Текст книги "Unspeakable"

Автор книги: Michelle K. Pickett

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

Breathe. Just breathe.

I’d barely gotten to my bedroom when the doorbell rang. Turning, I went back to the stairs. I could see Ralph and Jaden talking in the foyer below. Ralph laughed at something Jaden said and clapped him on the back. I sighed, forcing my feet to go down the stairs. My heart beat in my ears, the blood whooshing behind them. My hands were slick with sweat and slipped on the bannister.

“Hey,” I said to Jaden, smiling.

He didn’t speak to me. Instead, he looked at Ralph and said, “I know Willow’s curfew is eleven, but do you think we could take a drive? I’ll have her back by midnight.”

“Sure, Jaden, that’s fine,” Ralph said, clapping Jaden on the back again like they were long-lost buddies. Ick.

Jaden gripped my upper arm and guided me out to his car. He didn’t say a word. We’d driven through my subdivision before he pulled into a convenience store parking lot, jammed his Mustang into park, and turned to glare at me.

“Where were you?”

“Out,” I said, raising my chin.

“With?”

“A friend. What difference does it make?”

“I know you weren’t with Jenna like you told your mom and Ralph,” Jaden said quietly. It was almost scarier than if he were yelling at me. “Karen saw you.”

“Should have known your spy was out on patrol.”

He turned toward me so fast I flinched against the car door. “Check the attitude, Willow,” he said, pointing a finger in my face. “Who were you out with?”

“A friend.”

“What friend?” He nearly spat the word friend.

“None of your freakin’ business, Jaden,” I yelled. “You go off and party with Sarah and God only knows who else whenever you want. I think I’m entitled to visit with a friend if I want to.”

“You aren’t entitled to anything—”

“Take me home.”

“We aren’t done.”

“I am. Either take me home or I’ll walk.” I narrowed my eyes at him. When he didn’t start driving, I said, “Now.”

“You’re making this harder than it has to be,” he warned. “You do not want to push me. I don’t want to be the bad guy, but I will be if you don’t play by the rules.”

“No, you’re making things harder, Jaden. You and your rules are full of shit. Things are going to change. I’m not putting up with your possessive bullshit anymore. Get over yourself. I’m going to start doing what I want, when I want to do it, without getting permission from you… and you’re going to keep your mouth shut about what you know. If you don’t like it, then maybe we should break up now and get it over with.”

“I won’t keep my mouth shut. I’ll tell everyone.” Leaning toward me, he whispered, “Everyone.” He planted a quick kiss on the end of my nose. “And you and I both know who people will believe.”

“Well, here’s the deal.” I smoothed out my shirt and adjusted my belt before I looked at him. “You’ve known what happened for… hmm, how long? Weeks? No, longer than that. Months? No, even longer.” I shook my head and tsked. “Gee, I don’t think the police are going to like it when they find out you had this information and didn’t come forward.”

Jaden’s face turned red, and a vein bulged in his neck. It was definitely the wrong thing to say. And he made sure I knew it.

Jamming the car into drive, he squealed out of the parking lot. He didn’t say another word to me on the drive back to my house. When he pulled into my driveway, he looked at me and finally broke the silence. “You seem to have it all figured out. But if you were so sure it would be that easy, you would have done something before now. To me. To Ralph. But you haven’t. So I call BS on your little threat, Willow. Now get the hell out of my car.” I’d barely got out and shut the door when he gunned the engine, peeled out of the drive, and sped down the street.

“Ass,” I muttered, running my hands over my tear-stained face.

Breathe. Just breathe. You’re strong. Breathe.

Monday morning and the shit was about to hit the proverbial fan. I looked at my face in the mirror, still foggy from my shower. I could see the purple splotch even through the condensation.

Makeup isn’t gonna cover that. What’s my story? I took an elbow while swimming. Yeah, that’ll work.

I blew my hair dry straight, angling it toward my face. Maybe if it fell forward, it’d help hide what makeup couldn’t. Not likely.

I put on my makeup, trying to use concealer around my eye to hide as much of the bruising as I could. It was a lost cause, and, besides, no amount of makeup could cover the swelling.

I grabbed a pair of black yoga pants and the new T-shirt I had made when Jenna and I were at the mall that said, Mondays should be illegal. Once dressed, I grabbed my things and left for school.

Jenna had texted repeatedly since Friday night. I sent her one text telling her things were okay, and I’d tell her more Monday. Other than that one text, I hadn’t talked to anyone since Friday. Sitting in my car in the student parking lot, I pulled out my phone. I knew I needed to warn them before they saw me, especially Brody.

I felt sick. I hated lying to them. I hated how weak it made me look… how weak I was.

Jaden texted me over and over during the weekend, reminding me that he knew my secret and he had no problem telling people. And even if they didn’t believe him, they would believe Ralph. With every text he sent, my stomach roiled. Bile rose in my throat, scorching it. I felt pathetic and useless. And pissed. And not for the first time, I thought I’d just tell him to go ahead. Tell everyone. I didn’t care anymore. Just do it and get it over with. Whatever the fallout was, it couldn’t be any worse than living with the secret hanging over me.

Me: Had an accident over the weekend. Don’t flip when you see me.

Jenna: Yeah. An accident. Ok.

Me: Tell Tim for me.

Jenna: Sure. Whatever.

I sat looking at the screen on my phone, tapping my fingernail on the back. I knew I had to text Brody. I couldn’t just walk into biology without warning him. He’d have a fit. These were always the hardest bruises to explain. The others, I could hide with clothes, but my face, I couldn’t. That was why he didn’t normally hit in the face. I guess that shows how much I pissed him off Friday night.

Breathe. Just breathe. It won’t break you. Just breathe.

I took a deep breath and started typing.

Me: Hey, Ace.

Brody: Hey back.

Me: I need to tell you something and you have to promise me you’ll be cool.

Brody: Okay.

Me: No. Promise.

Brody: I promise. I’ll be cool.

Me: I had an accident over the weekend. Don’t flip out when you see me.

Brody: I’m gonna kill him.

Me: You just promised me. Cool remember? Or I’ll leave.

Brody: Damn it, Willow. Okay. I’ll try.

Me: Try hard. For me.

Sighing, I opened the car door. I reached in the backseat to grab my bag. When I turned around, I saw Brody jogging across the parking lot toward me.

Oh, jeez. I was hoping to put this off until we were in class where he wouldn’t make a scene.

“I saw your car when I pulled in. What happened?” His voice trailed off when he got close enough to see my eye. “What the hell?”

“I had an accident—”

“Don’t lie to me, Willow. Remember sitting in my aunt’s bar and telling me you wouldn’t lie to me? So, let’s try again. What happened?” Brody reached out and took my chin in his hand, moving my head to the side so he could get a better look at my mangled eye. He gently smoothed the hair away from my face.

I bit my lip and looked away from him. If he didn’t want me to lie to him, I wouldn’t say anything at all. That was the safest thing to do, anyway.

“You’re not going to answer me?”

I looked in his eyes and shook my head slowly. “No,” I whispered. Tears overflowed from my eyes.

He let go of my chin and nodded once. “Okay. Then answer this. When’s the last time you’ve seen Jaden?”

I sighed. Afraid Brody would hear from someone else that Jaden was over Friday night, I decided to tell him. I thought it would be better for him to hear it from me. Maybe I could do some damage control. Yeah, right. “He came over after the football game Friday night. His cousin Karen saw me in your Jeep. He wanted to know who I was out with. I guess she didn’t see you.”

“Son of a bitch. And you’re asking me to look the other way and do nothing?” He flung his hand toward my eye.

“Yes. I’m asking you, as a friend, to overlook it.”

Brody glared at me. His jaw worked back and forth as his eyes roamed over the bruises and swelling covering my eye. “You’re scared of him.”

“Yes.” My answer was mostly the truth.

“Willow, you don’t have to be—”

“Please, just do this for me.” Grabbing Brody’s hand and threaded my fingers with his, I skimmed my lips over his knuckles. “Please.” I hated how my voice trembled, the desperation I could hear in it.

“Fine,” he said through clenched teeth. He grabbed my book bag, slung it over his shoulder, and stalked toward the school.

“Brody, wait. Give me my bag.” I hurried after him, taking two steps to every one of his long strides.

He stopped abruptly and turned. “Why? Because he’ll get angry that I’m carrying it?”

I took a step back at how hard his voice sounded. “Yes.”

He let the bag slide from his shoulder. It hung from his flattened palm. “Here.”

“Don’t be mad at me,” I called when he turned and walked away.

“I’m not,” he said over his shoulder.

“You’re acting like it.” I hated the tremor in my voice, but I couldn’t stand him mad at me. His opinion, our relationship, was important to me.

He stopped, and I nearly ran into his back. “I’m disappointed, Willow. I didn’t figure you would let someone treat you this way without fighting back.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. It felt like he’d physically knocked the air from my lungs. Disappointment was so much worse than anger. “That’s not fair! There’s more to it than you know.”

“Then tell me,” he shouted. Turning to look at me, he held his arms out from his sides. “Tell me, what’s not fair? What don’t I know?”

“I can’t,” I whispered.

“Whatever.” His arms dropped with a smack against his thighs. He walked away and left me standing alone in the middle of the parking lot.

Walking slowly into the building, I made my way to my locker. I focused on the tiles on the floor and putting one foot in front of the other, so I didn’t have to look at everyone staring at me. It was bad enough I could hear their whispers.

“Yoga pants? Really, Willow?” Jenna asked, looking at me. Then I raised my head. “Oh, shit.”

As soon as I saw Jenna, the tears started. I hadn’t cried when it happened. I hadn’t cried all weekend. But there, standing in the middle of the school’s hallway, in front of my locker, I started blubbering like a damn fool. Like I hadn’t given people enough to talk about already, I had to give them more ammunition.

“Let’s go to the bathroom. C’mon.” Jenna put her arm around my shoulder and held me tight against her, guiding me to the restroom. When we got inside, I slid down the wall and sat down on the dingy, tiled floor with my knees pressed against my chest, my arms wrapped around them. I laid my head down on my knees. “You wanna talk?” Jenna asked softly.

I shook my head. “Nothing to talk about.” Jenna handed me some tissue. I wiped my face and cursed. “All the makeup I put on to cover it up, and I’m crying it all off.” I half laughed and half sobbed. I heard the warning bell ring. Three minutes until classes started. “You should go. I don’t want you to be late.”

“No freakin’ way.” She shook her head. “I’m not leaving you like this.”

“I’m fine, Jenna. Go. I don’t want you to be late. You get detention enough on your own. You don’t need me helping you by making you late for class.” I smiled, wiping my tears on the back of my hand. “I’m just going to splash cold water on my face, and then I’ll go to class.”

“You’re sure? ’Cuz I don’t want to leave if you need me—”

“I’m sure.”

She gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Text me if you need me. It doesn’t matter what class I’m in. If you need me, just text and I’ll be there.” She hesitated in front of the door. “Promise me you’ll text me, Willow. I hate leaving you like this.” A tear slid down the side of her face.

I went to her and hugged her tight. “I promise I’m okay, but if I need you, I will text. No matter what. I’ll see you in history.”

With one last hug, Jenna wiped her tears and slipped out the door. Alone in the bathroom, I sat down on the floor again. I had no intention of getting up and going to class.

Sometime later, I don’t know how long, the door squeaked open, and I turned my face from it. I wasn’t in the mood to answer any questions, and I damn sure didn’t want to see pity in anyone’s eyes. I just wanted to sit on the dingy, pea-green tiled floor for the rest of the day. Maybe for the rest of my life… or at least the rest of the class period.

“You gonna sit here all day or what? ’Cuz if you are, I can make a Chinese run for lunch.” He eased himself on the floor next to me.

“What are you doing here, Brody?” I asked, trying to wipe away my tears before he saw. Because, although the tears were because of the circumstances that led up to my majorly black eye, I was also crying because of him. His reaction to me in the parking lot. I was hoping for a little more empathy, rather than disappointment. That stung. And maybe hit a little close to home, too, because, if I faced the truth, I was disappointed in myself.

“Jenna told me you were in here. She said if you weren’t in class in five minutes, I was supposed to text her so she could check on you.”

“Of course she did. So why are you here instead of her?” I turned my head to look at him, but kept my arms in front of my face to block his view.

He shrugged a shoulder and wrapped the hem of my shirt around his finger. “I wanted to be the one to check on you.”

“You do realize you’re sitting on the floor of the girls’ bathroom?”

“So are you,” he pointed out.

I sighed. “Yes, but I am a girl. You most definitely are not.”

“Thanks for noticing.” He gave me a lopsided grin, and I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“Believe me. I’ve noticed, along with the rest of the female, and some of the male, student body.”

“Well, it goes both ways. I’ve definitely noticed the fact that you’re a girl. A very beautiful one at that.” He slipped a finger under a lock of my hair and twirled it around his fingers as he looked around the room. “So, what’s it gonna be? Are we staying in here all day or are we going to brave biology?”

I shrugged and dropped my arms, forgetting that not only was my eye totaled, but I’d also been crying so my face was undoubtedly red and splotchy too. Yeah, America’s Top Model, here I come. No need to vote. I’ll just accept my winnings now. Sure.

I heard Brody suck in a breath when he looked at me, and his fingers stilled.

“Yeah, I guess I look busted, huh?” I said, wrapping my arms around my legs, pulling them tighter to my chest.

Brody shook his head. “Nope.” He swallowed and cleared his throat. “Not unless the term busted means something different to you than it does to me, because I think you look effin’ gorgeous.”

I rolled my eyes—the good one, anyway. “Whatever. What happened to your vow to always tell the truth?”

“It’s still in place,” he murmured, sliding a lock of hair behind my ear. He let his fingers glide gently along my jaw and down my neck, following it with his eyes. I shivered under his touch and watched him roll his full bottom lip between his teeth. I nearly groaned out loud.

I’m losing it. I have a mangled eye, a splotchy face, no makeup, I’m sitting in a dirty school bathroom, and I’m getting turned on.

“You deserve so much better than this,” Brody whispered, cupping the side of my face. He ran his thumb over my bottom lip, eyes following. I let the tip of my tongue touch the pad of his thumb, and he groaned deep in his chest.

He moved in front of me so fast, I gasped. Grabbing my upper arms, he slid me across the tiled floor until I was sitting between his legs with my legs over his, wrapped around his waist. His hand traveled up my back, sliding under my T-shirt. I hummed at the feel of his skin against mine. His other hand cupped the side of my face, his fingers delving into the hair falling in front of my eyes, holding it back.

His eyes roamed from mine to my lips and back again. My breath was trapped in my chest. His touch made it impossible for me to breathe, and my chest burned. My heart pounded as though it were trying to breakthrough and hand itself it Brody, because at that moment, he surely held my heart in his hands.

I wasn’t sure how much time passed. Brody’s hand ran up and down my spine. My hands moved up his arms to his shoulders, and then my fingers sifted through his silky dark hair like I’d wanted to do so many times. Time and place melted away. We were no longer in a school bathroom, but encased in a solitary cocoon where we were the only two people alive.

Brody’s hand left my cheek and moved to cup the back of my neck, nudging me forward. He leaned his cheek to mine. I could feel his warm breath moving wisps of my hair. Turning slightly, he kissed my cheek, moving along my jaw to my ear, kissing the sensitive spot just behind my earlobe. My head started to swim, and a tremor ran through me.

“Brody,” I whispered so low I wasn’t sure if he heard me.

He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. His breathing came in short gasps, his eyes closed. His fingers opened and closed around the hair at the back of my neck, gripping it tighter and tighter.

I knew the moment he decided. His breathing changed. His grip on my hair loosened. He splayed his hand between my shoulder blades. He groaned a curse, moving his mouth to mine. Pressing his lips to the corner of my mouth, he hesitated, giving me time to stop him, but my mind had been made up before that day. I knew if Brody Victor ever tried to kiss me again, I wouldn’t stop him. My body craved the taste of him and wouldn’t be satisfied until it had him—and even then, I knew one taste wouldn’t be enough.

He pulled back just far enough to move his blue eyes, dark with desire, to mine. Seeing his desire mirrored in my gaze, he leaned forward just as the bathroom door flew open, hitting the wall beside it with a crack before bouncing off.

“Oh, sorry,” a girl dressed all in black with blue hair said, looking down at us. “You know, there are better places to make out than the slimy bathroom.”

Scooting away, I stood, keeping my back to the girl. I didn’t need any reports getting back to Jaden of my bathroom tryst with Brody.

“Thanks,” Brody murmured, rolling off the floor. He placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me out the door.

I made it through the rest of the day without hiding in the bathroom. Brody and I never mentioned the best damn kiss that almost was.

When I left school that afternoon, Jenna, Tim, and Brody waited at my car. “What’s this? An intervention?” I asked, only half kidding.

“Today’s football practice,” Tim said, as if that explained everything.

“Yeah, and we’re taking you out,” Jenna chimed in.

“Where?” I eyed the three of them.

Jenna cringed. “It pains me to do this. I want that noted for the record. I’m only doing it because I’m awesome like that.”

“That goes without saying,” I said, pursing my lips to keep from smiling. Jenna was a diva of the highest form.

She gave an exaggerated sigh. “We’re taking you to the mall and buying you one of your damn T-shirts.”

“Really? I have the best besties in the world!”

“Yeah, yeah, it wasn’t my idea so don’t get your mush all over me. I still despise your shirts.”

I looked at Brody and smiled. “Thank you.”

“What?” he feigned innocence.

“I know it was your idea. Jenna hates the shirts. Tim has probably never paid enough attention to even realize I wear them—”

“Not true!” Tim said.

“That leaves you, Ace. The one person who’s told me they fit my personality. So, thank you.” I glanced around the parking lot to make sure we were alone and then stood on my tiptoes and kissed Brody’s cheek.

His hand glided over my hair when I kissed him. “Yeah, well, don’t go getting all girlie or anything.”

“I have some things I have to do first, so let’s meet in the food court in about an hour?” Jenna suggested.

We all agreed, and Jenna and Tim left for their cars. Brody held back. “What’s up?” I asked.

“Um, I was wondering if your parents would be home this afternoon?”

“My stepdad won’t be, but my mom probably will be home. Why?”

“Oh. I was thinking we could ride to the mall together. I could follow you home so you could drop your car off and we could take mine, but if your mom’s gonna be there it wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“No, it wouldn’t. Sorry. I would’ve liked riding with you.”

“Yeah?” He looked at me with a grin.

“Sure. Mall traffic is horrible this time of day.”

“Ha. Nice. Here I thought you wanted to spend time with me because of my charming personality, but you just want me for my superior driving skills.”

I laughed. “I’m a sucker for a guy who follows all the traffic laws.”

If you’ve ever seen yourself drive, you’d know why I want to ride with you. You ooze sexiness when you drive. I’m in so deep with you it’s pathetic, and you don’t have a friggin’ clue.

“Well, if you want, we can drop your car off at my house and leave for the mall from there. My mom won’t be home and even if she were, she wouldn’t care,” Brody said, leaning his back against my car door.

Alone. With Brody. At an empty house. With beds. No parental guidance whatsoever. What could go wrong? Yeah. I hope he has an unlimited supply of condoms. Jeez, Willow, get your mind out of the gutter… or the bedroom—whichever. It’s no different from being alone with him in a parked car in the middle of a field after dark. Except this time, there’ll be beds. Nice, soft, beds. I should tell him no.

“Sure. That sounds great.” I smiled.

I’m so going to Hell for sexual immorality.

I followed Brody to his house. When we pulled into the drive, I got out of my car and went to Brody’s Jeep. He got out, and I thought he was just coming around to open my door for me like always. No such luck. Ugh.

“You want to go in and get something to drink? We have time before we need to meet Tim and Jenna.”

“Um.” I looked at the door and then back to the jeep, twisting my fingers in front of me. “Okay.”

Oh, no. This is so bad. We should leave now and get something to drink at the mall… where there aren’t any beds and there are lots of people around. Not here, where we are alone, with beds in the house. Why can’t I stop thinking about the damn beds? I’m starting to sound like a hussy scoping out the beds.

“You’re sure your mom won’t mind us being here alone?”

Brody inserted the key into the house’s door and unlocked it. “I don’t remember saying that exactly. It’s not like I’m going to call her up and tell her I have a girl alone in the house. I just said she wouldn’t mind you parking your car here while we went to the mall. Slight difference.”

“Then we should leave.” I started to get in the Jeep when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me gently away from it.

“She’s out of town. It’s fine. Let’s get a Coke.” He threaded his fingers with mine and led me into the house. “Besides, I need to change clothes before we go. Someone squirted mustard on my jeans at lunch, remember?”

She’s out of town. Oh, well, that makes it so much better.

“Huh? Oh, that was an accident,” I said absently. My mind was still focused on the fact that Brody’s mother was out of town.

We’re on the friendship train. Nothing more. Just friends. Yeah. That’s why we were practically mauling each other this morning in the girls’ bathroom. If Brody can make the girls’ bathroom a sensual, seductive place, just think what he could do in a bedroom. I’m thinking about those damn beds again! I need a distraction.

“This is a really nice house. Just you and your mom live here?”

“I guess. It isn’t ours. We’re just renting until we find a place of our own. My mom likes this side of town. I kinda like it here, too.” He glanced at me and grinned. I was sure something melted inside me—a vital organ, no doubt, because my body started doing all kinds of weird things in response. My hands started shaking, my breathing was shallow, and my heart was skipping every other beat. My mind tried to stay immune to Brody Victor—even though it was failing miserably—but my body had completely lost control. Wherever he was, my body was like a homing beacon, picking up his signal. Missiles locked and loaded. I was ready… for what, I had no idea. But I assumed it had something to do with the beds.

Yup, I’m a lost cause. Just give me a gallon of chocolate chip ice cream and a spoon now. I’m going need them. No need for a bowl. This heartbreak will call for eating it right out of the carton.

We walked into to a huge two-story foyer with a curved staircase on one side and a formal living and dining room on the other. Brody led me to the back of the house where there was a great room with a family media room, and a huge kitchen with an attached sunroom. A second staircase was located off the kitchen.

“Wow.” I looked around. “I didn’t know this subdivision was this upscale compared to mine.”

“It’s just a house. I’ve lived in more houses over the years than I can count. None of them ours, so they’ve never really been homes, you know?”

Yeah, more than you can imagine.

I sat down at the breakfast bar and watched Brody grab two Cokes out of the fridge. He pulled down two glasses, filled them with ice, and handed one to me along with the can.

“Thanks,” I said, smiling up at him.

He didn’t say anything, and he didn’t smile back. I forced myself not to squirm in my seat. He turned back to the fridge and pulled something out of the freezer. Turning around, he handed me a bag of frozen peas. “You need to ice that.” He gestured to my eye.

“Peas?”

“I don’t know where the ice pack is and I don’t like peas.” He shrugged a shoulder.

I laughed. “Okay, peas it is, then.”

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to change. Make yourself at home.” He jogged up the stairs

I dropped my head on the granite countertop. “Ugh, he’s changing. Distraction. I need one. Now.”

“What?” Brody’s head peeked over the balcony.

“Nothing,” I said a little too fast and loud.

“I thought I heard you say something.”

“Nope.” I smiled, praying he couldn’t see the flaming blush I could feel crawling across my face. I smacked the bag of peas to the side of my face and cringed.

His head disappeared, and I let out the breath I was holding. I dropped the melting bag of peas on the counter and wandered around the family room. My arms were held ramrod straight as I clapped my hands against the sides of my thighs, a nervous habit I’d had since I was a little girl. It made me look like a chicken trying to take flight. That thought threatened to make me giggle so I forced my arms to go limp, putting one hand over my mouth to hold in any laughter that might try to escape.

I came to a collection of eclectic framed photos on a table in the family room. I stood looking at them, picking them up one at a time so I could examine the faces smiling back at me. I smiled when I came to one of a baby smiling at the camera while it ate an ice cream cone. Vanilla ice cream dripped from its chin and onto its bare belly. One chubby hand held the ice cream and the other twirled its dark hair between its fingers, filling it with ice cream.

“It’s you?” I asked when he walked up behind me. He hadn’t said anything, but I knew he was there. My body was becoming more and more in tune with his presence. I could feel his warmth radiating from him, smell his scent, and feel the slightest shift in the air as he moved.

“Yeah. How’d you know I was here?” he asked. I looked over my shoulder and saw his amused grin—one of my favorites out of his many smiles.

I looked back at the photograph and shrugged a shoulder. “Why? Were you trying to sneak up on me, Ace?”

“No, not really.”

“Not really?” I asked, putting the frame back in place on the table.

I felt his hands settle gently on my hips and froze. He hesitated for a few beats. Whether he was giving me a chance to move or was deciding his next move, I didn’t know, but the next thing I felt was his warm breath moving over the back of my neck, then his lips skimming over my skin. Sucking in a breath, I gripped the edge of the table. I felt him smile against my skin just before his fingers dug into my hips. He pulled me closer and placed an open-mouthed kiss on my neck, touching my skin for the briefest moment with his tongue.

“Brody,” I whispered.

He wrapped one arm around my waist, hooking his finger through the belt loop on my jeans. I reached over my head and ran my fingers through his hair, holding his head to me, letting my head fall forward. Brody cursed and pulled me harder against him. He kissed from the back of my neck toward my shoulder. His free hand moved slowly up my arm to the collar of my shirt. When he started moving my collar out of the way, it was as if someone threw a glass of ice water in my face.

“No!” I reached up and brushed his hand away. His grip on me loosened briefly, and I slipped by him. “We… we can’t,” I said, my breath coming in small pants.

He turned and looked at me. First confusion marred his face, and then understanding. “Move your shirt.”

“What?”

“You heard me, Willow. Move your damn shirt.” He took two strides toward me. I backed away from him, bumping into the wall behind me. He stood in front of me, his hands planted on the wall on each side of me, caging me in. “Do it.”

I looked up at the ceiling and bit my lip, trying to decide if there was any way I could distract him from wanting to look under my shirt. Problem was, the only way I could think of was by taking my shirt off—which was exactly what I was trying to avoid. Totally messed up.

I watched him as I reached up and pulled my shirt collar away from my neck far enough that he could see what he already knew was there. He didn’t say anything, but his look turned hard. He reached up and placed his hand over the bruises, moving it around until he found how it fit the pattern. “The other side too?”

I nodded but stayed silent.

“It’s fresh. When? Friday… when you were hit in the eye?” I looked at him, not answering. His fist hit the wall next to my head. I flinched and squeezed my eyes closed. “Damn it, you don’t get to just not answer.”