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He nods. He even does an impressive job of folding his arms without wincing, but the ginger way he moves tells me he’s far more hurt than he wants me to know.
“Okay, you’re fine.” I poke his side, and with the quickness of lightning, he grabs my wrist before I poke it a second time.
“Totally fine,” I snort.
“A few sucker punches is all.”
“And this?” I put my free hand to the split in his eyebrow. “Doesn’t hurt either, right?”
“Right,” he growls. The sound is anguished, but I feel it all the way down to my toes, which are curling inside my shoes.
“Great. Then I won’t lose one wink of sleep if the gravel in your knuckles or one of those cuts gets infected and you die. I will rest easy because I tried, really tried to help you. Go on then, Shades. Go off into the sunset, be a big, strong, brave man. If you make it back to wherever you came from.”
I walk away, hoping my ploy works because there’s no way I can just drag him by his feet back inside the church.
“You’re kind of annoying, you know that?”
I laugh and shake my head. “I can be relentless when it matters. You’re not the only asshole around these parts.”
Shades laughs in reply, and the sound is absolutely wonderful, deep, loud, and well used like he has a life that lets him laugh freely and often.
“Funny.”
“Thanks,” I shoot back as we near the church steps. Suddenly his arm is around me and yanking me to the side with a gasp.
“What? What’s going on?”
His panicked expression freaks me out, and I scan the parking lot in search of the men who’d done this to him. “What?”
His lips curl into what can only be described as a seductive grin, his gaze on the sky before he turns back to me.
“I was worried you might get struck by lightning for saying asshole.” He whispers the last word and looks back up at the sky, moving us to the side again.
I roll my eyes. “Funny.”
“Thanks. Glad to know you like something about me other than my kisses.”
I growl at his reminder of that particular lapse in judgment. “You had to say it, didn’t you?”
“Yep.”
I hold the door and motion for him to step inside.
“I may be an animal, sweetheart, but I hold doors for ladies, so get your sweet ass inside.”
His smile, even through the bruises, is beautiful. Wide and full of straight white teeth that look even whiter with the scruff covering his jaw.
“Uhm, thank you,” I say and step through the door, feeling out of sorts. Uncomfortable. Nervous.
“Have a seat.”
I point to the front of the church where the seats are a little bigger to accommodate the older and handicapped parishioners and rush down the hall to the nurse’s office. I move slowly to give myself time to get my emotions and hormones under control.
Why is it this man makes me think of things I shouldn’t? Why is he flirting with me? He seems like the kind of guy who likes girls in short skirts and lowcut tops and girls who go all the way. Girls that are the exact opposite of me.
He’s just trying to rattle me.Okay, that makes sense. It’s a story I can buy, so I grab what I need and get back to Shades.
“Thought you might have had second thoughts.”
