Page 14 of Unraveled

“Is this how it’s going to be? You pretend nothing happened between us?”

“I don’t know what you want from me!”

“I don’t either. I just want the opportunity to find out.”

“I don’t want… I can’t do this again.”

“Why not?”

“We shouldn’t have done this. I have to go.” She spun around but froze as the next words left his mouth.

“Really? Because you were more than willing to drop your panties for me last night.”

She turned slowly back to him, her fiery eyes meeting his. Satisfaction at getting a rise out of her flared deep within him. Good. She was as pissed as he was.

“What did you just say?”

The corner of his mouth lifted in a cocky smile. “I said, you stood right here,” he laid a hand on the counter where they’d made out like teenagers, “and dropped your panties around your ankles.”

“God, you’re such an idiot.”

“Yeah?” he sneered. “And you’re an easy lay who used me for sex.”

He didn’t have time to duck or weave or even breathe as her fist collided with his jaw and blackness seeped into the edges of his vision.

“Okay, spill.”

He glanced at Gideon, whose mouth had curled into a mischievous smile. He shook his head adamantly. “Oh, no. I told you before,” he jerked a thumb toward the doorway that Kaylee had just sashayed through. “There’s not a snowball’s chance of that happening.”

“Not that. This.” He slashed his hand in front of his face, indicating the bruise on Carter’s jaw.

Carter felt his cheeks heat, but he should have expected the question. He had, actually, but it didn’t make telling the story any easier. And he never could lie to his friend. “You know Ms. Stanton?”

Gideon’s eyes widened. “Jesus, you didn’t get into a fight with the ex, did you?”

“Um, no.” Carter shifted uncomfortably in his chair, intensely aware of Gideon’s scrutiny. He relayed the events of the past weekend, and Gideon’s raucous guffaw echoed through the room.

“She really… You… That’s hilarious.” Gideon panted the words between laughs, and Carter sank lower in his seat.

“Thanks for the support, idiot.”

Gideon finally got his laughter under control. “You’ve gotta admit, this is new.”

Carter rolled his eyes. No kidding. He could honestly admit that, during his almost thirty-five years on this earth, not once had a woman turned him down, much less hauled off and punched him in the face. Not that he hadn’t deserved it—he’d immediately regretted the words as soon as they’d left his mouth. He’d been trying to get her attention, to get a rise out of her.

Well, he’d certainly done that. He was so certain she was just nervous and worried about falling into bed with him the night before that he hadn’t paid attention to the little red flags she was throwing up all over the place. He was too blinded by his feelings for her to see that something wasn’t right.

In truth, he had no idea what he wanted from Audrey—but he sure wanted more than the one night they’d spent together. Things might fizzle out quickly enough, but he at least wanted the chance to find out. In hindsight, he now saw that her face had shown signs of distress, but at the time he’d chalked it up to nerves at their confrontation.

Then he’d seen the news. A local woman, one of Audrey’s friends, had been attacked around the same time he’d been with Audrey at her house. It was no wonder she’d tried to run out on him. He’d completely misread the worry on her face, mistaking it for shame instead of the true anxiety of a woman fearing for her friend.

He’d felt like a complete and utter jerk as soon as he saw the news and recognized the woman’s name. He’d called Audrey yesterday and again this morning, but he’d yet to hear anything from her. After the way they parted, he suspected she’d go out of her way to avoid him at any cost. Which just meant that he’d have to go to her, even if it meant putting his face in harm’s way again.

He resisted the urge to smile as he tested his jaw. The woman’s right hook was proof of her perfection in his eyes. God, he’d almost be willing to go through that all over again just to see that fire in her icy blue eyes—almost. He didn’t have a death wish.

A smile curved Gideon’s face. “Well, I guess that was over before it even started.”

“No.” Carter shook his head. “No, this is just beginning.”