Free Wickford High 2 - Furiously Tempted by Karen Fuller

Chapter One
    Vicky Phillips stood up on tiptoe and kissed Luke Wolfburn gently on the cheek.
    “Thanks for bringing me home, Luke. I can take it from here.”
    He furrowed his brow, shaking his head solemnly. “No, Vicky. It’s after midnight and I told your dad I’d have you home by ten o’clock. I want to be here to help you explain why you’re late.”
    She smiled, looking up into his eyes. “Things might be . . . easier to explain if you weren’t here.” Her cheeks heated. “If my dad is still awake,” She bit her lip, looking up at the soft glow coming from an upstairs window, “and I’m afraid he is still awake.
    He’ll jump to all the wrong . . . conclusions. Just kiss me good-bye, and I’ll see you in a few hours in school.”
    He put his arms around her and she lifted her hand to brush his blond hair away from his forehead, fingers trailing down the side of his gorgeous face in a caress. “I don’t need an excuse to kiss you.” His smile grew tender and he furrowed his brow again, shrugging one shoulder. “I’m afraid your dad won’t let you date me anymore, if I don’t explain things to him myself. You are very precious to him, and to me. I just think it’s better if we tell him together, what happened tonight.” His smile turned into a roguish grin. “I am, however, going to kiss you before we go inside. I don’t think we’ll have the opportunity again after we open that door.”
    “When my dad hears what happened tonight, he won’t hold you responsible.”
    Looking away, Luke frowned. “I would if I were him.”
    “Luke, look at me.” Reaching up, she placed her palm on his cheek, turning him to face her. “It wasn’t your fault.”
    “Your dad left you in my care, and I almost lost you.”
    “You saved me.”
    “It was too close for comfort. We haven’t known each other very long, but I would have been devastated if something worse had happened.”
    “You didn’t send those evil people after me, Sara did.”

    “Sara . . .”
    Vicky shrugged. “I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I do believe she was responsible.”
    “Sara’s mean, but . . . to try to kill you?”
    “What better way to get rid of the competition?” Luke raised an eyebrow and she continued, “That evil man taunted me, telling me that someone in this town turned me in. I accused Sara, but he just laughed.” She shrugged. “At the time, I was assuming that to be his agreement, but now . . . I don’t know for sure.”
    “I’m going to make sure Sara pays for that.”
    She shook her head. “You need to leave Sara to me. I want to be positive that it was her before I do anything.” She tilted her head meeting his gaze. “I haven’t known Sara very long, but if she was behind that mob, she will brag about it. Sara likes to have the upper hand and feels threatened by me. If she was behind this, I’m going to give her a reason to feel threatened.”
    He smiled at her show of temper. “You’re beautiful when you’re angry.”
    She batted her eyes playfully. “Flattery will get you almost everywhere, Mr.
    Wolfburn.”
    Cupping her face between his palms, he brought his lips down to meet hers. She placed her arms around his waist, melting into him, parting her lips to stroke her tongue with his. Heat coursed through her as the kiss grew more demanding, getting a little carried away.
    “You’re late!” Vicky jumped—

Chapter Two
    Vicky winced. They’d failed to hear the door open because they were too wrapped up in their kiss. Vicky’s eyes flew open and she pulled out of Luke’s embrace.
    Turning her head, she locked eyes with her father. “Dad, I can explain . . .”
    His expression brooked no explanations.
    “Luke, go home. I’ll explain everything to my dad,” she whispered, patting his arm. Luke pressed his lips into a grim line, and stood his ground.
    Mr. Phillips crossed his arms over his chest, looking very tall and very angry.
    “Luke’s not going anywhere, young lady, until