so preoccupied that I didn’t even notice that Channing had woken up and began following me. I turned back to him. “I’ve gotta go bye, bye. You go to bed.” I kissed him on his head.
He stared up at me with a confused expression, but I knew as soon as I left he’d go right back to sleep.
My entire body was shaking as I knocked on Holden’s door. I wasn’t sure if it was from adrenaline or arousal or both. Because they were equally rushing through me like whitewater rapids.
It wasn’t a polite knock. My fists were pounding on the oak. He was not going to ignore me. Not tonight.
He flung the door open, his thick brown hair was tousled as if he’d been tossing and turning in bed. That was the first thing I noticed. The second was that he was wearing sweats and no shirt and if I had to guess, nothing else. I wasn’t sure if there was anything, a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g sexier than a man—especially the man standing in front of me—wearing sweats and nothing else.
Saliva flooded my mouth and all of the righteous indignation that had propelled me to show up on Holden’s doorstep evaporated into thin air. Speaking of thin air, had the air gotten thinner? Because I was finding it difficult to breathe. I was inhaling and exhaling in short pants. Had Holden’s half-naked body sucked the oxygen out of the atmosphere? I remembered learning that fire can actually suck oxygen out of a room. Maybe Holden was so hot he had the same effect…
“Are you okay?” he asked, running a hand through his hair.
The innocent gesture caused not-so-innocent sensations to tingle between my legs. My eyes raked over his muscled chest, the bulge of his triceps, and the ripples of his abs. In the back of my mind, I knew that he’d asked me a question but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember what it was.
There would be no way that I could have the conversation I needed to have with him looking so distractingly hot. And I also couldn’t have it standing out on the porch.
I didn’t wait for an invitation. I just pushed my way inside. “Can you put on a shirt?”
“Did you want to come in?” he asked sarcastically after I was already inside.
He closed the door and walked into the downstairs hallway toward the powder and laundry room. When he did, I saw a large scar running down his spine. My heart clenched at the sight. I knew that he’d had spinal surgery, but seeing the evidence of what he’d been through was a totally different ballgame.
When he returned, he was pulling a shirt over his head. “What’s wrong?”
“You,” I answered bluntly.
“Me?” he repeated, as he lowered his arms down by his sides.
“Yes. You.”
“What’s wrong with me?”
I tilted my head to the side and narrowed my eyes. “Do you want a list?”
He grinned and I wasn’t sure which was more distracting, the Adonis-like naked torso I now knew was under his shirt or sexy half-grin. Both were entirely too disarming and much too inviting. “Sure.”
It really pissed me off that I couldn’t think of a damn thing wrong with him. This entire thing was getting off track thanks to the bare chest I’d been exposed to and sexy grin. I really wish I had an immunity to his charms. That would make this whole thing a lot easier.
I took a breath and tried to get my thoughts together. “You push people away that care about you. You think you can handle everything on your own. You don’t tell people how you feel or if you do, it doesn’t make any sense…” I could feel myself rambling, so I took another breath. I wanted to gather my thoughts to confront him over the things that were truly bothering me.
“Is that it?” He crossed his arms, his feet planted shoulder-width apart and stared at me with a look that I assumed might intimidate some people. But I wasn’t some people.
“No.” I took a step toward him. “You can’t just say things like someone is magic or way too perfect in infinite ways and then walk away.”
His lips twitched. I wasn’t sure if he was irritated or amused by me. I didn’t really care which, I wanted some answers and I planned on getting them.
“I can’t?” he asked all too innocently for my liking.
“No. What did you mean when you said those things?”