I sighed. “You must think I’m an idiot.”
“I think you’re reckless,” he murmured, face close enough that his breath brushed against my neck. I shivered a little, goose bumps popping up. “Your brothers can’t always be there as backup. Neither can I. What then?”
“I guess I get a few more bruises,” I said, trying to sound as if it was no big deal.
The fight tonight had rattled me more than I wanted to admit, though. I could usually talk my way out of a situation, and when I couldn’t, Axel or Gray had always been there.
It was just luck Flynn had been in the bar tonight. I really would have gotten the worst of it without his intervention.
“You’re playing with fire,” Flynn said, sounding grim. “You fuck with the wrong man, and you could end up with more than bruises. Do you understand that, Bailey? You could get seriously hurt. What if he had a knife? Or what if he’d been that big dude instead? You could pay with your fucking life. Is it worth it?”
His voice trembled a little, and I realized it wasn’t from anger. It was fear.
“I’m sorry.” I lifted my hand to take the bag from him and lowered it from my face. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
He looked down at his hands. “I don’t like seeing you hurt.”
“It doesn’t feel too great either. For a little guy, he sure hit fucking hard. Damn.”
“Right.” Flynn stood. “Let’s see what we can do about that.”
He went back to the kitchen and filled a glass with water. He brought it to me, along with two pills. “Take these. They’ll help with the pain and inflammation.”
“Thanks.” I tossed the pills onto my tongue, then took a gulp of water to swallow them. The water was so sweet, and my mouth was so dry, that I gulped down the rest in one go.
I lowered the glass, breathless, and licked a stray drop from the corner of my lips.
Flynn sat down, watching me intently. “Better?”
“A little.” I licked my lips again, just to see if he’d notice. He most definitely did.
He cleared his throat and averted his gaze. “That eye will be tender for a while. You’ll have a heck of a shiner. There’s no getting around that.”
“Well, it’d be worse if you hadn’t stepped in, so I’m not complaining.”
“I can’t always be there.”
“I know, but thanks for tonight, anyway. I’m sorry if that put you at risk. I’d hate to make any trouble for your parole.”
“It’s fine. No authorities had to intervene.”
“Still,” I said. “I’d never endanger you that way knowingly. Next time, don’t help me. If I end up in that situation, it’s my fault. No one else’s.”
He tensed. “No. You can’t ask that. I could never stand by and watch.”
“Close your eyes, then?”
He huffed. “Why are you so determined to get your ass kicked?”
“I’m not. I just have a way of pissing off guys when I make them feel inadequate.”
To my surprise, Flynn chuckled. “I bet you make a lot of guys feel that way, huh?”
“When I play pool?”
“All the time,” he said. “You’re gorgeous, and you’re an incredible mechanic. And now you’re a college student too.”
My heart quickened. “You think so?”
