enamored with her, and fuck, I am too.

“I’m glad you’re back. Flynn keeps looking over here, and it’s not to see our ugly mugs.” “You’re not ugly,” she says matter-of-factly, staring ahead at the game. “None of you are. Actually, you’re all really hot.” He smirks around her at me. “But Hendrick is the hottest,” she quickly clarifies. His smirk falls. And I flip him off behind her back.

“Why don’t you want Knox to teach me?” His mouth continues over my sweaty skin to my elbow and then my shoulder. “Because it makes me jealous as fuck.”

I don’t want to linger too long in the past. Especially when the present is so damn good.

Mister Bodyguard.”

This girl is too fucking much. And I can’t get enough.

They all turn, just realizing we’re home, and stare at us like deer in headlights. Then they start laughing.

HAHAHA THE WAY I CAN SEE THIS IN MY HEAD

I don’t have answers right now, but I know that being near her feels good.

“I knew what you looked like, of course. I’d done my research, but nothing prepared me for how gorgeous you were up close. Or how much I’d look forward to seeing you every day. There aren’t any scenarios in which I would have met you and not wanted you.”

Whatever my life was or wasn’t before, it led me here with him. I can try on different characters like favorite dresses while I figure out exactly who I am, and yet he still seems to see through it to the very core of me.

“I said I was your boyfriend because I wanted them to know that you’re mine. Bodyguard, boyfriend, friend, whatever you want to call me is up to you. I’m yours and that’s all that matters. But to everyone else, I want them to know that I’m the guy they have to answer to if they hurt you.”

“I guess that makes me your bodyguard too, then.” One brow lifts. “Oh yeah?” “Yes. If anyone touches you, I’ll claw their eyes out.” He chuckles softly. I’m sure he thinks I’m kidding. I’m not.

Hi, boyfriend.” His lips pull into a real, honest to God smile. “Hi, girlfriend.”