Page 30 of Reckless Hearts

While Callie wasn’t looking, Maverick lifted his chin in an upward nod, asking if I knew what was wrong. All I could do was shake my head.

The silent language we used to speak came back easily.

If there’s one thing we still agree on, it’s her, and if anything’s wrong, we’re going to fix it.

The years of not knowing what she’s been doing have twisted protectiveness into outright possessiveness.

That’s not quite right though. I don’t want to own her. I want her to own me. I want her to let me do everything for her. To let me be the one she relies on.

She’s playing it off, but I know her too well not to see it that she’s guarded. Holding herself back. Still got one foot out the door, ready to walk away at any time.

The knowledge sits under my ribs, cutting into me when I breathe. A permanent ache, chewing away at my sanity.

Surviving her leaving once was hard; doing it again would be impossible.

Not that I’d let her get away. There’s nowhere she can go that I won’t follow and bring her home. And as much as it kills me to admit it, Maverick belongs with her too. So long as he keeps his distance from me, we’ll work it out.

I want her so tied up in what we have she won’t even think about going back to the city.

Maverick may be the biggest asshole around, but I don’t hate him enough to want him gone.

It pisses me off, but I have no intention of getting between them.

Callie wants to go back to how we were as kids. I can’t give her the impossible, but I’ll do my best not to kick his ass while she’s around.

I tell myself it’ll be easy enough that if she’s happy, I can live with it. But a sick feeling’s already coiling low in my gut, warningme it’s going to be a hell of a lot harder once reality slams into me.

A slow, crooked smile twists my lips. Fuck, it’s been a while since we had a good fight. Wonder if we can set that up while she’s asleep.

Sleep… fuck.

The back of my skull connects with the stone wall, and I wince. It’s numb now, but shit’s going to hurt in the morning.

I do it again, trying to rattle the thoughts loose, but it’s no good.

Sooner or later, I’ll have to crawl my drunk ass back to our room and face him head-on.

I haven’t seen him in a few hours. With any luck, he’ll be out cold.

We sprang apart the second Callie’s door closed behind her, so fast you’d think we were contagious.

Whatever little truce we had going while she was around terminated the second she was gone.

He watched me from a safe ten feet away.

The moment stretched between us, and when his mouth twitched, I thought he was going to say something. Instead, he turned on his heel and walked away.

I’d take being buried six feet under before I admit I stood there, gaze locked on the flex of his shoulders as he left.

It would be a lie to say I’ve been able to ignore him.

No…he’s always there, buzzing at the edge of my sight, a little alarm going off:Look at me.

Blaming it on us both being bull riders would be easy, but it’s bullshit.

I’ve never been able to ignore that subtle electric hum that pulses through me whenever he’s near, like he’s some kind of live wire I should know better than to touch.

I hit my head against the wall one more time for good measure, then peel myself off the ground, stumbling to get my balance.

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