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The annoyed sound that came from Luka was familiar now. It was never directed at me specifically. He just didn’t like it when I talked down about myself. I grimaced, biting my lip. I’d spent so long making myself small that it was a hard habit to break.
“That’s it. I’m coming over.”
My mouth fell open. “Wha–”
“No. You’re doing that thing again where you don’t think you’re worth spending time with. You obviously need another lesson. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
I spluttered, trying to argue with him, but he ignored me.
“It’s not safe to talk on the phone and drive. See you soon, sweetheart!”
* * *
I thought he was kidding. So when my intercom buzzed, I almost jumped out of my skin. I hustled over, pressing the button to talk.
“Yes?”
“Hey, sweetheart.”
I gaped at the little device on my wall. “Luka?”
“The one and only. Buzz me in, Julie. We need to talk.”
My heartbeat picked up, and I did as he asked, pressing the button to open the front door. Cracking the door to my apartment open, I peeked out, waiting for him. He turned down my hallway a second later, a smug grin crossing his face when he noticed me. He sauntered up to me, lifting his eyebrows when I just stood there.
“What are you doing here?”
His grin turned wicked. “I told you, sweetheart. You need another lesson.”
My face flushed, and my gaze shifted behind him. “Is Bennett coming?”
“No. It’s my turn. Gonna let me in?”
I took a few steps back, letting him slip past me into my apartment. I didn’t know what to expect, and the anticipation was killing me.
“I thought you were joking,” I murmured, closing the door quietly. When I turned around, he was right behind me. He put his palms against the door, caging me against it, and dipped his head so that his lips brushed against mine when he spoke.
“I don’t joke around when it comes to you, honey. You were belittling yourself and I’m not gonna let it slide. You’re perfect.”
I shook my head. It was a sweet thing to say when we were in bed together, but I wasn’t naïve enough to believe it when we were just spending time together. It’s just something people say when they want to get laid.
“Julie…”
I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. It made me self-conscious. In a bid to distract him, I slid my arms around his neck and pressed myself against him. He sucked in a breath, his stance losing some of its stiffness as he dropped his hands from the door and gathered me closer.
“You said it’s your turn.”
His eyes heated at my response, and he smiled. “Yeah, beautiful. It’s my turn. Show me your room. I wanna make a mess out of it.”
Biting my lip, I released my grip on his neck, taking one of his hands instead. He followed me as I dragged him past the little kitchen and down the hall to my bedroom. It wasn’t huge, just barely big enough for my bed and dresser, but I cleaned it this morning and the bed was made. Not that Luka noticed. His eyes were glued to me as he molded himself against me, hoisting me onto the bed. I didn’t even have time to protest about him lifting me. He dropped his body on top of mine and my thoughts scattered. I’d lecture him about it later.
Chapter Twenty-One
LUKA
When I called Julie earlier, it was in a desperate bid to keep myself from coming over and attacking her. Nothing I’d ever done before came close to what it was like to be with Julie. And not once did I feel jealous about Bennett being there, too. It added something I didn’t realize I was missing and gave me more opportunity to watch her come apart. The only reason I didn’t call him before I came out here was because I knew Julie would be embarrassed if I told him why I demanded to come over. I wanted to get her to like herself. I didn’t want to actually punish her for having feelings by embarrassing her.
She was trying to distract me with sex. I figured that out right away. I let her get away with it for now, but I wouldn’t be leaving tonight until I got her to say something nice about herself. That asshole did a number on her, and she deserved to know how perfect she was.
