Aggro - CoraLee June Page 0,35
of him.
“I don’t care what you do with Celeste,” I said, making Chase smile.
“You don’t?” he asked before placing a hot palm on my upper thigh.
“No. I don’t care,” I lied.
Chase leaned forward, testing me. He pressed a tender kiss on my knee, just above the scar I got while skateboarding down Little Mountain when we were in middle school. Chase and Violet both carried me home with blood dripping down my leg. “I’m saying...” Chase paused to kiss higher. I held my breath and forced myself not to squirm. “I wouldn’t be upset if you cared.” Chase grabbed my hand and pulled me up, making me cringe at the sharp pain in my side. He didn’t stop, though. I collided with his chest, bracing my hands against the hard planes of his muscles while looking up at him.
On his neck was that deep purple hickey in the shape of Celeste’s lips. It sobered me some, despite the precious way he held me. “Why don’t you stay with me instead of going, huh? We can have another sleepover.”
Chase kissed my forehead. My cheeks. My neck. My collarbone. My chest started heaving in the air with every sweet kiss. It felt surreal to be at the center of his attention. I’d been craving him for so long that I wasn’t sure I could trust myself to keep a level head where he was concerned. I should have ended this crush long ago, but now that Violet was gone, it had twisted into some sort of codependency I wasn’t willing to give up. “Chase,” I moaned. I felt like a puppet. “I have to go. We have to do this for Violet.”
Chase went still. Too still. I could feel the anger just brimming beneath the surface. He threaded his fingers through mine. “I’ll stop sleeping with Celeste,” he promised, though there was something inauthentic about his words. I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“You don’t have to stop sleeping with Celeste, Chase. Do whatever you want.” Those words were like dry, volcanic ash on my tongue. I hated saying it. I’d liked Chase for a long time, and coming to terms with the fact that he’d never be mine was a hard pill to swallow. But I had harder things to deal with right now. My love life just didn’t seem important when I couldn’t even talk to my best friend about it.
“Whatever I want, huh?” he asked before tilting my chin up. I looked him in the eye and saw hints of Violet’s mischievousness in his gaze. It was that flirty look both the twins possessed. Like they could control anyone. Do anything. Make you fall in love with a single glance.
“You’re my friend, Chase. I want you to be happy.”
“You make me happy. When I’m with you…it’s the only time I feel okay.”
My heart burned for him. I desperately wanted to make him feel okay. I wanted to smooth the pain in his battered heart and ease his grief. Focusing on him made it easier to forget how devastated I felt.
“I feel the same,” I whispered.
Chase leaned closer and brushed his lips to mine. I tried not to think about these same lips touching Celeste. I tried to live in the moment and revel in his touch—a touch I’d craved for as long as I could remember. His mouth parted, opening for me. His tongue slipped between my lips and savored my taste. His hands roamed my body, carefully missing the wound at my side. I felt my nipples pebble, so sharp they could cut holes through my tank top. My legs wobbled. Slick heat practically melted the skin between my thighs. He commanded my attention with every stroke of his tongue and brush of his hands.
“Don’t go with him,” Chase begged between kisses.
It was like dumping a bucket of ice water over my head. I stopped and pulled away, my eyes a heavy daze of confusion, lust, and guilt. “I’m going, Chase. I have to find out what happened to Violet. And I have to help Kai. Something tells me he doesn’t like his family. I want to know why.”
That apparently was the wrong thing to say. Chase stepped backward and ran his hands through his light brown hair. “Fine. You want to go? Go. I don’t care. See yourself out.”
“Chase, please don’t do this. I’m trying to help you,” I pleaded.
“You can help me by getting the fuck out of here.”
“Fine,” I echoed. Hot tears sprung to my