Page 46 of Bossy Hero

I lose myself momentarily in his fathomless eyes. “There what is?”

“The blush.” He draws the backs of his knuckles along my warming cheek. “Better than I imagined.”

Gasping for breath, I close my eyes, allowing myself a moment to relish his touch. When I open them again, I tilt my mouth upward, operating on nothing but instinct.

I’veneverwanted to kiss a man the way I want to kiss him.

And that’s terrifying.

He’s solid steel, and I’m a mere piece of jagged flint. If we come together, the sparks will trigger a blaze that’ll surely engulf me.

Before he can close the last bit of distance, I pull away. Retreating quickly, I lower my eyes and rid myself of the spell he put on me.

“Let me get you something to drink, Big Al,” I intone flatly, using his nickname as a barrier. “You must be thirsty from your trip.”

And I disappear into the kitchen, leaving him behind me. Where he needs to stay.

Icannotlet this happen. Lethimhappen.

If I do, we’ll both burn. Nothing will be left but soot and ash.

Chapter7

Life's a big party. And I hate parties

Big Al

At least Leo was happy to see me. He’s more than worth the flight and the time away from the monstrous to-do list I left in Clearwater. Sawyer’s also worth it, even if I’d never tell him so.

Before you get on my ass for saying that, it isn’t that I don’t want him to know he’s appreciated—it’s that he’ll never shut up about it. If that happens, I’ll end up murdering him. So, you see, I’m saving his life by not letting him know how much I value his friendship.

From a business standpoint, if things go my way, I’ll officially recruit Leo and Sawyer by the time I board my flight tomorrow morning. I’ve planted the bug in their ears. Big time. We talked money and benefits—the works. We’ve discussed life after the service multiple times. Now that Redleg is taking on clients, it’s become a tangible possibility for them.

Once they’ve adjusted to civilian life, I expect they’ll head to Florida to join Tomer, Shep, and me at Redleg, along with the others I’ve recruited. Klein’s already on board when his contract is up next year. A few others are in the pipeline. So the trip was worth it on multiple fronts.

As for Maddie... I don’t fucking know what to think.

Her wall is up higher than ever, and I have no clue what I did to cause it. She stopped calling me Alan, which shouldn’t bother me. But it fucking does.

A lot.

She won’t hold my eye contact and is essentially avoiding me. Not that it’s too hard to do in a house full of people celebrating Leo’s departure from the Army. But still. It’s blatantly obvious she doesn’t want me here, and damn if that doesn’t sting.

After all this time, I wassoclose to kissing her. Fucking finally. There were two, maybe three, inches separating us.

And she wanted me to kiss her. I know she did. I couldn’t have imagined it. The flirty banter. The coy smiles and batting eyelashes. The way she tilted her chin, offering her lips to me.

Her body was practically begging me.

Then she went blank. A switch flipped.

Everything changed in an instant.

The man I was in my twenties and thirties would never stand for this type of constant rejection from a woman. Why chase someone when there are plenty of fish in the sea, as they say? Back then, I never lacked female company. Pursuing a woman this ardently was unnecessary, especially when I wasn’t looking for much beyond casual companionship.

Butthiswoman?

Maddie fucking wrecked me from the moment I looked deep into her azure eyes and glimpsed the grizzly bear under the surface. The one painfully trapped in a cage of suffering. The thought of helping her free herself has consumed me.

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