That only made me want to fuck him and kill him even more than I already did. He was tempting death, and he knew it. Somehow that only made him hotter. Goddamn him.
“Need a spotter?” A beefy guy with a buzzed head stood over me. “I can help out.”
Maybe he was only being nice. Or maybe he was on the prowl. I got the sense that it was the latter. I wasn’t sure how I knew. I just did.
With a grunt, I shoved the bar back up into place, sitting up. “No thanks. I’m done here. It’s all yours if you want it.”
I stood up and began to wipe down the weight bench, keenly aware of the way he watched me. He may have been tall, good looking, and all muscle but he wasn’t my type. Apparently, I was into cocky assholes with dusty blonde hair and deep green eyes.
I hadn’t been with many men. Only one. Most of my sexual encounters had been with women. My one male hookup had been over a year ago. A random one night stand after a hell of a party.
Even though I’d had plenty of opportunities to act on my attractions since, I wasn’t interested in fucking simply for the sake of it. That felt pointless. I needed more than a quickie orgasm. I needed a connection. Something that dug deep into me, holding on and refusing to let go.
I needed a partner able to match me in every way. There weren’t a lot of people with blood on their hands. Violence in their soul. Most of the guys I encountered were too damn squeaky clean.
Not Noah Cunningham. That fucker was as deadly as they come. Anyone in the know was aware that he and his friends had taken hit jobs for the right price. I doubted that the loss of half his crew had stopped that.
“Maybe you can spot me.” The guy watching me wipe the machine down startled me out of my thoughts.
Needing to exit this conversation before it really began, I said, “Sorry. I really have somewhere to be now. Maybe next time.”
I didn’t wait around for a response. I took off out of the gym, opting to shower at home. Maybe one of the guys would be around to help me distract myself from these invasive thoughts.Hell, I would even listen to Codie’s girly gossip. Anything to get Noah out of my head.
As I drove home, I scanned my mirrors repeatedly for any sign of him. Nothing. Maybe he got the hint and fucked off. When I reached the house, I searched the street for his car. I didn’t like the way he was getting to me. Dominating my thoughts. I needed to do something about him. Soon.
Even though I probably smelled like I was in desperate need of a shower, I went to the kitchen first. A few shots of tequila wouldn’t solve my problem, but they would help me not give a damn for the rest of the night.
“Where have you been?” Auryn sat at the kitchen island, stuffing a slice of pizza in his face. His platinum hair was disheveled, a pillow crease on his cheek like he’d been lazing around.
“At the gym.” Helping myself to the tequila, I made the effort not to look completely insane by pouring it into a glass instead of drinking from the bottle.
Auryn watched as I took the first two shots, curiosity etched on his face. “That guy is going to turn you into an alcoholic in no time.”
A heavy frown creased my brow. “Don’t even go there.”
“Why not?” He shrugged. “Someone has to. He’s making you crazy, dude. Anyone can see it. That’s probably exactly what he wants.”
My initial reaction was to be defensive. So far that had only confirmed to my friends that the tension between Noah and me was more than simply two guys who hated one another.
Instead, I said, “I’m going to kill him.”
“Sure,” Auryn scoffed, picking a dropped mushroom off his plate and popping it in his mouth. “Pretty sure you’ve been singing that song for a while now.”
“I’m serious. Someone approached me on campus. They asked me to take Noah out.” When Auryn paused to stare hard at me, I leaned across the island to pluck a piece of grilled chicken off his pizza.
“Who asked you to do that?” He slapped my hand away before I could grab a second piece.
“I’m not sure. The guy who approached me said that someone else had sent him. He made it sound like Noah had hurt someone close to the guy that wanted to hire me. I didn’t really ask for any details. I didn’t think they mattered.” A third shot of tequila settled in my stomach, hot and fiery. Auryn’s pizza was looking pretty good. I may have to order one for myself.
His face scrunched up as he studied me, perplexed. “Do you think that’s a good idea? Why would they approach only you? Why not all of the Kings? Whoever this is must know you and Noah hate each other. Maybe they’re trying to take advantage of that.”
“I’m getting paid to do something I already wanted to do anyway. I fail to see the problem.” Taking advantage of Auryn’s distracted state, I snatched the rest of the pizza slice from his hand and took a huge bite.
“Dick,” he muttered, wiping the crumbs from his fingertips onto the plate. “I just think it sounds a little sketchy. Maybe you should dig into this a little more. Find out who really hired you.”
He may have had a point. I did rush to accept the job once I heard it was Noah they were after.
“You might be right. Although I can’t see it blowing back on us. We should’ve killed both Noah and Damon a long time ago.” Deciding that a few bites of stolen pizza wasn’t enough, I pulled out my phone to order another.
