“Well, I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve lost my touch, as you refuse to even look my way.” His tone had lost its playfulness, and Kayla glanced over her shoulder to see if his expression matched his words.
His smirk was gone. Well, at least that was something. And to give him the final blow, Kayla turned back to the elevator doors and continued to ignore him. She was sure she heard a growl from Mr. Boxer, but then the elevator dinged and its doors slid open.
After pushing the button with the floor number she needed, she strolled to the back of the elevator and rested her backside at the bar across the fully mirrored elevator. Mr. Boxer prowled across the small space to stand beside her, his eyes on her the entire time. The other people in the elevator hastily made room for him.
This was all too much for Kayla. Why was she still standing there instead of moving when he decided to stand so close to her? Her skin heated under his abrasive gaze, and she was perplexed by her reaction to him and his forwardness when his leg softly touched her thigh as he leaned in to her.
The old Kayla would have given him a cold stare or a warning threat, which would’ve sent him running scared out of this elevator, but she couldn’t seem to do that just now. Was it because she was intrigued by Mr. Boxer, or had her recent experiences numbed her?
She was disappointed in herself either way. Hadn’t she learned by now that she needed to distance herself from men who looked at her as if they wanted to eat her alive?
Duncan was slowly beginningtolose his mind and certainly his patience. As if he was standing next to fuckin’ Elsa from Frozen. Yeah, he knew of the movie where the character could only live by herself and couldn’t play nice with others. He’d had to watch over half an hour of the awful movie during a date a few weeks ago. Why Cheryll had chosen a kids’ flick to chill next to a rough-and-ready former MMA fighter, he would never know. After enduring all he could, he fled her apartment like a bat out of hell.
Some girls had to be reminded he wasn’t boyfriend material and wouldn’t come over to do a sing-along during a kids’ movie. If he had stayed, he would have had to return his man card and his balls in the process. Though perhaps his balls would be freezing off soon because of the icy glare this sassy chick was giving him. He was amazed his normal charm wasn’t getting him anywhere with her—no, not exactly amazed. He was rather intrigued.
At first, when she bumped into him and looked him over, she eyed him as if she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her. He could see the way she had to work for her cold exterior. Now she was blushing and giving him the stink eye in the same moment; how was this even possible? She was a contradiction and a challenge, and he never backed away from a challenge.
After this encounter, he could use a punching bag, or perhaps he would go to his family’s Irish pub, Lucky, for a stiff drink, to work off some of this frustration. The angelic light blonde beauty was eyeing the elevator rushing by the floors and checking the time on her watch with a big frown on her slightly freckled face. Duncan could see she was eager to ride up in the elevator. Her wavy hair kissed the top of her butt cheeks, and when she had walked across the elevator, he glimpsed a body that could easily star in other kinds of movies, the adult kind.
“What are you doing?”
Duncan could tell she was trying to stay calm and not shout at him, but it was said in such a loud whisper that everyone in the elevator looked up from their phones to watch them. Her eyes narrowed, and her plump lips seemed so inviting that he had to fight the urge to run his thumb over them. She looked hot in her black pumps, tight black skirt, and fitted dark woolen coat, which made her light blonde hair stand out even more.
What was she wearing underneath the coat? Why was she even wearing a coat, as if it were snowing outside? Duncan’s mind went back to Elsa and he chuckled. For all he knew, she had made it snow even if it was sixty-five degrees outside.
“I’m sorry, but there’s not much room in here,” he said, hoping she would drop it because she was right, he didn’t have to stand so close. He was sure the whole elevator population of eight thought he was some creep who was trying to get into her personal space.
Yep, that was most definitely true. He couldn’t fight the urge to discover how she smelled, and he was surprised when he was treated to a hint of some kind of wildflowers. He wanted her, and he had to know if this particular wildflower would indeed be a breath of fresh air compared to the women he had been with in the last couple of years.
As an MMA fighter, he had enjoyed the perks that came with winning most of his matches. There had been more than enough ladies who wanted a piece of the champion, and Duncan must admit he wasn’t picky. He could say he’d had the time of his life, fighting and fucking. But even he had the wit to understand that it was all fleeting, and the fame and glory wouldn’t last. Certainly not now that he was retired at thirty-one and had become a dojo owner.
This intoxicating woman next to him in the elevator looked Duncan straight in the eye, craning her neck because of his height. He was one tall motherfucker, but she fit perfectly next to him. She had surprisingly brown eyes where he expected them to be blue.
Enough with this shit. “I want to get to know you.”
She looked as surprised as he was when those words came out of his mouth. Why did he go and say that? Duncan wanted to get her to the nearest place where he could take his time with her, have his fill of her, and then be done with her. Hopefully it would put his mind at rest, because he didn’t recognize himself with the way he was failing to even get her attention. Getting to know her was never gonna be in the equation. Or was it?