Page 2 of Keep Me

But I find myself nodding, wanting to be embraced in the safety of his arms.

Ryker places his hands on my waist, and surprisingly, the contact makes shocks of something unnamed pop in my belly as he pulls me toward him and twists so that my back is to him. I’m rather tall at five-foot-eleven, but I fit perfectly under his chin, my body easily shielded by his as he wraps his arms gently around the middle of my stomach.

It’s the first time I haven’t flinched from another man’s touch.

“I got you,” he murmurs into my ear. With that assurance, I begin taking steps forward and he follows suit.

To my amazement, the sea of bodies seems to part for us, people getting out of the way when they see us moving toward the front door. It must be because of the scowl that takes residence on his face.

Once we break free into the cool fall breeze, I can finally breathe for the first time tonight. I take a deep inhale, close my eyes as I hold it, then let it go. I repeat it three times while I try distracting myself.

All while forgetting Ryker’s still holding on to me.

Why hasn’t he let go yet?

We stay silent for a moment until I start to enjoy the feeling of his arms around me a little too much.

I clear my throat and he lets his arms fall from my waist as he takes a step away from me.

I turn to face him, and I’m nearly knocked on my ass as I take him in this up close for the first time. Out of the dim lighting and flashing strobes, I can see his face more clearly.

He’s beautiful.

His beard is neatly trimmed, covering a prominent jaw, with striking deep blue eyes to top it off. They’re darker than mine and steal the breath from my lungs. He has this bad boy feel to him with his medium-length tousled hair and tattoos. Not to mention he plays baseball, which happens to be my favorite sport.

I like it all more than I should. He’s everything I’ve been raised to stay away from.

I’ve never been more attracted to a man than I am to him. It’s been that way for the last three years, ever since I first laid eyes on him.

I was on my way to cover the girls’ softball team’s game that day, when I nearly ran into him on my way to get there. Words failed me at that moment when our eyes locked, but I quickly pulled it together, apologized, and kept hustling toward my destination.

But ever since that glance, he intrigued me. I heard about him around the baseball facility, but I had never had the courage to speak to him. Instead, I just crushed on him from afar. Eyeing him from the highest spot in the bleachers, making sure I went unseen.

Not that he’d notice me, but any girl with a crush gets it. I’d ogle him from afar, his signature low bun under his ball cap, his baseball pants doing nothing to hide his muscular thighs or perfect ass.

And now? He’s up close and personal, looking at me with concern.

“What happened in there?” he asks. “No bullshit.”

I falter, not quite sure why I want to explain what happened to a stranger, yet I find myself wanting to.

“No bullshit?” I question him back, raising a single brow to try to lighten the atmosphere surrounding us.

He doesn’t budge, his scowl loyally on his face. “It means don’t bullshit me. No secrets, no lies. I don’t do that shit.”

“Why do you even want to know? Why are you out here to begin with?” I blurt, unable to contain the questions swirling in my mind.

Ryker remains stoic, except for his sapphire eyes. They soften a smidge, just enough for me to notice it. “I feel protective of you for some reason,” he grumbles like it’s the last thing he wants to admit.

My heart threatens to flutter in my chest at his words, but I know not to read too much into them. He’s a man, a seemingly good man, who wants to keep another person safe. It’s a natural human thing, not because he feels something for me in particular.

I’d do well to keep that in mind.

Our eyes linger on one another’s for a moment, the perfect fall weather wrapping around the space between us. As much as a part of me yearns to tell him, I don’t. He’s getting the bullshit he specifically asked not to get.

“I just don’t like when people touch me without my permission. That’s all,” I partially lie because it’s still a true statement.

Ryker scowls at me, crossing his corded forearms over his chest. “You looked like you saw a ghost in there.”

---