Bet on Me Read Free Page B

a lot less pain, if you play ball.”
    “If I’m to play ball, you’re going to have to stop calling me sweetheart, or there will be another type of pain for a different type of balls.”
    He tipped my head to the side and leaned in so his lips were right at my ear. His breath swept over my neck, raising the tiny hairs there. Lowering his voice to a husky rasp he whispered, “You can play with my balls anytime, all you have to do is ask … sweetheart.”
    His dulcet tone combined with his words disarmed me, knocking all of the air out of my lungs. When he dropped his hand and returned to his side of the chairs it took me a moment to compose myself. They shouldn’t have, yet his words sent a spark of fire through me, heating me to the core. The air-con suddenly felt as if it wasn’t working as I sweltered in my seat.
    “You all right, Gingernut?” he chuckled, and the sound should have been illegal. Thick and rich like honey it melted me a little more. He even managed to make the ridiculous nickname sound sexy.
    I slammed the armrest down between us. The crash caused a few curious stares, which only added to my flustered demeanour. I’d never had a guy be so open … not one I just met anyway.
    “This.” I swallowed hard and pointed at the barrier. “This stays here. You don’t cross it.”
    He held up his hands, feigning surrender though his eyes darkened evilly. The expression made me wary immediately, warning me he intended to say something else I wouldn’t like.
    “Bet I can change your mind.”
    “Bet I can have you doubled over in the aisle and clutching at your precious balls before you can change my mind,” I countered, gathering my wits once more.
    “Touché. But for the record … not what I was thinking.”
     “Oookay, time for a change of topic.”
    His expression transformed into a mask of innocence. “Hey, I wasn’t the one who brought up balls. I asked a perfectly legitimate question and you shot me down.”
    “What was your question again?”
    “Why you’re here.”
    “No it wasn’t. You asked if my parents were happy about me being here, and considering you already knew the answer from eavesdropping on my conversation, I didn’t need to respond.”
    “All right, smartass. Why aren’t they pleased about it? And what is ‘it’?”
    “Can I tell you my name instead?”
    He shook his head with a smirk. “Nope, you only get one chance at a nickname and you’re too late to reverse the process. I want to know what you’re doing now.”
    I sighed, giving myself a moment to come up with an answer. Cole waited, watching me silently as I sucked the air back in.
    “I’m freeing myself. I want excitement and adventure so I packed up and left everything behind.”
    His eyes widened and for a full minute he didn’t reply, stumped by my openness. In all honesty, I hadn’t been intending to reveal so much. However, his flirtation still had my brain scrambling for a way to return to a neutral subject and this happened to be the first thing it latched on to.
    “What about you? Why are you on this train? You’re obviously from England if your London accent is to be believed,” I asked, not wanting to give him time to judge me out loud.
    “I’m learning to live again.”
    Both locked in a thoughtful silence, we considered each other’s words. They were surprisingly similar and he piqued my curiosity. I couldn’t help but wonder if his reasons were similar to mine. “Why again? Why weren’t you living before?”
    “You don’t need to know that, sweetheart. You’d be reaching for the emergency stop button again if I answered that question.”
    In a second all of the teasing and rapport we’d built up dissolved. A shiver raced down my spine at the undercurrent to his words.
    Who is this guy and how can he change so drastically?
    “Oh, right. Forget I asked then.” I didn’t mean it. A part of me itched to question and drag the answers from him, yet he’d already begun