Page 33 of Russian Rescue

And then I saw her gaze flick to my lips... again. For the umpteenth time since she’d first seen me when she’d arrived, a flash of desire ignited in her eyes. How did I know that there was lust in her eyes? Because my whole nerdy life growing up, I’d been dying to see girls look at me that way. Wishing I was the guy like Matt Nelson, the football captain that caused them to blush when they made eye contact. But not me. Girls had never given me a second glance.

Then a few years ago, I got off my ass, hit the gym, and started surfing more seriously. The payoff had been massive, and soon girls drooled over me the way I’d always dreamed of. But I’d realized pretty quickly that I didn’t give a shit about how they looked at me or that they slid me their numbers on napkins. The only girl I cared about looking at me that way was Piper.

I wanted Piper looking at me exactly like she was now. Like she saw me. Like she wanted me.

That undeniable look gave me the confidence to say what I wanted to say. Hell, I’d already jumped out of a building this week, so I may as well jump off the cliff.

“Kiss me.”

“What?” Her mouth fell open.

“If I hit the target, then you’ll kiss me.”

Her eyebrows rose toward her hairline. “I can’t kiss you, Wes.”

“Why not? Worried you’re going to fall for me if you do?”

She scoffed. “That’s not the reason.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Isn’t it? Don’t think I don’t remember your ‘rule.’” I used my fingers like quotation marks. “Never, ever kiss someone you’re interested in. I’ve heard you say it a dozen times.”

“It’s a good rule.”

“Well, if you won’t kiss me, then that must mean you’re interested in me. If you weren’t interested in me, then you wouldn’t care about it.” I waggled my eyebrows.

“There are plenty of reasons why I wouldn’t want to kiss you, starting with that we’re friends.”

“Friends don’t eye-fuck each other and stare at their junk when they’re in their underwear.”

Her mouth fell open as I struggled to conceal my smile.

“You think I’m hot. That much is clear. I know you think I’m funny, and yes, we’re friends, which must also mean you like my personality. Which leads me to the conclusion that, perhaps, you’re interested in me, hence why you won’t kiss me.”

“That’s a bold assumption.”

“But is it a wrong one?”

We stared at each other, and she twisted her lips. It amused me to see her squirm. In all the years I’d known her, I didn’t think I’d ever witnessed it. It only confirmed my suspicions that my wildest dreams were coming true.

Piper was into me, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

I leaned toward or not based on the way she stared at me, blinking.

I knew Piper... probably better than she knew herself. After spending seven years in her ear, watching her through video feeds, riding along with her in hidden cameras in her dress so I could keep her safe, I learned more about her than she could have possibly comprehended. And what I knew was that as tough as Piper came off to be, deep down, there was one part of her that was vulnerable.

Her heart.

And she guarded it like a starving Pit Bull with one meager bone left to survive on.

But I also knew that I’d never seen her look at anyone the way she’d been looking at me. I saw her pupils dilate whenever our eyes locked. Caught the little appreciative glances when she didn’t think I was looking. Piper could fake an attraction to anyone—convince them that she was head over heels in love with them. It was how she could seduce her way into even the most guarded organizations. But the one thing it turned out she couldn’t do was hide a real attraction when she had one. And it would kill her to admit such a small thing as a real attraction to me because it meant she would show her soft underbelly to someone... and that was something she’d never do.

But I pushed on anyway, hoping that maybe, just maybe, I could crack open her shell just a little.

“What? Worried I’m going to beat you?” I stepped toward her and leaned down. “Or worried I’m not?”

Her eyes flashed at my accusation.

“I... I...”