Page 9 of Coach
But before I could say anything at all, another voice joined us.
CHAPTER THREE
Este
It took a solid twenty seconds for the shock and fear to dissipate before I could finally breathe again, even if the adrenaline was still singing through my veins.
When I glanced down to see who my savior was, though, a tightness spread across my chest again.
Because… wow.
I mean, from what I could tell, Shady Valley had no shortage of attractive men. My bosses, for one. The brothers who all seemed to own the pub next door also came to mind. Hell, even several of the cops and corrections officers that happened into the pool hall after their shifts were pretty hot.
This guy, though?
He was the fluttering heart, weak-kneed kind of gorgeous with his inky hair, his golden skin, his abundance of dark tattoos, his strong jaw, and the black eyes so deep I felt like I could dive in them and drown.
It was hard to tell his height when I was towering above him on the ladder, but he seemed tall and incredibly fit under his loose gray linen button-up and black jean shorts.
“You saved me.”
Great first line.
Genius.
But my mind was wiped blank of anything else.
The man’s eyes warmed. His lips curved up ever so slightly. His lips parted to say something.
Only to have freaking Konstantin interrupt.
“What are you doing?”
I still wasn’t quite used to the kind of blunt, almost stern way my boss spoke. It took effort to remember not everything he said was an accusation, even if it sounded like one.
“Checking the vent,” I told him, a little embarrassed to be having a work conversation in front of the random hot stranger.
“Why?”
“Because I was told to see what was wrong with the air.”
“Told?” Konstantin asked, brows lowering. “By who? Not me.”
“No, not you. But I got a call telling me to come in and—”
“From Mikhail?”
“Oh, ah. No. It was a woman. She—”
“Can’t mind her business,” Konstantin cut in, rambling off something under his breath in Russian. “You go. This can wait.” He flicked a hand toward the vent. “Irina!” he barked, snapping his fingers and drawing the attention of the woman I’d spoken to earlier.
Irina stalked toward Konstantin, her heels clicking like little bombs, reflecting her frustration. She drifted in and out of English and Russian. The only clear thing I made out was her snarling at him for snapping at her like a servant. That was fair enough. No one wanted to be snapped at.
Suddenly feeling very silly for still being up on a ladder, I slowly made my way down. I didn’t really realize what I was doing until I literally felt the guy’s hands brush the sides of my knees.
So, yeah.
My ass was all in his face.
