Page 7 of Off-Limits Bad Boy

Oh, my gosh, did he just make a comment about my body and the effect cold has? I cross my arms. Yeah, it’s not that he’s nice, it’s that he can tell I’m cold. Not a nice guy at all.

“Don’t worry,” I say, more to maintain some semblance of distance than out of real concern, “I'll pay for your dry cleaning.” I don't want any part of me lingering with him, including my scent.

He laughs and the rich, deep sound vibrates through me and sends an involuntary tremor through all my limbs. I need to focus on something else. Anything else.

My gaze drops to the wine, noticing he picked the gold-label Merlot. It’s exactly right. “I expected you to get it wrong,” I say, lifting my gaze and meeting his, “just to annoy me.”

“Missed opportunity,” he says, that ever-present smirk playing at the corner of his lips even though something softer and warmer flashes in those dark eyes of his. The guy is a charmer, I’ll give him that. But I’m not charmed.

“We need to make a plan,” I say, more to myself, as I scan the walk-in and hug his jacket tighter around me. The chill seeps into my bones, making me question my choice of attire; my short dress is hardly suitable for a walk-in. It makes sense at the club, fits in with the patrons, and I feel good... until now when I’m locked in a literal fridge. But who anticipates this kind of complication? Before now, I’d never have considered this a possibility.

“Plans are good,” he says, scooping up the wine bottle again and moving it over by the locked door. When he comes back, he reaches out as if to touch me. His fingers brush my shoulder, sending a jolt of unexpected warmth through me. “Got any bright ideas?” he asks.

I don’t know what he’s expecting. “Besides breaking out or freezing to death?” I ask, trying to ignore the way my body reacts to his proximity, the way my heart seems to drum a bit faster every time he comes close. Surely the adrenaline from our situation is to blame for this weird reaction to him.

“Those are the classics,” he says, his ever-present teasing tone making me want to laugh and tell him off all at once.

“I suggest we brainstorm before we turn into human popsicles.” I force a half-smile to my lips wondering how, despite everything, Kade's bad boy charm is somehow keeping the dread I should be feeling at bay.

I’m pretty sure the cold has my brain short-circuiting and I run through the obvious facts first, my breath visible in the frigid air as I speak. “Alex won't be back until tomorrow.” I clutch his jacket tighter around me, fighting the mix of resignation and rising panic within me.

“Right. And someone didn’t tell anyone she was coming down here.” Kade sounds amused, taking some of the sting out of his words.

“I shouldn't have to.” The words are sharper than I intended, but he's unfazed, infuriatingly calm, as if we're not trapped in a freezer that could double as a morgue if we’re stuck in here long enough.

“Phone?” I ask, knowing I left mine behind the bar - a downside of a dress without pockets - but hopeful he has his.

His breath hangs like fog in the chilled atmosphere as he walks right up to me. My heart thumps painfully as he reaches out, his hand slipping into one of the pockets of his jacket. I swallow hard as he lifts his phone. The screen flashes to life, and he turns the screen toward me.

No bars, no signal, just a dead end. His thumb swipes over the screen, illuminating the background—a snorting pug with bulging eyes that seems amused about our predicament.

“Nice background,” I say, the weak attempt at humor designed to distract from the gravity of our dwindling options.

“That’s Snort,” he says, and there's an unexpected softness in his tone. “He's my pal.”

“You have a pug.” I can't help but smile, briefly forgetting how cold my legs are.

“Yep.” Kade flashes a quick grin, then sobers. “We better not die in here—I’ll haunt you if you’re the reason Snort is orphaned.”

“Are you ever serious?” I ask, feeling exasperated at his constant jokes. It's hard to reconcile this facet of Kade—the guy with a pet pug—with the reckless charmer who's always on edge and all edge, if you know what I mean.

Kade shakes his head with a devilish smile. “No way.”

Even as amusing as he is, I feel a flash of annoyance. We’re in trouble, and he can’t stop cracking jokes.

“Besides,” he says, his tone and expression shifting to something so dark and real I feel unsettled, “you don’t want me to be serious.” His words hang heavy between us, leaving me wondering what secrets he’s holding back. The intensity in his gaze holds me frozen in place, and for a fleeting second, I glimpse something raw, something real behind the facade of this man who's always laughing off the world.

The chill is forgotten as heat rises in a flush across my cheeks. “Let's just find a way out,” I whisper, my throat protesting the words.

“Deal.” Kade’s expression shifts back to the playful, infuriating joker I know him to be, and I wonder what the heck just happened between us.

One thing is for sure, I never thought my brother's best friend might be the one to thaw the frost around my heart.

Chapter Four

Kade

I lean against the cold metal door, watching her as a shiver rolls through her body.

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