Gwen caught Aubree rolling her eyes. "What?" the brunette asked.
Aubree glanced at Stone, whose eyes were scanning the window of the next shop as they left. She leaned over so that she was a few inches away from Gwen's ear to whisper. "Is he always this quiet?"
"Actually..." Gwen began to say with a sly smirk on her face when Stone interrupted her.
"I'm hungry."
She threw her head back in exasperation. "Gah! You're always hungry!"
Stone raised an eyebrow at Aubree as the right corner of his lips curled up in a twisted grin. "What say you, Aubree? Ice cream?"
It was the first time hearing him say her name, and the way he said it made her heart skip a beat. It sounded too intimate coming from his lips. Her mouth filled with cotton as she stared momentarily at his lips.
Gwen perked up. "Did you say ice cream?"
"For Aubree and me, not you."
Aubree and me...
What was that supposed to mean?
Aubree's cheeks grew warmer. She lowered her gaze, letting her hair fall in front of her face in hopes of it concealing the burning emotions inside her. Why was she acting that way? Stone shouldn't have this effect on her, and yet, somehow he did and she wasn't sure she liked it.
Gwen scoffed. "Do I need to remind you that she has a boyfriend? Hm?"
He frowned and looked away, folding his arms across his broad chest. His leather jacket groaned in protest and made the hairs on the back of Aubree's neck stand on end. "Touché."
Gwen didn't smile back in triumph. Instead, a hint of sadness flashed in her chocolate-brown irises before she flicked her hair over her shoulder and turned to Aubree. "We should get this guy some ice cream before he gets grumpy. Trust me, you do not want to be around him when he's grumpy."
"Well, in that case, we should forget the ice cream and go to the food court for more sustainable meal options."
"Why am I not surprised that our first stop is the food court," Gwen said with a sigh.
"Second. It'll be our second stop."
She rolled her eyes at him before she shot him a hard look. He held her gaze for a moment as if sharing a silent message that only siblings could understand.
Aubree's lips pulled up a little. The sibling banter was kind of cute. It made Stone less intense and intimidating as Gwen waved away his attitude with a dismissive gesture of her hand. That girl, no doubt, had that guy wrapped around her little finger. Their mother's death must have drawn them together all those years back.
She frowned at the thought, realizing that this must be the reason for Stone's behavior. It must have been hard on them both.
They turned to her with curious looks as she took a deep breath and pushed down her apprehensive feelings caused by him. "So, are we going to the food court, or not? I don't want Stone turning into a ravenous wolf because we spent too much time standing around like a bunch of idiots."
Stone swallowed and pulled away from Gwen as she started to laugh.
Pulling Aubree to her side so she could wrap an arm around her shoulder, Gwen said, "And this is why I love this girl!"
Stone looked ready to say something but closed his mouth and scowled. He crossed his arms over his chest and jutted his chin out to Gwen. "Lead the way, sis."
Gwen beamed, linking her arm with Aubree's again, and skipped toward the food court with Stone following a few paces behind again.
When they arrived, the food court was already packed and finding a table became the biggest challenge. Gwen asked Aubree to search for a table while she and Stone went to get food.
"Do you want me to get you anything?" Gwen asked.
Aubree smiled. She wasn't hungry and chalked it up to the nervous butterflies in her stomach. She shrugged. "Maybe something doughy, like a soft pretzel? Do they have those here?"
"'Do they have those here?' she asks. Pfft," Gwen waved away Aubree's doubt. "Of course they do. I'll go get that first since it's not here in the food court. I'll be back in a jiffy."
Gwen practically sprinted off, leaving Aubree to wander around the crowded area, looking for a table. She glanced up and looked at the glowing fluorescent signs of the various food stalls around her. Her gaze stalled when her eyes landed on Stone.
He was looking right back at her as he stood in line for food.
Her heart fluttered and she stood there staring at him for a minute, unable to look away.
His eyes suddenly narrowed right before Aubree felt a hand on her butt cheek.
Eyes widening, she jumped reflexively and whirled around.
A cocky looking guy with light brown hair grinned up at her from his table with two other guys. They couldn't be more than twenty and looked like they had been football players in high school. They all sported football jerseys, short haircuts, and blue jeans.
"Nice," he commented as his dark eyes snaked up her body to meet her eyes.
Anger bubbled up from her stomach but before she could slap the smirk off the pervert's face, she felt a strong hand grab her arm from behind and pull her back.
Stone moved in front of her and grabbed the collar of the guy's shirt and pulled him up from his chair.
"Hey!"
"Touch her again and I'll gladly castrate you right here, right now," Stone growled under his breath. "How does that sound, hot-shot?"
"S-Stone!" Aubree cried as she reached up to grip his arm that held the guy. She looked up into his eyes and saw that they had turned a murderous shade of yellow amber.
His buddies got to their feet and tried talking Stone down.
Aubree looked around in a panic, seeing everyone in the food court watching them now and murmuring in hushed voices.
"Stop it," she ordered. "Let him go, right now."
She found herself reaching up and touching the far side of his cheek and attempted to draw his gaze to hers. She didn't know why she did it, but the moment she touched his skin, she felt a spark against her palm and he immediately snapped out of his murderous daze.
He blinked and released the guy.
Just as quickly as he had intervened, he grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the food court.
"Stone," she called, trying to get his attention as he weaved through the crowds of people.
She tried tugging her arm free of his grasp, but he held on firmly and refused to budge until he had taken her to a quiet end of the mall where several shops were closed up for renovations.
There, he stopped and slumped against a wall, running his hand over his pulled back hair.
She glared at his back and put her hands on her hips. "Have you lost your mind?"
When he didn't move or say anything, she sighed in exasperation and took a step closer to him. "All he did was grab my ass. I could've handled it myself. You didn't have to get involved and--"
"Yes, I did," he interrupted, speaking to the wall. His hands clenched into fists.
"No, you didn't."
"I have to protect you."
She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm a big girl, Stone. I don't need--"
He turned and grabbed her, pinning her up against the wall.
The air rushed out of her lungs as he pressed against her. She could feel his hot breath against her hair.
There was nothing casual about the way he leaned over her with his hands on both sides of her head. Everything about his stance screamed power as he claimed her body with his own.
Exhilaration and fear made her heart pound and her stomach flip-flop. A fire within her ignited and rushed through her bloodstream and up to her face.
His fingers trailed across her cheek, making breathing laborious as her head began to swim. His earthy musk overwhelmed her senses and she tried not to get lost in it. Pulled into an aphrodisiacal fog, it muddled her mind and tickled her hyper-sensitive nerves, unable to climb out of it.
"You have no idea," he murmured.
His husky voice whispered in her ear, tickling her lobe and sending shivers up her spine.
The effect he had on her confused her profusely. She couldn't wrap her head around it and at that moment, she almost didn't want to.
But then Dan appeared in her mind and pain and guilt ripped through her, making her flinch.
The twitch was enough to make Stone pull away from her. Groaning, his eyes squeezed shut as he grimaced and turned away her.
"What's going on here?" Gwen said, approaching the pair with a worried expression on her face.
"Nothing," Stone grunted in response.
She glared at him before coming to Aubree's side and handing her the warm, soft pretzel. "Are you okay? You look warm. Maybe we should sit down somewhere?"
Aubree nodded. "I'm fine." She glanced at Stone as she inhaled and exhaled slowly to clear her mind. "Just had a run in with a pervert."
Gwen's eyes widened. "Seriously? What happened?"
Aubree shrugged in an attempt to push back the memory of Stone's breath against her hair and the touch of his finger along her cheek. "Some douche grabbed my ass and this Neanderthal nearly started a fight."
Gwen's large eyes narrowed as she turned on her heels and glared at Stone.
If she said something to him, Aubree didn't hear it. It was clear from Gwen's body language that she was pissed at him.
Aubree pressed her hand to her forehead. If only Gwen knew everything that happened. What would she have done then, having known that Stone made advances on her even though he knew she had a boyfriend?
What was more troubling to Aubree was the fact that she liked Stone's advances. It made her feel alive and hungry for something more.
But that was ridiculous. She loved Dan. She loved Dan with all her heart for three years. She couldn't possibly feel something for someone else, could she?
She looked up at Stone, biting on her lower lip, as her heart twisted in pain.
She didn't know anymore.
----
Dedicated to thatdeehagirl
*Copyright Jo Lee Hunt (Joflower) 2015*