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“Only because you know you’d lose.”

She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to tame the crazy curls and frizz that must have resulted from going to bed with it wet. Hayden thought she looked gorgeous, remembering the feel of that hair through his fingers, but her glance made him realize she was feeling self-conscious.

“You gonna go shy on me now, Flame?” He grinned at her, teasing her, wanting to see that sass he knew so well.

“No, of course not.”

“Good to hear. Because for a second, it looked like you were trying to hide as much of yourself as possible.”

She looked down at herself, and he knew she was seeing what he was, her pulling the comforter back over her fully dressed body. She looked back at him with a challenging glare.

“Maybe this bed is just really comfortable and I don’t want to move.”

Relief flooded him as he saw her usual spark. Last night she had been so vulnerable. He didn’t mind her leaning on him, but he didn’t want to think she had lost some of her fire. He loved her fire.

Hayden walked toward her, slowly, wanting to push her. She sank back into the bed as he approached. Her eyes were on him as he leaned over, bracketing her between his arms. Hayden was close enough to see her pulse fluttering in her neck, to see her eyes run over his body, his forearms, his chest, his lips, before landing back on his face. There was heat in them now, a heat that he could feel reflected in his own. He reached up, placing the palm of his hand on her neck, gently, feeling her pulse stagger against his fingers.

“Do I make you nervous, Min?” He pitched his voice deeper, enjoying this, enjoying how nervous and twitchy she was, how her mind was clearly racing to figure out how to react to his nearness. Fascinated as she settled on a smirk.

“In your dreams, Hayden. Now, get off me so I can breathe.”

He laughed at her, but pulled back, giving her the space she clearly needed. She tried to hide it, but he heard the deep breath she took once he stepped away.

Finally, she slid out of the bed. Hayden saw her wince and was immediately concerned.

“Are you hurt?”

“My feet are a little sore from all the walking yesterday. It’s fine.” She couldn’t look at him when she told him. He relaxed a little, but still kept an eye on her. She made her way to the bathroom and shut the door behind her, probably needing a private moment to process the night before. Hayden didn’t know who had managed to get into her room, or who would carry such a grudge that they would trash her things like that, but he hated that she went through it. Hell, he hated that she even saw the video of herself. Hayden knew women in the gaming world had it rough, but having it right there in front of you in what should be a safe space was shocking. He burned to catch whoever the fucker was.

There was a knock at the door, interrupting his thoughts of vengeance. He set about getting the food on the table and ready, finishing just as the bathroom door opened. Min’s face was scrubbed and her hair was a little tamer, probably as much as she could do without her brush. She settled at the small table and practically melted when she saw the perfectly made French toast steaming and waiting for her. She inhaled deeply.

“I’m so glad you remembered.”

“Minerva, a man remembers a woman threatening him at a buffet over French toast.”

She smiled at him as he plunked down a cup of coffee near her hand, and dug into her plate. He settled across from her, watching her while checking messages on his cell phone. Hayden could feel her eyes on him.

“Big plans today?” she asked.

“I’m meeting someone for a business lunch, and then the tournament. But I’m free until then. You?”

“Nothing until the tournament but I’ll need to shop for a different outfit this morning. Feels like I’m just giving the trolls fodder if I show up in the same outfit as yesterday, walk of shame style.” Her tone was casual, but Hayden knew better. She had been severely shaken by what had happened to her room. He didn’t want to pry, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“Can I ask what happened there?”

She shrugged, focusing on her French toast. He could feel her reluctance to look at him.

“It’s exactly what I’ve said in my statements. I was in a relationship. That man apparently recorded us having sex when I was unaware and without my permission. I would never consent to something like that, not with him. We eventually broke up. And then he posted stills from the video in some sick move to get me canceled.” She took a bite of her breakfast then, chewing carefully. “And he’s succeeding.”

“No, he’s not.”

Min’s eyes flew to his. Surprised. But she shrugged.

“He is, actually. After the photos came out, my sponsors dropped me. Fans hated me, somehow thinking that I should only be chaste and pious while playing shooting games with other men. I’ve been getting non-stop emails, DMs, letters, you name it from people who want me to kill myself, who want to hurt me themselves. Being a woman on the internet was already scary. But now, I’m a target. And I don’t know if I can go back to the way things used to be.”

Without consciously thinking about it, Hayden reached out and laid his hand over hers on the table.

“These people don’t own you, Min, and they certainly don’t define you. Your fans follow you because they like your content. You don’t need to change anything to please them. The assholes who are threatening you are garbage. They’re not worthy of your time and energy.”

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