Page 37 of Not A Chance

A soft gasp had me looking up.

It took me a minute to realize Indie was in front of me. What was she doing in the hallway at this hour of the morning?

As I took in her appearance, my mouth hardened into a thin line. Heat simmered in my veins as I realized she was coming from that little shit’s hotel room.

Fuck. First, I’d been tortured by having a front-row seat to their date in the bar. Now, I had to bear witness to a post-hookup early morning dip and dash back to her room.

This is definitely more than a hookup. You’ve seen proof with your own eyes.I cursed my inner voice of reason. I didn’t know what felt worse: Indie and Andrews being in a relationship or just sleeping together. I hated both options with a passion.

My further survey of her state of attire just served to have jealous fury pumping through my veins. She was clearly not dressed for the day. Her paper-thin pajamas clung to the subtle curves of her body. Her sheer sweater and the tiny strap of her tank top hung off one shoulder.

Christ, she wasn’t wearing a bra. I could see her nipples through the fabric draped over the swell of her breasts.

Whipping my gaze off her chest, I didn’t dare look any lower on her body, afraid I’d discover a whole new selection of images to haunt me with her no doubt lack of underwear.

She turned away quickly, seeing something in my eyes she didn’t want to tangle with this early. I couldn’t just ignore what was right in front of my face.

“Rocky. Wait. What are you doing sneaking out of Andrews’s room at 5:00 a.m.?”

I had no right to ask her that question but couldn’t stop the words from tumbling from my mouth. Grinding my teeth, I forced myself to shut up before I said anything I’d regret.

She stopped her retreat and lowered her chin to her chest for a moment, taking a deep breath. Yeah, well, she could deal with the discomfort. I was already firing on all cylinders, wanting her to pay attention tome.

Her shoulders rose and fell with whatever reaction she was about to let loose on my ill-advised interference. Her dark hair, disheveled from sleep—thinking about anything else making her hair look that messy made my vision white out—still looked like dark streams of silk down her back.

Shifting around slightly in my direction but keeping most of her body facing away from me, she spoke in a low rasp I’d heard only once before in my life.

“Theo. What do you want?”

This was only my third morning encounter with Indie in the wee hours of the morning. The first time was in my parents’ kitchen so many years ago. The last choice I made when I came upon her in such a state of undress was very different to how I would respond now.

“What do I want?” I growled.

What I wanted was an explanation. I wanted to know why she was alone in this hallway before sunrise. I wanted to know what the fuck she saw in that kid Andrews. He was not the right man for her, just barely more than a boy himself. What did he know about worshiping the ground this goddess of a woman walked on?

Mostly, I wanted to know how I could get her to feel what she felt for me six years ago.

He was probably blinded by her outer beauty, like everyone who’d ever laid eyes on her. He was way too inexperienced to understand the endless depths contained in just one of her glances.

What a goddamn waste.

“Indie.” I gestured with both arms to the emptiness around us. “You’re out here practically in the middle of the night, wearing that.”

This time, I gestured quickly at the tissue-thin fabric barely concealing her body from me. And any other asshole who might happen upon her in this state of undress. I had to move on from that thought quickly as I felt my knuckles pop with how tightly I was clenching them.

It was a matter of safety, for god’s sake.Yeah, you jealous fucker. Safety, sure. Green’s a good color on you, man.

Righting the sweater-wrap thing that she’d just noticed had fallen off her shoulder, she narrowed her eyes.

“It’s none of your business what I do. I can be wherever the hell I want at any hour of the day. Good night. Or good morning, I guess.” She crossed her arms over her chest, daring me to argue.

She spun around and started walking away from me again. Her retreat heated the emotions churning inside me further. My legs were moving, making long strides due to my height advantage and anger, before I could process the decision to go after her.

Before either of us knew it, I was right behind her when she stopped abruptly at her door.

Yeah, I’d asked the team assistant responsible for room allocations what her room number was before I got off the bus last night. I’d made some excuse about my sister wanting to call Indie about a surprise visit. I wasn’t proud of the lie, but it had been out before I could stop myself.

The speed at which she’d tried to walk away from me and my determination to catch her before she unlocked her door had us both breathing hard.

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