Free Chased by Piper Lawson

saying? You shouldn’t want me. I’m broken, Ariel. My biggest ambition is staying in school long enough to stay out of jail.”
    “That’s not who you are.” The forcefulness of her voice echoes through me.
    “You know why I was out of school last year? Because I hit my father. I beat him, Ariel. I hit him in the jaw. Then the nose. Then when he was on the ground, I kicked him. He was knocked out. I was one good blow away from a murder charge.”
    Her face goes white. She undoes her seatbelt and gets out.
    There it is . She’s afraid of me. I knew it would happen eventually.
    I lean back in my seat, closing my eyes. It’s only as much as I deserve.
    When I hear my door open, I turn toward it to see Ariel standing there, looking determined.
    “What the hell are you doing?” I ask her, getting out. It’s raining harder and the water streaks through her hair. Down her face. She ignores it.
    “I don’t care. I know what he did to you. I’ve seen it. You’re no angel but you’re not the devil either, Chase.” She angles her head up to me, hands on her hips.
    “You’re right. I play by my rules. But at least I thought I knew what those rules were. Until you came and turned them upside down.” I’m running my eyes over her face. Her eyes darken.
    “Tell me you don’t want me.”
    “What?” My head’s spinning and I don’t think I heard her right. The rain’s soaking her, and I can already see her bra through the white blouse. Her fingers go to her blouse, undoing the top button, then another. She keeps going until it’s unbuttoned, hanging open to reveal her pink lace bra.
    I turn my head to the side, force my eyes to the grass on the shoulder of the road that’s illuminated by the beam of my headlights.
    “Look at me, Chase,” she says against the rain. “Tell me you don’t want me.”
    With a groan I turn back to her. “Fucking hell. I do . More than anything I do. But it’s not this.” I gesture to her skin, shining with water droplets in the low light. “If you had any idea what it does to me, being around you. How you try for me, up there.” I tap her forehead. “How brave you are, in there.” I press my hand over her heart. “The way you melt under my mouth …” My finger skims the bottom of her breast. “…right there.”
    Her eyes widen.
    “You make me want to die just so I can come back as someone who’s good enough for you,” I grunt. “I’m sorry. So fucking sorry.”
    Then I apologize again.
    This time it’s with my lips, not my words. It’s for what I’m about to do, not what I’ve done.
    I reach an arm around her waist to pull her against me. Her mouth’s slippery from the rain, her breath hot on mine. Her hands grip the collar of my shirt, pulling me hungrily against her.
    She’s wild, pouring herself into me, against me. Pressing her breasts into my chest.
    My mouth drops to her slick jaw, running up it to her ear. Biting her lobe, sucking.
    “Chase,” she moans. “Don’t make me beg.”
    I’m only human. I can’t keep pushing her away when she’s all I want. I pull back long enough to nod, desperately. “Not here.”
    It takes every ounce of willpower to put her back in the truck. Get in my side.
    We get back on the road. My mind’s starting to come back to me. “You really want to do this?”
    “Don’t you dare start trying to make sense of what’s happening between us. Get out of your head. I want you so much it hurts, Chase. I spent half last night awake thinking of you.” Her voice is shaky.
    I turn my head to shoot her a heated look.
    Drive. Faster .
    “The night you kissed me at the party, I hated you. Hated how I responded to you. Now I think my body was right. That it knew something the rest of me didn’t.”
    We pull into my driveway and she gets out. I round to her side of the truck as she’s shutting the door and press her into the closed door.
    Then my lips close over hers. My hands fist in her loose hair and a little moan slips