Page 41 of His Angel

“I think you like it.” He smirks, something more than just mischief twinkling in the depths of his hazel eyes. “You like it when I’m a bit of a dick, when I don’t give you what you want.”

My breath hitches, a blush creeping across my cheeks, and I can do absolutely nothing to stop it. The goddamn audacity of the man.

I’m not annoyed at him, or Iwasn’t, not until he started rattling on about me flirting with everyone but him. There’s something about this fraternity that’s so close to the answers I’m looking for. They know why I’ve been sent here, but nobody is willing or able to give me the details I need, and it’s infuriating.

Almost as infuriating as the heat that rushes through me from merely being in the presence of Nick fucking Barrett, never mind being in an enclosed space. His heady cologne hits the back of my throat, his intense gaze laser focused and directed solely at me as he stalks my way.

My hand goes to his chest, and I’m not sure whether it’s to stop his advance, as if I really could, or to draw him closer, but my back hits the counter with a finality I’m more than ready to explore. There’s nowhere left to run.

“You’re so used to men dropping to the ground you walk on to worship at your feet that you have no idea what it’s like when someone wants you and isn’t willing to bend.”

Arrogant fucker.

“You don’t know anything about it,” I whisper.

The words were supposed to come out strong and determined, and yet, all I hear is the lust thrumming in my ears, the two of us walking along a rope pulled so tightly it’s going to snap at any given moment.

I don’t know which one of us moves first, my hand twists in his shirt as he surges forward, our lips coming together as inevitably as two magnets.

“That must have been some good coffee,” Ruby comments, dragging me back into the here and now with a crash.

“It wasn’t actually.”

I honestly couldn’t tell you, I have zero recollection of the coffee itself, but, much like with Nick, I can’t help but verbally spar with her. For some reason, being nice gets me nothing but the cold shoulder, but this back-and-forth is exactly what she needs to pull words from her, no matter how exhausting it is.

“Great story,” she says, turning the phone over in her hand and effectively drawing the conversation to a close.

The silence stretches out between us again, but I refuse to let this become awkward.

“So, who’s the guy?” I ask.

“What guy?” Her astute gaze flicks around the coffee shop, perhaps thinking I’m talking about someone here.

“You said there was someone special in your life, a friend, but that I’d never get it. That’s got to be a guy, right? Because I’d never have a clue how to be friends with a guy,” I say calmly.

“You’re friends with Wyatt.” She says it like an accusation, like I’m reaching for a connection, for something to tie us together, but I’ve seen the crack in her facade as she checks her phone once again.

“I am,” I agree, although, it’s more complicated than that. There was that kiss, and the way he held me when I scared the shit out of myself by the sauna, the heat of his hands on my skin, the salty freshness of whatever shower gel or aftershave he uses, the sizzle of attraction that’s never far away when we’re together.

“And… other people,” she adds.

She means Leo.

I can almost see his name on the tip of her tongue, except she doesn’t let it loose, playing it safe.

“Other peopleare complicated,” I reply, taking a sip of my latte.

And it’s not like things between Wyatt and I are simple, or straightforward. How could anything be simple in this melting pot we’ve found ourselves in? But if she wants to give me cagey answers to keep me interested, I can play that game too.

“So, you’re stringing them all along, huh?” She smiles a knowing grin, thinking she’s figured it all out and holds all the answers.Oh, if only she knew.

“It’s that black and white in your world, is it?” I ask. “I’m either with them or stringing them along.” The words were supposed to come out cool and calm, collected, but there’s an edge to the statement I wasn’t expecting. Something sharp and prickly I’m not ready to address.

“I’m just calling it as I see it.” She shrugs.

Sure. Whatever.

I nod, thinking quickly.

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