Golden Blood (15 page)

Harrison’s heart skipped a beat as he watched
her face. Emilie was right; this girl was an angel.

“What’s the Latin word for angel?”

“Hmm?” Gemma turned to him with a confused
frown.

“Angel. What’s the Latin word for it?”

“Um,” she closed her eyes, “angelus, I
think.”

“That’s a much better title for you. That’s
what I’m going to call you from now on.” He turned her face towards
him. “My spatia angelus.”

Chapter Fifteen

St. Augustine, Florida
- 2011AD

It was Friday afternoon. The Stingray was
parked at Anastasia National Park along with a dozen other
vehicles. It had been a tense week at school with work loads
increasing, Gemma traveling more than normal and then nearly
getting caught kissing behind the gymnasium. Gemma had been so
pissed off with Harrison for jumping her and nearly getting them in
trouble that she didn’t speak to him for the rest of the day.

He was trying to make amends, by joining her
for her afternoon jog at the beach before heading home. Harrison
leaned against his car and looked skyward. The clouds were grey and
brewing. He figured it wouldn’t be long before they were standing
in the rain. Seemed like they’d got back at the perfect time.

He grabbed the edge of Gemma’s sweaty shirt
and pulled her towards him. Thankfully, she fell into his arms with
a soft giggle. Feeling forgiven, he nuzzled her neck and grinned.
This was where she belonged. It was nice being so open about it
all.

The car two lots away beeped. Gemma jumped
out of his arms as two people approached and opened the doors. He
grabbed her hand and pulled her to his side.

“We don’t even know those people, Gem.”

“We might have.”

He frowned. “I don’t see why we can’t just be
ourselves. We’ve been sneaking around for three weeks now. I don’t
care what people say. I’m sick of this.” He reached for her hand.
“I’m proud to be with you. I don’t want to pretend we’re not
together at school anymore.” He kissed her knuckles, making her
blush.

“You’re sweet, but can we just keep things
under cover for a little longer. Please.”

Harrison sighed.

He guessed it wasn’t all bad. They had
managed to work their schedules so that Gemma stayed late three
days out of the week. Her mom thought she was studying with
Courtney in the library. Everyone at school still thought the
couple barely knew each other and had no idea they were secretly
meeting up. They tried to spend as much of the weekend together as
possible, but sneaking out and lying was taking its toll on Gemma.
She always arrived agitated and tense.

Thankfully she seemed happy to spend time at
his place. The beach and his house had become their havens… unless
of course there were people at the beach and then she spent most of
her time looking over her shoulder.

He rolled his eyes. It wasn’t okay. He was
over it.

She kissed his cheek and was about to
apologize. He stopped her with a finger to the lips. Hearing those
two little words again wasn’t going to change anything. He cleared
his throat and looked out to the ocean.

“Still want to go hiking tomorrow?”

“Definitely. I’ve told my mom I’m meeting
Courtney for shopping at ten, so we’ll have to swing by a mall on
the way home to quickly grab some stuff… make it look legit.”

He suppressed his eye roll and distracted
himself with his next move instead. Since he had her here, he may
as well take advantage of the situation.

Her sweet smile grew a mile wide as he leaned
towards her. He could have kept the kiss going until nightfall and
sensed she felt the same. Using every ounce of self-control, he
backed away. They were both a fiery, blushing mess.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

She had parked her Ducati at the other end of
the lot, hoping no one would connect their two vehicles. He watched
her stride towards it. Her steps looked light and happy, making him
smile.

“Well, ain’t that just adorable.”

Harrison cringed. He didn’t have to turn
around to recognize the condescending tone. Before he took another
breath, a hand clamped onto the back of his shirt and whipped him
around. His back slammed into the car door, making him wince. He
spotted Jordan’s two goons smirking behind him. His heart sagged as
he realized his chances of successfully running were zilch.

“What do you want, Jordan?”

“I want you to stay away from my girl.”

Harrison couldn’t stop the grin. “Your girl?
I thought she hated you.”

“You thought wrong!” Jordan grabbed the front
of his shirt and slammed him into the car again. “You little weed,
going after my sister then ditching her for a girl you got no right
to. That freak belongs to me.”

A black anger flashed in front of Harrison.
He pushed the bulking senior away from him and enjoyed watching him
stumble backwards.

“Gemma doesn’t
belong
to anybody. She
can choose who she wants and she chose me. So stay away from
my
girl.”

Harrison straightened his shirt and was
digging his keys from his pocket when Jordan came towards him with
a ferocious roar. He tried to block the blow like Gemma had taught
him, but mistimed it and got a fist in the face. Pain pulsed from
one cheek to the other as he was pounded a second time and knocked
to the ground.

Jordan’s foot swung towards him. He caught it
with his hands and pushed it away. Jordan snorted like a rhino and
charged him again, but his body was flung out of view before it
connected. He glanced up to see Gemma standing over him. Her face
was steel, her muscles bunched for battle.

Jordan stood up, rubbing his throat after the
clothesline move she’d inflicted. His lips curled with rage.

“I don’t want to fight you.” She raised her
hands. “Please just walk away, Jordan.”

“Like that’s ever gonna happen.”

His fists bunched into canon balls as he
stepped towards her. She blocked his first punch with ease and
pushed him back. Harrison went to get up, but she ordered him down.
Jordan was indicating to his buddies that three on one would be a
fair fight.

“I mean it you guys. Walk away while you
still have the chance.”

She may as well have waved a red cape in
front of them. Jordan snorted and balled his fists again.

Unperturbed by the bulls, Gemma crouched into
a fighting stance and took them on together. It was like watching a
well-choreographed dance. Her kicks were elegant, her powerful
punches impressive. She looked like she wasn’t even breaking a
sweat as she downed one guy with a kick to the crotch before
stretching back her leg and dispatching the other with a boot to
the gut. She finished off Jordan with a punch to the face that had
him whirling to the asphalt. Rolling over with a groan, Jordan
dabbed at his nose, his eyes popping wide with surprise as he noted
the blood on his fingertips.

Straightening her shoulders and flexing her
neck, Gemma stood over his slumped form.

“You done?” She quirked her left eyebrow and
let a small smile flit across her face. He stood on shaking limbs
and chased after his buddies, mumbling empty threats as he
went.

She watched them leave. Her posture seemed
relaxed, but Harrison noted the slightly shaking hand that ran over
her head and down her ponytail.

He slowly stood up. His face was throbbing
and he felt useless. The role reversal in this relationship was
going to take some getting used to. Sure it was sexy that his
girlfriend just kicked butt, but wasn’t that his job?

Gemma gently held his chin, turning his face
to examine the damage.

“I don’t think you’ll avoid a black eye.” She
looked guilty. “Sorry I didn’t get here sooner. I didn’t see Jordan
until I was already at my bike.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He brushed a tendril
of hair behind her ears. “You were… outstanding.”

“And you forgot everything I taught you.”

“Where was I supposed to run?”

She grinned. “I mean about the fighting.”

“Oh.” He frowned. “I guess I need more
practice.”

“That can be arranged.” Her wink made him
smile, but it soon faded.

“I think our cover’s blown.”

“Yeah.” Gemma sighed, running a hand down her
ponytail. “I guess that’s not all bad.”

“Really? I thought you’d be freaking
out.”

“I’m a little worried. But as long as my
parents don’t find out, we’re safe. And…” She shrugged. “At least
it means I can do this…” She stepped towards him and laced her
fingers behind his neck. “And this…” She pressed her lips against
his, stealing his breath and knocking his senses to Jupiter and
back. “Whenever I want.” She finally finished with a grin so big it
made him laugh.

“Good to know.” He held her face in his hands
and kissed her softly. He knew she was putting on a brave front for
him. “It’ll be okay, Gem. A little gossip’s not going to stop this.
Nothing can.”

He kissed her again. She returned it, but he
could feel her hesitation. Somehow he knew she wasn’t thinking
about school anymore.

The rumors started as a low murmur. Come
Monday morning it was well spread that Harrison was dating the
freak. He found it totally ironic that there was no mention of his
bumping into Jordan. As far as the story went, Jordan had broken
his nose playing football on the beach with his buddies, where as
Harrison had scored his black eye when he tripped over while
running and landed on a rock. That was actually the story he’d used
on his mother so he wasn’t worried about that one circulating.

He kept his lips closed about Jordan and held
his head high, taking each jibe with a wink and a smile. If they
knew Gemma even a quarter as well as he did they would turn five
shades of green.

Clutching the strap of his bag, Harrison
quietly sauntered through the library, weaving his way to the back
corner.

A smile curled his lips when he spotted
Gemma, knees up to her chin, engrossed in a novel. Her nose was
twitching and she kept tipping her head to the side, a sure sign
she wasn’t taking in a word on the page.

“Hey.” He snuggled in beside her, stretching
his arm around her shoulders. Feeling completely safe in this
secluded environment, she shuffled into his embrace.

“I thought you were lunching in the cafeteria
today.”

“I am. I just came to get you.”

She shot away from him as if she’d been
stung. “What?”

“I want you to meet my friends.”

“No! Forget it.” She shuffled so far out of
his reach that she fell off the pillows and landed on the
floor.

He chuckled softly and reached for her hand.
Hauling her back up beside him, he held her tense body tight.

“Just because everyone now knows doesn’t mean
we have to flaunt it,” said Gemma.

“Who said anything about flaunting. I just
don’t want to spend every lunchtime in the library.”

“You don’t have to,” she mumbled into his
shoulder. “You can eat with your friends and I’ll eat here.”

“I want you to have lunch with me in the
cafeteria.” He repeated the words slowly.

“I don’t think your friends like me very
much.”

“That’s because they don’t know you.” He
squeezed her shoulders. “It’s important we start getting to know
each other’s friends. We don’t want to become this reclusive couple
that everybody hates.”

She leaned back to look at him. “In case you
haven’t noticed, I don’t have any friends.”

“A problem I am trying to remedy.”

He stood to his feet and dragged her
north.

“I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can.” He squeezed her hand. “I
won’t leave your side. It’ll be fine.”

He pulled her out of the library. Her steps
got heavier as they inched towards those dreaded double doors. He
could feel her palms grow sweaty and he swore if she didn’t stop
chewing on her lip it would start bleeding.

Stopping outside the door, he held her face
in his hands. “Now breathe and relax. This won’t hurt a bit.”

He pushed the door open with his butt and
pulled her inside. He wasn’t sure what she had been expecting.
Maybe a quiet hush and all eyes drilling into her, but it didn’t
happen. The noisy buzz of the cafeteria didn’t falter. Sure, as
people spotted them the buzz grew faster and louder, but only until
he’d collected a tray of food and sat down next to Darren.

Gemma had refused a tray. It took a firm tug
on her hand to get her to sit next to him, but sit she did. He
placed an apple in front of her. She picked it up and nibbled at
the skin.

“So.” Harrison smiled at his buddies. “This
is Gemma.” He nodded towards her. She tried on a smile, but it came
out as a weird grimace instead. He bit back his grin.

“Hey.” Courtney beamed.

In contrast Dana and Chelsea looked as if
they’d just shared a glass of arsenic.

“Excuse me. I have to go.” Dana stood from
the table and strutted away with Chelsea two steps behind.

Courtney rolled her eyes and Darren fidgeted
with his fork, looking awkward. Between Gemma’s apple nibbling and
the sidelong glances from everyone at the table, it was a painful
two minutes. Harrison was scrambling for easy conversation when he
was rescued by the hulking form of Dominic Hart.

“Hey little sis.”

Her lips jumped into a quick smile before she
reverted to her eyes on the table, Hunchback of Notredam
impersonation.

Dom grinned and leaned over the table. “You
look so scared you might puke. Need a bucket?” he whispered.

Her look was as dry as the salt flats, but
her lips did twitch.

“Dominic, move your big behind so I can sit
down please.” Ruby’s petite hand shoved his shoulder to the side.
She squeezed in beside him and a junior who was scared off after a
pointed eyebrow raise. “That’s better.” She gave Harrison a broad
grin.