Page 46 of Corbin
“I could be here to thank you for introducing me to Spartanburg’s finest.” Corbin crossed his powerful forearms on display with the black T-shirt he’d changed into. “I could be here to ask why you did that to me. I could be here to—”
Holding up a hand, she said, “Stop. Ionlycalled for my driver. I did not set you up to be arrested.”
Below the dark sunglasses, his lips almost curved up. Was he laughing at her? He said, “I see. The police who thought I had been stalking you showed up as magically as the sedan. Sure, I’ll believe that.”
Heat climbed her throat. Ithadbeen her fault, but the law enforcement part had not been her doing. “I thought I hit the button alerting my driver to come pick me up. I didn’t. I accidentally pushed the button that asked him to come get me immediately. He thought maybe someone was threatening me.”
Tapping his cheek, he said, “Ah, now I see. All that occurred because you pushed a panic button. Good thing someone with the nuclear codes doesn’t have your twitchy finger. I’ve never known a shifter to have a panic button of any sort.”
Why did he have to pile on top of her embarrassment?
She had no strong comeback. She might have inadvertently put him in a bad spot earlier, but he started this, not her. “I don’t owe you any explanation. You showed up out of the blue and chased me while I was minding my own business. You should apologize to me.”
“What?”
“You know what? Never mind. I don’t care about your apology. In fact ... ”
Reaching out so fast she hadn’t seen his hands move, he cupped her arms and lifted her off the sidewalk, placing her to his right next to a tall bank building. He called out, “Hey, slow down, buddy.”
She heard the grinding sound against cement heading their way.
A kid with curly red hair on a skateboard whizzed by over the spot where she’d been standing. “Sorry, man.”
She should have been yanking away to free her arm, but her thoughts stalled at the gentle strength he’d exuded simply to protect her. In fairness to her brain, she might have shaken off his hold, but one thumb slowly brushed across her arm, sending tiny shockwaves along her skin.
Added to that was his intoxicating scent. Every breath confused her hormones as much as her brain.
She leaned in for a deeper inhale.
His thumb stopped moving... the moment shattered.
He slowly released her arms, leaving her standing like an idiot.
She took a step back, embarrassed at having lost her composure, and snapped, “You could have simply warned me the child was headed our way.”
“If I’d known which way would be his final swerve, I would have, but he was looking down at something. Not at who he was about to knock over.”
A reasonable explanation.
She wanted to be gracious, not chiding him for taking a protective action. “Okay ... thank you.”
He started laughing. “That sounded painful.”
Screw being polite. “So now you’re laughing at me? Not so much a gentleman after all.”
Hooking a hand around the back of his neck, his words came out with strained patience. “I was only teasing you earlier to see what your smile might look like, but you got more pissed at me for trying to keep you safe. You must be tough to date.”
Date? She couldn’t define that word.
The only young man she’d spent intimate time with had been her awful attempt at self-medicating against the anguish of her father’s murder. That guy turned out to be a human gold digger. She’d been isolated from regular contact with others for so long that she’d come to realize what she’d always suspected.
Her soul had been damaged beyond repair, and her father’s death had broken her.
She did not possess the ability to recognize when a man was poking at her to get a smile. Her life didn’t give her much reason to smile.
Had he been ... flirting with her?
“Hey, don’t take that to heart.” His soothing words tugged her out from under the dark cloud hovering over her thoughts.
