I hurried toward the sounds.
On the forest floor, Drew Cobb had Annabeth pinned.
She was sprawled, kicking and shoving Drew’s free hand away from her. Her skirts were hiked up to her hips.
His other hand was over her mouth.
I grasped Drew’s suspenders and the back of his shirt, and with one arm, tossed him backward into a tree.
He hit with a satisfying thud and slid to the forest floor.
With clenched fists and sweat beading from my brow, I stood over him.
I needed to see blood.
He crab-crawled backward around the tree and a white, sharply pointed-edged rock approximately the size of his head gleamed in my line of vision. His eyes widened as I scooped it up with one hand.
I stomped toward him.
A girl’s voice screamed behind me.
I raised the rock over my head and held it there, waiting for proper aim.
“No! You’ll kill him!” Annabeth’s trembling hands grappled for my shirt. “Please don’t do this!”
I tossed the rock purposely at his head. At that angle, it would only graze him. Tearing a streak of crimson across his scalp, the rock tumbled across the pine needles with a whump.
Scrambling away from me, Drew’s blood-covered face twisted in fear.
I took hold of his shirt collar, shoved him down on his back, and pounced on top of him. My fist began repeated connection with his nose as blood splattered his shirt.
“No! No, Colby! You’ll kill him!” Annabeth tore at my arms.
I hit him again in the jaw. It cracked.
Annabeth screamed, “I love you! If you kill him, you’ll never see me again.”
My hands dropped to my sides.
Though I was still, Annabeth’s small hands jerked as they worked to free my hands from Drew’s shirt collar. The little rays of light surrounding the brown irises in her eyes captivated me.
Her tear stained face. That sweet, angelic face. Her shaking hands. She was all that mattered. She led me from him in a trancelike state.
I stood motionless, mesmerized by Annabeth. Looking into her eyes was like taking my first breath of air. The anger slowly dissipated, yet another emotion replaced it.
The blood on her lip crushed my insides. I touched it, needing to feel her skin, understanding, now, why it was hard for any man not to want her. The new emotion melted the traces of the boy inside me.
“Did he?” I couldn’t finish. The foggy trance left me as I checked her over, moved her hair from the side of her face, and looked down her neck and chest for bruises, signs of injury. The thought of him fully violating her…
“He only touched me. If you hadn’t been here, I don’t know.” Her voice shook.
“I’m going to kill him.” I turned.
She grabbed my hand and laced her fingers into mine. “He’s gone. You have to let him go. You’ve done enough damage. I don’t think he’ll ever look at me again.”
“I wasn’t. Here. I should have. Been here.”
“You’re not obligated to keep me safe.” Her eyes searched mine.
A bond had formed between us. An almost indescribable connection that was unstoppable. The type that carried us forward, and all we could do was watch to see where it took us. I think, looking back on it, the connection had just been waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.
“I’ll always be here to protect you, Annabeth.” My voice was low, grave, shaking with emotion. “Always. If anyone ever touches you again, I’ll kill them. Bare hands.”
“In that case, I’ll never find a suitable husband.”
“If you don’t mind the turmoil it’d send your household into, you could make me the happiest man in the world and end that search.”
“I’m used to turmoil.” A bright light came alive in her eyes as she jumped into my arms.
Forgetting her ordeal, I allowed my lips a gentle brush against hers. With a soft moan, she surprised me by returning the kiss with an urgency I hadn’t expected. In seconds, nothing made sense, yet everything was right in the world.
In another few moments, we would have been on the forest
On the forest floor, Drew Cobb had Annabeth pinned.
She was sprawled, kicking and shoving Drew’s free hand away from her. Her skirts were hiked up to her hips.
His other hand was over her mouth.
I grasped Drew’s suspenders and the back of his shirt, and with one arm, tossed him backward into a tree.
He hit with a satisfying thud and slid to the forest floor.
With clenched fists and sweat beading from my brow, I stood over him.
I needed to see blood.
He crab-crawled backward around the tree and a white, sharply pointed-edged rock approximately the size of his head gleamed in my line of vision. His eyes widened as I scooped it up with one hand.
I stomped toward him.
A girl’s voice screamed behind me.
I raised the rock over my head and held it there, waiting for proper aim.
“No! You’ll kill him!” Annabeth’s trembling hands grappled for my shirt. “Please don’t do this!”
I tossed the rock purposely at his head. At that angle, it would only graze him. Tearing a streak of crimson across his scalp, the rock tumbled across the pine needles with a whump.
Scrambling away from me, Drew’s blood-covered face twisted in fear.
I took hold of his shirt collar, shoved him down on his back, and pounced on top of him. My fist began repeated connection with his nose as blood splattered his shirt.
“No! No, Colby! You’ll kill him!” Annabeth tore at my arms.
I hit him again in the jaw. It cracked.
Annabeth screamed, “I love you! If you kill him, you’ll never see me again.”
My hands dropped to my sides.
Though I was still, Annabeth’s small hands jerked as they worked to free my hands from Drew’s shirt collar. The little rays of light surrounding the brown irises in her eyes captivated me.
Her tear stained face. That sweet, angelic face. Her shaking hands. She was all that mattered. She led me from him in a trancelike state.
I stood motionless, mesmerized by Annabeth. Looking into her eyes was like taking my first breath of air. The anger slowly dissipated, yet another emotion replaced it.
The blood on her lip crushed my insides. I touched it, needing to feel her skin, understanding, now, why it was hard for any man not to want her. The new emotion melted the traces of the boy inside me.
“Did he?” I couldn’t finish. The foggy trance left me as I checked her over, moved her hair from the side of her face, and looked down her neck and chest for bruises, signs of injury. The thought of him fully violating her…
“He only touched me. If you hadn’t been here, I don’t know.” Her voice shook.
“I’m going to kill him.” I turned.
She grabbed my hand and laced her fingers into mine. “He’s gone. You have to let him go. You’ve done enough damage. I don’t think he’ll ever look at me again.”
“I wasn’t. Here. I should have. Been here.”
“You’re not obligated to keep me safe.” Her eyes searched mine.
A bond had formed between us. An almost indescribable connection that was unstoppable. The type that carried us forward, and all we could do was watch to see where it took us. I think, looking back on it, the connection had just been waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.
“I’ll always be here to protect you, Annabeth.” My voice was low, grave, shaking with emotion. “Always. If anyone ever touches you again, I’ll kill them. Bare hands.”
“In that case, I’ll never find a suitable husband.”
“If you don’t mind the turmoil it’d send your household into, you could make me the happiest man in the world and end that search.”
“I’m used to turmoil.” A bright light came alive in her eyes as she jumped into my arms.
Forgetting her ordeal, I allowed my lips a gentle brush against hers. With a soft moan, she surprised me by returning the kiss with an urgency I hadn’t expected. In seconds, nothing made sense, yet everything was right in the world.
In another few moments, we would have been on the forest
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