Shadowed Strength: Shadowed Series Book One Read online

  “That was my first real kiss and I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right.”

  He stared at her with a blank look on his face. She looked back down at her lap and covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. A few seconds (minutes? hours?) later she felt his weight shift and his hands grabbed her wrists. He gently pulled her hands away from her face and when she looked up, she saw a big goofy grin on his face.

  “Oh, God,” she whispered, “please, please don’t laugh at me now.” She felt the backs of her eyes burning, old memories of Jason Dawkins resurfacing.

  His grin disappeared and was replaced by a serious expression. “Melanie, I would never laugh at you or your honesty. I was smiling because, well, nothing could make me happier right now than finding out that I’m your first real kiss. Just knowing how special this is to you, how special it is for both of us, makes this moment, right now, the best moment of my life.”

  A tear escaped her lashes and he released her wrist to catch it on his finger. Then he ran that hand behind her head and pulled her close.

  “You,” he whispered, his face close to hers, “are perfect. That kiss was perfect. And all I want right now is to kiss you again.”

  And he did.

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~

  “Shut up!”

  “No, really, he asked me to be his girlfriend, officially.”

  “Shut up!”

  “Tara, if you want me to tell you the rest of it, you’re going to have to stop screaming ‘shut up’ at me.”

  “Oh my God, Mel, this is fan-freaking-tastic!”

  Melanie pulled her phone a couple of inches from her face so Tara wouldn’t bust her eardrum with all the screaming. Melanie was lying on her bed after dinner. She had been trying to study, but she couldn’t concentrate so she called Tara instead.

  “And then he kissed me.”

  “Hallelujah! Finally! Well? Spill. How was it? Amazing? Earth moving? Cataclysmic?”

  “I almost bit his tongue.”

  Tara’s laughter pealed through the phone. “No, you didn’t. Please tell me he didn’t notice.”

  “He did. And he stopped the kiss and asked me what was wrong.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “The truth. Oh, God, Tara I seriously thought he was going to laugh at me when he found out I’d never French-kissed before.”

  “What? You do realize we are talking about Jeremy here, right? I’ve been telling you for months that he’d never laugh at you. Wait, he didn’t, right?”

  “No, he didn’t. In fact, he said the most wonderful things anyone has ever said to me in my life, then kissed me again and again.” Melanie sighed. “Okay, go ahead.”

  “I told you so! I told you so!” Tara laughed for a minute, then calmed down. “Okay, I‘m done. Really. Seriously though, Mel, I am so happy for you. You totally deserve this and I can’t wait to see you tomorrow so I can hug you!”

  “Thanks Tara. I love you too.”

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  He sat in his car, surveying the area. He had arrived early this morning to make sure he didn’t miss her walking through the parking lot. He was still having trouble containing himself around her. A mixture of guilt, anger, and lust drove him mad every time he clapped eyes on her, which was nearly every day.

  He was angry, so angry that she had gotten away from him before he made her submit. He had been so ready to take her, so stimulated, and he was right on the verge of complete control when that damn stupid dog attacked him.

  He remembered the feel of her beneath him, all soft and curvy, no bones digging into his skin. He knew she’d feel like heaven on Earth. That was where the guilt came in. Because unlike the last time, in the last town, this was not a spur of the moment decision.

  He had been fantasizing about her since the day they met. He made all sorts of plans in his head, then put them down on paper. Before he knew it, he was executing those plans and had her on the ground.

  He couldn’t excuse his actions as a crime of passion, a flare of insanity brought on by lust. No, this was premeditated and planned to perfection. He had just needed the opportunity, and he knew he had it when she went to that party. He waited, and watched and couldn’t have been more pleased when Jeremy had shown up with that little bitch Stephanie. He knew that would set Melanie off. It was obvious to everyone, except maybe Jeremy, that she was hot for him.

  He needed Melanie to be hot for him, not that little bastard Jeremy. She would have been, too, if not for that stupid dog! He punched the dash of his car over and over until his fist went numb. Then he looked up.

  “Ah,” he whispered to himself, “there she is. So rounded. So soft. So, so sexy.” He groaned as he felt himself getting aroused. “Can’t wait. Can’t wait. Can’t wait.”

  The he froze as he saw strong arms wrap around her waist from behind. “What the hell?” he raged.

  He looked up from her waist and saw him, Jeremy, kiss her neck as she willingly tilted her head and bared it for his lips. She turned in his embrace and kissed him on the mouth, then stepped out of his arms, took his hand in hers and started walking toward the school entrance.

  He gripped the steering wheel with white-knuckled force, then mumbled to himself, “Melanie. Melanie. Melanie. You are mine. All mine. I’ll prove it to you over and over again and you’ll forget he even exists. Just wait.”

  Then he got out of his car and headed inside.

  Chapter 10

  Melanie sat in first period English, trying to concentrate on Mr. Hughes’ lecture, but failing miserably. Jeremy was in his usual seat behind her, but not acting in the usual way.

  When no one was looking, he’d reach forward and wrap a lock of her hair around his finger and give it a slight tug, run his index finger down her spine, or touch her in some other intimate way. She hoped he was at least taking some good notes, because she was going to need to borrow them tonight. Nothing Mr. Hughes said was registering.

  “Melanie.”

  “Huh? I mean, yes, Mr. Hughes?”

  “Do I need to move you to the front of the class so you will have to pay attention?”

  “No, Mr. Hughes. Sorry.”

  “Apology accepted. Please focus.”

  His words sounded polite and professional, but the look on his face made him seem like he was disgusted with her. Jeremy stopped distracting her after that, for which she was only partially thankful, and she managed to make it through the rest of class without making a spectacle of herself.

  After class, Jeremy walked her to her locker to get her math book. “Sorry, Mel. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

  She squeezed back and said, “No, it’s okay. I was just too obvious in my distraction, I guess. You and your hands are much more interesting than To Kill a Mockingbird.”

  “Oh really?”

  “Yes, really,” she replied as he pulled her arm and backed her into her locker.

  “These hands?” he asked as he released her and held them up in the air in front of her.

  “Yes, those.”

  He placed them on her cheeks. “What about my mouth? Is that distracting too?” He leaned in closer, almost nose to nose.

  She swallowed hard and nodded. Just as his lips were about to touch hers, a throat cleared nearby and he took a quick step back. Mrs. Fisher shook her head and continued down the hall, and they both burst into laughter.

  “That woman,” he said, “is trying to destroy every chance I get to kiss you, I swear.”

  Melanie took a quick step forward and pecked him on the lips. “There,” she said. “Now you got your kiss.” She spun around quickly and started turning the combination lock on her locker.

  She heard a light growl in her ear as hands clamped down on her sides. She jumped with a squeal and the hands released her immediately and she heard him groan. She turned back around.

  “Oh, God, Mel, I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “I to
tally forgot you don’t like to be tickled on your sides. I’m sorry.”

  Melanie squeezed her eyes shut and it was her turn to groan. She dropped her head and took a few deep breaths. She was going to have to be honest. She couldn’t lie to Jeremy, especially now that they were together. Regardless of how silly it was, she wanted complete honesty between them.

  “Mel, please, look at me. Tell me you’re not mad.”

  “Jeremy, I’m not mad,” she said as she opened her eyes and looked into his. The worry in his eyes lessened slightly at her words.

  “You sure? I’m sorry I forgot. It won’t happen again.”

  “Jeremy stop. Please, stop apologizing. In fact, I need to apologize to you. Right now.”

  He looked confused. “For what?”

  “For lying.”

  His eyes widened. “About what?” He sounded leery.

  “I’m not really ticklish. No wait. That’s not right. I am ticklish, but that’s not why I freaked out on you the other day. I don’t hate being tickled.”

  “Wait, I’m confused. If it’s not that, then why did you get mad? You didn’t want me to touch you?”

  The hurt look on his face almost made her cry. She needed to make him understand. She grabbed his hands and squeezed.

  “Of course I wanted you to. I was just…embarrassed.”

  “Embarrassed? About what?”

  She wanted to look down again, but resisted. She looked him straight in the eye and said it out loud, for the first time, to someone besides Tara.

  “I was embarrassed by my fat rolls and I didn’t want you to feel them when you squeezed my sides.”

  She looked down and closed her eyes tight, trying to keep the tears in. When he released her hands, her head shot up. She saw disgust in his eyes and was shocked. She disgusted him now?

  Oh God. Can’t breathe, she thought and tried to turn back around to face her locker.

  Jeremy wasn’t having it, though. He grabbed her hips and turned her back to face him. Then he slipped both hands behind her and pulled her forward for a hug. “I’m going to kill her,” he whispered.

  Melanie reared her head back to look into his eyes, which were filled with heated anger. “Kill who?”

  “Sissy,” he said with contempt. “I know this insecurity is mostly due to her and her stupid name-calling.” He took a deep breath.

  “Melanie, you are not fat. You are beautiful.”

  She inhaled a sharp breath. “And,” he continued, “there is nothing about you that I don’t adore, from the top of your beautiful head to the tips of your beautiful toes.”

  Her smile was so brilliant, it took his breath away. She kissed him quickly and pulled back to peer at him.

  “So you’re not mad at me?” she asked.

  “For what? Lying to me about being ticklish?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Nah. I forgive you,” he said with a roguish grin and tickled her sides.

  She jumped and slapped his hands away. He laughed as she turned to open her locker and grab her math book. When she swung the locker door open, a folded piece of paper fluttered to the floor. She reached down, picked it up, unfolded it and read it.

  “What is that,” Jeremy asked in a teasing tone, “a love letter from a secret admirer?”

  Melanie shook her head fast without responding. Tears filled her eyes as she finished reading.

  “Melanie,” he said when he saw terror grip her, “what is it?”

  Her hand shook furiously as she held the paper out to him. He took it in one hand and grasped her quivering hand with the other. He looked into her eyes for a moment, then looked down and read the note.

  “Hello, Little Girl. I haven’t forgotten you. I will finish what I started. Wait for me. I’ll find you.

  Sincerely, Your Perfect Match”

  Jeremy looked back up at her face for barely a second before he reached behind her with his free hand, slammed her locker shut and dragged her down the hall. He led her to the front of the school, out the doors and straight to his truck. Jeremy opened the passenger door for Melanie and gently helped her in. He ran around to the driver’s side, hopped in and cranked the engine.

  Jeremy didn’t say a word, but held onto her hand as they drove around aimlessly. Finally, he pulled into the mall parking lot and found a spot under a tree with no one else parked nearby.

  After a few quiet moments, he spoke. “Melanie, it’s just some sick freak playing a joke on you. It’s probably Sissy or one of her clone friends.”

  She shook her head vigorously. “No, Jeremy. It’s him. I know it is.”

  “How do you know?”

  She pulled the note out of the center console where he’d shoved it and pointed at the words.

  “Right here. See this? ‘Little Girl.’ That’s what he called me. He also said that he loved my pudginess. That it made him…hard. And that it was like I was his perfect match. Right here. ‘Your Perfect Match.’ It’s him.”

  She started to hyperventilate and put her head between her knees. “How did he get that note into my locker? I mean, I know he could slip it in through the slats, but how did he know which one was mine? How did he get into the school without a badge to begin with? Oh, God, Jeremy. It’s someone from school! It has to be.”

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  Lying in her bed later that evening, Melanie reread the note at least a hundred times. She was supposed to be studying. That’s what she told her mom she was doing locked up in her room for two hours. But she couldn’t concentrate on schoolwork. She read the note again.

  Jeremy had tried to convince her to take the note to the police, but she refused. She didn’t want to look stupid or delusional to the cops again. They already thought she was crazy, going on and on about some mystery dog.

  Plus, she didn’t have any proof that the note was not a prank from a fellow student. That’s what the police would say. It was just a prank and she should stop being so paranoid.

  But there was no doubt in Melanie’s mind that this was not a prank. This was not some genius plan cooked up in the devious mind of Sissy Woods. It was him. He said he was coming for her and he would. She needed some way to protect herself.

  If only she could find her dog and keep him by her side! She had not seen him since Monday night and again early Tuesday morning. She wasn’t even sure if he was still watching over her.

  Melanie was reading the note for the hundred and third time when her phone chimed an incoming text. She picked it up and smiled as she read the name on the screen. She tapped it and read Jeremy’s text.

  “Hey, gorgeous. How r u? Just checking in.”

  Her fingertips flew over the touchscreen as she responded. “Good. Studying. You?”

  “Liar. I know u r just staring at that note. Want me 2 come see u?”

  “I’d love it. But Mom would be mad. School night and all.”

  “Ok. Please try 2 be calm. Won’t let anything happen 2 u, k?”

  She melted a little. “Ok, thank u. What are u doing tonight?”

  “Moving.”

  “???”

  “My parents are going out of town for a few weeks, so I am going to stay w/ Chris. Cool, right?”

  Melanie’s heart skipped a beat. Jeremy staying with Chris? With no parental supervision? Cool, right? Oh, God, she thought.

  “Mel? U still there?”

  “Yeah, sorry. That is cool.”

  “He’s having a party Saturday night…”

  “I know. Tara told me a couple of days ago.”

  “R u going?”

  “I told Tara no, but…”

  “But?”

  “Well,” Her fingers paused. How was she supposed to ask him if he wanted her to come to the party? She still had a hard time accepting the fact that he liked her, much less the fact that he wanted to be seen with her in public. Her phone dinged again while she contemplated.

  “Please come. I’ll be so sad and lonely without u. Please?”

  That mad
e her smile so big her cheeks hurt a little. She responded, “Ok. Ok. I’ll be there, but u owe me 1.”

  “Anything. Anytime. All u have to do is ask. Go study. I’ll see you 2morrow morning.”

  “Bye.”

  “Good night. Sweet dreams.”

  Chapter 11

  Melanie didn’t tell her mom about the party. She left the house Saturday night with Tara as usual, but not without a stern lecture about staying together and absolutely not walking anywhere. Her mom thought they were going to the mall, then cruising around. Tara was staying the night.

  Melanie didn’t tell her mom for two reasons. First, the last time she went to a party something terrible happened. Second, it was at Chris’s house with no parents in residence, much less present during the party. Melanie knew her mom would lock her in her room and throw away the key before she’d let her go, so she lied. She pretended to primp her hair in the mirror by the front door while she told her so she wouldn’t have to look her mom in the eye.

  They pulled into the apartment complex parking lot and found a spot under a light. They could hear the music bumping from the parking lot.

  Tara opened the front door and walked right in without knocking. Of course, the music was so loud that no one would have heard the knock anyway. Chris had invited about ten people, so the apartment wasn’t that crowded. As Mel scanned the faces for the one she was looking for, she noticed that none of Sissy’s crew was there and relaxed with a sigh.

  She followed Tara into the kitchen, where they found Chris. Tara jumped into his arms, wrapped her legs around his waist, and gave him a lingering kiss. He carried her like that back into the living room and Mel was left alone.

  She walked to the fridge to look for a soda. She reached in for a cherry cola and gave a startled cry when a pair of arms banded tightly around her waist. She was released immediately and found Jeremy standing there blushing with a chagrined look on his face when she turned around.

  “Ah! Damn it Mel, I’m sorry. I keep doing that, don’t I? I see you and can’t wait to get my hands on you. I don’t think it through and I freak you out every time.”

  “Jeremy,” Mel said as she swung the fridge door shut behind her, “please stop apologizing. I’m just jumpy. I’ll get past it eventually and I don’t want you to walk on eggshells around me. You can do whatever you feel like doing to…me...”