CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE #2
I stepped to the side and turned my back on him, but I didn’t even make it three steps before a small tug on my braid stopped me. I glanced back, my head tilting slightly as I saw his fingers already wrapped around it.
I tried to shake him off, but he pulled me in instead, his chest pressing against my back.
“You can’t walk alone in this town. It’s not safe,” he murmured, his lips brushing the spot just behind my ear, and goose bumps raced across my skin.
“I didn’t ask for your permission.”
His fingers tightened around my braid, holding me firmly in place. “I wouldn’t give it anyway.”
I gritted my teeth. “You’re a jerk.”
“A jerk, huh?” he said, almost amused, though the edge of frustration was still there.
“At least I’m not a stubborn little butterfly flying straight into danger.
You walked into a building with the door wide open, on a street where no one from the school could see you.
Real smart.” His fingers tugged on my braid again.
“What if it had been a trap? What if someone grabbed you? What if you ended up in another dark place like that cave?”
“The cave wasn’t my fault,” I shot back.
His hand fell away, fingers slipping from my braid as he took a step back. I swallowed hard, already missing the way it felt when he touched me.
“Of course not,” he said. “It was mine. I shouldn’t have left you alone that day. Why do you think I brought you to town with me?”
I blinked, trying to take it in. He felt guilty—guilty for leaving me alone that day and for everything that happened after.
I turned to face him. He was tapping his fingers on the third shelf, his breath uneven, still clearly pissed.
His eyes drifted from mine to my mouth…
Tap.
Then to my neck…
Tap.
My collarbone…
Tap.
Lower, to my chest…
Tap.
The hem of my shirt…
Tap.
My waist…
Until he stopped.
His eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you answer your walkie-talkie?”
I went still. My eyes dropped to the walkie-talkie on my belt, turned off.
I met his blue eyes. He was waiting for my answer, one I already knew he wasn’t going to like.
“Because the battery died.”
“How? I gave you a full battery yesterday.”
We stared at each other for a heartbeat. Then I finally gave in.
“Well… I talked to someone.”
The air in the room shifted. Charged.
“Who the fuck were you talking to until the battery died?” James demanded.
I crossed my arms, deliberately ignoring the fire in his stare. “One of Nathan’s brothers. He asked me on a date. He’s hilarious—”
I stopped mid-sentence because James was red. Like, really red.
“He fucking what?” he barked.
“Asked. Me. On. A. Date.” I spelled it out for him, just to mess with him, because the last time he got jealous, it was one of the hottest things I’d ever seen.
His hand dropped from the shelf, forming a fist at his side. “You can’t date him.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Why not? I don’t have a boyfriend. Pretty sure that means I can date whoever I want.”
His nostrils flared. His whole body tensed.
“You fucking can’t! I won’t let you.” His voice was rough, and each word was laced with a heat that hit me right in the chest.
“Why do you care?”
He blinked a few times, like he hadn’t heard me right. “What?”
“Why do you care who I date?”
James’s jaw tightened. “Because I care.”
He said it like that was supposed to explain everything. But it didn’t. Not enough for me. Not after all the times he pushed me away. Not after five days of silence.
“Why, though?”
My eyes traced the lines of his face, from the sweat on his forehead to that messy brown hair falling into his ocean-blue eyes. And somehow, it still looked perfect.
“I get why Michael worries about where I go, who I talk to. But why do you care? I’m not your girlfriend. I’m just your best friend’s little sister, right?”
“You are my…” He trailed off, running a hand through his hair before his eyes locked back on mine. “I fucking care, all right.” His voice was loud. But louder didn’t make it any clearer.
I licked my lips without thinking. The second I did, his gaze dropped to my mouth, and his whole body tensed, as if I’d pulled a damn trigger.
“But why?” I asked again.
His eyes dropped to the floor, and he didn’t answer this time.
I sighed and took a step away, but he gripped my hip and yanked me back against his chest.
“Because you’re fucking mine!” he growled.
I sucked in a breath, my pulse skipping, then racing. Heat pooled low in my core, burning me up from the inside. My cheeks flushed hot, my skin prickled, like he was touching me everywhere even though his hands hadn’t moved.
“Every look you give. Every word that leaves your mouth. Every part of you belongs to me. Not him. Not anyone. Me.”
Then his lips crashed to mine, and holy hell, it blew past everything I’d been craving.
Heat flooded my veins and my entire body lit up. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Electricity raced over my skin as I kissed him back with six months of longing, of desperate need.
James groaned, raw and wild, and we completely lost control. Our tongues brushed, twisted, melted together. He consumed me, his tongue staking its claim, exploring every inch of my mouth, ruining me for any other man. I could taste the salt on his skin and feel his breath hot against my cheek.
His hands weren’t shy anymore. They roamed, greedy, urgent. My back hit the shelf, hard. But I didn’t care. All that mattered was the way his hands slid up beneath my shirt, possessive.
I forgot my name. Forgot there was a world outside this kiss. I was melting—no, burning.
He cupped my ass and pulled me flush against the hard length of him. I moaned, helpless, shameless, already aching for more. He was a furnace, so damn hot, hotter than the sun. If it were winter, I could’ve just hugged him to survive.
Our mouths found each other again and again. His fingers tangled in my braids, pulling, tilting my head, deepening the kiss.
“James,” I moaned, and he answered by kissing me harder, until his mouth felt as familiar as my own.
He pulled back to take a breath, his forehead resting against mine. His eyes were dark with something that made my stomach flip.
“I’ve wanted to taste you for a very long time, little danger,” he said, voice rough, breath short.
I flashed him a cocky grin. “You put up a good fight, but I won.”
James let out a low chuckle, his lips brushing mine. “Sarah, the only winner here is me.”
He said it like it was a fact. Like the sky was blue and cucumbers were evil.
“The way you looked at me that morning when you saw me working out… fuck, baby, you’re so hot.”
“I was?”
“Oh yeah, you’ve been in my head every night since. I wanted to rip your clothes off and take you right there against that wall. I would’ve, too, if Nathan hadn’t shown up.”
I felt myself blush all over. My entire body heated up like I’d been dropped in the sun.
“So why didn’t you talk to me for the last five days?”
“Because when I’m around you, I lose control. You’re so fucking beautiful… I swear, I’ve never met anyone like you.”
“You think I’m beautiful?”
“Baby, I’ve been trying not to stare this whole time.”
James Hill just called me beautiful. Like, out loud. In full daylight. With his whole chest. I’m gonna be thinking about that until the day I die.
His eyes swept over me, slow and heated, like he was memorizing every inch, setting my skin on fire with just one look. But when his gaze met mine again, it shifted into something unsettled. Like he was trying to pull away before he got in too deep.
“But I’m dangerous, Sarah. I’m an Outsider. That doesn’t just go away.”
An Outsider.
The way he said it felt like a warning. I knew exactly what he meant.
People say Outsiders are killers. But it was the gangs who made the rules and turned the world into a nightmare. I understand that now. Outsiders just fought back. Not for power. Not for chaos. Just trying to help.
James carried that weight every day. There was something dark in his eyes, something heavy in the things he had done, the past he never talked about. And somehow, all of that just made me trust him more. Like he’d already faced the worst, so he’d never let it touch me.
I looked up at him. His blue eyes gleamed under those sharp cheekbones. He was flushed, and a sheen of sweat coated his brow. His lips, swollen from kissing me, were pink, soft, and completely unforgettable.
“I choose you. Outsider or not.”
“But I’m not a good man, Sarah.”
“Yes, you are.”
He shook his head, eyes avoiding mine. “No. Not really.”
“Look, I know I’m only eighteen, and maybe I don’t understand everything about this world, but I know the difference between right and wrong.
And yeah, maybe what you did wasn’t pretty.
Maybe it was harsh. But you did it for the right reason.
You might not see it that way anymore, but I do.
There are nine people sleeping safely in that school tonight because of you.
We’re alive because you showed up when no one else did.
You didn’t have to help us, but you did.
That means something, James. That means your heart’s still good, even if you don’t believe it. ”
His teeth dug into his bottom lip, like my words had actually gotten to him.
Then he cocked his head. “Which one of Nathan’s brothers asked you on a date?”
“If I tell you, what are you gonna do?”
“A funeral.”
He squeezed my waist, and I laughed.
He pressed closer, so close I felt every hard line of him promising exactly what he wanted to do to me. And then his mouth crashed onto mine again.
He started soft, brushing his tongue slowly against mine. Then he deepened the kiss, his hunger taking over. He held me tight, pressing my hips into his, his whole body moving in sync with the kiss. I’d never been this turned on in my life.
His hand trailed lower, fingers skimming down to the waistband of my shorts—
“JAMES!”
The voice shattered the haze like a gunshot.
My heart stopped. I jerked away from James, breathing hard, scanning the room for the voice. But no one was there.
When I turned back to James, he was so pale I swore he was about to have a heart attack.
He unclipped the walkie-talkie from his belt and pressed the button. “Hey, Michael?”
Static crackled, followed by Michael’s voice, clipped and clearly pissed. “Did you find her?”
James’s eyes met mine, something unreadable flickering behind them. “Yeah, I got her. We’re coming back.”
He lowered the walkie, sucking in a breath.
I giggled. “Afraid of my brother?”
He nodded without hesitation. “I think he might actually kill me if he finds out I kissed you.”
I slid my hand up his chest, still grinning. “Oh, he definitely will. Really, really slowly.”
James gave a breathy laugh and tucked a loose braid behind my ear. His thumb lingered on my cheek. “It’s worth it.”
Then he kissed me again.