Stay Read Online Free

Brooklyn so I can get the hell out of here,” I mutter to myself.
    “What?”  His breath feathers along the back of my neck making goosebumps ripple across my arms.  I grit my teeth trying to suppress my body’s natural reaction to him.
    With heat flaring in my narrowed eyes, I careen towards him for a third time.  “Are you following me?”  My gaze locks on his.  As annoyed as I am right now, I still find him completely dreamy.  Which only exacerbates all those feelings of frustration and annoyance that are roiling through me right now.
    “Um… yes?”
    He sounds none too sure.  His eyes continue to hold mine and even though I don’t want him melting the thick sheath of ice protecting me, he kind of is.
    Inhaling a deep breath before blowing it slowly out, I try to calm the raging mess inside me once and for all.  “Look, you seem like a nice guy.” Well, as nice of a guy as I’m going find at an ass grabbing kegger.  “But this isn’t going to happen.”
    His thick brows instantly slide together and it’s kind of… argh, adorable.  Aw hell, it’s completely adorable. Damn him for being completely gorgeous and adorable.  That is such a lethal combination.  I’m sure he has all the girls at Western swooning at his feet.
    But I’m not one of those girls.
    “What’s not going to happen?”  His utter confusion only adds to his adorableness.
    Seriously… I just cannot catch a break here.
    Slowly I point my finger between the pair of us.  I have to stifle a groan because he’s so damn close.  And yes, I probably should have known that he would smell completely amazing.  Like the ocean on a perfectly sunny day with just a hint of a breeze.  I want to inhale a great big breath of him but I don’t. I don’t dare because he’s much too dangerous for the likes of me.
    “This.”
    “I just want to know your name,” he replies quietly as if he actually means the words.  And I can’t deny that a very teeny tiny part within me wants to tell him.
    Holding firm against all that cuteness packaged neatly in front of me, I force myself to give him a long patronizing look.  “ Right .”  I stretch the word out for a good five seconds before adding an exaggerated eye roll.  “Sure you do.”  Then I go in for the kill.  “Look, I’m not going to fuck you.  Not tonight or tomorrow night or ever.”  Instead, I point to all the scantily clad girls that surround us.  Of which there are many.  “There are a lot easier marks around here than me.  Go find one of them to play with.”
    That being said, I spin back around but don’t get very far.  Surprised by the sudden grip on my upper arm, he swings me back around.  His brows are scrunched together and low over his eyes as he glares.  Sounding irritated, he bites out, “I’m not interested in getting laid for Christ’s sake and it’s a pretty shitty assumption on your part for thinking it.”
    With widened eyes, I freeze beneath his touch as my heart jackhammers painfully. A sudden release of adrenaline careens through my veins.  Sweat pops out across my brow as my chest instantly tightens.
    Even though his grip isn’t biting, it has every cell within my body seizing up with panic.
    I don’t like being touched.  Or grabbed.  Or manhandled.
    In all honesty, I’d been nice to Alex.  I’d let him off easy.  But this… this isn’t okay.  I don’t even realize that I’m baring my teeth until I’m already doing it.  When my words finally tumble out, they’re nothing more than an angry hiss from between tightly clenched lips.  I can’t stop the fine tremble that slides its way through my now taut body.
    “Take your damn hand off me!”
    Eyes flaring wide, he immediately drops my arm as if I’ve burned him with the heat of my words.  Silently we stare at each other for a long painful heartbeat… or maybe it’s more like twenty.  The rowdy laughter and pulsing music surrounding us fades into the background as our