I hug her tighter, going for humor. “My hugs are not pitiful.”
“Fine, your pitiful hugs are decent,” she grumbles.
“Yes, I am a very decent hugger,” I say, laughing.
I don’t let her go, and she doesn’t seem to want me to. Her arms slide tightly around my waist, and we stand that way, there in the middle of the city. This embrace is completely out of character for both of us, but perhaps it’s entirely necessary.
“Thank you, Ransom. For . . . everything.”
I’m not sure what I did, or what she’s thanking me for. But I don’t care, since she’s warm and soft in my arms, and she feels so good. Maybe it’s wrong to enjoy a hug so much after an emotional moment. But if this is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
Except, as I breathe in her soft strawberry scent, I remind myself of my lines.
My limits.
The longer the embrace lasts, the more I want to smell her hair, slide my nose along the soft skin of her neck, inhale her.
But those lines are there for a reason.
So that I don’t make the same mistakes I made with Edie.
Falling for a friend nearly cost me my sanity.
When Edie left me, I spiraled like I never had before.
I can’t go there again.
I won’t go there again.
That’s a chance I simply won’t take.
I break the hug, then cuff Teagan playfully on the arm. “All right, King. Let’s get the bidding going.”
She smiles. “Two million dollars.”
All I can do is shake my head and laugh.
We continue on to Sixtieth Street, turn the corner, and head into the swank Luxe Hotel. Teagan excuses herself for the restroom, and as I wait in the hallway, a booming voice echoes down the corridor.
“Does anyone know what time it is?”
I turn around to see the smug face of Adrian Martinez as he walks my way, tossing out the tagline from my Times Square ad.
But I can do him one better. His billboard might be big, and his flesh might be on display front and center, but the Gigante tagline is ripe for riffing on.
“Hey,” I call, matching his taunting tone. “If it isn’t the only thing a man wants against his body.”
Adrian rolls his eyes. “Dude.”
“Dude,” I repeat.
“I didn’t write the motherfucking tagline,” he says.
“If you did, it would be: Check me out in Underoos.”
For some reason, that cracks the man up. He laughs, big and deep, and offers me a fist for knocking. “You’re an asshole, North, and I am going to take you down, but you are one funny as fuck hideous beast.”
“Right back atcha.”
“Who’s the hideous beast?” Teagan asks as she rejoins us.
When Adrian’s eyes swing to her, his baby blues flicker to the tune of Whoa, who the hell is this babe?
Out of nowhere, a green-eyed dragon roars inside me, breathing fire and thrashing.
“Hello there. I’m Adrian Martinez,” he says, going all smooth, like he’s about to hit on her. He extends a hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”
She shakes it, and I burn inside.
I do not want anyone else touching Teagan King, and that’s a brand-new feeling.
A fucking inconvenient one too.
6
Teagan
He’s towering.
I’m guessing he’s six foot twenty.
No wonder Adrian terrifies opposing batters. He has eyes like ice. They’re crystal blue, and they’re stunning.
I have no doubt he’s going to go for a million pretty pennies. Yet he has nothing on Ransom.
The man next to me is simply . . . delicious.
Even more so after our chat on the way over.
And I know how badly Ransom wants to beat these guys. Hell, I want him to. If we do, we can raise even more money for his chosen charity.
The look in Ransom’s eyes—fiery—tells me he wants me to play along with the whole we pretend to hate each other pretense.
But I decide to have a little fun with these guys.
I shake Adrian’s hand, answering his question. “I’m Teagan King, and I happen to be a big fan of hideous beasts.” Then I take Ransom’s arm. “And he’s the most hideous one of all,” I say, in a way that makes it clear he’s the complete opposite of grotesque.
“Oh, I love it when you call me names, dollface,” Ransom says with a twinkle in his eyes.
I give an over-the-top pout, tapping my finger against his nose. “You adore everything I do, my beast.”
He smiles all lovey-dovey. “I so do.”
Adrian furrows his brow, pointing from Ransom to me and back. “Hey, Puck Boy, I didn’t know you had a girlfriend till I saw you walk in with this belleza. How the hell is that possible?”
I flick my gaze to Ransom, and he shoots one back at me. A look that says, Go along with it.
Because that’s what these guys do. They one-up each other. That’s their hobby.
I squeeze Ransom a little tighter. “What can I say? He’s irresistible, and that’s why I came here tonight. Can’t let any other woman get her claws in this guy, can I now?”
