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Chapter Three
On Monday afternoon, Ava stood at her locker only partially participating in a conversation with a clearly excited Hannah. Of course her friend would want to hear every gory detail of what it had felt like to have Ethan Jackson's hand on her thigh. Evidently, the multitude of texts she and Hannah had shared hadn't appeased her friend in the least.
It was understandable, she supposed. Hannah had been rooting for Ethan to step up to the plate for a long time and now she wanted to know exactly how Ava was going to handle him in the future, going so far as to plot out what Ava should say to him the next time she saw him. But that was the problem; Ava had no clue what to say to him and nothing felt right.
But suddenly an expression crossed Hannah's face that clearly told Ava that Ethan Jackson was close by even before her friend's whispered words confirmed it. Butterflies going off in her stomach, a hazy mist blurred Ava's brain cells while Hannah's face turned conspicuously blank before she blurted, "I'll see you after fifth period." And then Hannah walked off, leaving her alone to be confronted by Ethan.
Ava swallowed hard and for cover, turned her attention to the inside of her locker, pretending to search for a notebook. Her muscles tightened as she tried to breathe steadily. Two seconds later, brawny arms came up from behind and a pair of rough, masculine hands pressed against the steel of the lockers, virtually enclosing her within a circle of male heat.
As Ava felt his steely strength surround her, she sucked in a breath as his chest pressed against her back. She closed her eyes, dropped her head, and breathed in the scent that was his alone. Her legs went from trembling to all-out shaking as she began to hear her heart beating loudly in her ears.
This meeting was no accident and she knew it. Ethan had walked from the senior wing to the sophomore wing with one purpose only, to locate her. Her heart began pounding as she realized that her life as she knew it was about to change.
As he crowded her forward, his mouth dropped to her ear and he said in a low, irritated rumble, "Your brother beat the crap out of me yesterday. Did he tell you that?"
As a spiral of concern swamped her, she tried to turn around to face him but he held himself rigidly against her back, easily controlling her movements, giving her no room to change positions. "No, he didn't," she managed. "Are you okay?"
He let out a splinter of abbreviated laughter. "I'll live—I only let him get in enough punches to make him feel better."
Heady delight tingled through her system as she realized exactly what must have happened, but she asked him anyway. "Why would you do that?"
He seemed to breathe in the scent of her hair before he questioned impatiently, "Why do you think?"
A hot rush of anticipation scorched down her spine. "I don't know."
His lips pressed fully against her ear as he whispered fiercely, "Now that's just plain bullshit." He wrapped a brawny arm around her midsection, his fingers splaying widely across her stomach in an act that screamed ownership. "I don't think we need to pretend, do you?"
As his fingers sank into her flesh and his words tickled her ear, all she was capable of doing was shaking her head, silently agreeing while she fought the tremors that coursed down her spine.
"All right then," he drawled in a satisfied tone. "So, me and Ty got that shit out of the way, finally. You think your parents are going to be okay with this?"
Her breath hitched at how quickly this was escalating, like a runaway train she had no control over. "With what, exactly?"
At her question and before another thought could enter her brain, he spun her around so quickly that it made her head whirl. He tipped her chin up with one finger and stared down into her eyes. "Thought we just decided not to pretend?"
Ava wasn't usually an emotional girl. In fact, she prided herself on her cool control. But this wasn't a normal moment in her life. Seeing Ethan's bruised and battered face, coming face to face with exactly what he'd allowed to happen for her, made her stomach seize up in knots of anguish, elation, and guilt. She was experiencing such a tumult of feelings that it was making her heart pound and her eyes almost water. "I'm not pretending. This is just happening so fast and I don't know—"
His eyes blazed as he cut her off. "Fast? Are you kidding me?"
"Ethan—"
He looked taken aback. "Are those tears in your eyes?"
"No! I don't cry. Are you crazy?"
The fingers holding her chin suddenly became caressing. She forced herself to regain control as he said in a gentler tone, "I know I haven't read this wrong. I know you're feeling exactly what I'm feeling."
Butterflies went crazy in her stomach as she dropped her eyes. "You think?"
"Yeah," he replied slowly and oh, so sexily.
Wanting him to admit to deeper feelings first (even though that seemed a tiny bit selfish), she continued staring down as she asked, "And what would that be, exactly?"
His muscles seemed to tighten but his touch on her chin stayed gentle. "You really want me to spell it out for you, don't you?"
She lifted her gaze and met delicious brown eyes that were focused solely on her. "Yeah," she answered, emboldened.
"All right," he drawled a bit more carelessly, shrugging a single shoulder as if it were no big deal. "Here's the way it is. I want to touch you so damn bad I can hardly stand it." His fingers tightened on her chin; her stomach fell to the floor. "I
want the right to hold your hand in public, and I want every motherfuckin' guy in Redwood Falls to understand that you're off limits."
His words came to an abrupt halt as his eyes scorched into hers, searching for an answer. "How's that? Plain enough for you? You understand now?"
Unable to speak, she nodded her head, looking up at him through her eyelashes.
His nostrils flared. "Is that an agreement?"
She nodded jerkily, for the moment, still unable to speak.
"All right," he said with cool satisfaction as he looked away from her to glance up and down the corridor before focusing on her once more. "You got what you need?" he asked, indicating her locker.
"Yeah," she answered, turning to close it by rote.
"We got about two minutes to get to class—looks like you're going to be late."
Agitation hit her insides. "What?"
Not bothering to answer, he pulled her by the hand and walked a few doors down to the music room that was always deserted at this time of day. He opened the door, glanced in, and then abruptly pulled her inside and shut the door. Her stomach tied into new knots as butterflies slammed her system. "Ethan—" she began.
"Can't wait any longer," he said as he swung her up against the wall. "One kiss. Just one fucking kiss and then I'll let you go to class."
She licked her lips and sucked in a breath as he stared down with eyes that lacked any patience whatsoever. "Okay," she agreed quickly, her brain cells taking a walk at the look in his eyes.
With no more wasted time, his head swooped down and his lips landed on hers. His hands came up and wrapped around her face, lifting her to him as he took one quick kiss, and then another. Fireworks exploded in her head as every dream and every fantasy she'd ever had suddenly came true.
His lips lifted from hers but his fingers tightened and as Ava's pulse went crazy, she opened her eyes to find him staring down at her. His look swallowed her whole, his eyes narrowing, making creases at the corners as he studied her intently. He took the time to widen his stance, pushing his torso into hers as his gaze ran all over her face, his nostrils flaring. She had the crazy idea that he was checking—making sure it was really her that he held in his arms. Her heartbeat raced, her thoughts scattered at the half-formed thought. His eyes landed on her lips and a deep groan came from his throat and then suddenly, his mouth was on hers again.
