Bruised Angel (River of Lies #2) by Sammy King

that don’t you?” Mason asked.
    Chelsea blinked to hold the tears back. She had never had anyone protect her and until that point she never realised that the one thing she wanted in life was protection. She nodded quickly unable to speak without the tears beginning to fall. Mason kissed her again, this time lingering a little longer of her lips. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she saw him staring into her. Her stomach did a back flip and her knee’s began to buckle. Chelsea couldn’t prevent the smile that started to creep its way across her face as she pulled away.
    “You better stop that, your friend is about to faint with shock” she said with a nod of her chin in Lincoln’s direction, whose jaw was practically resting on the floor.
    Mason quickly glanced over at his friend and gave her his crooked smile as he shrugged his shoulder, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her in close to his chest.
    “Let him faint” he said as he leaned in and kissed Chelsea again.
    This time it wasn’t just a small peck on the lips, this time the whole world vanished and it was just the two of them standing in the shopping centre, as she felt him nibble at her lips, his tongue gently flicking out to taste her. Chelsea reached out with her free arm and felt his arm muscles tense under her fingers. She parted her lips instinctively and he gently intruded her mouth with his tongue, tentatively dancing with her own. She had never been kissed so beautifully, she had never imagined a kiss could be so passionate, gentle and healing all in one. It seemed to be over as quickly as it started when Mason pulled away from her with a smile. She continued to look into his eyes, unable to form words or even think like a normal human being. She defied any girl to be able to recover quickly after a kiss like that.
    “I better see you tonight” he said with a smile.
    Her smile this time was genuine as she nodded, stepping out of his embrace. He reached down to the front of his pants and adjusted himself with a shrug of one shoulder. Her face instantly blushed which caused him to chuckle. He kissed her cheek and then forehead before letting her go and turning to Lincoln, who still stood with his mouth gaping open in shock.
    “The emo Mason? Really?” Lincoln said.
    “Fuck off Lincoln” Mason growled as they walked away.
    Chelsea’s emotions tumbled around inside her. She didn’t know what to make of the kiss, it melted her, it felt nice, it felt right, but she didn’t know if Mason would be true to his word and stick up for her. There was a niggling inside her that she was doing the wrong thing. Chelsea continued to chew on the thoughts as she walked towards Dylan’s home that he shared with his Grandma.
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Seven
    Chelsea met Dylan when she was twelve, in the seventh grade, he had come as a new kid to the school the same as her. They instantly bonded, they both had lost their Mum’s. Dylan’s Mum had died of a drug overdose when he was ten and his Dad had been killed before he was born, so he went to live with his Dad’s family. Dylan didn’t have much to do with his Mum’s family. His aunty was in jail as she was the person who had organised his Dad’s murder and other than his Mum there was only his Grandfather and he was in and out of jail for drug dealing. Dylan didn’t have any friends when he came to the school, he didn’t talk much and when he did it was usually rude and abrasive, but Chelsea could see through the tough shell and underneath it he was tender-hearted and soft. Most of the boys in the popular group bullied him and there was occasion that he turned up the next day with a black eye. Chelsea didn’t know if Mason was involved in the beatings or not. She decided not to tell Dylan about her shared kiss, she didn’t know how he would react.
    When she got to Dylan’s house, his Grandmother Sharon, greeted her with a kiss and waved her inside. Dylan was in