Free Reckless (Blue Collar Boyfriends Book 1) by Jessi Gage

absolute certainty. The moment he blinked up at her in adorable confusion, she lost her heart completely.
    Who knew what supernatural force had thrown them together or for what purpose, but she was glad it had. She wouldn’t have picked out a serious, aggressive man with a temper for a lover, especially one prone to seeking refuge from his problems in a bottle, but she didn’t regret being here with him. Derek had a loving heart, and he wanted to do right even if he missed the mark sometimes. Staying up late last night to hang curtains for Haley proved it.
    She wanted to bring laughter and fun to his serious eyes. She wanted to fill his temperamental heart with love. Giving him some pleasure last night had been just the start. For as long as she would be allowed to visit him, she vowed to offer him the comfort, love, and pleasure he seemed to crave so much, even if he didn’t know how to ask for it.
    Her smile started deep inside and made its way out to greet the man who had called her his dream girl and held her through the night, the man who had given her purpose.
    He scrambled away from her until he fell off the far edge of his bed, taking the new comforter with him. He bounced up like a jack-in-the box, saying “Shit!” over and over again, until his hands wrapped around a wooden baseball bat propped in the corner. Pulling the bat back, he tangled it in the blinds and cursed some more as he took his gaze off her to detangle it from the buckled aluminum.
    Panting and wild-eyed, he looked back at her. A flush crept up his cheeks. He abandoned his defensive posture, letting the bat slide in his grip until he held it relaxed by his side. “Probably overkill with the bat?”
    She held back her laughter. “I’m betting you could take me without it. But I don’t think it’ll come to that. I’m not interested in hurting you, only doing nice things to you.”
    He gulped and stared at her, a large, muscle-bound man looking like a horny teenager unable to believe his luck. “I’m still dreaming.”
    “Nope.”
    “Shit.” He wiped a hand down his face, shut his eyes for a beat and reopened them as though expecting her to be gone. Of course she didn’t go anywhere, and she wouldn’t, not for another few minutes if the pattern of the last two mornings held. The alarm had gone off at 4:50, and she’d been yanked away the last two mornings in the minute or two before 5:00. She’d never caught even the barest hint of dawn. Would this morning be the same?
    Please let me stay to see sunrise this morning, she pleaded to whatever power was responsible for this weirdness.
    Derek wiped a hand down his face again. “Shit.”
    She grimaced. “Not quite the reaction I was hoping for.”
    “Sorry. It’s all I got.” His face grew pale. Fear replaced the sleepiness in his eyes.
    Okay, the guy was freaked. Not what she’d intended, but she could deal. She just needed to explain.
    She folded her legs under her so she knelt in the middle of the bed, facing him. “Look, sorry if I scared you, but I’m no threat. Honest. I’ll even disappear if you want me to. All I have to do is get out of bed and poof , you won’t see me anymore. But this is the first time I’ve gotten to really talk to you in three days, and, I don’t have long, only a few more minutes, and, well, maybe I’m a little lonely. I was kind of hoping we could talk—I mean I know you probably have to get ready for work and all—I’m guessing it’s Monday. I don’t want to impose or anything. I just—”
    Just what? Wanted to have breakfast with him? It wasn’t like she could sit at the kitchen table and sip coffee. In fact, she had no right to expect anything of him. Derek had a life, and she was completely interrupting it.
    Not to mention, she was a supernatural phenomenon he probably had one heck of a time trying to wrap his brain around.
    When he continued staring at her, she forced a smile and tried not to let disappointment crush her. “Never