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A verbal battle, as always. It’s fun to word spar with him. August is known to be the notorious playboy on the Strikers, and I’m the lucky one who gives him a hard time about it. For purely selfish reasons, of course.
Not exactly the best way to go about it, but it’s entertaining to bicker with someone who gets your sense of humor and embraces it.
Making my silence blatantly obvious, Navy and Kodi stare at me like I’m required to speak, which I’m not. But I will because I was invited over for a fun evening with friends, and I should probably act somewhat enjoyable to be around.
I cock my head to the side. “What up, losers?”
Bodhi chuckles, writing me off already.
But August, he smiles. Bright and wide, like I gave him a compliment worth documenting. He’s too attractive for his own good.
“You’re hot when you’re mean,” August tells me in a hoarse tone, sauntering to take the chair beside me that Navy has since abandoned.
Thanks a lot, Navy.
If I ignore him, eventually he’ll go away.
“Why didn’t I know you’d be here? Not like I didn’t expect you to make yourself known.” His voice projects closer than before. I turn my head to finally acknowledge him beside me, and it’s confirmed.
He’s submerged in my space like he belongs there, and he smells like fucking nirvana. Debilitatingly masculine and clean. Like he soaked in the most tranquil scent, then rolled in the woods to make it musky.
Whatever the combination is, I’m obsessed.
I know he’s referring to my comment earlier, but I refuse to bring attention to my outburst again. “You do realize I’m not required to tell you where I’m going, right?”
He’s playing dumb. I work for the Strikers. The chances of my being at these things are high. But August knows if there’s the smallest chance I can escape them, I will.
While most men would be thrown off by my abrasive humor and take offense to it, August embraces it. I think that’s why, deep down, I enjoy it so much.
“Touché, Tenley. Touché.” He smirks. “But when have you ever known me to give a single shit about what you deemrequiredwhen it comes to me?”
My brows rise and I feel my attitude peaking to a decibel I’m comfortable in with August. “Oooo, big word there, August. I’m impressed.”
He taps my nose playfully. “Said it just for you.”
I pretend to fake chuckle, then give him a silent uppercut to the jaw.
At this point, I’ll never know what our friends surrounding us are chatting about because all it takes is August’s hand latching onto my wrist, and my breath escapes from my lungs.
“Aug—”
His face leans in closer than before, and I can perfectly trace the outline of his sharp features with my hand if I wanted to. Run my finger along every rigid line and stop short at the pillow of his full lips.
God, his lips are plump and deliciously shaped. Not to mention, his eyelashes are longer than I’d ever be fortunate enough to grow with a store-bought serum.
He’s a breath away and it’s too damn close. I need distance before I do something stupid. It seems I’m too late because he cuts me off before I can muster a singleword. “It seems you have a bit of a problem on your hands.”
I rear back, provoking smile at large. “Yeah, I can’t get this leech off me.” I direct my attention to his hand on my wrist, and he smiles. It’s not a weary smile; it’s a smile of fucking satisfaction.
He knows I’m unstable right now, loving his hands on me far too much. But for some reason, he doesn’t tease me about it or use it against me.
It’s like he’s saving it for a rainy day. A perfect time to bombard me with my own feelings.
“Mama, I’d stay like this forever if you’d let me,” he proclaims. “But let’s clear some things up for you, shall we?”
“It seems I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
He’s hardly holding me, being gentler than necessary, actually. I could pull from his grip easily—he knows it, and I know it.
