Page 46 of Heartbreaker

“We’ll see. Later, Mel,” I say, watching as the shortened name brings a sneer to Lana’s face. I fight to keep from laughing out loud as Mel turns and walks off. I wonder if Oliver really needed her, or if Lana’s green-eyed monster made that up. I turn to give her the smile I save only for her: still a cocky asshole, but a cocky asshole who is absolutely enamored with a 5’4” blonde.

But instead of returning it, she turns on her heel toward the exit, an irritated gait to her step.

“Lana,” I say, jogging after her, but she doesn’t stop. Instead, she keeps going, walking through the doors and leaving the arena. I follow behind, finding the hallway empty. “Lana!” I call out, but she just flips me off over her shoulder. I bite back a laugh, instead speeding up, grabbing her wrist, and stopping her retreat, pulling her to face me.

“Why are you so mad? I’m the one who woke up in an empty bed.” Her arms cross over her chest. And god, I’m into this woman. And her stubborn attitude

“Why don’t you ask Mel?” she says, the word sounding sour. I lift a hand, tucking one of the strands that have fallen out of her loose braid behind her ear reverently.

“Oh, baby, were you jealous?” I murmur.

“Jealous? No. What would I have to be jealous of?” I shift closer, pushing her into a small alcove.

“If you were, I’d get it. I was jealous of how close Tyler was to you,” I say. She rolls her eyes.

“So what, you were flirting with Melanie because I was talking with a colleague? God, you’re such an ass,” she grumbles, then tries to move away from me, but I’m quicker, pinning her in place with my body.

“I wasn’t flirting with her, Lana. I only have eyes for one woman, which is why when she was talking to me, my eyes were still locked on you.” Her face softens a touch, and I brush my thumb over the apple of her cheek. “Had the best night of my life and woke up to an empty bed. No note, nothing.”

“I didn’t have your number,” she mumbles. “And I know things were so crazy for you this morning, so I didn’t want to bother you. I tried to be subtle, though.” I smile down at her, then finally dip my head and press my lips gently to hers. Her body melts into mine, her hands gripping the tee I’m wearing.

“Oh, I know, baby. Your story was sweet. Where’d you go this morning?”

“Demi needed me for something,” she says, not really answering at all. “Plus, I’m a morning person, and you were dead asleep. And I wasn’t sure what… what we are. I didn’t want to be pushy or overstay my welcome.”

“What we are?” I ask, combing my hand through the hair at the back of her head and tipping her head back. I press my lips to hers again, unable to resist, needing to get my fill. Her eyes go hazy as I pull back, and when she speaks, I think I may have found the key to getting Lana to speak her true feelings.

“I didn’t know what the rules were, if it was a stay-the-night-and-be-there-when-you-wake-up situation. I figured I’d give you space and we could figure it out later.” She tries to look away, but I force her to hold my gaze. Like this, she doesn’t feel like the badass, larger-than-life woman I know on the track. Here, she’s gentle and exposed and vulnerable, and I want to make sure I’m taking care of that part of her, the one she hides away from everyone, the side she sees as a weakness.

“There are no rules, Lana, unless you want them. Right now, I’m into you. Right now, I want you to be mine.” She licks her lips, nervousness moving over her face.

“Only yours?” Those pretty white teeth come out, digging into her bottom lip. My heart races a bit at her words. “I’m not really into being one of many.” I dip my head, pressing my lips to her neck to hide my grin. It’s wide and cheesy, and I know it.

“Good, neither am I,” I say, before lifting my head and pressing a kiss to her lips again. “Do you really think I’d land a woman like you, and fuck that up by messing around?” Her brow furrows, then softens a bit. “Not to mention, I think I’d lose my mind if I found out you were fucking anyone else, Lana, so yeah. I’d prefer it if you were only mine.” Some of it eases, but not completely.

“Easy as that?” she asks, seemingly in disbelief.

“I’ll give you anything you want, Lana.” A brightness lights up her face before her nose scrunches, and she bites her lip, but I wait for her to share her thoughts. She does after a moment.

“I don’t want things to get weird between us.”

“The only thing changing is that I get to have you sleeping in my bed and moaning beneath me, Lana.” A shiver runs through her, and my lips tip up at the edges. “Bonus if I wake up with you in my bed, but we can work on it.”

“So I can still be mean to you when everyone’s around?” she asks.

“Oh, I hope you’re mean to me for a good long time, heartbreaker.”

“Mmm, you like that, huh? A girl being mean to you?”

“From you? Yeah. But I think I like a lot of things from you, Lana.” She smiles, and the look is similar to the one she gave me yesterday when we were in that store and saw all of the toys. It reminds me of what’s in my pocket. “I brought you something.”

“You did?” she asks, confused, and I nod, pulling out the small item. While pacing the drug testing center, I found a store with a Calico Critters display in a corner and bought a couple for Lana without thinking. I grabbed one and slid it into my pocket before heading down to the arena. I’d nearly forgotten about it, but now that she has that pretty, happy look on her face, I’m pleased I remembered.

A teeny tiny Calico Critter, a cat with a little sun hat.

“Oh my god, look at her!” she squeals, pulling it from my hand. After inspecting it, she looks at me with bright, delighted eyes before moving to her tiptoes and pressing kisses to my face. “You’re the sweetest ever.”

“There’s another one in my room, plus more of those Nerds candies, but you have to come to my room tonight to get it.”