Free Rebelonging (Unbelonging, Book 2) by Sabrina Stark

his biceps and forearms were a stark reminder
that he wasn't just some harmless neighbor guy. He was a brute,
even if he'd always been beyond gentle with me.
    Well, except for that one time. And even
then, he hadn't hurt me. Not exactly.
    Somewhere deep in the house, I heard the low
hum of the furnace.
    "Aren't you gonna close the door?" I blurted
out.
    Shit.
    Pathetic. That's what I was. If I couldn't
resist warning the guy about inefficient heat usage, how the hell
would I resist the haunted look in his eyes? And how would I resist
telling him that the past few weeks had been the happiest of my
whole life? Or confessing that when he held me long into the night,
I'd felt safe and warm for the first time in forever?
    Lawton's attention never wavered. "Screw the
door," he said. He leaned a fraction closer. Something about the
way he moved reminded me of our first almost-kiss. My heart ached
at the memory.
    And then, I heard a sleepy female voice call
out, "Lawton, who's at the door?"
    I froze, too stunned to move, and not just
for the obvious reasons.
    I recognized that voice.

Chapter 19
    In front of me, Lawton froze, and any
remaining color drained from his face. He glanced behind him and
quickly back at me. "Chloe," he said, "it's not what you think. I
swear."
    But then, just behind him, I saw the girl who
went with the voice.
    Brittney. She was nearly naked, clad in
see-through panties and a matching bra.
    Suddenly, it was hard to breathe. It was even
harder to think. I stood, rooted in shock, as my gaze darted from
Brittney to Lawton and back again.
    She gave me a sly smile. "Oh. It's you."
    Lawton looked ready to kill. "You were
supposed to wait upstairs," he told her.
    She blinked at him. "Oh. Was I?"
    "And where the hell are your clothes?"
    She raised her arms in a slow, leisurely
stretch. "Mmm…I dunno. Upstairs?"
    I wanted to slap him – her too while I was at
it. Or at the very least, I wanted to say something clever and
cutting. But when I opened my mouth, all that came out was an odd,
strangled sound. I clamped my mouth shut and whirled to go.
    Lawton grabbed my elbow. "Chloe, wait!
Please?"
    I whirled back to face him. "So this is why you invited me here? To throw this in my face?"
    "There's no this ." His expression was
anguished. He turned to Brittney. "Go on, tell her." He gritted his
teeth. "Right now."
    Brittney smiled. "Tell her what?"
    Lawton bared his teeth. "You tell her right
now why you're here, or the deal's off. Got it?"
    She lifted a bare shoulder. "Whatever you
say."
    "And for God's sake," Lawton said, "put on
some fucking clothes, will ya?"
    Her lips formed a pout. "But they're dirty,"
she said. "And besides, it took her forever to get
here."
    I was shaking. This was a bad dream. It had
to be. Except, in my nightmares, it was usually me in my
underwear – standing at some bus stop, or maybe in the mall. That
was nothing compared to this.
    Lawton gave Brittney a warning look. "You've
got five seconds," he told her.
    "Oh alright. Fine." She looked to the ceiling
and mumbled, "I'm here to apologize."
    "In your underwear?" I said. "Yeah. Nice
story."
    "Brittney," Lawton said in a low warning
tone, "you can do better than that."
    Already I had heard enough. I'd seen enough
too. More than enough actually. Brittney went for the clean-shaven
look. All over.
    "Don't bother." I gave Brittney the most
dismissive look I could muster before turning away. "I don't want
your apology."
    "Wait," Brittney said.
    Against my better judgment, I turned
around.
    She turned to Lawton. "If she doesn't want me to apologize, our deal still counts, right? I mean,
because I tried. And she said 'no.' You saw that, right?"
    Oh, that was rich. Suddenly I didn't care if
she was nearly naked or wearing a clown suit. I wanted an apology,
and I wanted it now.

Chapter 20
    I pushed past Lawton and stormed into the
house. I stopped in front of Brittney. "On second thought," I said,
"I'd just love an apology." I crossed my arms. "And