Naked Choke Read Online Free Page B

out?”
    “Girls? Like the ones inside?”
    I could only nod.
    “I want you …to come to my game. Not as a date, because I imagine if I asked you out right now you might bolt. As I said, I don’t want you scared of me.” When I opened my mouth once again to speak, he put a finger over my lips. The touch was warm and gentle and I could do nothing more than feel the tingle of it all the way to my toes.
    “Or nervous. Trust me, Emory, when I ask you out, you’ll know it.”
    He’d said when, not if.  
    “I just want to see you again.” While I was still processing that, he dropped his hand and continued. “Think of it as a coincidence, both of us being at Rifkin Park at the same time.”
    “You really…?”
    He cut me off with one simple word. “Yes.”
    Those butterflies, bees, no, hornets were back in my stomach. He wanted me to show up, otherwise he wouldn’t have offered. He was leaving the decision to do so completely up to me, clearly aware of how nervous I was. Once again he was setting me at ease in the hopes I’d show up. I had until Sunday morning to decide what I wanted to do. From the brief time he knew me, he’d learned I had to make a weighted, safe choice.
    While we’d been talking, the sun had set completely. Besides little white lights strung along the railing, the only light illuminating us was from the bar. Gray’s face was in harsh contrast, his gaze darker and more intent. He looked like a guy you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley, but I felt…safe with him. I hadn’t had to pretend or fake a conversation, it just happened, even sticking my foot in my mouth. He’d set me at ease and it turned out we had a lot in common. I also found him hot as hell.
    “No need to be nervous then,” I replied, poking fun at myself.
    “Nope.” He smiled warmly, easily. His gaze dipped to my mouth.
    “I…I should get going. It was nice meeting you, Gray, but I’m meeting my group to row at five thirty.”
    I stood, although the legs of my chair didn’t scrape against the concrete. He stood as well and I had to tilt my head back to look at him. “I don’t want you walking to your car by yourself, so let me walk you.”
    “Thank you. I would have taken you up on the offer, truly, but I valeted it.”
    He laughed easily. “Of course, you did.”
    I looked up at him through my lashes and realized he wasn’t poking fun, but he was definitely amused by me.
    “Good night,” I murmured, walking past him.
    His hand on my bare arm had me pausing, my breath catching. The touch was gentle, his skin warm, yet it was like a shock to the system. “I hope to see you on Sunday, Emory.” His voice was quiet, almost intimate.
    I gave a little nod, but didn’t look up at him, my skin where he touched tingling all the way down to my car.

CHAPTER TWO
     
    GRAY
     
    I'd fucked up. That’s all I could think about. After my five-mile run, I began my usual thirty-minute stint with the jump rope. Click. Click. Click. The sound of the plastic striking the gym mat was almost lulling and I fell into my groove, my muscles warm from the run.
    Breathe in, breathe out.
    There were a few early-morning guys getting their time in, but it was Saturday, so most of us were there to get in and get out and not interested in talking. This suited me fine. My first client was at ten, but right now, I just went through the paces. Besides, the guys knew I was always there for them—it was my gym—but a guy’s workout time was sacrosanct and everyone knew not to fuck with me during mine. With my usual early-morning opener at the front desk handling the day-to-day running of the place, I didn’t have any distractions. The gym had been open a few years and I had my regulars, my solid core of employees, which suited me just fine. I liked things calm. Consistent. The only fights I wanted to be involved in these days were in the ring, and usually it wasn’t me doing the fighting. I was done with that life now. I was just the