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She caught it. “Thanks. Although I have no idea why you are giving me another shirt. I have several of yours at home. I won’t tell you what I do with them,” she joked, smiling at him suggestively. Her words would have made him laugh back in the day.
He scowled. Of course. So predictable.
“Put it on,” he said quietly.
“Are you suddenly offended by my breasts, Master Grant?” Dex asked sarcastically. “And is the issue my breasts, in particular, or just breasts in general?”
He just held her gaze, his expression chilly.
“I know . . . you’re taking holy orders next week and you’re trying to make sure that you’re not tempted to stray from the path,” she teased.
“I want to have a serious discussion with you—a friend conversation. If we’re going to be just friends again, I need you to help me out by not making it impossible to think of you platonically when we’re alone. I know breasts aren’t necessarily sexual, but I can’t talk to you and not think of sex if you’re half naked.”
“You’re welcome to think of me in the context of sex anytime you please. Hell, call me up in the middle of the night if you want. You’re the one making this weird.”
“I know. I know!” He pulled the hair tie out of the bottom of his braid and ran his fingers through his hair, undoing her earlier work. “I’ve admitted before that it’s me and not you. And I know the last thing you deserve is to have a best friend dragging his ass around complaining about being friend-zoned, but this is hard for me and I’m just asking you not to make it worse.”
Like it wasn’t hard for her?
Pissed, she huffed out a breath. He wanted to act all butthurt? Whatever.
Feeling vengeful, she peeled the tape off her nipples, careful not to snag her piercings, then slipped his T-shirt on. Maybe she enjoyed the way he couldn’t bring himself to avert his eyes as she’d done it, but she was a bitch like that sometimes. It was only fair, considering that she was now in the position where she was going to have to look at his gloriously muscled and tattooed bare chest and wasn’t allowed to touch. Men always thought they were the only ones with frustrated urges, but then sometimes men were idiots.
The shirt was still warm from his body, and she tried not to let him see how comfy it was after her skin having been slightly cool all night. It smelled like him, too—that sharp, clean, masculine scent that had to be his deodorant or something because it wasn’t strong enough to be cologne or aftershave. Maybe it was just him.
Jerk.
“I—” He stopped and scrubbed a hand over his face. “There’s something I wanted to talk through with you.”
She made herself comfortable in the leather club chair, draping her legs over the arm. “Shoot.”
His gaze drifted to her thighs wher
e they were bare between her flared miniskirt and her black leather knee boots with the bat buckles.
What? Was he going to offer her his jeans next? Hell, she’d even offer to help him take them off. She wanted to get another close-up look at his piercing anyway, just for the sake of science—and possibly her spank bank.
He sighed, and returned his attention to her face, meeting her eyes with his intense green gaze. Women always went all gooey and stupid the first time they noticed Grant’s eyes. It was one of his superpowers. Not that his pretty red hair and wicked sense of humor weren’t close runners-up.
“I couldn’t think of anyone else to talk to about this. You know Will—he’s supportive but he still sees me as a kid, I think. Sometimes he treats me like I’m an idiot.”
“Well, there are times . . .”
He flipped her off companionably. “Right back at you, babe.”
She gestured for him to go on.
“Maybe I’m having a midlife crisis.”
“At twenty-eight?”
“Well, I don’t think I’ll live to be a hundred, so this could very well be midlife for me.”
“Fair enough.” After all, there were no guarantees. Her mom was evidence of that.
He paused, as if to gather his thoughts. “Ever since we started the club, even though it’s half mine, you know I’ve never really had a controlling interest.”
She stopped him. “I think Will would be more than happy to let you take the reins on a lot of things if you showed an interest. Usually you seem more invested in hosting than managing. There’s nothing wrong with that. Both jobs are necessary and important.”
