She's Mine - Jenika Snow Page 0,8

ass out of there, but she couldn’t move. And when he was a foot from her, she tilted her head back to look into his face.

The shadows shrouded his features, but his dark eyes watched her intently.

And when he reached out his hand to place it on one of hers that was still rubbing the hell out of her thigh, she stilled. She calmed.

“You sure?” His voice was deep and harsh but filled with concern.

Keira swallowed, feeling lightheaded and shaken up, but she couldn’t deny his very presence had her rapid heart slowing. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you again.”

“Your lip,” he said low again, so low even she almost didn’t hear.

“Uh, okay, this is my cue to check out,” Nate said.

It was then she realized he’d still been standing there. But even as he left, Reese never took his focus from her.

“Looks like you bit your lip. It’s bleeding,” Reese spoke again after they’d been standing there alone for a moment.

She lifted her hand and touched her lip, and for the first time, the sting registered, and the taste of metal filled her mouth. “How did you know I needed help?” The words came out before she could stop herself. Not that it mattered how he knew or why he was there.

Keira was just glad he’d shown up when he did.

He was silent for a second, before finally saying, “What would you think if I told you I followed you out here?”

Her heart beat overtime. “I don’t know what I’d think. Did you?”

For a long moment, he said nothing, just watched her. “Yeah” was all he said.

This was the strangest conversation—hell, encounter—she’d ever had with someone.

“Well,” she said softly, “regardless, thank you. If you hadn’t shown up when you did… I don’t know how far he would have gone.” She didn’t miss the way Reese’s jaw tightened at those words.

Maybe she should have been freaked out that he admitted to following her? But she wasn’t.

Before she could say anything else, and as they just watched each other, she heard her name being called.

“Keira?”

She looked over her shoulder and saw Molly making her way toward them. Nate was a few feet from her, drinking a beer, which explained why Molly looked so frantic as she came closer. Clearly, Nate told her what happened.

“What the fuck happened? Nate told me about some asshole attacking you and Reese beating the shit out of him?” Molly stopped in front of her and looked over to where Josh was. Keira heard said asshole begin to groan as he started to come around.

“You about summed it up,” Keira said, her focus back on Reese, who still watched her.

“Um,” Molly said before finally clearing her throat. Keira could tell her friend felt the tension in the air, the kind that was right between Keira and Reese.

How could she not? It was thick enough to be cut.

“Okay, well, how about we get you home?”

Keira found herself nodding and biting her lip. She hissed, forgetting the wound on the flesh.

“Did that fucker do that?” Molly asked in an outraged voice.

“No. It was all my doing,” Keira said and touched her bottom lip, feeling the small cut. “I’m fine.”

“All right, well, let’s go. I don’t want Alex getting pissed at me because you got assaulted.”

“Alex?” Reese prompted, and it was the first word he’d uttered since Molly had shown up.

“My brother,” Keira said softly, but she couldn't help but wonder if that strange pitch in his voice was… jealousy. “Thank you again,” she all but whispered. “I’ll see you at school.” That last part had her face heating. It seemed so… formal, especially after what happened.

Once they were out of the house and heading to Molly’s car, Molly stopped and faced Keira, an eyebrow arched. “Well?”

Keira arched her own eyebrow. “Well what?” She touched her lip again, and even though she should have felt the shock of what had and had almost happened with Josh, all she felt was this weird but pleasurable heat.

And it was because she thought about Reese.

“You sure you’re okay?” The genuine concern from Molly had Keira smiling.

“I am, thanks to Reese.”

A beat of silence passed before Molly said, “About that… what was that about?”

She didn’t respond right away, just walked past Molly and to her friend’s sporty red BMW. She heard Molly sigh, but a second later, there was a chirp and the doors were unlocked. Keira climbed in, rested her head on the leather seat, and exhaled.

“I don’t know what that was all about,”