Shadowed Strength: Shadowed Series Book One by Wendi Wilson

and
watched and couldn’t have been more pleased when Jeremy had shown up with that
little bitch Stephanie. He knew that would set Melanie off. It was obvious to
everyone, except maybe Jeremy, that she was hot for him.
    He needed Melanie
to be hot for him, not that little bastard Jeremy. She would have been,
too, if not for that stupid dog! He punched the dash of his car over and over
until his fist went numb. Then he looked up.
    “Ah,” he whispered
to himself, “there she is. So rounded. So soft. So, so sexy.” He groaned as he
felt himself getting aroused. “Can’t wait. Can’t wait. Can’t wait.”
    The he froze as he
saw strong arms wrap around her waist from behind. “What the hell?” he raged.
    He looked up from
her waist and saw him, Jeremy, kiss her neck as she willingly tilted her head
and bared it for his lips. She turned in his embrace and kissed him on the
mouth, then stepped out of his arms, took his hand in hers and started walking
toward the school entrance.
    He gripped the
steering wheel with white-knuckled force, then mumbled to himself, “Melanie.
Melanie. Melanie. You are mine. All mine. I’ll prove it to you over and over
again and you’ll forget he even exists. Just wait.”
    Then he got out of
his car and headed inside.

Chapter 10
    Melanie sat in
first period English, trying to concentrate on Mr. Hughes’ lecture, but failing
miserably. Jeremy was in his usual seat behind her, but not acting in the usual
way.
    When no one was
looking, he’d reach forward and wrap a lock of her hair around his finger and
give it a slight tug, run his index finger down her spine, or touch her in some
other intimate way. She hoped he was at least taking some good notes, because
she was going to need to borrow them tonight. Nothing Mr. Hughes said was
registering.
    “Melanie.”
    “Huh? I mean, yes,
Mr. Hughes?”
    “Do I need to move
you to the front of the class so you will have to pay attention?”
    “No, Mr. Hughes.
Sorry.”
    “Apology accepted.
Please focus.”
    His words sounded
polite and professional, but the look on his face made him seem like he was
disgusted with her. Jeremy stopped distracting her after that, for which she
was only partially thankful, and she managed to make it through the rest of
class without making a spectacle of herself.
    After class,
Jeremy walked her to her locker to get her math book. “Sorry, Mel. I didn’t
mean to get you in trouble.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
    She squeezed back
and said, “No, it’s okay. I was just too obvious in my distraction, I guess.
You and your hands are much more interesting than To Kill a Mockingbird .”
    “Oh really?”
    “Yes, really,” she
replied as he pulled her arm and backed her into her locker.
    “These hands?” he
asked as he released her and held them up in the air in front of her.
    “Yes, those.”
    He placed them on
her cheeks. “What about my mouth? Is that distracting too?” He leaned in
closer, almost nose to nose.
    She swallowed hard
and nodded. Just as his lips were about to touch hers, a throat cleared nearby
and he took a quick step back. Mrs. Fisher shook her head and continued down
the hall, and they both burst into laughter.
    “That woman,” he
said, “is trying to destroy every chance I get to kiss you, I swear.”
    Melanie took a
quick step forward and pecked him on the lips. “There,” she said. “Now you got
your kiss.” She spun around quickly and started turning the combination lock on
her locker.
    She heard a light
growl in her ear as hands clamped down on her sides. She jumped with a squeal
and the hands released her immediately and she heard him groan. She turned back
around.
    “Oh, God, Mel, I’m
sorry.”
    “For what?”
    “I totally forgot
you don’t like to be tickled on your sides. I’m sorry.”
    Melanie squeezed
her eyes shut and it was her turn to groan. She dropped her head and took a few
deep breaths. She was going to have to be honest. She couldn’t lie to