Page 90 of Redemption
I slap my hand in his, the calluses scraping against my skin in the best way. “Not of you.”
The mischief is a light in his eyes, drawing me to whatever trouble we will find. “Good. Because I won’t let you get hurt this time.”
Then he’s tugging me behind him, his grip firm but gentle, and all I can do is follow.
“Where are we going?”
“Shh. Stop asking questions. You’ll see.”
I roll my eyes, and even though Hayes is facing away from me, he says, “Your eyes are going to get stuck that way.”
Scoffing, I squeeze his knuckles together. “I’m pretty sure I got in trouble a time or two for the surprises you and Langston had for me.”
His shoulders shake with laughter, the muscles in his broad back moving under his t-shirt. I take advantage of him facing away from me and gawk.
At the end of his house, we turn right toward his backyard. Hayes steers us toward a gate and stops in front of it.
“This surprise is different. I think you’ll like it.”
He stands there staring at me, not moving an inch, and my face begins to heat underneath his gaze.
“Are we going to stand here all day, or are you going to show me?”
Dropping my hand, he pinches my side, and I squeal, dancing away from him while he opens the gate.
But before I can say anything, a furry body comes running out of the gate, colliding with me and knocking me to the ground.
My breath whooshes out of me when I collide with the ground, and I stare at the sky, trying to gain my bearings. Hot breath blows across my face, and a tongue swipes across my cheek.
“Dang it, Kota, get off of her.”
Kota.
If I weren’t already struggling to breathe, that name would have knocked the breath out of me. Turning my head, I take in the dog that accosted me. One blue eye and one brown eye stare back at me. There’s no mistaking him.
Langston’s dog.
Hayes’s face appears over the top of me, a worried wrinkle in the creases of his forehead. “Are you mad?”
I shake my head back and forth, my hair collecting grass. I need to speak—to say something—but I can’t. Tears clog my throat, making it impossible.
His Adam’s apple bobs, the gray in his eyes appearing lighter than I’ve seen it in a long time.
“Are you going to lie on the ground all day, or would you like a hand up?”
“Help, please,” I say as innocently as I can, which to my ears doesn’t sound innocent at all, but Hayes doesn’t seem to notice. He sticks his hand out, and I reach out to take it.
He should know me better, though. When his hand is in mine, I yank down hard. I catch him off guard, and his center of balance is thrown forward. I should have thought this through better because he falls towards me. Squealing, I try to roll away, but he’s faster. He tucks his shoulder so he falls onto his side and grabs my waist, rolling me with him so instead of him falling on top of me, suddenly I’m on top of him.
Hayes is all hard muscle and dark chuckles, and it’s distracting.
His breath fans across my face, sending shivers down my spine, and his hand presses harder into my lower back.
“You’re a menace,” he says. His voice is low, like it’s a secret just for him and me. I hate to tell him—the whole world knows I’m a menace.
Winking, I smack his chest. “You wouldn’t want me any other way.”
“You’re right. I’ll take you however you come as long as I get to keep you in my life.” He leans in, skimming his lips on my cheek where his words caressed.
