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Nathaniel Cox's parents happened to be out of town, so the players had pulled together and bought a keg. The purchase was easily accomplished because several of the guys had older brothers who were willing to make the beer run.
Ethan was already hanging out with Josh, manning the front door while Nathaniel kept the party in check inside the
house, basically making sure that the crowd didn't get out of hand and that nothing stupid was happening. Josh was making rounds between the front door and the living room, as a back up to Nathaniel if one was needed. Ty hadn't shown up yet, but that didn't really surprise Ethan; Ty was a fuckup and was always late for damn near everything.
Ethan had just allowed three of the cheerleaders inside and then shut the door behind them when someone started pounding on it again, demanding entrance. He easily recognized Ty's voice through the thin veneer.
Ethan opened the door, cracked a smirk at his friend as he handed him a beer from the side entrance table, poured and ready to go. It wasn't until Ty had taken his first gulp that Ethan realized that Ava was standing to the side of her brother, with another girl behind her. Irritation swept through him at her unexpected appearance, a wave of anger washing over him.
What the ever-loving fuck? Did these clueless Anderson siblings believe for one moment that he would allow Ava to walk inside where there were drunk football players who would undoubtedly want to screw her the second they saw her? Rage encompassed him as he looked away from Ava and settled his gaze fiercely on Ty. "What the hell, Anderson? You brought your little sister?"
Ethan was aware that Ava froze, her body turning to stone, her face blanching. Shit. He hadn't meant to upset her, but hell. She probably thought he was mad at her when that wasn't the case at all. It was her unbelievably stupid brother he had an issue with.
Ty, the dumbass, evidently thought nothing of letting his little sister inside. "Had to, man. Needed gas money."
Ethan continued blocking the door and scowled again in Ava's direction as he shot back to Ty, "No, I don't think so. She's not coming in here."
His buddy began to move past him as if he wasn't serious, but Ethan stopped him by plastering his hand to the middle of his chest. The move stopped Ty in his tracks. Ty glanced down at Ethan's hand and then up again with a withering stare meant to intimidate. "What the fuck's got up your ass, Ethan?"
Ethan tried to calm the fury that ran through his veins. Why the hell couldn't Ty have left Ava at home, where she'd be safe? Didn't the prick realize that every football player in that house had an overflow of testosterone right about now? He glanced at Ava again. Shit. She was all dolled-up and beautiful. Like—ridiculously beautiful. Ty had been insane to bring her here. Ethan forced himself to drag his eyes from her and finally acknowledge the other girl who stood quietly waiting. He easily recognized her as Hannah McIntyre, Ava's best friend, but he wasn't feeling pleasant at the moment and spit out, "Who are you?"
"H-Hannah," the girl answered softly, her teeth damn near chattering, like she was scared to death.
She was a pretty girl too, no question about it. And looking at her now, there was also no question in Ethan's mind that all the rumors circulating around school during the last week about Josh and Hannah were probably true. Of course, he could have just asked Josh if the rumors were true, but he figured if there was anything Josh wanted him to know, he'd eventually spill it. But looking at Hannah now, Ethan suddenly believed all the gossip. He could easily see what had Josh so riled.
But that didn't mean Ethan was happy these two girls were here. Far from it, the party was absolutely no place for them. He decided to try to intimidate her into leaving, and maybe taking Ava with her. "This is a party for seniors, Hannah," he found himself snarling. "Are you a senior?"
"No. I'm a sophomore," she admitted, her face turning white before a soft blush stole over her cheeks.
Ethan wasn't interested in Hannah and he quickly dismissed her as he looked to Ava again. Her eyes were glazed as she stared back. She looked shocked to her core and he couldn't stop the memory of what she looked like in nothing but a bra and panties slamming his brain. He glanced up and down her length as he felt his insides tighten into vicious coils of lust. Gritting his teeth, he blasted a heated look back to Ty and stated the obvious. "Right. They're sophomores, Ty. You got a goddamn brain in your head?"
"Shut the fuck up. They'll be fine." No sooner had the words left Ty's lips than Kayla, one of the cheerleaders, threw herself at Ty with open enthusiasm. The dumbass opened his arms to the girl and evidently found it suitable to issue only a warning to Ava and Hannah before he took off with Kayla. "Stay together. Don't leave with anybody but me, and only one beer each. Got that? I've got no desire to clean up girl vomit tonight." And with that, Ty took one last look at his sister as if that would be sufficient to keep her in check and said, "Be good," and then he brushed past Ethan and walked into the party, Kayla hanging onto his arm.
Ethan was left alone with the two girls. He moved to the center of the doorway, blocking them with his body as he crossed his arms over his chest, blatantly refusing them entrance.
Ava glared up at him, her eyes furious. "Are you going to let us in?"
He continued to stare her down, not moving a muscle, fuming anger at her brother still sizzling hot, so he didn't speak. He stood in that position until he felt a hand land on his back and he realized immediately that Josh had resumed his post behind him.
Ethan felt a faint slash of amusement blend with his anger. This ought to be good. He knew his friend like none other. If the rumors circulating about Josh and Hannah McIntyre were true, his buddy was about to come unglued, in approximately three seconds. Ethan felt his lips lift in a smirk, waiting for the time bomb to explode.
"What's the problem?" Josh asked, good-naturedly, still oblivious to the fact that Hannah stood behind Ava.
As his buddy voiced the question, Ethan continued to glare down at Ava, his brain and his cock in a war of such magnitude that he could barely think straight. He was completely torn; he both wanted her here, but he also wanted her gone, quick-fast. "Anderson brought his little sister, that's the problem," he finally bit out in answer to Josh's question.
"She's not that little, man. Dude, don't be so rude. I'm sure she can handle it." Josh seemed amused, at least for the moment, but Ethan wasn't feeling it.
And then it suddenly became funny as hell as Josh obviously spied the McIntyre chick behind Ava. The shit that Ethan had known was inevitable finally hit the proverbial fan. "Oh, hell, no," Josh bit out aggressively as he pushed past Ethan and grabbed Hannah by the wrist and all but marched her back out into the black of the night.
With Josh and Hannah out of the way, Ethan felt a rush of anticipation slide down his spine as he was left alone with Ava. He reached out a hand to grab her, but her curvy little body was too graceful and she slid past him, her torso brushing against his, making fire scream down his spine. Before he could do anything more about it, she'd slipped by him and was inside the house.
He gritted his teeth and turned. He had no choice but to follow her, leaving his post at the front door unmanned for the moment. Not his damn problem—that was Nathaniel's problem.
Ava strolled over to her brother's side and began talking to Kayla. As Ethan stood silently watching her, her spontaneous laughter spilled through the air, heating his blood as he saw everyone accept her, as if she were one of them and not a tenth-grader who had crashed the party. Did the little witch know he was watching her? Was she, even now, going out of her way to make him miserable? She certainly looked like it; she held reign over the entire defensive line of the football team as she acted like the princess of the party, while he couldn't seem to stop himself from watching her with a one-track intensity that he couldn't control.
Ethan propped up a wall a few feet away, his plan to nurse a single beer for the duration. Shit, like he had a choice. Somebody had to be ready to protect the girl. Her idiot brother was more interested in getting toasted than watching his little sister.
New arrivals kept coming, the house was now full to overflowing. Mandy Thompson, the sheriff's daughter, walked inside and headed straight for Nathaniel. And that worked for Ethan because he'd seen Nate smile at Ava a couple of times and it had taken everything in his power not to knock the guy out cold.
But now, as Mandy pran
ced teasingly around Nate and took the dude's attention away from Ava, Ethan was able to breathe a bit easier.
With Mandy's arrival, Ty, for whatever reason, immediately started becoming even more obnoxious, bordering on belligerent. The guy wouldn't leave Kayla alone, not that she seemed to mind—his hands were all over her—even though his mind seemed to be elsewhere.
Ethan's blood simmered for the next half hour or so and then almost boiled over completely when Ty abruptly abandoned his sister and began to lead Kayla out of the house, telling Ethan over his shoulder, "Take the girls home, okay?"
Irresponsible fucker. Ethan narrowed his eyes, but gave a simple nod of his head as he watched Ty and Kayla disappear through the front door. With the other couple gone, his gaze fell to an abruptly silent Ava. A bolt of pure satisfaction ran through his bloodstream. For the moment at least, he was the boss of her. He was immensely pleased to see her face pale a bit—the fact that she was aware of him sent gratification barreling through his gut in waves of pleasure.
But she didn't stand around for more than a few seconds. Blatantly ignoring him, she turned and walked outside. Cussing under his breath, he dumped his beer in the trash and followed her.
When he caught up to her, she was already standing next to Hannah as if the other girl could protect her somehow. As he walked up to the trio, Ava announced that Ty had done a runner.
With that revelation, Josh wasted no time and began hustling Hannah to his truck.
Before Ava could get any bright ideas about tagging along with them, Ethan snagged her by the wrist. "You're coming with me."
She made no reply but she tugged on her arm—hard enough to let him know she wasn't pleased. But he didn't really give a shit, did he? Her goddamn brother had left him in charge and by damned he'd see to it that she arrived home safely. Ignoring her attempts to pull free, he tightened his grip and began steering her in the direction of his truck.
