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“Hey.” I stared down at her. Peyton was small physically, but she seemed to take up every inch of available space with her presence.
I waited for her to respond, to greet me in any way, but the fury etched on her face told me that wasn’t going to happen. I trailed my eyes down her body, taking her in.
Her hair was up, curls falling out of a bun held together by what looked like a ball-point pen. Not a stitch of makeup covered her flawless face, and I got sucked into her angry dark brown eyes for a moment before I continued my appraisal. Her skin was tan, and unlike most redheads, she didn’t have a freckle in sight. Her tight T-shirt and black jeans molded perfectly to her curves, and the black biker boots on her feet made me picture her on the back of my bike, those round breasts pressed tightly to my back. Forcing myself to focus, I grinned at her. “How’s your day been?” My second effort resulted the same way as the first, with a silent glare.
“The proper response is to say hello back, Peyton,” I said, trying to maintain what small bit of composure I had left before I walked out of this house with her over my shoulder.
“The proper thing to do is not lock yourself in the bathroom with me. What do you want?” she asked, her mouth tight.
Blowing out a breath, I scratched my jaw. “You’re a hard woman to pin down.” Wrong choice of words. For a second, all available brain cells went to Peyton being pinned down by me, her face flushed, begging me to let her come.Mind outta the gutter. Focus or you’ll lose your chance.“But since we’re both in the same place and you’re not running from me, I wanted to talk to you.”
“I don’t run. Not from anyone, especially not you. I’d have to care in the first place. And I don’t.” She crossed her arms, and the sight of her boobs pushed up over the neckline of her shirt stole my breath.
This woman was made to distract me.
“Oh, you definitely run,” I countered, ignoring the latter half of what she’d said. I refused to consider that she didn’t care about me. Not now, not ever.
“We were both at the same bar the other night and I stayed.” She shrugged and looked away.
“So you did see me.” I couldn’t control the smile that formed, then she made a noise that might have been a growl and made my smile grow tenfold. Fire lit behind her eyes, and I knew I was running out of time.
“Don’t deny it. You noticed me. But moving on. I wanted to talk to you about something. A long time ago, I said some really shitty things to you. I wasn’t in a good place, and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.” I rushed to get the words out before she could tune me out, and some of the heavy guilt that I’d grown used to carrying around fell away.
Step one, done.
Peyton looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “You cornered me in the bathroom to say you were sorry about something I stopped thinking about years ago?” She laughed. “Man, how entitled and self-centered can you be? Did you think I’ve spent the… how long has it been?” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the wall. “Did you think I dwelled on what happened?”
Maybe not dwelled. But yeah, I thought she thought about it.
“Get a clue. I let it go a long time ago. And I’ve barely thought about you since.”
The words stung, but they weren’t exactly unexpected. I’d agonized over what I said to her for years, and I knew it hurt her, no matter how she tried to play it off.
We were a couple of feet apart, but it felt like an ocean separated us. I couldn’t take the distance. I needed to get to the second part, one that was almost as important as the apology. In two steps, I was back in her space, putting a hand on the wall on either side of her and caging her in. “Either way, you deserved an apology.” I bent closer, and her fruity scent filled my nose. “Since you’re over it, what’re you doing?—”
White hot pain dropped me to my knees. Gasping for air and cupping my balls, I glared at Peyton through the spots dotting my vision and found her smiling serenely down at me.
“I might be over what happened, but you don’t get to corner me. The next time you think about trapping me in some room and turning those smoldering eyes on me, remember this moment. Leave me alone.” Using the toe of her boot, she nudged my leg out of the way and opened the door.
“This isn’t over,” I wheezed.
Without looking back, she left me there on the bathroom floor. If I were a smarter man, I might have been deterred, but maybe I’m an idiot because her actions only fed my fire for her. I refused to consider that she wouldn’t come around and see how much I’d changed. Peyton Linwood was mine, and I would do whatever I needed to do to get her to see that.
* * *
The house was dark as I moved through it. Dark and silent, as it should be. Curiosity had me in its grip, tightening until I couldn’t handle it and had to come in. I helped build the house; I should see the finished product.
Again.
At least that’s what I told myself. I didn’t make a habit of breaking into houses. Peyton’s was the exception.
I glanced at the clock on the stove. 11:32 p.m. Where the hell was she, and why wasn’t she home yet? Where’d she go after she kneed me in the balls?
I sank into the plush cushions of the massive couch and looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows. This was where I would soon sit with Peyton in my arms, staring out into the darkness and planning our future together.
The renovations had come out perfectly. I’d gotten my hands on the blueprints before we got started and made a few tweaks—an extra bedroom, bigger bathrooms, that kind of thing.
I’d covered the cost. Had to make sure the house Peyton and I’d be raising our family in, was what we needed. Wolf had my back and just waved her off when she asked about it.
