With Every Heartbeat (Forbidden Men, #4)(68)

“Almost.” Tugging at the cuffs of my shirt, I found my shoes in the doorway to my closet and pushed my feet into them with probably a bit too much force.

I turned to face my roommate, who looked as if he could just close his eyes and sleep on my mattress for the rest of the night. Wanting to shove him off, I muttered, “Let’s get this over with.”

Ten stopped swinging his foot and blinked up at me. “Damn, Hammy. You sound about as enthusiastic about tonight as I feel.”

Unable to keep my thoughts bottled a second longer, I said, “If you didn’t want to go, then why did you volunteer?”

“Finally!” Ten cheered, spreading his arms wide as he bounded off the bed. “The lecture. I’ve been waiting for this little talk since the moment your woman orchestrated this whole f*cking night.”

“My woman didn’t—” I clenched my teeth and scowled at him, following him from the room as he left. “What little talk?” I growled.

“The one where you warn me away from Blondie and tell me to keep my hands to myself or you’ll break them off at the wrists.”

Dang it. How did he know I was dying to give him that very lecture? I shook my head though, refusing to admit it. “Why would I tell you that?”

Ten paused, glanced back at me, and then stepped closer. “Because you can’t handle the idea of anyone putting his hands on her, that’s why.”

I rolled my eyes, but inside, my stomach burned. Listening to him say that made me want to curl my hands into fists and punch something. Punch him. Because what he said was true.

This was bad. This was so bad.

My roommate gave a sudden grin before he patted my shoulder in reassurance. “Don’t worry, bud. I feel the same way.”

With that, he turned around and strolled off. I blinked. He felt the same way? He wanted to murder anyone who even thought about touching Zoey? He...wait. Did this mean he liked her?

What about Caroline? I thought he had a thing for Caroline. Why couldn’t he just keep his sights set on Caroline?

“What?” I asked, hurrying after him.

He laughed and opened the front door of the apartment, stepping aside to let me exit first. I didn’t. I just stared at him.

So he threw his head back and gave an exhausted sigh. “Believe it or not, I like Blondie exactly how she is. All sweet, and innocent, and untouched. But Cora wasn’t going to let up until she found someone to take your girl out. And you and I both know someone else would probably try to get into her panties. So...I volunteered.”

I shook my head. This just wasn’t anything Ten would do. I couldn’t compute or make any sense of it. “What?” I finally said. “Does this mean you’re not going to try to, you know...?”

As I waved a hand, he lifted an eyebrow. “Get into her panties?”

I curled my lip into a snarl as I growled, “Yes.”

“Nope. I am not.” When I continued to stare at him, letting him know I didn’t trust him, his face went serious. He patted my chest. “I’m doing this for you, Ham.”

I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”

With another long, drawn-out sigh, he closed his eyes. “One of these days, hopefully one of these days soon, you’re going to realize you don’t have to stay with a girl just because she was the first person you f*cked. Putting your dick into Cora didn’t commit you to her for the rest of your life, man. And when you catch on and figure out you’re allowed move on and be with a girl you actually like, I want her to be nice and preserved for you.”

I blinked, stunned senseless by what he’d just said. There was so much in there I wanted to dispute, I wasn’t even sure where to start.

I held up a finger. “First of all, Cora and I are not breaking up. And I’m not with her because she was my...I’m with her because I love her and I want to be with her. Okay? I’m not planning on straying...especially with her roommate. Are we perfectly clear?”

“No.” Ten made a face. “We are perfectly not clear. How could you claim to love Cora? You admitted to me just last week that she’s hiding something from you. She doesn’t go to your football games. Plus you’re dreaming about—”

“Just stop.” I held up a hand, getting upset. “No one is perfect. I certainly wouldn’t be your roommate if I couldn’t handle a few flaws. Cora isn’t required to like football, and she’s allowed to have her privacy. She accepts me as I am, and that is something I thought I’d never find.”

Ten lifted an eyebrow. “Accepts you?” he repeated slowly. “What the hell? You’re not some freak show just wandering around, waiting for some benevolent soul to finally take you in.”

“You know what I mean.” I glanced away, feeling stupid. “I’m not normal. I’m not like...you.”

Unable to hide his shock, Ten pulled back and shook his head. “Why the f*ck would you want to be like me? Hell, I don’t even want to be like me half the time. And I am most definitely not normal.”

“But you’re...you...” Feeling my stutter approach, I gritted my teeth, hating all my ineptitudes. “You can talk to people,” I finally pushed out.

My roommate snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, what a talent. I can piss off pretty much everyone I talk to, too.”