Page 22 of Beneath Your Beautiful
“Tough guy, huh?”
“Thick skin. Not as delicate as yours.”
“I’m pretty tough.”
“You’re also stubborn. You’d probably say it doesn’t hurt even if it does.”
“Probably. I grew up with boys. They wouldn’t have let me hang out with them if I’d been a big cry baby. Whatever they could do, I could do better.”
“And were you…better?”
I laughed, thinking about some of the stupid stunts I’d pulled. Nine times out of ten they back-fired. Like that dirt bike accident. Sawyer and I built jumps in the woods behind our house. When I took the jump, I bragged, “I’m flying so high I can see straight into the next county.” Unfortunately, I didn’t nail the landing. “No. But not for lack of trying.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
When he pulled up in front of my building, I said, “You’re only a caveman sometimes. When we do talk, you’re a good conversationalist. And you’re not charmless. I’ve seen you be quite charming, so I know you’re capable of it and—”
“You don’t need to lie to protect my feelings.”
“I’m not lying. Underneath your tough exterior, I know—”
“I’m not a gooey marshmallow underneath. Don’t fool yourself into thinking I am.”
He could try to hide it all he wanted, but I knew he was a good person. He’d defended Ava against bullies. He’d given me a job even though I had zero bartending experience. And Jimmy had told me Killian had recruited his taco truck for the courtyard. Before that, Jimmy said he had barely been making ends meet, but now business was good, and he had a steady gig.
I also knew the tattoos on Killian’s arm meant something to him, and he wouldn’t have inked his skin if they didn’t. Someone broke his heart. Stabbed it with a dagger. Even though his face was usually shuttered, I’d seen fleeting moments when it wasn’t. And in the short amount of time I’d known him, I’d started to care about him, and I had an overwhelming urge to protect all the feelings he tried so hard to hide. I didn’t understand why. I just did.
“Where’s your brother?” I asked quietly.
“I don’t know.” He rolled out his shoulders. “He’s a runner. Takes off when things get hard.”
I bet Killian would never run from trouble. I bet he’d stay and fight his corner, even if all the odds were stacked against him. “Everyone has their coping mechanisms.”
“Guess so.”
“If you ever want to throw some paint on a canvas, I can hook you up. It’s good therapy, apparently.”
He chuckled under his breath. “Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
Chapter Nine
Killian
Louis let out a low whistle. “That is one sweet ass.”
I grunted.Keep your eyes off her ass. Since he was looking straight ahead, he wasn’t referring to any of the women in the yoga session on the lawn.
I’d never seen her running in McCarren Park before, but now she was right in front of us, hooked up to earbuds, her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. Wearing those tiny sports shorts designed by men, I was sure of it. They left something to the imagination, but they showed off her best assets. A perfect ass and long, golden-tanned legs. She was a real runner, not a half-hearted jogger. Her stride was long and powerful, and she made it looked effortless, like that ankle had never been twisted or bruised.
She was a fighter, with the face of an angel and an annoying habit of calling me out on everything I said or did. Why couldn’t she grasp the concept that I was trying to protect her from the sharks of this world? And anything else that could hurt her. Despite the voice in my head telling me I was wrong, a part of me still clung to the belief that I had the power to protect someone.
“I’m gonna go for her,” Louis said. “Treat her to some sweet, sweet Louis time. You know what they say…once you go black, you never—”
I shoved him, temporarily shutting him up. He stumbled but regained his balance and grabbed my bicep in a tight grip, effectively halting me. We didn’t need to catch our breath. We’d been trailing Eden, and while she was a good runner, we usually ran like bionic men. This had been a walk in the park. “What the hell are you waiting for? I see the way you look at her,” Louis said. “How long have I known you? In all that time, I have never seen you act like this aroundanymember of the female population.”
I started running again, jogging, really, staying a good distance behind Eden but close enough to keep her in my line of vision. She hadn’t seen us. She was too in-the-zone. Louis caught up to me and I wished I had my music with me, so I could plug into it instead of listening to him talking shit.
