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Shit.Half of his body is outside the vehicle and my heart thunders as he fires off a shot. His suit jacket whips up, caught in the wind, and my gaze drops to his ass.Seriously, Hunter?I give my head a shake and turn my focus back to the road.
Behind us, one of Knox’s shots makes contact, splintering their windshield into a million cracks. I keep the car steady, but don’t let up on the gas pedal. Knox fires again and the men chasing after us return fire.
Concentrating on driving, we blast out of the alley and back into slow-moving traffic.Oh, crap!I’m forced to swerve around stopped cars, and Knox jolts sideways, almost falling out.
Oops.
“You call that steady?” he yells.
Cringing, I ease up on the gas. “Sorry!”
He might annoy me, but that doesn’t mean I want to accidentally kill him.
After a few damn good moves on my part, we roar through an intersection, and I swerve through several cars and past atruck. Knox slides back inside the car and drops down on the passenger seat.
“We lost ‘em.” I can feel him studying me and I glance over to see him assessing me with dancing blue eyes. “Nice driving.”
I can’t help but grin, ramped up from an adrenaline high. “Wait’ll you see my flying.”
He laughs, and for the first time in a long time, I feel lighter.
“Addie mentioned you’re a former fighter pilot.”
I nod, blending back into the flow of cars zooming along the highway and heading toward the airport. “Ten years in the Navy.”
“Impressive. Thank you for your service.”
I steal another glance at him. He’s staring at me, and I can’t quite figure out what I see flash through his gorgeous blue eyes. Suddenly, something hot and liquid fills my lower belly.No, no, no. I refuse to fall for this cocky thief. Swallowing hard, I look away and force a nod.
Okay, so he’s hot. Big deal. A lot of men are, right? He’s also smooth and arrogant as hell, which are two qualities I avoid at all costs since my relationship with Shane crashed and burned. My former Top Gun classmate is the reason I’ve stayed single and dependent on my vibrator for so damn long.
Because I’ve been down this road before and it only leads to heartbreak. Shane hurt me deeply, and I can tell Knox is cut from the same cloth. I know his type far too well—the charming, dashing, gorgeous rogue with a devil-may-care attitude and a gaggle of women panting after him. And much like my ex, I’m sure he’s just as averse to monogamy.
Shane taught me a very hard lesson, and I vowed to never fall for another playboy. They don’t settle down, and they certainly don’t believe in being faithful.
Knox Beckett is a walking red flag.
Unfortunately, I can’t help but notice him. And red? Well, it just happens to be my favorite color. He’s far too attractive for his own good and there’s a magnetic quality about him that keeps drawing my attention.So annoying. Too bad he isn’t taking the next commercial flight back to the States and I can just drop him off and wipe my hands clean of him.
That would be too easy, though. No, I have to smell his sultry scent for the next seven or so hours and pretend this man isn’t affecting me.
Pressing my lips together, I realize he’s my fucking catnip. I’m used to being surrounded by lots of big, muscled, alpha men who grunt a lot. But Knox is a smooth-talking pretty boy who oozes charm and wears a suit like it’s his job. His lean physique is more to my liking. He’s tall, and I’m guessing under that expensive tux is a lithe, athletic body without an ounce of fat.
“I should apologize,” he says.
“For what?” I glance over, not sure what he’s talking about.
“When Addie told me Hunter was coming down here to pick me up, I assumed you were a man.”
“Oh. Yeah, well, I get that a lot. In your defense, I suppose female pilots are less common than male pilots. But I’m just as good, if not better,” I assure him.
“I have no doubts. Especially if your flying skills are half as good as your driving skills.”
I’m not sure how to respond to that. The compliments roll off his silver tongue so easily, and I can’t help but wonder how sincere he’s being. I’m sure some women like that BS, but I’m made of stronger stuff.
And resisting this thief? Not a problem.
Just keep telling yourself that, Hunter,a little voice taunts.