Page 128 of The Trouble With Bad Boys

I shake my head. “It’s my place, so they can’t exactly fight me on it, but no, they won’t mind. Hell, they’re hardly home. I doubt they’ll even notice.”

She presses her lips together and nods, moving her head against my chest.

I hope she doesn’t notice how hard I’m breathing or how fast my heart races. There’s something about this girl. From that very first encounter, I couldn’t deny the pull toward her. It’s like I couldn’t resist being near her.

Now that I’ve had her in my arms, I don’t know how I’ll ever want to let her go.

Four

AVA

“You wanna get out of here?” I ask, glancing up at Colter.

Something about being in his arms makes me feel so protected and safe. It’s why I decided to take him up on the deal after he offered me a room to stay in.

Colter reaches for my hand, and neither of us pulls away as he leads me through the bar again and toward the door.

I notice a group of guys heading inside, the first one stopping near the door attendant to show him his ID. The bouncer nods to let him in as his friends follow behind him, doing the same.

My stomach drops when I realize it’s Alec, and I jerk my hand away from Colter.

Colter glances at me and I shake my head. I tilt my head down, using Colter’s tall frame to hide me until I’m able to push through the other door on the opposite side leading out to the parking lot.

He hollers my name, but I don’t bother to turn around. I hear the familiar sound of rocks crunching on the ground, though, so I know he’s not far behind.

“You want to tell me what’s going on? Why are we running?” he asks.

I fold my arms and keep my head dipped down to my chest. When we step outside, I head toward the back of the lot where Colter’s pickup truck is parked.

“Did you notice the group of guys coming in as we were leaving?”

He shakes his head slowly. “No, why?”

I swallow hard, avoiding his gaze. “My brother showed up with some of his teammates.”

“Shit,” he mutters under his breath, and I wince. “I guess that makes sense.”

I drag my hand through my hair roughly. “Is there a reason you wouldn’t want him seeing the two of us together? Aside from me being his former teammate and now, I guess, one of his rivals.”

He crosses his arms, leaning against the side of his truck. I try not to think about how they feel around me, or how strong he is, and how easily he could hoist me into his arms and press me against the side of his truck without an ounce of effort.

I nod, biting my lip. “I mean, that’s part of it.”

“So what’s the reason? Why are you taking me up on the offer to stay with me? It’s not like you’d need a hotel room. I’m sure he’d offer you a place to stay. If you told him not to tell your parents, wouldn’t he keep it between the two of you, right?”

I press my lips together and glance over toward the bar again.

I could go stay with Alec at Keaton. It’s not like he wouldn’t let me. That’s not the point, though. If I told Alec what happened, and he told our dad, then he’d be in his car and driving down to Braysen in a matter of minutes.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m lucky to have a dad who would do that for me. It’s just that I’m finally living on my own and out of his shadow for the first time in my life.

It was hard enough getting him to agree to let me go to school at Braysen. I was sick of relying on them, though.

“If it’s too much to ask, I completely understand.” My voice drops low, and I realize this isn’t exactly answering his question.

Colter shakes his head and reaches for the door handle, opening it for me.

“It’s never too much to ask with me. C’mon.” He nods toward the door, and I grab his hand, using the other to boost me up into his truck.

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