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Chapter Fifteen

“My editor assigned a special project this week. Local recreational leagues. My paycheck put me in the bleachers of a roller derby bout. Fascination kept me there. With each whirl around the track, the Richland squad showcased a symphony of speed, strategy, sweat and passion." Renegades Rinkside Report

Novy

The instant he disappeared down the hall I slumped against the kitchen counter.

“Girl,” Kitty said, “we need all the details. Now. Immediately. Are you hooking up with your sexy, hockey-playing roommate?”

“No!” My pulse hammered. Guilt, embarrassment, unfulfilled desire. Take your pick. Every emotion sang through me. “No, I am not hooking up with Bohdan.”

“That’s your story?”

“There is no story, Kitty. We’re just roommates.” Who got a little carried away. Once. Twice if you counted the elevator. Did I have to count the elevator?

“She’s zoned out.”

“I see that.”

I shook off the memory of the elevator. Kitty and Seeley had arrived at my invitation. They’d offered to help me put together some video footage a few days ago. I’d worried out loud that my content was getting boring, that a couple fresh faces might liven things up.

I pushed Boh from my mind and focused on the girls. “I’m not zoned out. I’m ready.”

“Of course you are, Novocaine. That’s why you’re pinching that disgusting little tomato to smithereens.”

“What?” Suddenly, the feel of the slimy insides of a cherry tomato penetrated my brain and I looked down to see the remnants of the fruit dripping from my fingers. “Gross.”

“That’s what she said.”

I glared at Kitty and her stupid, too-old joke and washed the sliminess away in the sink.

“You’re really not gonna tell us about what you have going on with that man?”

I clenched my eyes closed. “There’s nothing to tell.”

“Okay,” Kitty said slowly. “But that beard burn on your neck kinda speaks for itself.”

I covered my neck with a gasp, staring back at the grinning pair. “No way.”

“Oh yeah.” Seeley stole a dried cranberry from the bowl on the counter as she slanted me an amused look. “Big time.”

My shoulders slumped. I wasn’t going to get out of telling them something. “You know he came to the bout yesterday.”

“And cheered you on like a hero, too.”

I wiped down the counter. For the forty-eighth time since my friends had arrived. But who was counting? “Which was super nice of him. But he’s not supposed to be around all that noise because of his condition.” I skipped the part about the elevator. “So when he didn’t come out of his room this morning, I started to worry he had over done it.”

They both grinned.

“Really,” I said, my tone inching up a guilty octave. “I really did worry. I am supposed to be here to help him, you know.”

They nodded in that way friends do when they see right through you. We all knew that while I might have been concerned for his health, that concern wasn’t the reason for the beard burn along my neck.

“I had to check on him.”

Another nod, in sync. I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

“I knocked, but he didn’t respond, which just increased my concern. When I didn’t even hear any movement in the room, I opened the door and peeked inside. Just to check. Just in case.”

Their eyes widened as though synchronized and this time I grinned. “You two look ridiculous.”

“We’ll show you ridiculous if you don’t get to the kissing part. The kissing part is my favorite part of any story.”

Seeley gave a rapid nod. “Yeah, hurry already, gee whiz.”

“His room was completely dark, just the light from the hall. And he didn’t answer when I called his name. I didn’t really have any choice but to go inside.”

“Of course not. No choice. Only decent thing to do.”

I stifled a nervous giggle. “But even closer, I couldn’t see his face. I could see him on the bed and all, but I couldn’t tell if it was a good sleep or if he was in pain or whatever.”

Kitty fluttered her hand in a ‘gimmie more’ motion. “Gotcha. Man. Bed. Next?”

“Well, up close I could see he was asleep. But like I said, I still wasn’t sure he was okay, so I couldn’t leave, and then in the next minute, he had pulled me down and we were kissing.”

They gasped. I rushed to defend myself. “He was probably still half asleep and didn’t know what he was—”

“Way I remember it, you kissed me.”

With a jerk, I shoved up straight, knocking against the bowl of cherry tomatoes and spilling the stupid things across the granite countertop.

Boh stood between the kitchen and living room in a pair of black running shorts and navy blue T-shirt. An ensemble a thousand men a day wore, but somehow he managed to look like he’d stepped from the pages of Men's Fitness Magazine. I sucked in a breath, my heart pounding at the shock of finding him in front of me. Then his words crashed through my dumb-founded head and my mouth dropped open in shock.

“I’m meeting my appointment downstairs.” He stalked closer. “If you’re going to tell a story, má meruňka, get the details right. ” Then he tugged my ponytail and headed out the door.

I blinked at the closed door for a long minute before turning to face my friends. They wore matching smirks. “Seriously, nothing’s going on.”

Kitty circled around the island plucking up spilled tomatoes. “That’s obvious,” she said, with a tug on my ponytail. “Nothing at all.”

We filmed enough for at least six new videos, maybe more with some slick editing. I’d learned a lot about editing and using the in-app tools as well as some free-to-use ones, but nothing beat the power of a skillful editor. Earlier this year, I’d worked out a barter deal with a kick-ass editor. I provided monthly meal plans for him and his wife. He edited a couple videos for me each month. So far, it was working out great.

Once Kitty and Seeley settled down and accepted that I really couldn’t bring myself to say anything more about the Boh situation, we got a lot of good work done.

The Boh situation that I really had no idea about. I needed a solid hour in a hot bath to clear my mind and figure out exactly what was going on between me and Boh. I’d pushed him away only to fall into bed with him this morning. Forgotten my obligations to the girls and his reputation. What if we hooked up and afterward he decided having me around wasn’t in his best interest? Before I met the minimum requirements of the contract? The Killbillies could lose their new facility before we even moved in.

But his tug on my ponytail confused me.

So we’d kissed. Whatever. That could be attributed to hormones and proximity and confusion and attraction and a million other things. But the tug on my hair?

A tug spoke of affection. A tug was different. A tug crossed a line and stirred up different feelings. Not to mention, if this was how Boh flirted… Well, he’d ramped up my attraction a million degrees.

A million dangerous degrees.

Once the girls left, I showered and changed into a pair of yoga pants and a bright pink tank top, then headed back to the living room.

Tonight Boh sat on the couch, a K-drama playing quietly on the big television. He often watched them without sound. I should have remembered that important fact yesterday, but with the excitement of the bout and having him in the audience, it slipped my mind. This evening, he had the volume turned on.

Usually as soon as I caught him with a drama, he’d change the channel. Tonight, he let it play on.

Between the sound on the TV and the knowledge that he’d gone down for a workout in the building gym, the guilt about dragging him to the bout eased. “Does your head feel okay, then?”

He looked over at me, his gaze dropping to take in my legs, then back up to linger at my neck.

I covered the spot with trembling fingers. “It’s faded already.”

He didn’t say anything, just hit the remote to turn off the television and stood. He rounded the edge of the sofa to stand beside me. “You have sensitive skin?”

I rolled my lips. “Not really.”

He rubbed his hand over his clean-shaven chin, his gaze lingering on the curve between my neck and shoulder before bouncing between my eyes.

I shifted, feeling self-conscious under his perusal. What was he looking for? “Did your appointment happen in the gym? Are you supposed to be training yet?”

He turned back to face the television. “Lee met me for some targeted strength training and I feel fine. Leave it alone.”

This Designated Medical Guardian thing was as muddy as creek water after a storm. Our official contract covered the duration of my presence, an NDA, my own terms, and little else. According to Etienne, the Renegades organization needed a body near Boh to make sure he didn’t relapse, to make sure he was safe. Did that include reporting in about his activities? Should I say something to Etienne about the training?

“Coach knows I called Lee out. Don’t panic. You’re not gonna lose your lease.”

I added mind reader to his list of cons and slanted him my meanest look. “Don’t be a dick. I wasn’t worried about the lease. It’s not like things are all normal at the moment.”

“You’re right. You sneaking into my bedroom is not normal.”

“I’m not talking about that!” I stepped around the couch to see his face. “I mean the bout yesterday and your recovery from it this morning.”

“Recovery?” He tossed the remote onto the couch. “My recovery is just fine.”

He prowled out of the room, all fluid masculine grace despite the anger pulsing off him, the closing of his bedroom door a sharp click in the frigid silence.

I felt like I was walking eggshells and it was my own damn fault. I’d let my attraction get away from me. Indulged in a sensual moment with a man I’d found interesting for a long time. But that didn’t change anything. From his behavior, it was obvious he still considered me an annoyance he had to tolerate until his team cleared him to return to playing.

I wouldn’t forget again.