Blindsided (The Fighter Series Book 1) (12 page)

“Is that what you wanted to talk about?” I bite out in anger.

“I was young and stupid. That look on your face has haunted me for years. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Cherry. I loved you so much.”

“Don’t you dare call me that.” I stand gathering my stuff desperate to get out of here.

“Paige—”

“I’m glad you’ve been haunted by it! Serves you right.” My heart is thundering in my ears. “You do not have the right to bring yourself back to apologize for your own guilt. I did nothing to deserve what you did to me. I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit here and hear how bad it hurt you, then or now. It was your screw up. It’s for you to live with,
not
me.”

He grabs my arm stopping me dead in my tracks. “Does he know?” he narrows his eyes.

“Know what?” I spout off.

“That he’ll never have your heart the way I have it. That no matter how badly we both try to stay away from each other, we hold each other’s hearts and one day we will work through my fuck up. Does he know that, Cherry?”

I can’t breathe I’m so irate. Thoughts stampede my mind. Dizziness threatens to take me down. “Correction, you
held
my heart. You do not now, and you haven’t for years. You’re the one who can’t stay away from me. I’ve been doing great without you. Do you think you scarred me enough to never give another man my heart? Are you that stuck up your own ass?” I jerk my arm from his. “You drown in your guilt for what you did, and for that matter, I hope it takes you the fuck down slowly. But don’t you dare think you can come tramping back into my life and try controlling it like you once did. I’m not a child anymore. I’m not naïve.”

“You are if you don’t think I still have your heart.”

“You have one thing of mine, and it’s not my heart. Fuck you,” I fire off and turn on my heel heading out the door, pissed I can’t get rid of him, pissed he will not leave me alone, pissed he has the audacity to come back and act like he gives a crap.

Chapter 13

Paige is fuming at something. How do I know? She’s trying to beat me into a pebble. Her strikes are hard, and her kicks are even harder. Her expression dons determination, and anger drips from her sweat. She hasn’t said many words and when she has, they’re short and snappy. Never a good sign. This is code for pissed off woman hear her roar. I’ve let her go as far as I’m willing to without investigating, but now it’s question time.

Swiftly, I drop her to the mat, straddling her and pressing my weight on her, holding her shoulders down.

“What the fuck?” she hisses trying to push my hands off.

“Talk,” I order, but instead she tries bucking me off. “Something is wrong, so talk.”

“Nothing’s wrong. Now get off of me.” She bucks again, but I add more weight and glare at her, quietly imploring her to talk.

She stops resisting and blows her bangs off her forehead. Her expression is restrained as she blinks back tears. Something deep in my chest twists at her pain.

“You’re so pissed you’re wanting to cry. So just talk.”

She squeezes her eyes shut forcing back the tears then drops her hands to her side. “Wesley came into work today.”

I’m going to end up ripping this guy’s head off. “Did he put his hands on you again?” I growl.

“No, but I told you he’d be back. Dammit, I told you!” she shouts.

“So what the hell happened that has you all pissy?”

“Nothing,” she lies so I press more weight on her. “Ok, ok! Geezz, fatso. Get off me.” I don’t. She has to talk first. She lets out a long sigh. “He wanted to talk about the night I caught him cheating. I didn’t. He’s just an ass,” she mumbles trying to wiggle out from under me.

He’s a fucking dumbass. I’m not good with relationships, but I’m quite sure you don’t come back and bring up bad times.

“Are you over him?”
Where the hell did that come from?

Immediately she stops squirming underneath me, jolted with curiosity, and I’m relieved. The pressure of her brushing against my cock was starting to get me excited. What? I can’t help it. He has a mind of his own.

“I was over him the moment I saw it,” she admits.

I drop to my elbows, lowering my face to hers. Her pale greens brighten. “You sure?” I whisper allowing my hot breath to splash across her skin.

Her lips part slightly, her breath hitches and her gaze—there’s something about it that I can’t put my finger on. If this is anything like how she’d look screaming my name, I’m in deep shit.

“Maybe two weeks after that, but I am. I’m done,” she answers but in a thirsty pant. Catching herself, she blinks and shoves my side. “What’s it to you?”

It’s taking an unbelievable amount of strength not to press my lips to hers, to taste her, to feel her against me.

“Just asking a question, Paige.” And then the best idea known to man whacks me upside the head. “You need a vacation. When can you take a few days off?” I’m a fucking genius!

“I can take off any time I want, but I can’t afford a vacation right now,” she says slowly, puzzled at where I’m going with this.

“Blah, blah, blah. Take off next week, even the weekend,” I tell her.

“Why should I?”

“Because I asked you to?” I candy coat my reply.

“If I say no, are you going to squish me more?”

“Probably,” I chuckle.

She looks at her surroundings then her gaze flicks back to me. “Can we talk about this under different circumstances?”

If I had it my way, I’d have her here all day. Her ponytail is splayed wildly beside her, her breaths are heavy, and her cheeks are still flush from her previous anger. She’s completely alluring. But I also don’t want to cause myself any more anguish, so I comply, pressing down one last time to feel her against my cock, and then pop up offering her a hand.

“I take that as a yes,” she grunts as she rises.

She’s thinking of dirty things again. How do I know? I’ve learned a lot about her lately. She can’t look me in the eyes and now her soft flush has turned to a crimson red that has spread down her chest. I could make her damn dreams come true.

“I’m not going alone with you,” she says from her love seat.

Yes, you heard me right.
Her
love seat. Blain claims the couch like a kid who’s played King of the Castle and is unwilling to let the game go even when he’s nowhere around.

I grab my chest, feigning hurt. “I’m offended you don’t trust me.”

Her eyes scrunch with hostility. “How do I know you don’t have a hidden agenda?”

“Are you always this sketchy about shit?”

“She is when her emotions control her thoughts,” Blain says bounding up the steps. “So what’s she being sketchy about now?”

“I told her she needs a vacation and—”

“He wants me to go with him,” she interrupts pointing her finger at me.

“You realize you haven’t been on one in years,” Blain says taking a seat on the stool at the island. “Why not just go, Paigey?”

“You’re a fucking help,” she says sarcastically.

The room descends into an ear-piercing silence. Her mind is working, gears turning so fast that if you look hard enough you can see puffs of smoke coming out her ears. She’s conflicted, her eyes loaded down with worry. “Separate rooms?” she asks.

I fight back the victory smile. “You think that low of me? That hurts. Of course you’ll have your own room,
Paigey
.”

I know she wants to go. She just doesn’t trust herself around me and for good reason too because I sure the hell won’t stop her from anything she’d like to do to me.

“Do not think about calling me that,” she snips then pinches the bridge of her nose and closes her eyes. “Ok, so when do we leave?”

Fuck yes! Remind me to thank Blain later because I think without him, this plan would have been shot to pieces. “In the morning. I’ll come get you.”

I might have sounded calm, but my blood is buzzing with a charge. She has no idea how much I want to be alone with her.

“In the morning? I can’t just drop that on Jim.”

“Better find a way,” I tell her.

“Where are we going?”

I slap my knees and stand to leave. “That’s for me to know and you to enjoy.”

I can’t help my grin now. It’s radiating on its own. I nod at Blain and head out stoked that I’m about to have her all to myself for days.

Chapter 14

What the hell was I thinking when I agreed to go on vacation with him? I called both managers and lied about needing the week off while I packed my bags. Then I laid in the bed tossing and turning, wondering if I made the right choice. I couldn’t quit arguing with myself. Half of me wanted to cancel on Levi. I know he’s a sneaky dog and I have no clue what his plans are, but the other half, the one that yearns for him, kept talking me into it. I finally fell asleep a little after three, but come six o’clock in the damn morning, Levi was at my door wide ass awake and ready to go. Anyone who doesn’t need coffee and twenty minutes to get that way has to be demented in some shape or form. Short on sleep and with a lack of caffeine when I opened the door, needless to say I wasn’t very polite.

He drives like a damned maniac. Just like Blain, he loves speed and curves, especially when mixing them together. I’m just about to piss myself. Switching from lane to lane, he laughs and cracks up as I squeeze my eyes shut and grip my seat. It’s too early for my adrenaline to be pumping. It’s like getting on a roller coaster just after you roll out of bed—it isn’t very nice.

We’ve been on the road for five hours when we finally pull up to a beautiful grey and white bungalow-style home with a large porch that wraps around the front. Across it, light fixtures hang down over the brown flooring that resembles wood, and white trim encases the windows and the top columns.

“Here we are,” he says putting his SUV in park.

“Where is here?” I ask.

“Home.” He winks getting out of the car.

I pop out of the door and round the car to him in a hurry. “Home? Like your home?” I’m frantic.

He laughs. “Yes my home. Do you think I bought you a house?”

“You have a house?”

“Yeah. I had to upgrade last year when the treehouse got too small for me.”

If I felt like this was a bad idea before,
this
has set sirens off. “You said vacation, not, ‘Hey I’m taking you home,’” I snap.