Free The Crystal's Curse by Vicky de Leo Page B

me.”
    Instead, Frank held on tighter, pulling her closer.
    Joshua slowly rose to his feet, staring at Frank. Quietly, but with as much menace as he could put into the words, he said, “You heard the lady. Take your hands off of her.”
    Sara turned on Joshua and spat out, “I can take care of myself.”
    Surprised, but seeing the anger in her eyes, Joshua smiled and put both hands up. He backed away from the table, giving her a go-ahead motion with one hand.
    Frank smirked as if he had won.
    Sara took another deep breath, carefully picked up her books, and jammed them into Frank’s solar plexus. When he doubled over, she brought the books up and smashed him under the chin. He went flying backward; crashed into the chair Sara had been sitting in, and sent it skittering across the room. The noise caught everyone’s attention. The room got quiet.
    Clay, standing next to Joshua, took a step forward.
    Joshua grabbed a chair and slammed it into Clay’s abdomen. He doubled over and staggered back
    Looking down at Frank, now lying on the floor, Sara said, “Don’t ever touch me again.” She threw back her head, straightened her shoulders, and then began walking to the exit. After a few paces, she stopped, turned, and looked at Joshua, “Are you coming?”
    Joshua grabbed his jacket and hurried to catch up with her. Looking back over his shoulder, Joshua saw Clay recover first. He helped Frank up. There was a murderous look on both their faces as they watched Sara and Joshua walk away. As he hurried to catch up with Sara, Joshua heard the scrape of chairs being righted. He could only imagine the look Frank must be giving the surrounding tables, daring anyone to say something. Conversations resumed and noise levels returned to normal.
    Once outside Sara started to shake. Joshua led her around the side of the building and asked, “Are you all right?”
    “I think I need to hold on to something for a moment. Do you mind?” She turned to him, laid her head on his chest, and put both arms around his waist.
    Surprised, he said, “No, go right ahead.” He held her gently until she stopped shaking.
    When her breathing slowed, she leaned back, moved her hands to his chest, and looked up at him. “Thanks, I have a bit of a temper,” she admitted
    He looked down, their faces only inches apart, brilliant green eyes stared into his. Caught up in those eyes, he stopped breathing for a second. Finally, he said, “So, I noticed. You feel better now?” He wanted desperately to kiss her, but decided not to risk it. He let his hands drop.
    Smiling she said, “Yes, I do.” She released him and stepped back. As they walked back to class she said, “You know I really appreciate your letting me handle that.”
    “I didn’t want to spoil your fun,” he said grinning
    She laughed. “Thanks for distracting Clay. I’m not sure I could have handled them both.”
    “I’m not willing to bet on that. Hey, I was protecting Clay.”
    Sara laughed again. Joshua thought it was the best sound he’d ever heard. He walked her to her class and then rushed to get to his. The rest of the day was a blur. Thanks to Nathan‘s tour, he managed to find all his classes. He took notes automatically, but his mind was not on the lectures. All he could think about was Sara’s face looking up at him with those astonishing green eyes. After class, he found his notes were surprisingly complete in spite of his distraction.
    Nathan was waiting for him outside his last class. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
    “Great, I‘d appreciate a lift.”
    “I suppose you know that he won’t just let it go?” Nathan started.
    “Hey, I didn’t do anything. She beat him up,” Joshua joked. Then more seriously, “You don’t think he’ll try anything with her, do you?”
    Shaking his head Nathan said, “No, I am pretty sure, you’re the one he’ll blame.”
    Joshua kept walking. “Then I’m not worried. I can take care of myself.”
    Nathan stopped him