Colt sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “In public? But not in private?”
“I’d like to say that distance between us in any capacity is best, but perhaps unrealistic.”
“Glad to see I’m wearing you down, sugar.” He threaded his fingers and put them behind his head, giving Jenna a full frontal view of his chiseled chest and abs. “So I’m to be your undercover kink, huh?”
She cleared her throat and tried to focus on something other than Colt’s body. Like the fact that he was injured and she didn’t want to aggravate that.
“If that’s what you want to call yourself.”
“I kind of like it,” Colt said and glanced at the ceiling nodding. “Sounds like an awesome superhero.”
Jenna rolled her eyes but Colt only smiled wider.
“Well, whatever you want to call it is irrelevant. I want you to feel better and our activity last night hardly helped your healing process—”
“I disagree.”
“Which is just another reason distance between us is best.”
“You said public distance,” Colt reminded her, which meant the “private time” was still on the table. Something she couldn’t bring herself to argue at the moment, especially when he was looking all casual and yummy sitting half naked in her kitchen. “So what are you talking here? Like ten feet?”
“You want an actual measured distance?”
“Well, yeah. Whatever extra inches I can get closer to you, I’m taking.”
That made Jenna’s cheeks heat a little and she almost wanted to giggle. Being the object of affection, especially Colt’s affection, was a heady drug she was buzzing on.
He was a temporary kind of man. While he might be interested now, that didn’t mean that would stay true. Boundaries were good, especially when it came to her expectations. She wanted this job and she couldn’t risk her reputation and not getting it because Colt was in town for a summer. She was also starting to worry that risking her heart on a man like him was equally bad. Not that she was getting attached…
“Why don’t we just call it ‘a reasonable distance’?”
Colt nodded. “Sounds good.”
“Well then”—Jenna stood and Colt did as well—“I have an early morning so…”
“You kicking me out?”
“Distance, remember? You can’t be seen leaving my home in the morning. Besides, you need to rest and work on healing.”
“Breathing and ice, I can do both in my sleep,” he said. But it gave Jenna an idea.
“I can help you with that if you’d like.”
“Yes, please,” he said.
“Meet me tomorrow. Seven a.m. at Diamond Park.”
“Outside, huh? I like the way you think.”
Jenna smiled. He may not feel the same way when Mr. Rodeo Romeo saw what was in store.
Chapter Eight
Colt had been away from JJ just over twenty-four hours, and already he was itching to see her. Walking through Diamond Park, he kept his eye out for her as excitement bubbled about what she had planned. The woman had him reeling and he didn’t even care that he got his ass up early, stomping through a public park on a weekend.
She was getting to him. On a level he wasn’t expecting. Of all the questions he’d had over the years regarding his career, never once had anyone asked him what she did. If he was scared. The macho guy in him wanted to scoff and say hell no, but when her big gray eyes had locked on him, he was unable to dish out the same bullshit he had to everyone else. She inspired him to be honest. And the truth was: yeah, he was scared, about a hell of a lot more than a bull at the moment.
The past was something Colt not only avoided, but literally ran from whenever he had the chance. Too much pain came with the memories of what once was. When his parents died, it was clear that life didn’t give a shit about Colt’s or anyone else’s plans, which was why he never made any.