Fighting for Love (Second Chances #4)(16)

“Do you live here, too?” I asked in disbelief.

With a resentful expression on his face, Jace shut the door and walked past me indignantly. What the hell was his problem? Settling down on the sofa, he leaned over to tie his running shoes and glared up at me. “Shelby and I have been living together for about nine years now. During that time she’s told me all about the famous bad boy, Matt Reynolds. Frankly, I think she deserves better.”

“Are you kidding me? What’s your problem?” I hissed, clenching my hands into tight fists. I was two seconds away from messing up that pretty boy face of his.

Getting to his feet, he stalked over to me, narrowing his eyes. He was just as tall as I was, and it was obvious he had just as much muscle … only leaner. However, he wasn’t a fighter. Leaning closer, he whispered low, and I was pretty sure it was so Shelby couldn’t hear him.

“She’s my friend and I care about her. The night she overheard you f*cking those girls after the fight almost broke her. I don’t want to see her get hurt like that again. Being the friend that I am, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Shelby obviously still cares about you, but it wasn’t you who was there for her when—”

“Jace,” Shelby shouted, cutting off his sentence.

Over his shoulder, I could see Shelby, who stood in the doorway to what I assumed was her bedroom, her arms defiantly crossed at her chest. “That’s enough. Thank you for wanting to look out for me, but I know what I’m doing,” she warned.

Jace held his hands in the air and backed away. “Okay, I’m done. I said what I needed to say here, and last night to you,” he remarked, still staring at me. He grabbed a set of keys and a bottle of water off of the white marble kitchen counter before turning to acknowledge Shelby. “I’m going out for a run. I won’t be home tonight, so call me if you need anything.”

Shelby nodded and watched him walk out the door before sliding her gaze to mine. Dressed in what looked like pajamas, a small pink tank top and matching shorts, her nipples poked through the thin fabric of her top and immediately I could feel the blood rushing south.

Damn, she’s so f*cking hot.

“You’re early,” she said brightly, trying to lighten the mood. “Oh, and please forgive Jace for the way he acted. He’s known about our past for a while now, and he’s just worried about me.”

“It felt like it was more than that,” I responded skeptically, studying her.

Nonchalantly, she shrugged her shoulders and averted her gaze. “He’s an actor, so he’s always dramatic. I wouldn’t look into it that much. I’m used to him being that way.”

Oh yeah, she’s definitely keeping something from me. I could see it in the way she dodged me with her eyes and hear it in the aloofness of her voice. Whatever it was I was going to find out.

Clearing her throat, she smiled and hesitated for a second before meeting my gaze again. “Um … all I have to do is put on some clothes and I’ll be ready. If you want you can wait in my room.” A slow, languid smile spread across her face and there was no way I could say no to that.

She moved out of the way, and once I was inside of her room she shut the door and headed to the bathroom. Her room was bright, painted in a pale green, and it was almost exactly like her bedroom at her parents’ house. Her favorite color was green, so it was no shock to see the room covered in nothing but different shades of it. Her bed was already made, but deep down I wondered what she’d do if I ripped off her clothes and spread her wide beneath me. Would she let me make love to her or would she push me away? That was the question of the day.

I wish I knew what she wanted.

“All right, I think I’m ready to go.”

Throwing her purse on the bed, she sat down and slipped on a pair of high heeled ‘f*ck me’ sandals. Her chestnut colored hair was curled in waves down her back, and she wore a pair of tight jeans that hugged her ass perfectly, along with a low-cut, cream-colored top that showed the top mounds of her breasts. Fuck, she’s going to kill me.

“Matt, are you okay?” she asked. When she stood, her gaze lingered down to my waist. Immediately, her eyes went wide and she bit her lip. “I see.”

Groaning, I blew out a frustrated sigh and grabbed her hands in mine. “You look really hot right now, but I think we need to get out of here. I don’t know what we’re doing, but if you don’t want me to rip off your clothes and f*ck you then we need to leave.”

Letting go of my hands, she laughed and grabbed her purse off the bed before pushing me out of her room. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t think us having sex is such a good idea right now,” she insisted seriously.

“Oh yeah, and why is that?” I asked.

She nudged me out the front door, and then turned around to lock it. I walked down a couple of steps so that when she approached her eyes would meet me head on. Sighing, she rolled her eyes. “Do you really want to know my reason? I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to be with you, it’s just …”

I had one good guess … Jace.

Taking my face in her hands, her serious gaze slowly transformed into a mischievous glint and she smiled. Chuckling, she leaned down and kissed me quickly, playfully. “You are so easy to read, you know that? I don’t know about you, but I want you to win the fight tonight. You need that testosterone if you’re going to do your best, and the last thing you need is to go into it relaxed. You need to be frustrated.”