I smiled and pushed him further. “You’ve been worried about me that much? I’m flattered.”
Garrison scoffed and gripped the armrest. “You’d like to think so, wouldn’t you? Having someone worry about you instead of giving you reasons to worry would be a nice change of events.”
Wow, if I really had been fleeing an abusive boyfriend, that would have been a low blow. I feigned a wince. “Ouch. Well, maybe it takes one to know one.”
His eyes flashed, and I restrained an outright grin. Another item to add to my happiness list—I enjoyed this back and forth with Garrison. Rolling with his verbal punches, finding the best way to throw the jabs back at him. It was like a different kind of sparring. Not quite as thrilling as the way I’d tangled with Talon but exhilarating in its own right.
Garrison considered me with a scowl. “Why did you come up here then, Dess?”
“Like I told Julius, I wanted some fresh air.” What else could I say to shut down that subject? I tipped back my head. “And maybe I wanted to sunbathe too. Got to look pretty when I have four manly men studying me all day.”
I flicked at my hair in what I hoped looked like a flirtatious gesture. Unfortunately, flirting was not my thing, and only half the hair I flicked went over my shoulder, the other half catching in the breeze and flying back into my face. I swiped it aside as if I’d meant to do that.
“Something tells me that you don’t particularly care about looking pretty for us,” Garrison said, looking me over.
With anyone else, I’d have worried it was an insult, but with Garrison, I couldn’t totally tell. He wasn’t wrong, after all.
I raised my eyebrows. “Are you saying that I haven’t been meeting your exacting standards? Feel free to tell me where I’ve fallen short.”
His mouth twisted, and I knew that I’d made it difficult to respond. He could purposely offend me, and I had no doubt that he was considering doing just that. But if I knew Garrison at all, and I had a feeling that I was quickly learning his preferred method of snark, he wouldn’t go for the obvious insult.
He liked the challenge of our conversations too, even if he pretended they irritated him. Why would he have kept up the snark with me if he didn’t? He could have just ignored me.
My mind flashed to Talon and the aggressive, dominating way he’d taken me in the exercise room. What would it be like to “spar” with Garrison that way? An image darted through my mind of us continuing our battle in the bedroom, fighting to claim our pleasure.
Maybe it was the thrill that came with the thought that propelled me onward, a spark of inspiration lighting in my mind. I didn’t give him a chance to spit out the response he was brewing. Instead, I took charge.
I sighed dramatically. “It’s okay if you don’t find me pretty. There’s more to me than looks. I wonder if the same can be said about you?” I cocked my head to one side. “I’m starting to think not so much.”
Garrison’s eyes blazed, and I knew part of him was seeping through the mask he wore so well. “I’ll have you know—”
“That your sharp tongue is only to deflect attention from your many flaws? That’s what I thought.”
He uncrossed his legs and brought himself slowly to his feet, standing over me in a way that would have intimidated a lesser woman. I’d expected it. I could see the way his frustration with me and his fascination roared inside him, battling for dominance.
He didn’t hate me. Not really.
“I think we’re done here,” he said. “Time to go downstairs.”
Oh, no, he wasn’t getting out of this that easily. I pushed myself off the chair, planting myself just inches away from him.
“Don’t be silly,” I said with a sly smile. “We’re just getting started.”
Then I grabbed the front of his shirt and tugged him toward me so I could capture his lips.
I hadn’t been sure if he’d kiss me back. I’d only been counting on a startled moment or two before he pushed me away. But the next thing I knew, Garrison was gripping the back of my head, molding his mouth to mine. A torrent of hidden emotion flowed into me with the fervor of his kiss.
Oh, he didn’t hate me at all.
As if he’d realized what he’d given away in the same instant I had, Garrison jerked back. His cheeks had flushed, but his eyes glinted with annoyance.
“Don’t fucking do that again,” he spat, running a hand through his shaggy blond hair.
I gazed back at him innocently. “Really? You didn’t exactly seem to mind in the—”
“I said don’t.” He took another step away, as if he needed the distance between us to control himself. Which maybe was true. Then he jabbed his hand toward the stairs. “Get back inside where you’ll make less trouble.”
He ushered me down the stairs, staying a few feet behind the whole time, and then stalked off toward his bedroom the second we’d come into the apartment. Blaze and Julius were still discussing something by the whiteboard. Talon had gone into the kitchen to heat up the dinner Steffie had left for us.