“Puerto Rican.”
I swallowed.
A moment of silence.
“Really?” I asked sarcastically.
The insinuation of his comment was clear.
“I know what I like.” His deep voice settled between my thighs.
As the others entered the kitchen I turned around and pushed past Zachary. My voice came out harsher than intended. “You’re in my way.”
During dinner, I sat as far away from Zachary as possible, at the opposite end of the dining table. That didn’t stop him from trying to burn the clothes off me with his eyes.
I had changed into baggy jeans and an even baggier crewneck. The outfit would have usually made me feel secure and comfortable, but by the way Zachary was looking at me, I felt like I was fucking naked.
Throughout the night I switched between crossing my left leg over my right, and my right over my left. The weird sensation between my thighs didn’t go away and I was starting to freak out I was getting something. It didn’t make sense – I had a clean diet, I stayed hydrated, I was clean;why was I… buzzing?
I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. Everybody was now cleaning up in the kitchen, and I took the chance to get away for just a moment. I sighed and walked out into the dark hallway.
“Sneaking off again?”
I didn’t get startled when his smooth voice wrapped around me.
“A girl can only take so much staring,” I teased, turning to face him.
Zachary blocked the light at the end of the hallway, which was coming from the living room. I was cast in his shadow. He looked down at me with dark eyes – so dark it told me all the sinful things he wanted to dowithandtome.
“You need to stop. What you’re trying to do…” I signaled between us. “It’s not working.”
He smirked.
I scrunched my nose.
“Then stop looking at me like that.” He stepped closer.
My lips parted in a scowl. “Like what?”
He squinted his eyes slightly in dark amusement, the smirk on his face taking a dangerous turn. “Don’t pretend you don’t know.”
I wanted to shoot myself in the leg when I felt my cheeks grow warm.
He was right.
I knew.
MaybeI had given him certain looks. But I hadn’t done or said anything to confirm I was in fact attracted to him, so he was only assuming at this point. And we both knew assuming only ever got you killed.
I was consciously repulsed by his arrogant and cocky personality. And I was sure a man like him, who wasn’t exactly a fan of the law, wouldn’t be good for me. But as much as I had tried to maintain power over my body, I couldn’t control my biological reactions when he was around me. The first man to get a physical reaction out of me just had to be this one.
“Does it make you nervous when I stare?” His smooth voice broke the tension.
Fuck no. It pisses me off.
“Does it turn you on when I tell you to fuck off?”
Zachary shrugged. “What can I say? It’s hot when you talk back.”