Page 29 of Sacrifice
"Yeah, you mentioned that. Several times. To his face, apparently." She steals a piece of my bacon. "Remember, he also told Rio you admitted to wanting him and fucking dreaming about him. Direct quote."
My face burns. "I'm going to kill him."
"With what? Your bare hands? Because that would require touching him, and we both know where that leads."
"Elfe!"
"What? I'm just saying, the sexual tension between you two makes everyone uncomfortable. Last week, Astrid asked if you needed a room to just fuck it out already."
"We don't have sexual tension. We can’t stand each other."
"Is that what you're telling yourself?" She snorts. "Because from where I was sitting, it looked like you were about thirty seconds from either punching him or climbing him like a tree."
"I wanted to punch him," I insist.
"Sure. In the mouth. With your mouth."
I throw toast at her, which she dodges easily. "You're supposed to be on my side."
"Iamon your side. Which is why I'm telling you to stop fighting the inevitable and just fuck the man some more already. Get it out of your system. Eventually, you’ll be sick of him."
"It won't get it out of my system," I admit before I can stop myself. "It'll make it worse."
Elfe's expression softens. "Because you actuallylikehim."
"I don't?—"
"Not Emil, the controlling asshole who scares off your dates. But Emil, the guy who looks at you like you hung the moon. Emil, who watches you when he thinks no one's looking, like he's memorizing you. Emil who?—"
"Stop." I push my plate away, appetite gone. "Just stop."
"Why? Because I'm right?"
"Because it doesn't matter. We're oil and water. Fire and gasoline. We'd destroy each other."
"Or make something explosive," Elfe suggests. "In the good way."
"There's something else," she says, tone shifting. "There was this guy at the bar last night. Mexican, thirties, neck tattoo. Magnus and Emil were watching him like hawks."
"So? Lots of people come to Bubba's."
"Yeah, but this guy was different. He was... watching people. Especially the women. Gave me the creeps."
A chill runs down my spine, but I shake it off. "Probably just some random creep. Magnus would have handled it if it was serious."
"Maybe." But she doesn't look convinced. "Just be careful, okay? The guys seemed really on edge after he left."
"I'm always careful."
"No, you're always reckless. There's a difference." She starts clearing plates. "What time you heading to the clubhouse?"
"Probably around five. Want to come? Mom would love to see you."
"Can't. Covering a shift at Bubba's tonight. But tell Soren I said hey and that he still owes me twenty bucks from that bet."
"What bet?"
"Whether you'd admit to wanting Emil before summer." She grins. "He said Fourth of July. I said Memorial Day. Technically,neither of us won since you admitted it in April, but I was closer."
