Page 75 of Break the Rule
“Thank you,” Charlie grins before pushing off the doorframe and moving into the kitchen towards Eden, unable to resist being as close as possible until he’s not allowed. He can’t shake the feeling that at any moment Eden might run again or change his mind, and he’s determined to make the most of his company. The prickly little shithead.
“That was not a compliment.”
“It sounded like a compliment.”
“Well, it wasn’t.”
“I think anything can be a compliment if you have the right frame of mind for it.”
“You mean you're delusional.”
“Or confident,” Charlie counters.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Thank you,” Charlie murmurs, leaning down until his mouth is just an inch or two from Eden’s. The desire to pull him close and kiss him is there, but Charlie resists, strongly suspecting he won’t like the consequences if he pushes too hard. “I really, really want to kiss you.”
Eden’s eyes dart to Charlie’s mouth, the longing in them unmistakable.
“What makes you think I want to kiss you?”
The reply is at such sharp odds with his body language that Charlie can’t help but wonder why. What happened to make him so afraid of being liked? An unfamiliar longing fills Charlie. Were it anyone else, Charlie might be trying to get them into bed again, or maybe reminding them to leave. With Eden, all he wants is to spend more time with him, to peel back his layers and figure out exactly what’s going on in that pretty head of his. Right now, Eden reminds Charlie of one of his outdoor cats when he first got them. Oreo used to watch Charlie paint, but would hiss and run if Charlie so much as acknowledged his presence. Desperate for connection yet so damn distrusting of it.
“I can wait until you’re ready,” Charlie says. “You’ll want to kiss me before the night is over.”
“Bold claims, Mr. King.”
“Just Charlie,” he corrects. “Mr. King is my dad.”
“You’re old enough to be mine,” Eden says with an air of such innocence Charlie is momentally blindsided. The last thing he needs is to be reminded that Eden is over a decade younger thanhim, especially after the shit he’s given Theo and Alec after they got together.
“Little shithead.”
“Call melittleagain and I’ll kill you.”
It almost looks like Eden is trying not to smile. The corner of his mouth quirks slightly before he sucks his bottom lip into his mouth, playing with his lip rings. God, Charlie wants to see this man smile.
“Testy,” Charlie teases, ignoring the death glare Eden sends his way. “Fine, my shithead. Better?”
“Fuck you,” Eden snaps, but the words are belied by the little half-snort laugh he desperately tries to hide.
Eden is a lot of things. Beautiful. Pretty. Sarcastic. Prickly as all fuck. He’s alsocute.
“I knew it. You think I’m charming.”
“I can’t even imagine what might give you that idea.”
“You’re in my kitchen,” Charlie starts, ticking off one finger, then the next. “You’re entertaining my companyandI made you laugh.”
“I didn’t laugh,” Eden protests, like he can’t help it. Like admitting he enjoyed something might hurt him. “Doesn’t mean anything.”
That need to understand prickles at Charlie again. Who the fuck is this guy? What’s his story? Charlie wants to know.
“Sure.”
“What do you meansure?” Eden frowns. He’s so prickly, and riling him up thrills the dopamine-seeking center of Charlie’s brain. He’s also really fucking hot when he looks like he wants to hit Charlie.
“I mean what I said,” Charlie replies, inching so close into Eden’s personal space that he would not be surprised if he did, in fact, get himself hit.
