Page 4 of Quarterback Keeper

A wave of dizziness rolled through me. I blinked, sucked in air, then hardened myself against the flight response that demanded action. “Yeah, I know it’s private property, and I’m supposed to be here. What are you doing here? This isn’t your boat,” I bluffed. That was all the game I had. “And why’d you move it? Are you trying to kidnap me?”

“Listen, lady. I’m losing patience. It’s my boat, and I can sail it wherever I want. Which begs the question of who you are.” Silence hung expectantly in the air. As the seconds ticked by, he seemed to come to a decision and pulled a phone from his pocket. “I’m calling the cops.”

“No.” I thrust my hand between us as if I could stop him. The shaking was impossible to hide.

I didn’t care. If he called the cops, Dayton would know where I was. He had connections, a friend on the force back in California who probably had my name flagged if it rolled across any police log in the US. He was that kind of connected. There would be no escaping him then. He would make them hold me until he could get to me, and I would never be able to leave again. “Please. No cops.”

“Who the fuck let you on my boat?” Though his tone remained commanding, he eased back, lifting his eyes from his phone.

I lowered my arm. The only things between us were the frantic puffs of air leaving my parted lips to crash against his chest.

“It was my dad, wasn’t it? Did he set you up here so I would conveniently find you? What’s his game now?”

“Your dad?”What is he talking about?I dropped onto the bed, my mind whirling with how much trouble I was in. McHottie was probably a spoiled rich kid who snapped his fingers and got whatever he wanted. I snuck a glance at him from under my lashes. I knew people like that—my ex, to be specific. I wasn’t liking the comparisons. But something, a strength in the way this guy held himself, didn’t telegraph the nastier side of rich and spoiled that I was familiar with.

“Tell me who the fuck you are.” His voice cracked through the small space like a whip, authority dripping from each syllable.

My gaze jerked to his at the command, and I responded automatically. “Gia.”How the hell will I get myself out of this mess?I couldn’t try to play him, soften him up. I’d fallen for Mr. Nice on the Eyes before, which was why I was hiding on McHottie’s boat. I couldn’t do it again.

He grabbed a discarded shirt and pulled it on. Fall Lake University stretched across his impressive chest, and who he was clicked into place.

But how did a college hottie—yeah, I recognized him, because everyone in the football-loving world knew Kylian Wilder was a god—get a boat as sweet as this one?

“Did the college buy you the boat?” He was a D1 athlete, and considering how talked about he was, I could see it happening.

A muscle twitched on the side of his chiseled jaw. “My dad did.”

Oh shit.My brain finally put two and two together.

His dad was Danbury Wilder, Illinois senatorial candidate. I needed to think fast to make it work in my favor. With his lips still curled back in answer to my question, hatred spilled from Kylian’s narrowed gaze.

And isn’t that interesting?

CHAPTER THREE

KYLIAN

Gia’s pink tongue swiped across her lower lip, and I got hard, which was fucked up, since she looked nervous as hell. And even worse—she could be a plant from my dad. Her eyes kept darting to the exit then back to me. I closed the distance between us as she jumped to her feet, matching each of my steps until her back pressed against the wall. Then I took her place sitting on the bed to hide what was growing in my pants.

I needed to get to the bottom of why she was there. My first instinct that my dad had something to do with it faded based on the fear she was trying to hide. “You need to tell me the truth about why you’re on my boat.”

“I thought this was my friend’s boat.”

“You’re sticking with that lie?”

The upward tilt of her chin made me want to laugh. Yeah, she was a liar, just maybe not a dangerous one. I had to figure out her angle.

“I tried to call my friend to get the passcode for the door.” She flung her arm toward the broken keypad that secured the area. “I’m from out of town, and when Laura didn’t answer, I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Go to a hotel.”

She shifted from foot to foot, her eyes darting to the door again. Then her shoulders went back, and her gaze locked and held mine. “Maybe we can make a deal about me staying here.”

I took in her long, toned legs and wished I could get a view of her ass. I bet it was spectacular. Without a bra, I could see more than she probably realized through the threadbare pale blue T-shirt. My hand curled by my side as I imagined what her long, wavy dark-brown hair would feel like fisted in it. And her face… She was a showstopper with full pink lips, bright-blue eyes, and high cheekbones. She was attractive—beautiful, actually—but I didn’t need anything from her. Better to be blunt about it, especially since she was in the wrong. “I doubt you have anything I need.”

“There’s got to be something.” Straight white teeth sank into her full bottom lip before she released it.

The exchange was entertaining. “What?”

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