Page 24 of His Red Carnation

Her eyebrows lifted. “That doesn’t surprise me. When was your last relationship?”

I laughed again, but it felt hollow. “Relationship? Fuck. Years ago. I don’t have time for a relationship.”

The moment the words left my mouth, I knew she’d take it the wrong way. Her hands slid off my chest, and she stepped back, her eyes wandering around the apartment again.Fuck.

“Sloane, I think we should talk about this,” I said, grabbing a stool from under the kitchen island, feeling the tension rise between us.

She froze for a moment, then nodded before sitting on the stool next to me. I spread my legs slightly, pulling hers between mine as I held her hands.

“I can’t stop thinking about you. This is the first time I’ve ever felt like this, and it scares the shit out of me. I don’t know how we’re going to make this work, but I want to. I want you so fucking bad.”

The hard line of her lips softened into a smile, and she squeezed my hands, looking down at them as she played shy.

“I want to do this too. I’m crazy about you, Callan,” she said softly, peeking up at me through her lashes.

That feeling deep in my chest tightened. I already knew it—I fucking loved this girl. But I couldn’t say it yet. I didn’t want to rush things and fuck it all up.

“You wanna stay here tonight, baby? Maybe help me fix this place up?” I asked, glancing at the boxes scattered around the apartment.

Her smile brightened, revealing a small dimple in her cheek that made my chest ache.Fuck, she’s beautiful.

“I’d love to.”

* * *

Sloane had slipped on one of my T-shirts while helping me unpack, and seeing her in it made something stir inside me—an even deeper possessiveness than before. I knew I had to keep unwiring the ingrained misogyny that had shaped me over the years. Growing up in a military household, then joining the military, and later becoming a government agent—none of those environments exactly fostered equal rights or feminism.

That fact became glaringly obvious when Sloane’s phone vibrated on the kitchen counter just before midnight, right as I was about to suggest we head to bed. I grabbed it quickly, realizing it was from that stupid fucking kid she went on a date with. The screen was locked, so I couldn’t read the message.

“Who is it?” she asked, noticing the scowl I knew was plastered on my face.

“That fucking kid you went on a date with. What does it say?” I handed the phone to her as she stood in front of me.

Her brows pulled together, but she glanced down and read it. “He’s just asking if everything is okay,” she said, holding the phone up for me to see.

I grabbed the phone and started scrolling through their conversation. My blood boiled when I saw she’d only planned the date an hour before she left.

“I thought your mom set you up with him. Youinitiatedit?” My voice came out harsher than I intended.

Her eyes widened in anger. “I was mad at you for acting like you wanted nothing to do with me. I wanted you to realize what you were missing out on,” she snapped back.

For some reason, seeing her pissed off turned me into fucking mush. Maybe something was wrong with me for finding an angry woman so damn endearing—or maybe it was justherand that goddamn beautiful face.

“Alright, well, you’re not talking to him anymore,” I finally said, setting her phone down on the counter.

She planted her hand on her hip, her eyes narrowing. “Just because we’re making this a ‘thing’ doesn’t mean you get to dictate what I do.”

There was my fiery fucking feminist. I couldn’t argue—because she was right. But that didn’t make me any less jealous.

“So, what then? You want to keep talking to that fuck face?” I asked, bitterness seeping into my tone.

Sloane paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. I couldn’t help but crack a smile too.

“No, I don’t. But that’s not the point,” she said, her tone lighter now. “It’s hot when you’re possessive and tell me I’m yours, but actuallytellingme what to do in real life? Not so hot.”

Now I was the one laughing. I loved how she called me out on my shit, and her honesty just made me fall harder.

“Okay, baby. I’m sorry,” I finally whispered, cupping her face and pressing my lips gently against hers.

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