Page 64 of A Labor of Hate
His lips twitched with the threat of a smile.“So, this is the height of fashion, huh?”
“Oh, shut up,” I laughed, watching the gray clouds creep ever closer.“This is what desperation looks like, in case you were wondering.”
He hummed in acknowledgement, sitting up enough to prop his head on his hand and turning to face me, and bit back a smile.The sight grabbed my attention and held it hostage.What would it take to get a real, bona fide Colt smile out of him?For me and because of me?Whatever it was, I’d be willing to do it.
“Is it typical spa behavior to send you home in a bathing suit or…?”He gestured vaguely toward my ensemble.
I sighed before pulling my aching body to mirror his position.We were close.Closer than anyone without romantic intentions should be, my floral print-covered belly only an inch away from his torso.My imagination threatened to run wild with the possibilities, all the ways I could get even closer.And, in that land of delusion, how he would want me to, regardless of whether we were supposed to look happily married for our cover.
I beat the images away and huffed softly.“No, I accidentally ruined my clothes.But, hey” —I offered a sarcastic smile— “at least my hair looks great.”
He caught a curl as it whipped in the wind, never touching my skin yet sending goosebumps across it, nonetheless.A distant door banged in the wind, but he didn’t react.“It does look really good.”
My breath caught in my throat.My heart tripped over itself, and I clenched my free hand into a fist to keep it from misbehaving and reaching for him.
“Thanks.”Unable to hold his gaze any longer, I looked away and cleared my throat.“And thank you for arranging for Hattie to be there today.You…” I swallowed down the sudden nerves twisting in my gut and forged onward.“You saved me today, and you’re a great agent.I’m sorry for ragging on you about your methods.I was wrong not to prepare more.”
When I could finally bring myself to look at him, I found him searching my face.Probably waiting for the punchline, I guess.After our months of rivalry, I couldn’t expect him to believe my sincerity immediately.And I only had myself to thank for creating that reputation.
Finally, he relinquished the curl between his fingers and treated me to a small smile.It didn’t show any of his teeth, but it was still exquisite because it was his.For me.“I suppose we balance each other out nicely, don’t we?Now that we’re not at each other’s throats.”
My gaze flicked unbidden to his neck, my blood heating as all the fantasies I’d beaten away came to mind with a vengeance.I imagined an entirely different way of being at his throat.Of having him at mine.His lips gliding across my skin and his breath hot and fast with hunger.
My fist clenched again, so hard my nails bit into my palm.The pain centered me back in reality.I cleared my throat and turned my attention to the grass beneath us.“Yeah.I guess we do.”
For so long, I’d thought I was the fire to his ice, the sweet to his salty, and that being so made us permanently at odds with each other.Hopelessly so.But maybe I needed those extremes in my life.Maybe the similarities we shared centered us while our differences took each side of the seesaw.Balance and counterbalance.
I thought I hated him because he was everything I should be.But maybe what I am now was what I was always supposed to be.And maybe that was a good thing after all.
When he didn’t say anything or move, I finally looked up, only to find him studying me intently.The depths of his dark chocolate eyes smoldered in a way I hadn’t seen them do since his flirting demonstration.It set every one of my cells ablaze, attuned to his frequency until my breath caught in my throat.
In the back of my mind, I knew it wasn’t real.It couldn’t be.This was the least attractive I’d looked in my entire life, yet when he studied me like that—made time grind to a halt like that—I felt…desirable.Treasured.
Which only made sense, right?The day we’d met, I’d thought the birds outside wouldn’t dare sing without his permission.What chance did I stand against the force of nature that was Colt Dixon?If I was a hurricane, a tornado tearing through life, he was the laws of nature, the order in an entropic world.Our push and pull was inevitable.
And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
He cast a fleeting glance skyward before meeting my eye.And then, ever so slowly, he leaned toward me.As if he wanted to kiss me.
My heart hammered in my chest, a thrill shooting through my body and sparks catching fire in my core.I leaned forward slowly to meet him halfway.My lips parted in anticipation even as my attention jumped between each contour of his face, each miniscule tell I could find.Did he feel the change between us, too?Was it possible that my crush wasn’t completely one-sided?With how close our faces were getting, it felt tantalizingly possible.
Static crackled in the narrowing space between our lips that had nothing to do with the approaching storm.The asymmetrical freckles on his mouth called to me, pulled me ever closer.I knew it was a bad idea.I knew it would complicate everything.And yet, I couldn’t stop myself from diving headfirst to my doom anyway.
Siren lips—that’s what they were.They’d drag me to my death while singing.
And I would thank them.
I was about to close the miniscule distance between us altogether when, with a sharp inhale, his trajectory changed.Instead of our mouths meeting, he brought his lips closer to my ear, where he could speak without fear of anyone overhearing, bugs or no bugs.
“What were you able to learn from Vivienne today?”he asked, his breath feathering against my skin.
The chill that zipped across my cheek wasn’t nearly sufficient to douse the humiliation scorching through me.I leaned back, shaking my head and looking anywhere but at him.Stupid.I’d been so stupid, thinking he wanted to kiss me nearly as badly as I wanted to kiss him.He was a professional.I used to think I was, too, but apparently not.
“Not much, unfortunately,” I answered, extracting a chunk of hair that had blown into my mouth.
I wanted to dig my grave here and now, jump in it, and wait for the sweet release of death.Anything but converse with him while pretending I hadn’t been seconds away from ruining everything.But alas.The grave digging would have to wait.
The backyard was likely the safest place to discuss what little I’d gleaned today, so I updated him on all the relevant information.The tangy, earthy scent of incoming rain hung heavy in the air, adding another ominous layer to the neighborhood.A branch overhead came loose in the gale and flew into Colleen’s yard.The temperature dropped a few degrees.
