“Lexi, wait.” Faith’s arm wrapped around mine, slowing my progress of breaking away from the group. “I don’t know what’s going on, but,” she paused, shaking her head.

“That man you just saw is not Brad Morgan. He and Garrison have issues, and it was clear that Garrison was doing everything he could to provoke him. Don’t hold it against him.”

Deep down, I knew what she was saying was true, but the entire conversation gave me a moment of pause. I’d been running pretty low in the trust department lately with the men in my life. How was this the first time I’d heard about this woman? Either she really wasn’t anybody important, or he was hiding something from me.

“I’m not sure what to think right now. Do you know anything about this Samantha?”

Faith looked hesitant to answer, but I pressed her with my stare letting her know that I wasn’t going to let it slide. I was probably overreacting but I couldn’t ignore the jealousy that flowed through my body. I felt like I had no control over my feelings, even though logically I knew I had very little reason to feel that way.

“Yes, I know about her. From what Sawyer told me, it wasn’t serious at all.” She clarified, and I didn’t miss how she phrased that sentence in past tense. But it still wasn’t enough to stop the questions from worming their way inside my head.

“We’ve been hanging out non-stop for two weeks now. Why didn’t he ever mention her to me? I thought we were friends.”

Faith smiled at me looking amused. “Friends, huh?”

“Yes, friends.” I shifted on my feet and looked around, avoiding her intense stare.

“Hmm,” she paused. “I’m not trying to put my nose in where it doesn’t belong, but that sure didn’t seem like ‘just friends’ to me.”

I shook my head in denial, hoping if I said the words out loud again I would start to believe them. “We’re just friends.”

Now, if only my heart would get the memo, everything in my world would be right again.

“Okay. If you say so.” She didn’t look convinced, and judging by her expression, there wasn’t anything I could say to make her believe otherwise. I guess I couldn’t blame her given my over-the-top reaction.

She obviously knew Brad well, and she apparently cared enough about him to defend his actions to me. Given that she had been dating one of his closest friends for the last five years, I should have expected as much. Which brought me to my next question.

“Can you tell me about his ex, Emily?”

Faith pursed her lips together like she was thinking it over. Unlike her immediate reply when talking about Samantha, I got the sense that this topic was so much more than that. Her chin dipped down to the floor, and the tight expression on her face only confirmed my theory. “I’m sorry. That’s not my story to tell. You’ll have to ask Brad.”

This topic exasperated me for some reason. “I tried, but he practically snapped my head off, telling me he didn’t want to discuss it.”

Her smile softened in understanding. “He will… when he’s ready. Brad is one of the good guys. They don’t come much better than him. Don’t forget that.” She reminded me. My cheeks flamed as I looked away because in my heart I knew she was right. He’d already done so much for me in the short period of time we’d known each other. I just wished he would trust me enough to open up to me.

Faith squeezed my arm and then walked away leaving me alone with my thoughts. I stumbled down the hall, waiting for my turn to use the bathroom. While standing in line, I pulled out my phone and shot Abby a text:

Me: Where are you?

Abby: Sorry, I’m at the bar across the street. I knew you were safe with Brad. I’ll be back over shortly.

What the hell! She just up and left me. Who the hell does that? I was so annoyed I didn’t even respond. I lifted my head to see that the line had not moved an inch since I took my spot at the end. Seeing that the line was moving so slow, I decided that I needed another drink more than I needed to pee. I slid my phone back into my wristlet and headed back to the bar.

Sawyer and Faith were standing in the exact same spot where I had left them earlier. Thank God, because the size of the crowd seemed to have grown quickly. As I pushed my way through the throngs of people, I felt my heart sink when I saw Gage waiting for me instead of Brad.

He held out a drink, which I presumed was his attempt at a peace offering. “Will you accept my apology?” he asked, with a hint of hesitation while dangling a freshly poured glass of Chardonnay in front of me.

“That depends, are you going to attack any more of my friends tonight?

He smiled at me in a way that most women would find attractive, but honestly, it did nothing for me. “I’ll do my best to behave,” he replied. “Now are you going to accept this or make me grovel a little more?” I could tell Gage was unaccustomed to groveling with a woman over anything, but I enjoyed seeing him squirm just a little bit.

“Who am I to say no to a free drink?” I teased, trying to cut through the tension. Even though Gage and Brad didn’t seem to like each other very much, Gage had been nothing but nice to me the entire time.

It also helped that I wasn’t drawn to Gage like I was to Brad. And my stomach didn’t flip-flop whenever he was near me. Which, ironically made Gage Garrison even more appealing and much safer for my heart.

Gage nodded towards the dance floor. “Care to dance with me, beautiful?” His voice was low and smooth and I could smell the clean fresh scent of body wash. But it still didn’t compare to Brad’s woodsy cologne that I had come to love. Once I took a minute to appreciate him, I decided that he really was quite attractive. Although, given his actions earlier, he already had one strike against him. He instigated that showdown on purpose, but Brad wasn’t innocent, either. There was obviously some bad blood between them.

The scuffle tonight had me seeing Brad in a new light. One I wished I could shut off and block out. It had me wondering how well I actually knew him. The more I thought it over, the more I realized that whoever this Samantha was, really didn’t bother me. I believed him and his friends when they said he was no longer with her. Now Emily, that was a completely different story. The mere mention of her name had me feeling unsettled.

Regardless of why their relationship ended, it was clear to me that he wasn’t over her. That’s why every time my traitorous body started to entertain the idea of anything more than friendship, I had to shut it down. My life was still under serious construction at the moment and moving beyond anything more than friendship with Brad would be like ignoring those flashing yellow safety lights that read, ‘proceed with caution’. He was a big fat ‘do not enter’ and I needed to remember that.

Gage gently grabbed my arm, tugging my conscience back to the here and now. He lifted his eyebrow playfully. “So, about that dance?”

“Sure, why not?” I said, placing my drink on the bar. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sawyer’s gaze bounce back and forth between the two of us. He looked like he was about to say something but Faith pulled on his arm and whispered into his ear.

My lip-reading skills were as strong as ever because I could clearly make out the words. “Brad’s going to have my ass.”

Well, Brad wasn’t here at the moment now, was he? I thought to myself. No, it was Brad’s temper tantrum that put us all in this position. Brad would have to deal with the consequences and get over it.

Gage’s hand latched onto mine as he pulled us towards the dance floor. We claimed a small, vacant space in the middle of the crowd. My eyes glanced around the room, watching everyone sway to the beat of the music.

He placed his hands on my hips and drew me tight against his hard chest. I closed my eyes and tried to pretend it was someone else holding me. Gage was a good dancer, and he was cute enough, he just wasn’t the one I wanted pressed up against me. I folded my arms around his neck and forced my thoughts to concentrate on the music. But every time Gage’s hand traveled up my back, every slow caress of his hands had me on the brink of tears. Brad’s face was all I saw; his touch was the one my body craved. How did it get to this point? When did I allow him to slip through the cracks?

A new song boomed through the speakers causing me to pull away. Gage tugged on my hand, “One more, please.” He drew out the word, batting those thick eyelashes that probably had most women dropping their panties when he put on the charm. Begging a woman for more than just a second of his time, was probably a record for him.

I pressed my lips together, finding it hard to say no. He was a good distraction, but leading him on would be wrong. “One more, then that’s it.”

“Deal.” he said, smiling just before he pulled me back towards his chest.

When the song ended, he spun me around with his strong arm supporting my back and dipped me. I could feel a smile erupt on my face.

“See, now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked, his eyes bright with amusement.

I shook my head and gave him a polite smile. In another time or another place, I would probably be interested, but seeing that I had met Brad first, I just wasn’t capable of allowing my head to go there.

Sweat was beading down my forehead and my hair was stuck to the back of my neck as we headed back toward the bar. I weaved through the crowd in need of a drink when my feet came to an immediate halt. Brad stood there with his hands in his pockets and his head slanted to the left. Anger darkened his eyes as his gaze flickered to where Gage’s hand rested on the small of my back. A slight twinge of guilt passed through me.

“Lexi, I would like to speak with you… alone, please.” His face was pulled tight, but he kept his voice steady. It looked like he was on the verge losing control by the way his jaw flexed back and forth. As much as I wanted to tell him no, it was as if my heart had a mind of its own.

I simply nodded my head when he reached for my hand and laced his fingers through mine. Tingles pricked my arms at the way my hand felt inside his. My heart was thumping so hard in my chest I thought it would jump out of my skin.

He led me down a dark hallway past the restrooms until he found a small corner in the back that was quieter and less crowded. My nervous fingers fumbled with my too short top, and I suddenly worried that I might be showing off too much skin.

“I’m sorry you had to see that. I shouldn’t have let him get to me. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

The events of tonight had taken me by surprise making me wish I could put it all behind me. Things were getting weird between us and I just wanted everything to go back to the way it had been. Go back to a place where things were comfortable because comfortable meant safe. It was impossible to ignore the shift in our relationship over the past two weeks, but I pushed those feelings aside and gave him the reassurance he needed.

“I know.”

“I don’t ever want you to be afraid of me.” The waver in his voice did something to me.

My small fingers wrapped around his strong ones and gave them a squeeze. “I’m not.” I said, trying to hide how nervous I was. I wasn’t sure what he would think if he knew how fast my feelings for him were developing. But at the same time, I didn’t want him to think that I was some fragile little girl who got frightened every time somebody raised their voice. I knew Brad would never hurt me. Well, at least not physically. And certainly not intentionally.

His relief was apparent. “Thank God. Now that we got that out of the way…” He sighed. “About Samantha…” He ran his free hand through his hair pulling on the ends like he was uncomfortable with the words that came next. “I broke it off with her weeks ago.” He tilted his head to the side. “Besides, do you really think I would be spending so much time with you, if I had a girlfriend?”

I just shrugged my shoulders. “I guess not.”

His eyebrows pulled together. “That’s it?”

“You’ve never given me a reason to doubt you. If you’re telling me that you’re not seeing anyone, then I believe you.”

His lips kicked up into a smile. “You’re making this way too easy. What’s the catch?”

“There is no catch. Are you trying to say you want me to give you a hard time?”

Brad laughed out loud. The sound warmed my insides more than I cared to admit.

“We’re good, then?” He asked, squeezing my hand while inching closer towards me. He still didn’t look convinced.

“We’re good.” I gave him a faint smile, trying to ignore the way his woodsy cologne clouded all my damn senses. Every single worry about tonight completely melted away with just a single touch.

His shoulders visibly relaxed when his face turned serious. “There is one more thing I want to get straight.” He took another step towards me, closing the remaining distance between us. His warm breath hovered over my skin causing every nerve ending in my body to take notice. “I don’t want you dancing with Garrison.”

My pulse was pounding, making it hard to breathe. “Why?”

His gaze held mine; he was looking at me in a way that he had never looked at me before. “I don’t like it.”

Even though this conversation had me feeling uneasy, I still couldn’t bring myself to look away. “I’m not sure what you want me to say?”

“Tell me you won’t go out with him.”

For a moment, I thought he might be angry, but before I could ponder that thought any further, his lips sealed over mine catching me off guard. My eyes snapped open in shock only for a brief second. The caress of his lips was softer than I could have ever imagined. It was almost as if it were taking every ounce of his restraint to keep it gentle. When his tongue slipped in without warning, my fists grabbed onto his shirt so I wouldn’t stumble backwards.

The kiss may have started off slow and tender, but with every skilled swipe of his tongue I found myself getting lost in the incredible feeling of being in his arms. His mouth continued to move against mine, causing all coherent thoughts to escape me. His hand snaked into my hair and I swear I felt my legs shake as he pressed his body harder against mine. Kissing him was everything I thought it would be and much, much more.

A soft moan escaped my throat as his fingertips gripped my hips and suddenly, I felt claimed by this one single solitary touch. The way he explored my mouth and possessively dug his hands into my flesh was if he were demanding to know every inch of me.

The sound of laughter and chatter could be heard as it made its way towards us. It was an unwelcome reminder that we weren’t alone. He pulled back from me with his eyes turning a dark shade of brown.

Cupping my jaw, he moved his thumb tenderly across my cheek. “God, that felt good. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that?”

My eyes widened in shock. “Really?” I didn’t know why that surprised me so much.

He pressed his forehead against mine. “You’ve had me tied up in knots for weeks now.”

“You mean you don’t kiss all your friends like that?” I said, smiling and enjoying the way his breathing was still heavy from our kiss.

“Oh, you think you’re so clever, don’t you? Have I ever told you how much I’ve come to hate the F word?” He said, letting his kiss linger on my lips. A laugh slipped out of me, which he quickly silenced when he took my bottom lip between his teeth.

“Will you promise me now that you’ll stay away from Garrison?”

“You really don’t like him, do you?”

“I despise him.”

My brain traveled back their argument, earlier. “Is it because of your ex, Emily?”

His body tensed. “What are you talking about?”

His reaction didn’t go unnoticed. He tried to hide it, but I still saw it.

“You got upset when Gage mentioned her. Is that why you guys don’t get along?”

He blinked, taking a step back. “No, and the subject of Emily is off limits.”

Here we go again. I was so sick of avoiding this subject and him always drawing a line whenever the topic of her came up. His reaction only heightened my suspicions that he wasn’t completely over her. There was no way I could keep tiptoeing around this, especially after what we just shared. “Oh really… and why is that?”

I watched his face harden and you could see the tension in his brow. His emotions seemed to be in a tug of war. When he didn’t respond, I decided to answer for him.

“Because you’re still in love with her.”

He had the audacity to close his eyes like I had physically wounded him. “I don’t want to talk about her.”

“Why?” I pressed, noticing he didn’t deny it, which just seemed to piss me off even further.

“The same reason why you don’t want to talk about Colton.”

My frustration with his avoidance on this topic was getting the better of me. “Oh, no you don’t. You know the reason why I don’t want to talk about him. He represents a dark time in my life. That is completely different.”

He plowed his hands through his hair and looked away. “You don’t get it. You would give anything to never see him again. Where I would give up everything I own to have her back.”

A thick, heavy silence rolled through the room as I stared at the man who had come to mean so much to me. My stomach dropped as his words hit me like a brick to the head. He quickly started to back pedal. “Lexi, I’m so sorry. That’s not what I meant.”

His voice was strangled as he reached for my hand, but I yanked it away as if his touch burned my skin. “Don’t touch me.” I hissed out, stumbling back from him. The impact from his words hurt more than any physical pain ever could.

Brad’s face fell as a look of regret flashed across his eyes. “I’m leaving.” I shot my hand out when I felt him moving towards me. “Don’t you dare follow me.” I snapped defensively and turned on my heels and stormed off.

I shot Abby a text telling her I was leaving. Her reply was instant.

Abby: I’ll be right there

I typed back-

Me: Don’t worry about it, I’m good

My phone pinged.

Abby: You sure?

I replied-

Me: Absolutely! Have fun

“Where’s Morgan?” I looked up from my phone to meet Sawyer’s curious gaze.

“It was really great meeting you both.” I said, ignoring his question. “Maybe I’ll see you guys around sometime.” I turned to leave with every intention on putting this night behind me. I could not get out of there fast enough.

Gage grabbed my arm, stopping me from leaving. “Hey, you okay?” I tilted my head to look up at him and forced a smile. “I’m fine, I just have a headache and need to go home.” His eyes roamed over my face, clearly not convinced.

“Lexi!” Brad’s deep voice called from across the room, hitting me with a force that was physically painful. “You can’t leave by yourself. Let me take you home.”

My back was still facing him. I couldn’t turn around because I knew if I did I would crumble. For the first time since I’d met him I couldn’t stand to look at him. I just needed to get away from him.

I looked up at Gage again, desperate to get the hell away from Brad. “Would you mind taking me home?”

“Lexi,” Brad’s voice was desperate. It felt like I was being split in two. There was a part of me that wanted to turn around and give him the chance to make things right, but I knew my heart wasn’t strong enough to handle another blow.

I shut my eyes trying to block out the sound of his voice. I blinked again and looked up at Gage with pleading eyes. “Please,” I begged.

For the first time tonight, Gage looked uneasy. I saw him glance over my shoulder then shake his head. “Sure, lead the way,” he said then placed his drink down on the bar. He held out his hand and led us both to the door.

“Garrison.” Brad’s voice called out, causing us both to pause. “You walk her to her door and make sure she gets inside. You better not even think about walking past that door or I will beat your ass so bad your momma won’t even recognize you.”

Garrison must not have wanted to piss Brad off any more than he already had because he did exactly what Brad had instructed him to do. But not before he took an opportunity to ask me for my phone number when he dropped me off.

My body felt heavy as I forced it towards my bedroom. Pulling the covers back, I slipped my body inside the cool sheets and laid my head on the pillow. I stared up at the ceiling trying not to cry. Brad Morgan was more dangerous than Colton Hunt could ever be.