Free Chasing Butterflies by Beckie Stevenson Page A

and soft all at the same time, and I’m knocked completely backwards on my bum. Before I can look up to see if I hit a some one or some thing , I feel warm hands on my cold thighs.
    “NO!” I scream, flipping over. I start to crawl across the dusty ground, but their hands are everywhere.
    “Yara, it’s me,” says a deep voice. “It’s me.”
    I roll over and then quickly stand up. When I turn around, Gabriel is right in front of me. The relief that washes over me as I realise it’s him and not Jasmine—or one of her friends—makes me feel dizzy. “Oh, it’s you. I need—”
    Gabriel pushes at my shoulders, pressing me against the trunk of a tree. “Shh.”
    Rain starts to gush from the sky. “Oh my god, it’s raining,” I exhale through a laugh. “It’s actually raining, Gabriel.” I want to wriggle away from him and throw my arms in the air and dance in the rain.
    “I know it is.”
    “It’s been—”
    “Stop talking, Yara,” he growls against my ear. I immediately comply, feeling my breath catch in my throat as I blink up at him.
    His whole body is flush against mine, making me instantly forget all about being chased or how scared I was. I forget about the blood that’s trickling down my face. And as I stare into his darkened, stormy eyes, I completely forget what I was about to say or even what I was thinking
    Without saying a single word, he lifts both of my hands and holds them above my head, pinning them against the rough bark of the tree. My eyes are glued to his as he looks up at our conjoined hands. The rain continues to pour down his face and over his throat, making me feel insanely jealous that I wasn’t born a raindrop.
    He snaps his eyes back onto my face and slowly drags his gaze right down to my lips. When he takes a deep breath and presses into me a little more so that every part of him is against me, I let a sigh slip from my mouth. His lips brush over the corner of my mouth as he lets go of my hands and dances his fingertips down my arms.
    Then he slams his lips against mine, making me forget absolutely everything. I move my lips against his and kiss him back, and he groans when I accidentally skim my tongue along his plump bottom lip. I have no idea if what I’m doing is right or not, but if he’s groaning and kissing me back harder, I must be doing it right. What I do know is that Gabriel kissing me is a million times better than when I kissed him.
    When his strong arms wrap around my waist, I move my hands down and place them against his t-shirt that clings to his hard, chiselled chest.
    Before now, all I wanted to do was kiss him and for him to kiss me back. Now I’ve tasted him, I want more—much more. My hands snake up to his muscled shoulders and around the back of his neck until I push my fingers through his damp hair. I grip the back of his head and pull him against me, showing him how desperate I am for more.
    Gabriel groans again and then his breathing starts to change. His hands start to roam all over my body, but they don’t go anywhere near the places I’m desperate for his hands to be. I pull my mouth away from his. “Gabriel.”
    “Shh,” he whispers, nibbling and kissing my lips while his hands skim over my hips.
    I don’t want to be quiet. I want to tell him how much I like him, how much I like what he’s doing to me right now, and how much I want to do more.
    I pull on his hair, forcing his back, and then I do something stupid.
    I kiss his cheek. And taste his tears.
    Instantly, I pull away from him. “You’re crying?” I feel a lump lodge in my throat and start to shake my head. This isn’t right. He isn’t supposed to be crying while he’s kissing me.
    “No, Yara,” he says, but he can’t look at me. He’s lying.
    “Why?” I breathe.
    He drops his hands and steps away from me, forcing me to slump against the tree. I frown at him, feeling confused, hurt and scared all at the same time.
    “I’m sorry,” he says.
    Please don’t be