When Its Least Expected (5 page)

He already hated the dude, and he hadn’t even met him yet.

The hairy monster pulled her back against his front. The hug resembled something closer

to a boyfriend’s embrace, but Harley turned out of his grasp, slugging him on the
shoulder as she moved to the other side of the girl standing next to him. Mason blew
out a breath in relief. Good.

That was exactly what he wanted to see.

Mason pushed himself closer, until he stood a good two feet in front of her. The entire

circle shut up around him. Good. Let them stare. Let them talk.

“Mason?” He grinned down at her. Was that surprise in her eyes? Was she excited to
see

him too? He sure as hell hoped so. “H –how’s it going?” She stuttered, scrunching
her nose up as she did a quick up and down assessment of his body.

He licked his lips. She could study away, just as long as he could return the favor,

especially when she wore tight skinny jeans and white tank tops that left so little
to the

imagination. She was slender in all the right spots, and perfectly curvy in others.
Her body was killer.

The funny part was she thought she was being smooth about it too; he was almost

positive of that. The moment her eyes refocused back to his face though, her cheeks
turned a crimson shade of red. Ah-ha, so she was easily embarrassed, huh? He grinned
harder. He’d have to remember that.

“I’m doing great now that I’m with you.” Her brown eyes seemed to darken to black
at

his words. God, he had to keep going, he had to keep her talking. “Ya wanna walk with
me to fifth period?” It was amazing he still managed to keep his swagger going. The
reaction to this girl was not normal, at least for him it wasn’t.

She didn’t answer right away, and letterman boy took to opportunity to sidle up next
to

her. She looked over at him with a dropped jaw as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
Mason gripped his hands into tight balls. He was instinctively ready draw blood.

“Um, yeah. Sure,” Harley nodded quickly looking down at the floor, maneuvering out
of

the douche’s arms to stand next to him this time. Mason raised his brows in challenge
at the freak, the guy did the same back, but Harley interrupted the silent, territorial
moment, before it got too ugly.

He was so pissed that he didn’t even have time to enjoy the feeling of her hand in
his.

“First though, I want you to meet some of my friends.” She pointed to the little blonde
from Friday night first, and Mason immediately remembered her name.

Abigail. She seemed friendly enough, and she smiled at him too, only to wink a second

later at Harley. There went Harley’s cheeks again. So pink, so cute. Mason knew right
then and there that the best friend was cool as hell. The best part was, for once,
a girl wasn’t into him.

Harley moved down the line with her introductions, but Mason found her soft voice
and

her lithe movements too distracting to pay much attention to anything beyond those
two things.

“And this … is Toby,” she interrupted his mental examination, just as they landed
in front of letterman boy again. He grunted. Talk about a cold shower. Why was she
even introducing them in the first place? Blah, blah, blah, that’s all he heard. This
was the first time since they’d met that he wasn’t listening to her. But the words
homeschooled and twin brother did catch his

attention.

Finally they broke away from the group and wandered down the hall. Thankfully they

were still side by side. She was quiet, and Mason found himself missing her feisty
voice. He cleared his throat, and the first words he could think of fell from his
mouth.

“So uh, Harley, you have a brother? What’s his name?”

Her lips tighten into a sealed line, her shoulders tensed too. Her eyes hooded over,
and

she all but shut down on an emotional front as she stared at the floor. Dammit.

“I do,” she finally replied, her eyes wistful and clear when she finally stared back
at him.

Good, she was already coming back, “His name is David, and we’re twins.”

She didn’t offer up any more information. She just looked away, eyes still shadowed
as

she wrapped her thumbs through the bottom of her book bag straps. Her face was unreadable,

placid even, but the secrets were there, buried underneath all that hair.

Mason sighed. He knew firsthand how to keep secrets; that was his God given gift.
For

once though, as the image of her face flashing with sadness reappeared in his head,
he found himself wanting to share his own secrets, just so she’d confess hers. He
bit his tongue. That’d never happen, he wasn’t about to play a game of you show me
yours I’ll show you mine ... well, at least not in the emotional sense that is.

There was one question that did sit on the tip of his tongue though, one that he couldn’t

resist asking. “Harley and David are your names, huh? So … do you have a dog or guinea
pig

named Son?” Mason grinned, nudging her with his shoulder.

The sweet pink coloring on her cheeks reappeared, and he swallowed a groan of

appreciation in his throat. She was gorgeous, and her eye rolls accompanied by her
long, sexy sigh, was enough of an ingredient for some serious palm sweating … and
other things he

shouldn’t be feeling in the middle of a school as well.

Dude, it’s just breathing and blinking, all natural reflexes. Get the hell over it!

He shook his head, holding in any further comments until they made their way to the

classroom door. He was dying to hear her talk again; the sound of her voice was a
soon to be addiction, he was sure of it. The white walled classroom appeared before
them, and he panicked, instinctively pulling her to the right of the door. He leaned
over to whisper in her ear

immediately inhaling what smelled like warm chocolate chip cookies … strawberries.
He smiled into her hair, it was the perfect combination. And he was suddenly ravished,
and it wasn’t just for chocolate…

She gasped, he smiled even harder, his face was still tucked into her hair by her
ear, “So

… you got an answer for me, little beast? Or do I have to beg for it?” He leaned back,
and gave her a gentle shove until they stood face to face against the locker. Each
of them had a shoulder pressed against the cold metal. He lifted his hand to grasp
the side of her neck. He brushed her hair away from her skin, admiring the softness
of her curls. He’d been dying to touch those waves, to run his fingers through them,
but he stiffened as she her eyes stared up at him. They were filled with wonderment
… and questions.

Shit, he was waist deep, and would be swimming soon if he didn’t watch out.

He dropped his hand, she shivered. Goose bumps appeared on her bare shoulders and

arms. He should step away completely, give her some space, but the closer she got
to him, the more his body demanded her nearness.

“If you must know, smart ass, then I’ll tell you,” she swallowed. Her neck was

fascinating as hell to watch. She stepped back even further. It was obvious he was
coming on too strong. “Yes, my brother and I were named after the motorcycle. And
no, I don’t have a pet, nor does my brother.” She licked her lips, and averted her
eyes. “And furthermore, you need to know that I never want to ride one
with
you, ever.”

“Whoa, slow your roll there, little beast. It was just a question not a wedding proposal.

Besides, I have a Chrysler, not a bike,” his lips twitched. The truth was, he hated
bikes, but riding on one with her strapped to his backside might have changed his
opinion. “But if you’d like to ride me, then I’m sure that can be arranged…”

Ah shit Mason! What the hell are you doing?

She gasped, Mason flinched. She was obviously shocked … and that was putting it

mildly. But was that a twinkle of excitement in her eyes too? He had to wonder; he
had to hope.

Her brows narrowed seconds later, a look that threatened murder passed over her face.

Damn, the girl was sexy when she went all bi-polar mad on him. She crossed her arms
over her chest, and moved past him. Her lips were sealed shut, and her shoulder was
beyond cold. Mason followed her in anyways still grinning as he took the spot next
to her.

She was ready for a fight ... he was ready to kiss and make up.

“Please go. Like … now.” She faced the front of the room, her knee bobbed up and down

as she gnawed on her lip. The other kids piled in a few seconds later, but all Mason
could do was focus on the stubborn little beast seated next to him.

Her chocolate covered gaze never wavered as she stared ahead, but her body was tense.

She was definitely uneasy … or maybe she was just affected by him. He’d let her get
away this time. Hell, for his own good,
he
should just walk away.

But Harley Anderson was a birthday present in the making, and he sure as hell wanted
to

unwrap her.

Throughout the rest of the day, Harley was bombarded with thoughts of Mason Daniel.

The boy had done a number on her in the hall this afternoon. His wanting stare, those
sexy

promising words. She shivered at the thought, rubbing her hands over her arms as she
made her way towards the parking lot.

The boy was so arrogant and so full of himself too, yet a snippet of vulnerability
seemed

to lay hidden underneath all of that that egotism. He intrigued her, but he ticked
her off even more.

She threw her head back to catch the warm, October rays of sun. Thoughts of sandy

blond, brown hair and sky blue eyes were not going away anytime soon. She was so engrossed
in her thoughts that she didn’t see Toby leaning casually up against the hood of her
car until he was literally right in her face; the Toby who couldn’t obviously take
a hint, the Toby who annoyed her in a league way beyond Mason Daniel.

“Hey babe, haven’t seen you since lunch today. Where’ve you been?” He wrapped one
of

his steroid induced arms around her waist, and she cringed, managing to quickly maneuver
out of it as she whipped her keys from her pocket. She had to be careful with her
responses. Toby had a temper that rivaled an ax murderer at times.

“I’ve been
trying
to get to class on time,” she lied, unlocking the door. She jumped as his hand landed
over her shoulder, his palm flat against the window. She was trapped.

“Ah, I see.” He paused. His hot, nasty breath passed over her cheek from behind. She

ground her teeth together but didn’t say anything as her hand hovered over the handle.
“So you
haven’t
been trying to avoid me then, right?” His cute, innocent tone wasn’t jiving with
her, and then when his left hand traveled to her side, skimming the underside of her
tank, she had to swallow the bile rising in her throat. The boy with the black hair
and green eyes was not cute and innocent. He was the evil incarnate.

The Devil himself should have been afraid.

She shrugged him off swallowing her angry retort. Maybe, just maybe, if she didn’t

respond to his touch, then he’d get the hint and back the hell up. She knew who Toby
was, she definitely knew his game. The sad part was she used to
like
that game. Now though, after everything he did, after the way he’d abandoned her
brother
, she hated herself for ever finding him at all attractive.

“Well then, you won’t care then if I ride home with you tonight, do you? I want to
hang

with Dave.” Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. Why the hell after almost thirteen months
did he want to see David?

“Um … I don’t know. I’m not even sure if he’ll be home. He’s got therapy until five
and

all…” She stalled, nervously flicking the key chain between her fingers, but instead
of taking the hint, he moved closer placing his chin on her shoulder as he stalker-like
smelled her hair. Toby had officially entered the creepy zone.

Breathe, breathe, breathe….
She chanted her favorite mantra over and over again, until she was blue in the face.
Then his lips found the pulse on her neck, his slimy words slipped from his even slimier
mouth. “I think I’m okay hanging with just you for a while, Har. Come on, what do
you say?”

What I should say is back the hell up before I dismember your three un-manly parts
…

Her breath caught in her throat. She was border line hyperventilating. No guy had
ever

pissed her off as much as this one had. He should have been terrified.

Just as she turned to unleash her fury, an all too memory consuming voice, called
out her

name. “Is there a problem here, little beast?” She exhaled. Toby finally backed away
with an angry growl. She’d never been more thankful for a nickname in her life.

“Yep, everything is fine, surfer boy,” she grinned, her smile forced. Toby had done
a

number on her nerves today. “I was just leaving here, and so was Toby. I’ll see you
both

tomorrow.”

She flicked her finger out in a wave, before slipping into her car. Toby’s growl would

have been hilarious, if she wasn’t so pissed. But when she went to nod at Mason, she
stilled, his expression appeared to hold nothing but contempt … and concern. And a
little bit of fear too.

She tried not to think about it as her trembling fingers fumbled around with her seatbelt.

“What the hell, dude? Stay out my business!” Toby’s voice echoed, even though the

window was sealed shut.

Mason though, was calm … scary calm, as he dug his finger into his legs. Now that
was a

face of a man who knew how to kick some big, beefy football player ass. He was her
hero, even though she totally didn’t need one.

No matter, Mason was earning some major points on her likability scale.

***

“He said that to you, Mase? What a tool!” With his hands latched behind his head,
lying