Intently I gauged the exact moment to counteract his strike and give
him the uppercut he deserved.
Forget my hand. This
boy was going down
.
“That’s enough.”
The deep voice behind me startled Elton.
It was just the leverage I needed. With a quick jolt I locked
my fist and aimed it directly for Elton’s jaw, right underneath
his chin.
“Em! No!”
My right arm was seized and jerked back a whiskers breath away from
knocking the loser senseless.
Dang it, Chase!
“Let
me go!”
His voice was in my ear as I watched a stunned Elton stumble
backwards and away from me. “You really didn’t want
to do that, Em.”
“Yes, I did!” I tried to free my arm. “I had
him. He totally deserved it.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that he deserved it.
But think about it. You really want to break your hand over the
guy? Doesn’t the other one hurt enough already?”
“Ugh, Chase. You’ve gotta ruin everything, don’t
you?” I sulked, not willing to give in to his superior
intellect.
He chuckled and slowly wrapped his arms over mine around my waist and
then rested his chin on the top of my head. For a moment I was
lost in the feeling of my knight surrounding me. I allowed my
head to rest lightly on his chest and relished the deep voice as it
vibrated above me,
“Mr. Bloomfield. You’ve got approximately ten
seconds to gather your things and get out of this house, or I won’t
hold Emma back. And then when she’s through with you,
I’ll really let you have it.”
“W-when did you get back? I-I thought y-you were
gone?” sputtered Elton.
“Eight seconds,” answered Chase.
“But-but—!”
“Seven… six… five…”
“All right! I’m going! Give me a second!”
“You have three.”
“Ahh!” Elton grabbed his keys and bolted past us
for the stairs.
“One.” Chase laughed above me as the front door
slammed shut and echoed all the way to the basement. “So
are you gonna tell me what that was all about?”
“No!” I pulled out of Chase’s arms and turned
around to see him. “What are you doing here? When
did you get back? How come nobody tells me anything around here
anymore?”
Chase tried to smother a grin. “Didn’t I tell
you I’d be back?”
“No, you didn’t.” I folded my arms.
“Well, aren’t you glad I came?” He chuckled
at my expression. “Okay, so obviously you’re not,
but..” He sighed and shook his head as he took a step closer.
“Look, it’s understandable that you wanted to deck the
guy—believe me I wanted a piece of him too—but, what am I
going to do with you, huh?”
My hands went to my hips as I stood my ground. “You don’t
have to do anything with me. I’m a big girl now.
Good grief! You treat me like I’m your little sister!”
Chase took another step forward his
blue eyes glittered wearily into mine. “Do I? I’m
sorry, I don’t mean to.”
“Y-you should be sorry.” I was having a hard time
remembering to be mad when he was this close. “I-I
already have an older brother.”
“Hmm… That’s right you do.” He took
another step closer and this time reached up to touch the sleeve of
my shirt. He brought his gaze back to mine. “Well,
how about a friend then?”
“A-a friend?” I was lost. His fingers twirled
the soft fabric in between
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