I force my way to the fence and sigh with relief when my fingers can reach the top. If I jump just a little, I should be able to pull myself over. Finally, someone is on my side.

I extend my arms as straight as I can get them, but they don’t get a good enough grip on the top of the fence when I jump. A few more tries later, it’s still not enough. I bend at the knee and swing my arms behind to give myself the extra oomph I need. The sound of an empty dumpster hitting the pavement startles me, and I quickly turn around.

“Who’s there?” I call out. I can’t see anything; it’s too dark. It was probably just a cat or the wind. Either way, that’s all the motivation I need to get over this fence. This time my effort is just good enough to haul myself over. Or — maybe not. My arms are stuck mid-pull, ready to give out. I should really start working out. This is just stupid. As I hang on the fence, I hear the sound of footsteps on the grass behind me. Instantly I have the strength I need and I pull myself halfway up. All I need to do it swing my legs over and it’s done.

Suddenly, my body goes stiff and I’m pretty sure I’ve stopped breathing.

Someone is touching me.

Ethan

After finding every excuse I could to get out of dinner with my cousin – the less time with Kelsey around me, the better – all I wanted to do was get some sleep. Instead, I’m wide awake and irritated with my new neighbors.

I woke up when I heard a car door slamming and a light scream minutes after. This is not the way my first night in my first home should go. I’m no pansy, but it’s a good thing I own guns because if this shit goes down every night, then I damn sure better stay alert. I’ll be ready for whoever wants to break into my house.

I drag myself out of bed and down the stairs to look out the front window. There’s some chick across the street rolling around on the ground in front of my neighbor’s house. When she shifts, I can see that she has a flashlight in her hand. This is not normal behavior for most people.

I watch as she pushes herself up and rounds the house, coming to a stop. I can’t see her face because the wind is out of control, blowing her hair in all directions, and right before she turns toward my house, she pulls the hood of her sweatshirt over her head. She stands there for a minute, looking defeated.

Just when I think this bizarre mini-event is over the girl marches up to the fence, reaches her hand high, and then starts jumping. I don’t know the people in my neighborhood yet, but this isn’t a good sign.

I don’t waste any time as I slip my shoes on and run out the door. I’m wearing only a pair of black gym shorts, and this wind feels like ice against my skin. My goal is to sneak up on her, but after a huge gust of wind comes out of nowhere, I lose balance and bump into the dumpster. Sneaking is no longer an option. I run straight for the intruder and get there just in time.

She is half over the fence, dangling her upper body on one side and her legs on the other. My side. The legs also come with a very nice ass that’s hard to miss.

I wrap my hands around her ankle and pull her toward me. There’s no way I am letting her over this fence. Nice ass or not.

The eardrum-busting scream that comes out of her mouth is not what I’m expecting. I start to shake my head to get the ringing to stop at the same time she starts yelling. I can’t hear her very well because my ears are still recovering.

“Let me go!” she demands.

“No way! I’m not letting you over this fence,” I shout back.

Her body goes stiff and the screaming stops. I think I hear her whisper the word “no,” but I’m not sure. If she’s trying to talk me into letting her go, it’s not working. I use this moment to tug on her legs, attempting to pull her back over. Instantly she starts resisting, giving it her all as she tries to wiggle her way out of my grip.

“Just jump back down and we…”

Fuck!

The stinging pain of her foot making solid contact with my face distracts me and I lose my balance, again. My hand loosens its grip, and as I stumble backward, I grab her ankle to keep myself from falling. It doesn’t work and we both fall to the ground.

I grunt when she lands on top of my stomach, making it hard to breathe. She pulls herself together, quickly rolling off me and scrambling to her feet, but I’m faster. I grab her foot and yank her back until she is under me. With my legs on either side of her, my arms are straight as I hold her arms tightly against her sides to keep her pinned to the ground. She wiggles hard trying to escape.

“Don’t touch me!” she hollers and continues to attempt yanking her arms out of my grip while trying to sit up.

“Yeah, no, that’s not going to happen. You can’t just go breaking into someone’s house and get away with it.”

Her body goes lifeless under my hands and she takes a sharp breath. When she opens her eyes to face me, I almost let go. The wind has blown her hair out of her face, giving me a perfect view of bright, gold eyes piercing me with a heated glare. Her creamy white skin glows in the darkness, rendering me speechless.

Kelsey.

For a moment neither of us says anything. Maybe she wasn’t breaking in after all. Someone this beautiful can’t be that crazy. Can she? Sara definitely would have told me if her best friend has a few screws loose.

The stunned moment is interrupted when I hear the sound of sirens approaching. Just awesome. Someone called the cops. Kelsey uses the distraction and shoves me off of her, quickly rising to her feet.

“You called the police on me? Seriously? This night just keeps getting better,” she snaps.

“I didn’t call the cops. I had it handled,” I spit back at her.

She takes a step toward me, dramatically placing her hands on her hips.

“Oh you had IT handled, huh?” Her eyes roam over my face. Where is the quiet, innocent girl I saw earlier today? I guess the silent streak is over. As her eyes meet mine, they look so cold I can’t help but take a step back. “Yeah,” she says with a laugh, “your face is covered in blood. You had IT handled real well.”

Blood. Really?

I reach up to my face and sure enough, when I touch my nose, there’s blood everywhere.

“You kicked me in the face,” I growl, defending myself.

“You deserved it,” she says, jabbing her finger into my chest.

As the sirens are getting louder, she begins to look around frantically, turning to sprint away only to be cut off when a police car pulls up in front of the house.

The cop gets out of the car, walks to the front of his vehicle, and stops. He’s tall and in better shape than I would think a cop his age should be. Definitely not someone I want to mess with, and that says something since I work out every day.

The cop stands with his hands on his hips and begins to shake his head.

“Kelsey Brian,” he says, and a smile appears on his face. “It’s been too long since I last saw you.”

As if the night weren’t weird already, the fact Kelsey is on a first-name basis with a cop just made everything about her more interesting.

Kelsey

Never say things could be worse. The moment you think it, it happens.

Like right now, my cheating ex-boyfriend’s father, who also happens to be a cop, is standing in front of me, waiting to arrest me no doubt.

“Mr. Maron.” I roll my eyes and cross my arms. I shouldn’t be rude, but this cannot be happening right now. I want to get inside my car and leave this awful situation. It’s cold out, and now I’m going to have to suffer this stupid wind even longer. My urge to write is officially gone.

He nails me with his judgmental glare, and I look everywhere but directly at him. His presence is pushing all the wrong buttons as he stands there looking well groomed with his ocean-clear blue eyes, blonde hair, and sharp facial features that are an exact match to his son’s. Makes me sick.