CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
SARAH
ABANDONED SCHOOL
(ONE YEAR AGO)
It had been a week since that first time.
One week of stolen kisses, of James pulling me into empty classrooms, under stairwells, dark hallways—anywhere he could get me alone.
I swore I couldn’t walk through the school without him somehow finding me, touching me, making me melt in ways I’d never even imagined.
His hands, his mouth, they were burned into my brain now.
The things he said to me that night on the roof… about us being forever, about how I make him happy… He got into every part of me. And everything I felt for him before? It doubled.
Turns out, he really had been watching me back at the ranch.
He noticed things. Little things. Like how I always started my day with chamomile tea, or how I fell asleep with a book in my hands.
Now, every morning, my tea was already waiting.
And every night, there’d be a new book on my pillow, one he’d snuck out of the school library just for me.
That morning, the sun was barely up, and I was already in the hallway trying to grab some cereal before Michael and Nathan’s brothers woke up and devoured everything in sight.
My gaze drifted to James’s door, closed as usual. My stomach flipped at the idea of sneaking in, slipping under the covers with him, and stealing a kiss while he was still asleep. But I shook it off and forced myself to focus. After all, Michael still didn’t know about us.
I stretched up on my tiptoes, reaching for a cereal box the boys had shoved onto the top shelf, like they forgot I’m tiny.
Suddenly, movement behind me made my pulse spike.
I sucked in a breath as a big hand reached past mine, effortlessly grabbing the cereal I’d been struggling to get. The moment I caught his pine scent, I turned around, and James was right there, close enough for me to feel his heat.
He was shirtless. Of course he was. Because making things difficult for me was basically his specialty.
My eyes dragged over his chest. Long scars. Short ones. Some deep, others shallow. Too many to count. Too many for someone his age.
“What are you doing up this early?”
“Hunting,” he said, amusement flashing in his eyes.
I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not prey.”
“In the tiniest pink shorts on the planet? Yeah, you are.”
God, why did that make me want to melt into the floor and climb him at the same time?
“For a second, I seriously thought you were just wearing this AC/DC T-shirt and nothing else. And if I had to guess, you didn’t even check the mirror before walking out in the fucking hallway in those tiny-ass shorts, where every single one of Nathan’s brothers could see you.”
He was so stupidly handsome, I couldn’t help but smile.
“I still can’t believe you’re my boyfriend… and I’m your girlfriend.”
His hand clamps onto my hips, gripping just enough to send a shiver through me. “Keep saying that, and I’ll have you naked on this floor in five seconds.”
“You’re not crazy enough.” I nodded toward the next room. “Michael’s right there. He could wake up at any moment.”
“But I’m dangerous enough.”
I jabbed him in the abs. “I’m dangerous too, or did you forget?”
His lips curved into something dark. “And what does the bad girl like to do?”
“Everything her boyfriend says she can’t.”
He threw his head back and laughed.
I loved his laugh. Not just because it was rare, but because when he did it, it was real. The first time I ever heard it was the night we drank beer. I almost choked on air, completely stunned. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. James Hill, actually laughing.
“He sounds like a really caring guy. You should listen to him,” he said, curling his fingers into the waistband of my shorts and yanking me closer. His lips brushed my ear as he added, “But you won’t, will you?”
I raked my nails down his bare chest, feeling each muscle flex under my touch. “No, I like being his little danger.”
His eyes flared, and he took my mouth in a kiss, no warning, just pure heat. His tongue swept in, licking, sucking, swallowing my moan as his hands slid down my body.
The kiss was hungry enough to make my whole body throb with need. But we were still in the hallway. Anyone could’ve seen us…
“Outsider, what are you doing?” I breathed, my lips still wet from his kiss.
His gaze dropped to my mouth, then back to my eyes. “Being dangerous.”
His eyes held me there, drowning me in blue, stripping me bare without even touching my clothes.
My body pressed flush against his, and Jesus, he was hard. There was nothing left to imagine. His zipper strained, threatening to burst, and all I could think about was how good he’d feel inside me.
Forget butterflies in my stomach. They were everywhere, from the back of my neck to the tips of my fucking toes. I was so soaked for him, there was no hiding it, even if I wanted to.
“I know that look,” he murmured, clutching my ass as he lifted me effortlessly into his arms.
The world spun.
And then I heard a door shut behind us. Click.
He set me down, and I took a step back, eyeing him as he leaned against the door, fingers still wrapped around the key that had just locked me inside his room with him.
I walked farther in, taking in his space for the first time. His room was nothing like mine. No mess, no personal stuff lying around. He knew this place wasn’t home. Just somewhere to stay for now.
Most of the furniture was gone. Only one desk sat in the corner, and on top of it was the envelope of temporary tattoos. My heart squeezed, remembering the night he carefully pressed the butterfly tattoo onto my skin.
Next to it was Nathan’s speaker. James had borrowed it a few days ago, and now it sat quietly on the desk like it belonged there.
His blue jacket, the same shade as his eyes, was draped over a chair. His backpack sat on the floor beside it, zipper half open, a few clothes spilling out.
There were a few candles by the door. Not like my room, though. I’d gone all out, covering the floor with at least a hundred. And of course, the flowers I’d picked up from the shop the day we first kissed.
His mattress was on the floor against the back wall, covered with the green blanket I’d given him. I smiled at the sight of it.
A handgun lay on the floor to one side, a machete on the other. It should’ve been unsettling, but in this world? It was just survival. It didn’t scare me. It just reminded me who he was. What he’d been through to stay alive.
The last thing I noticed was the window. It took up the entire wall, overlooking the town. Or, more importantly, the schoolyard. Smart bastard. That was how he always knew when I snuck out to explore.
“I like your room, Outsider, but it’s missing something.”
His brow lifted. “Oh? What’s that?”
I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Books.”
He gave me that cocky grin.
I moved toward the board, picked up a piece of chalk, and doodled a butterfly in the corner. A minute later, I stepped back, grinning to myself.
“Here.” I turned to him, showing off my masterpiece, a simple butterfly with delicate wings. “So you’ll think of me at night.”
James closed the distance between us in a blink, his hands grabbing my waist. His eyes flicked to the butterfly, but his lips found my neck. “I’d rather have you at night.”
Just a few words, a thousand butterflies.
I slipped out of his hands, smiling, and wandered to the window. My fingers trailed across his desk until they found the speaker. I pressed play, and “Electric” by Alina Baraz and Khalid drifted through the room.
I stood there, staring out at the town. Deserted streets. Shattered windows. Empty store shelves. Rusted-out cars with flat tires in the parking lot. It was a broken world, but somehow, I could still see its charm.
James watched me the whole time. He lay back on his bed, arms behind his head like a king. A very hot king. His abs flexed, and I desperately wanted to drag my tongue over them.
God, he was perfect.
“Why didn’t you ever talk to me at the ranch?”
The question slipped out, blunt and unexpected, laced with insecurity. And now I was thinking about Chloe. About the night I caught her sneaking out of his room. My stomach twisted. Did she mean something to him?
“Was it because of Chloe?” I asked, her name tasting bitter in my mouth. I didn’t even try to hide the edge in my voice.
James blinked, then laughed. “Oh my God, you’re jealous.”
“No.” Yes. Yes, I was.
He leaned back on the pillows, looking way too entertained by this.
“You know, Chloe never argued. She just smiled and nodded whenever I said something,” he said, his eyes glinting with mischief. “Unlike someone I know, who’s basically made of trouble.”
He laughed again.
And now I wasn’t just jealous, I was pissed too.
My fingers tightened around the chalk until it snapped. “Did you sleep with her?”
The playfulness in his gaze dimmed, replaced by something real.
“There was nobody else at that ranch for me, Sarah. Only you.”
My heart swelled to twice its size.
Okay, maybe he had a past. Maybe he’d been with other girls before. Maybe there’d been other hands on him that weren’t mine. But I was his now, and he was mine.
At the speaker, the song pulsed louder, every beat shimmering like a spell cast over the room.
He crooked a finger at me. “Come here.”
My cheeks flushed, but I shook my head, daring him.
God, I loved provoking this man.
His eyes flared.
“Don’t make me ask again.”
I took slow steps toward him. “Why? What’s the big scary Outsider gonna do to me?”
He stared me down, his eyes dragging over my bare legs. “Something you’ll beg for.”
When I was close enough, he grabbed me. His big hands clutched my thighs, pulling me onto his lap with a gasp. His cock was rock hard beneath me, pressing right against my shorts. The heat of it made my pulse stutter.
“You’re mine, you know that?” he growled.
“I’ve always been yours.”
“Then show me, baby. Let me see.”
“Which part?”
“All of you.”