Crazy Beautiful Love Read online

  I stared ahead and didn’t answer her. My mind was spinning with questions. She lived on Manor Road? That meant she was rich, really rich. The sort of rich that made the Forbes’ Richest People in the World list. What was she doing trying to steal a cop car? And what was she doing with the likes of me? And how brazen was she to kiss me? I grinned to myself as I thought about the kiss; I could still taste her on my lips. She was trouble, plain and simple. The only possible outcome to this evening was to take her home. Take her home and never see her again. I’d warn her that a life of crime wasn’t the way to get attention from her rich parents. Obviously, she was crying out for attention. Maybe her daddy worked too many hours and her mom was too busy servicing the pool boy and getting her hair done. Maddie was lost and crying out for help. I couldn’t do anything to help her. Not a damn thing. She didn’t need to get messed up with a Martelli.

  I stared straight ahead and pressed my foot on the gas, ignoring the thumping of my heart and the heat in my face and pants. Maddie was not the girl for me. I wanted nothing to do with some rich girl who was looking for a joy ride. I could sense the exact moment the grin spread on Maddie’s face. As I passed Manor Road and kept driving, I wondered what I was doing. But I ignored the niggling thoughts in my mind. I’d worry about everything tomorrow. Tonight was special, it was crazy, it was beautiful, it was full of wonder. Tonight, I was going to just be with Maddie, and tomorrow, I’d worry about all the other shit.

  Chapter 2

  Logan

  “I can take you back home if you want.” I looked at Maddie as we walked across the grass. “It won’t be comfortable.”

  “I see a blanket in your hand. Where did you even get a blanket from?” She laughed and pointed at the Disney Princess blanket in my hand. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.” She paused and said casually, “Do you bring a lot of girls here then?”

  “No, and I got the blanket from the backseat.” I shook my head and turned away from her. The truth was, I had never brought another girl here. It was my special place, the place I came to when I wanted to think and be away from my brothers and my dad.

  “The stars look so close,” she whispered in hushed tones. “I didn’t think the sky could look any prettier than it does down by the pier, but it is gorgeous here.”

  “I think we’re closer to the sky.” I nodded in agreement.

  “Really?” She looked surprised. “I didn’t think the altitude was any higher here.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a fact, scientifically or anything,” I increased my pace. “I just think we’re closer.”

  “You may be right.” She reached out and linked her arm through mine. “It’s pretty here. Where are we going?”

  “There’s an old shack further down this path.” I pointed in front of us.

  She giggled. “Oh, it looks grand.”

  “You can see it?” I frowned. It was extremely dark, and while the stars and moon illuminated the field we were walking through, it wasn’t so bright that I could see the shack.

  “No, silly.” She leaned her head into my arm and I tensed up. “I was joking.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’m glad you decided not to take me home.”

  “I figured you may as well continue your night of crime and debauchery.” I tried to make a joke, but my voice sounded too serious.

  “We’re a regular Bonnie and Clyde, aren’t we?”

  “No, no, we’re not. I had nothing to do with you and the cop car.”

  “I’m joking, Logan.” Her voice was suddenly serious. “I’m sorry if you think I forced you to bring me here tonight. You can take me home, if you’re scared I’m going to get you in trouble.”

  The irony of the situation hit me once again. She was worried she was going to get me in trouble? “Let’s not talk about our crimes of the evening,” I said lightly.

  “Sounds good to me.” She stumbled and I grabbed hold of her to make sure she didn’t fall. My hands slid around her waist, and I brought her in close to me to steady her. She looked up at me in thanks, and I was overcome with an emotion that I was unfamiliar with.

  “Be careful,” I spoke gruffly as I let go of her. “I don’t want you to get a twisted ankle.”

  “I’ll be okay.” She spoke lightly and ran ahead slightly. I felt slightly disappointed that she was no longer holding on to my arm. I missed the feel of her hand on my body.

  “Where are you running to?”

  “The shack.”

  “But you don’t know where it is.”

  “I’m sure you’ll tell me when to stop.” She started running faster, and I watched as her long legs sprinted in front of me, and her hair flew behind her. Her strides were long and she had perfect form as she ran; I realized that she must have run track at some point in her life.

  “Hold on.” I ran behind her and tried to catch up. She paused for a second and looked back at me. I saw the same twinkle in her eye that I had seen earlier that evening.

  “Catch me if you can!” She laughed and started running again. She increased her pace and I doubled up my efforts to catch her. It took about a minute of running for me to finally catch up with her. I grabbed hold of her waist and we both went crashing down to the ground, as I couldn’t stop my momentum.

  “Ow,” she laughed into my face as we rolled around in the grass. “That hurt.”

  “Sure it did.” I laughed into her face, panting. “You can sure run fast.”

  “Thank God! The police would have caught me if I wasn’t as fast as a rocket.”

  “As fast as a rocket, huh?”

  “That’s what my dad says.” She smiled into my face, and she rolled over on top of me. “You really do look like James Dean.”

  “Is that why you wanted to spend the night with me?” I said, only half joking. A part of me was sad at the thought.

  “Nah.” She leaned down, her hair framing her face and brushing against the sides of my cheeks.

  “So then why?”

  “Because you taste like sin.” She winked at me and pressed her lips against mine softly. I reached up and pulled her head down and crushed her lips against mine. I rolled her over onto her back and straddled her, pushing my tongue into her mouth as I pinned her arms back so she couldn’t move. Her eyes widened at the pressure of me against her I grinned against her lips. She had no idea who she was dealing with. My tongue explored her mouth as she wiggled beneath me, and I kissed her harder, sucking on her tongue as she struggled to move her arms. I winked at her and finally released them, and she ran her fingers through my hair and down my back, allowing her fingernails to dig into my skin.

  I ran my hand through her hair and down the side of her face, before removing my tongue from her mouth and licking down her chin to her neck. I allowed my tongue to trail down her neck to her chest and she stilled beneath me as my fingers ran up her stomach and settled on her right breast. I paused and moved my mouth over to her left breast. I bit down on her hard nipple through her tank top as my fingers played with her other breast. I could hear her panting beneath me, and she moved underneath me. I ran my fingers down from her breast to her stomach and then to her thighs. Running them lightly up her inner thigh, I then stopped and sat up.

  I looked down at her, panting in the grass, staring up at me with eyes full of lust, and it took everything I had in me to not rip her jeans off and take her then and there.

  I jumped up and reached down and pulled her up to join me.

  “What just happened?” She looked at me with dazed and innocent eyes. “Why did you stop?”

  “I’m not going to take you in the grass, in the middle of some field. And I don’t have protection.”

  “Oh.” She nibbled on her lower lip. “I would have thought someone like you would have protection at all times.”

  “Someone like me?” My heart beat rapidly at her words. I tried to ignore the hurt that coursed through my veins.

  “Yeah, I figured a guy as hot as you would have hundreds of women
throwing themselves at him.”

  “Oh.” I laughed, trying not to fall under the spell her eyes were casting up at me. “I don’t generally get many girls throwing themselves at me.”

  “I’m the only one who has wanted you?”

  “You’re the only girl I know who has told me to take her in a field.”

  “Then you should do it,” she grinned at me impishly. “I’m on the pill.”

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head, ignoring the urge to pull her towards me and take her then and there. She was one of the sexiest and most confident girls I had ever met and I was having a hard time resisting her. And it was about more than the hot lust I felt for her, there was something about her smile that was tugging on my heartstrings. And frankly, it was that emotion that had me scared and holding back.

  “Why not?” She pouted.

  “You don’t even know me.” I shook my head. “You’re not very smart, are you?”

  “I want to have sex with you.”

  “Me, or any guy?” I stared at her pointedly. As much as I wanted to take her, I knew that I couldn’t. She didn’t seem like the sort of girl who knew the score. And as much as I didn’t care if she got hurt, I just couldn’t go forward. I didn’t bother asking myself why; I didn’t want to know.

  “I’m not a whore, you know.” She stared at me with pleading eyes. “I don’t just go around having one-night stands.”

  “So you want to use me for a one-night stand?”

  “No, well, you know.” She blushed and looked down. “You’re different from most guys I’ve dated.”

  “You wanted to know what it was like to be with a bad boy?” I ran my hands through my hair. “Time to experiment with a bit of rough?”

  “No, no.” She shook her head angrily. “What’s your problem anyway?”

  “I don’t have a problem.” I started walking.

  “Are you mad at me, Logan?”

  “No, why would I be mad at you?”

  “I don’t know.” She sighed. “You’re not how I imagined, you know?”

  “Yeah, you told me earlier.”

  “Earlier, I was talking about your looks.” She reached out and stopped me. “Now, I’m talking about personality. You say you’re a bad boy, but a bad boy would have fucked me with no hesitation just now.”

  “Is that what you want me to do?” I looked at her through narrow eyes. “Do you want me to bend you over and fuck you and take you home?”

  “Yes… no,” she mumbled, and I laughed as I saw the hope and eagerness in her eyes, followed by the shock. “I mean, yes, I want to sleep with you, but I don’t want you to take my home afterwards.”

  “Oh, you’d rather we talk about our dreams and goals after?” I cocked my head to the side and looked at her in consideration. “Shall we talk about our plans for the future after? Maybe about my goal to go to law school, and your goal to become President? Hmm, yes, that sounds like a good idea.”

  “You’re a real asshole, you know that?” She glared at me.

  “You don’t know me.”

  “I know of you.”

  “Yeah, you know what everyone in River Valley knows about me.” I shook my head, disappointed.

  “You think I believe everything that I hear?” Her eyes shot daggers at me.

  “I don’t care.” My voice was hard. “And you should believe it it’s true.”

  “I don’t think it’s true at all,” she said softly.

  “You just hope it’s not true.”

  “I want to get to know the real you.”

  “Maddie, we’ve barely just met tonight. You don’t want to get to know me. You want a hot fuck in a field with the town’s bad boy so you can go and tell all your friends.”

  “You think it would be hot if we made love?” she whispered up at me, and moved closer to me.

  “I said fucked.” I took a step back. This girl was stubborn and brave. And stupid. “I don’t make love.”

  “That’s okay, we don’t need to make love.”

  “You’re crazy. You know that, right?”

  “Tell me you don’t want me.” She grabbed my hand and moved even closer to me. “Tell me, you don’t want to feel yourself inside of me.”

  “You’ve been watching too many pornos, Maddie.” I looked at her with a wry smile. “I’ve never heard anyone use those phrases in real life.”

  “I don’t watch pornos.” She leaned up towards me. “But I do want to feel you inside of me.”

  “Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?” I could barely believe my ears. This girl was crazier than I had given her credit for. “I wouldn’t go around saying that to every guy you meet.”

  “I don’t want to sleep with every guy I meet.”

  “So why me?” I looked at her, and my heart skipped a beat. I knew I was falling under her spell. And I didn’t want to. I wanted to be anywhere but here, with anyone but her.

  “Because you’re Logan Martelli.” She smiled shyly.

  “You say that like it’s a good thing.” I rolled my eyes. “Haven’t you heard? Good girls like you are meant to stay away from me.”

  “I’m not a good girl.” She licked her lips. “I’m a bad girl.”

  “Why are you here, Maddie?” I sighed as I stared at her lips. I wasn’t going to be able to resist her much longer.

  “I don’t know.” She stepped back, and I was loath to lose her closeness. “I like you. I’m attracted to you. I want to know the real you.”

  “There is no real me. The me you know about is the real me.”

  “I’ve always wanted to get to know you better.”

  “You don’t even know me.” I rolled my eyes.

  “You’re famous in this town.” She pushed me in the chest slightly. “And you know what? I don’t care what people say about you.”

  “It’s true what they say about me.”

  “Who cares?” She shrugged nonchalantly.

  “What do you do, Maddie?” I changed the subject, not wanting to talk about my reputation any more.

  “I’m a college senior. Well, I’m going to be a senior in the fall.”

  “I see.” I nodded and turned away. “Back home for the summer?”

  “Yeah.” She sighed. “I wanted to get a job, but my mother wasn’t having it.”

  “She doesn’t want you to work?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “But let’s not talk about her.”

  “What are you studying?”

  “History.”

  “Interesting.”

  “No, it’s not.” She laughed. “I know that many people aren’t as inspired by history as I am. What did you study?”

  “In college?”

  “Yeah.” Then she blushed. “Oh, sorry. I guess you didn’t go to college?”

  “No. I shook my head, annoyed. “I barely graduated from high school,” I lied, not wanting her to know that I graduated with a 3.8 GPA and a number of college credits from dual enrollment classes.

  “School’s not all that.”

  “Yeah.” We walked in uncomfortable silence. What was she doing with me here? What was I doing with her?

  “Do you enjoy stealing cars?”

  I looked over at her, annoyed and suspicious. What sort of fool was she? “Is that all you think I do?”

  “No,” She looked taken aback. “I was just curious, seeing as how we just met, you know.” Her voice trailed off and I stifled a curse. Since when was she so sensitive?

  “Look, Maddie, I don’t know you and you don’t know me. Let’s just spend the night staring at the stars and leave it at that. I’m not down for any deep conversations. I don’t need to be analyzed by some college girl.”

  “I think you have a problem with me.” Her words were soft but I could hear the edge in her words. “You’re pretending you think I have an issue with you because you’re Logan Martelli. Woo, I’m scared to be with the big, bad Logan Martelli, eldest brother in a family of criminals. I’m so scared. You’re goin
g to steal a car and then have your wicked way with me. Uh oh. Even though I can’t even get you to make out with me for longer than a few minutes. The issue we have here isn’t what I think of you, which by the way is not much, and that has nothing to do with the rumors about you in town. The issue we have here is that I’m a girl, and I’m rich, and I’m college educated, and I’m forward, and you don’t like that. You don’t like that a girl like me is confident enough to tell you that she wants you. You’re scared that I’m going to emasculate you. You’re scared that I’m going to be a better thief than you. You’re—”

  I watched Maddie ramble on incensed and pulled her towards me. “Oh, shut up,” I growled at her before pressing my lips down on hers again. “Just shut up,” I whispered against her mouth, and this time it was she who pushed her tongue into my mouth first. We kissed passionately, as if it were the last kiss that either of us would ever have on earth. I ran my hands down her back and grabbed her ass and pulled her into me so she could feel my arousal against her stomach. I squeezed her ass cheeks and enjoyed the feel of her firm butt against my hands. She pushed her breasts against my chest and I felt her hands in my hair. I opened my eyes and saw her gazing into mine with a sparkly glint. She was loving every second of our encounter, and it crossed my mind that she had deliberately wound me up; she had wanted me to take control of the situation and just shut her up. All of a sudden, I felt even more aroused and I brought her down to the ground with me. If this was what she wanted, who was I to say no?

  “Oh, Logan,” she moaned against my mouth, as I slipped my hand up her shirt and cupped her breast over her bra. I slipped my fingers into her bra cup and pinched her nipples, delighting in the sound of her groan at the contact of my skin on hers.

  “Sit up,” I commanded her and pulled off her tank top as she sat up and stared at me. I then unclasped her bra and threw it on the ground.

  “Take off your shirt as well,” she whispered.

  “What?” I stared at her, unsmiling.

  “Take off your shirt.”