Xavier Cold (Hard Knocks #2)(9)

“I’m sorry. I think we got off on the wrong foot. I’m—”

“Leaving,” Xavier’s voice cuts the man off mid sentence.

As he takes in my tall, broad-shouldered boyfriend, the man’s expression morphs from surprise to determination. His eyes narrow. “Excuse me?”

It’s clear this man isn’t used to being told no, and by antagonizing Xavier, it’s also clear that he has a death wish.

Xavier rolls his neck and glares down at him with a stare so intense that it’s downright scary. “Do you have a f*cking hearing problem? I told you to beat it.”

The man squares his shoulders. “I’ll leave when I’m good and ready.”

With a sharp tug, Xavier pulls me behind him. He has at least four inches and about sixty pounds on Mr. Suit Man.

Xavier’s fingers flex into fists at his sides. “That’s where you’re wrong, motherf*cker. You’ll leave when I f*cking say you will.”

Flashbacks of what happened with Rex hit me hard. I will not allow Xavier to get into a fight in the goddamn airport because a guy hit on me.

I grab Xavier’s wrist. “No. Don’t be crazy.”

Xavier jerks his gaze to me, and his thick eyebrows knit in confusion. “No?”

“No,” I say again.

I stare into his eyes as I cling to him, remaining coolheaded in order to defuse this situation. The last thing we need is for Xavier to end up in handcuffs again for killing a man while defending me. Tension wouldn’t be able to make this one go away because this guy isn’t on their payroll.

Xavier swallows hard as the intense connection we always feel toward one another flows between us.

“Don’t do something that could separate us again,” I plead.

His jaw muscle flexes as he blows a rush of air out of his nose, attempting to calm himself.

Xavier directs his attention back to Mr. Suit Man. “You’re lucky my girl here is a saint because I’m allowing you to walk away right now.”

The man’s face twists with disgust. “Allowing me? Do you know who I am?”

“No, and I don’t give a f*ck either.”

The man opens his mouth again to fire off another snide remark.

I can see in Xavier’s eyes that his cool won’t last long, so this time, I cut the guy off, “Mister, if I were you, I would leave while I could. He just got out of prison for nearly beating a man to death.”

All the color drains from the man’s face. He doesn’t say another word. He simply heeds my warning and walks away.

Xavier never takes his eyes off his retreating opponent. “Fucking *.”

I let out an exasperated sigh as I grab my bag Xavier wheeled over from the carousel and walk away from him.

“What?” Xavier calls from behind me as he gathers up the other bags and starts after me. “Are you pissed at me?”

“No—yes—I don’t know. Don’t you see the problem with what just happened?”

He releases one of the roller bags and grabs my wrist, halting me in place. “Hold up. I did that for you.”

“No, Xavier, you did that for you. I was perfectly capable of fending off the guy’s flirtatious behavior, and if all else failed, I would have walked away.”

“I did walk away because you’d asked me, too.”

“I shouldn’t have to ask you to do that. There should’ve never been a confrontation to begin with. You need to trust me and stop fighting all my battles for me. I don’t need you permanently ruining your career over me. If you threw everything away for me, that would kill me. You were damn lucky to get out of hurting Rex with only a suspension.” Heat rises in my face, and I know my face is red.

“You think I give a shit about all that? You’re what’s important to me.”

“Don’t say that because you know it isn’t true. You’d care if wrestling were no longer an option for you.”

“It is true. I told Mr. Silverman I would quit if they tried to take you away from me, and I meant that.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “And then I would feel guilty that you left Tension. Living with that kind of guilt would make a relationship between us impossible. You’d resent me.”

The thought of not being with him crushes me, but I know myself. I could never get over being responsible for ending his career.

His eyes soften. “Don’t ever talk like that. I can’t lose you.”

I close the distance between us and lay my hand on his chest. “Then, figure out how to control all that rage inside you before it destroys us both.”

He wraps his fingers around my wrist as my hand rests over his heart. “I’m trying.”

“I know,” I whisper. I push up on my tiptoes and press my lips to his. “No more fighting. Let’s go find our ride.”

The first thing I spot when we step out into the summer heat is Quinn leaning against her silver Honda. Her lips curve into a smile as soon as her eyes land on us.

She throws her hands up and waves them like crazy as she dashes in our direction. She throws her arms around me. “Oh my God, I’ve missed you, cuz. I’ve got loads to tell you.”

I laugh as her dark hair tickles my nose. “It’s so good to see you.”

“You want to pop your trunk, Quinn?” Xavier asks from behind me.