Page 23 of Right Number, Wrong Man

COLT

The love of my life is pressing her juicy ass against my groin. No big deal. I’ve only imagined this situation three million times, but now that it’s happening, I can’t fully enjoy her rear cheeks sandwiching my cock.

Not with Hailey being terrified of that massive spider dangling in front of the door, effectively trapping us in the shed. If I hadn’t pulled her away, it would’ve landed right on her head.

Before this eight-legged intruder ruined everything, we had a moment. A heated one. At least I think so—right after she figured out I wasn’t gonna murder her. Good Lord, she really does have an overactive imagination.

But did she know I was flirting with her? If she did, she didn’t seem entirely put off by it.

Cockblocked by a spider. This ain’t my proudest moment, but at least it’s not another grief boner.

Hailey spins around and twists her fingers into my shirt as if she means to scale me like a tree. “Make it go away!” she pleads, shaking violently. “Kill it! Please, Colt… kill it!”

My heart is in my throat as I frame her face with my hands and make her look up at me. She chews on her pink lips, wide eyes glassy with tears.

Kiss her ! the voice inside my head screams.

She’s paralyzed with terror. I’m sure she’d let me. Right now, I think I could get away with almost anything, but I don’t wanna take advantage of her.

That’s not who I am.

I brush away her tears and smile. Smiling still feels strange, but I need her to see how I feel. In this moment, there’s no room for misunderstandings. She needs to know that I’m here for her.

“I’ll protect you, but you gotta let me go for a second, okay? I ain’t going nowhere. I’ll stay right here with you,” I whisper.

Hailey’s hands slide from my chest and she crosses her arms like a shield, but she doesn’t move away. I’m still holding her face. She’s still close.

Close enough that if I bend my head?—

I nuzzle my nose into her hair. God, it’s so fucking silky and it smells so good. My chest hurts, the emotions warring inside it tearing me apart.

I’d give anything to freeze this moment in time.

It’s selfish to make her suffer through the fear any longer, but I’ll never get another chance to hold her without pretending to be somebody else. When the threat is gone, she won’t touch me again.

I take one last breath of her scent. Then I let go and my heart splinters.

“Come here.” I put a hand on the small of her back, guiding her to the dusty window, as far away from the door and the spider as possible.

“I-I can’t… breathe…” Hailey rasps, pressing a palm to her ribs.

Fuck, she’s turning pale and hyperventilating. She’s having a full-blown panic attack.

I put both hands on her shoulders and bend down to bring myself to her eye level.

“You’re gonna be okay, Spitfire. Breathe with me.

Slowly in through the nose. And out through the mouth.

In and out.” I hold her, talking her through a breathing exercise until a splash of color returns to her cheeks.

“Atta girl! Much better, hmm? Can you stand by yourself?”

“Sure,” she stammers, brows scrunching.

“Don’t pass out on me. I’ll be right back.”

Hailey grips the windowsill and nods again.

Using my body to block her view, I approach the spider.

I cup my hands, gently trapping it in them, and the eight-legged bastard holds still as if it senses that I’m not a threat.

I don’t know if insects can be grateful, but when I set it free on a rock outside of the shed, the spider pauses to look at me.

At least I think it does, and I nod in return, just to be polite. Then it skitters off.

“You let that disgusting thing live?” Hailey’s thin voice comes from behind me.

I turn, blushing. Hopefully the moonlight is too dim for her to notice.

I lift one shoulder in a shrug. “I protected you like I promised, but I had no reason to kill it. It’s just a critter. Ain’t its fault it was put on this beautiful green earth as a hairy gross thing everybody hates just for existing.”

Hailey frowns, shivering as she rubs along her arms. She braces herself against the wall, knees knocking. “But you shot a lot of people, right?”

Why is she asking this out of the blue?

“Yeah.”

“How many?” she presses.

I’ve never talked about my kill count with anybody. Not even with Mike or my folks. Mike didn’t care and I don’t want Momma to know how brutal I am in the field. Dad’s a military man himself. He knows what it means to be a soldier.

“Many,” I bring out.

“So you’re okay with killing humans but not animals?” she asks.

“Hunting’s fine because it serves a purpose. When you hunt, you get food, and you try to use as much of the animal as possible. But I don’t like hurting animals when I don’t have a reason. They’re innocent. Humans are not.”

Like a switch inside her flipped, her expression hardens, turning fear into rage. “Well, don’t expect me to thank you for taking care of the stupid spider. It’s your fault I’m a mess like this!”

My mouth goes dry. I wondered if she’d bring up the prank.

Tears stream down her cheeks, glittering in the moon’s pale shine. “You don’t get how embarrassing this is! Look at me! I’m pathetic!” she sobs.

“You’re not pathe?—”

“I don’t want your pity!” Hailey grits out. “You broke me. Every shrink I went to told me my arachnophobia can’t be cured.”

My pulse pauses a beat. The truth presses against the underside of my skin like a hot blade, and I’m scared the wound in my chest will split open to spill every secret I’ve been hiding.

She gives a wry laugh. “Before the prank, I thought you were just a generic, arrogant asshole because you always ignored me. But when the principal told me you put those spiders in my locker, I knew I’d hate you until the day I die!”

I already know Hailey hates me but hearing her say it with such venom snaps something inside me. Words rise in my throat. I can’t stop myself.

“It wasn’t me! It was Mike!”

Her breath catches. “The prank—Mike? Then why did you say it was you?”

“If the truth got known, Mike would’ve gotten expelled from school and Dad would’ve kicked him out of the house. He begged me to help him. I took the blame because my record was clean and I’d only get detention. But my brother’s dead now. I don’t need to be his scapegoat anymore.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth? It’s not like Mike can defend himself.”

I deflate. She’s right. I got no proof.

“Few minutes ago, you watched me save a spider. Do you really think I’d put hundreds of ‘em in a jar in your locker to get trampled by panicked students?” I rub a hand along my beard.

“Listen, I’m not after forgiveness. I told you because you deserve the truth and that’s exactly what I gave you.

As much as I want to make you believe me, I can’t. It’s up to you.”

Hailey’s eyes dull and her arms drop. Her expression is unreadable. Blank. She stares through me like she’s a million miles away.

My stomach churns. Did I make a huge mistake by telling her?

“I want to go home,” she mumbles and my heart sinks. “Take me home now, please.”