Chapter 2 #9
I blinked dust and tears from my eyes, pushed the strands of hair out of my face, and saw his shadow stretching in front of me. I was shaking with fear—I had no chance of escaping. I started to cry desperately, and buried my face in the crook of my arm.
“I didn’t want to scare you, Grace.” His dark, deeply resonant voice seeped into my mind. I looked up and saw Chase’s towering figure. He reached a hand toward me—I took it without thinking and struggled to my feet.
“I’m fine, it’s just…” I glanced around uneasily, but there was no one else—only the two of us. I wiped the wetness from my face while Chase crouched down beside me and inspected my wound. I was distraught. My heart was racing, and I started to worry that I had become paranoid.
“We need to clean your wound. Come on,” he said, nodding toward his ride.
He picked up my bike as if it weighed nothing and slid it into the back of the van.
I was surprised by how calm he seemed. I knew it would be crazy to accept his offer—our house was really close. Still, I felt safe with him. Peaceful.
Chase turned the light on inside, helped me climb in and sit down. He pulled the doors almost close, then grabbed a box filled with gauze, bandages, disinfectant, and painkillers.
“Whose van is it?”
“Mine,” he said. “The other one’s at the mechanic.”
“Why do you have all this stuff in here?”
“I get hurt a lot.”
“I thought it was because of the weed.”
Chase didn’t take the bait. Instead, he wiped the blood and dirt from my leg with precise movements, cleaned the wound, and bandaged it.
When he was finished, he took my ankle in his hand and gently rotated it from side to side, his eyes constantly scanning my face. I felt uncomfortable—not because of the pain, but because his gaze stirred up pleasant sensations in me. I clenched my thighs together.
“I’ll take you home,” he said.
“You don’t have to. I’m fine,” I protested—but my leg throbbed like hell. I tried to stand up and collapsed. I tried again, but my body gave out before my mind did.
I fell straight into Chase’s arms, his fingers sticky with my dried blood. His closeness—and the sight of the blood—made me think of Daisy and Jamie.
I wanted to push him away, but my leg cramped viciously. Chase lifted his bloodied hand and brushed my hair back from my face.
An unbearable pain tore through my body.
I shifted between growling, groaning, and whimpering, then finally bit down on my lip to suppress the pleasant tingling deep in my belly.
His masculine scent didn’t help—but I didn’t want to be the kind of girl who flirted with everyone, so I shoved him away from me.
My head slammed into the side of the van.
The bandage on my leg soaked through instantly.
Chase calmly washed his hands and put the medical kit away. “You still don’t want me to take you home?”
I sat up with difficulty. Heat pulsed through my body, and a thin layer of sweat coated my skin. The van was scorching hot. The strange mix of pain and desire nearly made my heart explode. I didn’t know how to answer, so I changed the subject.
“You were right about Mr. Miller.”
Chase looked at me, darkness in his eyes, his hands clenched into fists.
“He tried something?” he asked, growling through clenched teeth.
“No. But after he saw us kissing, he cornered me alone in the classroom and asked about us. And he asked if I liked older men.”
“And what did you say?”
“No. Of course.”
He nodded.
“Billy Ray?”
“He’s cute, my age, and…” Seeing the stern look on his face made me freeze.
“And?”
“Perfect—as far as first love goes,” I said, crossing my arms over my breasts. I didn’t know why I wanted to piss him off, but I liked that he was angry.
“Look at yourself,” he said, tossing a mirror into my lap.
The mascara I’d applied earlier wasn’t waterproof, and the sweat and tears had washed it off. A thick black smear pooled beneath my eyes. I looked like a raccoon. I look… lame.
He handed me a damp cloth to wipe it off.
“Thanks,” I mumbled under my breath, feeling like an ignorant little girl, sinking in shame. But compared to him, I was an ignorant little girl. Just a girl. Nikky would be a much better match for him in age.
“What is it?” I asked, furrowing my brows in suspicion.
“You’re much prettier this way.”
My skin flushed, and heat crept up from my neck, a burning warmth consuming me from the inside out. My heart was racing dangerously.
“Could you open the door? It’s really hot—and it’d be better if I walked home.”
“Does he kiss better than me?”
The question stunned me, held me in place.
He crouched in front of me, then dropped to all fours. He moved over me, leaning so close the air vanished from my lungs. My eyes darted between his eyes and his lips.
“He’ll get better,” I whispered, gasping.
The answer twisted his lips into a dark, intoxicated smile—he seemed to savor the sound of my trembling breath. “I like that you don’t lie, Grace.”
“I don’t want to kiss you. I’m not like my sister,” I said.
“The transformation has already begun. The makeup. The dates…”
“That’s just life. I’m growing up, and—”
“—you lose your innocence,” he finished for me.
“All we did was kiss,” I said, making excuses, though I didn’t understand why.
Maybe I wanted him to see me as unlike anyone else.
“Then the next step is touching…” he continued, placing the tips of his fingers on the pulsing vein at my temple, then slowly tracing them lower.
My body froze. Still, he didn’t do anything indecent—he only pulled me into that dark whirlpool, the very thing I hated him for.
I was groggy with the heat, my head felt heavy, swimming, buzzing.
My heart began to pound harder, and my lungs seemed to crumple in on themselves.
Tiny, salty droplets gathered above my upper lip.
His fingers slowly traced a line along the side of my face, my chin, and down my neck, making the area between my legs tighten painfully.
I also felt a pleasant warmth and heaviness in my lower belly.
I fell into Chase’s deep brown eyes. His lips were getting alarmingly close as he kept caressing me.
Goosebumps broke out along my arms while his fingers moved up and down my bare shoulder.
My body reacted to every one of his touches.
His fingers slowly traced a line along the side of my face, my chin, and down my neck, making the area between my legs tighten painfully.
I also felt a pleasant warmth and heaviness in my lower belly.
I fell into Chase’s deep brown eyes. His lips were getting alarmingly close as he kept caressing me.
Goosebumps broke out along my arms while his fingers moved up and down my bare shoulder.
My body reacted to every one of his touches.
His fingers slowly traced a line along the side of my face, my chin, and down my neck, making the area between my legs tighten painfully.
I also felt a pleasant warmth and heaviness in my lower belly.
I fell into Chase’s deep brown eyes. His lips were getting alarmingly close as he kept caressing me.
Goosebumps broke out along my arms while his fingers moved up and down my bare shoulder.
My body reacted to every one of his touches.
His gaze slipped down to my lap. Emotions clashed inside me, sending a chill down my spine. I wanted him to kiss me, to touch me—more than anything—and I also wanted him far away from me.
“He’s going to take away your virtue,” he said in his dark, resonant voice.
“As I said, Chase, that’s life,” I replied, his name rolling off my tongue like a silent prayer.
“He doesn’t deserve you. Neither does Mr. Miller. They can’t take pleasure in such an innocent creature.”
“Take me home. Or let me out!”
I put my hand on his bicep. His skin was hot, his muscles tightening into cords beneath my touch. I could feel my heartbeat in my fingertips. I wanted to pull him against my body—but I pushed him away before his lips could reach mine.
My rejection didn’t hurt him. His lopsided smile told me that this was exactly what he’d been expecting.
Someone started banging on the van door. I winced.
“Open it, Baker!” a familiar voice barked.
At the same time, I realized that by now I definitely wouldn’t make it home by the time I’d promised my parents. Our date with Billy the next day was off.
Chase opened the doors. Oxygen-rich air filled my lungs, and a soft breeze brushed my overheated skin sensually.
Mr. Miller stared at us, anger and confusion mixing in his eyes.
“Get out, Grace!” he ordered.
I pushed myself up on my elbows and drew my knee in, fighting through the unbearable pain—but Chase motioned for me to stay still. He leaned against the open door now, smoking a freshly lit cigarette. He blew the smoke straight into my Math teacher’s face, nearly sending him into a coughing fit.
“She’s not going anywhere. I’m taking her home.”
His voice was light and smooth, yet there was an undertone only I could hear. He is protecting me.
“The hell you are,” Mr. Miller snapped, raising his voice as if trying to overpower Chase’s calm, calculated arrogance. His face puffed up like the gum bubbles Nikky used to blow.
“You are a… a—”
“A teacher at a loss for words? How funny.”
I had to suppress a smile, because seeing him humiliated by Chase felt good. At the same time, I was a bit angry—this whole thing would eventually backfire on me. He was my teacher.
“Chase…” I cleared my dry throat, but Mr. Miller’s sharp, dark glare made me swallow the rest. Sweat soaked through my clothes, my skin visible beneath them—even my bra.
Mr. Miller seemed to forget Chase was standing right there—he looked at me as if he’d been on a diet and I was a dessert full of calories. A dessert so delicious it would be worth weeks of guilt.