“What the fuck!” I shout, grappling for her face, turning it toward me.

“I think she just passed out,” Clay says, a hint of concern lacing his words.

“Starling, Starling,” I call, tapping at her cheek carefully as I pull her lax body away from my friend and into me instead. If it wasn’t dangerous, I’d unclip her seat belt and drag her into my lap, but I won’t risk her safety no matter how much I want to feel her luscious body against mine.

“Call Dr. Harris, have him meet us at home,” I shout, knowing one of my friends will do as I ask as I rest my fingers against her wrist, feeling her pulse beat steadily.

Exhaling shakily, I curl my arm around her, wrapping my blazer a little tighter around her shoulders, enjoying seeing her in my clothes despite the circumstances.

“Is she okay?” Evan asks, glancing quickly over his shoulder at us before he turns his attention back on to the road.

“You need to tone down the crazy, bro. You’re freaking me out and I know you,” Hunter warns.

“I don’t need you to tell me how to deal with my girlfriend.”

“We care about her too, Bastian,” he snaps. “We’re the ones who’ve been keeping an eye on her for the last year while you stopped yourself from going near her.”

“She’s mine,” I growl animalistically.

“Chill, no one’s trying to take her from you,” Clay says, ever the peacekeeper of our group. “She’s yours, we all get that, but you’re scaring her. She freaked out so much she passed the fuck out from fear. You need to dial it back and find some of that charm you’re famous for.”

Inhaling sharply, I nod, my fingers still at her pulse, the steady beat of her heart the only reason I’m not completely losing my shit right now.

“Doc’s on his way. Not going to be easy to explain why you have an unconscious sixteen-year-old girl at your place though,” Hunter warns.

“My parents know about her.”

“They do?” Evan asks, shocked.

“Of course they do. If she was eighteen I’d be moving her in tonight. Unfortunately she’s not, but I thought it best to warn them that they’d be meeting their future daughter-in-law. They looked into her too, they probably know as much about her as I do,” I say with a shrug.

“Fuck me, no doubt they’ve told my mom and dad. They’ll be expecting me to lose my shit and bring home a girl too now,” Hunter sighs dramatically.

“My dad will be giving me the lecture about how women are only useful on their backs again,” Evan laughs.

Ignoring them, I focus all of my attention on the girl in my arms. I never intended to scare her, I’d never hurt her and I told her that. I assumed she’d be excited to be mine, any other girl at school would be. Her body trembles, even in her unconscious state and I scowl, wondering what I need to do to make her understand. When the gates to my house come into view I allow myself to relax a little. Perhaps this has all just been a little too much for her tonight. A lot has happened in a short amount of time and she’s so sweet and innocent.