Out of Bounds (The Summer Games #2)(96)

“Okay,” I replied with unsteady breath.

“I stand by what I said a moment ago. It’s not a good idea to flaunt our relationship, but I’d like to take you out tonight. Somewhere away from the village.”

My eyes widened in shock.

“Out?”

He smirked, a self-serving thing that made my heart skip a beat. “Yes, to dinner.”

I shook my head.

“Bad idea.” I laughed. “Actually, it’s a terrible idea.”

He leaned closer, ignoring the fact that we were in public.

“Fine, Brie. I’ll play this game. You want me to beg?” His gaze dropped to my body slowly, then he dragged it back up. The mischief there was impossible to ignore. “You want me to chase you? Prove I’m serious about wanting you?”

Was it so wrong that I wanted to make him work for it? Prove he meant what he was saying?

I steeled my back and grabbed my tray, prepared to walk away.

“I’ll see you at practice this afternoon,” I said, all hint of emotion gone from my voice. I needed to run, to escape before he could see how much he was affecting me.

“Expect to stay late,” he tossed back before returning to his food and dismissing me.

I wanted to fight back and have the last word, but I resisted the urge to argue. If he thought he could throw out some sugarcoated words and I’d bend to his will, he had another thing coming. Erik Winter was as cold as ice, hard and unyielding, the opposite of what I wanted in a boyfriend. We would never stop fighting with one another; we were enemies more than anything else. He could try to convince me we were meant to be more, but my body knew better. My heart wasn’t racing because he’d just asked me out on a date, it was pounding hard, coursing adrenaline through my body like I was suddenly on the defense, preyed on, hunted. Erik had just declared his intention. He wasn’t going to stop just because I told him to.

My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I carried my tray toward the trash. The plates rattled despite my attempt to steady my grip. I tossed my untouched meal into the trash, dropped my tray off with the others, and turned to glance over my shoulder as I walked out of the cafeteria. Erik was still sitting alone, oblivious to the world around him—not that it mattered; he eclipsed the entire room. No one existed beyond him…his darkness, his broody attitude. I should have turned away, but I couldn’t. I was frozen in place as his gaze swept up to take me in.

A shiver shot down my spine.

He looked like he wanted to eat me alive.





Chapter Thirty-Six


Brie





In what had become a near daily ritual, I stayed away from Erik at practice later that day. I lingered by the other girls and made sure I was never alone. Lexi knew something was off, but I brushed off her questions and tried to focus on my routines. It only worked while I was actually in motion. The moments in between when I was stretching or chalking my grips, I kept careful watch of Erik out of the corner of my eye. Everywhere he went, I watched. I didn’t want him catching me off guard, not after what he’d said in the food court.

I worked quickly, completing my routines nearly twice as fast as anyone else. I took short breaks and skipped small talk, so by the time everyone was hitting their third rotation, I was ripping off my ankle tape, ready to rush back to the village before Erik wised to my game.

I ducked behind the piles of stray equipment at the edge of the practice facility. The last time I’d checked, Erik was over by the beams talking to Lexi, but when I paused to unwrap the other ankle, I noticed the building had suddenly gone quiet. Before I could react, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end and the cold feeling shivered down the length of my body.

“Leaving so soon?”

My hand stilled on my ankle as my heart tried to escape through my chest. It beat heavy and fast, a reflex meant to convince me to flee before he stepped any closer. Before instinct could prevail, I was enveloped in the subtle aroma of his body wash. My hijacked senses sabotaged any notion of escape, choosing instead to close my eyes and breathe in the warmth from his body.

I never answered him, but he didn’t seem to mind. My eyes stayed focused on the ground as he bent down before me, taking my ankle into his hands and pulling it onto his thigh without asking my permission first.

“I don’t need your help,” I insisted, trying to yank my ankle out of his reach.

His hand tightened around my ankle and his smoldering gaze swept up to lock with mine. “So you’ve said.”

His hand cradled the arch of my foot as he flexed it and dropped it back to the top of his thigh. His other hand wrapped around my ankle, skimming along the sides of my Achilles. Tingles swept up my spine and I turned away before he could notice. There were gymnasts practicing all around us and loud music was playing from a speaker I couldn’t see. He was touching me while everyone was around and yet my body still reacted as though we were back in his truck, secluded by darkness. My stomach quivered and my thighs clenched together.

“You’re doing this to get in my head,” I insisted with a shaky breath. “You’re trying to prove a point by touching me.”

He resisted my attempt to yank my foot away. “My hands are only on your ankle, like they have been dozens of times.”

They felt like they were wrapped around my neck, suffocating me.