Page 5 of The Keeper

Get it while the gettin’s good.

“Me,” Ghost replied, keeping a firm grip on me like I was a spooked animal in danger of bolting.

God, I wished. If only I were the type of girl who could shut off my emotions on a whim and never let anyone see when they’d slipped past my defenses.

Aloof. Unbothered.

Instead, I was the girl who’d spent the past fifty minutes knocking back mostly virgin margaritas and watching the entrance to the pool area like a loser. My mom often told me I didn’t wear my heart on my sleeve but on my face for all the world to see.

“Perfect timing! Piper and I were grabbing another round for everybody. But now that you finally decided to show up, I’ll head back if that’s cool.”

Ivy narrowed her big blue eyes on him like a missile locking onto a target before casually adding, “Or maybe GQ could go with her. You should have seen them together. It was so cute.”

He looked down at me with a raised brow. “Is that right?”

Damn Ivy and her damn experiments.

I was distracted. With each breath that filled his giant-sized lungs, his warm skin brushed against mine, activating erogenous zones I wasn’t even aware I had and bulldozing through anything remotely resembling a coherent response.

“Yeah, I think initially he felt bad she’d been stood up and was trying to be nice,” she continued, hellbent on getting a reaction out of Ghost like she hadn’t been the one defending him just five minutes ago.

“And was he?” he asked in a low voice that sent goosebumps scattering across my damp skin.

“Um—” I sucked in a breath as his fingers slowly skimmed up my spine. “Was he what?”

“Nice.”

Ivy grinned. “Oh, I’d say he was a lot more than that?—”

Ghost flicked a dismissive glance over at the pool before shaking his head. “No, he wasn’t.”

My head flinched back slightly. “But you weren’t here,” I said slowly. “How would you know?”

A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “Because they were under strict instructions not to try anything, which included looking at, touching, or speaking to you.”

The color drained from my face when I realized he wasn’t joking. I disentangled myself from his firm grip and backed away in shock.

This asshole couldn’t be bothered to show up when he said he would, but god forbid his friends keep me company while I waited. Or, I don’t know, not treat me like a leper.

I opened my mouth but found I had no words.

Luckily, Ivy had enough for both of us. “Wow. Afraid she might see that unlike you, your friends actually have personalities to go with their looks? Or maybe it’s about the control for you. Is that it? You get off on pulling the strings like some sadistic puppet master?”

Ghost blinked rapidly before stepping back like he was trying to make his hulking frame appear less threatening. “What? No, it’s not like that at all. If you could give us a minute alone, I could explain?—”

“Why, so you can try to bully your way back into her good graces?” she fired back with a cutting laugh. “Not a chance in hell, pal.”

A dark flush spread up his throat and into his face. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before trying again. “Five minutes, Piper. That’s all I’m asking for.”

“Fine,” I agreed, nodding to Ivy to let her know I was good. “But I’m getting a drink before the bar closes.”

Without waiting to see if he would follow, I waded into the large pool to the deserted swim-up side of the bar, eager to get the entire thing over with. I couldn’t imagine him being able to talk himself out of the hole he’d dug in five minutes, but it would be amusing to watch him try before telling him to go fuck himself.

The stools were level with my chest. Determined to use my buoyancy to my advantage, I placed my palms on the seat and hoisted myself up like The Little Mermaid splashing onto a rock. I almost had it, too, until my hand slipped.

Ghost caught me under the armpits and placed me on the stool before sliding onto the one next to it. Unlike me, he didn’t require propelling or special maneuvers.

“Listen, I owe you an explanation,” he said, turning to face me.

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