“ DAMN! ” Isabel swore when a bag full of cricket bats she’d just shelved fell down again with a clatter that resounded in the room. Isabel viciously kicked the bag.

“ Looks like someone’s in a bad mood, ” a voice came. Isabel spun around to see three guys she recognized from a couple of her classes. They were the type of guys who yelled crass remarks about girls and sex, the only two topics they knew anything about. They were creeps, Isabel thought.

“ What do you want ? ” she asked irritably. She was in a bad enough mood already, she didn’t need these creeps on her back.

“ We heard you got in trouble with O’Neil, ” one of them drawled. “ We thought we’d come keep you company. ”

“ I don’t need your company, ” Isabel snapped.

“ Ooh, that’s not nice, ” the guy drawled. “ Here we are, trying to be nice and she bites out heads off! ”

“ I bet she’s not such an Ice Princess with Alex Whitman, ” one of his cronies said.

The mention of Alex’s name made Isabel’s heart flip. As much as she tried to deny it, she was crazy about the guy. So she avoided him as much as she could and iced him out the rest of the time, making sure he always knew there was no hope for them. “ You have no right to be here, ” Isabel said in a voice she hoped didn’t portray her fear.

“ Oh, yes we do, sweetheart, ” the third guy said. And then, before Isabel could register what was happening, the had surrounded her, one guy pinning her hands behind her back as she struggled, so should couldn’t use her powers, even if she’d been able to without revealing it.

“ Let me go! ” she screamed as she kicked helplessly.

The three laughed in unison. “ Oh, no, sweetheart, ” the biggest guy said. “ See, you’ve been teasing us since the first day of school and never putting out, and we’ve decided to do something about it. Hold her down, Bill. ”

The guy holding her hands nodded. “ Sure thing Danny, but I want her second. ”

“ Does this mean I’ll have to wait until you’s’ve finished with her ? ” the third whined.

“ There’ll be plenty of Isabel Evans to go around, Jack, ” Danny said. And they all laughed.

“ LET ME GO YOU BASTARDS!! ” Isabel yelled to no avail. She was being pushed down onto her back, and Danny straddled himself over her, kneeling. He opened up her blouse, and whistled appreciatively when he saw her assets, encased in a black lace bra. Crudely he grabbed each of her breasts in his hands and began squeezing them painfully. Isabel fought him wildly but was easily subdued.

After he grew bored of playing with her breasts, Danny reached down to her skirt and hitched it up around her hips, revealing her toned, golden thighs and black lace panties. “ No-one wears black lace panties if she doesn’t want a guy to see them, ” Danny panted in arousal. She could feel his erection pressing through his jeans. His hand went to her panties, planning to rip them off.

“ You get the hell off her right now or you’ll wish you had never been born, ” a voice came. All four – Isabel, Danny, Bill and Jack – looked up to see Alex Whitman standing there, a look of fury on his face.

“ Whitman, just the guy we were talking about before, ” Danny drawled jovially. “ Maybe you could enlighten us as to what it’s like to be riding Isabel Evans. ”

“ Shut the fuck up or I’ll smash your face in, ” was Alex’s reply. He would do it too. He was a lot stronger then he looked and fury that someone would hurt his beloved Isabel added to his strength. “ Get off her and get the fuck out of here – if I see you near her again I’ll kill you. ”

Bill, Danny and Jack thought it was in the interest of their health to leave. Not even getting Isabel Evans to put out would be worth unleashing Whitman’s fury. The second they were gone, Alex rushed over to Isabel and propped her up in his arms. “ Did they hurt you ? ” he asked.

Now that they were gone, Isabel let herself indulge in a few tears. A few tears turned into a raging current of them. Alex turned her around so her face was against his chest. He felt her tears seeping through his shirt. He gently put his hand on the back of her head and stroked her blond hair. “ Just cry, honey, ” he said soothingly. “ Cry if it makes you feel better. ”

After a while Isabel got hold of enough composure to realize what would happen if someone were to walk in on them, how it would look, her in her bra with her skirt still hitched up to her waist, crying into Alex’s chest. She pushed herself away slightly and reached for her blouse. “ Thankyou, ” she said stiffly, “ for rescuing me. ”

Thankyou? Is that all I have to say ? Isabel asked herself. The guy had rescued her from being raped and that was all she had to say. If he didn’t look at her with those caring, adorable brown eyes that made her want to return to his arms for more then a cry maybe she could afford to be more generous with her gratitude. “ I’ll be fine now. ”

Alex stood up with her, and wrapped his arms around her from behind, hugging her protectively. “ I’ll drive you home, ” he said. It was a statement, not an offer. No way was he going to let her go home by herself when those bastards could be hanging around, just waiting for Isabel. Isabel saw that Alex would not be talk out of seeing her home, and deep down in her heart she didn’t want to be alone right now. And she knew sweet, sensitive Alex would never hurt her.

Isabel had overestimated her own strength. When Alex let her go, she felt her knees go weak and buckle. Alex’s arm snaked around her waist again, holding her up. When he knew she was steady, he led her out of the storeroom. She was leaning heavily against him and would have collapsed had it not been for his support. He half-lifted her into his car.

It wasn’t until they were halfway home that Isabel even looked at Alex. He was looking straight ahead, concentrating on the road more then someone usually would. His jaw was clenched tightly shut and Isabel could plainly see he was angry. “ Alex, please be careful, ” she begged. She reached out to touch his arm, and the withdrew her hand. She had felt an almost physical jolt of electricity pass between them in a simple touch. She wanted to do more then just touch him like she had. She turned her head and looked out the window so she wouldn’t have to look at Alex, his gorgeous face, his sweet, caring aura.

Soon enough Alex drove into the driveway of the Evan’s house. “ Thankyou for driving me home, ” she said stiffly. She started to unlatch the door.

Alex reached over her body and took her hand away from the door handle. “ Max isn’t home, his car isn’t in the driveway. I won’t leave you alone. I’ll stay with you until Max gets home. ” Privately Isabel was glad Alex was going to stay with her. She didn’t want to be left alone right now – even if her feelings for Alex were raging. She allowed Alex to lead her up the driveway and into the house. She leaned into him and allowed him to wrap his arms around her tighter.

Isabel led him up to her room, and he let go of her so she could lie down on her bed. He pulled out her desk chair and straddled it backwards and watched her intently. “ What ? ” Isabel asked.

“ You’re beautiful, ” Alex said. “ Not just physically beautiful, but you have this other kind of beauty – you’re so kind and caring and that radiates in the outer you. ”

He blushed when he said this. He sounded so corny! “ That’s not true, ” she said. “ I’m not kind and caring. I’m such a bitch, a cold, heartless bitch – look at how I treat you. ”

“ You treat me fine, Iz, ” Alex said.

“ No I don’t. I let you follow me around like a little puppy dog and do things for me and protect me and save me from being raped and I give you the whole Ice Princess treatment rather then admit how I feel about you ... ”

“ How you feel about me ? ” Alex echoed.

Isabel stopped and looked at Alex, looked right into his caring brown eyes which were full of concern. Dear God she wanted him so much. She wanted to feel his arms around her, holding her tightly, not as a friend, as a boyfriend – or a lover. “ I want to be with you, ” she whispered hoarsely.

“ You want to be with me ? ” Alex wasn’t sure he’d heard right. Isabel Evans, who had never given him any hope that there could be a ‘them’ in the future, wanted to be with him ? He must be hearing things.

“ Every night I got to sleep thinking about what it would be like for you to kiss me, then every time I see you I’m a bitch to you, just so you know there’s no hope for us. I never wanted this to happen – why can’t you be one of those mauling bastards that attacked me so I wouldn’t feel this way about you ? God, I hate myself that I treat you the way I do ... I’m the biggest bitch ... I don’t deserve someone like you to give me everything he has and expect nothing in return ... ”

By this point Isabel was completely in tears. Alex got up from the chair and crossed the distance between it and the bed. He gently took Isabel in his arms, placing her head against his chest, wrapping his arms around her. His hold was protective, as it always was, but also a little possessive. “ It’s OK, ” he tried to comfort her. “ I mean, I always knew you weren’t prepared to give me anything in return – it was always my choice to follow you around and give you anything. If it meant I got to spend time with you I figured it was worth it. ”

While he had been speaking Alex had begun to run his fingers through her hair. He marveled at it, its golden hues, its silky feel. He began to twirl it around his fingers in a sensual way. “ It’s not OK, ” Isabel sobbed into Alex’s chest, her voice muffled. “ I don’t deserve you. I string you along ’coz I’m scared of being hurt when - ”

Alex placed his hand under Isabel’s chin and tilted her head up so she was looking up at him. Her brown eyes were full of tears. She didn’t get to finish her sentence before Alex covered her mouth with his.

He had meant for it to be a sweet kiss, putting his mouth over hers and then moving away. He didn’t want to push her. But once he felt Isabel’s sweet mouth against his own he couldn’t help himself. His tongue began probing her mouth, over her teeth, searching for tongue. He pushed his mouth against hers hard, pushing her head towards his with his hand. He didn’t realize how much he wanted her until this point. “ Isabel, ” he moaned into her mouth.

Isabel felt her whole body fall to jelly when Alex kissed her. She had been kissed before but it had never felt like this. She felt high on the taste of Alex and aroused by his exploring, sensual kiss. Her hands came around, one to his back, the other to his head. She ran her fingers through his hair, twirling his hair around her fingers, tugging gently at the ends. Alex shivered at the sensation and wrapped his arm tighter around her back. “ Alex, ” she murmured. “ Oh, God, Alex, don’t stop. ”

Alex needed no other urging. Without breaking the kiss, he rose slightly above Isabel and positioned himself so his knees were on either sides of her legs. He began to lower them down onto her bed so she was lying beneath him. He positioned the bulk of his body weight onto his knees, but she loved the protectiveness of Alex’s weight on top of hers. Her breasts were crushed beneath his chest, which was a lot more developed then Isabel had thought. She moaned out loud when Alex moved his mouth from hers and gently began sucking her neck. “ Al-ex, ” she cried, totally aroused. “ Oh God I want you so much. ”

Sitting up slightly, she began frantically tugged at his shirt, struggling to undo the buttons. She could think of nothing she wanted to do other then run her fingers along his chest. Alex attempted to help Isabel get his shirt off. He groaned out loud when Isabel ran her long, graceful fingers down his chest. “ Isabel you don’t know what you do to me. ”

Isabel began to kiss Alex’s bared chest, running her tongue across his sensitive skin. She looked up at Alex, who was looking down at her in fascination, watching as her tongue swirled about on his chest, the sensual action arousing him more then it should.

He tried to push her away, knowing they should stop, but Isabel clutched at him, not wanting the incredible feelings Alex was giving her. No guy had ever made her feel like this ; she had never trusted a guy enough to allow him to touch her this way. Without stopping what she was doing, Isabel brought her arms to her sides and lifted up her top to under her armpits to reveal her breasts, encased in a black lace bra. Alex gasped. “ Isabel, you don’t have to do this, ” was all he could say.

“ I want to, ” was Isabel’s reply. Rather then attempt to unhook her bra clasp, Isabel pushed her bra up over her breasts. Alex’s intake of breath was audible, when he feasted his eyes on her perfect breasts. They were firm and well-rounded, adorned with pink nipples. Isabel took Alex’s hand and raised it to her breast. He swiped his thumb across her nipple gently, and she groaned. He swiped his thumb across her nipple again, harder this time. Isabel groaned louder. She grabbed the back of his head and pushed it downward so his mouth was at her breast. Without being told, Alex began to lick her breast, making Isabel moan louder, before sucking on it, taking it in his mouth, making Isabel writhe at his touch and beg for more. “ Oh God, Alex, I’m so wet! ” she screamed.

When she said this, Alex raised his head. He could feel his own erection throbbing madly, but knew it would be wrong if they took things further – not that they hadn’t taken things too far anyway. “ Izzy, we’ve got to stop, ” he forced himself to say. He pulled away from her.

Isabel looked at him in confusion. “ What do you mean, we’ve got to stop ? ” she asked.

“ I won’t do this to you, I won’t take advantage of you when you’re like this, when you see me as a hero figure and maybe you feel you owe me something, ” Alex said.

“ I want it because I want you, ” Isabel said. “ Not to pay you back for something. ”

“ I know that’s what you think at the moment, ” Alex said. “ And it’s probably mostly true. But what if we go too far, ’coz you think you’re ready after you’ve had this traumatic experience and you’re not thinking straight. I care about you deeply Is, and I don’t want you to regret anything we may do. ”

Isabel’s heart melted. That was the sweetest thing she’d ever heard. And she knew there was a truth to what Alex said – she didn’t want to regret anything they might do. It was so typical of Alex to refuse to rush things when he was faced with the opportunity to have sex with a pretty girl.

Alex helped Isabel into her blouse, and then slipped his own shirt back on. He gently pulled Isabel down onto her bed so they were lying side by side. He lifted her slightly so her head was resting on his chest. She snuggled up to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly as he wrapped his arms around her and she reveled in the security of his protective, loving embrace.

An hour later Max came home. “ ISABEL!! ” he yelled from downstairs. He rushed upstairs to her room to find her wrapped up in the arms of Alex Whitman. “ Isabel I heard Danny Miller bragging about what he’d done with you in the sports storage room and I came home immediately – what happened ? ” His voice betrayed his concern ; Danny was not the most sensitive of guys, who reacted to the slightest rejection violently, and Max couldn’t imagine Isabel doing anything with that scum.

Isabel sat up. “ It was nothing, ” she said.

The way she lowered her eyes told Max it was a lie. “ Alex, what happened ? ” Max asked, knowing the guy who doted on his sister was not about to pass whatever Danny had done to her as ‘nothing’.

“ They tried to rape her, ” Alex said quietly. He could feel Isabel flinch at the word. “ Danny, Jack Thomson and Bill Edwards. They hit her a bit but they didn’t actually ... do it. I brought her home and I ... stayed with her until you got home, I didn’t want to leave her alone. ” Suddenly in Max’s presence Alex felt less assured then he had five minutes ago with Isabel in his arms, talking sporadically between long, comfortable silences about their relationship. Their relationship, Alex had thought happily, like there was going to be a ‘them’ from now on. But now that Max was here Alex felt as if he were handing her over to the real most important male figure in her life, and he didn’t matter anymore.

Max smiled to himself. He knew how devoted Alex was to Isabel, and he knew from the way Isabel wouldn’t meet his eyes they had done more then just enjoy each other’s company. But Alex was good for Isabel. She went out with too many brainless jocks and Alex would love her for who she was.

“ Thankyou, ” Max said, “ for taking care of my sister. I can’t tell you how much it means to me except to say – thankyou. ”

“ What about those guys ? ” Alex wanted to know.