The Rules Regarding Gray by Elizabeth Finn Read Free Book Online Page B

you,” he commented sarcastically, and then he walked toward her door. He needed to be away from her, not because he wanted to be, but because it was too hard to like himself at the moment, and he was being a defensive prick as a result.
    She followed him. “That’s all you have to say? That’s why you came here to talk to me?” She was glaring at him as he stopped at her front door and turned around to face her.
    He blew out a deep breath, propping both hands on the back of his head. But it wasn’t a casual gesture. “No!” he finally snapped at her. His face was snarled in what must look like fury, but it didn’t feel like fury. He wanted to pounce on her, pin her to the floor and ravage her before she could stop him. Instead, he let his fingers dig into the back of his head as he watched her. “You aren’t my type. Not in the least. But I want to fuck you so much I can barely stand it.” He was still snarling as he spat the words angrily at her.
    She gasped, and she stared in shock at him.
    “From the moment your asshole of a boyfriend and my best friend mentioned it to me, all I’ve been able to think about is which of your holes I want to stick it in first. You happy?” Why the hell couldn’t he stop snarling at her? His cock was throbbing, every muscle in his body was tense, and all she could seem to do was gape at him.
    “But I didn’t do this!” he yelled. “I’m not the jerk who thought any of this would be a good idea. Your boyfriend is. But look who’s catching the fall out for his stupidity,” he said sarcastically.
    He turned then before he could do more damage and walked out, slamming her door behind him. He was relieved as hell to see the elevator still on her floor, and as the door lowered and he finally put some much needed space between them, he exhaled, trying to push the tension and the arousal from his body too. What the fuck had he just done?
    He drove, shutting off his brain as he left Austin for his home. There was an apartment above his bar in the upper level of the old home, and he stayed there most often when he was working, but it wasn’t his home. His home was a large sprawling ranch out in the middle of nowhere south of Austin between there and San Antonio. And as the city lights disappeared behind him, he finally released a calming breath of air, rolling his windows down and inhaling deeply.
    It was stupid to drive all the way home, especially when he had to pick up Ian first thing the next morning, but he couldn’t be there right now, and when he pulled into his driveway forty-five minutes later, he just sat in his car staring at the front of his silent and dark house. It was a large single story ranch situated on thirty-five acres of ranchland. He used the land for nothing at all except as a barrier between himself and the world.
    He liked it here. He liked the silence. He liked the darkness of it. He liked the space it kept between himself and everything else. When he entered his home, he flipped on a few lights as he moved, and once he was in the kitchen, he cracked open a beer and he leaned against the sink, staring out into the dark night beyond the window. He downed his beer quickly, and then he sacked out in bed, trying hard to run away from what he’d done.
    Gray had made him feel weak, and he’d fought back by blurting out the truth of what was going on in his head—as though he could fight back and shut down her disdain by erupting his thoughts at her. In the end, he’d shut her up all right, but he’d walked away from her feeling guilty and stupid.
    After an hour of staring into the dark, he looked at the clock, and he snatched up his cell phone from the nightstand. It was after midnight, and he set his cell phone back down. Calling now would be a dick move, but after another few minutes, he grabbed his phone again, growling in frustration.
    He pulled up her contact information and hit the call button.
    “Hello.” Her voice sounded tired… and yet,