Smug Bastard - Stacey Marie Brown Page 0,41

of the girls glowered at me—some with envy and some like I was a tramp.

Smith slid through the throng, most parting for him like he was some king, his cell pressed to his ear heading for the door.

Eyes burned into me. Some guys nearby crept toward me like I was now available for their enjoyment.

Screw this.

Following Smith, I broke out the doors of the sweltering dive bar into the mild night, the difference expanding my lungs like I hadn’t breathed in days. The slight briskness cooled my heated skin.

“Shit, Chance.” Smith’s rough voice jerked me to the side, his outline absorbed by the thick shadows against the end of the building, his back to me, his physique tight with tension. “How the hell did she find my place?” Smith grunted as he scoured his head, his hair going every which way, only making him sexier.

“Thanks, man, for letting me know.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, pacing around. “Like she didn’t make my life horrific enough. They took over three years from me… Yeah, I know you get it. Fuck, man, somedays it feels like I never got out, you know?” His head bobbed, listening to the person on the other end. “Okay, thanks for calling.” He paused, then snorted, his fingers rubbing his nose again. “Don’t ask. I almost made the dumbest mistake.” Like an arrow shot through the night embedding into my chest, I sucked in. Did he mean me? “Yeah, I know. Add it to my list. I have to get laid.” He leaned back against the brick building with a sigh. “Call me if she comes around again. Say hi to Aubrey.” He pulled the cell away, hitting the button to end the call. He took another deep breath, slamming his fist against the wall. “Fuuuuucckkk,” he bellowed, causing me to jump.

His head jolted at my movement, his eyes landing on me, burning through the dark, pinning me in place with power. The boy I had known once was no longer there. Right now all I could sense was danger, mystery, darkness, and a beast rumbling inside, clawing to get out. In a blink he could tear me apart. Open me up and obliterate everything around me… all my safety and tethers to this world.

The need for him to do it planted my feet in place. I had kept my life so safe and confined, nothing tempting me to break free… until him. The man I couldn’t have. The one I shouldn’t want.

He pushed off the wall, prowling toward me.

Sucking in, I lifted my chin as his physique loomed over mine. His eyes searched mine, looking for something. I didn’t move or speak, needing him to take the first step. The moment he touched me, I knew everything I had been telling myself would vanish like fog, bleeding into the night air until nothing was left but what I really wanted. Not Kasey or Kyle, or even this mysterious woman. But what I wanted.

He kept his expression stone, but I watched the debate in his eyes, the way he curved down to me, his full bottom lip so close my tongue ached to trace it, to bite down and mark him.

His throat bobbed, his mouth opening to speak, his sentence taking time to register in my head. “We should get back… I’m sure Goat needs to pee.”

I blinked, my brain not fully wrapping around the words. He brushed past me, leaving me standing there with my mouth open. That was not what I was expecting. Was I the only one feeling this way? Like the connection between us was spun with a thousand spiderwebs, vibrating through me, linking me to his every moment.

I exhaled, my body still thumping with need as my brain slowly came back to reality. Was that all I was? Convenient? A means to an end? But nothing more. Just my luck. I finally felt something, and it wasn’t only one-sided, but for the completely wrong guy.

Following him back to camp, we didn’t speak the entire way.

Goat yipped and jumped around us when we got back, licking our faces and circling us with utter joy.

“I’ll take him for a walk.” Smith grabbed his leash, Goat happily bounding after him, their silhouettes disappearing in the dark, Goat’s tail wagging.

I groaned, dropping my head into my hands as I fell back on the bed. Even my dog was enraptured with him.

I got ready for bed using the public bathroom. Returning, my feet came to