Novels by sharonokem4

CALLIESophie and Madison let go of me so fast I almost fell again. Brielle stepped back, her eyes wide. Jenna released my hair. I turned, my vision blurry with tears, and my heart nearly stopped.Dante.He was standing at the end of the alley, a shopping bag in one hand, his car keys in the other. He must have been heading to his car after shopping. His grey eyes swept over the scene, taking everything in. Me on the ground. The coffee stain on my shirt. My bruised cheek. Brielle and her friends looking guilty as hell. His jaw clenched so tight I heard his teeth grind together."Mr. Cross!" Brielle said, her voice suddenly all sweet and innocent. She knew who he was. Everyone knew who Dante Cross was. "We were just... we were just talking and Callie fell—""Talking," Dante repeated, his voice flat. He looked at me again, and something in his eyes made my chest hurt. It was worry. Raw, intense worry. "Is that what this looks like to you? Talking?""Yes! I mean, she tripped and—""Stop

CALLIEI stared at my phone for like the millionth time, reading Brielle's message over and over again.Common Grounds. Noon.Was I really about to do this?Yes. Yes, I was. Because I needed to know what Nathan was up to. And if Brielle knew something, even if she was the worst person on planet Earth, I had to find out.I finished my pancakes super fast, mumbled something about going to the library to study, and grabbed my keys. Mom was too busy loading the dishwasher to ask questions. Dad was still buried in his newspaper, but I felt his eyes on me as I walked past."Be safe," he said quietly."Always am," I lied. Again. I was getting really good at lying lately.The drive to Common Grounds took fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes of me gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. Fifteen minutes of me practicing what I would say. Fifteen minutes of me telling myself this was probably a terrible idea.I parked in the lot and sat there for a second, staring at the cute l

CALLIEI felt my stomach drop so hard that maybe it fell to the floor. "What?" The word came out like a squeak. A mouse caught in a trap kind of squeaky.Dad crossed his arms over his chest, and even in his faded college t-shirt and plaid pajama pants, he looked intimidating. His hazel eyes…the same ones I inherited were doing that thing where they saw right through every lie I had ever told since I was five."The boy," he repeated, slower this time, like I was hard of hearing. "I saw someone in the yard, Callie. Don't insult my intelligence by pretending you were just 'getting air' at two in the morning."My mind raced like a race car.Think, think, think!Nathan. I could say Nathan. That my ex-boyfriend was trying to apologize. That was believable, right? Except Dad knew Nathan cheated on me. He would probably march downstairs right now and call Nathan's father to threaten legal action for trespassing."I—" My throat was drier than the Sahara. "Dad, it's not—""Is he treating you ri

CHAPTER 8My blood froze and it felt so cold i thought it turned to ice. Every muscle in my body locked solid. Dante's head lifted slowly from between my thighs, his eyes locking onto mine in the moonlitdarkness. They weren't playful or hungry anymore. They were sharp, alert and focused.Thump. Thump. Thump.I didn't feel my heartbeat beating in my chest anymore. I felt it in my throat, my ears and my fingertips."Callie? Honey, are you okay?" Mom's voice was closer now, right on the other side of my door. The knob jiggled.Oh, thank god, Thank god I'd locked it out of habit.“I—” My voice came out in a strangled croak. I cleared my throat, pushing myself up on trembling elbows. “I'm fine, Mom! Sorry! Bad dream. It's a spider, A really big spider. On my…uh…neck! Yes. On my neck" I was babbling nonsense out of pure panic.Dante hadn't moved a millimeter. He was still on his knees between my sprawled legs, my shorts discarded on the floor beside him. He looked like a statue that repre

My mouth fell open the second I said that. Did I really just say that out loud? To Dante? His eyes got extra wide, like when you see a spider on your ceiling and you freeze. Then, a slow, mischievous smile spread across his face. It was the kind of smile that made my stomach do a full gymnastics routine."Say that again, Sunshine." His voice was all rough and low, like gravel."No way," I squeaked, trying to wiggle out of his arms. He was like a human brick wall. "You heard me. Now let me go before my dad comes back out here with a shotgun or something!"Dante just laughed, a soft rumbly sound that vibrated through his chest and into mine. "Jake doesn't own a shotgun. He's afraid they'll backfire.""He's not afraid of anything!""He's afraid of moths."I gasped. "He is not! Take that back!""Last summer, a Luna moth got in the house. He screamed like he was in a horror movie and made Marinette trap it with a Tupperware." Dante's grin was evil and totally knowing. "I was there. I hav

CALLIEHe should be asleep now. It's past his bedtime. Or did our noise disrupt his sleep? Were we so loud? Did he hear us kissing? Oh shit! My thoughts were a mess and Dante's hungry gaze on my lips was not even helping matters in the least way. “That's my dad's footsteps. He's really coming here, he must not see us like this.” I was panicking like a perplexed bunny, scared of what my dad's reaction would be but Dante on the other hand was so calm. More like he enjoyed seeing me restless. “You want me to leave, Sunshine? We still have unfinished business.” He licked his lower lip slowly with a sexy and cocky smile and I tugged at his arm to let him know I was being damn serious. “Dante, just hide, please… he's almost here.” He finally listened after what seemed like forever and he smacked my lips with a violent kiss before disappearing between the blue roses on the sidewalk.My dad walked into the the balcony and I straightened at his sight after gulping a mouthful of saliva. He s