Page 79 of Dance of Stars and Ashes

He nodded sagely. “That too.”

“And a dick.” She was sort of on a roll now.

“I’m everything you want me to be.”

He leaned closer, creating a tense space of nothing between them.

“Where is this coming from?” she demanded. “You’ve been behaving like you can’t stand me for weeks!”

“I can explain everything,” he said.

She folded her arms, willing defiance into her expression.

“I want a lot more than an explanation.”

“I’ll say it with my mouth,” he said. “And I don’t just mean with words.”

She arched an eyebrow.

“You think I’m going to just let you touch me again? After everything you’ve done?”

He smirked in a way that suggested he knew she absolutely was going to let him. She couldn’t decide if that made him more attractive or if it just infuriated her. Either way, she scowled for good measure.

“Don’t pretend you aren’t aching for me,” he said.

She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her mouth and attempted to scoff, hoping it sounded convincing. “You sure think a lot of yourself. I am not,” she said, but the words sounded like the hollow lie they were. He chuckled then, the sound vibrating down the length of her spine. He’d always been so serious; she didn’t know he could laugh.

“I see it,” he said. “Those perfect lips parting so prettily. The way your pupils spread. Those delicious panting breaths when I do this.”

He reached out a finger, finding the spot where the edge of her top exposed a bare sliver of skin, his warm hand sliding up her ribs. She practically bit through her tongue, trying not to react to the touch as it roared through every nerve in her limbs.

Zarya huffed. “That doesn’t mean I want anything to do with you,” she spat.

“You don’t deny it?”

“It’s just physical. It means nothing. I feel nothing.”

She hurled his carelessly tossed words back at him, and fuck, did that feel good.

“I think you’re lying.”

“You’re the liar,” she said.

He shifted closer, pressing into her space so his entire body felt like it was consuming hers, his warmth and all his hard muscles nearly touching every part of her.

“You’re right, Zarya. I did lie. I was an idiot to tell you otherwise. I feel it, too.”

He leaned in closer, his hands planting on the wall on either side of her head as he whispered in her ear.

“I feel it when I close my eyes and think of you spread out on my bed, begging me to fuck you until you can’t walk straight.”

Zarya was losing the thread of why she had been angry as desire clouded her brain.

“I hate you,” she said, just because the words felt good to say.

“I can live with that,” he said. “Just let me apologize to you. Let me show you just how sorry I am.”

Zarya had to admit she was curious, but she couldn’t just give in to him, could she? He’d been insufferable for weeks. What kind of fool would she be to let down her guard at the first offer of… What exactly was he offering, anyway?