Page 9 of When It Rains He Pours

Chapter Two

Glory

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Walking through Barry's, the man stretched his hand back, softly gripping the very tips of my fingers. His touch was sensitive, light and protective in the same breath.

I watched his back twist and curve with hard lines and firm muscles. Dips and deep trenches pushed and pulled against the fabric. The urge to reach out and stroke the mass of perfection tingled in my fingers.

I couldn't look away, I couldn't stop staring at the wall of muscle in front of me. His presence was fierce and empowering, commanding the room with each step.

My heart skipped in my chest as a warm, fuzzy feeling rumbled in my belly, and my head fell into a delirious haze. He had me mesmerized.

Stop, just stop. Now is not the time for this. There's bigger shit to think about.

Forcing my eyes to the floor, I tucked my free hand into my back pocket to ease the festering urge to touch him.

There was no doubt in my mind that my brain was trying to replace all the pain I felt with something else. And this man had saved me, he was an easy target to grasp. What better focus was there than your hero?

I need a clear head. I can't get lost in false lust.

Leading us to a booth against the back wall, he guided me into the seat. Slipping over the cushion, I grabbed the drink menu from behind the napkin holder and started flipping through.

I was afraid to look up, afraid to let my eyes settle on his and rekindle these ridiculous emotions of desire.

The booth wiggled as the man sat down in front of me, and he quietly cleared his throat. But I didn't acknowledge it, I wasn't going to give my body the chance to start that shit again.

“What are you going to have?” I asked, moving the menu higher up to cover my face.

Keeping my eyes on the bright pictures, I sensed him shifting his stare around my face, flicking those ocean blue orbs over every detail and thin line. His stare bore a hole into the top of my head, making me more than aware that he wanted me to look at him.

But I stayed strong, I didn't look.

“I'm not sure, I haven't looked at the drink menu yet. And I'm guessing you don't know what you want either.” His tone was highlighted with amusement, hinting that I had been staring at the same page this entire time.

Closing the menu, I slid it across the table, and stuffed the tips of my fingers into my temples. Pinching my lids tight, I groaned. “I don't have a damn clue.”

This is too much, all of this is too much.

My brain started running like a high speed train, doing circles around the million things I had to do.

I was going to need new materials; new paints, new brushes, new canvases. But first I had to drop this unholy bomb on all the customers who were waiting on their purchases.

Ugh. . . Those are calls I don't want to make.

I was hoping that they'd understand what had happened and be sympathetic. The last thing I needed was for all of them to request a refund. . . That would be a nightmare.

It's already a fucking nightmare.

The evil man's eyes flashed in my mind, forcing a shiver to ride my spin and turn my stomach. He spoke so intensely, as if I should have known what he was talking about.

But I didn't. The cryptic statement he left me with was puzzling and disturbing.'You know what you need to do.'

What the hell did that even mean?

Does that really matter?

I shouldn't care about the perplexing words he spat in my face. He was going to hurt me, he was insane and crazed. Everything I needed to worry about was in his actions, it didn't need to go any deeper than that.

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