Heart of Thorns (Shadow Valley U Book 2)
Heart of Thorns: Chapter 21

I fling my legs out from under the covers. My head throbs, and my body buzzes.

I must’ve slept because it’s hard to open my eyes. They feel heavy, just like my head, but the rest of my body feels light.

The room is hazy and dark, though there’s a little bit of light peeking through the window. I make a noise, and it sounds like a whimper. I turn onto my side and cradle my stomach while hitching my leg higher. There’s warmth nearby. Skin on skin. It feels good.

Really good.

A lustful sigh falls from my lips, and I move closer to the warmth.

It takes me a few seconds to come to my senses.

Who is beside me?

My eyes spring wide open. Anxiety plows into my chest, and I fly off the bed. I thud onto the floor and scramble to get away.

“Briar.”

I slip and land on my knee. My teeth sink into my lower lip as I take in the pain radiating down my leg. I see the door, except it looks like it’s moving. I try to focus, and when I do, a tall shadow stands in front of me. Panic ensues, and I’m suddenly back in that burning building. “Get away from me!”

“Shit, Briar. It’s me.”

Large, warm hands fall to my hips. Why do they feel so fucking good? I’m tingly all over.

“I know what you did!” My voice is raspy. I want to pull away but I also like the way his fingers feel digging into my waist, which is so fucked up.

Am I dreaming?

“What?”

My cheeks are trapped with his firm grip. The light from the window shines a streak onto his face, and I’m mortified.

“Oh my God.” My gaze bounces back and forth between his worried eyes.

“Are you back?” he asks, flexing his jaw.

I nod once, and he visibly relaxes.

“Sorry,” I mutter. “I got…” I try to think back to last night. The memories flash in and out. I remember the gasoline note and going to the party.

Then the football players showed up, and I spiraled with fear.

I took something to calm me. In hindsight, that was a terrible idea.

It did calm me. It calmed me enough to get closer to the football team so I could see if any of them smelled like gasoline, but it also made me antsy, too.

The more I think about the night, the blurrier it becomes.

I remember Thorne showing up, and how happy I was. How trusting.

“Trying to recall what happened?” He drops his hands from my cheeks and slowly skims them over my body until they’re resting on my hips again.

My stomach dips with heat.

I nod, and he slowly pushes me backward onto the bed.

He forces me to sit, and the thoughts going on in my head are dangerous at best. I’m not acting like myself. My legs beg to open, and my pulse races. There’s a plea on the tip of my tongue for him to touch me.

I’m turned on, and I have no idea why.

Thorne drops to his knees in front of me, and I pant. My hairline prickles with heat, and I breathe faster.

His touch is intoxicating. The palm of his hand moves against my thigh until it lands at my knee.

“You took X last night,” he admits, rubbing the spot that hurts the most from falling onto his floor.

“I… what?”

No fucking wonder.

Thorne peers at me from below, and I feel seen.

“Did we…?”

I’m not wearing pants. My scars are right there for him to see.

His hand tenses on my thigh. “No.”

I breathe a sigh of relief.

“But you wanted to.”

My face is hot. I pull my leg back quickly so I can put it back under the blanket, but Thorne’s fingers dig into the flesh, keeping me still.

“Are you embarrassed?” His voice is soft and smooth.

My nipples harden, and there’s a rush of lust flowing between my legs.

“Being turned down after throwing myself at you? Yeah, you can say that.” I try to move my leg again, but he keeps me trapped.

“Why are you trying to escape me right now, kitten?” he asks.

I look at my leg. My scars are ugly. The ones from surgery are long and rigid around the edges. Then when you move down to my calf, it’s bumpy and discolored from the fire.

It’s gross.

It’s no freaking wonder he turned me down.

I haven’t been with anyone since the accident.

Ben was too impatient for me to heal, and now I’m too ashamed to let anyone else see.

“Stop looking at yourself like that.”

I glance away and try to escape the pressing glare in his eye. He seems angry with his heavy brow line and flexing jaw.

It turns me on that much more.

I’m all over the place.

Hot and bothered, ashamed and embarrassed, angry yet still vulnerable.

Thorne’s sigh is followed by a quiet growl. “Now I need you to stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” I ask.

“Like you still want me to put you out of your misery.”

God, but I do.

“I can’t help it.” I pull away harder this time, and he lets me go. “My body is…” I stand on wobbly legs and head for the door. “Wired.”

My breaths are choppy, and the room is spinning.

I have to get out of here.

Finally, my gaze lands on my jeans that are bundled on the floor. I rush over and try to turn them right side in, all while avoiding Thorne’s hot gaze from across the room.

He commands my attention on any good day.

Today?

I can’t help but follow through.

“So what’s your plan?” He leans against the door with his arms crossed.

Is he blocking the exit?

“You going to leave my room and go home to get yourself off until the X is out of your system?”

The longer I stand in his room without curbing the need I feel, the more frustrated I become.

“Well, I can’t have you do it!” I snap. “You rejected me once. I can’t really remember how it made me feel but I know I don’t want to relive it.”

Thorne scoffs.

I roll my eyes. “I can’t go off and fuck someone either. You’re my boyfriend.” I pause. “Fake boyfriend.”

Thorne’s arms fall to his sides. He quickly advances on me, stalking across the bedroom until he traps me.

“If anyone is getting you off, it’s me.” His warm breath floats against my lips, and my eyelashes flutter closed. “I turned you down last night because you were completely out of it. I wasn’t going to take advantage of you.”

I lean against him. My nipples harden from the feel of his firm chest, and I shake. The arm around my waist traps me, and without knowing what I’m doing, my leg hitches around his hip and I’m pressing into him.

His other hand weaves into my hair, and my head tips backward. I open my eyes, and his pupils are dilated with need.

I’ve never craved someone like this.

“Considering you’re sassing me, I know you’re back in your right state of mind.”

My lips part, and all I want to do is kiss him.

“I am… but my body isn’t,” I rasp.

I’m acting desperate but I feel like I’m going crazy. My nerves are fried, and my skin tingles.

“I feel…wild,” I admit.

“I know, kitten,” he whispers. “I’ll help bring you back down to earth.”

Oh, thank God.

“Only if you promise to never take unknown drugs at a party again.”

“Never,” I rush out. “I promise.”

“That was awfully fast,” he whispers. “I wonder what else I can ask of you.”

My entire body trembles with the heat of his breath fanning over my neck. His teeth latch on to my earlobe, and he gives it a quick tug.

“I’m sure you’ll think of something,”

He smiles against my mouth. “That I will, kitten. Now get on the bed.”