Page 30 of Brick

CHAPTER TEN

Liv

Liv put her car in park outside Brick’s work site an hour after school. She wasn’t sure at first if he’d still be on the same build where she met him, but she recognized his truck the minute she pulled up. Her internal debate about whether to seek him out ended quickly once she realized the old Liv would’ve been too nervous to put herself out there.

Bonus points: she saw no sign of Will.

She’d barely made it two steps out of the car before Brick’s long stride approached her. He’d stormed from the house, which now resembled a popsicle-stick version of itself. All the wood bones were in place, but not much else.

Her gaze soaked in the sight of him. Jeans hugged his thick legs, and an open blue flannel shirt covered a tight white T. His yellow hardhat did nothing to detract from the intensity written all over his face. Intensity that looked a whole lot more like fury the closer he got.

Had she made a mistake in coming here?

She took an involuntary step back. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have showed up at your work without warning.”

He lifted his hand to her face but stopped short of touching her. “Someone hit you,” he growled. His eyes glowed with wrath.

She wrapped her hand around his and pulled it close to her chest. “My sister did it,” she explained quickly. “It was an accident.” She stepped in close to his rigid body. The tension poured off him in waves.

“Stay right there.” He stomped back to the house and spoke tersely with the long-haired, tattooed guy she’d seen here before. Brick handed him his hardhat and returned in less than a minute. “I’ll follow you home.”

A dozen scenarios ran through her head on the short ride to her place. Each one ended with the two of them naked. She imagined Brick inside her space with his arm around her on the sofa. His big body covering her bed. The image still floated around her brain when she pulled into her parking spot.

She approached the door, but Brick didn’t follow her. He still sat behind the wheel of his truck. Doubling back, she opened his creaking passenger door. “Aren’t you coming?”

“No,” he said tersely. “Get in.”

She didn’t hesitate. He broke at least a dozen traffic laws in the short distance to her sister’s gym.

“Should I ask how you know about this place?”

He shrugged. “You told me she teaches Krav Maga. I looked her up. It’s a nice place.”

“So why are we here?”

Brick climbed out and passed around the front of the truck to open her door. “Because you need to train with someone who’s not going to fuck up your face.”

An explanation about how she brought on the black eye herself sat on the tip of her tongue. But she didn’t want to waste her opportunity to spend time with him, so she kept her mouth shut, and they walked together into the gym. Cassie, the girl who worked reception, waved them both past the front desk.

“Not very worried about security,” Brick muttered.

She tugged him into one of the empty training rooms. “She knows who I am. Cassie’s worked with my sister for years.”

Grunting, Brick surveyed the room. Not much to see. Only the standard mat on the floor. He stopped his inspection and faced her head-on. “Hit me.”

“What? No.”

“I need to know what I’m working with. Take a swing.”

“Not. Going. To. Happen.” To accentuate her point, she plopped down onto the floor, crossing her legs and her arms.

Putting his hands around her biceps, Brick lifted her to her feet like she was a ragdoll. He didn’t let go and he drew his face only inches from hers when he spoke. “Do you have any idea what it’s doing to me to see the shiner on your face?” His voice sounded calm, but his brown eyes flashed wild. “I need you to do this. If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for me. Please.”

It was the please that did it. She gritted her teeth and shook off his hands. “Fine.” She squared her shoulders and threw a quick jab. He caught her fist in his hand, then let it go.

“Not good enough. Try again.”

“What the hell did you expect?” This was pissing her off. “I’m half your size. I’ve only been taking classes for a few weeks. And I don’t want to do this!” She pushed at his hard chest, but he didn’t move an inch. It only made her irritation burn brighter.

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