bottling up all of my anger, despite the fact
that I feel like I'm going to explode with it. I'm just too damn
drained, mentally and physically, to put up with him any more
tonight.
In a huff, I turn and head to the house. But like clockwork, this
asshole follows, reaches from behind me and holds the sliding door
shut.
“Would you please move ? ”
I grit my teeth at him.
“No, because you seem angry. And something tells me it's not
just about your wank material.”
He's pushing it. This isn’t going to end well.
I spin around to face him, finding myself trapped between the wall
and his half naked, soaking wet body. I was too pissed off to notice
it before but now I can't miss it, especially with golden light from
the porch lamp illuminating every single ripple in his abs. Jesus ,
he has the body of a Greek statue—how is that even humanly
possible?
With his hands on either side of me caging me in, he stares down at
me, a smile playing on the corner of his lips. It's like he's
taunting me without saying a word.
“I'd really suggest you move and let me go now,” I say as
calmly as possible.
“Now you see, that isn't healthy, holding everything in like
that. Go ahead and tell me how you're feeling.”
Seriously? Isn’t that kind of obvious right now? “I'm
feeling angry and upset that you're going out of your way to harass
me!” I break through his hold and reach for the door. “I'm
going upstairs, to my room. Don't fucking follow me or bother me for
the rest of the week.”
He chuckles. “Typical. Just like a little hermit crab.”
I freeze and shut my eyes tight. Hearing him call me that name is
like a trigger that brings back violent memories from High School.
No, Leah. Don't let him get under your skin again. Don't let him
get in your head.
“God, I feel sorry for you,” I say.
He blinks rapidly, folding his arms over his chest like he's taken
aback my revelation. “ You feel sorry for me ?”
I shrug a shoulder. “Why wouldn't I?”
“Oh, I don't know, maybe because I have a life, and social
skills, and I'm not some uptight virgin living life vicariously
through brain dead romance novels.”
“Yeah? And you're also twenty years old, you still live at
home, you have a shitty dead-end job, and a rap sheet,” I spit
out.
His jaw clenches. “You don't have shit except for the stuff
your rich daddy gives you.”
I throw my head back and laugh bitterly. “Is my daddy the
reason why you couldn't even get a high school diploma? I'm going to
fucking Stanford . Where are you going? Oh right, you'll still
be here, while your mommy fixes you food and does your laundry.”
“You don't know shit about shit, Leah. This is exactly why
everyone hated you in high school.”
“Maybe no one sent you the memo, but high school is over. At
least I have a future—you'll probably stay in this shitty
little town with your worthless friends until you die.”
With narrowed eyes, he moves in closer to me. “You've got a lot
of nerve talking to someone like me like that.”
“True, I'll try and talk slower and use smaller words next
time,” I tell him dismissively. He stares me down but I don't
give a shit; I got under his skin for once, and it feels good. He
still has me trapped between those giant arms of his. “Move,”
I demand as I try to push past but he holds me back. He pushes me
hard up against the wall with his body, pinning me between his chest
and the rough brick behind me.
“You're pushing your God damned luck,” he snarls.
My body goes rigid and I have to gasp for air—what the hell? I
hate him, but I've never been physically scared of him until
now.
I let out a frantic yelp. “Get the fuck away from me!” My
hands are on his shoulders, pushing him, but he barely budges. And
then he takes me by the wrists and slams them back against the side
of the house. His chest expands against my completely immobile body.
I start to panic. Threat is a jerk and a bully, but he isn't
violent...is