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He leaned in,around to pull her up against hiht… and Violet didn’t like the feeling creeping over her, the sensation that he wasn’t asking her if he could do this The feeling that this was all out of her control

The goose buhttime chill

He dipped his head down, and all at once Violet found her voice again "No, Grady!" she insisted, turning her head away before his lips were on top of hers "Don’t!"

She tried to duck beneath his arainst his chest Her heart felt like it was tripping over itself now, and she was suddenly afraid of where this was going

He put his ainst her ear and whispered hoarsely while his lips clumsily caressed her earlobe "It’s okay, Violet I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to" He made it sound like an invitation, but the forcefulness of his actions was ue flicked out and stroked the side of her neck in what Violet feared was his version of seduction

Violet was vaguely aware of the sound of tires approaching, and she could see headlights getting closer She thought about calling out for help, but she was also afraid that she

She was sure she could handle this herself

Grady tried once again to kiss her, searching out her ainst his chest, shoving him back as she tried to crane her head out of his way "Stop it, Grady IAt least her voice wasn’t as shaky as she felt

But he was bigger and stronger than she was, and his hands reached up behind her to the back of her head, ignoring her denials and pinning her in place When his mouth finally landed on hers, the combination of his alcohol-soaked breath and his brutish unrestrained actions made her quiver sickly beneath him His lips were moist and soft, but not in the way that Violet would have hoped for in a kiss, and as his tongue tried to find its way into her

She felt like she was going to puke

She struggled against it…against hiainst his chest She was no longer so sure that she could handle this She writhed her head away long enough to dislodge his mouth from hers, and she took the opportunity to shove her hands upward, covering her face in an effort to block hiet through to hi to force himself on her She hoped that he would snap to his senses and realize, once and for all, what an ass he was being

What she really wished was that he would just let her go

And then he did But not in the way she’d iled sound escape froainst the side of his own car She was pushing so hard against hi to keep away froed her head on the doorjamb She heard a loud, dull thud, and then a whimper that could have been any wounded ani on, but her brain still felt fuzzy--ht that he must have slipped and fallen, or that h she doubted she could have knocked him down on her own