“Just tell me. You good in bed? You good at—”
“Now.”
His eyes narrowed, and instead of releasing her arm, he yanked her closer. “If you’re gonna be a bitch, I—”
“You fucking deaf, White?”
A shudder coursed down Elle’s spine at the sound of Jace’s voice. At the rage that slid through every word.
Both she and Casper turned their heads to see Jace storming toward them from the break in the trees. Even though it was dark, there was no missing the fury in his gaze. It made his blue eyes look almost black.
“Get your hand the fuck off her,” he growled. “Unless you want a broken fucking nose.”
Casper unclasped her wrist and stumbled to his feet, almost falling backward. The jerk was scared. Because even though he played a tough game, he wasn’t stupid. Jace was bigger than him. Stronger.
Casper lifted his hands. “I—”
Jace shoved him. “You what? Couldn’t understand plain fucking English?”
Elle’s pulse sped up. Jace may only be seventeen, but she’d seen him hit a bag. He was fierce, and she didn’t want him to get in trouble for her.
“Come on, Walker,” Casper tried. “Elle and I were just having a conversation.”
Jace took a threatening step forward. “Didn’t look that way.”
“Jace.” Elle kept her voice soft, even though fear filled her. Fear that Jace would hurt Casper. He deserved it, but she didn’t want Jace to do something he’d regret.
A beat of silence passed before—finally—Jace looked down at her.
“It’s fine,” she whispered.
For a moment, his intense gaze just held hers, making her heart pound that bit faster and her skin tingle. It was only when he looked back to Casper that she realized she hadn’t taken a single breath.
“Go,” Jace said in a low, dangerous voice.
Casper did. He ran back toward the party like something was chasing him.
For a few seconds, Jace watched him go, as if daring the guy to come back. Then his jaw clenched, and he once again turned his gaze to her as he lowered to the log. He sat so close that his warmth soaked into her side, causing a tingling sensation to run through every limb.
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly, some of the anger still there. “Because if you’re not, I’ll go back and pound the fucker. Hell, I want to pound him anyway just for touching you.”
He said things like that a lot. And sometimes she allowed herself to buy into the fantasy that it was because he cared about her, not as a friend but as more.
Images of him with Alana tonight flashed in her mind, and she dropped her gaze to the dirt in front of her. “I’m fine. He was just being stupid. He was clearly on something.”
“Heisstupid. Doesn’t give him the right to touch you though.”
Another clench of her heart. “Where’s Alana?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. I saw you were missing and came to find you.”
Why did he have to say things like that? Things that gave her just a bit of hope, when in reality, she knew there wasn’t any.
She loved him. It was a secret that lived deep inside her. A secret she would never, not if she lived a hundred years, release into the world. How could she when it was so one-sided?
He cleared his throat. “What are you doing out here by yourself?”
“Getting away from the noise and watching the stars. Dreaming about being back in my bed.”
