Protect My Heart

by Judy Corry

  “Uh-huh.”

  We then went through all the moves he’d shown me, which were somewhat difficult with my cast, but I think I did okay.

  “Awesome,” he said, after I demonstrated the techniques.

  Arie then showed me the other self-defense techniques for the soft targets on someone’s face. I demonstrated them back to him with ease. “I know those are all well and good, but is it likely that someone will attack me from the front? What if I’m grabbed from behind?”

  “Good question. If someone were to grab you from behind, what would you do?” He spun me around so my back was to him. Then he wrapped his arms around my shoulders in a bear hug.

  My mind went blank. “Um, I don’t know.” It was hard to think clearly with his body next to mine. We hadn’t been this close since we’d kissed in his basement over a month ago, and my body seemed to forget it shouldn’t be reacting to him like it was.

  “Think about it for a sec,” he said, his voice close to my ear. “Of all the soft targets we talked about, which ones could you attack right now?”

  I thought about it. “I could get your toes, maybe fingers if I move my hands a little, and your, um, groin if I step to the side.”

  “That’s exactly right. Let me show you.” He let go of me and stepped in front. “Okay, now put your arms around me like I did to you.”

  I did as he said, somewhat reluctantly.

  “Something you could do is grab an attacker’s fingers like this and pull back.” He demonstrated this as he spoke, though not pulling back with the force necessary to hurt me, of course. “As you can see, whatever way your fingers are pulled, your arm wants to follow in order to avoid pain.”

  He was right. As he pulled my fingers backward, my arms released the hold I had on him. “Wow, I would never even think to do that,” I said, impressed.

  He looked at me over his shoulder and smiled. “Now it’s your turn.”

  We switched places. His hands were positioned near my rib cage, and when I tried to pry his fingers away, it worked.

  “That’s crazy! If I’d known all these things earlier, I might not have this stupid cast.” I lifted my left arm encased in pink. “Then again, I could always use this as a club or something—it is pretty hard,” I joked, trying to push down the attraction growing inside me. Being close to Arie was still as intoxicating as it had been a month ago. And the tight black shirt he wore accentuated his muscles with every movement, making it extremely difficult to concentrate on what he was teaching.

  “True.” He chuckled. “I don’t think I’d risk being punched in the nose with that thing.”

  “What else could I do if I were attacked again?”

  Arie showed me a few more things, having me practice each new technique a few times before moving on to the next. He was an excellent teacher, and I learned a lot in the short training session.

  We reviewed everything once more before calling it a day.

  “Thank you so much for helping me.” Before I could think better of it, I reached up to give him a quick hug. It felt wonderful to be more confident in my ability to defend myself against an attacker.

  He returned my embrace, folding me into his strong arms. “My pleasure. I just hope you won’t ever have to use those new skills of yours.”

  It was nice to be held close to him again, even if it was just for a brief hug between friends. He still felt good. When he didn’t pull away immediately, I wondered what was going through his mind. He stood there for a time, resting his face close to my neck as he held me tight.

  His warm breath was on my hair and I became conscious of my own quickened breathing, the flash of heat rushing along my body, and the aching in my heart. Though my mind knew better, my body wanted this. It craved his touch, like a chocoholic on a diet.

  He moved his head slowly, resting his cheek against mine. The stubble on his jaw felt rough against my skin. I swallowed, fantasizing about how easy it would be to turn my head and press my lips to his—forgetting why we’d been brought together. I wanted him to brush his lips across mine and tell me he hadn’t been pretending before, that he wanted me.

  He held me a moment longer before stepping away. I imagined I saw the same longing in his eyes that I felt, but it was gone almost as soon as it had appeared, so I couldn’t be sure whether it had been there at all.

  “Thanks again.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

  It was embarrassing that he knew how I had felt about him back in Maplebridge. He knew I’d kissed him because I wanted to—there hadn’t been a reason for me to fake that. But why had he kissed me? Had he just been trying to keep his cover all along, or had he actually liked me back? I wanted to straight-up ask Arie those questions, but I was too scared of what his answer might be. I didn’t think I could take any more rejection when I had to see him every day and sleep across the hall from him each night.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  EMMA

  “I’M glad you could make it tonight,” Tenley yelled to me over the loud music blasting through the speakers. We were at Matt’s party, in his parents’ exquisite colonial home. Even though the house was huge, it was still packed with teens. When Arie and I arrived, I’d expected a little get-together with maybe ten people, like the parties I attended in Maplebridge. This was so different from that. It was hard to walk around the huge house without bumping into someone or knocking someone’s drink to the ground. So instead of checking the house out, I stood with Arie, Tenley, and a few other friends of hers in a tight circle as the music blasted through the speakers.

  “Is this what you guys do on a regular basis here in Philadelphia?” I asked Tenley, trying to be heard over the music.

  She nodded as she bounced to the beat. “Pretty much. Isn’t it great?”

  I wasn’t so sure how I felt about it—it was actually quite overwhelming after weeks of isolation—but I said, “Sure.”

  Tenley danced closer and gave me a hip bump. “So is Asher really your brother? You don’t look related.”

  For safety purposes, Arie and I had changed our names when we moved here. I was now known as Peyton, and Arie went by Asher. It was weird to go by a false name, and I hoped I wouldn’t slip up tonight.

  “Umm, yeah, stepbrother,” I said, hoping she didn’t notice the anxiety creeping up my face at the lie. I didn’t like lying to her, but it was kind of a necessary evil in my situation. Was this how Arie had felt back in Maplebridge?

  “Man, that’s gotta be hard. He is sooo hot! I’d have a hard time keeping my hands off him if I were you. Stepbrother or not.” She bit her lip as she eyed Arie, who was across the circle from us. “Is he dating anyone?”

  I fought the twinge of jealousy attempting to show on my face. “No, he isn’t dating anyone. At least, not that I know of.” He is pretty good at keeping secrets, though.

  “Ooh, so he’s free game.” A satisfied smile spread across her face as she nodded. “Good to know.”

  “He doesn’t get out much, though.” Which was code for, Back off.

  She must not have understood my code because she said, “We’ll see if I can change that.” She winked, then walked across the circle in his direction. Once she was at his side, she asked him a question I couldn’t hear. She batted her eyelashes and sent him a seductive smile. Okay, maybe it was her regular smile, but she was the kind of girl that could get any guy she wanted . . . therefore, everything about her had a come-hither sort of look.

  Arie stepped from side to side to the music, looking uncomfortable with the situation. He answered her back, but I still couldn’t hear what they were saying. He did smile, though, which made me think he liked what she was saying.

  “I’m going to get a glass of water,” I called to them and stepped away from the group.

  “I’ll come with you.” Arie caught up to me, grabbing my arm. He was about to follow me when Tenley grabbed his bicep and pulled him back next to her.

  “Hey, I know you have this protective-brother thing
going on, but she’ll be fine,” Tenley told him. She waved me away with that sultry smile on her face. “We should dance. This is my favorite song.”

  Arie looked back at me, a torn look on his face.

  I nodded, smothering my jealousy. “It’s okay, you guys dance. I’ll be fine.”

  That settled it. Arie stayed with Tenley, and I went to find something to do that didn’t involve watching them.

  I walked into the kitchen, which was connected to the large room, and got myself a cup of water from the tap. I’d already seen a few guys huddled around the punch bowl earlier, refilling their cups after drunkenly spilling them on the table and laughing. I wasn’t about to take my chances with any of the drinks at this party.

  I glanced over at Tenley and Arie, who were now dancing. I tried to hold back a grimace when Tenley wrapped her arms around his neck. Part of me wished I could dance with him right then, but of course I couldn’t. Even if I wasn’t still trying to keep my distance, everyone here thought we were brother and sister.

  I stood there, watching them for a while. Arie seemed to be having a good time. Maybe he thought Tenley was cute. I already knew what Tenley thought of him.

  I should be a good person and be happy he was having a good time . . . but I wasn’t that selfless. Instead, I thought of ways to get Arie away from Tenley. I could walk over there with a glass of punch and accidentally trip and spill my drink all over Tenley. Or I could get close by and suddenly have an allergy attack and sneeze all over them.

  I shook the ridiculous ideas out of my head. That would make me look like some sort of jealous ex.

  “Do you want to dance?”

  I startled before noticing that someone was standing next to me. A tall guy with chocolate-brown eyes. Matt. The guy whose party this was. He was asking me to dance?

  It took me a moment to come fully to my senses. “Umm,” I said, trying to figure out how to answer him. I wasn’t really in the mood to dance with anyone tonight, especially with a bunch of people I didn’t know. My eyes darted back to Arie and Tenley, who were still dancing. Tenley was smiling brilliantly as she grabbed his hands and pulled him closer.

  I looked back at Matt, who was thankfully not looking like he regretted asking me yet. “I’d love to dance.” Two could play at this game. There’s nothing a guy wants more than a girl he can’t have, and tonight I wanted to be that girl.

  As Matt and I walked, I scanned the room and saw all eyes were on us. I hoped I could pull this off with an audience; my ego needed to make this look good. I stood close to Matt, put my arms on his shoulders, and gave it everything I had. He seemed all too happy to go along with my plan, which made it better. I may have been dancing with Matt, but every move, every smile, and every twist of my hips was for Arie.

  Arie stood a few feet away, watching me with a frown of disapproval.

  Well, he could frown at me all he liked. If he didn’t like what he saw, he could keep dancing with Tenley or some other girl for all I cared.

  Dancing with Matt was strangely invigorating. I felt powerful! I’m not broken anymore, I thought while looking at Arie. I’m done pining for a guy who only sees me as a pathetic helpless girl.

  Matt and I danced to a few more songs. He turned out to be a pretty good dancer. It was fun letting loose again, being a regular teenager for a time. I’d been so weighed down with wondering whether I’d ever be safe again, and worrying about my family and friends, that I’d forgotten I still needed to live along the way. I decided then and there that I wasn’t going to play the victim anymore. I was going to take charge of my life again!

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  ARIE

  I KEPT a close eye on Emma after she left me with Tenley. As I watched her dancing with Matt, I found myself debating how badly our cover would be blown if I yanked him off my supposed-to-be sister. He shouldn’t be dancing with her like that, so close there was barely any space between them. His hands shouldn’t be on her hips, or his chest pressed to her back as they swayed to the music. How could she be okay with that? They’d just met.

  If anything, I should be the one with her in my arms.

  Knowing it shouldn’t look like I cared, I was careful how I watched them, guarding my face of any emotion. It would be bad if others noticed my jealousy, since they all thought I was her stepbrother.

  “Is something wrong, Asher?” Tenley asked, dancing beside me.

  I broke my gaze from the spectacle before me. “No. Everything’s fine.”

  My eyes wandered back to Emma when the song changed. Matt started introducing her to a few of his friends. Content that Matt didn’t have his hands all over Emma for a moment, I stopped ignoring Tenley, feigning enthusiasm when she told me her story about taking her dog to the vet the day before.

  A few minutes later, one of the guys at the party let out a loud wail just as a song was ending. “What the heck, Stacey?” his voice boomed.

  Everyone whirled around to see what happened. In the center of the room was a guy crouched over in a lot of pain. Emma stood in front of him, her eyes wide, looking around as if she didn’t know what to do.

  “Stacey? Who’s Stacey?” she asked the boy.

  “Stacey is my girlfriend,” he said through clenched teeth. “I thought you were her.”

  Understanding washed over Emma’s face. “I’m so sorry!” She held her hands out, about to pat the guy on the shoulder. Instead of touching him, she returned her hands to her sides. “I had no idea. I thought you were trying to attack me or something.”

  “What? Why would you think that?”

  “I don’t know. It was stupid.” She searched the room with desperate eyes, as the spectators held up their phones, catching the embarrassing moment on camera.

  I rushed to where she was and grabbed her elbow to pull her away from the staring crowd. “Come on, Peyton. Let’s get you home.” We grabbed our coats and headed for the door.

  A frigid breeze whipped at our faces as Emma and I stepped into the bitter cold night. The loud music faded as we walked down the path until the only sound to be heard was our feet crunching on the thick layer of frozen snow that blanketed the ground. After we climbed into the car, I turned the defrost on high to melt the thin sheet of frost covering the windshield and waited for the car to warm up.

  “Thanks for getting me out of there,” Emma said as she shivered.

  I nodded. “What happened? That guy sounded ticked.”

  She inspected her hands, not meeting my eyes. “You know how you taught me some self-defense stuff today?” She peeked up at me, a guilty expression on her face. “I think I may have unnecessarily put those skills to good use tonight.”

  “What?”

  “I was standing there, talking to some people, when I felt a guy’s arms wrap around me,” she explained. “Instead of thinking, I went into defensive mode and stepped to the side. Then I may have rammed my fist backward in a hammer punch to that guy’s um, you know, man parts.”

  “You did what?”

  Concern etched her features. “I think I hurt him pretty bad.”

  “You think so?” I barked out a laugh. “I guess our little training session sank in, then.”

  “I’d say so.” She was fighting the giggles, and I could see her wiping tears from her eyes. “I don’t think anyone is going to invite me to another party now. I mean, first I’m the hermit girl who doesn’t go anywhere, and now I’m the girl who hurts anyone who tries to show her the least bit of affection.”

  “Hey, at least they’ll remember you.”

  “I guess I needed to make a lasting impression somehow.”

  I nodded. It wasn’t likely anyone would soon forget Emma’s hammer punch to a guy’s groin. Ouch! I winced at the thought. I wondered which arm she’d used. Was it the one in the cast, or the other arm? I hoped, for the guy’s sake, it wasn’t the arm with the cast.

  The windshield was clear enough now, so I switched on the heater and pulled onto the street.

  “H
ow did you like the party?” I asked.

  “It was so fun!” She answered a little more enthusiastically than was normal for her.

  “I saw you hanging out with Matt a lot. What did you think of him?” I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter as I waited for her response.

  “Matt’s so nice, and such a great dancer!” Was that a mischievous smile playing at her lips?

  “He does seem like a nice guy,” I allowed, feeling a twinge of jealousy resurface at her comment. I thought back to watching her dance with Matt this evening. She’d seemed like she’d had the time of her life, smiling from ear to ear while dancing way too close to a guy she barely knew.

  I reminded myself that it was good she was making friends. It’s not like I could expect her to be happy hanging out with my fellow agents and me all the time, even though that was exactly what I wanted. I wanted to be the one she wanted to hang out with. I wanted to be the one she was excited to see each day. I wanted to be the one she danced with all night.

  When we arrived at the condo, I followed Emma up the stairs after locking the front door, checking all the windows, and making sure the security system was on since Jason and Sophie had probably gone to sleep hours ago.

  Before going to bed, I knocked on Emma’s door.

  “Come in,” she called from inside her room.

  She was sitting on her bed in her pajamas, writing in what looked like a journal.

  “I wanted to say good night,” I mumbled. She looked up, sucking on the end of her pen. “What are you writing?”

  “Oh, just about my embarrassing experience tonight. I’m sure my grandkids will love to hear about all the stupid things I do.”

  “Do you write in your journal often?”

  “Usually once a week, sometimes twice. It depends on what’s going on in my life at the time.”

  “That’s cool.” What else had she found worthy to write about? “Has my name ever appeared in your journal?”

  “Maybe.” I loved the way her cheeks got all pink and flushed at my question. It was beautiful, and I’d forgotten how much I’d missed seeing it.