Real Shadows - M.E. Clayton Page 0,24

friends but not put her in any harm’s way. With the deliberate distance, the odds of running into Xander were slim to none.

I shrugged a shoulder as casually as I could. “Don’t worry about it,” I told him. “Now that I’m going in a different direction, what happened earlier doesn’t even matter.” I stared into those bright amber eyes of his. “Your opinion of me doesn’t matter. It never did.”

Then he surprised the hell out of me by saying, “Well, your opinion of me matters, Fallon.”

I glanced around the motel room and took inventory of my life before I looked back at him. “No, it doesn’t,” I corrected. “Karla and Trevor’s opinions of you matter, and I can understand that. However, this is where we part ways, Xander.” He opened his mouth to argue, but I put my hand up to stop him. “Even if you are genuinely sorry, I have enough problems in my life without inviting someone who I don’t trust into it. And, make no mistake, Xander, I don’t trust you.”

He dropped his head and ran his hands through his chocolate-colored hair, swearing a string worthy of a sailor before looking back at me. “Just let me fucking explain,” he growled.

I didn’t want him to explain. I wanted him gone. I didn’t need to be attracted to someone who thought so little of me and was so quick to judge. Hell, maybe I was judging him quickly and unfairly too, but I wasn’t cruel about it. And, unfortunately, I was finding myself attracted to Xander Raynes. And the longer he stood in my motel room, the more likely that I’d end up making a grave mistake where he was concerned.

“I need you to please leave, Xander,” I said, betraying nothing.

Xander shook his head in defeat, but then walked over to the nightstand, and I stood at the door as I watched him write something down on the complimentary notepad by the lamp. He ripped the page off and walked over to hand it to me. I grabbed it and saw that it was a phone number.

“That’s my number,” he said. “If you’ve decided to meet this situation head-on, I imagine you’re probably going to get a real phone. That’s my number if you need m-anything.”

I was still hurt and insulted enough to want to wad up the piece of paper and throw it in his face, but I didn’t. I didn’t because I didn’t want to make this situation any harder on Karla and Trevor than necessary. Xander was their friend and there was no value in being mean to him.

I stepped away from the door and place the paper on the edge of the bed. “Thanks,” I replied, my back to him. And before I could turn back around to see him out, I felt his body heat envelop my entire body from behind. I couldn’t disguise the hitch in my breath at his proximity. And while I should be feeling anxious that a virtual stranger was invading my space, all I felt was a dangerous longing, and not necessarily for Xander, himself. It’s been ages since I’ve been with someone, and the one-night stands I did have hadn’t left much room for affection. They’d mostly been encounters to relive the stress that was my life. They also helped me not feel alone, if only for a few hours.

This was different.

Xander wasn’t a passing stranger. He was Karla and Trevor’s best friend and a fixture here in Brant. I couldn’t sleep with him and just walk away. Now that I’ve decided to make Brant my home, I had to treat the town and its people with the respect it deserved as my new home. Screwing the first guy who made my skin break out in chills was not the way to go. Once I got settled, I could drive over to one of the bigger cities to get laid if I needed to.

His breath was hot against my ear as he whispered, “I really am sorry, Fallon.”

I closed my eyes and really wished I could have just held onto the hate I had been feeling for him. I wanted to stay mad at him and believe he was only here for Karla and Trevor’s sakes, but it was harder and harder to hold onto my righteousness the more and more he tried to apologize.

I took a step forward to give myself some much-needed distance from him and turned to face him. “Let’s just drop it, Xander,”