Tilting my head back, I’d lost the ability to breath. His eyes were completely topaz and shimmered with passion. It was overwhelming, unsettling, and made my blood rush. Those perfect lips whispered my name right before I seared them with mine. Then the room shattered with electrifying heat. His hands were under my shirt, tugging it over my head before I could even register it was gone.
“Hmm, I love the way you smell, the way you taste,” he murmured dreamily. “Like fresh peaches and wild berries from the vine. It lingers on my lips for hours after I kiss you, taunting me. Your scent follows me everywhere. On my clothes. In my car. In my room. In my dreams. It doesn’t matter what I do or where I go, you are everywhere. You’re a part of me.”
I stared at him like I didn’t recognize him. His words touched my very soul, and I didn’t even know where to begin to explain how he made me feel. I wasn’t good with caring and sharing – I just plain out sucked at it. With my luck, I would ruin what was the best moment of my life. So I didn’t say anything.
Instead, I fused my lips to his again, trying to show him what I was unable to say. What I was still unable to admit to myself.
I was falling for him – hard.
I had no more than touched his lips with mine when I heard his bedroom door swing open, followed by a low groan. His hands kept me from moving as I glanced over my shoulder.
Lexi stood in the doorway. “Ugh,” she complained. “Can’t you two get a room? The whole house doesn’t want to see you sucking face twenty-four seven.”
“This is my room,” growled Chase, literally growled in his throat, eyes illuminating in the semi-dark room. A shudder of fear and excitement raced through me as he teetered close to the edge of no control.
“Oh,” she exclaimed as if just realizing where she was. “God, you guys are worse than rabbits. And I thought Travis was bad.”
“Out!” demanded a very annoyed Chase. “And lock the damn door.”
Ten seconds after the door clicked, I started giggling. The moment was ruined.
“I am going to strangle her,” he vowed, staring at the ceiling with his hands streaked through his messy hair.
That only made me laugh harder.
“You think this is funny?” His hands gripped my waist and yanked me against him.
The giggle perished in my throat, I gulped. Nope. When he looked at me like that, there was absolutely nothing humorous about it. Instead I felt…
Hot.
Excited.
Achy.
“Your eyes…”
“What about them?” I asked feeling entranced.
He shook his head. “I keep trying to convince myself that I am seeing things, that it couldn’t be possible.”
“Is this what you haven’t been telling me? What you’ve been hiding from me?”
He cocked a brow. “What makes you think I’ve been hiding things from you?”
I gave him a droll look. “You really don’t think that this link we have is one only sided, do you?”
He shrugged. “I guess that was too much to expect. I was really hoping that you wouldn’t be…affected by what happened.”
“Okay, you are starting to scare me now. What is wrong with my eyes?”
“They change.”
The eyes in question widened like alien saucers.
“No, not like mine,” he said, reading my thoughts. “They remind me of a mood ring Lexi once wore. She was going through one of her phases and never took the damn thing off. Your eyes…they change colors with your mood. Not drastically, but enough that I notice.”
“Meaning, my mom could notice. Anyone could notice,” I added somberly.
He nodded his head.
“Well on the up side, you seem to be the only one who pisses me off lately. Maybe no one will notice.”
“Maybe…” But he sounded anything but swayed. It was more like he agreed for my benefit, to make me feel better.
I was sure this wasn’t good. If my eyes were changing because of our shared bond, what else did I have in store to look forward to? What other surprises awaited me?
Chapter 7
Halloween was like the best holiday ever. Hello free candy. Who can turn that down? I might be a senior in high school, but that didn’t stop me from dressing up and enjoying my inner child.
…Or having to take crap from Chase.
Apparently the sight of me in my costume was hilarious. He probably didn’t even know what I was. I was reluctant to admit how intoxicating his laugh was, realizing how little I actually heard it.
However, he was still a complete jerk. Some things never change. Chase might be incredibly gorgeous and I might be the teeniest bit attracted to the clad (okay more than a tiny bit,) but that didn’t mean that most days, I didn’t think he was a douche.
He looked me up and down, taking in the patched block dress I made myself, the red wig, and the stitches I’d drawn on my face. While he took his fill at the whole package, I tried to ignore what his gaze was doing to my body. Whenever Chase was near, it defied my wishes to be unaffected by his presence. Damn, uncontrollable body.
“Are you supposed to be homeless?” he asked, grinning widely. There was still a chuckle in his voice.
I started to shut the door in his face only to be stopped by his foot in the threshold. I glared, crossing my arms. “For your information bucko, I’m Sally Stitches.”