I stared for long seconds at the way he clasped me, partly alarmed that he looked so much bigger, so much more powerful. And the other part? The other part quietly reveled in his strength.
Fear slammed into me so hard I gasped. Ripping my wrist free, I teetered precariously on the heeled boots I was wearing. Graceful and swift, Jamie stood from the chair, catching me around the waist to keep me from toppling over.
His arm enclosed my waist just as easily as his hand did my wrist.
“I need to pay,” I said, voice hollow and honestly dumb.
He grunted. “I just ate more than you did. I got it.”
“No, I—”
“I said I got it.” The edge to his voice snapped me out of the fog slowing my thoughts.
Eyes wide, I blinked up at him. He had blue eyes. Like a California sky.
That same fear from moments ago came back tenfold. Wrenching away, I offered a rushed, lame goodbye to Rory and dashed out.
The second the cold fall air ripped through my hair and bit into my cheeks, I folded like a house of cards. Blowing out a breath, I collapsed against the side of the brick building, pressing a hand against my racing heart.
“You’re an actress, Madison.” I scolded myself. “You could have faked it.”
But I couldn’t have. Not just then. Not with Jamie.
It was why I tried so hard to avoid him. Why I looked at his contact number but never used it.
I pushed off the wall with a startled huff when the bell banged against the glass. The pizzeria door flung open, and a wide body rushed out.
“Madison!” Jamie yelled, his voice carrying across the street toward the gravel parking lot.
His body was so wide, so powerful and honed. And he controlled it effortlessly. All that contained power, and he wielded it like an expert. It was exciting. It was also frightening.
He could easily use it against you.
I sucked in a breath, the sound so light, but he heard. He spun gracefully, his bulk rotating seamlessly.
“Mads.” His voice was soft despite his strength. Like he was a giant capable of being indulgent. Oh, how I wanted to succumb. And that was what made Jamie more dangerous than even his massive size.
Don’t be like her. The thought gave me strength.
“Don’t call me that,” I said, lifting my chin in a show of defiance. I would not show any kind of fear. I would not surrender.
“Why’d you run out like that?” he asked, ignoring my declaration.
“Why did you follow me?” I countered.
He pursed his lips. The backward hat on his head made his cheekbones look even sharper. It also made his eyes look bottomless.
“You’re avoiding me.”
My stomach lurched as my hand curled into the folds of the skirt I was wearing. “Not everything is about you.”
“You seemed just fine until I sat down beside you.”
“I told you I have a paper…”
He took one long-legged step toward me, and the rest of the sentence died on my tongue.
His eyes narrowed, turning his impenetrable gaze into glistening half-moons. God, his intensity should have been terrifying… but it was mesmerizing.
He took another step and then another. My heart beat so hard I felt it knocking against the inside of my ribs. The hand in my skirt squeezed tighter, and the other came up to grip the strap of my crossbody.
I needed an anchor, something to keep me in place because he was like a powerful magnet, and I was being dragged in, unable to fight against his incredible pull.
“Jamie,” I whispered, my voice shaky and breathless.
“Are you afraid of me?” It wasn’t the icy temperature of the words but the underlying anger that kept me from swaying into him completely.
Somewhere in the distance, a car engine started up. The door to the pizzeria opened and closed again. These were all just background sounds, a world moving on when we were on pause.
He was so much taller than me, so much broader. The heat from his body stretched closer, carrying with it the scent of chlorine and something much spicier. The V shape of his body was incredibly alluring, but I couldn’t even admire it properly because I was completely ensnared by the enigmatic way the deep-blue pools of his eyes beseeched me.
He’d asked me a question…
“Mads.” He beckoned again, his giant palms enclosing my elbows.
Currents of want zipped through me, up my arms, racing across my shoulder blades and dropping into my lower belly. Wide-eyed, I stared up at him, the fringe of my bangs falling into my eyes, trying to obscure my gaze. It didn’t matter, though. I stared at him still.
“What?” I echoed, everything under my skin coming alive.
His fingers tightened around my elbows. “Are you scared of me?”
Yes. No. I don’t want to be.
Blowing out a shaky breath, I pulled free. “I told you. Not everything is about you.” Spinning on my heel, I rushed away, putting every ounce of effort I had into not turning back.
Sudden blinding-white light made me recoil, and I threw up my arms to shield my eyes from the harsh brightness. The rumble of an engine made my head snap up, and I screamed, realizing a car was about a second from plowing me down. I stumbled backward, heel knocking into the curb, and I pitched sideways, bracing myself for the inevitable impact.
The hit knocked into me from behind, but instead of my body bouncing off, I was wrapped up and snatched off my feet. I screamed, not expecting to get tangled up in the impact, but the squealing of rubber tires against pavement and the fading roar of an engine had me reassessing where I was.
Blinking, I looked up, realizing I wasn’t on the street anymore but on the sidewalk facing away from the road. I wasn’t lying on the ground, broken and bleeding, but wrapped up whole and safe. I let out a small, relieved whimper, and the body tucked around mine somehow hunched in even closer.
Relief coursed through me like a gentle rainstorm washing away everything it touched, soothing me with gentle pressure and inviting me to sink into him deeper. I heeded the invitation, turning boneless as I waited for my body to catch up to what my brain already fully understood.
I was safe.
Despite the realization, my body trembled and shook. He enveloped me farther, those wide shoulders conforming around my shape like a blanket but reassuring enough to feel like armor.
“You’re okay,” he murmured against my ear, making goose bumps race over every inch of my skin. “I got you.”
I sagged into him, and he took all my weight like it was nothing at all.
“I got you, sweetheart.” The breath ruffling my hair made my heart stutter anew.
My feet touched the ground, but he was the reason I was upright. I stood on the sidewalk, swallowed up by his body, completely shielded by everything he was. Blinking into focus, I noted the rough exterior of the brick and realized he’d turned so his body was between mine and the street.
“Car,” I whispered, realizing then I’d almost gotten hit.
Jamie growled against my ear. It was menacing and mean, but for once, I was not afraid. “Fucker is lucky he missed.”
My lungs wobbled, the gravity of what just happened finally penetrating my fear-soaked brain. “Someone tried to run me over?”
“Could’ve been a drunk.”
“B-but he almost hit me.”
“Shh.” He soothed me, dragging a large hand down over the length of my hair. I was so plastered against him that for a moment, it felt like we were one. “He didn’t. I got you.”