Page 9 of Storm

“I’m fine.”

“Stubborn ass,” he mumbles as I pull the door open and walk inside. I’m headed for the hallway when Storm grabs my wrist and stops me.

“Fuck. That looks like it hurts,” he says, nodding toward the wound on my arm.

“It didn’t tickle.”

“You good? Hurt anywhere else?”

“No. Just my fucking bike. It has a big fucking scratch on it now.”

“That can be fixed. This is probably going to scar.”

“Figured that much.”

“Need to clean it out. Has a lot of debris in it.”

“I’ll get one of the girls to help me.”

“I’ll do it.” With that, he lets go of my arm and walks in front of me down the hall. I follow him down and into his room before he leads me into the bathroom. I drop down on the toilet lid, and he grabs some supplies before he gets to work. I wince a few times, but I’m not a crybaby like most would be.

Storm cleans it out and then cleans it again to make sure he got it all. His fingers hold firmly on my arm.

“You sure you didn’t get hurt anywhere else?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Jeans are ripped,” he says, looking down at my leg. I follow his gaze and huff out a breath.

“These were my favorite jeans.”

“Not anymore.”

“This day has been bullshit since I woke up. Thank fuck we’re leaving soon,” I add although I don’t know why I’m telling him.

“You’re going?” He asks. Immediately, my head snaps up, our eyes locking.

“Why the fuck wouldn’t I?” He shrugs.

“Figured that wasn’t your scene,” he says.

“The beach? Am I too fucking manly for it?” I snap. Storm eyes me before letting his eyes fall to my body. I shove to my feet, and that look doesn’t stop. He looks me over, his eyes burning straight through me.

“There ain’t nothin’ manly about you, darlin’.”

“Is that how you pick up girls? Pathetic.” Storm laughs, throwing his head back before looking back down at me.

“You think I’m tryin’ to pick you up? Is that it? Trust me, sweetheart, when I wanna pick up a woman, this isn’t the way I do it.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks for cleaning this up,” I say as I roll my eyes and start to move past him. He reaches his arm out, blocking my path. I reach up to push his arm away so that I can pass, but he’s too strong. He holds steady as I drag my gaze back to meet his.

“You going to move?”

“I don’t know, Kenzee. I kind of like you stuck in this small space with me.”

“What?”

“You heard me. I think I like you bein’ in my space.”