Page 40 of Hard Hitter

Under all that quiet contemplation lived a beast on a short leash. He didn’t scare me, but I wasn’t sure he wouldn’t chase the guy upstairs if I admitted I might be hurt.

“I’m fine,” I lied. “You have to stop running to my rescue.”

Noah’s jaw ticked, and he stalked toward me. “Stop needing rescuing.”

I shoved at his chest. He took a step back, but not because I’d moved him. “I had the situation under control.”

Noah slid his fingers under my wrist, lifting my arm until the red part was clearly visible. “He left a mark on you.”

I inhaled, willing myself to think past the tingles rippling up my arm. “I know.”

He lowered his head to kiss the inside of my wrist, and I gave up on trying to resist. Noah just hit different. His gentle side lulled me into feeling like nothing could possibly hurt me, and the feral side I’d just seen backed it up.

“What were you doing in the hallway?” I asked quietly.

His eyes shifted from my arm to my face. “You seemed upset when you left. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I wasn’t.”

His brows drew together. “Did I say something during the dance?”

This was my chance to admit the truth, but fear made me hesitate. Memories of the last time I’d allowed my feelings free rein encouraged me to clam up and find an escape. When I didn’t answer, Noah used his grip to draw me forward. His other arm curled around my waist, almost like we were dancing again, but without the audience.

“What happened?”

One minute we’d been raw and honest, on the verge of crossing a line in front of everyone, and the next he’d relinquished me to D. Like he’d suddenly remembered who I was, or at least who I was related to. I couldn’t decide which part had been the mistake.

My frustration at the whole situation finally reached a breaking point, and I shook my head. “I’m tired of this back and forth. Do you know why I don’t do relationships? Because no one ever wants me. Just me. They want the connection to D, and barring that, they want someone easy and compliant. Expectations of devotion lead to binge eating queso and French fries when the truth comes out that what I had to offer wasn’t good enough.”

“Those guys were idiots if they didn’t show up for you.”

“No argument there, but it’s easier if I set reasonable expectations. A good time with no promises on either side, and usually no mention of my brother. At least I know those guys wantme, and not D’s problematic little sister. I’m adequate for an average human, but it’s hard not to find myself lacking compared to the perfection of my brother.”

Noah choked on a laugh. “Your brother isnotperfect.”

“You could have fooled me. I was right there, and you couldn’t wait to get back to him.”

He stepped closer, amusement forgotten. “I would have stayed on the dance floor with you all night, but you never get to see D. Besides, I didn’t want him to find out about my interest in you by watching me make you come in a crowd of alumni donors.” His thumb dragged across my lower lip, making me swallow hard. “D has his blind spots—you’re one of them. I can like someone while still acknowledging their faults. I like you, and I’m well aware of your penchant for finding trouble.”

I pursed my lips at him, trying to ease some of the tension before I dove headfirst into his pants. “I’m baring my soul to you, and you think this is a good time to talk about my unfortunate habit of destroying things, which is entirely not my fault?”

A chilly breeze blew through the side street, making me shiver, and Noah walked us back into a corner. With stone walls on two sides, and Noah taking up all the space in front of me, I had trouble remembering why I was supposed to be holding back.

“Why were you upset tonight?”

“Because you danced with me, treated me like a real person you wanted to spend time with, then passed me along like a package. I don’t like being dismissed, and I definitely don’t want to feel that way from you.”

“Chloe, when I was dancing with you, I forgot anyone else was in the room, including your brother—which is the problem. He was watching us.”

Not surprising considering D wasn’t stupid or oblivious. “He doesn’t scare me. You do. I don’t want to like you this much.”

He trailed his nose along my cheek to speak into my ear. “Catching feelings for me, are you?”

“What does it matter? You’ll still pull back because I’m D’s untouchable sister.”

Noah nuzzled my hair. “I pull back because I don’t want to be another throwaway boy toy to you. I want more.”

The description wasn’t entirely inaccurate, but a heavy weight sat in my stomach as I realized he’d nailed old me’s hopes for him. Football players were supposed to be into casual hookups. New me was more open to an intriguing second option. With him.

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