Fighting to Survive (Guarded Hearts Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

of them ever make contact.
    After he dodges another one of his punches, Shawn swings around and punches him in the side. Carlos backs away, grabbing his side in pain, and it seems as if he’s trying to catch his breath. Shawn takes advantage of this and throws a number of punches one after the other. Carlos seems to slump over, and I can see Shawn say something to him, but he only shakes his head. Shawn throws one more punch and Carlos goes down like a brick.
    Paul announces the winner and I can see the same look on Shawn’s face that was there the other night. He’s trying to pretend like this is what he wants—like he’s happy—but if you take a deeper look, you can see this is the last place he wants to be. He walks toward me and I need to remind myself how to breathe. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful man in my life, and it definitely doesn’t hurt that he’s shirtless and covered in sweat, either.
    He is stripping the tape from his hands as he walks toward me. He grabs my hand and we start to walk back to the door we used when we entered the warehouse. When we reach the door, he takes the shirt out of my hand and puts it on. We make our way out to the car, and the whole time I’m trying to figure out what happens now. Does he need to unwind? Is he tired? Does he want to do something or just take me home? Does he expect something to happen now? I really enjoyed making out with him, but there is no way I’m going to sleep with him already.
    He starts the car and then turns to me. “So?”
    “So…what?”
    “So, what do you want to do?”
    “Um…I don’t know.”
    “Okay, well I’m kind of hungry. You okay with maybe going back to the apartment and ordering some food?”
    “Sure.” He pulls out of the parking lot and the entire car smells like him, it’s intoxicating. I lay my head back on the seat and close my eyes.
    Next thing I know, I can feel myself moving. When I open my eyes, I’m in Shawn’s arms and we are walking into his room. Oh my God. I fell asleep? He carried me in? How embarrassing. One part of me thinks it’s hot and sweet because he’s carrying me while the other part is running wild with ideas of what I look like. Was I drooling or sleeping with my mouth open?
    He puts me on the bed and I am suddenly very aware of where I am. “I’m gonna jump in the shower, if you wanna—“
    “Listen, I’m really not like that. I mean, I know we were messing around a little at the fight, but…”
    “Hey I didn’t—”
    “No, I get it. I probably sent you mixed signals, and if I did, I’m sorry. It’s just—” He presses his lips against mine, silencing anything else that would have come pouring out of my mouth.
    When he pulls away he smiles at me. “All I was going to say was if you wanted to check out some take-out menus, they are in the drawer next to the fridge.”
    “Oh, okay.” I walk into the kitchen before I make an even bigger fool of myself. I’m still aimlessly looking through different menus when Shawn walks into the kitchen. I look up and see that his hair is still wet from the shower, and he has on a t-shirt and some sweatpants. When he smirks at me, I realize I’ve been caught staring and immediately look away. He comes up behind me and puts his hands on the counter, one on each side of me. I’m completely surrounded by him and my willpower is lessening by the minute.
    He rests his chin on my shoulder, and I can’t resist the urge to let myself relax and lean back against him. “Find anything good?” I definitely did, but it wasn’t food. When I don’t reply, he strokes my neck with his chin and the little bit of stubble he has sends chills throughout my whole body. Before I can catch myself, I let out a moan. He instantly freezes when he hears me, and I regret it. His hands move from the counter to my hips. His thumbs hook into the waistband of my jeans and he pulls me back against him.
    He kisses my neck, stopping in between kisses to dart