Free Point Blank by Kaily Hart Page B

before. The frown
probably wasn’t agood sign.
    Sheswallowedagainbutitdidn’thelpwiththelumpinherthroat.Thishadall gone so much more smoothly in her
head. He hadn’t just stood there looking at her asif she’d lost her mind, that’s for sure. And just look at him.
What the hell wasshe thinking? He
had to have his pick of whatever woman he wanted, probably had to beat themoff.Shewas delusional, shemustbe,tothinkRex—hot,gorgeous,grown-upRex—after all that had happened, would
actually wantto—
    Lanie gasped when he grabbed for
her hand, folded his warm, rough fingers aroundhers,turnedandbeganwalking.Hisgripwascarefulbutunrelentingandshecouldn’t do anything but follow. She
looked at the back of his dark head, the curl ofhis hair against his neck, the width of his powerful shoulders.
Heat surged up andthrough her body
centering in a pulsing throb between her legs at the simpleskin-to-skin contact.
    She
tugged against his firm hold until he stopped and turned to look ather.
    Shelickedlipssuddenlybonedry,herheartbeatslammingoutofcontrolatthe heat in his gaze. “I-I
guess I should explain.I—”
    “No.
I got the message, loud andclear.” 
He turned and began walkingagain.
    “I was thinking,” she added as she tried to concentrate on
not falling inthe ridiculousheelsshehadn’thadtimetogetusedto.“Wecould…youknow…anight, onenight.”
    His
fingers clenched on hers. It was slight, but his pace pickedup.
    Lanie triedasteadyingbreath.Shemightnotbeveryexperiencedatthissortofthing, but it seemed to be promising,right?
     
     
    “Hey,man.”
    Rexbarelymanagedtocontainthegrowloffrustrationwhenhewasstoppedbya
hard slap on his back. Ronnie Lewis, ex-captain of the football team andshithead extraordinaire.
    Great. He hoped like hell the prick
kept walking. Lanie’s hand felt small in hisand smooth,soft.Hetuckedtheirclaspedhandsbehindhisthighoutofsight.Hedidn’t want the questions about why he was
holding on to her, but no way was he lettinggo.
    “What
kind of pussy drink is that,man?”
    Rex looked down at the water he’d all but forgotten. Once
upon a time that kindofcomment would have immediately put him on
the defensive. Hell, it would havepissed
him off and had him ready to let his thoughts be known with his fists. No more.
Infact, hecouldn’tgiveafuckwhatanyonethoughtthesedays.Hedidthingshiswayandin
his own time and to hell with everyone else. He wasn’t much of a drinker
anyway,but he didn’t want to be
impaired in any way. Not now. Not tonight. Not with Lanie inhis sights.
    “ Lanie , you and me,” Shithead said
as he pointed at her. “Later, okay? We cancatch
up on oldtimes.”
    Notifhehadanythingtodowithit.Rexgrittedhisteethashewinkedatherand
walked off. The guy was still arrogant, loud and thought way too much of himself.And he’dbeentryingtosuckuptoRexallnight.Ifthatwasn’tirony,hedidn’tknowwhat was.Theconsolationwastheguyhadgonetofatbutprobablystillthoughtitwasall muscle. Andifhewasn’tmistaken? Hiswifewasprobably boinking allofhisfriends.
She’d already made him an offer he couldn’t refuse fastenough.
    Before she could change her mind or over-think the offer that
did have himreeling, Rexpulled Lanie alongbehindhim,outontoanoutsidebalconyanddownthewidestepstotheyardoutback.Heroundedthecornerofthebuildingandbackedherup
againstthewall.Heknewthespotwassecluded,thatnoonecouldseethem.He’dsat
hisassinthisexactspotmoretimesthanhecouldcount.Sometimestokeepaneyeon what was going on inside, sometimes
because he didn’t have any place else to go. Ithad always been alone, untilnow.
    “So
how do you feel knowing you gave your cherry to thatprick?”
    Christ,hecouldhavekickedhimselfwhenshestiffenedanddrewherhandfrom his.Yeah,commentslikethatweregoingtogethimexactlynowhere.Hewasgood with women, more than good. He was known for his ability
to charm the pants offthem whenhesethismindtoit—literally—sowhatwasitaboutthiswomanthatgothim twisted in knots and nervous as hell?
And likely to say dumbass