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“Not a lot of thinking happening right now.”
“Bullshit. Like you weren’t waiting for the perfect moment to jump me.”
Drew’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious?Jumpyou? You’re the one who dragged me back here—”
“To get you to shut up.”
“Well, mission accomplished.” He stared me down, and I couldn’t help but notice the way his lips were swollen from the kisses, and somehow it only made him more attractive.
God, that pissed me off.
“I want you to leave me the hell alone,” I said.
He held his palms up. “You started it.”
“You think I don’t know what you’re doing? You forget I know you, and one thing Drew Edwards always has is an ulterior motive.”
“Wow. Yeah. Yeah, sure I do. Care to explain it to me, then?”
“Fuck off. I know it’s about the deal.”
“What deal?” Drew’s frown deepened, and then, like a light bulb went off, his mouth fell open. “Are you talking about Viper right now?Thatdeal?”
When I clenched my jaw tighter, a booming laugh left him.
“Oh my God, Hudson. What does a kiss have to do with Viper’s book?”
“You think I’m such an idiot, don’t you?” I rubbed at my lips again, wishing I could rid them of Drew’s touch. “You screwed me over once and thought I’d fall for it again. Not happening. Not now, not ever. So do me a favor and leave me the hell alone.”
With a final glare, I stalked off, only to hear him call after me, “It was just a kiss, Hudson. Not a big deal.”
No, I knew better than that. I’d let my guard down, and that couldn’t ever happen around Drew. It was why I fought against him so hard—because it would be too easy to fall back into bad habits.
I made my way to the dance floor to see if I still had a date after leaving him there, and sure enough, there he was, dancing and laughing with Drew’s date.
That wasn’t gonna fly anymore.
Ronnie looked my way, and I inclined my head toward the exit. I needed to get out of here before there were any more run-ins I might regret. I didn’t know the guy all that well, but maybe he’d help to take my mind off what had just happened. If ever I needed a good distraction, it was then.
My date took his sweet time, making sure to get the number of Drew’s date added to his phone before giving the guy a never-ending hug.
Jesus, maybe I needed to leave him here.
But out of the corner of my eye I could see Drew moving in their direction, and panic clutched at my chest.
I grabbed Ronnie’s jacket from a nearby chair, held it up to get his attention and tell him that I was leaving, and then hightailed it out of there. Adrenaline was still riding me, and God knew what I would’ve said to Drew if he came at me again. I couldn’t risk that happening, and there was no good reason to stay. I’d put in my appearance.
As soon as I was at the elevator bank, I fell back against the wall while I waited. Nothing about tonight had gone the way I’d planned, and I had to acknowledge the part I’d played in that.
I’dbeen the one to lose my temper.I’dbeen the one to drag Drew away.
But goddammit, his mouth was frustrating. Could anyone blame me for my actions?
No, but I sure as hell could blame him forhis.
Ronnie strolled out of the ballroom and went to hit the elevator button, then glanced my way and did a double take.
“Oh, hey, you ran out so fast I figured you were already downstairs hailing a cab.”
