Page 31 of Captivating

It would be so easy to close my eyes and pretend...

Act like the past ten years didn’t happen.

That we weren’t completely different people now than we were then.

But I don’t. I can’t.

There’s no going backward in life if you want to be sure of what’s in front of you.

“Come on now... you know my Dad would rip me out of his cage by my balls if I let the noise in. Easiest way to lose a fight is to fight distracted. One of the first things we learn to do is tune it all out.” He tugs again, then drops my hair. “So what time can you be ready to head to Crucible?”

“What?” I spin around to face him and get caught in my blanket like a turtle caught in his own shell, yanking my legs and arms free but getting more tangled before I can finally rip it off.I lift up on my knees and grab the back of the couch so I’m closer to his height. Well, not really, but at least I’m a little higher. “Did you not just hear me say I have everything set up so I can chill and write and regroup in the privacy and quiet of my own home?”

Killian slides his hands up my ribs and under my arms and lifts me from the couch and plants my feet on the floor like I’m a rag doll he can move at will.

“No—” I snap and smack away his hands. “You cannot just move me because you feel like it, you jerk.”

He crosses his thick freaking arms over his chest and glares. “You asked me why I was up? Well I’m training for my next title fight, princess. I’ve got to defend my title against some asshole who’s hungry as hell for my belt, and that means I’ve got to train harder than him. That starts before I set foot in the gym, and it doesn’t end when I get home at night. If you need me by your side, I’m gonna need you at Crucible.”

Jesus. Can’t he at least put a shirt on if he’s going to lecture me?

It would make it easier to focus on his words instead of his muscles.

I reach over and grab my notebook from the couch in a huff. “Fine. But I’m not staying there all day.”

“Then I guess you’re letting Xander inside, aren’t you? Because you need to have someone with you at all times, Lilah. If you’re home, maybe you can get away with one of the other guys. Jamie or Noah or Maddox or Rome. Hell, Maverick’s season will be over after this weekend. He can bring Rosie over with him.

“That’s not fair,” I mumble. Rosie is the sweetest little girl in the world, and Maverick is so protective of who he lets around her that Killian knows how much we all dote on her. “Don’t use Rosie against me.”

“I’ll use every weapon in my arsenal if I have to. Now go get dressed. If I’m late today, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

The way his eyes are cast down over me, I know he’s daring me to argue, and I refuse to give him what he wants.

He’s doing me a favor.

I have to be nice . . . right?

It’s a shame nice goes right out the window where this man is concerned, and slightly irrational anger replaces it with the heat of a billion burning suns.

Maybe one day, I’ll release my negativity into the universe, but today is not that day.

Today, I’m holding on to it like a safety blanket.

“Fine. I’ll go with you this morning and ask Xander if he can bring me home later so I can get some work done too.” I clutch my notebook to my chest. It’s not like I haven’t spent a few hours a day at the gym for the past week anyway. “Do you guys have any good classes I could take?”

His green eyes twinkle as we walk side by side out of the room. “What kind of classes?”

“High-intensity? Something that’s going to work everything? I’m trying to lose a few inches.” My skin itches with the thought of that damn article and the way they compared the photos of me from two years ago to my photos now. Nothing like seeing yourself side by side to see every pound you’ve gained.

Killian slams his hand against the door frame, nearly clotheslining me before I can make my escape.

“What the hell, St. James?” I squeak and duck under his arm. “You’re supposed to be keeping me safe, not nearly knocking me out.”

“Lilah, stop.” His voice... that voice... It’s gravelly. Strong but quiet. So damn serious, it sends chills down my arms. “Please.”

Thepleasestops me in my tracks, but I don’t turn around. I can’t. I’m frozen in place, certain I don’t want to look into his eyes right now. I know it in the depths of my soul.

Damn him.

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