Reject Me (Kin #5)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Chapter 1

Peyton

I was applying makeup when I felt hands touching my shoulders. A tingling sensation ran from my arms to my fingertips every single time the man had ever touched me there. In fact, I got hot and bothered in other places whenever he touched me anywhere. I don’t know what it was about him, other than secretly maybe I’d wanted the guy for a lot longer than I cared to admit.

“Come on, baby. Don’t make me go to your brother’s house. You know he doesn’t like me, and I’m not in the mood to pretend we’re cool.” My boyfriend Jamey and my brother Shayne were constantly having words. I suppose it wasn’t anything new since we’d been dating for over a year.

“Everyone is goin’ to be there, even Joey and Lacey. Please don’t do this again. You’re always the only one that doesn’t show up and my parents won’t get off my back about it.” It was true. My mom and dad were on my case every day about being with Jamey. It all really came down to my cousin Ford, who was also Jamey’s cousin on the other side of Ford’s family. We lived in a hick-town in Maryland, everyone knew everyone’s business. For that matter, Jamey’s mother was the owner and operator of a local diner that everyone went to. Since we’d all grown up attending family parties, we were assumed to be related.

Then we started dating.

Dirty looks were a common thing for us, not to mention having to explain how we weren’t related more times than we could count.

For the record, growing up I always liked Jamey Billings, but he was a player, who thought he was God’s greatest gift to women. He was a year older than me, and as a teen I watched him whoring around with any girl that would give him the time of day.

When we first started dating, after he’d asked me out a dozen times, we kept our relationship a secret. He was so handsome, and I suppose that in some ways I’d always wanted to know what it would be like to have a relationship with someone as hot as he was. Jamey’s problem was that he knew it. He worked at it, going to the gym, spending his money on nice clothes, and making sure his hair was always perfect. I swear, sometimes he used more hairspray than I did, not that I was complaining. The end result made me weak in the knees. “I don’t give a shit what your parents think about me, Pey. You should know that by now. Besides, I promised my buddies that we’d go four-wheeling the day after a good rain. Do you see how muddy it is out there? It’s damn near perfect. I ain’t passin’ the opportunity for that shit to go to some lame ass cookout with a bunch of married people.”

I looked him right in the eyes, peering into his idiotic soul. “They aren’t all married. Your brother isn’t married, Jamey.”

“My brother is so f**kin’ married that Lacey probably wears his balls around her damn neck. Don’t even try to tell me different. She says jump and he asks her how high. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. He’s pu**y whipped, which is something his ass swore he’d never be. I’ll be damned if I ever let that happen to me.”

My stomach dropped. Not because I wanted him to be wrapped around my finger, but because I wanted some sense of stability in our relationship. As far as serious went, sleeping in the same bed at night with Jamey was as good as it got.

We didn’t say the traditional three words that other people said to each other at night, or when we went off to work. Jamey was just, well he was Jamey; a one of a kind badass that wouldn’t allow himself to admit that he was tied down to anything, especially a female.

“I’m askin’ you for one day. It’s for a couple hours. Can’t you just come to the cookout and then go out with your friends later?”

“I already messaged them, baby. They’re pickin’ me up with the trailer in an hour.” He kissed my forehead, as if to tell me that our conversation was over. “I’ll see you when I get home.”

Heartbroken, I decided to take to smart route out, instead of getting into a knock down drag out fight with my boyfriend. “Yeah, whatever.”

Jamey looked into the mirror and adjusted a piece of hair on the top of his head. “You know, for someone that wants to sleep at my house every night, you sure give me enough shit. You need to learn to walk away, before I replace you.” His cocky comment may have been a joke, I could never tell the difference, but it didn’t rub me the right way. The peace between us had severed, and little did he know that I was a match that was about to ignite. I shoved him away from the mirror. He fell back on the bed and started to get up. With half of the makeup on one side of my face I felt the warm rush of tears running down my cheeks. He didn’t understand that I wanted him to only want me. He didn’t get that every second he spent away from me made me feel like he was doing things behind my back, with other women. This wasn’t new ground for us. We fought all of the time. “Don’t threaten me, Jamey.”

He laughed, pissing me off more. “I can do whatever I want.” Over enunciation of his words made the sarcasm leave a bad taste in my mouth. “You’re not my mother.”

I climbed on top of him without struggle. Jamey got off on me becoming angry with him. I swear sometimes he picked a fight just to get me into his bed, the backseat of his car, or wherever we were for that matter.

“Don’t treat me like I mean nothin’ to you, Jamey.” I straddled his body with my own, waiting for him to reply. The shit-eating grin across his face was about to be slapped off if it didn’t fade away. His next snarky comment was the last straw for my tolerance.

“Like I said before. I do what I want. Get over it, or get the f**k out.”

I went to smack him, so hurt and distraught that he could play games with my emotions that easily. He caught my hand before it made contact, and laughed harder. I hated that he knew me so well. “Fuck you. You say that, but I’m still here, lyin’ in your bed at night. Don’t play head games with me, Jamey. It’s not goin’ to work in your favor this time.”

Jamey pinned both of my hands at my sides. I turned away, unable to look into those light brown eyes and not think about where I was sitting, or that beneath me was probably his growing stiff cock. “You’re here because we both like to f**k. We’re friends, and you belong to me. Those are the rules and you know it. You only complain when you don’t get your way. Ain’t no woman goin’ to tell me what to do. You got that? I will go where I want. I will talk to who I want, and I will f**k -.” I couldn’t let him finish.