Page 43 of The Fake Out

I laughed, because she absolutely didn’t. “What happened, Mariposa?” I was the easy target, but not the real one.

“I tell myself I don’t care what he thinks, and then he says the one thing that sets me off.”

My hold tightened around her automatically. I hated that she cared about some other guy. Especially when he wasn’t worth her time.

“No. I see what you’re assuming,” she said, “but that isn’t what I meant, exactly.”

I took a slow breath. Normally, I didn’t have a temper, and flying off the handle wasn’t going to win me any points with her, so I locked down the urge to let out a long breath. “So explain,” I said calmly, swaying to the slow music but not loosening my hold on her.

Hearing the story didn’t help with my anger. In fact, it had the opposite effect. Rage burned deeper with every word out of her mouth.

“He’s a fucking tool bag.” The words escaped in clipped tones, beating from deep inside me as I grasped one of her hands and squeezed. “You are a goddess. Way too good for me.”

“He’s an idiot.” She shrugged. “I shouldn’t let him get to me. But yet he does.”

The warning bells rang inside my head. If he still had the power to upset her, then it was likely there were unsettled feelings there. That was reasonable, since they’d only broken up a few weeks ago. Still, the thought caused an ache in my chest. If she was going to put effort into a man, it should be a man who cherished her. Not some asshole who said she couldn’t possibly land a professional athlete. What the hell? This woman could have anyone she wanted. Anyone with half a brain would know they were lucky to be blessed with her time.

“It’s backward,” I mumbled as I tucked her in closer. Her hair brushed my jaw, and for one second, I let myself inhale her. Pull a piece of her into me. Soak in the way it felt to have her body pressed to mine. Our linked fingers rested above her right tit, and the swell of it pressed into the back of my hand. As we continued to sway to the music, her hip brushed my thigh, sending a rush of heat through me.

“What’s backward?” Her forehead brushed my jaw as she tilted her head up to look at me. For a second, I got lost in her deep brown eyes. They were swimming with so much emotion and vulnerability it hurt to be this close.

She was good at hiding her true feelings, but I’d studied her enough to know that her eyes always gave her away. Like the keys to a kingdom, one glance gave me so much.

“The idea that you’re not good enough for me. It’s so backward.”

Breath hitching, she wet her lips. Between her scent in the air, the press of her body to mine, and her mouth just inches from me, my body was screaming for me to reach out and take her. To devour her mouth and show her exactly how much someone like me could actively want her. “Because you’re smart and sexy as fuck.”

Her eyes went wide, and her body stiffened in my arms, but she didn’t pull away.

“Half the guys here haven’t been able to take their eyes off you since we walked in. And I don’t need to be a vice president of anything to know any guy would be lucky as fuck to get to call you theirs.”

I pulled her closer and pressed my lips to her temple, relishing the shiver that raced through her.

“If things were different, Gi,” I whispered against her skin, “I wouldn’t be trying so hard to keep myself away from you.”

If she didn’t have plans to be back in New York. If I wasn’t facing so many unknowns. If she wasn’t my best friend’s sister and the last person I’d ever want to hurt. If I was settled enough to be the kind of partner she deserved. Then I would have already taken her to my bed.

“Em,” she whispered, that single word running across my skin, burrowing into me, claiming a space that might forever belong to her.

I swallowed the lust and genuine need for this woman. Fought the feelings that were getting harder to ignore.

As the song came to an end, I loosened my hold, and she stepped back, glancing over my shoulder at our table.

“Chris is all glary.” Her shoulders tightened, and her chin rose a fraction. In a matter of one breath, she donned the armor she wore so no one would see the tired or vulnerable or hurt woman hiding below and scowled his way.

Fuck, I wished she could see that she didn’t have to fight every battle alone.

Teeth gritted, she said, “I’ll just tell him?—”

“I’ve got your brother.” I turned so I was at her side and pressed my hand back into the small of her back, then guided her to our table and pulled out a chair. Once she was settled, I made a beeline for my best friend.

He tilted his head, silently indicating the space on one side of the dance floor. With a nod, I followed. I owed him a conversation.

“What the fuck is going on?” he snapped, rounding on me. He wanted answers about what was going on between his sister and me. There was no way I’d admit my true feelings, but I couldn’t lie to him. So I’d explain something else.

“See Jake.” I kept my back turned to the douche, but Chris scanned the room, and when he stopped and narrowed his eyes, I said, “See the blond he’s with?”

Chris nodded.

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