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Staring back at me wasmyLucas.
Not the impassive, hard look from the last time I’d seen him, but the warm eyes of a close friend, full of mischief, seconds away from getting us both into trouble. I wanted to hit him for denying me that look for so long.
My heart picked up its pace when his gaze stayed locked with mine, luring me in. I stepped closer, every instinct begging me to wrap myself around him, but I resisted. I’d read his signals wrong before and paid the price for it.
His mouth kicked up at the corner, and I could almost believe he was happy to see me. “Killer?”
My breath hitched as his childhood nickname shot a thrill through me.
He flinched at the sound, looked away, and his jaw clenched as he asked, “What are you doing here?”
Frustration rolled over me as I watched his expression turn to cool indifference. Ah,the ice king wasback.
“Well, hello to you too…asshole,” I hissed out, standing tall as we settled back into our new roles. He’d made it home for the holidays last year, but he’d avoided me like he was paid to.
“What was that?” Lucas’s shuttered eyes met mine, no hint of the lightness that had been there a moment before.
“What, did getting hit in the head too many times affect your hearing?” Faking a smug grin, I looked past him through the open door, doing my best to appear unaffected. Like being reminded of how he used to look at me for a fraction of a second didn’t hurt like hell when he shut me out.
“You look like a drowned rat, Piper.” His tone was mocking, and my gaze snapped back to him. His eyes were blank. Clearly, I was delusional to think I had seen warmth there. Now he was shutting me down, hard, to remind me he wasn’t interested.
It had been drizzling when I got out of the car, but it turned into full-blown rain in the time we’d stood here staring. I pushed a wet strand of hair from my face. I was surprised the water pouring down on me didn’t turn to steam from the lick of frustration that burned under my skin. “I’d look a lot better if you weren’t blocking the door, dickwad.”
He chuckled. “Dickwad—what are you, twelve?”
“Move.” I took a step, so close I could feel the heat radiating off of him.
His mouth dipped, and his breath fanned across the shell of my ear. His demand came out low and rough, like sand. “Make me.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and took a step back to read his eyes. For a brief second, I thought I saw heat. “I…”
A car pulled up, and Jax’s steady voice broke the tension. “Pipsqueak?”
“Hey, Jaxie. Want to let me in?” My cheeks hurt from smiling so wide as he lifted me in a giant bear hug.
“Jesus, Pips, you’re soaked.” He let me go, taking a step back, and smiled. “And you’re fucking hot. Damn, Pips. Where was this girl growing up?”
My cheeks flushed with the compliment. I knew Jax didn’t see me in anything but a platonic way, but I’d worked hard on myself both internally and externally since my world imploded, and it was nice to be acknowledged. His sharp eyes shot to Lucas. “Go grab her a change of clothes, asshole.”
I raised my brow at Lucas.See? You are being a dick.
Jax set me on my feet, and I watched his smile broaden across his face. “You should’ve told us you were heading in early.” He looked me over, his brow lifted. “Let’s get you a tea.”
“Thanks for your help, Jax.” Sarcasm coated the blond guy’s voice that followed in after Jax. He looked more like a Viking than a Ken model. He dumped the bags in the kitchen and smiled brightly. “I’m Alex. You must be Piper.”
He had dimples that softened his features, and he was giving off a warm, welcoming vibe. I instantly liked him.
“Ah, I see I’m infamous.”
Alex’s eyes darted to Lucas’s, and then a smirk took over his lips. “Something like that.”
Another guy stepped up behind Alex. He had dark hair that fell over the hard lines of his face. He looked sculpted from marble in all of his angular glory.
Alex wrapped his arm around the new guy’s shoulder. “This is River, our other roommate.”
“How many of you guys live here?”
“Just the four of us.”Alex started putting the food away as River brought in another four bags, and his lips tipped up at the corner, just barely showing a hint of a smile. Seeing them all reminded me of Marcus, and I rubbed at the dull ache in my chest.
