Page 72 of The Patron Saint of Timber Hollow

Saint is here, though he is alone. With effortless precision, he lowers his body into a lunge, his leg muscles gleaming in the lights. Saint's shorts ride up with every movement.

"Good morning, Tiny." Saint greets, shifting stances to do a different exercise.

"Good morning, Cinnamon." I have absolutely zero intention of actually working out this morning. However, I still walk over to the stationary bike and start slowly pedaling.

Saint doesn't say anything else. He merely goes through the motions of his workout, humming along with the playlist thumping quietly from the sound system speakers in the ceiling.

Minutes pass like that, me quietly pedaling the stationary bike and Saint humming along with the music, doing bicep curls, until finally, I can't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry for shutting you out," I say quietly, not even looking at him.

"You don't have to apologize to me, Tiny," Saint says equally quietly.

"Yes, I do. It isn't fair, and I don't like feeling like I've hurt you," I reply, finally meeting his electric green eyes.

"I understand why, though, even if I didn't like it," Saint says, but I ignore his comment.

"I know I'm not the easiest person to be around, I'm stubborn, and I'm prideful and could probably list more than a few red flags for you-"

"I don't care about those things, Tiny." Saint interrupts my monologue.

I charge on ahead as if I hadn't heard him. "I'm selfish and dramatic and hate my family most days, but I…" I trail off, having lost my point of listing all my faults. Swallowing down myfear, I finish with the truth. "I can't keep shutting the people I care about out, though."

Saint's green eyes lock onto mine, flashing with the rising of his wolf.

"You care about me?" A sly smile creeps across Saint's face, making my heart skip a beat.

"Yeah, that's what…."I gulp, wrestling with the internal urge to flee. Run away and never return. "That's what I'm trying to say. Icareabout you."

I have all of his focus now, and that sly smile turns into a full-blown grin as he drops his free weights, the loud bang of them hitting the floor making me jolt.

"Howmuchdo youcareabout me, Tiny?" One foot in front of the other, Saint crosses the distance.

My heart is in my throat, pounding away with every step Saint takes toward me. "A dangerous amount," I admit, watching his advance.

Saint's eyebrows scrunch together as he asks, "How so?"

My answer is easy. "You could destroy me."

"Or you could destroy me," Saint fires back, making my chest ache.

Gnawing on my lip, I reply, "Like I said, a dangerous amount, Cinnamon."

Saint looks at me for a minute, green eyes roaming all over my body. When he locks eyes with me, he seems able to peer down into my soul. He and Jay both have that deep, intense gaze as if they can see the very fabric you're woven out of.

Another minute drags by in silence before Saint eventually says, "I've always liked to play with fire, Tiny."

And then he's charging toward me, covering the remaining distance effortlessly, picking me up off the stationary bike, running up flights of stairs with me over his shoulder, laughing the entire way.

His warm hands on the backs of my thighs heat my blood, sending it spooling in my middle.

Then he lightly tosses me on his bed, slamming the door behind him.

"What are you doing?" I laugh, settling back on my elbows.

Saint's grin turns wicked when he says, "You think I'm going to risk getting interrupted and having to share?" He shakes his head, the few strands of hair free of his bun bouncing. "Not a chance, Tiny."

My heart sinks immediately. "Oh, but you- I mean, we, Jay and I- um," I stammer, blush rising to my cheeks as I fight for words to describe what I meant.