Page 19 of Unlocked

“Yeah, I’m staying.” Rosco’s glare bores into me.

“Bo, I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, but you need to think long and hard before you do something you’re going to regret. Shelby is Marley’s friend and a guest in Luke’s home. She’s off limits to your dick.” Rosco’s voice is hard in his displeasure. I heave out a breath, reminding myself this is my brother, and I’m not allowed to murder him in our other brother’s home or anywhere for that matter.

“I know what I’m doing,” I answer. “For once, would you have some faith in me?” Our eyes remain locked for several minutes, at long last, he nods, but still looks wary.

“I’ve always had faith in you, Bo,” Rosco says. I can hear the truth in his words. “I have faith that you don’t intend to hurt that girl, but you will. We aren’t like Luke. I thought you knew that.” With those parting words, he stands and heads for the house. Enos gets up and follows, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Chapter 10

Shelby

Once again, I’m laying alone in bed wondering, hoping that Bo will come up and slide in behind me.What’s wrong with me? Am I a glutton for punishment?It would seem so, because the moment I hear the door creak as he opens it my heart begins to race wildly in my chest. The light from the hall illuminates the bedroom even more than the small nightlight I’d brought with me and plugged in on my side of the bed. The extra light is gone as the door clicks shut.

I listen to him in the bathroom, getting undressed and using the facilities, brushing his teeth, and preparing for bed. My face begins to ache. I realize I’ve been smiling, happily, because he’s come to sleep with me.I’m so screwed!The bed dips down from his weight, then his arms are around me, tugging me against his very naked body. I’m unable to contain the shiver that runs over me when our skin connects. Bo chuckles softly, sending more waves of desire through me.

“Good night, my sweet girl. Sleep well.” Bo’s lips press a kiss to the side of my head before he settles himself around me, tangling our bodies together. I’m unable to contain the contented sigh that slips from me. “Me too, sweet girl, me too,” he mutters sleepily. In minutes, his breathing has evened outin sleep. I lay there awake listening to him breath, feeling his warmth surrounding me. I soak up every moment. I want to have all these memories for when I’m alone again. Unable to remain awake, as I’m far too comfortable, sleep takes me where I dream. Not of the dark, wet basement full of spiders and other creepy, crawlies, but of chocolate brown eyes, hard muscles, and the safety they provide.

The next few days are surreal. I wake every morning wrapped up in a warm blanket that is all Bo. We get up and dress, go downstairs for coffee, that Marley presets to brew at four-thirty every morning. Bo and I watch the sunrise, sipping our coffee. Sometimes we chat about the wedding plans. Sometimes we just sit together enjoying the silence. I can feel the bars around my heart weakening. I’m so afraid he’s going to unlock my heart, free it from the confines I’ve kept it in all my life.What happens if he’s successful?I’ll be left broken and alone, like before. I won’t allow it happen. I can’t.

A new day dawns. One I’m dreading when I remember we are going to the bar tonight for the bachelorette-bachelor party. I don’t want to go, but I can’t see a way out of it without hurting my friend, so in the end, I go.

Hours later,I’m silently cursing myself for agreeing to tonight. I should never have attended Marley’s bachelorette party. I should have faked being sick, but being the good friend that I am, I’m here to support Marley. Now I’m having second and third thoughts because I seem to keep making poor decisions. I shouldn’t have come, and I sure as fuck shouldn’t have agreed to dance with Bo Robertson. He’s by far the absolute hottest man I’ve ever laid eyes on. He has the body of a Greek god, craftedfrom pure, hard muscle. He puts the memory of Lance to shame. I hold myself stiffly in his arms as we sway to the music. The song playing is one I absolutely hate,The Lady in Red,but Bo has dragged me out here, and I don’t want to cause a scene by arguing with him in front of everyone.

Bo keeps trying to talk to me, saying sweet things, but I’m not letting my guard down. I can’t risk him getting to me no matter how kind he’s been this last week or how many times he climbs into bed with me when he thinks I’m asleep. I’d promised myself, this morning, I’m not going there with him. I have to protect myself. There is no way a man as hot as Bo would ever truly be interested in me. I fell for it once, years ago, and I vowed I’d never allow another man to hurt me that way again.

I was naïve the first time. I thought everyone was like me: honest, sincere, trustworthy. They aren’t. I found that out the hard way. I became the butt of a cruel joke, made a spectacle of in front of a group of strangers and some of my closest friends, which is what hurt the most. Perhaps I could have gotten over the humiliation in front of the strangers I would likely never see again. It had been my only friends besides Marley witnessing my worst nightmare that cut me to the core. Well that and a hot guy who’d made me believe he had been interested in me but had only been using me to win a bet with his friends.

Ugh! I hate that every time a guy talks to me, I’m reminded of that night and how horrible it had made me feel. How they’d made fun of me for being fat. Yeah, I said it: FAT. I hate the word, but I’ve heard it used to describe me enough that it’s how I see myself. It had been literally beat into me as a child.

I’ve always been overweight and treated cruelly because of it. Even by my own father. The man who had been supposed to love me the most. I’ve tried to toughen my skin over the years, but I haven’t been very successful. It still hurts when I’m treated differently because of my size. It isn’t like I haven’t tried tolose weight, to get healthy. I could own a very nice house with the money I’ve spent trying to lose weight: gym memberships, books, weight loss programs, and medications. Nothing has worked. People often think you’re lazy, stupid, or incapable of having feelings when you’re obese, but that’s the farthest from the truth. If anything, I have to work harder to do things that thin people take for granted, climbing steps, tying my shoes, and even shaving my legs is a work out. And don’t get me started on how much I feel. How I internalize everything, blame myself for everything bad that happens to me or around me.

Bo dragging my body closer jerks me from my thoughts. He pulls me in until our torsos are touching, lighting my body on fire. My nipples harden at the contact of his chest against mine. My breath quickens, goosebumps erupting over my body. I remember how good his naked chest had felt when he held me last night. He seems to notice my reaction and tightens his grip on my hips, pulling me ever closer until I can feel every move his body makes as we dance. His hands on my love handles are burning me like a branding iron. A sweet torture, which if I’m honest, I don’t want to stop. Yet, I know I can’t allow myself to feel this way. It’s not that I don’t want to have these feelings. I do. I want to know what it’s like to have mind blowing sex with a hot guy, but I know it’s not meant to be. Not for someone who looks like me.

I don’t know how I’m going to be able to stand next to him for Marley’s wedding ceremony, but I have to try for Marley’s sake. I can’t ruin her wedding day. She deserves to be happy and have the perfect wedding, especially after all the shit she’s been through in the last few months. I won’t be the reason she doesn’t have a perfect day. I will just have to suck it up and tolerate the arrogant, infuriating man. It’s only a few hours, right? I can feel the tension building in me at the thought of it all. The ceremony,picture taking afterward, and then the reception. It’s going to be torture.

“Relax, sweet girl.” Bo’s deep voice vibrates through my whole body, setting it ablaze. I can feel my core clinch with an intense desire that I don’t want to feel. Moisture leaves me to dampen my panties. His heady cologne has already muddled my senses and now with his hands on my body? How am I to survive this night much less the rest of the weekend? I put some distance between our bodies. I can feel myself being drawn to him like a moth to a flame.You know what happens to the moth, right?

A frustrated sigh escapes me as he pulls my body flush with his, once more. His hands slide around to my lower back, forcing my lower half against his. I can feel a distinctive bulge pressing against my abdomen. My breath hitches, remembering how it had looked as he had stalked toward the bed with it at attention. I’m filled with an intense want like I’ve never felt before. I want to feel his hard dick between my thighs, buried to the hilt inside me. My hands remain on his shoulders, but they’re itching to slide up around his neck. I want so badly to lean into him and feel his hard body against my much fluffier one. Unable to resist another second, I give in, leaning into his embrace.

“That’s it, beautiful.” His words break the spell I’ve fallen under. I move my hands down to his chest to push him away, but he isn’t having it. His hold tightens. “What’s wrong? Do you find me that repulsive?” he asks, sounding wounded. I narrow my gaze on him with a frown.Is he making fun of me?I can’t really tell. He truly looks perplexed by my unwillingness to fall into his arms. He’s no doubt is used to getting his way with women. He said as much the day I met him.

“You aren’t repulsive, and you know it,” I snap irritably. “Just stop pretending to be attracted to me. Just because we are paired for your brother and Marley’s wedding doesn’t mean you have to act like we mean something to each other.” I can feel myeyes beginning to sting with unshed tears. Looking away from his intense gaze, I blink furiously to prevent them from falling. I refuse to cry in front of this man.

Bo’s face pinches into an angry frown. He’s staring a hole in me as if he’s trying to dig deep into my psyche and learn all my secrets. I glance up at him but turn away quickly. His scrutiny is too much. I try again to put some distance between us, but he isn’t letting up on the hold he has on me. My eyes fly back to his to give him a scathing look.

“We could mean something to each other.” Bo leans closer, murmuring in my ear, causing an involuntary shiver of delight to run down my spine. “If you would just give me a chance, my sweet girl.” I hate my double-crossing body. I don’t want to be turned on by this devilishly hot man, but my body hasn’t gotten the memo. It seems to light up at every button he pushes. I’m inexperienced. I’ve never had a boyfriend, never been to second base or beyond. Yeah, that’s right. I’m a thirty-year old virgin. So sue me. It is what it is, and I can’t change it.

Bo’s lips graze my ear before dipping lower to place a hot, wet kiss just behind it. My head tilts to the side, instinctively, giving him better access to the sensitive spot he’s discovered. It craves the attention he’s giving. I feel my arousal leaking from my lower lips. My panties are now soaking wet. Bo smiles against my skin as he places another soft kiss to my delicate skin. Electricity seems to be sparking between us, and it’s lighting up my body like a fucking Christmas tree. My nipples are so hard they’re painful, begging for him to suck them, bite them, roll them between his large capable fingers.

“Mmmm.” A moan escapes me, much to my shock and his delight. Bo chuckles. “You like that, sweet girl?”

He lifts his head. “Let me kiss those gorgeous lips. I’ve been dying to kiss you all night.” His words hit me like a bucket of ice water has been thrown on me. The music swells, andI’m transported back in time, to another bar’s dance floor and another man who held me as this song played. I shove him hard in the chest, barely managing to put a couple of inches between us. A startled look appears on his handsome face, but it’s no longer Bo I’m seeing in front of me.

“What’s wrong, now?” he asks before trying to pull me back in. His eyes on my lips as he leans in closer. I can tell he’s planning to kiss me, even though I’ve been more than obvious I don’t want him to kiss me. Fuck that! I won’t be the butt of this pretty boy’s joke. My hand flies up without a conscious thought, making contact with his jaw resulting in a resounding whack.

“You won’t win a bet off me!” I shriek, shoving with all my might. He’s so shocked by my actions his hold on me loosens, and he stumbles back a few steps. Turning away from him, I sprint ungracefully to the ladies’ room. My heart is pounding in my chest as I feel the wetness of tears on my face.Why does shit like this always happen to me?

In the bathroom, I berate myself. I knew I shouldn’t have come here tonight. I should have stayed at home like I always do, but Marley is one of my only friends. I knew she’d be hurt and disappointed if I didn’t come with them. I hang my head as the tears flow. I shouldn’t have accepted Bo’s invitation to dance, and none of this would have happened. I knew better. I knew how it would end. I haven’t gotten over what happened in my past.

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