Free BreakingBeau by Chloe Cole Page B

spaghetti. Too bad. There was nothing to
do about it now. She sucked in a deep breath and pushed the door open.
    She stepped through and it closed with a clang, but Beau
didn’t look her way. Headphones , she realized as she got closer. His
back was to her, and the view made her mouth go dry. His muscled back gleamed
with sweat. Beads of it rolled down his spine then disappeared into the
waistband of his low-slung gym pants. His traps were bunched tight as he threw
punch after punch, punishing the leather bag.
    The music was so loud she could hear it as she approached.
Not wanting to startle him, she walked to the other side of the bag. Her knees
shook as she watched and waited for him to notice her.
     
    He smelled her before he saw her. Rain and honeysuckle
shampoo. Maybe his brain was fucking with him. But he turned his head and there
she was. Rain-drenched, she stared at him with huge, smoky eyes. Dark purple
smudges underneath emphasized the paleness of her skin. She was an
exhausted-looking wreck, so why did she still look so damn good to him?
    He stripped off one glove and yanked the earbuds from his
ears. Shock tussled briefly with anger, but anger won out. “Did you come here
alone at this time of night?”
    She just nodded.
    “Bad idea. How did you know where I was?”
    “Rex gave me a few ideas. The place is closed though, so I
almost left.”
    “Nino is a close friend. I have a key.”
    “If this is such a bad neighborhood, maybe you should’ve
used it to lock up behind you. I could’ve come in and killed you before you
even knew I was there.”
    He eyed her from head to foot and shook his head. “I doubt
that.”
    She gave him a quivery smile. “I’m stronger than I look.”
    “Believe me, girl, I know that.” He bent to pick up his
water bottle and took a long pull before swiping his arm over his sweaty face.
“So what are you doing here, Gigi? Forget something on your note?”
    Her gaze wavered but she didn’t bite. “No.”
    “What then? Did you come here for another round? Sorry, but I
think I’ll pass. As much as the idea of fucking you for the next couple weeks
intrigues me, I find being treated like a piece of meat is kind of a turn-off.
Who knew?”
    She visibly flinched but he didn’t give a shit. He was just
saying it like it was.
    “God, I screwed up so bad. I didn’t mean to make you feel
like that—”
    “It’s no big deal. We hardly know each other. I just thought
we were…friends. I don’t have a whole lot of female friends, so maybe I’m off
here, but the way I had it figured, things should have gone down a little
differently.”
    Her eyes filled with tears and she stepped toward him. “I’m
sorry, Beau. I really am.”
    He threw up a hand and sighed. She’d come to apologize and
he was being a prick. Sure, he was pissed at how she’d left it, but what was
really yanking his chain was that she left at all.
    “I’m sorry too. I’m not being fair. You asked for exactly
what you wanted, and I agreed. Maybe I deserved a conversation afterward, and
the note was pretty shitty, but you were honest from the start.” He looked away
and scrubbed a hand down his face before turning back to face her. “I just
hoped…”
    She pushed the wet tangle of hair from her face with a
shaking hand and waited for him to finish.
    Guilt pricked at him as he realized that, although he’d been
working out and was sweating his ass off, she was soaked to the bone and
freezing. The gym had only been closed for an hour and still held the chill
from the air conditioner. “Jesus, I’m an asshole. Come here,” he said, and
motioned her forward. She took a tentative step toward him and he grabbed the
towel on the bench next to him.
    “Come closer, let me dry your hair for you. You’re going to
get sick.”
    Her expression was guarded as she moved closer. He covered
her hair with the towel and rubbed gently, starting at the top, making his way
to the back of her head. She let out a squeaky