Page 15 of Corrupt Obsession

“No.”

Violet turned to give him an arch look. “Seriously? Each one she puts on is brighter than the last.” Violet’s voice dropped as she muttered, “And smaller. Her mom is so embarrassed.”

He grunted. He dated Marissa for two weeks in sixth grade, and she had been trying to convince him to be her boyfriend again ever since. He liked her as a friend and did his best not to lead her on, but she made it clear to him and everyone else that she wanted more.

“Lara’s also been trying to get your attention. Every time she sings, she looks right at you.”

He’d noticed and started excusing himself or making sure he could duck behind someone until she was finished. Lara was pretty, sweet, and had the voice of an angel, but when she wasn’t singing, she was painfully shy and had a stutter.

As he brushed Violet’s wavy black hair out of his face, he smelled the soft floral scent of violets and rose. The already delicate fragrance was faint from her time in the water, but knowing Malcolm had probably caught a whiff of it reminded him what had pissed him off in the first place. He gripped her waist. “You want another ride, you come to me. I don’t want you going with anyone else.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.” As the image of her legs draped around Malcolm’s face came back to him, he tacked on, “And no playing chicken again either, unless you’re on my shoulders.”

“You’re so weird,” she muttered.

“Promise me.”

“Fine,Dad,” she drawled as she killed the engine.

He flinched, not liking that label one bit, but before he could say anymore, she slipped off the jet ski into the water. He stayed put and helped two girls get on before he swam toward shore. Violet joined Mom and Isaac near the grill and made herself a plate of food. With his family occupied, he tracked down Malcolm, who was making his way back to camp. He waited until they had distanced themselves from everyone else before he called out to him.

“Malcolm!”

Malcolm stopped and looked over his shoulder. Jesse saw his brows come together in a frown before it was replaced with an easy smile.

“Hey, Jesse, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to give you a friendly warning.”

His pleasant tone belied the inferno in his chest. They were at a church event. He couldn’t get in a fight with the worship leader’s son, but he wasn’t going to let what happened with Violet slide.

Malcolm blinked. “Warning?”

“Yeah.” He kept a smile on his lips as he loosened his grip on his temper so the heat of it leaked into his eyes. “Touch Violet like that again, and we’re going to have problems.”

Malcom’s mouth sagged before he said in affronted tones, “I’m sorry?”

“You think I didn’t notice you slide her down your front or look down her bathing suit?”

He saw a flash of guilt before Malcolm puffed out his chest.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do. If I see you do that with Violet or any other girl who doesn’t know what you’re up to, you won’t like what happens. You got me?”

Malcolm stepped back with his hands up. “I’m sorry, man, if you thought I was being inappropriate. I never meant to?—”

“See that you don’t,” he said shortly, and turned away before he ruined everyone’s day by breaking every finger Malcom had dared lay on Violet’s skin.

They gatheredaround the campfire to eat, play games, tell scary stories, and sing their hearts out. Everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives. Normally, Jesse would be in the thick of things, but he hadn’t been able to shrug off his bad mood, even though Malcolm had taken his warning seriously and steered clear of Violet.

He sat on the fringes, observing, rather than engaging. His aggravation steadily increased as he watched his peers approach her throughout the night. He had never noticed how many male gazes followed her. Josiah tried to teach her how to play the guitar and spent a ridiculous amount of time positioning her fingers on the strings. He could tell within five minutes, Violet was over it, though she let Josiah talk to her for another ten before she excused herself.

When she made her way to the fire where they were making s’mores, Rhett offered her a toasted marshmallow on a stick. Violet reached for it eagerly, but her eyes flared when Rhett pulled it back and shook his head. Rhett said something. Violet grinned before she used her mouth to pull the marshmallow off the stick, which was obviously Rhett’s condition for her to have it. Jesse was prepared to push Rhett into the fire, but Violet’s laughter as she tried to eat the large marshmallow made him pause. He glanced around to see if Isaac or any other male thought what was happening was inappropriate, but everyone was in his spirits and oblivious to what was happening in their midst.

He raked his fingers through his hair. What the hell was wrong with him? His friends weren’t trying to lure her out into the woods to have their wicked way with her. They were being overly attentive and toeing the line, but nothing that warranted getting their noses broken. That didn’t mean he had to like it. She was too naive to see their true motives, but he did.

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