Page 42 of Arrogant Puck

I’m actually fucking feeling something.

She doesn’t move, just watches me. That jaw of hers tight. Her chest rising a little faster than she wants me to notice. The baggy tee that’s hotter than any piece of lingerie I’ve ever seen. Makes my mind wander.

I grin. “By the way,” I say, voice casual, “you’re not allowed to be on your phone when you’re here.”

Her brow twitches. “Excuse me?”

“If your focus is to better me, then maybe you should… focus. On me.”

She exhales through her nose like she’s trying not to snap. “I was documenting it,” she mutters. “Since I lied to Riley about working on you.”

I pause, glass halfway to my mouth.Lied for me.

Huh.

The words hit somewhere low in my gut, curl in slow like smoke. I don’t expect that.

“You lied to Riley?” I ask, voice softer now. I want to hear it again.

She looks away, brushing invisible lint off her sleeve. “Yeah. Don’t get all excited. I told him it didn’t work out that night because you keep refusing help.”

But that’s not what she said. She said lied.

I lean a shoulder into the counter. “So, you’re documenting fake sessions now, huh? That’s dedication.”

She almost smiles. “Well, he told me to use my pretty privilege, so maybe this is what that looks like.”

I still. “Pretty privilege?”

She shrugs, looking uncomfortable. “Yeah. Because I have a face people like to look at or something, and I should take advantage of that. His words, not mine.”

I freeze.

Tension flashes behind my ribs and sits there like a loaded gun.

“You’re joking,” I say.

“I wish.”

I stare at her. My mind’s no longer here, no longer in this kitchen. It’s with Riley. Picturing that smug, managerial bastard sitting behind his desk, looking her up and down like she’s a marketing ploy.

She folds her arms. “So, you gonna get your water or just stare at me all night?”

I blink, come back to myself, and turn to the fridge. “Water?” I offer, holding up the glass.

She hesitates. Nods once. “Thanks.”

We walk back to the room. She doesn’t speak. Doesn’t ask questions. Just sets the water down and kneels beside the bed again.

Her hands are on me a second later.

Warm palms against my calf, sliding upward, guiding my leg out into a stretch. I feel her fingers graze just below the hem of my shorts.

The silence is deafening.

But all I can think about is Riley. That comment. That smirk I bet he gave her after. Like the only reason she’s here is because she’s something nice to look at. A distraction. A body.

My jaw tightens.

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