AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Karli suppresses a laugh, probably thinking about our own first encounter. “Yeah. Totally a red flag.” She’s quiet for a moment before she props her chin on her wrist and gives me a dreamy half-smile. “You probably made a good boyfriend, Dr. Pretty Boy,” she almost whispers.
I chuckle at her bluntness. “I think so. I’m good at everything I do. As you’ve obviously realized.” I flash her a toothy grin.
Snorting, Karli grabs a dusty cushion from the lounger beside her and launches it at me. “The arrogance!”
I rub my hand over my stomach where the pillow landed. I hold her eyes and my lips curve up into a half-smile of my own. “I’m sure you’d make a good girlfriend, too, Tough Girl. Violent, but good.”
A wicked smile breaks free across her lips. “Some guys like it violent.”
Fuck. I might be one of them.
I think.
Maybe.
Probably.
Yah—definitely.
Jesus. The way this woman is looking at me right now, it sets my blood on fire. Dinner was delicious but if Karli gave me the chance, I’d eat her the fuck up.
Not going there. Don’t go there, Mason.
I clear my throat, trying to will myself not to go downthatpath. I return to our previous topic of conversation. “In all seriousness, you let your brothers cockblock you from having a real relationship?”
“It’s not just them…” she replies, almost reluctantly.
I lean back in my chair. “What is it then?”
She heaves a sigh, tugging at the hem of her T-shirt. “Every guy thinks he wants a piece of me, because all they see is a pretty face—”
“Itisa pretty face, to be honest,” I concede.
Lo and fucking behold—there’s that sassy, nostril-flaring stink eye again.
“Come on. It’s true.” I thought that the backhanded compliment would at least earn me a little smile. But I’m quickly realizing that her exceptional good looks are a real sore spot for her. “I…I’m sorry. Sorry, Karli.”
“As I was saying, every man sees me as nothing but a pretty face…right up until my shiny mask starts to slip and they get a glimpse of the defects underneath. Until I fuck up somehow and they realize that I’m not worth the trouble and they never wanted me all that bad to begin with.”
“The defects?!” I spit out. What is this woman talking about? “Do you actually believe that?” She’s loonier than I thought.
“I hate it when you patronize me, Mason.”
I’m vigorously shaking my head, as I scoot my chair closer to hers. I grab her hand in mine and my gaze locks onto hers. I need her to hear me.
“Karli, from where I’m sitting I can’t see one single flaw.” She opens her mouth to protest but I cut her the fuck off. “If a guy can’t handle you, he’s the one with the defect.”
I’ve had a lingering semi-chub all evening as we’ve drank wine and shit-talked with a prime view of the setting sun. But we’re sitting so close now, our faces merely inches apart under the muted glow of the deck lights. This aching need at my groin is growing more intense.
I fall into the crystalline vortex of Karli’s eyes. I feel the magnetic force pulling me closer.
Her labored breath fans across my lips. My hand grips the arm of my chair as I try to control myself. But the reality is, I’m one second away from losing my shit and kissing her.
Slowly, I’m leaning in for the kill.
Right as the tip of my nose brushes the tip of hers, Karli’s plate slips from her lap. It hits the deck with aclink!Thankfully, it doesn’t shatter, but it sure as hell snaps us both out of our hypnosis.
Shit.
