Sunburst (Starbright Series) Read Online Free Page B

smiled sweetly down at me, his big hand running up my arm until he was cupping the back of my neck. “Stella, I have never wanted to be your friend.”
    “What?” I gasped, a little surprised by the honesty in his tone.
    “I’ve always wanted to be so much more than friends,” he promised and then leaned forward like he was going to kiss me.
    My heart sped up and pounded clumsily in my chest like it was desperately trying to work right. My fingers curled in anticipation and my stomach flip-flopped with nerves. Because even while my body screamed for our lips to connect, my brain, heart and soul pushed on the brakes so violently I felt like pitching forward and getting checked for whiplash.
    “Tristan, I-“
    “Stella?” Seth barked from the driveway.
    Oh, no.
    I stood up immediately, but the swing came flying forward and clipped me in the back of the knees so that I fell back, directly onto Tristan’s lap. Tristan caught me with two hands on my waist, which was a sweet gesture, but completely the wrong time for him to be putting his hands all over me.
    “Stella,” Seth bellowed, stalking towards us.
    Tristan pushed me up, depositing me into standing, before he jumped off the swing, marching toward Seth. “Back off, man. Can’t you see she fell?”
    “And that gives you the excuse to put your hands all over her?” Seth growled.
    “Yeah, it does.” Tristan stomped down the porch stairs and met Seth stride for stride until they were staring each other down, just inches apart. While Tristan was technically taller than Seth, Seth was…. an Angel.
    I truly believed Tristan could kick any human’s ass. But the fight wasn’t exactly fair when Seth could fly .
                  “She’s not yours to touch, Tristan,” Seth’s voice was low and threatening. Even the hairs on the back of my neck stood up at his obvious intent to harm anything that didn’t heed his warning. “You need to back off.”
                  “When she decides that, Seth ,” Tristan matched his tone, just as pissed off, just as scary, “Then I’ll back off.”
                  Ugh, it was the Valentine’s Day dance all over again! Only that night I had been on Seth’s arm and we had been having a really good time.
                  Until Tristan asked to dance with me.
                  Then the night ended in a bloody fistfight that got both boys suspended from school for three days. It was humiliating, just like they were humiliating me now. But they didn’t seem to care. The caveman instincts had kicked in and they were consciously unable to think or function rationally.
                  “Seth, Tristan, get the hell away from each other right now,” Jupiter shouted from across the drive. When neither boy made a move to step back, he reiterated, “Now, boys, or I’ll make you very sorry you didn’t listen.”
                  Seth stepped down first, his body vibrating with rage, his glow hot and bright. He never took his eyes off Tristan, never softened his expression. He just walked between Tristan and me and stood there with crossed arms, and spread apart feet. The message was clear.
                  “I’ll call you later, Stel,” Tristan called out as he turned to hop back into his truck. “Or you can call me when you finally get some time alone.”
                  I didn’t know what to say and Tristan was already in his truck with the door slammed shut so I just waved as he drove away. His dirty truck swerved and fishtailed in his haste to get out of here.
                  But even after his truck was off our drive and out on the highway, Seth made no move to relax.
                  “Stella,” he growled with his back to me.
                  “I’m just as mad at you, so don’t start with me,” I hissed quickly before he thought he could behave like that and get away with