Was it possible he’d just let me go? Washed his hands of me and moved on to someone else? I knew better than to hope.
Where would I move for a fresh start? Maybe a tiny coastal town in Florida. Nah, hurricanes. I could go up to Maine. I loved thick, chunky sweaters. Wherever I went, it wouldn’t be a big city.
And no way would I stay in Minnesota with Jill, no matter how much I loved her and had missed her. Not with Zach and Libby in the same state. That growly, salty… stupidly handsome man was getting on my last nerve.
I drummed my fingers on the table as I checked the time on the clock hanging on the wall. Zach would wake up soon. I only saw him for thirty or so minutes, twice a day, in the morning when his shift guarding the cabin ended and in the evening before it began. He pretty much made himself scarce.
Since the day I walked in on him naked, he’d been cold as ice. I wasn’t sure what it was all about, considering he’d flirted with me. But then, he had an old lady, so he shouldn’t have behaved that way.
The guy’s moods were erratic. Perhaps it was all the stress he was under, all because of me.
Still, he didn’t need to be an ass. It wasn’t like I wanted to be cooped up with him in a shack. I’d asked to flee the country. Begged to leave, so Storm and everyone else wasn’t forced to deal with my deranged ex.
I hated this just as much as Zach, if not more. My resistance toward him was weakening. I’d gotten used to seeing him daily. Old feelings stirred inside me. I hated it. I didn’t want to feel anything but contempt for him. But just being around him, catching him staring at me, breathing the same air, had reminded me of how we used to be.
And it hurt.
Tremendously.
When I went to bed, I smelled him on the pillows. Why couldn’t he just use one? The jerk just had to taint both with his intoxicating scent. Of course, I could’ve refused to sleep on them, but I didn’t. I held one pressed to my body and breathed him into my lungs all night. I felt pathetic and weak. Another reason to get the hell away from him as soon as possible. Why torture myself, seeing him with his old lady?
“Dammit,” Hollywood grumbled, cracking his neck from side to side.
“You okay over there?” I’d been keeping him at a distance when Jill napped. He watched me a lot, so I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.
Hollywood was young and cute, and had a surfer look about him. Dirty blond hair, a golden tan, and blue eyes the color of the ocean. A guy from Missouri who always wanted to be part of an MC. No idea why a nice guy like him would want to run with a rough crowd like the Knights.
Maybe I was judging them too early. I hadn’t gotten to know many of them, except for Lynx and Hero.
If I’d met Lynx at another time and somewhere else, I’d give that man a chance. He was charming and sexy, but nothing would ever happen between us. The same went for Hollywood and me.
“Sleeping on the couch isn’t comfortable. I think I have a pinched nerve.” He massaged the spot. “Can you rub it for me? Gimme some relief.” He flashed an adorable grin.
“Excuse me?” Boxer growled. “What did you ask Aspen to do?”
I rolled my eyes. The growly bear had woken.
“Massage his neck, for goodness sake. He has a pinched nerve.” I stood from the chair to help Hollywood. There was nothing worse than your neck being out of whack.
Boxer stepped in front of me, glaring like a ferocious beast. “Sit back down.”
I tilted my head, placing a hand on my hip. “Oh, please. He has a pinched—”
“I said sit the fuck down.” His ice-blue eyes bored into mine, his nostrils flaring.
I straightened my spine. “Or what? Are you gonna handcuff me to the chair?” I glowered back, ready to finally have it out with him. It’d been brewing in me all week.
“I’m not playing with you, Aspen.”
“Clearly.” I rolled my eyes again, sensing he hated when I did that. “You aren’t the boss of me,Boxer,” I called him by his road name for the first time. It felt weird rolling off my tongue. Sort of dangerous and sinful. “I can do whatever the hell I want.”
If steam could make its way out of his ears, it would’ve. All the rage rolled off him in waves. “Don’t you touch him,Aspen.” Disdain dripped off every syllable. “And don’t call me Boxer.”
I snorted at his ridiculousness. “Seriously? You’re acting juvenile. For one, he has a kink in his neck. I’m sure you’ve had one. They suck. And two, Boxer is what everyone else calls you. Stop power-tripping. You don’t have any right to tell me what to do.” I stepped around him.
Big mistake.
He grabbed me by the arm, putting his face in mine.