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Physically, getting bare with Kelsie was becoming harder and harder to resist. He just had to find the right way to navigate the minefield of Kelsie’s trauma and his own emotional baggage.
And the twenty-some-odd-year age difference.
Sounded like a recipe for disaster.
Maybe Jinx was right, and he did need to speak to Kelsie about all this.
“I need to fucking think a bit. I’m gonna head home.”
Jinx tilted his head as he studied Ty. “You sure? You’ve been thinking for days.”
Shrugging, he stood. “Yeah, well, maybe I was thinking about the wrong shit.”
“Ain’t that the way it goes, brother? All right, man. See you tomorrow?” Jinx extended a hand across the bartop.
“Yeah, I’ll be around.” He grasped Jinx’s hand and shook it, then headed for the door without another glance in Kelsie’s direction. Okay, a very quick glance to make sure she was all right. And fine, an extra second to stare at her ass as she stood giggling with the ladies.
Laughter and music trailed him to the exit. He reached the door, pushed it open, and took one step outside before the urge to glance back at Kelsie became impossible to resist. He found her staring at him with confusion in her beautiful eyes. There he was once again, fleeing without a word to her. At this point, he wouldn’t be surprised if she flipped him off and turned away.
But she didn’t. She held his stare and didn’t try to mask the heat in her eyes, even as she seemed puzzled by his leaving.
Tomorrow, he’d be clear enough to talk to her and take the next step.
Whatever that was.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE SECOND TY showed up, the air in the clubhouse changed. The hairs on the back of Kelsie’s neck rose to attention, and her scalp prickled with awareness. Drawing air in her lungs became a challenge, and her skin felt hypersensitive as though every breath he took wafted across her exposed nerve endings, making her shiver from across the room.
A better woman might have reacted differently, but the anger in his gaze when he noticed her on Pulse’s shoulders sent a dark thrill of delight through her.
And here she’d thought the night's biggest win was tolerating another male friend.
Playing the game with Pulse was completely innocent and a giant step forward. The fact that she let a man touch her in a platonic way felt like she’d made a huge leap in her healing. She hadn’t felt so much as a flicker of fear as they’d played the absurd game Harper dreamed up. Pulse was there the night she’d been rescued. He’d helped check her over and make sure she had a private room at the hospital. Next to Ty, she trusted him most but still hadn’t been willing to be too close to him.
Until tonight.
She was tired after Lorenzo’s visit. Too tired to maintain her usual level of vigilance and anxiety. So, when Harper brought up the game, she’d pounced on the chance to play without allowing herself to think too much. Pulse acted as the perfect gentleman, and they’d had a blast.
But then Ty was there, scowling, and all she could think of was getting away from Pulse before the poor guy ended up with a fist in his face.
No one else seemed to notice the tension radiating off Ty in thick waves, but then she was attuned to him on a different level.
But now he was leaving without speaking to her—again. After being away for four days, he’d popped in for five minutes and checked out again.
“Ty’s not sticking around?” Harper asked with a frown as Jinx wandered back over from the bar.
“Nah, he’s heading home.” Jinx opened his arms to Harper, who walked straight into them. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head that made Kelsie’s heart skip a beat.
“What is up with him?” Jo said as she snagged a chip from a bowl on the table.
“He’s good. Think he’s just beat from the long ride back.”
Kelsie also grabbed a few chips.
Jo huffed. “Well, tell him we miss him around here. I’m worried about him.”
“He’ll be around tomorrow. Promise he’s okay. He’s just got some shit to work through. His head’s a bit messy over something he wants but is worried he shouldn’t have.”
