Page 44 of Beg for You

“Yes.” He pulled back and looked at me, and I got a little lost in his dark eyes.

“He was touching you,” he said, stating the obvious.

I thought I might be frowning, but I couldn’t be sure. The room was kind of spinning. “Well, yeah, we were dancing.”

“You were gonna fuck that guy, Princess?”

The room might have been spinning, but I was in no doubt that my eyes were huge. “No! That’s Ted.”

“Think we established that,” he said, low and gritty. “Him and his buddy…were rubbing up on you.”

Was he…could he actually be jealous? “They’re my friends.”

He lifted his head, looking at Ted who’d now moved closer, Ross behind him. The pair looked like they were about to take on Goliath. I put up a hand and pressed it to Ted’s chest, tilted my head to the side, and mouthed, “This is the guy I was telling you about.”

Ted’s mouth thinned and his gaze slid back to Cal.

“Say goodbye,” Cal said against my ear. “I’m taking you home.”

I did what I was told, because I wanted to go with him. He’d been on my mind all night, and now here he was.

Ted’s hand shot out and he grabbed my arm, stopping me. “You sure you want to leave, Ceecee?”

I nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m safe with Cal,” I said to my best friend.

Cal’s hand squeezed mine tighter and his eyes dropped to where Ted was holding me. His nostrils flared.

Ted didn’t look convinced. “How well do you know this guy?”

I frowned. “Ted—”

Ross moved up, lifted his phone, and snapped a picture of Cal and me, blinding us.

Cal stiffened.

“What was that?” I said, blinking against the flash spots in my eyes.

“If he turns out to be a serial killer, we have a pic to give the cops,” he said to Ted.

I glanced up at Cal, expecting him to be pissed, but instead, he looked kind of amused. “We all good here?” he said to Ted.

Ted was a big guy, solidly built, but usually pretty easygoing. He looked more serious than I’d ever seen him. “Be careful with her,” Ted said.

Cal stiffened again but then dipped his chin.

I glanced between them both until Cal took my hand in his big rough-skinned one and led me through the club. I noted that people parted for him like he was a human bowling ball, scattering like pins to get out of his way.

They saw the huge scarred exterior and thought they knew who he was. They didn’t. They had no idea what he hid beneath. Even I didn’t. But I knew what was there was oceans deep. You couldn’t paint the way he did and not have a storm raging inside you.

We walked onto the street and Cal led me to his truck. I climbed up; he buckled me in then climbed in as well, and we headed off.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him, which meant I saw his when he glanced my way, the way they moved over me. “I like the way you look at me,” I said, or slurred. Whatever. I undid my seat belt, slid across the seat and plastered myself to his side. He was warm—no, hot—and solid. I loved how solid he was.

“How do I look at you?” he rumbled, the vibrations moving through his chest to mine.

I rested my head on his broad shoulder, my hand sliding over his abs. They tightened beneath my fingers and I sighed. “Like you’re mentally stripping me naked.”

He shifted in his seat. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. I look at you and I can’t think straight.”