Leave it alone.
You eavesdropped on their conversation when they were in the living room.
I didn’t hear all of it! Only toward the end because I was actually really trying to give them privacy but…
You sly grandma, you! But what you heard, you liked. You heard him going easy on Dylan when other guys would just dismiss or laugh at him. Or worse, bully him. He was kind to him. And that, my friend, was your downfall. Cameron’s kindness was your downfall, wasn’t it? And when they came back from the kitchen, you saw how Dylan looked at Cameron.
Dylan already adores him.
Don’t be falling for him now! With all your talk of standards, where are they now, huh? You gave in so easily. I’m so disappointed.
I’m going to bash your head in two seconds if you don’t shut the hell up.
He didn’t even want foreplay. He wanted the pearl in the shell right away. The caramel in the middle. The egg yolk.
You’re just like any other girl to him. He was horny, and you just happened to be there. You were supposed to talk to him about your contract, not suck his face.
You probably didn’t even kiss that good. He dominated that kiss in epic proportions.
“Enough!” I yelled into the night, ignoring the uneasy flutter I felt in my belly. “He’s an experiment. That’s all he is to me. He’ll be gone after his motorcycle is fixed.”
He’ll stay because you’re amusing, but once he gets bored, he’ll be gone. Just like your mother. Just like everyone.
I rose, dusted off my hands, and shivered. I hadn’t grabbed my jacket when I’d left my house earlier because I was so pumped. I hadn’t noticed the cold either when I left his house. But now I did.
I crossed my arms and rubbed them for warmth. Then screamed and jumped in fright when I felt something land on my shoulders.
I spun around, moved into a karate position, got ready to run—and choked on air when I saw that it was him.
He picked up the leather jacket that fell on the ground when I spun around, shook it, and offered it to me. His face, too beautiful even in the dark, was set in severe lines. His eyes, when they looked at me, were indifferent now.
Why did my stomach drop suddenly?
It wasn’t the reaction I’d expected to see on him after…what happened in his living room. But then again, he didn’t get what he wanted from me, did he?
So why was he here, holding out a jacket for me?
It was all so confusing. And frustrating.
Was there a training center I could enroll myself in to get an education in this?
He was looking at me, but I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. His shields were up. The shields that kept people out. I sensed them around him before, but I’d never gotten the full effect of them until now.
It made me…sad.
“You’re freezing,” he said. No hint of the warmth in his voice that had been there before. “Why don’t you wear this?”
But the way he said it wasn’t a request. It was an order. The arrogance in his tone was enough to cause my temper to flicker.
“You’re not the boss of me.”
I sounded like a sulky five-year-old, but I couldn’t have cared less.
He looked at me for a moment before h
e said, “I told your brother I’d take you home.”
I closed my mouth. His words, delivered so matter-of-factly, sounded sweet to me. Sounded so kind and thoughtful.