brother. She does too. And I will not be his replacement. Which is why I have to let it go now, and why I should not go chasing after her.
“Want another beer, Raze?” I ask, getting to my feet. I need one. I need a lot more than that if I’m going to wipe the slate clean and get her out of my system. Seeing her again, fucking her again, probably wasn’t the smartest move I could have made. But then I never claimed to be smart. Especially when it came to her.
Chelsea
I don’t know why I let him get to me. Maybe it’s because for a second there I got pulled in. Dragged back into his touch and the way he stares at me, steady and completely focused. As if there’s nothing else in the world.
My hand is shaking around the tall glass as I sip at the water. I take a few steadying breaths. I don’t know if I’m madder at him for being a dick about my friendship with Tom or at myself for letting him suck me in. Again. I would think I would have learned by now. It shouldn’t be such a chore to be able to be around him and not get that feeling there’s something always unfinished between us.
Shutting my eyes, I expel a breath. I don’t know whether he was being an asshole to wind me up, or if that’s his permanent state now. Once, I would have thought neither, but that was before I knew better.
The door bangs quietly, and I open my eyes. Of course he followed me inside. He couldn’t give me five seconds alone. It’s that predatory instinct.
The one that has me feeling like a bunny trapped in the headlights of an oncoming truck. I’m absolutely certain if I get caught up in him I’ll be lost. But I’m not going to let that happen. I turn to face him. “You should go find one of those girls who wants to throw herself into bed with you. You’d make her day. If she exists.”
“What do you mean by that smart ass remark?” He stands in the archway. Not making a move. There’s this look on his face that I don’t think I’ve seen before. He got darker while he was away. It’s there in his eyes. This broodiness I don’t remember from before. But maybe I hadn’t noticed when I ran into him in Vegas. It makes me shiver. “Exactly what I said. Maybe you should go chase some tail if it’ll get you to leave me alone.”
“Is that why you’re in a snit?” A glimmer of something crosses his gaze. “You don’t like the idea of me with someone else?”
“Of course not.” I place the cup in the sink. “It doesn’t bother me at all.”
Except it does. The idea of him with anyone makes me stabby. It shouldn’t, but imagining some other girl with her hands on him has me imagining tearing her off him. Of getting between them and pushing her firmly out of my mental picture. The sensation is like a clamp in my chest, tightening. The worst part being that at some point it will probably happen, and I’ll have to figure out a way to deal with it. “I want to see you happy.”
“You want me to be happy?” He takes a determined step toward me, and instinctively I grip onto the counter.
Another step, and my knees buckle. “We’re friends now. We’re supposed to want that for each other.”
“ Supposed to?” He stops right in front of me. It’s practically close enough I can feel his body heat. “Except that isn’t what you want.”
There are little flecks of brown mixed with the blue around his dilated pupils. It’s funny how that surprises me. Like finding a new detail in a painting you’ve stared at a million times. “Don’t tell me what I want.”
“I’ll show you then.” His lips move, a flash of white teeth behind sinful lips, and I can’t drag my gaze away from his mouth. “Since we both know you want me.”
“I don’t.”
He snakes a hand around my waist, yanking me to him. “Want to try that again? Maybe with a little conviction this time?”
My palms to his chest, I try to push him away, but for some reason my mind isn’t firing right. Instead, my fingers flex against all
“Want another beer, Raze?” I ask, getting to my feet. I need one. I need a lot more than that if I’m going to wipe the slate clean and get her out of my system. Seeing her again, fucking her again, probably wasn’t the smartest move I could have made. But then I never claimed to be smart. Especially when it came to her.
Chelsea
I don’t know why I let him get to me. Maybe it’s because for a second there I got pulled in. Dragged back into his touch and the way he stares at me, steady and completely focused. As if there’s nothing else in the world.
My hand is shaking around the tall glass as I sip at the water. I take a few steadying breaths. I don’t know if I’m madder at him for being a dick about my friendship with Tom or at myself for letting him suck me in. Again. I would think I would have learned by now. It shouldn’t be such a chore to be able to be around him and not get that feeling there’s something always unfinished between us.
Shutting my eyes, I expel a breath. I don’t know whether he was being an asshole to wind me up, or if that’s his permanent state now. Once, I would have thought neither, but that was before I knew better.
The door bangs quietly, and I open my eyes. Of course he followed me inside. He couldn’t give me five seconds alone. It’s that predatory instinct.
The one that has me feeling like a bunny trapped in the headlights of an oncoming truck. I’m absolutely certain if I get caught up in him I’ll be lost. But I’m not going to let that happen. I turn to face him. “You should go find one of those girls who wants to throw herself into bed with you. You’d make her day. If she exists.”
“What do you mean by that smart ass remark?” He stands in the archway. Not making a move. There’s this look on his face that I don’t think I’ve seen before. He got darker while he was away. It’s there in his eyes. This broodiness I don’t remember from before. But maybe I hadn’t noticed when I ran into him in Vegas. It makes me shiver. “Exactly what I said. Maybe you should go chase some tail if it’ll get you to leave me alone.”
“Is that why you’re in a snit?” A glimmer of something crosses his gaze. “You don’t like the idea of me with someone else?”
“Of course not.” I place the cup in the sink. “It doesn’t bother me at all.”
Except it does. The idea of him with anyone makes me stabby. It shouldn’t, but imagining some other girl with her hands on him has me imagining tearing her off him. Of getting between them and pushing her firmly out of my mental picture. The sensation is like a clamp in my chest, tightening. The worst part being that at some point it will probably happen, and I’ll have to figure out a way to deal with it. “I want to see you happy.”
“You want me to be happy?” He takes a determined step toward me, and instinctively I grip onto the counter.
Another step, and my knees buckle. “We’re friends now. We’re supposed to want that for each other.”
“ Supposed to?” He stops right in front of me. It’s practically close enough I can feel his body heat. “Except that isn’t what you want.”
There are little flecks of brown mixed with the blue around his dilated pupils. It’s funny how that surprises me. Like finding a new detail in a painting you’ve stared at a million times. “Don’t tell me what I want.”
“I’ll show you then.” His lips move, a flash of white teeth behind sinful lips, and I can’t drag my gaze away from his mouth. “Since we both know you want me.”
“I don’t.”
He snakes a hand around my waist, yanking me to him. “Want to try that again? Maybe with a little conviction this time?”
My palms to his chest, I try to push him away, but for some reason my mind isn’t firing right. Instead, my fingers flex against all
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