Page 12 of Because You Rejected Me

He looked confused. “Nothing.”

I didn’t like the idea of him just doing something nice for me. It pissed me off. After what he’d said to me the day before, I didn’t trust him, and his acting trustworthy made me suspicious as hell. And I didn’t care if that made sense or not.

“Good,” I said at last. I stepped over, grabbing my stuff from the ground. “I’m leaving.”

“I can go,” he offered. “I’m done swimming anyway. I was about to head out.”

“No, I’m done.”

“Okay.” He paused for a moment. “Can I walk with you?”

“If you can keep up.”

I already had my stuff in hand and was marching back across the sand toward the stairs. To my dismay, Ace caught up pretty quickly, keeping stride right beside me. Damn him and his long ass legs. It was completely unfair that he was so tall. I had to take two steps for every one of his.

“Where’s your stuff?” I barked, glancing over at him. All he had was his hat and those tight little shorts with his cock flopping back and forth.

“In my truck,” he replied simply.

I scoffed. “And where’s the fucking rodeo?” I gestured toward his hat. “Or are you just a hopeless wannabe?”

“I just like it,” he said, completely unbothered by my frank rudeness.

Well, there was no point in trying to piss him off to get him to go away. Clearly, nothing I said bothered him. When we got to the stairs, he stopped and gestured for me to go first. I scoffed again, stomping up the wooden steps. Then, he was right next to me again as we walked back through the woods toward the parking lot.

I couldn’t help a few sideways glances at him. He was so quiet. It was unnerving. I’d never met anyone who would just walk side by side with a stranger in total silence. And, of course, my gaze kept raking over his body whenever I looked. It wasn’t doing anything to help the growing issue in my pants, especially since he was fucking ripped from head to toe. Fucking Alpha blood guaranteed a great body no matter what. Meanwhile, I was short, skinny as fuck, and allergic to latex. That last one was not pleasant to figure out. The worst thing Ace had to worry about in life was his fucking stupid hat falling off.

At the end of the path, I stopped. “Well, I’m going this way,” I said, turning away from the parking lot. “Bye.”

“Are you getting ice cream?”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “Is that okay with you?”

He nodded. “I want some, too.”

“Well, I don’t have much money. If you haven’t noticed, I’m homeless right now.”

“I’ll buy it.”

I tried to come up with something rude to say. I really did. But the way he looked at me with those blue eyes snuffed out any retort I could’ve come up with. At last I sighed, realizing that Ace just plain wasn’t going to go away no matter what I said. The man was as dense as a rock.

“You don’t have to do that,” I replied at last. “Sam gave me money.”

“Keep it.” He turned toward the parking lot. “Just let me get my wallet.”

I nodded, watching him jog off toward his truck in his bare feet. I couldn’t help but stare at his beautiful and strong body. The wind shifted again, earthy scent hitting me full in the face once more. I took a moment, breathing him in deeply. To my dismay, I realized I liked the way he smelled. I wanted to dislike him. I really did. But every time I looked at him or caught his scent on the breeze, my defenses waivered. And why the hell did I have this urge to touch him again?

It was weird.

In less than a minute, he returned with his wallet and a button-up shirt that was on but not buttoned at all. Again, I caught my eyes sliding across his body, taking in every curve and ridge of his muscles. He really was a beautiful specimen, even if he was an idiot.

“Come on,” he said, waving me toward the ice cream stand. “Then I can give you a ride back to the hotel if you like.”

The thought of walking two-plus miles back to the hotel in wet shorts made me bite my tongue.

“Alright,” I nodded at last. “But be warned, I can defend myself if you get weird with me. So don’t be fucking weird, okay?”

He nodded back. “Okay.”

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