Stealing Harper(21)

“Uh, nothing. I thought you didn’t have classes ’til later?”

“Had some things I had to take care of earlier, didn’t feel like going home.” I had placed myself between her and my princess, so it wasn’t hard for me to press the paper telling Harper she looked beautiful into her hand. As soon as I felt her fingers curl around it, I let my hand trail all the way up to her elbow and smiled when I heard her breath catch.

“You going to family day this weekend?”

“Bree, you’re asking me? I was the one that actually showed yesterday.”

“Don’t blame me; Harper wouldn’t get out of bed with Brandon.”

I was going to kill Brandon. I just had to find him first. “You ladies have fun, I’ll see you later.” I hugged Bree quickly and nudged my princess before making myself go back to my truck instead of finding Brandon. If punching him wouldn’t win me points, killing him definitely wouldn’t.

IT WAS RIDICULOUS, but I’d avoided being at my house as much as possible ever since I’d come home from work Monday night to find Harper and Brandon making their way into his room. Now, I was pretty much only here when I knew Brandon would be in class. But holy hell, if I could walk out of my room to see this every time I was home? I’d never leave. Harper was standing there in the tiniest bikini known to man, her body shaking slightly; I guessed it had something to do with the water that still clung to her skin. I couldn’t stop myself from slowly, so freakin’ slowly, taking in her practically naked body.

“Damn, Princess. You look”—God, I really needed to adjust myself— “wow.”

“I was uh, just coming to get more towels.”

I kept my eyes on her even though she’d covered her chest with her arms as I opened the closet next to me and pulled out a stack of towels. I dropped all but the top one and wrapped it around her shoulders. “How are you?” I brushed my fingers across her cheek, then down her neck, and watched as her eyes fluttered shut.

“Huh?”

I kept my eyes on her completely relaxed face until I ducked my head under her jaw and kissed her throat, keeping my lips against her skin as I asked, “That good, huh?”

She pushed me back after a few seconds, and I couldn’t help but smile at her fierce expression, which was becoming one of my favorites. “Why do you keep doing this to me?”

“What do you mean?” I tried to pull her into my arms, but she stepped back and, with the hand that wasn’t gripping the towel to her chest, pointed at one of my arms.

“This! You can’t keep doing this. I’m with Brandon now; you have to stop. No more notes, no more touches, no more putting your lips on me. This isn’t fair to me. Do you have any idea how crazy you’re making me?”

That Brandon shit had started to piss me off, but as soon as she asked that last question, I was smiling again. “Really now?”

“Chase, I’m serious. This has to stop.”

Hell. No. “Give me one good reason why I should.”

“I told you, I’m with Brandon now.”

“I said a good reason, Princess.”

“That’s a perfectly good reason! And it’s the only one you’re going to get.”

I watched as she bent down to pick up the towels and knew I needed to just tell her how I felt. I’d spent too much time confusing both of us—I needed to lay it all out there. “Harper.”

She squeezed her eyes shut as she spoke to me, and I wanted to beg her to open them so I could look at her stormy eyes. “No Chase, please just—just don’t. I really like Brandon. Besides, you have plenty of girls who are fine with being treated like shit by you. I’m not one of them. Go find another brainless bimbo to screw and get out of your system.”

Holy shit; that hurts. I recoiled like she’d slapped me and didn’t even try to stop her when she turned and walked back outside. She still didn’t get it; she still thought this was just a game for me.

“Hey, there you are,” Brad called, and I tore my eyes from the back door and over to him. “Whoa, are you all right?”

I nodded and looked back at the door.

“Um, okay. Well, before you run off again, I’m gonna grill some burgers in a bit. So why don’t you stay until you gotta go in to work? I don’t know why you’ve been gone so much, but whatever it is, we all miss having you around here. C’mon, we’re all gonna be outside swimming and hanging out until later.”

A shriek that was distinctly Harper sounded from the backyard, and I took off for the door in time to watch her get thrown in the pool.