Page 61 of Corrupt Idol

“Why didn’t I ever hear about this?”

“Because I put a stop to it.”

“How?”

His eyes seared hers. “I told the truth—that you had never slept with him.”

She stepped into the plane and shuffled down the narrow aisle. She passed Mom and Dad and waded to their seat, which was toward the back of the plane. They hadn’t been able to get seats together since the tickets had been booked last minute. She’d been hoping she and Jesse were sitting apart, but no luck. She took the window seat while he took the aisle. She shoved her purse under the seat in front and buckled herself in.

“About Brody.”

She had been expecting it, but still she braced before she looked at him. “What about him?”

His eyes speared hers. “You shouldn’t mess with the guys.”

“Messwith them?”

“Don’t encourage them.”

She leaned toward him. “Like Brody said, you aren’t always going to be around, big guy. I’m going to do whatever.” She paused for emphasis, “Or whoever I want.”

He leaned in too, so close their lips touched. She jerked back and immediately looked toward mom and dad’s seats. They were faced forward and completely oblivious to what was going on. “What the hell are you doing?”

He grasped her chin. “You’re mine.”

She tried to jerk back, but he wasn’t letting up. She grasped his wrist, but couldn’t wrap her fingers around the width of it. Everything about him was supersized. “I’m not.”

“You’ve been mine since you were thirteen.” His fingers traveled down her neck. “It started innocent enough. The feeling of protectiveness, enjoying your company, doing everything together, and building memories.” His thumb brushed over her sprinting pulse. “I remember when it changed. We were camping at the lake with church friends and we were playing chicken. Malcolm lifted you on his shoulders and you were trying to knock Marissa off Benny’s shoulders.”

She frowned. “Why would that change anything?”

“You were sitting on Malcolm’s shoulders, your legs draped around his neck. He was holding your thighs, touching you…” His eyes darkened as his fingers left her pulse and tripped between her cleavage before she jerked back. “Later that day he tried to get you to ride the jet ski with him.”

She remembered that. “You made me ride with you instead.”

His eyes glinted as the flight attendant launched into her safety speech in case of an emergency.

“I got to feel your arms around me, your breasts against my back,” he said in a low, gravelly voice. “And I told Malcolm to keep his goddamn hands to himself.”

“You’re insane.”

“Maybe.”

“No, youare,” she retorted.

She rolled her shoulders to brush off the effect his voice had on her. When he gripped her thigh, she tensed.

“Let Brody off easy, Anton too.”

She glared at him and smacked his hand, which didn’t budge. “They’re nice guys.”

“I don’t care.”

“You have no claim on me.”

“I told you how I feel about you,” he said in a low voice as his fingers glided up her bare thigh. “And even though you threw my feelings back in my face, that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you go off with some other guy.”

She clamped her thighs together when he tried to slip beneath her shorts.

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