Uncaged Love #2: MMA New Adult Contemporary Romance Read Online Free Page A

He encircles my waist, his hands almost connecting. I’m not tough Jo anymore, pushing obnoxious guys away, cutting off their crude comments. I’m Colt’s Jo, his Kettle Belle, and I want him. I need for him to be close.
    His thumbs graze the bottom of my bra, and I suck in a breath. For a moment I flash to a painful squeeze, a nipple pinch that made my eyes pop with tears. I refuse to let that memory come forward. I shove it back. But I’ve stiffened a little, and Colt has noticed. He pulls his hands out from under the hoodie and just holds me tight, one hand in my hair.
    I’m both sad and relieved. I have to think this out. Let the memories of my stepbrother come forward, and then kick them back down. I realize I can do this now. I am safe enough to look objectively at what he did, and what I had to do to get away, to protect myself. I’m moving forward.
    Something pulls free, a heaviness lightened. I feel like I’m coming out of the ground, like a seed rather than a zombie. Colt pulls me back and looks me in the face. “There’s no rush here,” he says.
    I can only nod.
    His eyes are shining, like he’s happy. And I’m realizing, we are.
    His phone buzzes. His face switches to an annoyed frown.
    “What is it?” I ask.
    “That would be Brittany,” he says.
    “Another problem?” Not like he could know. The phone is in his pocket.
    “No, I promised I’d bring you to see her.”
    “What the hell for?”
    He sighs. “I’m going to have to ask you to trust me again.”
    I can’t help but wonder, what now?

Chapter 5
    I expect we’re going to meet Brittany at the gym, or maybe a restaurant. But Colt pulls up to a hair salon.
    “She can’t wait until after her hair appointment to bawl me out?” I ask as Colt locks the helmets to his handlebars. He brought one for me, so I know he and Brittany must have planned all of this ahead.
    He doesn’t comment. It’s late, and the salon is closed. Colt stands in front of the door for a moment, waiting.
    “Open, Sesame, maybe?” I say, a little more sarcastically than I intend.
    He smiles down at me, undeterred. “She’s assuming you’ll agree to her idea.”
    The door opens, and a petite Japanese woman steps aside to let us in. “Hello, Mr. Colt. Hello, Miss Jo,” she says. “Please come in.”
    The place is lavish. The only beauty parlor I’ve ever been in was my grandmother’s. There, they all had caps on their heads, lined up in a row. The only hair colors seemed to be white-blue, silver-blue, and gray-blue.
    But here, red leather chairs sit before towering mirrors. Tall, twisty plants separate the stalls. Everything gleams. In a back corner, a waiting area with plush red sofas is lit by a sea of paper globe lanterns. And parked on one of the sofas is Brittany.
    “About time,” Brittany says. “Poor Kimi has had to wait while you two did” — she waves her hand in the air — “whatever it was you were doing.”
    I’m trying not to seethe. “Why are you pinning this on us?”
    Brittany looks at Colt questioningly. “You didn’t tell her?”
    “We didn’t get that far.” Colt is amused, a smile flirting at the corner of his mouth.
    “Tell me what?”
    Brittany stands up slowly. She’s wearing tight black pants and a fuzzy white sweater that hugs her shape. She moves like a panther. “Do you or do you not want to stay at the gym near lover boy here?”
    I’m taken aback. They’re going to let me work there? “I didn’t realize that was an option.”
    “I think it’ll be okay,” Colt says. “Things will die down.” He frowns at my expression. “Or, I can find you another job.”
    My mind is whirling. “Won’t someone recognize me?”
    “The girl thinks!” Brittany turns to Colt. “That’s an improvement over the last one.”
    “Brittany.” Colt’s voice is a warning.
    “Look, Colt. We go way back. But you know I think this is a bad idea.”
    “And I told you it was up to her.” Colt looks down at me. “Do you want