Anything unknown ties my stomach in knots, especially now. Yet, it isn’t just that fluttering there. There’s the anticipation of what else might happen. The hope that I’m wrong to suspect ulterior motives.
He pulls out a black bag that conceals whatever’s inside of it, and I narrow my eyes on him.
“Have I mentioned I really hate surprises?”
His grin spreads as he turns to face me and invades my personal space, backing me into the bike. “You have, but I think that’s something you’re going to have to get over.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I love them, and I like seeing you like this.”
“Like what?”
“Not in control.”
I gape at him.
“You’re a control freak, Bishop.” He offers me a smug look that I instantly want to wipe off his pretty face. “I don’t think anyone would fight me on that fact. And sometimes, you just have to let go.”
Just have to let go?
He says it as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. Maybe for him it is. With his smooth, affable disposition, quick smile, and calm demeanor, Gage doesn’t seem the least bit aware of the dangers I live my life trying to build up defenses for.
I shake my head. “That’s never going to happen. When I’m not in control…”
Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
I suck in a sharp breath, not finishing that statement.
The last thing I want to do is acknowledge that he’s right.
He already has an inflated ego, and conceding that I am a control freak and can’t stand not being the one commanding the ship would only make him more unbearably smug.
But as he narrows his eyes on me, there’s a tenderness to his voice that wasn’t there a moment ago. “When you’re not in control what?”
Along with the change in his tone, his gaze shifts from playful and soft to a darker, more intent assessment that makes me squirm.
This man sees far too much, and despite all the reasons I shouldn’t trust him, the sincerity with which he looks at me now, the genuine concern in his eyes is enough to make me want to answer.
“People get hurt, okay?”
Not just any people.
My people.
The sympathy in his gaze breaks me, cracking my chest wide open, and I have to look away, off toward the vast expanse of green grass and shimmering water of the lake in City Park beyond it so he doesn’t see the unshed tears I’m willing away.
GAGE
Hell…
I’ve never seen Bishop like this.
She may have been rattled when she found me at the gym, but now, she’s shaken.
Seeing her like this almost makes me regret teasing her about it.
