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“Is it safe to enter?” Joe asked, peeking his head through the front door.
Roxie nodded. A small smile curved her lips, but there was no humor in her eyes. “All clear. Team Estrogen has left the premises.”
He closed the door behind him and stared at her. Something was off, something that had the hairs on the back of his neck rising.
She looked a little tired, but that wasn’t it. No, she looked... wary.
“What?” she asked.
Yup, definitely wary. Not good. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Then why the hell are you staring at me like a freaking bug on a dish?”
And defensive.Shit. His Spidey-senses went on full alert.
He said nothing. One of the things he’d learned as an undercover FBI agent was the power of silence. If he stayed quiet, she’d eventually tell him what had her so pissed.
“Fine,” she grumbled, hopping off the couch. “If you’re just going to stare all day, I have better things to do than just sit here.”
Or apparently, she’d run. “Whoa, Rox, I haven’t said a damn thing. I just got here, and you’re getting all fired up and jumping down my throat. Are you going to at least give me a hint as to why you’re pissed at me?”
She aimed a death glare his way. “Like you don’t know.”
Holy shit. Brick wall, meet head.“Enlighten me, Rox.”
“You acted like a Neanderthal earlier.”
He frowned, sure as hell not liking where this was going.
“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, Joseph Buchanan. I don’t appreciate the caveman routine.”
His temper flared. “Really? The ‘caveman’ routine? Let me get this straight: you’re pissed at me because when I came home earlier, I tried to get you into bed?”
“You were groping me in front of my employees!”
His blood chilled. He hadn’t seen that one coming. “Okay, princess, first of all, I thought they were yourfriendsand not your ‘employees.’ And second, as you’re well aware, I stayed at Quinn’s place last night because you kicked me out of my own damn home. I figured that when Alex showed up this morning, it was a good indicator that the other girls had also left. And third, ‘groping’ you? Seriously?”
“Well, what the hell would you call it?”
His eyes narrowed. Not fuckinggroping, that’s for damn sure. “Why don’t you tell me? Am I supposed to ask for permission before I touch you? Shake your hand good morning?”
“God, Joe,” she fumed, “this is all just a big joke to you, isn’t it?”
Anger simmered in his gut, and he clung to it. Because that felt a whole hell of a lot better than the disappointment settling in beside it like a heavy rock. “What’s with the hot and cold, Rox? I thought we were done playing games.”
“That’s just it,” she said, tone cutting.
What the hell was she talking about? He crossed his arms over his chest. “I have a feeling you’re talking about more than what happened in the kitchen this morning. Why don’t you just spit out whatever the hell it is you’re really getting at?”
Roxie mimicked his pose and a cold, blank expression consumed her face. She really had perfected that fucking princess look. “This thing that’s going on between us, Joe, what would you call it?”
There was no way in hell he was answering that loaded question. “Why don’t you tell me? Obviously, you have your own ideas of what it is.”
“It’s sex, Joe,” she spat. “It’s going to run its course. And when it does, it’s going to be awkward between us. For Quinn, for Alex, for everyone.” Her chin raised a notch. “So why don’t we cut our losses early and end on a high note? The sex has been great, but we should go back to being only friends.”
He clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ground together.
