AllFreeNovel
Share Us
For a heart pounding second, he visibly wrestles with his control.
He signals a passing cab and yanks the door open. “Get in, brat.”
For a confusing, heart pounding second, I think he’s going to take me home and torment us both until I give in and apologize for my words.
“Why?” I ask, my mouth dry.
“Because I was going to give you a lift home, but I’ll be damned if I spend another minute listening to your ungrateful mouth,” he says.
“Oh.” I slide into the cab feeling both relieved and disappointed.
Luke slams the door behind me, shoves cash at the driver, and strides off into the dark night, looking like a brooding hero in a Gothic romance.
I must look worried because the cabby says, “Don’t worry, miss. Your boyfriend will get over it. He cares about you.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I fume. Then the rest of what he said catches up with me. “Wait. Why do you think he cares about me?”
“He wants to make sure you get home safe, even when he’s mad,” the cabby says, like it’s obvious.
I blink. “That’s not about me, specifically. He’d do that for any woman.”
But the cabby’s comment reminds me that as irritated with Luke as I am, there’s a layer of decency underneath layers of arrogance, stubbornness, and sheer assholery.
I’m going to figure you out, Luke Dewinter,I swear to myself.
No matter how hard he makes it.
9
LUKE
Are you going to spank me for being naughty?In the dream, Hazel’s naked and bent over my desk, biting her lip as she looks back over her shoulder and tilts her delicious ass up for me.
That’s when I wake up, hard and gasping for my best friend’s little sister.
Fuck, I think.
I realize my phone’s buzzing. That’s what woke me up.
I fumble in the dark to answer it, confused to see my dad’s name on the screen.
Why’s he calling at 6:13 a.m. on a Saturday?
“Hello?” I answer, worry twisting my stomach. I know it’s irrational, since my dad is healthy as an ox, but once you’ve woken up to one phone call saying you’ve lost a parent, the fear never entirely goes away.
Then again, I’d thought my mom was healthy too. I’d left for a sleepover at my friend’s house when I was fifteen, and she’d been gone by morning. Apparently, she’d been born with a heart defect she never told me about.
I’m not on great terms with my dad, but if he has the nerve to die on me, I’ll kill him myself.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“‘What’sgoing on?’ As if you don’t know,” he thunders. “I gave you one chance to improve your reputation, and this is what you do with it?”
My worry fades, replaced by irritated confusion.
What the hell is he talking about?
“It’s early, Dad,” I grumble. “Why don’t we talk about whatever you think I’ve done when the sun is actually up?”
