AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I gripped the steering wheel in my hands, let out a long defeated breath, squeezed my eyes shut, and lowered my forehead to the cold, hard leather.
Son of a bitch. That was an expense I couldn’t afford if I hoped to get that loan. I wanted it so badly, but it felt like nomatter how hard I worked, my dreams were a little too far out of reach.
“Bubbles.”
I let out a groan at the tenderness in Beau’s voice, refusing to open my eyes and look at the man as he opened the door and stepped close enough that his signature scent of spice and the outdoors invaded the tiny cab.
“I don’t suppose there’s any chance you’ll forget you witnessed that and leave me alone to stew in my humiliation?”
He reached out, and the feel of his fingers gently wrapping around my wrist gave me a jolt. I sat up, turning my head in his direction as he slowly worked to ease the death grip I had on the steering wheel. He was crouched down low enough to bring his face to mine, his strong thighs testing the tension on the seams of his jeans. God, it was criminal for a man to be as sexy as he was.
“There’s nothing for you to be embarrassed about.”
That was easy for him to say. I could only assume the guy was loaded.
“Come on, I’ll take you home.”
My brows slammed together in confusion. “What?”
“Bubbles, you can’t drive this car. It’s not safe. Hell, you don’t even have a driver’s side window anymore.”
“It’s fine. I’ll just?—”
He pinned me with a look that had me clamping my mouth shut and curling my lips between my teeth. “I’ll take you home,” he repeated, dragging the words out as if to saykeep arguing and I’ll put you over my knee.
A delighted shiver rattled through me as he took my hand in his and stood to his full height, his grip giving me no choice but to follow after him and climb out from behind the wheel.
Having my hand in his took me back to that day in high school. The first and only time I’d ever been to his house, andjust like that day, having his warm palm against mine as his large fingers engulfed my tiny hand, a flurry of butterflies took flight in my belly.
Chapter Twenty-One
PRESLEY
With the exceptionof the GPS directing Beau to the address I’d given him, the ride to my house was made in silence. My mind was spinning, replaying every story Romero had told me and trying to associate the image with the boy I once knew.
I just didn’t understand. To hear Romero tell it, Beau was a deeply loyal friend, not only to him, but to all the guys on the team. He was funny and kindhearted, always willing to go out on a limb. He’d even claimed the man would give the shirt off his back if a friend needed it.
The longer I thought on that, the hotter that coal deep in my belly grew, the one that fueled my anger toward the boy who’d tormented me for years. Toward the young man who made me think he was something special just to get me into bed, only to flip the switch back the following morning.
That heat burned hotter and hotter so by the time we pulled up in front of my house, I was well and truly pissed again. I couldn’t claim it was rational, but at least I knew how to handle the anger. It was all the other emotions Beau made me feel that left me out of sorts and scrambling.
I gripped the door handle as he pulled the car to a stop at the curb, ready to issue a thanks and jump out, but instead of throwing the shiny, luxury SUV into park, he killed the engine.
I whipped around to face him as he opened his own door. “What are you doing?”
Confusion etched into the plains of his too-handsome face. “What does it look like? I’m walking you to your door.”
A derisive snort scraped up my throat as I rolled my eyes. “That’s totally unnecessary. I appreciate the ride and all, but I think I can handle it from here. Have a great night.”
With that, I jumped out of the car and slammed the door harder than necessary before stomping up my front walk.
“Presley, wait,” he called after me, followed by the sound of his own door closing, because of course he hadn’t listened to me. I picked up the pace, my keys already clenched in my first, ready to unlock my front door. “Jesus, will you just wait?” He caught up to me on the front stoop. His hand wrapped around my elbow, pulling me to a stop before I could slide the key into place and spinning me around. “What’s going on?”
I tilted my chin up and squared my shoulders, adopting an air of aloofness I sure as hell prayed was believable. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I told you, I’m tired and want to go to bed.”
I attempted to shake his hold off and twist back around toward the door, but he wouldn’t let me. “Bullshit,” he ground out. “Something changed. You were fine, and now you’re...” he waved his free hand up and down my frame, “well, I don’t know. But it sure as hell isn’t fine. It’s like you flipped a switch or something.”
A sardonic laugh wrenched itself from deep in my chest. “Oh, that’s really rich, coming from you.”
