Consolation Prize (Forbidden Men #9)(36)

“You’re the Julianna Radcliffe,” I said. “You make grown men cry at your feet when all they want to do is worship your beauty.”

“I do not!”

“You totally do. You’re a ball breaker to the extreme. Cool and unaffected by pretty much everything, except really annoying pests like me. But I bring out the scrapper in you and make you want to fight. I do not send you running and hiding, so…what the f*ck did this guy do to you? Jesus, baby doll, did he hurt you?”

We reached the edge of the crowd, so she came to a halt as if afraid to step into the open night air and expose herself.

Spinning to me, she stared wildly into my eyes and shook her head. “I can’t talk about this here.”

I nodded and set my hand against the side of her throat, where I could feel her pulse beating violently against my hand. I didn’t like seeing her scared.

“I’ll get you to your car.”

She began to nod, only to wince and shake her head, gulping. “No, I didn’t drive. I rode with Tyla and Sasha. Shit, they’re still here somewhere.” She began to look around for them, but I squeezed her fingers, regaining her attention.

“Let them know you’ve got another ride home. My truck is this way.”

“Okay. Okay, thank you.” She nodded without a fight, which told me exactly how rattled she was. She’d never not-argued with me. And the fact that she actually accepted a ride from me…yeah, she was wigging out big time.

As she pulled a cell phone from the pocket of her tight jeans, I slipped off my jacket. “Here, put this on.”

Julianna glanced up from the screen where she was typing frantically and immediately shook her head. “You’ll get cold.”

“I still have two layers on.” I tugged up the hem of the hoodie I was wearing, so she could see the T-shirt under it. “I’ll be fine.” When she just stared at me stubbornly, I sighed. “Do you want him to catch sight of you, or not?”

She put the jacket on.

After bunching the long sleeves enough to poke her hands through the ends, she flipped the hood up and shifted closer to me, right up against my side, like right against my side. I looped an arm around her shoulders, glanced back for the ex, and when I didn’t spot him, I started us toward my truck.

We didn’t speak all the way there. For some reason, I knew anything I said would ruin the intimacy of the moment, so I just enjoyed the feel of her heat and soft body plastered against mine. When I pointed out my baby, Julianna slowed to a stop, her eyes widening with horror.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What?” I asked, confused, glancing down at her.

She pointed. “I can’t ride in that. That has got to be the whitest, white-boy truck I’ve ever seen!”

I owned a red, 1980 lifted Chevy 4x4 Silverado short bed with a roll bar and flood lights. Shrugging, I silently admitted, okay, it looked like something the ultimate redneck might drive. I didn’t care; I still liked it.

“Trust me, if you were fully prepared to ride me, I think you can ride in my truck just fine.”

She sent me a scowl. “Don’t be crude.”

“Don’t knock my baby,” I flipped back. Opening the passenger’s side door, I motioned her forward. “Do you want in, or not?”

Heaving out a huge sigh, she stepped forward, muttering, “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” only to pause when she saw how high up she had to climb to get inside. “Running boards would be nice here.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “But it looks cooler without them.”

“Cool or not, I don’t know how the hell you expect me to get up there.” She grabbed the door frame and lifted one foot into the cab.

“Why, with a little help from your friendly chauffeur, of course.” Before she realized what I had planned, I set my hands on her ass and heaved her up.

She screeched out her surprise and went stumbling forward, tumbling into the floorboard of the truck. Once she was inside and whirled around, settling into the seat, she glared outside at me, where I was grinning back.

“Was that absolutely necessary?”

“Oh, yeah,” I answered. “Think of it as my consolation prize for rescuing you from your ex and driving you home without getting any action from it.”

She huffed out her aggravation, but then I swore I saw a smile of amusement seep through. “Well, I guess it was better than you trying to cop a feel of my breasts,” she finally allowed.

“Don’t worry, I felt those too, when you put on my jacket and snuggled up against my side.”

When her mouth fell open, I chuckled and shut the door. Then I hurried around to the driver’s side, only to pause with my fingers wrapped around the door handle.

I was pretty sure spending more time with her would only lead to more heartache. But honestly, nothing was going to keep me away right now, especially when she was scared.

Heaving out a bolstering breath, I opened the door and climbed in. The interior held a bench seat, so she could’ve slid all the way over to sit right next to me if she felt so inclined.

She did not.

She hugged the passenger side door and clutched my jacket to her as she gazed out the side window.

I watched her huddle into my coat a moment, wondering if it’d smell like her when I got it back. Then I shook my head and started the engine.