Fire with Fire (Crash and Burn, Book 3) (A Military Romance) by Eva Grayson Read Free Book Online

“Wow. I’m…wow.”
    I just nod, then pull back, brushing my lips on her brow in a light kiss. I grab the towel off the ground and both of us quickly clean up. I shove the towel in the bottom of the hamper and tug my clothes back on.
    Lauren straightens her clothes too. Her hair is mussed, her lips swollen, and a streak of male pride surges in me. She looks fucked, hard. I made her look that way. I want her to walk outside like this, gripping my hand, and every man out there envious that she’s mine. She quickly re-braids her hair, but that pinkness in her cheeks, the sparkle in her eyes, the moist swollenness of her lips, are still telltale signs.
    I open my mouth to tell her we should probably hang out in here for a couple of minutes when she says, still eyeing herself in the mirror, “Okay, so you leave first, and after a little bit, I’ll follow.”
    Something in my chest turns to stone. I think it’s my heart. Is she fucking joking? For the last two weeks, I’ve been in hell, missing her, wondering if I made a mistake staying away. Reality hits me hard right now. Lauren’s never going to see me as anything more than a fuck buddy. Her dirty secret, not someone she can hold hands with and actually, oh, date out in public.
    I’m the worst kind of fool, because I let myself get tricked into this again despite having learned better. I am a total asshole.
    “Sure, Lauren,” I find myself saying. “We could even wait until more people leave the party, so there’s fewer eyes out there to possibly suspect something happened. I’ll distract everyone so you can sneak out.”
    “What?” Her brow furrows.
    I shake my head. “I can’t do this with you. Not anymore. I’m done.” The words come out cruel, but I it’s the only way I can hold on to my pride. I can’t stay here and listen to this anymore.
    I turn around and, stony heart chipping to pieces on the ground behind me, leave Lauren behind. For good.

5
    Lauren
    C ole closes the bathroom door behind him, and I just stare in shock.
    What did I do? The look on his face, his harsh words, gutted me. I was only trying to suggest we leave separately so people wouldn’t know we came to his brother’s bathroom and had sex. But his eyes got a momentary flare of something so deep and hurt the moment before he lashed out at me that it froze me in place.
    I hop off the counter, grab a washcloth, and wash down the counter under where I sat, to help me not feel like a total douche for abusing their hospitality. The whole time, my brain is spinning, trying to solve the mystery of Cole’s sudden frustration. When I’m done, I toss the washcloth in the hamper, turn off the bathroom light, then dodge out, through the bedroom once more, heading back down the hall.
    It hits me then, out of nowhere.
    Oh God, maybe Cole thinks I was trying to slink out of the bathroom and have us exit separately because I was ashamed of us being together or something. My stomach flips so hard I want to puke. I pick up my pace and go into the kitchen, peek in the living room. He’s not inside there, not anywhere in the house.
    I can’t let things end like that, on that note. Because that’s so far from the truth, it isn’t funny. How could he possibly feel that way and not see I was trying to be thoughtful? And yet, that look on his face suggests it.
    I go out the kitchen door into the backyard. There are still a number of people walking around, kids everywhere. I weave my way through and look for Cole’s familiar form. I have to find him. Have to explain.
    My brain won’t stop. Because once I realize that I hurt his feelings, it makes me realize that Cole might want more from me than just sex. Otherwise, why would he be so hurt by this? If I was nothing more than a friend-with-benefits situation, he would have thought my idea was smart.
    I didn’t just hurt his pride. I hurt his heart.
    My own heart sinks straight to my feet, and I draw in a shaky breath. Make my way to his