I put the keys out of reach behind my back. “This is non-negotiable.”
She stared at me with her mouth open, then tried one of her principal hard looks I’m sure crushed most fifth graders, and it was doing a middling job on me, too, but I didn’t flinch. We stood like that for several seconds.
If she thinks she’s stubborn, then she should go a round against me Irish.
Finally, she caved. “Fine,” she said through gritted teeth.
I sighed as she walked behind me to get into the car, but she made a play for the keys. I wasn’t expecting it, and she snatched them away.
“No. No. No.” I tried to get them back, but she leaned away from me, half in, half out of the car. I scrambled around with her and she giggled. “Josie. Give me those keys. Josie!” I snagged them, but by now I was practically lying on top of her. She tried to lunge at them again and I grabbed her wrist. “Stop, now. Be good.”
“Okay,” she said contritely.
I exhaled. “Okay.” I pushed away from her and she dove for the keys again. I held them out of reach.
She pouted.
“You are naughty. Am I going to have to lock you in the boot?”
Her brow wrinkled. “The boot?”
“Yeah, yeah.” I gestured. “The—back there.”
“Oh. The trunk. No, no. I’ll be good.” She stopped flailing around. Her sudden change of behavior made me suspicious, though, and I watched her carefully as I extracted myself, rather ungracefully, from her front seat.
I got to my feet, and tucked my shirt back in. I looked at her pointedly. “Feet in.”
She complied.
I closed the door and walked around the front of the car, feeling quite proud of myself, until I got in. She was bent in half, covering her face with her hands and crying. That caught me off guard.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Killian. I shouldn’t have—and now you’re going to be all awkward around me and I’ve ruined everything.” She sobbed.
“Oh, Josie, darlin’.” I stretched over clumsily, with the gearshift between us. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to kiss you, honey. It’s just that…well, you’re practically paralytic, and I didn’t want to take advantage of you.”
She looked at me and the bar’s outdoor lights illuminated the tears still clinging to her face. “You’re…not mad.”
“What? Mad at you? Hell, no.” I leaned in. “I’ll only be mad if you don’t try it again.”
She laughed through her tears.
I wiped them away. “There, now. That’s better.” I started the engine and took out my phone. “I left the napkin inside. You’re going to have to tell me your addy again.”
She rattled it off and I entered it, then backed out and waited for instructions from my app. Looking over, I realized I’d forgotten to buckle her in.
“Let’s get you tied away.” I reached over her and stretched it around, latching it into place. She was leaning on her side, facing me. “You okay?”
She nodded, but furrowed her brow. “My stomach’s a touch…chancy, though.”
I had to smile. “Mmm. A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures.”
She nodded. Within a few blocks, she was out.
Ten minutes later, I pulled into the driveway of a tiny, but neat little house, and cut the engine.
I shook her gently. “Josie. Josie, honey.”
She opened her eyes slowly and looked around as if getting her bearings. She sprang forward, peering out the windshield. “That’s my house.”
“Well, of course it is. You didn’t think I was spiriting you away? Abducting you while you were unaware?”
She thought about this. “No. I guess not.”
I got out of the car and went around to open her door. She stepped out and I handed her the keys.
“But…how are you going to get home?”
“I’ll call an Uber and he can take me back to Paddy’s to get me car.”
“Why didn’t you call an Uber for me?”
I shrugged. “This way you have your car. And I wouldn’t want any Uber driver to take advantage of you.” I slowly placed my hands on her hips. “I’m the only one I want taking advantage of you.”
She placed her hand on my cheek, running her palm along my stubble, and studying me. Raising her gaze to my eyes she said, “Kiss me, Killian.”
The simplicity and forthrightness of the request moved me. I put my hand on her face and my fingers slid behind her neck. I was going to control the kiss this time. I tilted my head, bringing my lips to her upturned mouth and drank her in. First, a sweet kiss, though full of longing, then I opened my mouth wider and pushed into her more. Her hands strayed to the back of my head and she played with my hair before digging her fingers in and taking hold of it. With each kiss, I sought to bring more and more of her into me, and she matched me step for step. Same heat, same intensity, and to a rhythm that was beautifully synched and uniquely ours. I couldn’t compare her kisses to any of the others I’d shared with different women, because hers were in another realm altogether.
I don’t know how long we went at it like that. Not long enough. It took everything I had in me to separate from her.
“Come in with me,” she said in a throaty voice.
I looked over at the house. A light was on by the front door, and on each side of the garage. I could see a section of the living room through the parted curtains. It looked so inviting. I shifted my gaze and let it roam over her. She was so inviting. I closed my eyes and laid my forehead on hers. Squeezing her close, I brought my head lower to nuzzle her neck, taking in the sweet fragrance of her skin and hair.
“Well, now, Miss Josie…. You know I can’t do that.”
“Mmm.”
I found a spot that aroused her. I filed that teeny nugget of information away for later and drew back, though still holding her hips. I didn’t want to let her go. The war within me between the gentleman, and the carnal beast, was being waged at a savage intensity.
“I’ll stay and wait for your Uber with you, then,” she murmured.
I withdrew my phone from my pocket and requested a ride. “She’ll be here in two minutes, see?” I showed her the screen.
She frowned. “She’ll?”
I pointed to it. “Yes, she’ll. Eighty-year-old—” I checked it again “—Tilda, will be here in two minutes.”
She smiled sheepishly. “Oh.”
“Now,” I brushed some hair away from her face. “You go inside, drink some water, take a couple of pain relievers, and get some sleep.” I knew in two minutes I might lose control of my willpower and cancel my ride and join her in bed. Then I couldn’t get the image out of my head.
She looped her fingers around my braces and slid them along their length while watching them, her head dipped. “Okay.” But she didn’t move.
I ran my hand over her cheek. One more kiss. Just one more. My lips landed softly on hers. It was strange how her kisses were not, as others had been, strictly a precursor to something else. They were a destination all their own. A thrilling, compelling destination.
My voice was deep when I spoke. “You should go in.” I released her and stepped back. She gave me one last, lingering, sizzling look, then moved toward the garage. Halfway up the drive she glanced over her shoulder.
I smiled. “Get along now.” I watched her all the way in, then continued to stare at the house until the Uber pulled in behind me.
Too bad you won’t remember tonight, because, for me, it was unforgettable.
Chapter 15
Zoe
I was sitting in the school parking lot waiting for Elise. I told my Aunt Sam I would give her a ride home while she and Dani attended—of all things—a pole-dancing class. It’s not that they both didn’t have the looks and body to do it, but…they seemed a bit older than your average pole-dancer. I gave them props for going back tonight after their first pole-dancing class. What looked like fun was actually
hard work, and they carried the bruises to prove it.
The junior high, while not connected to the high school, was on the same campus. So giving Elise a ride home was not a big deal. And I liked spending time with her. She was all sunshine, energy, kindness, and happiness. But lately her light seemed to have dimmed some. It made me sad when life and responsibility stole away the part of a person that was carefree and innocent.
I started the car to get it warm and searched the stream of students cascading into the lot for Elise. After a few minutes I spotted her trudging through the snow toward me. Something about her was wrong. She was hunched over her books, her head was down and, even from this distance I could tell her actions weren’t very…Elise-like. Movement behind her drew my gaze. Four girls seemed to be following her and saying something. One grabbed Elise’s arm and swung her around. A second stepped over and knocked her books out of her hands.
The hair on the back of my neck bristled. I recognized one of the girls as a freshman named Karen Rodgers. This wasn’t some little junior high squabble; these were high school girls. They must have recognized the sweetness in Elise, and like sharks smelling blood, they were moving in to destroy her.
Not on my watch.
I switched the engine off and got out of my car.
You picked the wrong week to mess with one of my friends.
I’d hoped Zack would come to his senses and beg me to get back together, but he seemed hell-bent on being a dumbass. It hurt so bad I could hardly breathe at times. It was the dual loss of both boyfriend and best friend that was hard to cope with. Zack was the one I usually turned to when I had troubles. Nick was being unusually sensitive and sympathetic toward me, but he was caught in the middle. I didn’t want Zack to lose that friendship, too. Although I’m not sure why I cared.
I stuffed my hands into my Army green jacket, which was probably too light for this weather, but it was my favorite, so I wasn’t quite ready to retire it for the season. I kept my gaze on Elise and couldn’t believe it when the girl who swung her around kicked her while she was trying to gather her books.
“Hey!” I yelled, adrenaline firing. I broke into a run. “Hey! Cut it out!”
Everyone in the vicinity was skirting the scene, which pissed me off even further. No one was going to step in and intervene when one junior high school kid was being attacked by four older kids? Although I was shouting and getting closer to them, the girls seemed too intent on beating Elise to notice. The girl who seemed to be the leader was heaving Elise to her feet by her hair.
I was worried about the damage done so far and truly frightened more would happen before I could get there, but they lifted their heads and seemed to take notice of me. They released Elise, but shoved her to the ground.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I would have sounded a lot more intimidating if I weren’t out of breath and panting.
“This is none of your business,” leader girl said. “Get out of here.”
I helped Elise to her feet and she looked at me with such gratitude it tore at me.
“You okay?”
She nodded bravely, but tears were tracking down her face.
Someone thumped me on the shoulder. “I said get out of here.”
I turned to face her, my jaw tightening. “Yeah. That’s not going to happen.”
She looked at the others with a sneer on her face. “Suit yourself.” She, and two of the others, drew padlocks out of their pockets, which they gripped in their fists. They moved toward me.
This is going to hurt. Really bad.
I put my hands up in what I’m pretty sure was an awful fighting stance. I’d never been in a physical altercation before—save what Ben did to me—and had never intended on being in one. Although I’d managed to get away from Ben, I hadn’t a clue of how you were supposed to hit someone.
I turned to Elise. “Get out of here.”
Mistake. I no sooner got the words out of my mouth when a blinding, white-hot pain rocked me. My brain was connecting with the pain when the second blow came, this time to my body. It bent me in half like I was made of Play-Doh. An elbow then connected with the back of my head and I fell to my knees. Elise was screaming, and the girls were cackling, but the sound was muddled. Someone kicked me from behind, and I collapsed face-first in the snow, but managed to get my hands out to brace myself against the ground. I was pissed I’d not even gotten a shot yet to inflict my own damage. Someone—or it could have been multiple people—jumped on my back and grabbed a handful of my hair. The strands being ripped from my scalp did make me cry out, but I couldn’t get much air behind it because my stomach was now inside out, like an umbrella on a windy day. I pushed into the ground, trying to dislodge whoever was riding me, but they were too much for me.
I was finding it difficult to breathe, battling both the wind being knocked out of me and my mouth being full of saliva and blood, and the weight of whoever was sitting on me. Elise’s frightened voice cut through the haze of pain and laughter. I lifted my gaze and could see her being held back by one of the girls, but at least they weren’t hurting her. That half-moment of distraction cost me though. My main attacker used my hair as a leash to direct my head to center, then grind my face into the snow. I tried, in vain, to bring air into my lungs. My head spun from the first blow, and now lack of oxygen. I knew if I passed out, I was screwed.
“Shit! Teacher.”
Those turned out to be the two most beautiful words in the world as my hair was released and the weight left my back. Though the whole encounter took less than a minute, I was incredibly tired. I guess I’d shot my wad of energy in the struggle.
“Zoe. Zoe!”
Hands were on me. Gentle hands. I managed to raise my head and spit out blood, saliva, snow, and perhaps a taste of mud.
“Zoe? Are you okay?”
It was Elise. I didn’t have the energy to open my eyes or respond.
“We need to turn her over to get her face out of the snow. But gently.”
I didn’t recognize that voice, but it was male and older. I worked with the hands helping to move me and flopped onto my back, releasing a groan.
“Zo!”
“Holy shit!”
Zack and Nick now? I moaned again. This day is plain in the shitter.
“You. Call 9-1-1,” someone ordered.
I cracked an eye. Were I capable of it, I might have laughed. Heads formed a circle around me. Elise, Zack, Nick, and a male teacher—I think from the music department. The sun radiating beyond them, the worried expressions on their faces, and the perfectly proportioned sphere they formed around me, all combined into a comical scene. Or maybe I’d lost my tenuous grip on my sanity.
“Lie still,” the teacher said gently.
Like I have a choice. I couldn’t move if a forest fire was licking at my hair, which is pretty much what it feels like is happening at present.
If I thought it was mortifying having my ass kicked in front of half the school, it was nothing compared to being wheeled off on a stretcher, but no one would listen to me when I told them I was fine. Probably because I wasn’t. The next several hours were a blur of x-rays, stitches, dozing, and people coming in and out. First my dad. That went something like this:
“Hey, babe. How are you feeling? Man, they really did a number on you, didn’t they? Do you know who they were? It’s okay. Don’t worry. Just rest.”
Then Aunt Sam and Dani.
Sam: “Oh, my God. What kind of animal does this to another human being? I am so, so sorry, Zoe. I heard you were protecting Elise. I’m…so sorry.” Then I think there was some sobbing.
Dani carefully brushed my hair away from my forehead and cupped my face. “Is there anything you need, honey? Anything I can get you?”
My phone buzzed. It was on a table out of my reach.
“Could you—”
Dani picked it up. “It’s a text. Do you want me to read it to you, or do you want to read it yourself?”
“
Could you please—”
“Wait. It’s from Zack.”
“I don’t want to talk to him.”
They looked at each other. “Okay.” She made a move to put it back, but I asked if I could have it, in case someone else texted.
Sam spoke. “Umm…I know you’re tired and everything, so, if you don’t want to, I completely understand. But Elise was really wanting to talk to you….”
Elise. Things were kind of blurry. What did they do to her? Panic rose. “Is she okay?”
Aunt Sam took my hand. “Oh, yes, honey. She just…feels bad about what happened.”
“Well, it wasn’t her fault. She wasn’t the one coming after me like a wrecking ball.”
I guess the way I said it sounded funny because they both smiled.
“Yeah. I want to see her.” See for myself she was okay.
Elise came in next. After hesitating right inside the door, she ran to my side.
“Oh, gosh, Zoe. I’m so sorry for what happened to you.”
“What? No. I was spoiling for a fight. You actually helped me out.”
She laughed. “Those girls were suspended permanently, by the way. All four of them.”
“Had they bothered you for a while?”
She hung her head for a second then nodded.
“Elise, you know you can always ask me for help if you need anything, right?”
She gave me that radiant smile of hers. “Yeah. I know. Thanks.”
Nick stuck his head in the door. “Zo?” His eyes were closed. Elise and I looked at each other and tried not to laugh.
“Uhh…Nick…. What are you doing?”
He slowly opened his eyes. “I didn’t know if you’d be fully dressed or not. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had a visitor.”
“No. That’s okay.” Elise offered. “I have to get to gymnastics. Zoe, will you be back to school tomorrow?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll text you later.”
Elise left, and Nick came in a few more steps but still stood pretty far away. His hands were jammed in his pockets. “So…uh…how are you doing?”
Satan, Line One Page 15
