The Fighter (The High Rise, Book 1) by Harper Bentley Page A

.”
     
     

Seven
     
    Holy shit. Holy holy shit!
    I must’ve had
more to drink than I thought because apparently I’ve been using
Heath as a frickin’ wall to rest against. And he let me! Ugh. He
needs to know that was not cool.
    “What the hell
do you think you’re doing?” I hiss, ready to lay it all out for
him. “And what exactly is your deal because from the minute I told
you who I was, you’ve acted like you can’t stand me. What’s up with
that? Do you have an ex named Laney? Is that it? Because I’m sorry
if we share the same name but since it’s not my fault because I
didn’t choose it for myself, you can take that up with my mom.”
    “It’s not
that…” he starts but I’m not finished.
    “Or are you
gay?” I watch him blink and pull his head back surprised at my
question. Whatever. Moving on. “Are you jealous of my cheekbones or
something? I’ve got a lot of gay guy friends and a few of them have
told me my cheekbones are to die for, especially when I contour
them, but not one of them has been mean to me about it! So which is
it?”
    He’s trying
not to laugh and I want to punch him. Except now I feel the alcohol
from that last drink kicking in and I’d be willing to bet my
coordination (which isn’t great to begin with) is on the fritz even
more so than it was when I tried slapping him. Wait. I tried
slapping him? Damn. Being around him has turned me into a
monster.
    “You might
wanna look into some anger management classes,” he retorts with a
snicker.
    And again I
want to slap him.
    Oh… my… God. I am a monster.
    I hate that
because I’m not a violent person but he just seems to bring out
every emotion I’m feeling whenever I’m feeling it.
    It takes me a
moment to calm down and when I do, I hear my Auntie Georgia’s voice
in my head.
    To win with a
man you’ve got to use your womanly wiles, my Little Laney
Lou-Who.
    Auntie G is my
mom’s sister and has always been my favorite. She’s been married
five times and is a very wealthy woman from the proceeds she’s
collected from her divorces. But being married that many times
doesn’t make her a bad person. She’s the most vivacious person I
know and I can see where these men would want her to be their wife.
Mom has always said that her baby sister is a free spirit who just
falls too easily for these men, and when they find out they can’t
cage her, that’s where the trouble begins. Dad’s comment is that at
least Auntie G picks the rich ones.
    So going with
her advice, I step into Heath wanting to laugh when he flinches,
then resting my hands on his chest look up at him seductively.
Immediately I feel the air around us crackling with the tension
between us which is off the charts. Wow. Ignoring it, I tiptoe up,
making sure to rub my cheek against his stubbled one until my lips
are at his ear.
    “Baby, you
just do something to me that gets me all hot and bothered. I can’t
help it that I get emotional around you,” I coo sweetly making sure
my breath tickles his ear.
    I can feel his
heart beating hard under my hand and his breathing has sped up. Hm.
Auntie G might be on to something here. I slide my hands up his
chest and wrapping my arms around his neck press my body against
his.
    “So in answer
to your question,” I slide a hand into the hair at the back of his
head, then pulling him closer to me I suggest, “Fuck anger
management.”
    I tug his
earlobe gently with my teeth then move away slowly making sure to
drag my hands leisurely back down over his chest then looking up at
him smirk as I say, “C’mon, Dani. Let’s go home,” and looping my
arm through hers I lead her toward the front.
    “That was one
of the hottest ones yet, Laney,” Dani remarks with a giggle, having
seen me use this tactic a few times before.
    “Auntie G is a
genius,” I retort with an answering giggle.
    But what I
don’t tell her is that this time it took a lot out of me. Being
that close to Heath, pressed against his hard body