“No, he’s going to say it correctly. Aren’t you,dude?”
The guy clenches his jaw, his neck and face flushing a deep shade of crimson. From embarrassment or anger, I’m not sure. Maybe a little bit of both. His shoulders slump when he seems to give in to his fate, and he looks back at me and mumbles, “I’m sorry for being a douchebag.” His eyes flit to Boone, who makes a sweeping motion with his hand as if to say,keep going. Lips pressed into a tight, thin line, he huffs out a breathbefore continuing. “I’m overcompensating for what I lack in the bedroom.”
Boone grips the guy’s shoulder, making him startle. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it? Now, get the fuck out of my sight.”
He practically runs away from us, and if I wasn’t so overwhelmed with Boone’s closeness and the way he just defended my honor like some knight in shining armor, I’d probably laugh. My gaze reluctantly slides over to Boone. “Thanks, but you didn’t have to do that.”
“He was acting like a fucking tool, and you were clearly uncomfortable.”
“Still, I’m a big boy. I can handle my own battles.”
Boone’s scent is intoxicating. I shouldn’t find it so irresistible, especially since he hasn’t showered or changed since he competed. He smells like a hardworking man, and fuck, if it doesn’t make my head spin and my heart pound harder in my chest. After he left the arena, he switched out his cowboy hat with a black trucker hat that he’s wearing backward. His dark hair peeks out from underneath it, especially around his ears and the back of his head. It’s hot.
He's hot.
And a gentleman. A psycho gentleman, but a gentleman, nonetheless.
It feels like every last ounce of oxygen has been sucked out of this room. I can’t catch my breath. I need air.
“Excuse me,” I manage to mumble before shoving past him and making a beeline toward the front door. It’s too much, having himright there, standing up for me. The anger on his face and the bite to his tone when he talked to that guy shouldn’t make me weak in the damn knees.
The midnight air hits me in the face, doing very little to cool my overheated body. My pulse hammers in my neck, the blood whooshing in my ear, drowning out the sound from insidethe bar and the cars driving by. The door pushes open in my periphery, and I know without even looking that it’s Boone. As if my body cansensehim.
“Are you okay?” His deep, gruff, sexy voice cuts through the pounding in my head, washing over me like silk.
I laugh without humor. “No, I’m not okay.” Tilting my head back, my eyes find his, and it’s a mistake. His warm gaze on my body turns my insides into mush. “You can’t be going around doing that, Boone!”
“Do what? That guy was a jackass.”
“You can’t be defending me and threatening guys on my behalf, Boone! It makes it hard for me to keep my head on straight and stay away from you!”
With a single step, Boone closes the distance between us and, once again, I’m left floundering for air. “So, then don’t,” he growls. “I miss you, and I’m about damn tired of the cold shoulder, G. I’m done giving you space.”
Quite fucking literally, apparently.
“Boone, wecan’t,” I grit out, but I can feel my resolve slipping by the second.
“Yes, we can.”
My head is spinning. I need to get out of here.
“I gotta go,” I blurt out, taking off down the street. The hotel is just down the block, so I’ll go there.Yeah, great idea.Except I can hear Boone’s footsteps as he follows me. But maybe… Maybe if I don’t look back, maybe if I pretend I don’t hear him, don’t realize he’s following me, it’ll be enough. So, then when I eventually cave for him like I know I will, I can at least say I tried. Because I did… I tried, but this pull toward Boone is just too strong. I don’t stand a chance.
God, I’m pathetic.
37
Boone Stanton
Idon’t know what came over me back there. I usually pride myself on how level-headed I am, but something about seeing Grady up at the bar with that fucking jackass made me snap. It was clear, from the look on his face to his body language, that he wasn’t into the conversation, yet the guy kept inserting himself where he didn’t belong. When he grabbed the pitcher from his hand, I lost it.
We get to the hotel he’s staying at, and we head toward the row of elevators while Grady is still pretending like he doesn’t know I’m trailing behind him. That’s fine; he can pretend all he wants. I meant what I said back at the bar. I’m done with the space. The silence. The emptiness I feel when he shuts me out. I’m finished. I understand this situation with us is messy. But it means something to me, and whether he admits it or not, I know it means something to him too.
The elevator dings and the doors slide open, nobody else waiting with us to get on. We step inside, standing side by side, as they close. Grady pushes the button for the fourth floor, theair in here electric. It’s crackling with everything unsaid. Our hands are at our sides, pinkies brushing against each other, and from the corner of my eye, I can see the heavy way his chest is rising and falling.
Reaching the fourth floor, the doors slide open again, and we exit. Grady still won’t look at me as he leads us down the hall to his room. He pauses for a brief moment before he gets the key card and swipes it across the reader. My heart beats wildly as the light on the door turns from red to green, granting us access to the room. It feels bigger than that, though. Like maybe he’s grantingusaccess to divulge into our needs and desires tonight.
As we enter, it’s dark, only the light from the lamp near his bed turned on. It smells like his body wash in here, and it’s making me dizzy. It’s been too fucking long since I’ve been this close to him. Seeing him for a few minutes at a time at the arenas, or the rare occasion when he stops by the campsites, isn’t good enough. I need to consume all of him.
