Page 84 of The Beast's Heart

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. It’s all about whatever angle you can sell.” He smirks. “One of the owners told me if I was so intent on dying, the least I could do was do it on pay-per-view.”

“Wow.”

He presses the icy peas to my cheek again and I manage not to pull away at the cold. “Lloyd hated it. Wrestling. It was the one thing we had in common.”

“You hated it?”

He’s silent for a while, contemplating this. Then he says, “I hate what it made me into.”

What must that have been like? Living that lie, being the bad guy for years. What that must do to a person, to be trapped not only in a career you despise, but in a wholeidentitythat you hate? And everyone, even his friends, still call him that name.

“You know,” he says, removing the make-shift ice pack from my numb cheek, “When you said Geoff was teaching you to box, I thought he was trying to seduce you.”

I scoff. “I’m the pathetic beta, remember?”

Adam growls again. Does he have any idea how attractive that sound is? “I thought he was negging you.”

“Negging?”

“Part of the same bullshit pickup artist crap as the beta thing. Putting you down so you want to please him.”

“That’s a thing? I really am clueless about the art of seduction.”

Adam snorts.

“Trust me. Geoff isn’t my type.”

Adam’s eyes lock on mine. “What is your type?”

A thrill races through me.Did he really just ask that?I struggle to find a word that isn’tyou.

A wan smile appears beneath his beard. “Let me guess. Well educated, nice clothes, a familiarity with all thingsaesthetic.” He becomes very focussed on the ice pack.

“No, not that.”

His gaze slides to mine again and my heart skips.

“Jonathan?” A little voice says from the doorway.

Ben.

I duck my head, hiding my face.

Adam moves subtly to help block the view. “What is it, Ben?”

“I… will Jonathan be coming upstairs soon?”

Oh hell, it’s that time already. “Yes, go get ready for bed. I’ll bring you your cocoa in a few minutes.”

Adam’s brow furrows and he shakes his head minutely, before saying, “Uh, no,I’llbe up soon. Jonathan has… something else he has to do tonight.”

“Is everything okay?” Ben asks.

“Everything’s fine,” I assure him. “We’re just talking. I’ll come check on you later.”

“Okay,” he says, still sounding dubious, and I hear his footsteps as he withdraws.

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