at your own risk. open. [m]

[chase lynn jean]

Chase sat back in his bed, a boring book in his hand. He wished he could have music blaring, maybe that would help him read, but it didn’t and that put him in a foul mood. He stood up sharply and slammed his door on his way outside. The sun was shining and leaves were still falling off the trees. A leaf landed on his head and he felt his annoyance mount up. He didn’t know why he was so aggravated that morning. He took off into the woods; having no way of contacting people if he was mauled by a bear or something, but he didn’t really, honestly care.

Chase knew there was a creek somewhere in the woods and he wanted to find it. His old cowboy boots wore down dead plants and live ones as he stomped his way towards the stream. There were bear tracks, but they were old. He smiled deep inside of himself; he would never let a smile grace his face when he was in this type of mood.

The creek was talking to him. He clutched his fist into a ball and sent it into the first tree he found. They had no effin punch bag, so his anger was taken out on poor Mother Nature. He growled loudly, the animal anger inside of him wanting to take over. He wanted to hurt someone, anyone really. He looked about him, the creek still undisturbed by his anger, he found rocks. He picked them up and threw them far into the forest. There was just no outlet for his damn anger. Chase gave out a loud cry of frustration, his forehead knitted over his eyes. His dark brown hair was being played with by the breeze and he couldn’t handle it anymore. He had to get out. He had to leave. But he couldn’t…because there were footsteps coming up behind him.

[alexandria nicole di rossi]

Alex really couldn't stand being inside much longer, she didn't have riding lessons today and the only couple of horses she ever rode were being used for other students so she had nothing to do. She was simply laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and wishing she had a cell phone. She let out a soft sigh before swing down from the bunk and walking over to her dresser. She'd been lounging around in a tank top and shorts but she didn't want to wear her shorts outside so she changed into a pair of jeans for heading out.

She'd been at the ranch for a couple of months now and she had a spot out in the woods that she considered hers. She headed out to it, wanting the fresh air and freedom once she past the tree-line she broke into a sprint, liking the feel of the wind in her hair, she dodged the trees, using some of the roots as springboards to launch herself in the air.

She finally reached an old and rather large oak tree and grabbed the lowest branch, using a nearby sapling to help her get up, once she was in the tree she laid down on the branch, happy it was thick enough she could lay flat on it and be comfortable. She grabbed the ipod she'd smuggled in and put oh of the buds in her ears, turning on disturbed and closing her eyes, just listening to the music.

it was about ten minutes later that she heard someone let out a loud cry. it sounded like they were either majorly pissed or in pain. she swung down from her perch and walked through the trees, soon finding the creek with a guy standing by it. she stopped next to a tree and leaned against it. "Having problems?" she asked the boy. She gazed at him while wrapping the earbuds around the ipod before shoving it back in her pocket.

[chase lynn jean]

Chase whipped around, glaring at the small girl in front of him. Was she insane? Didn’t she know what would happen if he took a swing at her? She’d probably not live, but that was the past and there was no reason to repeat it again. He clutched his fists and tensed up the muscles in his arms. “What does it matter to you?” he snapped, leaning against the tree he had been assaulting only ten minutes ago. This girl was small, but obviously at home in the country side, Ipod ear buds stuck around her neck, he was piqued with curiosity. “You know they don’t allow any kind of electronics. How’d you get yours back?”

His brown eyes slid away from her and into the trees. His anger was still there, but it was going under and that was usually a good sign. He let his arms relax at his sides and took a deep full breath. He closed his eyes and couldn’t think of anything to say to the girl. She was interesting and would make an interesting toy if he ever got to her.

Sleep stung the back of his eyes each time he blinked at her. She was small and cute. She had long hair nicely framing her pale, clean face. He didn’t think she wore any make-up, but he never did know how to tell. “My name is Chase. What’s yours?” he asked. His anger simmered down and was just a big pot of red juice hiding inside of him. “So, what are you here for?” Chase knew that was blunt, but he could care less, he just wanted to talk, to distract himself from everything else. He still wondered how she got her Ipod when his was taken away right at the spot. He sighed, leaning his head back into the tree.

[alexandria nicole di rossi]

She knew this guys type, big boy, lots of anger, thinks their the shit. Most of her friends back home were like that. It was actually pretty easy to manipulate them since they let their emotions rule them the majority of the time and Alex always tried to stay calm and collected. When he asked what it mattered to her she shrugged "Doesn't really, I'm just interested when someone is in the middle of the woods having an anger fit." she said nonchalantly. She glanced at her Ipod when he mentioned it and grinned, "I've been here for a couple months, I've learned the ropes and know how to get things that I want. I actually smuggled this back in." she told him. She was good at what she did that that was whatever she wanted.

Getting her Ipod back had actually been pretty easy, her sister came to visit her a couple weeks again and while she was hugging her her sister slipped it into her pocket. Easy. Having her music what a big thing that helped her, if she was mad she simply walked off, put her earbuds in and listened. It calmed her down.

She watched him watch her and let her eyes sweep over him. He was tall and well-built, with shaggy brown hair and a cute face. She wondered for a second if his arms were really as strong as they looked and was tempted to go see but she pushed that thought away, she knew it'd been a while since she'd flirted and felt on a guy but she'd only just met this one, she should tone control it for a little while at least. "My name's Alexandria but you can call me Alex." she told him. She let one corner of her mouth twist up into a smile when he flat-out asked her why she was there, he was blunt and she liked that. "A little of everything, partying, failing grades, fighting. The final straw was when I got expelled for pulling a knife on some chick, probably wouldn't have been as bad if I wouldn't have actually stabbed her." she said, she really wasn't proud of that but might as well get it all out in the open now. "What about you? Why'd you get put here?" she asked her, gazing curiously at him as she drifted a little closer until she was at the creek's edge a few feet from him.

[chase lynn jean]

Chase gave her a calculating smile. And laughed. “Well, that’s quite the punishment huh?” She still hadn’t told him how she got her Ipod in, but he supposed that didn’t matter, he could probably get his back with good behavior. But then again, most people out in the country were backwards hicks and could care less about good music.

He hesitated. Chase didn’t want to scare her off and he certainly didn’t want her knowing. Which was unusual for him because he would brag about how women are weak creatures and she had it coming. He could still remember her screams of pain and her hair coming out in his hand. His hand flexed at the memory and he shook his head and pushed it back. Was he turning soft? He certainly hoped not, because that would suck. He shook his head harder and looked at her. She was by the creek and he hadn’t even noticed that she moved. “It’s because of…anger issues,” he said vaguely. He rubbed his jaw feeling a five o’clock shadow and thinking that he would have to shave soon.

Chase ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply. He continued to stare at the girl by the creek, his mind reeling, taking him far away. Wanting to distract himself, he stood by her, their arms only a few inches apart. “So, you got a boyfriend? Is that what the girl did?” he asked, stretching his arms far above his head. His curiosity was taken by this girl and he very well knew this could kill him if he wasn’t careful. He shrugged his shoulders and bent to remove his socks and shoes and taking off his shirt. He was wearing cargo shorts and sat in the middle of the creek. He winced. “Jesus, this is cold.”

[alexandria nicole di rossi]

She grinned at him, the smile being a little more predatory than normal. “Wasn’t fair at all, I let her live, that should get me something.” She said before laughing. She pulled her Ipod Touch back out of her pocket and started going through her apps, looking for a game to play that could keep her mind from straying either to the hot, muscled boy standing by her or to the day when she finally did something they couldn’t ignore.

She watched him hesitate to tell her about the reason it was hear and knew whatever he told her would only be part of the story. “Anger issue, huh? Well I could’ve guessed that from your attacking trees.” Her voice had a playful, teasing note to it, a small smile on her face. She would pressure him to tell her the truth; she knew some things people just didn’t want to talk about. It was just like how she wouldn’t tell him about the real reason behind her being sent here.

She glanced over at him as he moved closer then back to the Ipod in her hand. When he asked if she had a boyfriend she glanced back over at him. “Nope, no boyfriend. None of the boys back in Texas are as good looking as you.” She said giving him a flirty smile. “She threatened one of my friends, you don’t do that unless you want to deal with me.” She told him giving a small shrug. Him taking off his shirt caught her attention more than it should have and her eyes were glued to his muscled chest has he went and sat in the middle of the creek. She let out a laugh when he said it was cold. “No, I thought it’d be warm.” She said sarcastically. “You’re not getting me in there, I’m going to stay nice and dry on the bank.”

[chase lynn jean]

Chase grinned at her, his eyes giving off an evil twinkle. “You’re so right; it’s too cold to go in alone.” He stood, brushing off the water on his chest, knowing her eyes had been drawn to it ever since he had taken off his shirt. He got up close to her, pressing his body meaningly against hers. Gently, he took her Ipod from her and set it down on his dry shirt, closing the shirt over the MP3 and grabbed her hands. Chase bent down and whispered in her ear, “Why don’t you join me then?” He pulled on her hands, tripped her and brought her body into his arms as he gently laid her down in the creek like he was laying her down in a coffin or on an altar.

“Now, tell me Alex, are you cold yet?” he asked stepping away, his grin getting wider and wider. This girl was trouble and he was going to mess with trouble. She had been fairly amusing before, but now…he was completely taken by her. His mind was reeling with dirty thoughts, things that are meant to stay in the dark. Chase had always been a pervert, no matter the time or day, he always had his mind in the gutter, but this was bad. He had his mind in the gutter so much, that he could feel himself trying to grow against the cold wet pants. He shook his head in dismay. Slowly, it shrank back down and he gave her another grin.

Chase knelt above her, knees on either side, thus trapping her in the cold stream. “Cat got your tongue Alex?” he asked. Chase resisted the urge to bend down and kiss her, his hair dripped water on her chest and he resisted the urge to lick it away.

[alexandria nicole di rossi]

Her eyes widened at he got up out of the water, knowing what was going to happen when he started heading her way. She backed up a couple steps until she felt the rough back of a tree biting into her back. She glanced around looking for a way to escape. Before she could find one she felt his body pressed to hers. The strange combination of the cold water along with him body heat felt strange to her. She was frozen to the spot for some reason, unable to move as he took her Ipod and grabbed her hands. His lips next to her ear sent a small shiver down her spine that was more from heat than the cold water that was soaking into her clothes from him.

She let out a loud squeal, the girliest noise you’ll even hear Alex make, as Chase picked her up and put her in the water. The cold was a shock, the water already on her from before had been warmed by Chase’s body and was nothing compared to the water now rushing over her. The freezing what kept her frozen there as her hair fanned out around her. She glared at Chase when he asked if she was cold yet. He was honestly lucky she had nothing sharp or she’d be tempted to give him another hole to breathe out of.

As he knelt over her the breath in her lungs caught as she stared up into his green eyes. She had the strangest urge to try and kiss him. That thought snapped her out of the cold shock she was in and made her focus on getting out of this situation. “No, just considering ways to make you pay for this later.” She said her words slightly suggestive as was the look in her eyes. Oh he would pay alright. She wrapped one leg around one of his and placed her hands flat on his chest, giving a hard shove. This caused his body to roll to the side and her leg kept her locked with him so it ended with her straddling his hips.

She bent down until her lips were merely centimeters away from his before whispering, “Sorry hun, I like top better.” With that she got up fast and sprinted out of his reach, laughing as she stopped to ring her hair out.

[chase lynn jean]

Chase lay in the stream, a grin on his face. He sat up, the water trickling off his chest. He was shivering, but that didn’t matter, he needed to catch up with that girl who ran from. If there was one thing he was truly good at, it was catching people. He got up quietly, trying to use his environment to catch her, but she was quick on her feet as she was probably in bed. He blushed.

That stopped him cold. How could that stop him? He was blushing! Chase could feel his face getting hotter by the moment from the thoughts that his mind was sending him. It was ridiculous. He was Chase Jean, he didn’t blush at such thoughts.

He continued on the move, looking for her. He could see her ringing out her hair, with her back turned towards him. He made a fast move, and pinned her against the tree. “Too bad, so do I,” he growled in her ear. He licked the outer shell of it, turning into kisses which continued down her neck. He battled against the cold and kept his groin away from her. Chase didn’t need her knowing at that point and time.

“Now, now, payback does sound like fun and I’m up for whatever you are,” he whispered in her ear, his hands rubbing up her arms and continuing into her hair. He curled his fingers in her brown locks and brought her head closer to his, his eyes taking in every inch of her body and the way she happen to be posed when he had pushed her against the tree. Something underneath his skin boiled to touch her. He wanted to touch her no man should be able too. He wanted her to his and only his. His and only his. He let his teeth graze her neck, his breathing becoming fevered. He pulled back, his hands dropping to his sides. His fist went into a tree beside him, his fury rolling off of him in waves

[alexandria nicole di rossi]

Alexandria was a rather large tease. She got entertainment from being able to drive guys insane with wanting her. She was much like a wild horse, wild and free with that hint of danger that made people want to tame her. But unlike the horses she was untamable. She didn’t settle down well, that’s why her relationships didn’t last long. She wouldn’t cheat but the guy had to prove he was worth being tied to and that’s something most guys failed to do.

Thick hair was a pain in the ass, ringing it out took forever and it still wouldn’t be dry for at least an hour. She was so focused on her hair she never noticed Chase sneaking up behind her until she found herself pinned against the rough bark of a tree. Her first instinct was to fight but when she heard his husky voice in her ear she froze into place, her body refusing to move. His tongue against her ear sent shivers down her spine that intensified as he kissed down her neck, damn boy needed to stop before he started something they couldn’t finish.

Her skin tingled as he ran his hands over her arms and up into her hair, she loved the feel of a man’s hands in her hair, it was just a huge turn-on. Her hands had been placed on the tree when she’d found herself against it and now she curled her fingers, digging her nails into the bark. When she felt his teeth against her neck a small moan slipped out before she could stop it. She could feel his breathing quicken along with his heart rate against her back and suddenly his weight was gone. She spun around to find him hitting the nearest tree. For some reason she found his anger extremely hot and she grabbed the front of his shirt, jerking him around before crashing her lips against his.

[chase lynn jean]

Chase went from hitting the tree to his lips being crashed into by Alex. He found himself kissing her back gently, not wanting to break whatever they had created between them. There was a spark he could feel in his soul, something he thought that had been lost when he had hit his girlfriend and beat her almost to death. His hand tightened into her hair and he forced himself to relax. He couldn’t, in his heart he knew, he couldn’t. The anger was there underneath, swelling with rage, the monster wanting to escape from the cage and beat her to a bloody pulp, to feel her skin under his finger tips, to feel-

He pulled away from her, throwing his body at the tree he had been hitting. “Don’t…don’t get yourself mixed up with me. I don’t want you hurt, I really don’t Alex.” Chase shook the remaining water from his hair. He brushed it from his eyes and looked away, his brown eyes taking in the green leaves. It was summer, and it was nice out. A slight breeze played with Alex’s hair and he watched the strands float into the air effortlessly.

“You don’t know what happened. I didn’t want to tell you so soon, but it seems like I might have too. The reason I’m here, the reason why my temper is so great is because I beat up my girlfriend for cheating on me. I didn’t know what I was doing, I was blinded by my own fury, a blood red fury that settled over me,” he said quietly, avoiding her eyes. “You don’t know what could happen to you. I fear that I will hurt you. Run, before you get yourself into this too deeply.” He slid against the rough bark and sat with his head hanging through the gap in his legs, his hair falling in front of his face.

[alexandria nicole di rossi]

Alex was surprised to find she was feeling more from the kiss than just the normal pleasure of kissing someone, it was like a spark that made her want to keep kissing him. She was surprised that he was being gentle as he returned her kiss, even more surprised to find she actually liked the gentleness. This wasn’t like her. Normally she was all rough and raw emotion, wanting things to be fast and rough. She felt his hand tighten in her hair and thought that this was about to turn rough but then she felt it relax. She wasn’t expecting that either.

Suddenly he pulled away she was slightly sad from the loss of contact. His words made her frown a little, didn’t want to hurt her? She really wasn’t worried about that. She’d gotten into fights with plenty of guys before, most of them tended to take a swing when you knocked them in the jaw. She knew Chase could do some damage to her if he was mad but she could hold her own and protect herself. It wasn’t like she was going to purposely piss him off anyways… Okay that was probably a lie, she had a thing for pissing people off, she was just careful their anger was never directed at her.

She let out a sigh and ran her hands through her hair, the summer sun had dried it pretty fast and the breeze now blew the silky strands into her face. She felt around her wrists for a hair tie to pull it up but realized she didn’t have one and simply pushed it back again. She listened to his story. Not really worried over what had happened. She’d seen people do a lot worse; at least what he did was justifiable. She watched as he slid down and hung his head and something in her softened. She walked over and sat cross-legged right in front of him. She put one hand under his chin cautiously, tipping his head up so she could meet his eyes. ”Hey, you had good reason to do that. Cheaters deserve a lot worse. I’m not scared to be around you Chase. It’d take a lot more than that to scare me off.”

[chase lynn jean]

Chase looked at her, she was beautiful. Quite actually and he wanted something more than friendship. “Alex…I want something more than friendship. What? I’m not exactly sure yet, but I just wanted you to know.” It was a strange, new feeling for him and he found that he rather liked it, but he knew that he would never give up his old ways, his anger and the violence, just he wouldn’t hurt her. That made him smile, but just a little bit. “I hope I will never hurt you, it would kill me if I did.”

He leaned his head against the bark and turned it to the side. He grabbed her hand and pulled her against his body. He enjoyed feeling her heartbeat underneath her chest. His was pounding like a hammer, hard and fast. Chase was pretty sure it was loud too. “Did I ever tell you that I love to sing?” Of course he hadn’t, they had just met and he fell for her…fast.

His baritone voice carried above the slight wind, above his heartbeat and her breathing.

Hear me
Hear me

You gotta be out there
You gotta be somewhere
Wherever you are
I'm waiting
'Cause there are these nights when
I sing myself to sleep
And I'm hopin' my dreams
Bring you close to me
Are you listening?

He hadn’t known where that song came from, he hated Kelly Clarkson, but that had come, it had just come out. He was fumbling for a reply, to say something, but he was lost in her eyes, no matter how corny that sounded. He ran a hand through his messy hair, dried by the warm sun. “I…I-” He cut off his words and looked away. Surely she wouldn’t want to date him now, but who said anything about dating? He certainly hadn’t.

[alexandria nicole di rossi]

Him saying he wanted more than friendship made her pause, relationships scared her. It meant making yourself emotionally vulnerable to someone, giving them the chance to completely destroy you. She thought it over for a second and realized she actually rather liked the idea of her and Chase as more than friends. He’d never actually said anything about a relationship, he’d plainly said he didn’t know what he wanted, but it was close enough.

”Whoa, whoa. Suicide? Not cool. Let me be the one to kill you.” she said, her tone teasing as she smiled at him. She was caught off guard when he suddenly pulled her to him but settled against him quickly. She laid her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat loud and fast. She glanced up to him when he said he loved to sing and smiled, about to reply when he began to since. She didn’t recognize the song, rock was her thing not Kelly Clarkson, but his voice was nice. She felt his chest rumble under her as his voice carried out.

She could easily fall asleep like this if she closed her eyes and relaxed. It had been a while since she’d been in a guy’s arms and she found she’d missed it, the warmth and security it brought. She could take care of herself just fine but the feeling of being protected was still nice. As he stopped singing she tilted her head back up to look at him ”And here I though guys couldn’t sing. You’re actually rather good.” she told him ”I don’t sing outside of the shower but I have other special talents. Most involve knives or other types of violence but I’m also pretty good with horses. I used to be a nationally ranked barrel racer.” she told him. She was still keeping her dad a secret but that was because she couldn’t stand to talk or think about him. There was a good chance she’d break down if she did.

[chase lynn jean]

Chase had to laugh. This girl was definitely different than the ones he had gotten mixed up in and maybe that was the best, a nice change. But he hated change, in fact, he hated a lot of things and change was one of the biggest things on his list. Was there any chance he might be able to date her? They had kissed and done…other things that made him shiver underneath his skin. “That’s amazing, maybe you can teach me to ride, I have a year’s underneath my belt. But then again…I’ve never really been a cowboy either.” He made a face and settled against the bark with her in between his legs. He wasn’t sure how someone would react if they had found them like this, it wasn’t bad, but he supposed it could be considered inappropriate depending on which teacher you get.

“So, you’re gonna kill me huh?” he asked, commenting on one of her earlier remarks. “You know, it takes a lot to kill me. Especially if I’m your boyfriend.” Where the hell did that come from?! He felt himself stiffen. What did he want from her? He shook his head, his thoughts muddled and he tried to empty his mind to think clearly.

It wasn’t working. They just became more crazed and his arms tightened around her, fear pulsing through his veins. He knew that if he dated her and she cheated or hurt him, he would hurt her and there wouldn’t be anyone to stop him this time because his “blood fury” would be smarter and take her off somewhere where she could scream and no one could hear her. Chase was lucky he wasn’t put in a hospital for what he did to that girl, it was insane, and he just couldn’t handle hurting this one girl. She was special to him and that confused him and scared him at the same time.