Free Reese by Terri Anne Browning Page B

sexy.
                  “No.” I told him honestly. “Not really. Do you need anything else?” I asked again.
                  “Hey baby.” Stone leaned against the bar between Jake and Maddox , having left Corbin to the fans at the ta bl e in the back . He gave me that smile of his again. That ‘I’m a nice guy, I’ll never break your heart’ smile.
                  I gave him a cool look in return. “Want a beer?”
                  The smile disappeared, replaced with a frown. “No. I want to know what’s wrong.” His tone was concerned, his gaze penetrating .
                  I shrugged. “Let’s just say that I’m one groupie that doesn’t want to play the game any longer.” I pushed away from the bar. “If you don’t want a beer, or anything else, I need to get back to the customers that are drinking.”
                  I heard Jake groan as I walked away. A h eated argument ensued behind me : Low hard voices, a few brutal swears ; but I tuned them out as I mixed drinks. I glanced over once and found everyone but Stone gone. He just sat at the bar watching me. I ignored him. Even though my heart cried out for me to go to him, I stayed away. If someone wanted a drink they realized soon enough that by going to his end of the bar they were out of luck.
                  Eleven o’clock came and went. But Stone remained even though he had a stringent schedule. He didn’t try to talk to me, nor did he order anything to drink. He just sat there, patient and never tiring. I felt his eyes following me, caressing me. A few times I was tempted to kick him out. But I knew that would be useless. He wouldn’t go, and I didn’t have the energy to tangle with him physically tonight.
                  Bubba and Biker One eventually left, leaving large tips. Not for the first time I wondered how Bubba could afford to drink at Safe Haven so often and leave me such nice tips. Last call found the place nearly dead and then the bouncers were showing the last of the hangers- on out. And still Kieran Stone remained.
                  I cleaned up behind the bar, washed the last of the glasses and started counting my drawer. When I was finally finished with everything else I grabbed my gym bag and he followed me to the door. I locked up and walked away.
                  “You are not a groupie!” He finally exploded, following me.
                  I kept walking.
                  “Reese… P lease stop and talk to me.” He urged. “I know that Jake made you think that I am just playing around with you. He’s a dick and the only reason I keep him around is because he is the best manager and promoter out there.”
                  Nothing he said made me want to turn around. But the sound of his voice...That deep, dark, enticing voice made me ache. I refused to be drawn in again , however, and kept walking.
                  “Yes, I invite a few fans to come and watch us spar from time to time. Yes, those fans are usually female…And sometimes I…” He broke off and muttered a few curses. “ But that isn’t the case with you, dam m it! I care about you, Reese.”
                  Those last five words hurt more than anything. To me, now that I was onto his playboy games, they were just lines. I closed my eyes, squeezing back tears. I swallowed around the lump in my throat and continued on. When I reached my apartment I unlocked the door and slammed it behind me ; l ocking it before dropping down on the sofa, not even bothering to turn on a light.
                  His fist hit the door. “Reese!”
                  I just sat there in the dark. He could have knocked the door down if he wanted to, but I somehow knew that he wouldn’t go that far. He didn’t want to scare me. Instead he stood on the other side and kept