Page 37 of Meant for You

He kissed my temple. “Drive carefully.”

Then he strode back into the gym and I stood there trying to pull myself together for a lot longer than I’d want to admit.

I moved to the door of the gym, noting Dane had made no comment on Tanner assuming we were an item, and peeked inside.

Dane and Tanner were in the ring together, with Grifter standing in one corner and another guy in the opposite one. Dane and Tanner circled each other, bouncing on the balls of their feet.

Tanner came at Dane, fists flying, face red, eyes full of rage. I got the feeling that perhaps they didn’t like each other, or at least Tanner didn’t like Dane. Dane easily deflected his blows and struck back, looking calm and focused.

Tanner came at him again, and Dane got him in the jaw.

The last time I’d seen Dane hit someone, he looked more like Tanner, full of rage, not controlled like he was now.

The more hits Dane got in, the angrier Tanner got.

Tanner suddenly ran at him, and Dane shoved him off. “We’re just sparring, man,” Dane said, a smirk on his face. “What’s got you so worked up?”

Tanner’s friend entered the ring and pulled him back, muttering something to him. Grifter, I noticed, didn’t seem worried in the slightest. No, he looked amused.

Tanner stormed off toward a door on the other side of the gym that I assumed led to the showers, and Dane shook his head. He walked to Grifter and leaned on the ropes, then his head turned and he saw me standing there.

He straightened.

My heart thumped in my chest.

It thumped again.

God, that kiss. I shivered.

Dane had done it on purpose, hadn’t he? He’d wanted Tanner to see us. He’d wanted to scare away the guy he thought I was interested in.

I felt off-balance all of a sudden.

Dane frowned and took a step toward me.

I quickly forced a smile and waved, because I wasn’t ready for more of Dane, not then, not the way I was feeling.

Instead, I spun and ran out.

Chapter Eight

Dane

I had a client due any minute, so quickly finished wiping my table down, and then remembered I’d already wiped it down five minutes ago.

Christ.

Everly.

All I could think about was that kiss.

That. Fucking. Kiss.

I’d kissed my fair share of women, not as many as people thought, and definitely not as many as Everly thought. People assumed certain things about me, the way I looked, acted, and I’d never cared enough to correct them.

But, yeah, I knew what a good kiss was.

And I’d never experienced anything like that in my life. The way Everly smelled, the tiny hitch in her breath as I moved in closer.