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O’Grady’s inked hands moved once more, and I watched in stark fascination as he lifted his hips off the floor slightly, thrusting up awkwardly as he dug into the pocket of his jeans, emerging victorious with a packet of smokes. The movement wasn’t sexual or suggestive in any way, and, yet, I couldn’t help but blush as his jeans tugged against his crotch area, molding his cock. At least Ithoughtit was his cock - not that I’d ever seen one. I glanced away quickly, taking in the cold concrete floor, instead, willing the fire in my cheeks to dissipate.
Wordlessly, O’Grady offered me a cigarette, and, once more, I shook my head as my teeth scraped my bottom lip.
“Not a smoker, either, then, huh?” His voice was low, rumbling the whole way through his chest as if he couldn’t help butspeakwith his entire being. He was so very different to all the Society men I had encountered that it didn’t take a genius to know that this man wasn’t part of The Society.
I cocked my head to the side, taking him in as I examined him further - a puzzle to be solved. Nothing more.
He wasn’t acleaneror part of thewait staff, but he still worked for The Society in some capacity. And, yet… he excludedpower-control. Wasn’t that a paradoxical thought because how could someone workingforThe Society exudecontrol?
He sat still, allowing me to take him in - as if my examination or scrutinization of him was an entirely normal thing. I blushed, suddenly aware of how rude I was being. The man wasn’t a specimen simply for me to ogle. “Sorry,” I mumbled, turning back towards the textbook seated in my lap.
“So, you don’tdrink,” he ticked off his statement using one of the inked fingers on his hand, “you don’t smoke,” he used a second finger to indicate another mark against me, and, yet, seeing the grotesque action of his fingers hovering in the night air made my stomach twist and dip withheat. “That means you must be a littlenymph.” His gray gaze held mine, and I fought the urge to squirm as I allowed his words to sync in.
Nymph.
Nymphomaniac.
A woman with uncontrollable sexual desire.
Was that me?
I didn’t think so. How could I desire something so fully when I had never experienced it first hand?
I looked at O’Grady again, fighting the blush as I took him in. He grinned down at me, but it wasn’t a grin filled with happiness, it was one of bitterness and snark. He wanted me toreact- waswaitingfor it. In fact, he was probably expecting me to either slap him or offer him some sort of sexual favor right here on this rooftop.
Human behavior was fascinating.
I scrutinized him once more, taking him in as he waited for the blow. No doubt, he assumed I wasoffended, and I suppose Ishould have been, but I found nothing offensive about the man sitting beside me.
When the silence stretched between us, I finally answered him. “Maybe,” I shrugged my shoulders before turning back towards my page, ignoring the man beside me entirely. It was the most honest answer I could offer - who knew? Maybe after experiencing Paul I would become insatiable, but I doubted it - the very thought of getting naked with Paul was enough to make my stomach turn, but then nerves will do that to a girl.
“Fuck me,” O’Grady scoffed beside me, shaking his head in amusement. I heard the sound of the flask hit his lips - heard the liquid slide down his throat as he swallowed. He didn’t cough - didn’t splutter. But, then, I didn’t turn my head to look, either.
We sat like that in the stillness of the night - O’Grady sipping his flask as I occasionally read a sentence or two, only the text wasn’t as captivating as it had been before he arrived.
“You belong to Paul Mae.” O’Grady finally broke the silence, speaking the sentence evenly. If I expected to hear hostility or disdain, I would have been mistaken.
Human Behavior was so interesting. It’s what I would have studied if I had been offered the opportunity.
I did belong to Paul, but, in that moment, my tongue grew thick and heavy, making the very act of speaking difficult.
I nodded, and then I shrugged before finally forcing my tongue to twist around the words I knew I needed to speak. “We’re engaged.”
I felt the heat of his gaze slide down to my finger - bare, and I fought the urge to fidget.
“We still need to organize a ring.” I offered by way of explanation, but O’Grady simply sat there, staring at me incredulously. Did he think I wasn’t good enough for Paul? I watched his lip curl in disdain as he took in everything I was saying, and something about his expression set me off.
“You know what?” I threw my hands in the air. “I don’t have to explain myself toyou.”
“You meanmeor someonelike me?” Suddenly, O’Grady crowded my space, the small distance between us now non-existent as his shoulder pressed against mine, his face glaring down at me. He inhaled the very air I exhaled, and, yet, I didn’t move - didn’t push him off of me.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I meant for my words to come out soundingstrong-harsh-angry, but, instead, my question came out breathy as I inhaled his very masculine scent. And just the smell of him - the sheer proximity of him - made my stomach dip and whoop in a way that had me blushing.
But O’Grady was no longer staring into my eyes, instead, his gaze trailed down towards my lips, hovering there, and something about that small movement felt intimate, somehow - as if it were the kind of thing Paul should have been doing to me.
I swallowed, the movement forcing my throat to bob - the sound barely audible, and, yet ,O’Grady still noticed.
“Notunaffectedthen.” This time, when he spoke, his voice sounded gruff, and there had to truly be something wrong with me because even that caused a flutter deep in the pit of my belly.
