Fade - Fighting Fate #3

by Maree Green

  She’d told me all about her parents and their unrealistic expectations over the last few days. While I’d been listening to her, I found it was just like that first night I’d met her when Ryan had been such an asshole. My protective instinct was unstoppable. I wanted to pin every one of them up against a wall and make them apologize to her.

  “Are you still going to the mall with your mom this afternoon?” she asked, lying back to look up at the sky.

  “No, she got called into work.” I eased back beside her, propping myself up on my elbow and turning to the side a little so I could see her better. “You could come back with me if you want. We could watch a movie or something?”

  I watched her carefully. I was going to add that she didn’t have to worry about Ryan being there, but I kind of wanted to see if the idea of Ryan being home would stop her from coming. I wasn’t sure why. I guess I wanted her to want to be with me enough that she’d face that.

  But Amy surprised me by giving me a shy smile and answering, with no hesitation, “I’d like that.”

  Picking up a section of her hair off the blanket, I softly rubbed my fingers over it. It’d been like this every day. I couldn’t stop myself from touching her in some small way. The memory of that first night we met was always right there, taunting me. I could remember exactly what she felt like against me, practically taste the sweetness of her lips. It was maddening.

  Deciding it was time I just asked the damned question that had been plaguing me for the last week, I stopped what I was doing and locked my gaze with hers. “Would you think it was weird if I asked you on a date?”

  Her expression didn’t change, but her breath stopped, and if it was possible, I swore her eyes darkened. Slowly, she shook her head. “No.”

  “What if I asked if I could kiss you? Right now?” I asked, my gaze automatically falling to her full lips. “Because I can still remember how amazing you taste, and I’m dying to taste you again . . .”

  Her lips parted with a little gasp. “Okay,” she whispered.

  Okay? Holy shit, she said okay. I inhaled deeply. It wasn’t that I’d expected her to say no. I just hadn’t really thought past asking her the question.

  Taking another deep breath, I reached out and softly brushed my fingers through her hair, suddenly wondering why this moment felt like it could very well be the biggest in my life so far.

  Leaning closer, I let my hand rest gently on the side of her face and brushed my thumb across her cheek. She looked so damned beautiful lying there, her big doe eyes never leaving mine. It made something inside my chest hurt.

  With slow, cautious movements, I closed the distance between us.

  The second I brushed my lower lip over hers, I felt her melt. Her eyes fell closed and she exhaled a little sigh. A flash of some kind of ache coursed through me at the sight. I tried to breathe through it, unsurprised to find my breath a little shaky.

  Fingers tensing, I tasted her again, this time deeply. Her lips parted, and she tilted her head back a little, giving me better access. I tried to keep it to a PG version, seeing as we were in the middle of a public park, but damn, it was hard not to just devour her. But after what Ryan did to her, I didn’t want to scare her, either. I didn’t want her to think I was anything like him.

  Knowing I should pull in the reins a little, I went to ease back, but then her hand moved over my waist, and she arched her body toward mine. A silent growl coursed through me, and I automatically pulled her harder into my kiss, my tongue taking a stroke against her lip without my consent.

  A tiny little whimper escaped her, making me just about lose my sanity altogether. Forcing myself to break away, I rested my forehead against hers and tried to catch my breath. It was harder to do than when I’d just run three miles.

  “Damn,” I muttered. “That was better than I remembered.”

  I felt her nod her head a fraction, and something that sounded like, “Uh-huh,” came out with her breath.

  Pulling back from her, I met her gaze. “You know I’m going to do that again at some stage, don’t you?”

  Her answering smile made my heart warm. “I hope so . . . ”

  I growled. I couldn’t help it. Knowing she wanted it just as much as I did was like a damned invitation. Before we went there, though, there was something I needed answered.

  Sighing, I put a bit more distance between us. “I really don’t want to ask you this, but I need to know about Ryan,” I said, my tone a little defeated.

  I watched her blink at me, surprise flickering over her features. “What do you need to know?”

  “I don’t know.” I rubbed my hand over my head with frustration. “I guess, I just wanted to know if you ever wanted to be with him . . . like that . . . ”

  Her brow creased with confusion before they rose with understanding. She immediately shook her head. “No. Never. I . . .” She looked past my shoulder into the distance. “I thought there was something wrong with me. I mean, he was nice and he’s attractive . . . ” She gazed back at me and grinned before turning serious again. “But anytime he wanted to go past kissing, it was like a giant wall would pop up—like big, flashing neon signs that said, ‘Stop. Wrong way. Go back.’ It was weird.”

  I didn’t realize how tense I’d been waiting for her answer until I felt myself relax. “I don’t like thinking about you kissing him,” I said, surprising myself.

  She sighed and reached up to run her fingers through my hair. “I like your kisses a lot better, if that helps . . . ?”

  Leaning down, I gave her a quick, soft kiss. “Not really, but thank you.”

  “Does it bother you?” she asked. “I mean, do you think it could be a problem?”

  Running my thumb over her lip, I smiled. “No. I think it’s too late for it to bother me.”

  Her lips parted as she gazed at me, and without thinking, I slid my thumb into her mouth, watching her tongue as it caressed my skin before her lips closed around it and gently sucked.

  Fuck me.

  Every fiber in my being was demanding I kiss her again, but I knew if I did, I couldn’t guarantee I’d be able to keep it PG-rated.

  Slowly retracting my thumb, I sucked in a harsh breath. “Come on, you. Let’s go watch a movie before the cops come and arrest me for inappropriate behavior.”

  She giggled softly, suddenly making it hard for me to breathe. This girl was going to be the death of me, and I was pretty sure I would be okay with it.

  Walking her to her car, like I did every day, this time I helped her into the driver’s seat before walking around to climb in beside her. Every now and again, during the three-mile drive back to Mom’s place, she’d glance my way and smile, reiterating that death threat even more.

  I watched her carefully when we made it back to the house. A part of me was expecting her to be a little tense being back where Ryan had been such a dick to her, but she simply smiled at me like she was completely comfortable. I exhaled a silent breath with relief.

  “Do you mind if I just go grab a quick shower first?”

  Her gaze darkened on me, making me wonder what was going through her pretty mind. Slowly, she shook head. “No, that’s fine.”

  “Okay. Make yourself at home.”

  Dashing up the stairs, I rushed to get into the shower and wash off the sweat from my run. Quickly drying myself off, I went back to my room to dress.

  I was just zipping up my shorts when I heard a knock on the door. “Daniel?”

  The sound of Amy’s voice sent a warm buzz through my blood. “It’s okay. You can come in,” I called to her, reaching into my drawer for a shirt.

  She opened the door hesitantly, her gaze raking over my bare chest before she blushed. I had no idea what it was about the way she blushed, but it made me want to grab her and kiss her. Hard.

  It took me a few seconds to notice she had her phone clutched in her hand. “Everything okay?” I asked, nodding toward the device.

  She blinked and looked down. “Oh, yeah.” S
ighing, she gave me a defeated smile. “I need to go home.”

  Throwing my shirt on the bed, I walked right over to her, taking hold of her hip with one hand and stroking the side of her face with the other. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I said I’d help Mom out with this charity drive.”

  I breathed her in. “Okay.”

  Her gaze dropped to my chest, and before I could even think, her hands were there, gently moving over my abs, working their way upwards. My breath hitched.

  “You’ve got such an amazing body,” she murmured.

  A tremor ran through me. “I think that’s my line,” I murmured back.

  She gazed up at me and blushed. I kissed her.

  I loved the way Amy reacted to my kisses. It was like every ounce of tension in her body evaporated the instant our lips touched. She just melted.

  My fingers buried in her hair, holding her mouth to mine. One of her hands moved to clutch my bicep, while the other slid around to softly stroke my back. Every nerve ending in my body was like a live wire. I’d never felt anything like it.

  I kissed her deeper, the hand on her hip tightening before moving around to the small of her back to pull her harder against me. She moaned, her tongue flicking out to find mine.

  Holy shit, she was addictive.

  Giving myself a few more seconds to drown in the taste of her, I finally pulled back, loosening my hold and breathing her in.

  Seeing her standing there, her eyes still closed as a soft smile slipped calmly onto her lips, I knew I’d never get tired of this. With her.

  “I retract my earlier statement,” she said, her eyelids fluttering open. “I don’t like your kisses.”

  I frowned. She what?

  She grinned. “I love them. I love your lips. They’re so soft.”

  I gave her a little smirk. “Ditto, baby. Ditto.”

  She laughed. “All right. I better go.”

  “Yeah, I think you better . . .”

  Grabbing up my shirt, I took her hand and pulled her out my door, only to stop dead in my tracks as I came face-to-face with Ryan at the top of the stairs.

  His gaze jumped from me to Amy before he laughed. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he said.

  Amy stiffened beside me, making me pull her in a little closer.

  He let out another harsh laugh and pinned Amy with a hateful glare. “You couldn’t have me, so you decided you’d go for my brother? That’s pathetic, even for you, Amy.”

  I felt my whole body tighten. “One more word, little brother . . .”

  Ryan’s gaze snapped to mine with surprise. “Are you serious?”

  I glared at him.

  “Fuck, you are.” He shook his head and glanced between me and Amy. “You’re wasting your time there, man. You won’t get anything out of that uptight bitch.”

  That’s all it took for me to snap. Before he knew what had hit him, I had him pinned to the wall, my forearm pressed against his windpipe. “You have exactly three seconds to apologize to Amy,” I snarled.

  I saw the defiance in his eyes. I pressed harder.

  “Two seconds.”

  He gave me a hard stare.

  “One second.”

  He held my gaze for a split second before glancing over to Amy. I loosened my hold so he could get the word out.

  “Sorry.”

  I knew it wasn’t heartfelt, and I wanted to hurt him for not meaning it, but I also just wanted to get Amy away from him. Shoving him one last time, I stepped back and took Amy’s hand.

  I didn’t spare him another glance as I led Amy down the stairs and out to her car. It felt a bit like the first night I’d met her as I stopped beside the driver’s door.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, meaning every bit of the word.

  “It’s okay,” she said softly. “And you have nothing to be sorry for.”

  Unexpectedly, she placed her hand on my cheek and stretched up to kiss the corner of my mouth. Not one to miss an opportunity, I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her against me, taking her mouth with a heated kiss that held all of my frustrations.

  Amy kissed me back with just as much heat, wrapping her legs around my hips and her arms around my neck.

  Groaning, I pushed her against the door of her car and plunged my tongue into the warmth of her mouth. She was fucking perfect.

  The second she loosened her hold and eased back a little, I forced myself to end the kiss. It was fucking hard, but I respected her too much to not honor her limits.

  I pressed my lips against her neck, trying to catch the breath she’d stolen from me.

  “I think you have the potential to make me forget my own name,” she whispered in my ear.

  I swallowed, knowing damned well she had the potential to do all that and much, much more to me.

  Chapter 9

  Amy

  The sound of the doorbell had me scrambling for my bag and down the stairs as fast as I could.

  Unfortunately, Mom still beat me to the door. I saw her eyes widen when she saw who was on the other side.

  “Ryan?”

  I groaned. I hadn’t told either of my parents about Daniel. It wasn’t that I was trying to hide him from them or anything. I just had no interest in telling them about any aspect of my life anymore.

  “No, ma’am,” I heard Daniel answer before I got there. “I’m Daniel. Ryan’s brother.”

  “Oh my goodness,” she breathed out. “That’s right. You lived with your father, didn’t you?” The interest in her tone had me tensing.

  “Theoretically speaking,” Daniel answered.

  I reached Mom’s side, slightly out of breath, and gave Daniel an apologetic smile.

  “Theoretically? What do you mean?” Mom pressed.

  Daniel’s gaze unwillingly went to Mom. “I attended military school, ma’am, so I more or less lived on campus.”

  Mom recoiled. “Military school? Why on earth would you go there?”

  I watched Daniel’s mouth creep up on one side. He was enjoying this. “I guess I pissed my father off one too many times, ma’am.”

  The gasp Mom let out was expected. “But you will be going back to work with him, won’t you?”

  Daniel’s eyebrow rose a notch. “No, ma’am. I’m in the United States Marine Corp now.”

  “Oh my . . . ” Her hand went to her chest at the horror of it all. “Well, that’s just ridiculous. Why would you throw away the chance of a successful career with your father?”

  I blinked at her. Was she serious? Daniel seemed just as dumbfounded. Holding my finger up to Daniel to indicate for him to wait a second, I closed the door on him and turned to face Mom.

  “Mom!” I hissed. “Choosing a career defending our country—our way of life—is the most noble and honorable career there is!”

  Her gaze snapped to mine, and her expression darkened. “I don’t think so. And no daughter of mine will date a marine. I forbid it.”

  My jaw dropped. I was seriously shocked by her words. “What is wrong with you?” I whispered.

  Crossing her arms, she gave me a warning glare. “Watch your mouth, young lady. You still live under my roof, and until such time as that changes, you will do as you’re told. You will not be dating a marine. End of story. Do you have any idea how little money they actually make?”

  Ah . . . so there it was. The elephant in the room.

  Disappointment and embarrassment washed through me. Sadly, I shook my head. If I had any doubts as to whether I was doing the right thing by taking my own road, away from my parents, they were long gone now.

  “I want to feel sorry for you, but I can’t even do that.” Opening the door, I moved past her and took Daniel’s hand. “I’m going out.”

  Without looking back, I walked beside Daniel to his mom’s car and waited for him to open the door for me while Mom yelled at me to come back. When we were both seat belted in and on our way out the gates, I touched his hand.

  “I’m so sorry.�
�

  He laughed, confusing me. “Why are we always apologizing to each other for other people’s bad behavior?”

  I smiled. He was right. Between Ryan and my mother, we were both affected.

  “Okay, then. From now on, no more apologies unless they’re our own.”

  He squeezed my hand. “Agreed.” Letting his gaze sweep down my body, he inhaled deeply. “You look beautiful, by the way.”